The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-01

ed, had arrested Durham Inc taken
him to the Office of a magistrate where
a bond was being prepared when sud-
denly Durham ram, Hinton pursued
and shot at him, and then Durham
fired at Hinton. IT, Soner said he
ran because he had a revolver and he
was afraid he would be searched and
a second charge made against him. He
also claimed that the bullet from Hin
toms pistol went through his sleeve.
The March report o nthe N. c.,
weather shows that the mean tempera-
tur for the month was 46 degrees.
which is almost four degrees below the
normal. The warmest point wal
Southport and Pinehurst, while Lin
vile was the coolest, the mean temper
ture for the month there being a lit
tie under 81 degrees? At Pink Beds,
the temperature on the 21st fell to five
degrees above zero. The monthly
range of temperature for the state was
Is degrees, the high figure of 80 de-
grees having been recorded at Will
mington and Fayetteville on the 18th
and Kinston on the 3Oth. With one
exception it was the coolest March in
Is years. The rainfall averaged $50
4SACo vi dl1lioSt ii u 1udILEES Vi du
inch above normal. More fell in the
east than elsewhere, that in the west
being but a tri1e above normal, al
though the heaviest fall was at certain
points in the west Sapphire leading
with II inches. The average SNOW fall
was only a third of an inch though
three inches fell at Mount Airy. The
number of rainy days averaged twelve.
The monthly percentage with possible
sunshine was greatest at Wilmington
81 per cent, followed by forty-nine at
= Ashevile and Is at Raleigh.
! John S. Cunningham of Person coun-
ty, well known as one of the largest to-
baccO growers in the state is hefe and
says the acreage this season will be
about the same as that last year. The
, growers have matters il such shape
now that they can regulate the acreage
perfectly and so can say what the min
imum prices shall be. He says the
farmers are taking the good advice
given and are raising fOOd crops first,
with tobacco as the money crop. A
vast amount of farm work is being done
and the land is being put in excellent
condition. The demand for labor is
very great, and to tell the truth the to-
bacco growers will have about as large
a crop as they can handle under pres
ent conditions. The same is true, and
perhaps even more so as regards cot
ton. Colonel Cunningham says that
the public work, railway construction,
saw mills, ETC., are absorbing a great
deal of the labor which the farmers
. have depended upon. In fact this cry
for labor is very great. A railway has
been delayed in coming in here and
when some One was asked about it it
was stated that every man who could
possibly be secured was at work but
hat the supply was very far below the
demand. Persons must not think that
this cry for labor is confined to North
Carolina, for it is all over the south,
except in the black belts in MISSISSIPPI
pi and Alabama where there are per-
haps a hundred negroes to white
man, and where there is d most pecu-
liar system of life and farming, some
thing never even dreamed of in North
Carolina.
;, The latest arrival at the state muse
UNI is, as has been state, a raven This
bird comes from Cherokee county.
There are ravens at points along the
coast and in the mountains, but they
are scarce, shy and generally hard to
see. They are very large birds, OF a
size between a crow and a buZZard.
! They are solitary in their habits and
do not affiliate with the crows, it is
said. The one here is 4 yOungster and
not many weeks old, but is already far
! larger than any crow seen and has a
different cry. The warm weather has
brought out the r~attlesnakes in the
museum and they are very lively in
deed. They have been dormant during
| the winter, but they are now doing
! strenuous work with their ~rattles, the
sound being very like that mad by
| grasshOppers. A great deal of work
is being done in the way Of taxidermy
both by Curator Brimley and by Mr..
! Addicks, his assistant who is showing
! much talent in this interesting profess
sion. The museum has been greatly
} enriched lately. A notable case con-
tains various squirrels in this state, in
Guiding the very large black or cat
squirrels.
In a very interesting letter from Hon.
Thomas r. Jernigan to your CORE
spondent, that gentleman, who is now
I at Shanghai, China, where he has been
Tor many years, fifirst in the United
States service and later as a notable
lawyer, writes mainly about shooting,
he having received a magazine con-
tanning the story of the official rabbit
hunts whic his annually had by the
governor and other state officers. MI.
Jernigan says that China is a sports
man paradise and that the people in
this country cannot imagine the quaint
ity of pheasants, deer, cartridges, etc,
a%ffording the finest shooting. He has
developed into a very good shot, hav-
ing taken up this since his residence in
China. Mr.. Jernigan comments on the
news sent from China. saying that
much of it is very inaccurate. His
health is quite good. He has made a
most decided reputation in China and
has a very wide acquaintance.