The news & observer., 1898-01-16

On his quarry IN the desert,
; On the sick or wounded bison,
But another vulture, watching
From his high aerial lookout,
! Sees the downward plunge, and follows
And a third pursues the second,
! Coming from the invisible ether,
i First a speck and then a vulture,
Till the air is dark with pinions"
1t is thus that scandal seems to fol-
| low scandal in the present administra-
ton.
Last Sunday it was the News and OBJ
! servers unpleasant duty to give news
| of Robert Hancocks downfall.
To-day the scene of lustful corruption
and official incompetence is transferred
! from Newbern to the Halifax State
! farms.
! The dramatis personae are changed
/ from a railroad president and pretty
girl of seventeen summers to a peniten-
/ tiary farm supervisor, an overseer and
some negro female c0nvicts.
| Several days ago came news of the dis
missal of Capt. Hughes, supervisor of
| the Halifax State farm. At the same
| fell swoop the head of the Rev. DIR.
| Babb, steward, and DR.. Coster, physi-
clan, went off. They were notified that
| their services were no longer needed by
a letter from Supt. Mewborne. AS soon
as the directors meet-next Wednesday
e. r. Harden, the oyerseer, will also
walk the plank.
Incompetence is charged against the
whole gang. Then, besides, it is said
they couldn't get along well together;
and now each one is making charges
against the other.
DR.. Babb has been here ever since his
discharge, and | had long talk with
him yesterday, and he told me some
things that are not calculated to add
much balm to Capt. Hughes wounds or
increase Harden's charges before the
board next Wednesday.
The Doctor came here to see the Gov
ernor about his discharge and find out
if possible the reasons therefor. He win
remain until he gets a whaek also at the
directors.
.'Then, besides" he added, 81 wanted
to sorter get civilized. I've been in that
etocksde ON the farm ever since De
cembar 1str-a month and II days. I've
been as closely confined as a prisoner,
and not a paper could I see. Peter
Hughes wouldn't allow a News and OBJ
server ON the place. 1t made me q bar
barial, all for SO month, and / came
here to get civilized. / felt on that farm
as il | was 40 miles from anywhere
and the same distance from anywhere
else"
why were you discharged, Doetor?"
1.-The Governor told me he turned me
off because l did not agree with him on
the railroad question"
what was the matter with old man
Peter Hughes-WaS he a railroad lease
man, tooY
'Wen, / don't think he kaew or cared
anything about the railroad, one way or
the other. The trouble was inco1pe-
tenee, lack of discipline and fondness
for the women"
What women?"
'SThe negro female convictB-he had
several on the fnrm- These wenches
were very familiar with the old man
and worse with Harden. I've seen them
slap Hughes on the shoulder, and one
on each side walk with him to the field.
You know he has only one arm; the
negro woman on that side would hold
to that arm and the one ON the other
side to his coat sleeve. Then there We're
many other indiscretions of all sorts,
talking, smiling, joking and the like.
Then the old man took his favorite Wo-
man, Alix Morgan, out of the steckade
and had a room in his own house fitted
up for her.
Report said that there was something
wrong gong ON between them, / Cont
know whether this was true or not
Probably not, for Hughes is at heart a
| good man, though totally incompetent.
II hnX nj
why, when | got there / found that
he not only had this woman sleeping
outside of the stockade, but another con-
yict, A. l.. Ripey, from Alamance,
Hughes county, was living in a house
outside and keeping a double-barrel
gun to protect himself.
| 1.-The Cherokee Indian, a ten-year
man, was going about the woods wher-
ever he liked, with a gun, hunting squir-
| rels and coons.
THE manager at the cotton gin had
| been discharged, to save expenses, and
a negro convict put in his place. This
man weighed cotton and managed the
gin and enjoyed all sorts of liberties.
There was nothing to prevent his getting
all the whiskey or anything else he
wanted for himself and his fellow con-
victs.
There was absolutely no discipline
on the farm.
''Ihen Capt. Hughes had some little
Irregularities in his financial affairs.
don't believe there was any dishonesty
about it, but simply Incompetence.
''One morning he ordered me to Iet
out eighteen canvicts-Pve got their
names here in my pocket-at . O'Clock
| in the morning, in charge of his little
tbirtpep-year-old son. / refusei to do
/ it. That was the first serious conflict
OF authority between us. / told him he
/ would wake up some morning aud find
4 about forty-nine of his tifty-nlne men
/ oona and the other ten gOing lie re-
! nlied that he wouldn't be afraid to take
the whole gang and go a-'pcssum hunt
ing with them, and he wouldn't lose 8
man"
ssDid Hughes drink p
al think not, though he acted at al
, fines like drunken man. But l have
! seen Harden drunk"
"Was Harden pretty fGmiliar with tht
women ,teo?'
/ ooh, yes, worse than Hughes. hat
!. to cali him down several times for talk
. ing 10 1nen. One morning a convic
reported seeing him climb down from tht
room Of Alix Morgan in Hughes house
For this Harden whipped the man mos
] numerically. / saw it- AS the maj
: was putting his clothes hack ON he tol'
9 Harden that he had whipped him, bu
l. that didn't change facts; that he dit
D l Saa I'm, (Ha1,daul alSYuh DOWN from fha