The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-05-09
AN AIR-SHIP TO BE EXHIBITED.
One Of the Attractions al The Southern
Exposition at Raleigh.
THE PROGRAMME FOR MEMORIAL DAY.
The Old City Officers Reelected by the New
Board OF Aldermen-North Carolina
News of Interest.

RALrro. N. c.. May Especial. Cap
tain Octavius Coke, chief marshal OF the
Confederate memorial day exercises. to-day
arranged programme of exercises.
The annual memorial address will be deliv-
cred at Metropolitan Hall at $3.50 O'Clock oy
Hon. William r. Cox, after which the process
sion will be formed in front of the hall ana
will march to the new Soldiers Home, which
institution will be dedicated.
Governor Holt will deliver the dedicatory
address. The procession will repair then TO
the Confederate cemetery, whore the graves
of the soldiers will be decorated.
Az AIR-sHIP TO BE EXHIBITED.
The authorities of the Interstate lmmlgra-
ton Bureau here are negotiaung WIN d NC"
York inventor 10 exhibit here during the COM
ing Southern Exposition an air-shlp machine;
Ttis guaranteed TO operate successfully, and
arrangements will in all probability be made
10 secure il as one Of the attractions OF the
1be new board of aldermen Of the city
held its first meeting tonight and
elected the city officers for the ensuing two
years There was u large crowd OF citizens
present, as much interest was felt IN the re-
suit. The matter was all decided in q caucus
of the Democratic members OF the board.
which was held this afternoon. and
all the incumbents were reelected with
out a single exception, as follows: Chief
of Police, Charles ID. Heart; City
Clerk, G. w. LAMBETH City Tax-Collector. 9.
Is. Root; City Treasurer, Joseph q. Brown;
torney, j. n. Holding; City Auditor, Ham
Smith; Commissioner Of Sinking Fund, ). ,.
Jermau.
Thomas Badger. ESQ., who was elected
mayor on Monday. presided at the meeting to-
night.
SAD ENDING or A PRACTICAL JOKE.
News was received here last night of
ghastly and horrible occurrence IN Burke
county, in which practical joke had sad
and tragic ending. W. S. Roper is an molten
sIve and respectable citizen, living near Shiloh
church in that county, and he IS now with his
grief-stricken family watching by the bedside
of his little daughter who lies UNCONSCIOUS IN
one of the rooms Of his modest farmhouse
with n frightful furrow in her skull, through
which can be seen the pulsatlons OF the brain.
and with death lowering close over her. The
details of the terrible story are to the erect
that few evenings since there was wedding
at the house of Mr. Roper his daughter, bliss
Alice Roper being married To Mr.. W. A. La
farer in the presence Of a small party. That
night some of the men and boys OF the neigh
borhood got together and decided to give the
newly welded pair Il tin-panning, after an old
custom which obtains in some quarters OF the
State, and which is certainly at best very I'M
civilized custom. Iln-pans; gongS,
horns. whistles and everything that
would make a noise were brought
into requsition. and some of the
party supplied themselves with guns and
pistols to add 10 the racket Some time after
dark they surrounded the Roper dwelling and
set up horrible din. The family was at first
oil l,xrfh a nm
came convinced that it was only friendly
surprise party and began 10 throw open the
doors and windows and 20 invite the merry
makers to come into the house.
At one of the windows a sister Of the
groom, Miss Lafarer. and Laura Roper. the
sixteen-year-old sister of the bride, were
standing looking at the serenaders and laugh
ing at the trightful racket they were raising
outside Some of the boys III the crowd had
loaded their guns with large charges of pow
der and hard paper wads. and one Of them
seeing the two girls at the window thought
he would frIghten them by dischargipg his
gun near their faces. SO he stepped
under the high window. and with fOolhardy
recklessness elevated his gun toward them
and pulled the trigger. At the report Miss
Lafarer fell to the floor, shocked by the eX-
plOsion. and Miss Laura Roper, utterng
cry Of pain sank to the floor. with the blood
gushing from her head and her face scorched
and biackened by the powder The hard
wad discharged at close range had ploughed
a long furrow through he. skull. nhicting a
ghastly wound and exposing the brain. The
doctors state that it will be impossible for her
10 recover and her death IS only a question of
hours.
The boy who Is accused Of the act of Grim
inal carlessness. and whose name is jim
Gibbs. has fed. Ten Of the serenadng party
have been arrested upon a charge OF forcible
trespass and bound over 10 Burke Superior
Court for trial, though there is no evidence 10
bic accident