confessed the crime with which he was then charged, and admitted that he had also kidnapped several other girls, whom he had kept in the woods until they died. About the first of March he was captured by several farmers and skinned alive.

An old political quarrel which had recently taken the form of a violent newspaper controversy led to the killing, at Kosciusko, Mississippi, on March 3, of S. A. Jackson, a prominent Democratic member of the state legislature, and the fatal wounding of two bystanders, by the Rev. W. P. Ratliffe, a leading Populist and also a member of the legislature.

On March 3, Harry C. Wiltshaw was arrested at Buffalo, New York, charged with embezzling about $36,000 from the United States National bank of New York City, in which he was formerly employed.

Miss Martha J. Fuller, 26 years of age, a typewriter for a law firm in New York City, was shot dead in their office late in the afternoon of March 17. A hurried autopsy seemed to sustain the theory of suicide; but a later and more thorough examination by two surgeons, indicated that it was a case of murder.

William Herrick, cashier of a branch of the San Francisco, California, Savings Union, was killed at his desk on April 23 by William Fredericks, a noted desperado, who demanded money. Herrick seized a pistol and fired, but inflicted only a slight wound. In return he received a fatal shot. The murderer fled, but was pursued by the bookkeeper, and after a hard chase was captured.

DISASTERS.

Loss of the "Kearsarge."-On the night of Feb. ruary 2, the famous old corvette Kearsarge, the conqueror of the Alabama and the participant in many a stirring incident since, met her fate on the sunken reef of Roncador in the Caribbean sea. With her passes away the last vessel of the earlier steam navy of the United States; and the transition from the old to the new order is complete. At the time of the disaster the Kearsarge was bound for Bluefields to protect American interests in the Nicaragua canal during the continuance of hostilities between Honduras and Nicaragua. She was the flagship of Acting Rear-Admiral Stanton, commander of the North Atlantic squadron, and had on board 18 other officers and 157 enlisted men. Fortunately but one life was lost, that of a fireman who was drowned while attempting to wade to the shore.

Vol. 4.-10.

The sinking of the Confederate corsair Alabama off the French port of Cherbourg in June 1864, and the famous duel between the Monitor and the Merrimac in Hampton Roads, were the two most celebrated naval battles of the Civil War. The Kearsarge was a wooden battleship, built at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1861; and, even before her historic encounter in the English channel, had the reputation of being one of the best fighters afloat. The Alabama was fitted out in England, bought by the Confederacy, and manned in part by British sailors. For over two years she had been the terror of American merchantmen, whom she had swept almost completely off the high seas. For sharing in the responsibility for these acts of plunder, the Geneva international tribunal of arbitration held the British government accountable to the extent of $15,500,000, which sum was paid to the United States as indemnity. The Kearsarge had long sought to meet the Alabama, and finally succeeded in locating her at Cherbourg. For five days Captain Winslow waited outside the harbor for his foe. At length on Sunday morning, June 19, 1864, she was seen steaming for the open sea escorted by a French man-of-war. The latter turned back when neutral waters had been reached. The Kearsarge, too, put about with her head from shore, and the Alabama followed, nearing her gradually until the two were some seven miles out and about 2,000 yards apart. Then suddenly the Kearsarge swung round, put on full steam ahead, and went straight at the Alabama. They were a little under a mile apart when the Alabama sheered and brought her starboard battery into action. Three broadsides were discharged before the Kearsarge returned a shot. She deliberately steamed within short range, and then fired slowly and carefully. From the way the Alabama persistently kept her broadside facing the Kearsarge, the course of the two vessels during the fight was round and round each other, gradually lessening the distance, and describing in all just seven wide circles. In one hour and two minutes the Alabama was so crippled that, after a vain attempt to reach French waters, she ran up the white flag in token of surrender. Twenty minutes later she sank with the bodies of about 40 killed and wounded. Her commander, Captain Semmes, and about 40 officers and men, were rescued with much of their plunder by the Deerhound, an English yacht flying the ensign of the Royal Yacht squadron. Sixty-five of the Alabama's men were taken prisoners.

The two ships were about evenly matched; but the marksmanship of the Alabama was poor. She fired 370 shots, only 28 of which struck the Kearsarge, none of them doing serious damage. The latter fired in all 173 shots.

The Kearsarge was in commission continuously for 32 years, and much of her service had been in West Indian waters. Her wrecking is to the nation a cause for grief, but there is a slight compensation in the fact that she was in active service until the last, and foundered while flying an Admiral's flag. The navy department offered a reward of $45,000, which sum was appropriated by congress for the purpose, for the delivery of the vessel at the port of Norfolk, Va. Later, a contract was made with a Boston company. The latter was to receive the full reward if successful, or $8,500 if, after using all reasonable efforts, it was found impossible to secure the ship. The company sent a large steamer, fully equipped for wrecking purposes, with a representative of the government on board, which reached Roncador, March 22. It was found that parties from neighboring points had carried away whatever they could move, and had burned the hull to the water's edge. Only a few relics could be secured.

Fires at the White City.-Early in the evening of January 8, fire was discovered in the Casino, at the World's Fair grounds in Chicago. Like the other buildings in the vicinity, this was extremely combustible, and, in spite of the prompt and vigorous efforts of the firemen, was quickly consumed. The flames spread to the Peristyle, which, flanked by the Casino and Music hall, had been one of the most beautiful and imposing structures upon the grounds. It was in the form of a double colonnade, and was a magnificent piece of monumental architecture. Efforts to save it were unavailing-Music hall was also destroyed; and the flames, which reached the roof of the Manufactures building, were extinguished with great difficulty. In the latter building portions of the French, Belgian, and British exhibits were stored. These were not burned, but were damaged by smoke and water to the amount of about $200,000. The financial loss on the buildings was estimated at $800,000, but, as it was necessary to remove them, and as the iron, which was the most valuable material, remains, this sum has been considered excessive. One fireman was killed, and several were injured. The fire is thought to have been incendiary.

On February 18 an incendiary fire destroyed a portion

of the Illinois state building. The damage was slight. During the fire, flames reached the Art palace, in which articles for the Columbian museum were stored, but were soon extinguished.

Still another fire, also supposed to have been incendiary, occurred on February 24, and destroyed the dome of the Agricultural building. As all the exhibits had been removed there was little financial loss.

Other Disasters.-By a rear-end collision on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, near the Hackensack, N. J., bridge, on the morning of January 15, eleven people lost their lives and more than 40 were injured. The Dover express, which was a few minutes late, had stopped in obedience to a signal. A local train from South Orange, heavily loaded with people going to business in New York City, followed closely and rapidly. The engineer seems to have disregarded the fog, which was very heavy, as well as to have disobeyed a standing order to lessen speed at this dangerous locality, while a brakeman who had been sent from the express to flag the local train lost his presence of mind and returned to warn the passengers in the car which he had left.

Six men were killed and several were injured, some of them probably fatally, by an explosion of gas in a coal mine at Blossburg, New Mexico, February 22.-By the fall of rock, and subsequent explosion of gas, four men were killed in the Richmond shaft at Scranton, Penn., March 6. -Up to March 24 seven bodies had been recovered from the Gaylord mine at Plymouth, Penn., where an explosion had occurred, and it was expected that the bodies of the other six victims of the disaster would soon be found.

On March 23 the explosion of 10,000 pounds of dynamite at the Acme Powder company's works. Black's Run, Penn., 14 miles from Pittsburg, caused the death of five persons, the serious injury of another, and the destruction of five buildings.

On January 23, the Normannia, of the HamburgAmerican line, reached New York in a seriously damaged condition and with several of the crew suffering from severe injuries. When about 750 miles from Sandy Hook the ship was struck by a "third sea," often, though incorrectly, called a "tidal wave." The first sea was of moderate size, but the second was unusually large, and was quickly followed by a third of enormous proportions which struck the ship with terrific force. As the steamer was going about sixteen knots per hour, and the wave was probably

moving at still greater speed, the escape of the ship from utter destruction was almost miraculous.

CALIFORNIA MIDWINTER FAIR.

This important exposition, mention of which was made in the last number of this review (Vol. 3, p. 773), was formally opened with great éclat on January 27. New Year's day had originally been set for the opening exercises; but, although the gates were thrown open to the public on that day, and throngs of visitors crowded to the grounds, many of the exhibits had not arrived and other details had not been completed, so that it had been decided to postpone the formal opening ceremony to a later date.

One interesting incident, however, took place on New Year's day-the dedication with impressive ceremonies of the beautiful monumental "Prayer Book Cross" (the gift of George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, Pa.,since deceased), which stands on a knoll a short distance from the main buildings of the Midwinter fair. The cross commemorates the landing 314 years ago of the English navigator, Sir Francis Drake, from his ship the Golden Hinde, at what has since been known as "Drake's bay," and the preaching there, by Drake's chaplain, Francis Fletcher, a presbyter of the Church of England, of the first sermon in English on the Pacific coast. The monument is in the form of a Celtic cross, 57 feet high. The column underneath the arms is 30 feet high, and is built of three pieces of stone. The arms are 15 feet in height and 23 feet across. The column above the arms is nine feet high.

Ground was first broken for the great fair in the "Sunset City" on August 24, 1893. It has cost about $4,500,000, and is second in extent only to the Paris and Columbian expositions. Partly because it followed in the wake. of the World's Fair in Chicago, the greatest ever held, it at first attracted less attention than its size and importance deserved; but, as its numerous beauties have become better known, it has been the destination of an increasing stream of travel from all parts of the world. The dimensions and cost of the principal buildings are as follows:

Manufactures and Liberal Arts, 462 feet long and 225 feet wide; Manufactures and Liberal Arts annex, 370 feet long and 60 feet wide; total area of the building, including annex and gallery, 177,000 square feet; total cost, $120,000.

Mechanic Arts building, 330 feet long and 160 feet wide; Mechanic Arts annex, 249 feet long and 45 feet wide; total area of the