The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-06-02
TIMELY TvPICS.


Denver, the chief cityof Color lido, il
overrun with tramps, many OF them os
desperate character, and a vigilance
committee for their dispersion is seri-
ously contemplated. Among these
tramps," says the Denver Tribune, ARE
found all classes of miserable mortals
the low desperado from San Juan, pow
erty-stricken rascals from the East, dis
appointed miners from the mountains,
professional beggsrs, who would rather
steal than work, and occasionally Il
once respectable man who, having come
into the far West to seek his fortune
has encountered poor health and worse
fortune, until he has almost been COM
PEELED to resort to the footpad protes
sion in order to live"
Before starting on her trip to Zululand,
the ex-Empress Eugene presented her
imperial crown to the Church OF Notre
Dame des Victories, Paris. Many
rumors have been spread abroad con-
cerning this crown. whose whereabouts
has been matter for gossip. From re-
Gently published accounts Of the hight
of Eugene from Paris, it appears that
in the haste and terror of the occasion
she took with her little of value. She
even left the Tuileries without money,
although there were about forty thous-
and francs in the drawers of her bed
room. In the subsequent arrangement
of her affairs, after the commune, many
of her valuables, and among them the
crown, were restored to her, having
meanwhile been in the safe-keeping Of
the Bank of France. The crown Is OF
much value, on account of its artistic
design, and the number Of precious
stones it contains.
Primitive honesty and simplicity are
plainly stamped on the countenances OF
most of The peasant emigrants now ar
irving at Castle Garden, New York.
And the little children that swarm
about the queen-bee Of each family seem
prematurely stamped with the mature
features of the same qualities. A pretty
incident recently happened in Galveston,
Texas, after the arrival Of an emlgrant
party. It occurred to a gentleman who
met several of the little peasant children
in the street that it would please them
to bestow q coin on the child with the
brightest eyes. He then clasped his
hands behind him and was sauntering
away, when the child, being unable to
express its gratitude in English, If at al,
in words, ran after, seized the gentle
mans hands, and kissed them. The
other children initiated the quaint ex-
ample, and thereby certainly filed claims
to shares in the gratuity.
The deplorable piece of news comes to
us, and on the authority of the London
Times, that the Egyptians are actually
disintegrating and carrying away parts
OF the pyramids. 1t might be hoped that
the wretched business could be stopped
by an appeal to the khedive, remarks a
New York paper, but he is himself en-
gagged in the work of spoilation. -Four
or tive of the huge stones have been re-
moved by his order from Immediately
under the entrance to the great pyramid,
with intent to use the stones in building
a new mosque. A correspondent in
forms the Times that he saw camels be-
ing loaded with the square white lime
stone that forms the casing of the larger
pyramid at Dashoor; and it is evident
that these venerable structures have
been simply and deliberately degraded
to storn Iuarries. The pyramids in a
sense belong not to Egypt but to man
kind, and since the khedive has had the
execrable taste to lend himself to van
dalism such as has been described, he
ought to be brought to his senses by a
vigorous protest from the great Euro
pean powers, in which, it seems to US,
it would not be unbecoming for the
United States to join.
San Jose Joe, monster shark OF San
Jose de Guatemala, Central America,
was recently seen by the captain Of the
China. This shark has for many years
been the terror of the coast from San
Jose de Guatemala to Puntaa Arena.
He has been so frequently seen that he
coast as its most perilous headlands.
He is said TO be over forty feet in length
and is extremely ferocious, human kind
being his favorite prey. Captain Sea-
bury of the Pacific Mail steamship China
is ready to swear to forty-tWo teet and
over, having once seen Joe passing be-
hind his vessel, which is forty-two feet
in the beam, and the head and tail OF
the shark extended past either side OF
the vesseI. The captain Of the South
Carolina and Captain Witberry bear
testimony also to the sharks being over
forty feet long. In the last few years
"Joe," as he is known all along the
coast, has devoured half a dozen men,
and some years ago the Guatemalian
government offered a reward of $500 to
any man who would kill the devourer:
He has been shot a couple of times and
harpooned thrice, but survived these
assaults and still retains his old haunts
looking for his favorite morceau.