j|lje SmitljfielD JLeMb.
,Zc7oit~KUJM pu tear. "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD." uhqu oopib titi oum.
VOL. 20. SMITHFIELD. N. C.. FRIDAY. MARCH 6, 1008. NO. 52
LETTER FROM THE FAR NORTH.
An Alaskan Missionary Tells of Some
of the Strauge Sights in the
Land of the Snow.
While in Smithfield in the re
cent meeting, Rev. S. L. Morgan
received a letter from hie sister,
Mrs. H. A. Atkins, who, with her
husband, is a Baptist Mission
ary at Copper ('enter, Alaska.
, Through his courtesy we give it
to our readers, believing it will
be of general interest.
It should be noted that Mrs.
Atkins describes only one of the
several different races that in
habit the great interior of the
country. The Eskimos inhabit
the great coast territory as far
south and east as the Copper
River, where Mrs. Atkins is loca
ted. The Eskimos are the most
numerous race, and give evi
dence of superior traits to the
.rest
To those of our readers who
care to make a further study of
these interesting peoples, we
commend an article in the Feb
ruary number of the Review of
Reviews. Tne following state
ment, quoted from that article,
gives gives a more optimistic
view of the possibilities of these
peoples than one would likely to
form from the reading this letter:
"Officials of the Bureau of Edu
cation at Washington who have
been most among the Alaskans
and know them best are most
enthusiastic over the possibility
of these Northern races. They
hold them to be far superior to
the American Indians in intellect
and chsracter, and capable of a
higher and more ready civiliza
tion."
The letter is as follows:
Copper Center, Alaska,
Feb. 2, 1908.
I have been so crowded with
work that I cannot pet letters
answered promptly. We have
so little day here that by the
time I just get a few necessary
things done, it is getting dai k
again. During the shortest days,
which are just before and after
Christmas, we have only about
four hours of sun?that is from
about 9 o'clock to one o'clock
while from several hours before
and after these hours there is
twilight, though but little of it
is bright enough to read by. The
sun comes up in the morning;
rises about 5 degrees above the
horizon and disappears in about
thesame part of the horizon as
that from which it rises. It
shines on the same side of the
house all the time. Yet the
nights are rarely dark, owiDg to
the northern lights and to the
fact that the moon seems hardly
to set. It, unlike the sun, stem's
to have command of the whole
heavens, it seems to have no
particular place either to rise or
set.
Everything up here is strange?
so different from our old South
ern home and country. Up this
near the North Pole y ou may be j
sure it gets a little cold?often i
about 75 degrees below zero
When it is no more than 15 or 20
degrees below zero wefeel that it
is almost warm, so accustomed
are we to cold, lhave not seen
the ground since I have been I
here. Everything almost is white
in winter. The rabbite change
their summer coat of brown h r
one of white. Some of the bears
make a similar change. Wild
animals are numerous. There
are several species of bears. Ooe,
the Glacier bear, is said to be
the largest bear in the world,
an i is very ferocious, however he i
is now in winter quarters.
As you know, this country is i
extremely rotlgh and mountain- i
ous, yet some of the scenery is i
beautiful. 1 have a lovely view
from my frout door. First, just
a few yards from my front gate
flows the Copper River, a large
uavigabie stream, upon which
s'eamer* are beginning to ply in
summer, and which in winter i?
frozen solid, a id is us d as abig1 -
wav for travelling and fr-ighting
Un beyond this river a uuih r
of miles lie ti e ture.'I it. m ui
tains? Mt. Drum, tie highest,
next the smoking vol- ami, M .
WraDgell, whose snnitn't ?? o *
er?d with asties It na- a ? ?r ?? |
I sioual eruption. We have had
| one slight earthquake since I
j have been here, occasioned by
an eruption. The next morning
> I could see an unusual amount
of ashes ou its summit. There
are some beautiful glaciers ou the
mountain sides in many places.
While the country is strange
and interesting, the natives are
much more so. They are Indians
in the truest sense, and more un
civilized than thoee Columbus
found farther south. They are
wholly, or almost wholly, un
civilized and entirely unchris
t.ianized. Truly one does not
have to have America to tied
heathen. You would certainly
realize this if you should attend
an Indian funeral. There, more
than elsewhere, they show their
heathenism. They chant Jtheir
death song in the most horrify
tones. and 'bow and scrape" in
most inhuman ways. Such eights
are enough to make a Christian's
blood run cold. First they place
a large piece of bark over the
coffin, then when the grave is fill
ed in they stretch a new blanket
over the coffin and at a later
date, stretch a tent over it or
else build a shelter over it. As
soon as one gets sick his friends
tell him he is going to die, often
fixing the time and making his
coffin. Of course under such cir
cumstances he does not often
disappoint his friends.
The people are making, how- j
ever, some slight advancement. ]
The men dress almost like white |
men, ana some oi tnem can speak
English sufficiently well to be un
derstood. The women have
made much less progress. The
older ones have holes bored
through their noses about the
size ol a telephone wire in which
they formerly wore nose orna
uieuts. Some of their houses
look like an old Virginia brush
pile. Some of the people live in
teats, while some have right
decent log cabins. The people
are very dirty and "lousy." One
has almost to hold his breath
when in one of their best houses?
the odor is so offensive We have
been very careful and have not
had any "creepers" on us yet?a
thing very few of the white people
escape, especially at the road
houses (hotels) on the trail.
Now I shall tell you of our trip
from Virginia. We were five days
crossing the continent. We had
no delays. We stayed some days
in Seattle, the most wicked city
iu the Union; then a week on the
Pacific, where of course I was
very seasick for several days, but
I had abundant company. There
were hundreds of passengers on
board aud about all had the
same trouble. The water was
quite rough, but we had no bad
storm. Then last, but not least,
I- rode 103 miles on horse back
on a man's (cow-boy's) saddle,
sometimes astride, for there wits
no other way of sticking on. A
side saddle is useless in some
places, where one has to sit
astride and cling to the saddle
with both hands. You cannot
imagine anything like it. In one j
place I rode for miles on the
brink of a canyon over the edge
of which nriP pah Inn I* Hnwn i
thousands of feet below into
what seems like a bottomless
abyss. The trail over this point
is about a foot or 18 inches wide.
This seems alarming but it is
true. In some places we rode
through mud up to the horses'
shoulders. You people down
there in that good south land do
not know what sort of country |
1 am living in.
These natives pretty well repre
sent man in his original state, I
fancy. 1 believe more than ever
before in the total depravity of
man. Hurely be was depraved
from the sturt. Religion is al
most uuknown in this country.
I think about all the people lay
their religion on the shelf when
they come here. The white man
rets a very poor example to his
poor Indian friends. The Indian
as a rule is nota rogue, but truth
is almost unknown to him. He
iiaprofe ional beggar. fit.nil
< >iten co ne in begging for food?
'muck-muck," as he calls it?and
teli m that a certain member
of his family is dead (starved to j
death), but bi fore ho gets doDe
f *ir- 1 ie v.is som?t hing for his
" wi"c iiil nr *ilir ( j e ii.
REVIEW OF ASSOCIATION'S WORK.
Splendid Papers Read at the last Meet
ing. Teachers Meetings to be
Dlscoatlnued.
On Saturday, February 15th,
a number of teachers met and
carried out the program in part.
On account of very inclement
weather there was not a full at
tendance. Still the meeting was
full of interest. Two features of
the program, to wit, the Public
High Schools and llural Exhibits
of class work contributed maiulv
to the interest. Giving a passing
notice of some of the subjects.
Prof R. T. Teague's paper and
discussion of "Teaching English
in the High Schools" was aptly
made, the grammatical phase of
this class of work being especially
emphasized. Miss Flossie Abell's
paper on the subject "High
School Training Necessary for
the Teachers," was unique. It
is to be regretted that every
teacher in the county, and every
person who contemplates teach
ing, did not hear this paperread.
Miss Ellen Eldridge on behalf of
the rural school exhibit made the
most complete vet seen; work
from all the grades neatly ar
ranged was very attractive, and
reflected credit on her pupils in
District No. 10 White, Ingrams
township.
tu~ e v.i ? *: ~ ?
lijc iuui niuiiitJi#y iueebiijg?t$ ui
the Association having been held
as originally planned a motion
was adopted that meetings be |
suspended for the present and
that the County Superintendent
of schools call the next meeting
at his option. The next meeting
therefore will be called, if not be
fore, about the time of the Teach
ers' Institute in the summer.
Just what good the Associa
tion has accomplished no one
knows. That much good has
resulted, and will hereafter be
seen, no one familiar with the
work done will deny. Four meet
ings have been held at the oppor
tune time, that is, while the pub
lic schools were in session, the
object being to enable teachers
to put into immediate practice
the knowledge acquired at the
meetings. More than twenty
practical school subjects have
been discussed. The leading |
teachers have thus been enabled
to give the benefit of theirexperi
ence to the younger teachers. I
The Association has tended, in
some degree, to unify the teactiers
in their work. The class exhibit
work has far exceeded our expec
tations. While we have not been
able to get exhibits from all the
schools, still this phase of the
work has been so successful that
hereafter it will be a promiuent
feature of our associational
plans. That these meetings have
been a stimulus to the school j
cause no one will deny.
Taking into consideration thej
bad weather and the great dis
tance that many have to travel,
the attendance has been good.
Many wanted to attend and
would have done so if they could.
The original object sought was
tn enlist, the (>n.nnnrarirm r>f nil
the schools in the county. This
object was clearly setforth in the
beginning. Cards with printed
programs have been faithfully
mailed out. While some schools
and some teachers have ignored
the work and have been noted
for conspicuous absence it is be
lieved that next year all will be
working together. The law makes
every teacher a member of the
Association and all teachers
should honor the profession by
complying with the law. Rf joic
ing over what has been accom
plished, let us look forward to!
greater achievments next year. j
J. P. Canaday.
Young Man Passes Away.
Jirnrnie, the 1(> year old son of
Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Edwards, 1
died near Earpsboro, February
2.0, after a little over a week's
sickness of pQeumouia. He left
father, mother, three brothers
aud three sisters who have the
deepest sympathy of manv friends
and school mates. Faithful in
all things and a kind and teuder
heart he won the love of all who
kiimw i i a 1' r ft.
?
FOR PROHIBITION IN HARNETT,
Great Enthusiasm at Big Prohibition
Meeting Held at Bute's Creek by
Rev. Braxton Craig.
Five hundred und more people
in Harnett county have solemnly
pledged themselves to do all in
their power to aid iu a great pro
hibition victory the twenty-sixth
of May.
This is the news which reached
the city yesterday, the informa
tion being obtained from Kev.
Braxton Craig, of Chapel Hill,
who has been holding a series of
meetings in the Baptist church
at Buie'B Creek.
Mr. Craig says of the meetings
that at these there were over
ninety conversions, and that
Uev. J. A. Campbell baptized
forty as the result of the meet
ings, which were very largely at
tended.
The big temperance rally was
held Sunday afternoon, and Mr.
Craig made an address in behalf
of prohibition. A request was
made to have those stand who
favored prohibition, and over
tivudniudred people stobd, pledg
ing themselves to work for the
success of prohibition till the
eiose of the election. Mr. Craig
says that it was a scene of great
enthusiasm and that during it
women wept und men shouted.?
News and Observer 4th.
Come PsAfaccirtMolo Ih r/vne*
wvmv tivivooiuiiaii) ill vuui ii
Court is in session this week
and the sights to be seen in
the court room are interesting
to a layman whose leisure will
allow him to take in the contin
uous performance. The sights,
of course, are nothing without
the characters?and the charac
ters would furnish material to a
Dickens?if a Dickens could por
tray the types to bo eeen there
from day to day.
We will pass over the Judge
and the lawyers. They are only
requisite parts of the machine of
justice. Their work is, more or
less, a matter of routine. We all
know their beaten path of pro
cedure. The younger lawyers
engage our attention occasion
ally. They have not yet learned
how to wear a mask of the ap
pearance of great learning, wis
dom and dignity, without, once
in a while, relapsing into natur
alness aud forgetting their as
sumed character.
The officers of the court are
old familiars. We have been
seeing them, or their prototypes
for a generation. Hut still the
cry of Court Crier Hizzell never
ceases to cause us to marvel.
We always wonder whence comes
that stentorian voice.
Hut our attention is drawn to
the professionals of the court.
Look out into *he court room
and you see them.
The Jury retires, the Sheriff is
requested to fill up the jury box
with a new jury. A man, seated
near the rail, coughs a dry and
unnecessary cough. The Sheriff's
attention is thereby directed to
him. "Mr A. st.en into t.Vip
?Jury Box." And the cougher has
a job. Another old man, osten
tatiously pulls out a Bandanna
and wipes his bald head?and
Bandanua passes into the Jury
Box. Another gentleman rises
suddenly, with the evident in
tention of retiring, he as sudden
ly changes his mind and sits
down again, but the Sheriff has
seen him?and he passes into
the Jury Box. Three profession
al Jurors have lauded their jobs.
Others are left in the room.
They will nibble later on and, if
the Sheriff is not very careful,
they too, will get in.
And then, there are the pro
fessional witnesses, men and wo
men, whites aud negroes. They j
have an imperfect knowledge of
many matters. They have heard
i>( many things?They know lit
tie. However, they are always
rea l;, to pass upon the "Kerac
ter" of riivers persons, even when
their own reputations are not as
the shiuing sun. VVheri called to
the witness stand, they come
with all assuruuce. They don't
need leading questions. The
?rw * have to restrain them.
In tie- i r?l, ?h>'v m?? say
I
too much. Plaintiff, Defendant,
Lawyers and court breathe h
I sigh of relief when they step
' down. And the prosecuting wit
ness! How important he is! He
whispers to his attorney and
suggests a line of cross examina
tion and if his advice is not ub
i opted, and it is not, invariably,
be shakes his head mournfully
1 aud predicts disaster to his
[cause?Professional witnessed A
score of them.
Seated within the prisoners'
bar, we find anot her professional
j ?a man of crimes?Ape-headed,
sensuous-lipped, scarred by|t1ghts
of compauion couvicts, his body
bearing the whip marks of cou
J vict overseers, he is again in
custody. Is he guilty? He ad
mits his guilt. Are there extenu
ating circumstances? Noue. Has
he served a former sentence in
the penitentiary? Yes, ten years.
For the same offence? Y'es. He
gives the information stupidly
and stolidly, without a sign of
emotion. "Is there anything
you wish to say in your own be
half?" asks tile Judge with an
acceutof commiseration. "Noth
ing," replies the prisoner.
The souteuce of fifteen years
falls upon ears that apparently
fail to hear. It strikes upon a
brain that indicates no emotion.
The unblinking eyes look steadi
ly forth into fifteen years cf
labor, whippings, friendlessness
and death, perhaps?And the
professional criminal makes place
for another.
A Center Shot.
Mr. Fou,of North Carolina, de
j livered a noble speech in the House
! of Representatives Tuesday last.
{It brietbd with points under
which the majority squirmed,
and the Kepuolican members
who essayed reply for the
most part evaded entirely the
thrusts which had drawn the
most blood. One of these was
indeed so truly aimed and so
sharply driven home as to defy
parry or return. "The recent
message of the President," de
clared Mr. Fou, "was from begin
ning to end a scathing indict
ment of the Republican party."
The sting of this scathing criti
cism lies in its absolute and self
evident truth. Mr. Roosevelt's
own party is responsible for
every ill which he scores so un
mercifully; responsible for the
bad legislation which made pos
j sible the growth of those ills; re
sponsible for the dishonest legis
latiou which the party enacted
in exchange for campaign con
tributions from the beneficiaries;
and that lax administration
under which greed aud corrup
tion, through counivance of the
government agencies, wrested
to their own advantage the few
laws they did not openly vio
late.
Admit, for the sake of argu
ment, that Mr. Roosevelt has
not overdrawn the condition of
j affairs, that extortion and rob
bery exist to the extent which he
depicts, that large classes of our
citizenship deserve the reproba
tion which he hurls at them, that
j nothing but heroic remedies will
avert.?Norfolk Virginia Filot.
Called to Rest.
Monday morning, March 2,
the home of Mr. aud Mrs. C. D.
Peterson was made sad by the
call of the Death Angel who took
their little daughter. She was sick
ouly five days with pneumonia.
Little Bessie was a sweet child
only nine months old. She
leaves a father, mother and lit
tle brother to mourn her depart
ure. ller sweet little face and
loving smiles will be sadly missed
in the home. She was laid to
rest Tuesday afternoon iu the
family burial ground.
Our loved one now is gone,
A dear little voice is still,
A place is vacant iu the home
That niver can be filled.
A rniKxn.
The wife of H irdy Aikiuson
die 1 last uightat 1(1 o'clock after
an illness of several raou:hs. She
was an estimable colored womau
aud had the confidence aud res
pect of ail who knew her.
WORK OF SUPERIOR COURT.
?
)
. Pistol Toters and Fighters Will Help
I the Treasury and Build
| Public Roads.
Superior Court convened here
, Monday with Judge J. Crawford
Biggs, presiding. Solicitor Arm
istead Jones is present to repre
sent the State.
The following Grand Jurv was
drawn and empanelled: H. L.
Skinner, Foreman, tt. P. I'arnell,
Henry Crumpler, Eoyd Narron,
i 1). H. Williams, W. H, Edgerton,
C. 11. Waddell, C. L. Barnes J.
E. Jones, Julius Johston, H. W.
Godwin, Wm. C. Lassiter, Wm.
Dixon, Jerry Capps, Ilufns
Eaugdon, B. J. Mathews, W. H.
Ellis and R. H. Stphenson.
T. H. Whitley was appointed
oflicer of the Grand Jury. After
the Judge's charge to the Grand
Jury tbecrimiual docket was tak
en up. We note the following
cases, in which lines or sentences
to the roads or to the pen were
impos d:
A case against Stephen Fair
cloth and Nancy C. Faircloth for
retailing liquor without licence
was taken up. Since the bill of
indictment was made Stephen
Faircloth has died. Nancy Fair
cloth plead guilty anil judgment
j was suspended upon payment of
I costs.
Robert Altuiau was found guil
ty of an assault with deadly
weapon, lie was sentenced to
jail one year to be worked on the
public Roads.
Arthur Williams, John Wil
liams, .Juuius Williams, Shade
Williams and Jim Graham were
charged with an affray. John
plead guilty. Jim Graham was
declared notguilty. Arthur Wil
liams was found guilty of a sim
ple assault, while the other two
were found guilty of an assault
with deadly weapon. Arthur
Williams was taxed with one
fourth the costs, while th? other
three Wiliams were fined if 25 each
and one fourth costs each.
Alex. Stancil plead guilty of an
assault with deadly weapon and
was fined $10 and costs. Jim
Byrd also plead guilty to a simi
lar offense and was commanded
to pay $25 and costs
A tine of $50 and costs was im
posed upon Koland Barber who
plead guilty to carrying conceal
ed weapon.
Daniel Young was up for resis
ting an officer. He plead guilty
and was fined $20 and costs.
Loney Blalock who was charg
ed witu an attempt to commit
rape was found guilty of a sim
ple assault and fined $50 and
costs or sentenced to the road
BO days.
itobert Price was fined $75 and
costs for carrying concealed
weapons; or 00 days on the
[ roads.
James Mafae, alias James Be
j thea, was found guilty of an as
j sault with deadly weapon. Two
years ih jail to be worked on
roads.
Barnie Lee plead guitv of an
assault with deadly weapon. He
was fined $25. and ordered to
pay Alford Adams $50 damage
for cutting him up and to pay
j his doctor's bill of $2G.
Arthur Heaberry was found
guilty of larceny and sentenced
to jail one year to be worked on
the roads.
George Wilson plead guilty of
an assault to commit rape and
was sent to the pen 15 years.
Moses Ingram wae given three
years in jail for housebreaking.
During this time he will work on
the roads.
Henry Spears plead guilty to
the charge of house breaking
and larceny and was given a jail
sentence of three years to be
worked on the roads.
Much interest is aroused over
{Congressman Webb's bill for a
daily ginner's report.
Ohio Republicans have in
structed for Taft. Foraker is
not in it.
Ernest Page, 1"? years old,
killed his father in Wilson coun
ty Wednesday night. The old
man was drinking and abusiDg
his wife.