Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-11-19
Scraps and faets.

or the l0tn says. 1ne Coui' VI e.'
sation has informed the minister OF the
colonies, M. Guillain, that it has deci-
ded that Captain Dreyfus shall be
informed by telegraph that revision
proceedings have commenced in his
case and that he may prepare his
defense.
-By no means the least remarkable
thing about General Kitchener's Sou
dan campaign was its low cost. Ac-
cording to his own account the whole
expense of the movement during Its
two and a half years of continuance
was s2,5OO,OOO, say $l2,5O0,OOO, and
this includes not only the transporta-
ton and maintenance of the troops,
but the building of 700 miles OF well,
equipped railway and 1000 miles OF
telegraph. 1t would have been an ex-
tremely low price for the railway
alone, even conceding that it was built,
as much of it was, by merely laying
the rails and ties on the level sand,
with little or no grading. The econom-
ic feature of the sirdar's campaign is
of interest to both civil and military
engineers.
Now you see it, and now you don't.
That is the way with the Maria
Teresa. At first it was thought that
there was some hope of saving the
vessel from the shore of Cat island.
Commander McCalla, accompanied by
Naval Constructor Hobson, and 9TH
er officials, however, have made an
examination of the wreck and they
find that the condition of the vessel is
hopeless. In his report to the navy
department, Commander McCalla says
the vessel is the same as if it were stu
ated on the pinnacle of a rock. Al
ready the plates have been telescoped'
and the telescoping process is being
aggravated by the action of the waves.
On account of the exposed position OF
the wreck nothing can be saved from
it except the guns and a few other
heavy articles of more or less value.
- Secretary Alger, after conference
Tuesday with Adjutant General Corbin
and Major Shaler, of the ordnance
bureau, decided that the United States
armories have progressed with the
manufacture of Krag-Jorgensen rifles
to a point where he could undertake
to arm the entire army with this weap-
on. At the outbreak of the war only
the regular soldiers had the small-bore
rifle and the volunteers were necessa-
rily armed with the Springfield, except
in a few cases, such as that OF the
Rough Riders. The armories have
been running steadily ever since, turn
ing out the small-bore rifle at the rate
of 5000 per month, until the stock on
hand warrants the undertaking which
the secretary has ordered as fast as the
guns can be packed and sent forward.
The Springfelds in the hands of the
soldiers will be retired and turned into
the arsenals.
- New York dispatch, 11th {: Alexan-
der Skelly, sergeant of Troop A, of the
Third United States cavalry, who was
promoted for bravery at Ell Caney,
returned to Camp Wikoff, Montauk
Point, with his regiment. One day
he became intoxicated, and, taking the
cavalry horse, rode the length of Long
Island and put the horse in livery
stable in this city, borrowing S25. He
then went up to the Fifth Avenue bank
and obtained several blank checks.
Three of these checks he filled out,
drawing them for $50 each, and forged
the name of Captain Mackay, the com
mander of his troop. When arraigned
in court yesterday, he pleaded guilty.
"I'm ready to take my medicine now,"
he said, "for 1 don't want my comrades
in the army to know of my disgrace.
I have always borne good reputation
since 1 entered the army of the United
States. I give you my word, judge,
that is the first time ever stam-
peded." He was sentenced for two
years.
~ General Breckenridge was before
the war investigating commission In
Washington on Monday and Tuesday.
In his testimony he was not inclined
to be very complimentary to General
Shafter. He said that the "victory
was won when General Torals nerve
gave out" He believed that the war
was the Lords war and that this won
derful success was due to His super
vision. The time for the battle was,
however, short enough. Yet it must
be remembered that the distance be-
tween the battlefield and Siboney was
less than half days march, but while
he considered the result as marvelously
commendable, he did not feel that
General Shafter was above criticism in
the conduct of the campaign. He
could not believe the result was mir
acle, but he ascribed the outcome to
the fact that the army was one which
was capable of meeting all calls. "No
matter how it was tangled up" he
said, sit went to victory" He had at
one time quoted Lord Beresford when
he said to his army upon certain
occasion: ~ have led you into devil
of fix and it is now your duty to fight
like hell to get out of it"
= The Ninth regiment of Negro I'm
munes disgraced itself down at San
Luis, Cuba, last Monday. The Ninth
regiment of immunes is under Negro
officers, and all along discipline has
been bad. The officers drink and
gamble with the soldiers. One day
last week several members of the regi-
ment undertook to steal hog from
Cuban. The Cuban resisted and the
Neproes killed him. General Wood