Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1890, Page 13

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY, JULY 12. 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES. OLD SOUTH MOUNTAI The Picturesque Home of ‘‘Gath,” the Famous Correspondent. —— WHERE HE ENTERTAINS. oe Overlooking the Catoctin Vallcy—A/ Charming View—4 Group of Interest- ing Buildings and Their Contents— George Alfred Townsend, —_—__. Bpecial Correspondence of Tur EvextKo Stan. Gapiaxp. Mp., July 10. TX YEARS ago one who would have gone through Crampton’s Gap of South Mountain, following the road between Claggett’s station, Hagerstown Branch Baltimore and Ohio railroad, in Wash- ington county, Md., over the mountain into the beautiful Catoctin valley, would scarcely have seen a site that would appeal to him as the Proper place toerect a house, and the fact that for more than two hundred years nobody did issome evidence that the surroundings were not entirely auspicious, But it was not always to be so, and one win- ter day in 1834 George Alfred Townsend, who was in that neighborhood gathering data for his novel,*Katy of Catoctin,” was riding through the gap when he metaman. He asked the man about the ownership of the land there- abouts and the man confessed with some hesi- taney that it was his, but that he would sell it. A figure was named, several days were given the owner to find out who George Alfred Town- send was and very shortly he was the p-oud possessor of more than one hundred acres of about as rocky @ piece of territory as could be found batwesn the Shenandosh and the sea, ‘Then he set to work with the same energy and industry that characterized him as a newspaper correspondent and before the year had gone he had a building site cleared off anda two- story eight-room frame cottage builton the morth side of the road. LIVING HOUSE—MAIN ENTRANCE. The original intention was to build only a sort of a country club house, where he mijsht entertain his gentlemen friendsin the summer, but as he became interested in the place he be- came impressed with the idea that right there, between those mountain spurs far above “the madding crowd's ignoble strife.” was the foun- dation for a home for him in the days when ace would be sweet, and rest, like a mothe Eina, might lie upon his tired head uuilis- turbed forever. PREPARING A HOME. With this purpose in mind he employed a force of workmen in the task of clearing away the stones and underbrush from twenty-five acres, and on this site he built his castle in the air, and a rare castle it is, too. The house is not one house, but half a dozen, three of stone,one of frame and two of logs.aad he has in this such a combination of solidity, eomfort, novelty and endurance as can no- where be found ou the American continent. All the work was done by local builders and laborers and ail the mouey he has spent bas gone as far as possible into Maryland pocke:s, ® practical example of protective political economy. ‘THE MAIN HOUSE. The main living house of rough gray stone in red mortar, isof the most complex com- posite architecture, with a wonderful yariety of battlements, bay windows, bartizans, con- sales, cortels, rockets, cornices, fin’ buttresses, arches, niches and innumerab tle ornamentations in tile and brick au cotta stuck in here, there and everyw e, bat not visible to the unclothed eye until a study is made in detail, In this building are a dozen or more rooms with a great one, as in castles of old, lying across the entire front with a wide fireplace, a high mantel and books and pictures and'china and bronzes, arare oid clock and easy chairs galore, where everything i nice enough to use to one’s heart's con- nd not be afraid of scratching the WEST FRONT LIVING HOUSE. A hundred feet to the west is a building containing the iibrary, billiard room, “den 4&ec.. aud a hundred feet to the north a other contains the dining room, kitchen, &c., with abig “duteh oven” beyond, and a fuel hose of stone. as are dining room and In this inelosure are also an ice hou pretty summer pavilions and a log house built for the stenographer. An art and @ water tank house are on the abov A stone wall lies between the and the road ana the gates have heavy posts surmounted by vases, which give the piace the air of a palace in the picture books of our youth. hillside THE ORIGINAL corrace, On the north side of the road the original frame cottage still stands, aud near it is a great stone stable. a frame carriage house and a pic- turesque wind m This is Gaplan he home of th.” h. And over sor, ina niche in the wall, stands a m: with shield and b of white, this le; nd I sought for & man among them th xp before x Ezekiel xxii, 30, As it now stands Mr. Townsend has 167 acres of land and an investment of nearly $50,000, A CHARMING VIEW. The location is simply beautifnl. From the gallery of the living house to the west, Pleasant valley lies near at hand, with a dark mountain iy two miles away, but to the ous vistais spread out before the { visiou. Fur off in the blue mists f the Catoctin ich north a their summi touch the circle of the sky, while up and down, the valley is cut into thousand bits of picture by east DINING ROOM, KITCHEN, ETC. fertile fields and forest clumps, with little lazy silver streams meandering off into the hazy dis- tauce. The white spires of Middletownand Jef- ferson point heavenward from beneath the vhadows of the farther range, and at our feet the little town of Burkettsville sleeps in the sun, undisturbed by thought of “boom” or modern development. The picture is a fin- jabed one, avd what it is today a hundred years will find it still the same, AS @ group of us stood silent looking at the seene @ young man of great origwality re- Garked: ow perfectly un ‘* replied a bright girl in the party; “it's more than that. It’s something that makes me teel like I want to be a huadred miles high and with a great big spoon dip down and eat the ‘up. ‘And there is some of that feeling. too, Ses anbeommes pened saier atane vil as cabin of logs | ‘ounds | stand in the | sense that the eve should not have a monopoly of so much loveliness, Gapland is 1,300 feet above the sea and one of the nights we were there, when Washington was floating on a sea of perspiration, we sat by a blazing wood fire and rather enjoyed it. A strong breeze blows night and morning throngh the gap and the air is something to make one's lungs expand until he wants to turn them loose on the mountain side and let them kick up their heeis and go rollicking hither and you. It is 8 miles from Harper's Ferry, 13 from Hagerstown, 15 from Frederick and 58 from Washington, making it convenient of situation. Occupying the gap to the exciusion of all other bouses Mr. Townsend and his family and guests can dance and sing and make merry and enjoy the freedom of the country without disturbing a neighbor any wher Just in front of house the bine and the gtay met in war times and five hundred men were killed and wounded there. But no sign of the battle is left, and if an artist were called to paint a picture of peace, no more ideal set- | ting could be found for it than lies all about Gapland, THE CORRESPONDENT. Of the man himself who has wrought this transformation what can be said? A great deal more than ean be compassed in & newspaper letter. Born on the eastern shore of Maryland, the son of a Methodist minister, Georg: Townsend in 1856, then fifteen year his first newspaper work on tie Philadelphia Press under Mr. Forney. Lefore he was LIBRARY. twenty he went abroad to perfect his educa- tion, writing letters to support himself. and when the war came on he went into the field as & war correspondent, Joing not only excellent work as a writer, but the still more difficult business of getting in earliest with his news, one of the first requisites of the competent newspaper men. Mr. Townsend has traveled ail over Europe, and there is hardly a spot in the United States he has not visited and scarcely a promiuent man he does not know. iis | memory is some- thing wonderful, and ~ his _ faculty for work phenomenal. No newspaper writer in America or the world has written as much and as good matter as he has. Not content with newspaper work he has writteu numerous poems, some of them beautiful ri iniltoa, scene in Washington and the characters well- known people in the official society of the first Years of the republic. fis novels are mostly historical and will always be vainable, with a value increasing by time. For mauy Townsend has been writing for the Enquirer, and his letters over the signature “Gath,” (which, by the way, is only the addition of the letter h to his own initials, for euphony) have become as much a part of the paper as its na Every day he writes or dictates (all his letters are dictated, which he does rapidiy) 2 da half or more for the Kuquirer, he has a letter in the Boston Glohe, sud here his regular newspaper work | ends, Jt is twice as muchas most men do, out he never seems to tire, and froma ten minutes’ | talk with a man on any subject. aud his own wide knowledge, he can prepare a column or more of as useful and interesting matter as can be found in any newspaper in the country. COTTAGE, BTABLES AND WIND MILL. (asK Aton.) His income at times has reached as high as $15,000 a year, but he has not been mean in his living and money has been to him always what it would represent in bappincss to his family aud friends. in 1865 he married and his family consists now of hia wife, a daughter married in New York, with two’ children, and a son, George 1, jr., at school in Pennsylvania, His wife the woman he should have, for she makes his friends her friends, and, with the cheeriest spirit in the world, the brightest black eves, the merriest laugh, the ruggedest health, she keeps bis home an open house tor the young and old, for the grave and gay, they both delight to Lave around them. AS A COLLECTOR, In all bis wanderings he bas been a great collector of odds and ends, and he has also not overlooked the things of value. He has in his library not less than 7,009 volumes, valued at $25,000, including some rare old books, worth their weight in gold; on the wails he has prob- ably 1,500 pictures, a collection now impossible to be duplicated. There are paintings in water and oil, old masters, modern artists, etchings, | old prints, engravings on wood and steel and | copper and stoue. chromos, colored prints, everything, in fact, that one could imagine, and they are scattered about in every nook and Of the pice where there is wall space, y exceptalone the “dutch oven.” He if I mi | has about him a veritable museum, and a week might be profitably spent in a study of these quaint, curious and beautiful specimens, Mr. Townsend is stilla young man, with a constitution of iron and a ‘capacity for work which seems not less vigorous than in his youth. He is only at Gapland a portion of his but when there he is up with the san ways, and op horseback chases the dew from the leaves along the country roads until break- fast time. He 1s a good liver, and his larder aud his cellar are always loaded with the best. d, beavy-set man, with a dark mustache and a strong growth of hair,in which j no ashes of the years have yet fallen, he is not | at all unhandsome, but if any one should com. plimeat him ou his good looks I think he would | wonder what the object ot the flattery was, No better conclusion of the whole matter | concerning the man, his feelings, his work and , bis home can be arrived at than will be found in these Imes, taken without his permission or | knowleage from an album of photographs of | Gapland im which he had inscribed them: ths in glass they wrow— yuse aud none did kuow; at pains I took ouse oF write my book; Joy of arehitec g Adveuture saw this spot Aud treaks their forins devised, Crowds gave to me this grot, And Want this authorized} visa, When w-didilg to sone eburky Bui « di te Wa ef more are born, & a are the nights, So crowing is the morn, Here is the nook I saw Botore sts form could be; And thought some sylvan low Would mace it Arcadie ; Yet uow I know, ealin wixht, 7 uses are Ot elven, Jud what we nobly write Is uever for curselves, The Devil aye intrudes Iu mounta‘n top and cloud, And the Beatitudes Were spoken tothe crowd, ‘This is the place were I should be in bterary solveucy But humor hires me for a trun . Kew tiny Bund adaily dumps 1 bave the bouse to be a man, Bat dwell a» homeless as Lean, How can I keep my house aud wet, ut a gazetet ! whate'er thou art, folly of my heart heli we come to age, be my heritage? os To My shop shail Wik. Written for Tux Evexive Stan. Fate. “I oft in dreams have seen your face, ‘Though ne'er in day's clear light before— Your bloom, your beauty, and your grace— We meet—why should we sever more?” “And I have dreamed of one like you, Whose eyes such love as yours expressed; If Fate should never part us two, Were not two lives supremely blessed?” What more was needed than a Kiss, ‘The twaia in faith’s firm bond to bind? ‘Their wedded days were days of bliss, And Fate, they found, for once was kind. —W. L. Suommacen, QUESTION OF THE DAY Who Has the Right to Kill Seals in the Behring Sea? NATIONS AT LOGGERHEADS. is it a Cloved sen}—Will Engiand and the United States Agree?—Interesting Facts About Seals—What Russia Sold to America—Precedents, ae ROBABLY no question at the present time so completely fills the public mind as the one that involves the Alaskan seal fisheries and the Behring sea troubles, What the final outcome of the whole matter will be is as yet only a matter for conjecture. The seal fisheries area ‘most lucrative and important industry, and it is certain that the United States will not recede from the position it has taken in the matter with- outastruggle. On the other hand there are those who say that England is not the one to submit to losing what she thinks are her natural rights, and that she will insist on the preservation of her own, It is all being done in an apparently amicable manner, and as the matter rests in the hands of somé of the ablest diplomats of the twocountries it is probable that the settlement will be equally friendly, and that the massing of an unusual number of British war vessels on this side of the world is done for the most innocent of reasons and that it is not even expected to carry with it a semblance of moral force, ‘ Although the arguments on the question a pear to bealmost endless the facts that underlie it all, 80 far as they are publicly known, are by no means numerous or complicated. BEHRING 8EA or the sea of Kamchatka is an inclosed triangle with its apex at Behring strait and its base formed bya curved line of islands running across from America to Asia. Including Ni ton’s sound and Bristol bay, its entire are: about 600,000 square miles, The St. George’s Islands and St. Paul's Islands, where most of the seal fishing is done, belong to the Pribyloff group, lying off the coast of Alaska to the southwest of the mouth of the Yukon river. Almost all the rest of the seal fishing, so far as the north Pacific is concerned, is done at the Commander Islands and off the coast. The sovereignty of this great archi- go is claimed by Russia and the United , the line which separates their respective 3 being an imaginary one, running for a distance of 00 miles from Cape Prince of Wales toa point near Attou Island, of the Aleutian group. Of course, up to the time of ceding Alaska to the United States by Russia the latter country claimed absolute jurisdiction over this whole water. This right, however, was chal- lenged at one time, aud it was practically ad- mitted by Russia that the right did not exist. Strange as it way seem, in the light of recent and present events, America joined actively in the protest against Russia’s claims, THE FISHERY QUESTION as it now stands depends for its solution upon the nature of the rights ceded to America by Russia and the disputed point whether or not Behring sea is a closed sea. The question i whether Behring sea shall be regarded as a public fishing ground or as a private preserve, Owing to the rapid extinction of the fur seals from many parts of the world, an extinc- tion by no means dissimilar to that Which be- fell the race of buffalo, the Behring sea fish- cries lmve become immensely valuable. Al- ready the seals have been driven far to the northward by sealing vessels that are regarded by this government as pirates, and it has been estimated that as many as 260,000 seals have been killed in a year by these illegitimate and apparently irresponsible vessels, Seals were formerly captured in numbers off the north- west coast of the United States, and within the memory of people now living they were by no means uncommon as far south as the lower part of Caliiornia. Already they have been driven up into the very northern part of the Pacific ocean and even there they are nothing like as numerous as they Were a few years ago, ‘Then the sealing company that leased from the American government the right to take 100,000 seals per annum used to find it neces- sary to drive back into the water hundreds of thousands of bachelor seals, which they might not touch, This year it has been stated that the feet my would find it difficult, if not even impossible, to get the desired number. Al- though this latter statement has aot met with entire credence the fact remains that if the resent death rate 18 maintained among these juckless pinnipeds the day is not far distant when sealskin muffs and overcoats will have become a thing of the past; and sealskin sacques—objects desired of all women—will be known only by name asa memory of a bygone age. ‘THE BREEDING SEASON, If there are any seal now in the neighbor- hood of the United States their presence is not known, and it would be necessary for them to seek some decidedly isolated rock for a breeding ground. It is more likely by far that there are none left, In the spring of the year, generally about May, the seals begin to go north to the breeding grounds among the islands of Bebring sea, ‘The males precede the females by ten days or two weeks, and when the latter arrive they are met at the shore by their fond spouses, ‘The males, which are very considerably the larger and stronger, pick the females up by the back of the neck in much the same man- ner as @ cat does her young kittens, Each male takes as many wives as he can got in this manner, generally from three to six or eight, and carries them off to the breedin; grounds or “‘rcokeries,” as they are calle Here the male seal guards his harem as jeal- ously as the typical Turk. All the young male seals are driven off and not allowed to come near at peril of their lives. They form the class of bachelor seals,as they are called. and it — that the seal company are permitted to e BABY SEALS, The young are born while the seal are on their rookeries and it is not until well along into the summer that a baby seal is old enough to look out for his own interests in any way. He is not able to take care of himself and each day the mother seal finds it necessary to go out to sea in search of food for her young one at home. A young seal is not a natural swimmer and if he were allowed to go into the water all at once, so to speak, he would drown. So the mother finds it necessary to give the baby numerous ming lessons before she is willing to im go down to the water by himself or in the company of other equally green and reckless youngsters, Until well on tha abla eof denleble etal el aeate 6 skin 18 of iral ity and during the breeding season the mother fells se.) AN EASY PREY TO THE PIRATE SEALER, who makes no discrimination of age or sex. Not being allowed to land, of course, nor to come within the three-mile limit laid down in international law as sacred, the pirate must do all his Killing ous in the open water, A heavy rifle answers his purpose, and as # result many a pretty little baby seal i¢ made en orphan and lett without the slightest visible means of su port. Being too young and guileless to out for himself, and knowing no more about roviding the necessities of life than any other ‘by, his soul soon goes to join that of his sainted mother in some happy land where death ouly comes in secordance with law and the re- vised statutes. Another fact that causes endless waste and destruction is that unless s seal is struck in a certain way it will sink at once and its body cannot be recovered. Thus two out of every three female seal shot out in the open —— stand no sbow at ont hand cir appearance on Rotten Row or 5th avenue, rotecting the form of some proud patrician . As ® resuit of this illegal and indis- criminate method of killing for every one seal that is put upon the market six have met with an untimely death. TO PREVENT THE SLAUGHTER. That some means should be adopted to put ® stop to this wanton and useless slaughter is @ fact thet has never been denied when fairly stated. A few the was made to obtin/aninicraatoual agreement with that suggested was orn view. One pro; a} for acertain ears no vessel should be allowed ts to from whatever fc Behring sen during certala’ moutae is’ the 8 een would probably be an games bg entree in the summer seal Fog yeep gn and in winter they spend their times a stormy region that it would be altogether too dangerous eves to think of capturing them then. Some such action a&this it is thought was in view when called upon Hemla, England and Spree fe ay ia, Engiand and Jay an interanticeal conbecuses 0 thes quesion of geen CaS seal life in Behring sea. This act was ed upon by the other three nations as a tacit concession on the part of the United States of her claims ab- solute sovereignty over the disputed archi- | expo But ut the same time Congress ad passed a law forbidding the “catching of seals within the dominion of the United States in Behring sea except by persons authorized by the United States government, namely, the Alaska Commercial Company,” now the North American Commercial Company, President Harrison also issued # proclamation in which, after reviewing the new law, he warned all per- sous from “entering the waters of Behring sea within the dominion of the United States for the purpose of violating the provisions of said Section 1966, Revised Statutes,” under penalty of arrest and confiscation of property. ENGLAND'S CLAIMS, England bases her case on the argument that America derived all her rights from Russia by purchase and whatever rights Russia possessed belong to this country now, but no more. The English representatives, it seems, take the ground that the well-defined international limit of three miles cannot be increased by aby law passed by the government of one country, aud that this limit cannot be so extended as to take in the whole of a vast open sea. A CLOSED BEA, In international Jawa closed sea or mare clausum is usually understood to mean body of water surrounded by the territory of one power or so nearly surrounded that the water entrance toitcan be protected from either shore, It is masintained | that Behring sea can- not be a closed sca, inasmuch as two nations border upon it, the dividing line between the two being only an imaginary one nearly a thousand miles in length, while the sea itself 8 one entrance from the Pacific ocean proper wide as the distance from Cape Hatteras to New York. This government holds to the the- ory, it is said, that Russia ceded to the United States in the treaty of 1867 all the rights which sbe then claimed as her own in the eastern part of the archipelago—rights precisely similar to those which she still mamtains in the western part, It was understood by that treaty that “the United States government has exclusive Jurisdiction and dominion over the waters east of the treaty boundary from the starting point in Behring strait to the Aleutian chain off Atto Island, and that the Russian government has jurisdiction and dominion west of the same line. It is claimed by those who hold the ‘closed sea theory” that the line of the demarcation between the two nations running from Cape Prince of Waies to the Alentian Islands suffices to make a mare clausum of the western half of Behring sea, However this may be it is cér- tain that Russia’s claim to supreme authority over the North Pacific was questioned and de- nied almost seventy years ago. THE NORTH PACIFIC. In the early part of this century the region around the North Pacific was regarded by all the civilized world as a howling wilderness peopled only by blood-thirsty savages, and in every way anything but adesirable territory, ‘The claim of Russia to sovereignty based upon original discovery was by some put at 55 de- grees north latitude, while others held that the explorations of Capt. Alexis Chirikoff in 1741 pest the true boundary between the paral- cls of 48 degrees and 49 degrees, This latter claim, however, was vir- tually abandoned in the convention between the United States and Russia in April, 1824. It is generally admitted now that in the early discussions about boundaries the various nations were more concerned in the principles that were involved than they were about the question of getting territory that they all con- sidered worthless, except for its fur trade. When the matter of territory was involved it became a question of latitude rather than of an area of continent or any particular group of islands, The czar and many of the court famil; of Russia were interested in the Russian-Ameri- can Company and Russia realized more fully than any other nation the value of the fur trade on the coast. In his, desire to monopolize all this fur trade and the attending commerce and trade of various sorts the czar in 1821 issued a akase claiming full control over the whole of the North Pacific and forbidding all other nations to so much as think of enjoying any of the trade on that tion of the earth’s surface. This was at once met with an indignant protest from Great Britain and the United States and it was urged that such a claim was absurd and entirely in- admissible in international law. Spain also protested, but with her it was more a matter of principle than interest,as she had no real trade in that eS of the country. ‘the case was different with this country, however, for we had already built up quite a prosperous trade with the stations in the North Pacitic and Bos- ton, especially, was doing a first rate business then with that section of the world. RUSSIA'S BACKDOWN. It has been said that inasmuch as the citizens of the United States were the first to explore and establish trade in many parts of the region, and an English officer the first to chart a greater part of it, and as both had traded with little molestation on the coast for more than thirty years, it was intolerable that such @ ques- tion should be treated by ukase and settled b; the edict of but one of the parties pomsceate!f Mr. Pierce's adnunistration was decidedly active in objecting to this way of disposing of the matter, England, believing the United States had a leaning toward the Russian side of the question, decided not to join with us in prosecuting the matter. Consequently the first convention beld was between the United States and Russia in 1824, audin the treaty that re- suited from it Russia pa ee withdrew from the untenable position she had occupied. For a period of ten years the fur trade was free to all parties, Like concessions were made to England in a treaty about a year later, and all that Russia ever received in return for this was the admission of her sovereignty along the cuast to the parallel of 54° 40’. 4 BRITISH VIEW. In a letter which Lord Salisbury wrote to the British minister at Washington, September 10, 1887, commenting upon the results of the treaties, he said: “The convention between the United States of America and Russia of April 17, 1824, putan end to any further pretension on the part of Russia to restrict navigation or fishing in Beh- ring sea, so far as American citizens were con- cerned, for, by article 1, it was agreed that in any part of the great ocean commonly called the Pacific ocean or South sea the respective citizens or subjects of the high contracti powers shall neither be disturbed nor restraine either in navigation or fishing, and a similar stipulation in the convention between this coun- try (England) and Russia in the Sotiowing yet (May 15, 1825,) put an end, as regarded British subjects, to the pretensions of Russia, and which had been entirely repudiated by her majesty’s government in correspondence with the Russian government in 1821 and 1822.” ‘THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA. In 1867 Secretary Seward opened negotia- tions for the purchase of Alaska, the result of which was that Russis ceded all her claims to that territory for $7,500,000, Since that time the question of the sovereignty over the waters has never been seri mooted until com- paratively recently. Wit the extinction of the sea otter has been com- plete and a number of fishermen thereuy to work to kill seal in open water. ith aid of iapones modern weapons this was soon found to be not only possible but a deci lucrative occupation. As s natural result & number of vessels were equipped and sent up from American and Canadian ports to bring back as many skins as they possibly could. Now, the whole question has been moopened in ite entirety. Have aliens @ right to fish in i it permission from American government? 80, how is the to be secured to them? If not, are taay to be prevented trom ons oo ie Sie. gitimate occupation? time slone can answer the question. cing, boating, fshing, horses, from E. £0. cation eu cory Soaring cluding reserve seat both directions, $1. TALKING ABOUT CAMP. National Guardsmen Getting Reade to Tent Out. THE GROUND ALL READY. How the Commissary Department will be Managed—Work ou theRifieRange —Result of Surgeon Sumby’s Trial Notes From the Armorics, Ree ee ATIONAL GUARDSMEN in Gen. Ord- way'’s brigade use up most of their spare time just now in talking about ‘the annual encampment so near at hand. With the comrades who camped with them last year they lay plans for an improved condition of affairs this time, and the new recruit they regale with stories—probable and improbable—of alleged experiences at Fort Washington last July. Of one thing every man can be sure: whether it rains in torrents or is hotter than Chicago, notbing has been left undone that can be regarded as essential to military happiness; the camp cannot pos- sibly fail of success. Gen. Ordway is giving a great deal of time and attention to the pro- liminaries and soares number of the more active officers. Parties go down three or four times a week and all the improvements are made under careful supervision. There is hardly a place where some improvement has not been made and to enumerate one-half of the Ay lake which things have been bettered would be a good deal of a job. The first thing to strike the average visitor—and if it happens to be raining it will strike the a.v. quite favor- aie the sidewalk. When it rains that walk will be the dryest pla¢e in camp unless the imi- tation canteen be excepted. The carpenter has been busily engaged at the headquarters build- ing. He has succeeded in making the old farm hbonse quite habitable, and in a few days the adjutant general will take possession of the downstairs room on the right-hand side of the doorway, while the opposite apartment will be sacred to the uses of the it quartermaster Headquarters tents will be Pitched much nearer the buil than they were last year. All the old outbuildings have been removed and the tendency seems to be toward central- izing the camp. So far as the cavalry and artillery are concerned the centralization will not amount to much. It had been proposed to move those two commands down to the ground which was Occupied last year by the seventh and eighth battalions, but it has been finally decided to leave things just as they were so far as the relative situations are concerned. Ready for the prancing steeds that are now eating the oats of idleness in private and livery stables are the newly constructed sheds. Beneath the shelter of these substantial structures the troop horse or the driver's favorite profanity-pro- voker will defy the sunshine and the storm, The mangers and feed boxes are all ready, and 80 are the flies. The latter have been waiting around ever since the stables were located. THE COMMISSARY. Down in the fort, where Commissary Ser- geant Neumeyer has been the monarch regnant for the past few weeks, matters are in very good shape. The new buildings are up and have been adorned with a sufficiency of white- wash. The biggest of these frame structures is 100 feet long, to be used as a sort of auxiliary kitchen. Here the six 90-gallon cauldrons wiil assist materially in the brewing of coffee and the cooking of soup. The cauldrons will only occupy one-half of the available space, and it has mn decided to use the remaining fifty feet as a place in which to wash and store the dishes. Bouth of the old mess sheds anew shelter has been erected for the guardsmen who by reason of duties will find it impossible tobe on hand at the regular meals, All the ranges have been reset, and the chances of such @ conflagration as was threatened last year are much smaller and less numerous than they were. In this connection it may not be amiss to state that » portable fire extinguisher may make its appearance at the fort before opera- tions commence. There is a good deal of in- flammable material inside the fort and the gen- eral does not propose to take more chances than he has to, This is a good opportunity for some fire-extinguisher company to come to the front and receive a big advertisement for dis- laying its goods and having them in readiness = a ible contingency. On Monday the bi, fer tanks, the ‘ity of which is 4,000 allons, will be placed in position, The re- ‘rigerator—one of the old bomb-proofs—is twice as large as it was last year. it will call for two tons of ice each day, and it will get it. Breakfast and dinner will be served in the mess sheds, but, as was announced in Tue Srar some time ago, the luncheon supper will be distributed around camp. Each company will be given a coffee bucket and the quarter- master will also furnish each with a sandwich box, These utensils will not be interchange- able, but will be decorated with the company's designation, When supper time is near at hand two large two-horse wagons will make the rounds, One wagon wili be occupied by coffee in # liquid and more or less torrid condition; the otuer vehicle will be loaded with san wiches, A non-commissioned officer of each company will receive his company bucket, con- taining one pint of coffee for euch officer and enlisted man. He will also receive the sandwich box, and in this, if there has been a fair count and no intimidation, will be found two able- bodied sandwiches for each blue coat in the company, This informal sort of a meal will enable the soldiers to pay some attention to relatives and friends that may have goue down to camp to see how the boys look on dress rade. A a tpe served in the fort would keep the dear gir! and their beaus apart for an un- reasonably long period. Incidentally it may be mentioned that any- body whose appetite rises above his rations will be able to fill his stomach without having to go to Hiver View; the general and the geu- erally hungry, public may also get some of it— for # consideration. The long building in which there was a variety store last year will be looked after this year by Mr. T. A. Sullivan, who for so many years was with Godir te Sullivan will endeavor to supply the demand which may exist tor sandwiches, coffee, milk, jie, clam chowder, fried chicken, chicken roth, roast beef, vegetables, soda water, ice cream and other articles of food or drink, and Mr, Sullivan will endeavor to carry out his con- tract without doing his utmost to accumulate a fortune mw six or seven days, THE STEWARD. Reassuringly interesting toa good many of the guardsmen it may be to announce that the services of Mr, J, Smith Wormley have been secured as steward. Mr. Wormley will have control, under the commissary department, of the battalion of cooks and waiters whose busi- ness and delight it will be to prepare and serve food for the brigade whose emblem is inseparably connected with the personal his- tory of the gentleman whose bones are locked up in e diminutive and inexpensive brick shed just across the Potomac from Fort Washington, and to visit which costs as much money ag would buy four bottles of apollinaris water. THE RIFLE RANGE. Work on the rifle range is pretty well ad- vanced in spite of the numerous and bardly-to- be-appreciated difficulties that were in the path of improvement, The difficulties under which fuon fiber down in ‘Ghebxayins’ are hardly to be underatood by any one not familiar with the region in its present condition. The various firing points are all re bridge site was selected on last, 2 ra ay cll, Mr. U1 oan being Maj. Pollard, . Un is building ban OO, and a Sean Sig xcep| necessit induce * Bell to donoend into ‘that ravine. None of the ering i ey Fs | F fe i fy f hee if | i fi 1 pelled a great man: to stay in camp sll night, pol to CS agg eed 4 and ta the alarm of their relatives in the city. That tain will bi to his ae. m pak ro oad Tepeat ‘TO FEED 1,200 mex. The question of feeding 1,200 men is matter | Wats sr‘ane of large importance both to the providers and this very important . are has been losing flesh rapidly in his efforts to get things straightened out. Just now, how- ever, his face wears a peaceful expression and he looks satisfied with himeelf and all the world, In fact i is ip a advanced stage and the chances seem to be that the eating arrangements will work like clockwork this Year. At the last camp there was considerable complaint, but the difficulty seemed to be with the'cooking of the food and not with the ar- ticles themselves. New arrangements have been made this year, and if the program is carried out there should be little or no complaint, Nobody will expect to get tartle soup at camp, but the fi will be good and sustaining even if the frills are left to the imagination. THE PROVISION PROBLEM. Sergeant Neumeyer is now engaged in mak- ing exchanges of provisions, It is a problem knowing just what to have atcamp. The gov- ernment issues the regulation army rations for that many men for the time of camp, and these rations are calculated down to almost one-ixteenth of an ounce. The commissary department take the issued rations and some j they keep, while others are sold and the money used in ti Pgaeees of fresh goods, meats, vegetables, &c. t takes a good lot of provisions to keep 1,200 men going, as can be sven from the list, which shows just what rations have been issued by the United States for the camp this year. As has been stated, many of the articles are to be traded off for fresh provisions. This is the list: 600 pounds mess pork, 6,315 pounds bacon, 1,500 pounds corned beef in 6-pound cans, 1,875 pounds corned beef in 2-pound cans, 79 barrels flour, 2,058 pounds beans, 1 pounds coffee, 2,058 pounds sugar, 137 g: vinegar, 649 pounds soap, 343, pounds pepper, 549 pounds salt, 2053¢ pounds candles, 45 bot- tles yeast powder. BUSY BTAFF DFFICERS. Lieut. King, who will be ordnance officer at Camp Washington, bas been baving a busy time of it during the past three or four days and so has Ordnance Sergeant Campbell. They have been at the storehouse adjoining the Winder building issuing camp supplies. Supplies means everything—clothing, helmets, blankets, horse equipments, and the hundred and one little things that are necessary to the | soldier in camp. Capt. Parmenter, who will be post-quartermaster, has also been keeping an eye or two on the supplies, This year it is hoped that but few of the gaardsmen will an- noy Gen. Ordway as some of them did just previous to last camp. At that time a great many of the men apparently forgot that there were such officers as captains and quarter- masters and actually went to brigade head- quarters and bothered the general in person about such minor matters as the exchanging of caps and belts, and the general, pitying the in- excusable ignorance of his numerous and an- noying visitors, allowed himself to be bothered, THE RESULT OF THE SUMBY TRIAL. The proceedings in the Sumby court-martial have been made public, Every member of the National Guard knows something of the charges and specifications in this case. Surgeon Sumby of the seventh battalion was charged by Maj. Revells with drunkenness and with conduct un- becoming an officer and a gentleman. These offenses, the accused alleged, were committed, if at all, when he was acting as an officer of the Capital City Guards—an organization, his counsel claimed, that was entirely distinct from the National Guard. The court decided that a member of the National Guard is always re- sponsible to his superior officers tor his public conduct, no matter what clothing he may wear, and so long as he remained a member of the | guard he could not get away from its jurisdic- tion. The court adjudged Surgeon Sumby guilty on all the charges and sentenced him to be dismissed. The President has approved the findings and sentence. Heretofore companies that have a semi-independent orgenization have imagined they could bebave just as they pleased og they were away from home in their own uniforms, The decision of this cor duly approved by the President of the Unite States, may give them new light’ Rowdyiem will = longer be tolerated in the District Guar. THE FIFTR BATTALION. Those changes in the fifth battalion have begun to arrive, but they are only the shadow of what is coming along pretty soon. Capt. Robinson of company © has resigned, and so hfs his second leiutenant, Mr. Reed. Another one who has turned in his commission is Second Lieut. Arnold of company A of the fifth, Second Lieut. E. B. Holcombe of company C, sixth battalion, has been transferred to com- pany D of the fifth, Gen. Ordway says he will | make the fifth as good as any battalion in the guard. NOTES, And now everybody wants to be wearing a hatchet. Sometime ago the general adopted the hatchet of George Washington as the dis- tinctive badge of the local soldiery, and re- cently he had made a few miniature specimens with pins attached. These be gave to members of his steff. They (the hatchets) have been much admired and they will be Worn &8 8002 48 arrangements have been made sven firm of local jewelers to put them on the market. 180, Maj. Brackett’s battalion, the second, will | it have @ battalion drill on Monday evening. ‘This will afford a very desirable opportunity to those who want to see a battalion drill “ax is a | battalion drill.” | There is _no longer a vacancy on the brigade non-commissioned staff; the last one has been filled by the appointment of Edward Dunn as | Py brigade sergeant major. For thirty-six years | Mr. Dunn was inthe Marine Corps and for twenty years he was sergeant major. He is, without doubt, the best drill master in the United States, and he brings to his new position @ thorough knowledge of matters military. His appointment gives general satisfaction, | Sergeant Major Robert Seyboth of the third battalion has been recommended for commis- sion as adjutant of the third tosucceed Lieut. —_ elected captain of company © of the thir First Sergeant Charles A. Meyer has been recommended for commission as second lieu- tenant, company A, second battalion, to suc- ceed Morrow, resigned. Staff Sergt. Eugene Corvaizier, on whose broad shoulders the entire brigade confidently and complacently leans, will go down to Fort Washington on Monday. He has been there before, ‘many a time,” but this time he will a= f ae, Guard breaks camp. He | will see that necessary preparations are | paged made and if nee a do not go just as @ believes they ought to he will give his Paris-| jan accent such an out-door airing as it | has not had since it was fired at the French | cooks in Camp Ordway. ! Brigade Hospital Steward Grimes will also go down tothe fort ou Monday, He will superin- | tend the finishing touches which are being put to that storehouse of blackberry brandy aud other popular medicines—the post dispensary. } ——___ | THE COURTS. oe | i fF . HE = if ;3 § h i ° ly |G ee tty generally aro AUCTION SALES. 5 5 CHANCERY SALE OF THE REMAINDER OF VALC- soot, end Sorgeent Roumeyer ENIMPMOVED AND CRIMPROVED Paco: Is GEOnG! af 8 dee the, Guyeeane Court of the a decree of the Supreme Cou of Columbia Gated T4th day of Apel, 180, oy 0. 1213, ee other are def ¢ Uudersuched, ae Truntows, Wil offer for sale in front of the prewises on TUES: DAX. THE TW “SECOND DAY OF JULY, 1800, all the right, ttle and interest of the parties to aid cause tu & toils desert feel coral, @tuated in Georgetown, D. C., viz. Iu square 120, I 0. in Beatty and Hewkine adieu, frosting 20 foot on the south side of 7th (1) atrect between. Frederick ee En In square 83, one lot fronting 24 92 feet on Frede- (34th) street between Sd CP) street and 4th 1Q) eset pn darth of 150 ct, atrovent ty & goad te ory frame dwe: ng parte of lots 4 end ii Hoatty and Hawktoe aneudedadareen ss Jot it san ing t q atty aud H: equare imuuediately north of mentioned lt aud 4 commedi- an alicy house, ue square according to 8 substi Vision made by the trustees of the veoaut ground at the southwest corner of Frederick (4th) strect and 4th (Q) street, four <4) of which tots have «front oa by the same depth, and ome (1 yof Which has a front op 41h (Q) street of 16 feck bye depth of 93 fret to an alley. here will also be sold ‘Terms of aale as prescribed by the decree: One. third of the purchase money in cash and the balance in equal ments atone and {Wo Years with iuteress A depost of 100 on each lot will be required, and if terms ot sale are mot plied with in 10 days property will be resold risk and ¢ jauiting purchaser. 4 eyancin J. CARTER MAKBLK purchaser. " S90 ay wt, a HUGH T. TAGGART. Troston, 3y10-ARds 2 oe S240 Niet. mw. ATCLIFFE, DAKE & CO, Auctionsers, Peuns) Ivana avenue a Ww. TWO-STORY BRICK STORE AND DWELLIN: No. 441 FIGHIN STREST SOUTHWEST, oo Mod FLEKNOON, JULY FOUKRTERSTA, AT SIX O'C ” LOCK, We wiil offer for sale jn front of the premises, re UAL . 5 feet on fighth sirect by a depth of 90 Fronting feet, running back toan 18-foot S-inch alley. This Proper.y ts how under wood rental aud presente an eax" cellent opportunity fur an investweut, one and two years, ini-anuually, secured Property sold. A deposit of bid. Uf terms of sale are wot Terms: One-third cash, 6 per cent per anuum, yaser paper publish All conveyancing, & ‘Rat Sy3-d&ds eas DARK Auctioneers, Peapeviyauia & TWENTY-FIGHT VPRY VALUABLE BUILDING LOTS ON G. SEVENTH AND EIGHTH STREETS TO CLOSE THE APFALKS OF A SYNDICAT On TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY FIFTEENTH, ATSIX O'CLOCK. wo will offer for sale tu front of the Premises to close th Los 11 LOTS 3 IN SQUARE 8Y0. LOTS 1 TO 14 FRONT G STREET NORTHEAST, Lois 15.50 21 FRONT SEVENTH SikbeT LOTS 38 TO 44 FRONT EIGHTH STREET NORTHEAST. 101s 1 AND 14 HAVING A FRONT OF 19.1 BY 4 DEPTH OF 116 FEET, BALANOF 17.6x116. Lots 15 AND 16 FRONT 16.3116, BALANCE 16x16, ° LOT 44 1632116, BALANCE 16x116. ‘These Lows are the most jc in the northeast and should command the attention of partes ip search of valuable building sites, All running back to an Subject to s deed of trust of #517 0n each Per cent ver a.num, payable semi-epuu payable on or bef. ite years from Juno i8b0: nee cash. A deposit of #100 on euch lot at time of sale. If terms of sale are ‘not complied with in fifteen days from day of sale Tight reserved to resell the property at the rink and cost of the defaulting purchaser vertigement in some Lew spay: ington, D.C. All com "ints of ley. ‘Termss lot at after five da: published an Wash att oe REE DD UXCANSON BOS. Auctioneere, TRUSTEE*’ SALE OF TWO-STORY BRICK BACK BUILDING AND CELLAR HOUSE, No. 1221 M STREET NOKTH By virtue of a deed of trust duly recorded in Liber No. 1003, folio NB et ne lana “ Lot three (3) of heirs of John Davidson's stbdiva of part of equare two hundred and eiglity -oue and being en! ip parts of orurmal lots t four (4) and five (5), together withall the in wente, ways, eesement, rights, privileges @ud apr fenances to the sae Delonging oF in any wie apper- ‘Terms of sale: *; cash, balance in one (1). three (3) years, with interest £1 rate of six (6) per cent ly, to be pect on property sold, haser. Deposit of veyancing. &e., at purchaner's sale are not complied with In 10 f sale the trustees reserve the rikht to K and Cont o! efaulung purchaser dvertisement of wuch resale iD some hed in Washington, D.C ROBERT 0." HOLTZMAN, W. F. QUICKSALL, Trustees. 10th and F streets n.w _ty2-dkds IHOMAS DOWLING, Auctioneer. TORY SIX-ROOM BRICK FUPTH STREET NOkTH- hind cr i six, twelve and eighteen mouths, with notes bearing secured by a deed of tru all cash, purchaser, | All conveya cost. €100 deposit req: _ 30-4 UNCANSON SEVERAL VERY CHOICE BUILDING LOTS IN HYATISVILLE, MAKYLAND, ON HIGH GROUND, IN SEOUND SQUARE FROM DLPOT, Ad PUBLIC AUCTION. Ou TUESDAY, JULY FINTEENTH, 1800; at 81x PCLOCK P.M, we will sell on the «row ote 14, 7 and 18, ip square ©, each lot 45 fh by 140 (6,300 square foe), with alley mi rear. ‘f are mM the new and growing ‘section cf Hyatt two uew ebure: ESving been built ob same aq) nd gravel Lots « brick sidewalk to de cash, at buyer's option. Deporit ct #50 at sale of each dot required. Conveyancing, recording, & Cont, and terms to be cou lied with in fifteen DUNCANSON BKOS., wcuoHeEis, ATCLIPFE, DARE & CHANCERY SALE OF IMPROVED ‘ON NORTH SIDE OF H STREET FOURTH AND FIFTH STREETS NOKTHWEST, AT AUCTION. By virtue of @ Gveree of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, passed ou the 13th day of June, A.D. 1890, in equity cause 115: 5 where bopbia Seutter, guardian, is complaiuaut aud Char HL. Bilier et al ‘are defeu Twill oftertor sale, Se front of the premises, ou WEDNESDAY. SIX1 EENTH DAY OF JULY, A.D! 1890, at SIX O'CLOCK P M., i thet certart jucce of parcel of laud lying aud beams iu the city of Washington, District of Columbia. aud known as part of lot 1 humbered five hundred a: hing foF the saiue at a, point ou thirteen (13) feet six (6) inches from the southwest corner lot aud runuing thence north thirty (30) fect; thence east one (1) foot four (4) inches: thence north thirty-nine (39) feet nine () iuches. more or less, to the rear live of that portion of said lot heretofore sold tothe corporation of Wasti : Sylvester, theuce aloux said bered se Ven ‘ER AXD PUBLISHER, 1108-1. ais & ST. AW.