The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-01-31
PITH OF THE NEWS.
Capital Topics--Crimes and Casualties.
Personal and Political.

Mackey was taken i'll last Thursday after
noon while at the House attending to his
public duties, and was compelled to go
home and summon a physician. 1t was
found that he was suffering from peritonitis.
and the pain was SO acute that it was necessary
to keep him under the influence of chloroform
most of the time. Mr.. Mackey leaves wife
and six children, the youngest an infant of but
few days old. Mr.. Mackey was born in
Charleston, S. c.. on the 9Th of March, 1916.
He identified himself with the Republican
party at the close of the war; and in 1874 was
elected to Congress from the Charleston district.
He was Speaker of the lower house of the Re-
publican Legislature of South Carolina in 1876,
during the controversy in that State over the
election of Hampton or Chamberlain as Gov
ernor and over the electoral vote. The COM
promise subsequently entered into gave the
State Legislature to the Democrats and the
electoral vote to the Republicans. He was a
candidate for seat in the Forty-sixth Con-
gress, but was beaten, and though he contested,
never got the seat He was elected to the
Forty-seventh and to the Forty-eighth Con-
crosses.
The resignation of John C. New as Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury was received in
Washington on the 2Sth inst. The Indiana
delegation held a meeting Monday evening
and decided to recommend the appointment of
Mr.. D. A. Lynch, Of indianapolis, to fill the
vacancy.
Chief Justice Waite announced to the bar on
the 2Sth inst. that the United States Supreme
Court would take recess from Monday Febru-
airy a. until Monday, March 8.
CRIMES AND CASUALTIES.
At s o'clock, on the morning of the oath inst,
a terrible explosion occurred at Crested Butte,
Col, in the coal mine of the Colorado Coal and
Iron Company. There were sixty-seven men
In the mine at the time of the explosion. OF
| -[z.s
thrown back by the force of the exposon and
rescued. OF this number one has since died
and all the others are badly injured. a dis
patch from Denver, Col, on the 18th, states that
the rescuing party had reached one of the
| chambers in the mine where the men were
| supposed to have been at the time of the ex-
| plosion. There fifteen dead bodies were found.
| The deadly gas is a source of imminent danger
To the rescuers. who are forced to proceed most
cautiously. Searching further, eighteen bodies
were found almost in heap in the air passage
leading to the up-cast near the entrance. The
men, alarmed but not injured by the explosion,
| evidently attempted to reach the furnace room
and were overcome by the after-damp when
within 200 feet of it. Fifty feet further back
! six more bodies were found. All had evidently
been suffocated. Some had tied handkerchief
over their mouths.
| A fire broke out in the State prison at Still
water, Mimi, Friday night, and in spite of every
effort all the buildings Were DESTROYED. The
prisoners including the Younger brothers, were
| taken out and placed under strong guard in the
yard. When the fire department arrived it was
impossible to do any effective work on account
Of tho dense smoke. AT I O'clock it became
evident that the prison was doomed, and COM
pany &, of the State militia, was called upon
/ TO assist in removing the convicts. About $50
in all were shackled together By means of long,
fine chains and removed to different points in
the prison grounds. The fire spread to the Off
ces of the Northwestern Car Company, the en-
| tire front part Of the building being mass of
flames. The loss was about $4,000. The pris-
oners were removed to jails in dilfertont parts
| of the State.
Early ON the morning of the 18th inst, Selah
Sprague, well-to-do farmer living at East
Meadow, l.. l., went to his barn TO milk his
cows and feed his horses. He had just reached
/ the barn when a tall, slim mulatto attacked
| him with fish plate used for coupling railroad
tracks, and after striking several murderous
blows on the head left him for dead and made
his way to the house. Upon entering, he saw
Mrs. Sprague in the Kitchen and struck one
/ blow at her and demanded her money. She
told him to get it out of drawer, and then
ran screaming from the house The negro made
his escape, but was captured during the day,
and identified by Mrs. Sprague Mr. Sprague's
injuries are of a serious nature and his re-
ooyery is doubtful.
General Daniel McCauley, ex-mayor of In
dianapolis, was taken to the Tombs police court
in New York, on the 25th inst on a warrant
charging him with violating the lottery laws
He Is president aud general manager of the
Mutual Union Improvement Company, whose
objects are the accumulation of a fund for the
purchase of real estate. Bonds are issued
monthly for s., and the holders Of portion Of
them are entitled TO premiums
| qssI5o,s n kIt.o4@ e.. 49,. ~-..-.- -
Union Market National Bank of Watertown
Mass, has absconded. taking funds of the bank
aggregating, as far as known, $3l 100. Abbott
was of pleasing address, member of the Bap-
fist church, and, until six months ago, was
treasurer of the Watertown Savings Bank He
is about forty years old and has q wife and four
children. 1t is believed that a woman is with
him.
} In st. Louis, Friday, Hiram H. Post, super
intendent and ex-treasurer of the Fourth Bap-
tist Church Sunday-school, and confidential
clerk and bookkeeper for D. w. Pratt, agent of
the Mccormick Harvesting and Reaping Ma
chine Company of Chicago, took laudanum and
cut his throat, but was discovered before his
attempt at suicide resulted fatally He had
embedded S., $40 from his employer.
Geo. Hardison and Harry Bronson were
killed by each other in street fight on the
oath inst at Auburn, KY. The killing was the
result OF family 1eud dating back sixteen
years, when James Hardison, the father OF
George. killed Bronson's father with broad
axe. The intestines of both men were cut out.
Both men belonged to wealthy families.
PERSONAL.
The reception to President Arthur by the
, Union League Club, at the club house on the
night of the 23d inst, was brilliant affair.
Nearly a thousand persons were present. Among
those who paid their respects to the President
) were Hon. S. S. Cox, Hon. W. E. Robinson.
Speaker Sheard, Gen. A. S. Webb, Collector
Robinson, w. II. Vanderbilt, Hon. Roswell P.
! Flower, Mayor Love- of Brooklyn, Rev. DIR.
, John Hall, VIM. M. Evarts, L. Sackville West.
British Minister, Rev. Howard Crosby, D. D.,
Judge Richard oGorman, Cen Crittenden,
Secretary of State Joseph B. Carr John T. Ag-
new, Elliott f. Shepard, Judge Ingraham, Judge
: Brown, Rev. Robert Collyer and Chief Justice
G. p Daily.
Ex-Governor John Letcher, of Virginia, died
: Saturday morning at his home in Lexington
3 Va. Soon after the General Assembly met
D Gov. Cameron sent an official communication
, to that body announcing the event, and say
: ing The life so ended was full Of high and
; honorable service to the State All the de.
partments of the government and all classes oil
the people should unite in mourning for the
: loss and in reyerent tribute to the memory Of
f a wise, honest and patriotic son of Virginia.
Frederick Douglass, the WE'LL known colored
nr1fgr trac mo rriad in 4. M TT