Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-22
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.

SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
Charleston, October 21: DIR. C.
G. Bigham of Florence county and
w. B. Avant Of Georgetown, 8. C.,
were placed on trial at Georgetown,
is. c., today, charged with killing the
young wife of DR.. Bigham at MUIR
relrs Inlet, summer resort on the
coast, not far from Georgetown, an
hour after sundown on September 4.
At the time Of the tragedy, Avant ad-
mitted that he had fired the fatal
shot. Mrs. Bigham was walking to-
ward the beach dressed in her bath
ing suit, with a light overcoat thrown
about her, when Avant, close friend
Of her husband, fired. She lived
only a minute or two after being
wounded. The defendants claim that
they were sitting together on the
steps Of the cottage when. a figure
came from the rear Of the cottage
and disappeared in the gathering
darkness. Gun In hand they follow
ed 1t, calling out to know who 1t was
and what it wanted. Receiving no
response. DR.. Bigham told Avant to
fire, which he did. They rushed to
the PROSTATE figure and discovered
that 1t was DR.. Bigham's wife. She
was % years Of age and Is said to
have been very handsome woman.
= Columbia State, Thursday: George
l. Wilson, convicted Of murder with
recommendation to mercy, In Cherokee
county, In March, 1901 and sentenced
to life imprisonment will walk from the
state penitentiary free, yet bound by
strong moral restrictions. Whether he
returns to the penitentiary TO spend the
30 hi 90 do fr.alx q
conduct and mainly upon whether he
drinks. His parole was recommended
by the board of pardons and indorsed
by Gov Ansel. The governor In the
parole says in part; After maturely
considering the papers filed in this case
and the recommendation Of the board
of pardons, do hereby parole the said
George L. Wilson, until the first day of
January, 1911, at which time he Is to
appear before me with his testimony
and evidence to show to my satisfac-
ton that he, has behaved himself as a
good citizen Of the state should be-
have and that he has not INDUCED, from
the time Of this parole until that day,
In the use Of alcoholic liquors In any
form, except when prescribed by phy-
sician when attending him in a case Of
illness. Should the said Geo. L. Wilson,
dI dIly Illilc UclOIc IlC odll ihoI ody
Of January A. D., 1911, indulge in the
use Of intoxicating drink or be convict
ed Of a violation of any of the criminal
laws of this state by any court, then
this parole Is to cease and the said
George L. Wilson shall be returned to
the penitentiary to serve out the bal
ance Of his sentence as heretofore IN
posed upon him by the court"
- Bennettsville, October 10: The
Campbell cotton picking machine was
demonstrated on the plantation OF
Senator John L. McLaurin, near here,
today in the presence Of a large num-
ber of planters and other citizens.
The machine picked cotton at the
rate Of thousand pounds an hour
without injury to the plant or un-
open bolls. About 80 per cent Of the
open cotton was obtained at the
first picking, and by running the ma
chine over the same rows again, 1t
got about 80 per cent Of the balance,
making SO per cent. There was a
considerable amount of trash in the
cotton picked, but many practical
farmers said they had seen more
trash in hand-picked cotton. A
hundred acre field Of cotton was
bought last summer from Senator
McLaurin by Theodore H. Price, of
New York, for the demonstration Of
the machine. 1t was expected to be
here earlier In the season, but could
not be gotten ready till now. No
cotton had been picked in the field,
and the bolls which opened early in
the season had been damaged by
dust and smoke In the field, and the
foliage had become dry and rotten,
so that the cotton naturally made a
poorer appearance than II 1t had
been picked soon after the opening.
Some of the cotton was ginned and
classed it as low middling to strict
low middling, and priced 1t about a
half cent below middling. They said
they had bought a great deal Of cot
ton this season which was not as good
as that picked by the machine. The
machine Is driven by an automobile
engine, and the driver sits In front
and steers the machine astride row
of cotton. 1t moves over row as
fast as a man can walk, picking about
an acre an hour. Two projecting
moses" run ahead Of the machine,
on each side Of the row, and lifts
up the limbs that are near the
ground. The limbs are all gathered
up and pressed into a space about
foot wide. While the stalk Is thus
held, small steel spindles reach
through it from each side, reaching
every inch Of space. On one side OF
each spindle is a row of small teeth,
SO short that they will not catch
hold of anything except the cotton
FIBRE These 'spindles are revolving
rapidly and when lock of cotton Is
touched 1t is caught and wrapped
around the spindle, thus twisting 1t
out of the burr. The spindles then
move out Of the plant, stop revolving,
and the cotton is taken off by ribs
similar to the breast Of a gin. 1t
falls on conveyors, which empty 1t In
bags at the rear Of the machine. A
boy sits on the rear OF the machine
and packs the cotton into the bags.
The boy would not be needed If the
bags were large enough to hold a
round without packing.
Charleston Post: An interesting
story Is told by an official Of the Unit
ed States pension department in illus
tration Of how the government preserves
a secret and contributes to the happi-
ness Of many homes which would be
made miserable If the secrets Of the
domestic lives were told. There Is now
excellent character, living happily with
her husband and children and occupy
ing a prominent social position In the
town In which she resides while her le-
gal husband Is located in Pennsylvania,
probably entirely ignorant Of the hap
piness of the home which he had been
unable or unwilling to give her. 1t Is
an interesting story. Some years ago,
the couple separated after years Of mar
ried life. The wife came south and the
husband remained in Pennsylvania
The only son Of the couple had not long
before been killed in the Spanish war.
The son seems to have been the only link,
holding the man and woman together,
and when he gave his life in defense
Of his country, there was no longer a
binding tie between the husband and
wife, and they separated. A few years
passed, and it occurred to the husband
that he should make an application for
a pension for the loss Of his son. Un-
der the law, no pension is allowed to