Daily News Batavia, Genesee County, New York State March 30-1892 ON THEIR WAY SOUTH. Bergen.--The 6:55 train this morning brought to this village ninety-three colored men and five women. They came north from Tennessee to work on the Adirondack railroad, but were turned back at Utica by the reports which they heard, and are on their way home. They were sent to Bergen by the Overseer of the Poor of Monroe county, and they will have to be assisted on by our Poormaster. These negroes, with many others, were induced to leave their homes in Columbia, Tennessee, last Saturday, by the golden promises contained in handbills reading as follows and which were distributed in various sections of the South: Notice. Last Chance for New York. Two hundred Railroad Laborers will leave the depot at Columbia on Saturday, March 26th, at 5:30 p.m., for Booneville, N.Y., for McDonald, Shea, & Co., contractors. Transportation furnished; pay $1.50 per day; board $1.50 per week. Be on hand. First that comes will go to the number of 200. Charles N. VAUGHT or James ROBERTS. They reached Utica, N.Y., on Monday and upon learning of the cruelties and hardships inflicted upon other negro laborers who had been employed in the Adirondack region refused to go further and decided to return to their abodes in warmer Tennessee. Their transportation north was paid by agents of the contractors, and as a rule they were penniless. There were fifty of them in the party that arrived in Utica, and that city's officials, to relieve the city of their presence and to aid them in returning home, yesterday gave them railroad tickets to Rome, where they were again assisted, and were passed along from station to station by the poormasters, reaching Rochester at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The party which left Utica had been increased to 98, the additional ones being picked up along the road. In Rochester they were placed in a car, where they remained until this morning, when they were sent on to Bergen by Superintendent of the Poor McGONEGAL. The Rochester 'Herald' says that most of the negroes were very scantily clothed, a pair of trousers, shirt, coat and shoes being the entire outfit. In some cases the coats were missing and the occupants of the trousers and shirts would stand around with their hands in their pockets and draw themselves together as much as possible in order to keep out the cold. During the evening the car was so densely packed that it was with difficulty that one could crowd through. The scene was one such as seldom afforded in a northern city. Most of the occupants of the car were young men, but there were a few who could look back into slavery days. In spite of the fact that probably fifteen cents could not have been raised in the car and that they were many hundred miles from home all seemed happy, taking it for granted that the white people of the north would take care of them. The banjo was tuned and when they had made way with the food that had been brought to them, they passed the time in singing plantation melodies with now and then some popular air intermingled for the sake of variety. Along toward midnight sleep put an end to what little trouble they had and another car having been furnished them they managed to spend the night as comfortably as they could have desired. An Alabama negro, who escaped from the Adirondacks with six others last Sunday night, was one of the party. He told a pitiful story of the experiences of the colored men in the mountains. They were, he said, overworked, underfed, and guarded constantly by men with Winchesters. They slept in huts with only a blanket and a little straw to keep them warm and many of them show the effects of the zero weather in frostbitten feet. The Alabamain said that men who had been at work there for several months told him that they had received no money and the fear of the men over them was all that kept them from leaving. ++ DEATH OF BENJAMIN C. PAGE. Benjamin C. PAGE, once a prominent business man in Batavia, died last night in Bethany, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. Funeral services will be held at the grave in the Batavia Cemetery to-morrow afternoon at 2 o'clock. ++ A BEER WAGON RUN AWAY WITH. John MYERS, driver of Joseph BAILEY's team, attached to a beer wagon, was in George PEETS's saloon on Swan street yesterday afternoon tapping a barrel, when the team became frightened by a passing train and dashed down Swan street to Ellicott, where one horse started to go one side of an electric light pole and the other took for the opposite side. The result was a smash. The tongue and whiffletrees were wrecked and the harness badly torn in many places. ++ CLOSING OF THE ATTICA MILL. The Attica mills, which were purchased in May, 1890, by Joseph BORK of Buffalo, and which have since been carried on by BORK & Son, were closed at noon yesterday, throwing several men out of employment. The reason is not known, and it is not stated whether the mills will be reopened or not. ++ DECISION IN THE WILL CASES. The Hon. S.E. NORTH, as Surrogate, has just rendered his decision in the long-contested case of the will of George W. WAKEMAN of Alabama. The petition for probate of the will was made over a year ago. The hearing in the contest came on in September, 1891, and was concluded but a short time ago. There are 430 pages of type-written evidence and during the contest there were 36 witnesses sworn, many of whom were physicians. The time consumed, altogether, in taking evidence was eight days. The contest was made on the ground that the testator was mentally unsound and was totally incapable of disposing of his effects. There was some evidence tending to show that he had had apoplexy. The decision of the Surrogate is, in brief, that the testator was of sound mind when he made the will and that it be admitted to probate. The amount of property involved was between $3,000 and $4,000. One of the hardest wills to prove and which has been finally probated, was that of Mary E.L. WEBSTER, late wife of John M. WEBSTER, Justice of the Peace of Bethany, which was admitted to probate in Surrogate's Court yesterday afternoon. The great difficulty was in the manner in which the will was witnessed. The only regular and proper way is for the testator to sign and declare her will to be such in the presence of two witnesses, who, in turn, must sign in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other. Mrs. WEBSTER had made a will some time before she was stricken with paralysis. The will was on an ordinary blank. She neglected to sign it at the time, but, a year before her death, she told William H. STEWART of Bethany, that it was her will and that some day she would want him to witness it. In July last she suffered a stroke of paralysis which left her practically speechless, but still of sound mind. Mr. STEWART was sent for and when he arrived she had signed the will. On being asked by some one present if she desired Mr. STEWART to sign as a witness and if it was her last will and testament she bowed her head in the affirmative. William S. PAGE of Bethany was sent for, and the same formula gone through. Both witnesses testified that her mind was clear. Inasmuch as the signing and witnessing had not been strictly in the presence of one another, there was still a hesitancy to have the will probated. Dr. CROFF made a deposition that the testator was in possession of sound mental faculties. The will gave all her property to her husband, as there are no children. There are twenty-five heirs at law, but distant. All of them signed waivers of citation but two, and to these citations have been sent. Under the circumstances the Surrogate admitted the will, and letters were issued to John M. WEBSTER. The will of Jonathan ELMORE, late of Bergen, was admitted to probate to-day and letters were issued to William O. and Effa E. ELMORE of the same place. ++ Darien.--The last lecture of the Epworth League lecture course will be held Friday evening, April 8th, at the church. It will be by the Rev. J.A. SMITH of Le Roy. Subject: "Grace, Grit and Gumption." Mr. and Mrs. R.R. LOSEE have returned to Darien and will reside here during the summer. Mr. and Mrs. J. D. BROWN of Cleveland and Mrs.P.A. MATTESON of Buffalo have been called to Darien on account of the severe illness of their father, Alexander BROWN. Mrs. LOPER of Marilla is the guest of her daughter, Mrs. L.H. ROBINSON. The Rev. I. HARRIS is the guest of his daughter, Mrs. T.A. PETERSON of Steuben county. ++ West Bethany.--The King's Daughters will meet at the residence of Mrs. Tracy MILLER on Friday afternoon. At the last meeting Mrs. William CRAWFORD was elected President; Mrs. Mattie NORTON, Vice President; Mrs. Minnie MILLER, Secretary; and Ella NORTON, Treasurer. Miss Anna CARSON arrived home yesterday and will enjoy a short vacation with her parents and friends. A letter from Mrs. Albert HEATON of La Camas, Wash., March 18th, says the spring there is unusually early. Peaches, pears, prunes, and apricots are in full bloom, gardens are made and peas well up. All early flowers are also in blossom. Born, to Mr. and Mrs. Michael BUCKAMIRE, on the 23d, a daughter. ++ Oakfield.--A meeting of the Village Trustees was held last night, at which the following named were appointed: Street Commissioner, John I. CROSBY; Clerk, Charles C. OLMSTED; Fire Warden, George ISAAC; Police Constable, Henry E. STEVENS; Board of Health, F.E. WRIGHT, Wilber REED, A.A. GRINELL. A Chief Engineer of the Fire Department was not appointed. F.J. TAYLOR was placed in charge of the street lamps. Martin's Hall was rented for the coming year as headquarters of the Board. The Board of Health were empowered to appoint a competent physician as Health Officer. ++ Carpets! Carpets! Don't forget that we offer you unusual inducements in moquette, body and tapestry brussels, three-ply and ingrain carpets. Good light, good goods, low prices, large stock. J.B. & H. HEWITT. ++ TEN THOUSAND GUNS. It is expected by the Baker Gun and Forging Company of Batavia to nearly double the output of their factory in 1891 this year and to send 10,000 of their superior Baker guns into the various States and Territories of the Union. The better their firearms become known the easier it is to make sales of them, for they bear critical comparison with any line of guns in the market. Since the location of the factory in Batavia in 1889 the company's business has increased steadily, and today excavating is in progress for the large addition to the machine room of the factory. The new building is to be attached to the south side of the present machine room and be two stories high, 50 by 50, with a wing 30 by 33 to the west. Heavy timbers for the frame are on the ground, and the structure will be sheeted with iron an rendered as fire-proof as it is possible to make it. Several enlargements of the plant have been made previously, but the increasing sales of the company's goods demand the additional room that is being provided now. The present machine room is literally packed with various pieces of machinery, making it impossible to work to the greatest advantage, but when the new building is completed each machine will be allowed more room and several thousand dollars' worth of new machinery will be set up. At present and for several months past the factory has been in operation night and day, twenty hours out of the twenty-four, but the duplication of the machinery will enable the company to disperse with night work and to give employment to all its large force in the day time, a consummation to be wished for on the grounds of economy and for other business reasons. The recent increase of the capital stock to $200,000 gives the company an abundance of funds to push its trade, which under the general management of President BAKER and Secretary MYLCRANE, and with competent and energetic salesmen on the road, is reaching proportions highly satisfactory to the company and decidedly beneficial to Batavia as a whole. Arrangements are being perfected for supplying the demand for a hammerless gun that will overcome the prevailing objections to such firearms, and the Baker patent, it is anticipated, will win the public favor speedily. Some of the hammerless guns have been put upon the market already, subjected to severe tests and proven satisfactory, but the bulk of the trade is in hammer guns that sell at a popular price. In addition to the gun business, however, the company has a large sale of its fifth wheel for carriages, a circle that is highly endorsed by carriage makers. Throughout the factory, in both departments, the daily scene is one of the greatest admiration. The plant is now very complete, but upon the erection of the new buildings, with additional machinery, the company's facilities will b largely increased. ++ submitted by Linda C. Schmidt