The age-herald., 1899-07-06
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE

1 election of Professor Peterson to the presi- dency of the Girls school at Montevallo the ofrense cannot be charged to Governor 1 Johnston" said an observant man, pre- sumed to be anti-Johnston. q do not know l what faction in Alabama politics Professor l Peterson sympathizes with, probably with none at all; but the two or three men of l position and influence who are thought to l be closest to him are decidedly anti-Joh l ston This being true, the presumption is l that the professors selection is distinctly | non-politieal, for it Is a well-known fact that a decided majority Of the board of trustees are personal and political friends of the governor. This has been stated ire quently in the public prints, and it Is quite true. As to the presidency of this par ticular school, 1 believe that 1 am per fectly correct in saying that in Monday 5 meeting of the trustees the governors per sonal choice for the presidency was a cer- tain Jefferson county educator; but the governor did not, l am fully persuaded, ask any trustee to vote for the Jefferson man. Therefore the trustees followed t--eir own inclinations There were about thirty applicants for the vacancy, and about
 
 lection was made"
 Professor Peterson arrived at Monteyallo on Tuesday and met the trustees. He formally accepted the presidency and at once assumed it's duties. He Is forty-four years old, and is a man of rare scholarly attachments. He has had much experience in teaching, but in the arrangement of great school he is yet to be tried
 ''There is a remarkable tar spring in the wilds of Winston county" said Former Congressman Thomas S. Plowman. T uis- covered the spring the other day. The discovery was not original but I had never heard of the spring, and l do nota believe anything concerning it has ever appeared in print I was out there in the backwoods Investigating the matter of gov ernment lands, and a farmer told me about a 'tare spring, as he called it. I asked him how for distant was the spring and if he could give me directions as to how to find it: The spring was five or six miles off, but he couldn't tell me how to get there. He could guide me to the spot, however. It was impossible for me to walk that distance through the woods and over the hills; but after much effort l found farmer who was willing to let me ride his mule Closing the bargain for the patient beast mounted him, and my informant and l made the journey. The spring, l dis covered, is about three feet and half in diameter, and the water that bubbles up is wonderfully clear. l seooped some of it with my hand, and, on tasting it, found it to be very strongly impregnated with tar, or the equivalent of tar. It was as strong as a golon of water would be with a quart of tar added
 q examined the spring and it's immediate vicinity" continued Captain Plowman, land became convinced that the water flowed up through a mine of asphaltum. What appeared to be asphaltum was seen all about the place in all stages of hardness and softness. From time to time, evident ly, persons had poured the water on the rocks, and a sediment remained to show how greatly the spring was impregnated. obtained several specimens of the asphalt um and have sent some of them to Pro- lessor Eugene A. Smith, the eminent geologist of the state, asking him for an
 
 to be of considerable commercial value. On my return from the spring I met some in- habitants who resided within two miles of it, but had never seen it. They had heard of it all their lives, they said, but had never taken the trouble to go and see it."
 Captain Plowman had some specimens of the asphatum with him in Birmingham yesterday, and they were very interesting as viewed in connection with his story or the wonderful spring of Winston. He is the agent engaged in selecting the lands for the Girls Industrial school at Montevallo under the grant of 25,000 acres voted by congress during it's last session. In respect to government lands in the northern dis trict of Alabama, Captain Plowman said:
 We find considerable difficulty in locat- ing the lands Maps and specifications were sent to us from Washington but in comparing them with the records in the land office at Huntsville we find them to be hopelessly inaccurate Some of the land mapped as government land proves to have been sold fifty years ago, and the govern ment has no claim whatever upon the property. This causes annoyance and de- lay in selecting the lands for the Girls 
 work in a fairly satisfactory manner
 
 Rufus w. Cobb, who was on Tuesday defeated in the contest for mayor of Wood lawn the beautiful and prosperous suburb an town oe Birmingham, was the twenty fifth governor of Alabama having been elected to succeed the great George s. Houston in 1878. He was reelected in 1880; and therefore served two terms. When elected governor he was resident of Shel- by county, and was interested in the iron and coal business at Helena for many years. Some years ago he removed to Jeff ferson county; and last year was a candi- date for the legislature, but was not suc- cessful. It is understood that Governor Cobb's thrift has earned for him comfort able competence.
 Senator Cunningham has returned from a prolonged visit to Baltimore and the east. Most of his time whilst absent from Jefrer- son was spent in medical and surgical studies at Johns Hopkins and in Philadel-