Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1891, Page 10

#. THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. D.C... SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1891—SIXTEEN PAGES. THE VALLEY OF CUZCO The Fortress That Defended the An- cient Peruvian Capital, WONDERFUL ENGINEERING In the Building of the Immense Walls About the City—The Museum of San Andres—A From The Star's Traveling Commissioner. Cuzco, Peav, 1891. portant are those found on a near-by hill, called Sachahauman. Here was not only the fortress that defended the ancient capital, but the palnce of Manco Capac, the first Inca. By the way, the word capac signifies “powerful” in the Peruvian tongue. and was applied to several of Manco’s successors—as was Yupan- qui. meaning “rich in all the virtues.” Inca means king or monarch. Im the old daye Sachahnaman had several terraces, each four yards high and proportion- ately long, reached by a stairway passing throngh a sort of tunnel. This opening led to a vast inclosnre surrounded by walls twenty feet high, which contained numerous narrow niches, like cupboards. The fortress, said to have been built about the year 1113, is are- markable piece of work, and held the same re- lation to Cuzco that “the Kock” does to Gi- braltar or the Acropolis did to Athens. It consists of three terrs b7 feet higher the city, reached by a 4, which was #0 conatructe 3 Military men say that its walls were built in accordance with the best engineering science of modern times, its only assnilable side being pro~ vided with sulients, so that its defenders could cover every point by a parallel fire. WALLS OF IMMENSE LIMESTONE BLOCKS. The wails were composed of immense blocks of cut limestone, and each salient had one of these at its end. Blocks measuring fifteen feet long. twelve feet wide and ten feet thick are common im the outer walls, and there is one eat stone twenty-seven feet high. fourteen t wide and twelve feet thick, piled upon another of elrsost equal dimensions. Kemem- Dering thet these enormous maxes were hewn fr ¢ hills and fashioned into shape by a ignorant of the use of iron; that they were brought from distant quarries without the aid of beasts of burden, raised to their elevated position on the sicrra and adjusted with the nicesta without machinery,one ia filled with astonishment. Twenty thousand men are said ta have been employed for fifty years on thix great structure, and it was but rt of a ayxtem of fortifications which th Incas established throughout their domains. There were three towers ou Sechahuaman, each some distance from the others: one most elab- orately carved. Tnea, and the others held by a garrison of Peruvian nobles, commanded by officers of royal blood—for the position was considered of too great importance to be intrusted to inferior hands. Below the towers were several subtesrancan galleries com- municating with the city, now mostly obstructed by failen debris. TTS DEFENSE ON THE OTHER SIDE. Cuzeo was also defended on the other side by & single wall of great thickness, 1.200 feet long. and in another place by two semi-circular walls of the same length, separated a considerable distance. All were built of heavy blocks of cut limestone and, though no cement was used, the enormous stones were so carefully adjusted | that to this day a knife blade cannot be thrust between them. ‘The best iden of how the old capital must have looked before the conquest may be gained in the street now named Triunfo. The re- mains of several ancient palaces are ineorpor- ated into its modern houses, among them the House of the Virgins of the Sun. i sort of crescent-shaped platform, which is be- lieved to have been the principal altar of sacri- ice in the Sun temple. and the fainous Piedra Haroada or “‘stone with cuttings.” which shows seats. steps, basins and altar, all hewn out of one immense rock. Near by is the Roadero, or ~place where the sun was tied up’—a gigantic stone ring, which shows the meridian of Cuzco. ‘The old aqueduct, which brought water to the city from Lake Chicheros, twelve miles away, was partially destroyed by the Spaniards: and there is another, even more curious, which Jends down from the lofty fortress, mostly by underground passages. THE MUSEUM OF SAN ANDRES. Among the sights of modern Cuzco which the tourist must not neglect are the Museum of San Andres; « wonderful arch and some spiral stops in the charch of La Compania: a comical. but much venerated painting, representing purgatory, in the church of San Francisco: pit filled with water behind the high altar of the cathedral. which is believed to have been an Inca bathing pool, fed by unknown sprin, the Casa of Senor Don Silvac, wherein the Spanish soldiers played with ‘ice for the golden sun stolen from the temple: some re- markable arches in the inner court of the co: ventof La Merced: a beautifully carved pulpit of jet black wood in the Church of Santa Ana, representing on twelve panels the lives and acta of the Apostles; in short, wherever one turns something strange and mte: admiration. Remains of many other temples, fortresses and palaces may be found in the neighborhood of Cuzco. There are villages whose people live in stone casas that were erected five or six centuries ago-their walls unchanged, though the thatched roofs have been many times re- mewed. In other places the lazy half-breeds have built little buts of cane and straw by the side of the more substantial dwellings of their ancestors rather than to take the trouble of re- mowing the larger roofs. DELIGHTFUL SUBURBAN EXCURSIONS. Various delightful excursions may be made from Cuzco without incurring great fatigue. It ie s pleasant horseback ride of only twen! four miles to Lake Huaipo, on the road to Ura- bamba. The latter Indian town, as well as Yueay and Huarlirba, is quaint enough to re- Pay ® visit. They lie’ in the valley of Ucayali, where both climate and scenery are the most perfect on the face of the earth. In this Pera- vian Eden are natural groves of fruit trees— figs, apricots, mangoes, chirmoyas. &c. immense fields of trawberries. Yucay was the ancient bathing resort of the Incas and their courts. There are exhaustless springs and pools and sparkling rivers, fed from the eternal snows of mountains, and masy basins of hewn stone that probably served for private reservoirs. A good pedestrian may walk through this charming valley and enjoy ever} mile of it. We rode, carrying no outtit but the inevitable Kodse, and ev most hospitable entertainment from the poor but kindly people. A CURIOUS FREAK OF NATURE. From Urubamba to Ollataytambo is twelve miles, under the shadow of wide-spreading trees which during half the year are a mass of scarlet blossoms, while a mountain river ripples on each side of the way. Just before entering Ol- lataytambo one sees, high up on a wall of sund- stone, the collossal figure of a man outlined in veins of iron oxide. Of course it is a freak of nature, but many «uperstitious stories are told concerning its origin, and no native will pass the place without taking off his hat, crowing himself and repeating an Ave Marie. "Close by this apparition are three stoue houses. uo stained yellow, which appear to hang like bards’ nests on the very brink of @ precipice, high up the mountain side, and are said to bave been Inca hospitals. One may spend a profitable week in Ollatey- tambo examining ruins and fortifications and will be sure of a welcome in the house of the curate. The village is doubly interesting from having been the stronghold of Ollanto, a das! Roble who fell in love with the beatiful ter of In upac Yupanqui aud stole ber from the House of the Virgiae of the Sun in Cusco: He kept ber, too, in spite of all the hosts of the empire, for five long years, until tured at last by strategy by spellable be stone eves,” when alive in the where met with STORY OF THE PROPLE. One would like to know something definite about the several millions of remarkable peo- ple who were ruling nearly one-quarter of the MONG MANY REMAINS OF ANTIQUITY which the pilgrim to this Peruvian mecca must not fail to visit perhaps the most im- g evokes | his geography is often faulty. He ays that the | ancient empire of Pern extended from about | the second degree north Intitude to the thirty- seventh ¢ south,embracing all the modern republics of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chili. Its western boundary was of course the Pacific, but its eastern has never been clearly deter mined. In some places it spread out far be- yond the Andes, and in others the territory of barbarous tribes came down to within a few miles of the coast. The authority above men- tioned states that its widest portion was not more than 360 miles across. THE WISDOM OF THEIR INDUSTRY. Certainly the Incas must have been a very wise and industrious people; and perhaps the secret of their power lay in the wisdom of their industry. The topographical arpect of most of the country appears so unfavorable to purposes of agriculture and internal communication that one wonders how so vast a population could have found support. Nature works on 0 im- mense a scale in these parts that it is only when viewed froma grent distance one can faintly comprehend the relation of the several parts to tupendons whole. The Andes rarely run in ingle line, but more frequently in several | parallel or oblique chains. The numerous huge | volcanoes that look to the voyager on the Paci fic like independent masses arc all peaks of the same magnificent system so often culled “the backbone of the hemisphere.” that, coming northward from the Straits of Magelian, attai its loftiest elevations near the equat dually subsides as it nears the isthmus, ris- | ing again in the picturesque mountains of Cen- tral America, the Sierra Madras of Mexico, the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas of the north. The early Peruvians dubbed these stupendous heights “copper mountains.” Antes, (meaning copper) being the original word, which the Spaniard corrupted into “Andes.” ' Their west- ern steps, with xplintered and precipitous sides of granite and porphyry, and the higher re- gions wrapped in snows that resist even the | Equatoriaf sun and melt only under their own voleanic fires do not offer a more encouraging field to the farmer than the deserts, where rain seldom falls, that stretch between them and the ocean. EVERY ROD WAS UTILIZED. Yet every rod was utilized, and in order to waste no available inch of soil they buried th dead in cavesand built their own dwellings | upon rocks. They terraced every hill and mountain to its ‘summit, the terraces bein often narrow as the steps’ of a stairway an walled with stones, and they filled every crevice in the rock with soil where there was room for talk of corn to grow. These evidences of their patient toil are still plainly to be seen, and often the aerial gardens lie on much ste} that one wonders how anybody could have found foothold to cultivate them. In order to | utilize the deserts—which seldom exceed fifty miles in width and sometimes narrow down four or five—they excavated great areas in the sand until they reached sufficient moisture for vegetation, and then brought guano from dix tant islands of the Pacific. Their irrigation system was perfect, their ditches extending hundreds of miles ‘and curving around the | hills, here sustained by high walls of masonry, | there cut throngh the solid rock or carried over the valleys on enormous embankments. Mas- sive dams and reservoirs wore built to collect | the floods that came from the melting snows of the mountains, and this supply was conducted to rainless localities. ' ROYAL ROADS IN MOUNTAIN PASSES. | | One would think that communication would | | be impossible between the different parts of | | the long, narrow Inca territory by reason of the wildness of the mountains with their awful | precipices, furious torrents and numerous que- radas, ot “breaks,” whose depth the traveler, winding along ® pathway far above the clouds, vainly endeavors to fathom. Baron von Hum- | boldt says: “There are crevices so deep that if | | Vesuvins or the Puy de Dome were seated in the | | bottom of them they would not rise to the | level of the surrounding ridges.” Yet an in- dustrious population lived along the ridges of the loftiest plateaus, while towns and hamleta, in the midst of orchards and gardens, seemed suspended in midair. The populons plains of Quito are nearly 10,000 feet above the sea, and | there are even higher valleys and plateaus. 1 tereourse was maintained between these nume! | ous settlements by means of the royal roads that traversed the mountain passes, opening easy communication between Cuzco and the remotest parts of the empire: and the old roads are better today. though never repaired, than any the Spaniards have since made. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE INCAS. The government of the Incas, however arbi trary in form, was truly patriarch: in spirit. | The policy they pursued for the prevention of | evils that might have disturbed the perfect order of things is exemplitied in their pro- visions against poverty and idleness. In ¢ they discerned the two great causes of disaffec- | in a populons i wisely guarded | against them. ‘The unremitting industry people was secured not only by their compul- sory occupation at home, but by their constant | employment in those ’ public works which covered every part of the country. and which still bear testimony, even in decay, to their | TRICKS WITH TOOTHPICKS. “The Explosive Raft,” “The Monogram,” “The Cross” and “The Window Sash.’ From the New York Herald. One good way to “kill time” can be found in trying to demonstrate the possibilities of the toothpick. Few people have any idea of the number of mystifying tricks and puzzles that can be done with a few of those little splinters orthe amount of enjoyment there is in this novel pastime. In the first place the picks must be of wood and as pliable as possible—in fact, the more Pliable the better. If toothpicks are not handy matches may be substituted, but there is an objection to the use of the latter because they are unclean and break before they bend. One of the more picturesque of the toothpick tricks is called “the explosive raft.” Itcan be formed with eight picks in this manner: ‘rst, cross two picks, place another pick on top, and hold the throe Armly with your thamb and forefingor; then in- sert another pick under the two at the top and over the onein the cen- ter, and do likewise ‘THE EXPLOSIVE RAFT. with those at the bot- tom. Then the raft is bulf completed. Turn it around, place another pick across the center | and wedge’ two more sticks under and over the | ends of chose at the sides. READY YOR TWO EXPLOSIONS. ‘Then the work is finished and the little affair is ready to be blown up. Of course there is a geeat deal of tension on the pick | must be released with the flame to one of t moments you will witness two | that wil | rove an unfailing source | of amusement to the little ones, whose deft fin- gers will probably have no ditticulty in making the skeleton-like craft. Next comes “the monogram.” This trick consists of making the letters “X” and “¥” out | of four picks. This would be a very simple | thing todo were it not for the fact that the letters must be interwoven in such a manner | that they will not fall to pieces when th ey are | lifted up. It is done in this fashion: Hold one pick in the left hand, place the end of another THE MoNooRAM. on it near the bottom, inclining it upward at an angle of about thirty degrees; rt the sume | angle insert a third pick under the first near | the top aud wedge a fourth under and over the | ends on the right and the deed is done. With a | little patience and a steady hand it is easil performed. The next one, however, is likely to prove a regular teaser. SIX PICKS—YOUR TRIANGLES. It is an apparently simple proposition, yet it will probably make the uninitiated tired before he succeeds in reaching a solution. Here it is: Take six toothpicks and | with them form four tri- | angles. is toit. You may place them in any position you | please, but the fignres | must ‘be good, honest looking triangles, other- | wise you fail to do the | little feat. If you chance to find the solution with- | out aid you will be sur- prised to'see how pretty @ figure it makes and wonder why you failed todo quicl ‘this manner. Pea oul i THE POUR TRIANGLES. will very like! the trick moi It is done en ing picks in the corners of the first figure, elevate them and bring the ends together. "This also demands a steady hi but when you succeed in making them stand alone all the triangles will be visible “THE CROSS —\ NERVE TESTER. Another nerve tester is “‘the cross” or “the double brace.” ‘This needs but two picks. All you have to do is to hold them crossed with the thumb and forefinger of either the right or left hand. | primitive grandeur. ‘By the Inca laws human [incr was Segerded net uly aos means, bus an end. Their manifold provisions against poverty were so perfect that in their wide territory, so much of it bleak mountain and barren desert, no man, however humbie, suf fered ‘for the necessaries of life. Famine | —a scourge so common at that period, not. | only in every other American nation, but in the | civilized countries of Europe — was au evil here unknown. How different today, when the | country swarms with beggars, and" nine-tenths | of the population are absolutely idle, thongh half naked and often hungry! Most of the early Spaniards came to Peru merely in quest | of gold, intending to return with their loot to | the mother country: and though circumstances compelled many of them to remain, they made | made no effort to improve upon or even to| preserve the works they found. Their de- | scendants are still searching for treasure among the tumble-down palaces of the Incas and the visitor to any ruin is sure to find some | out-at-elbows half-breed diggmg among the | rubbish for buried gold. H EXTENT OF PIZARRO'S PLUNDER. | Exactly how much plunder the conquerors | | under Pizarro secured can never be known. Robinson, Prescott and other historians tell amazing tales of the wealth of the Incas—hor Atahualpa’s faithful subjects piled the room in | which he was imprisoned full of gold to the | very top in vain efforts to satisfy the avarice of | his captors, and all agree that the precious metals torn'from the temples of Cuzco alone amounted to more than £90,000,000. It is kno | that the 20 per cent, which the Spanish king claimed as his share of the loot, was enough to restore financial credit to impoverished Spain. Millions more went to the church; enormous | sums were expended in the erection of conventa, monasteries, palaces for the viceroys and other public buildings, and enough remained to rich every impecunious adventurer who came to the coast. Faxsix B. Wamp. ee A Party for Sir Doggy. ‘From the New York World. Very nice people do very odd things at times, if the fad takes them. Lap dog parties are the | delight of the nicest women of fashion during | | the Lenten season, when piety forbids out-and- | out dissipation. ‘The lap dog may be a new one | | which friends are invited to inspect as they | drink tea, or the puppy may be an old fam: favorite in whose honor a party is given. Sev- | | eral attempts were made to ‘have these parties | bona tide dog parties—amateur bench shows, | 80 to speak. But this was most unpopular from | the very beginning, for it was proven at one {rial that so’ many ‘petted and ‘pampered dar | lings could not spend an afternoon in unity and ce with ench other and with their mistresses, nap at Mr. Spitz, while Spaniel suarled at Sir Collie, who, in turn, growled ominously as if about to put an eud to the lives of hulf the little pups present, | Then, too, the presence of Miss GreyLound ; ich a rivalry among the dogs that the meeting was prematurely adjourned. | Dog parties are popular, bu: only one d figures at them. He is beautifully beribbo | and scented, and, if his size will permit, he is passed around from Imp to lap to be loved, petted, kissed and admired. Acertain socisty swell who was present at a lap dog party was heard to sa} |. “Km giad I'm not a goose and I don't want to bean ape, nor an ass, nor a chump, don't | you know. But, b’ George, Fd like more than deuced well to be = puppy.” And all the fellows who heard him joined in the chorus of the college song: “Ho say we all of us.” | force. | they bind. That completes the sash, but bya Many neople have undertaken to do this, but after long and exasperating trials have been forced to admit themselves | defented. Yet it is not very difficult to accom- plish—if you only know how. ‘This is the it is done: Cross the picks and hold them firmly with the forefin- gerand thumb. Place the other forefinger upon the end of one pick, press downward gently.at the same time bracing the upper part of the finger against the other pick. Repeat this operation on the oppo- Reende with the thnmab and you have made“the cross.” THE CROSS. Perhaps “the window sash” will interest some of the younger Americans becanse it ia the least difficult one in this series of tricks. | Like “‘the explosive raft” it can also be made | to “explode,” but not with the same degree of ‘That is because there is less tension on the picks. Although the cut shows clearly | how the figure is made these directions are THE WINDOW 841 given for the benefit of the young: In this trick six picks must be used. Lay the first one lengthwise ona table and place two others in the same position a short distance from each other. ‘Then, as in the ent, insert the remain- ing picks over and under their fellows until very slight twist it can be instantly trans- formed into “the five diamonds”—-the large one on the outer side and the four little ones within. LIFTING THREE PICKS WITH ONE PICK. “The lift” is the next problem. It isa “catchy” little affair and will undoubtedly Prove confusing to many. Make a slight split in the end of one pick; in it put the extremity of another, wedging it = in until they hold to- k against them in Rook ib manner oasis will not fall. The in to raise all three at HE LIFT. one time with another toothpick. The fingers must not come in tact with the pile. All that is necessary done is to thrust a pick under the stan erect an ress against Until the end of the first falls clear: mit the crotch to retnrn, catch the logee pick and you wil! the three at will. new court house to the theft of an overcoat and # suit of clothing from William Kidd. The vie- | tim testified that he met the prisoner on West | Callowhill street one night and was persuaded $0 0 to 8 lodging house, where, when heawoke he to wear. ‘That is all there | i | his opinion, by is similarly secured by the right hand thamb. ‘The trick nd ‘THE TWIST AND Pass. forefinger being uppermost. then with the left forefinger and thamb seize the other pick, the thumb being at the lower end. It is absolutely essential that the latter point should be ob- served, because it is the key of the situation. In order to place the thumb in that position give the hand a sharp upward half turn and then thrust the thumb forward and downward until it meets the end of the pick. Grasp it firmly, separate the hands and you will of course see that you have transferred the pick. In order to return them to their former posi- tions you must reverse the process just de- scribed. If the directions are not implicitiy followed the picks cannot be transferred, for they will catch upon each other in transit. If the trick is done with dexterity the picks are made to exchange places almost as if by magic. It also heightens the illusion some- what to blacken one of the picks in order to convince your friends that there is no decep- tion about the work. BUSTER, THE ORACULAR MULE. He Was Blindly Trusted, but Has Put His Friends in = Hole at Last. A Wellsboro, Me., special to the New York closed upon him and woe sits by the hearth at Uncle Morg Binder’s, in the Pine Creek region. Buster is a mule—a little monse-colored mule —that has been in the Binder family so many years that his age is forgotten. He was the autocrat of the Binder premises. His chief duty was to haul Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy when they wanted to go visiting or to town to trade. That is, Buster hauled them if he hadn't made up his mind to a different course. ‘They never knew whether the mule was going to take them or not until they got into the wagon. Then Uncle Morg would take up the lines and say: “Now, then, Buster! about it?’ If Buster pricked up his ears and started off What ’o ye think that wasas much as to say that he thought it | was all right, and he would take Uncle Morg | and Aunt Peggy wherever they were going, and fetch them back home slick as a gi . But if Buster replied to Uncle Morg's inquiry by la; ing his ears back on his shoulders and scow! , they knew that the mule thought it wasn’t all right, and without another word Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy would dismount, unhitch the mule and turn him out, and go contentedly into the house to wait until some day when Buster was willing. in his will!” Uncle M “Make him go always exclaimed when asked why he didn't force the mule to go. “Wy, man, sumpin' * happer surer’n ‘tater rot if we sh'd go awa: agit Buster's ideo "othe matter!” Buster knows It was the same way with ns. Buster's opinion of an individual decided Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy. When he folded his liberal ears back and threatened a rush upon any per- son under his scrutiny that person could do no business with the Binder fami knows!" was always the emphat his two loyal subjects after the mule had given nd that in spite of several queer judgments the arbitrary Buster had put on record. drove up to the Binder pl railroad was building. He started for the house, but Buster blocked the way. "le not only laid back his ears and threatened the man with his front, but turned about and let his heels fly so viciously and so rapidly in the di- rection of the man'shead that the stranger acked away and shouted to Uncle Morg, who stood on the stoop, to call his mule off. e once when the I've got some business with you!” shouted | the man. 0 y’ bain't!" replied Unele Morg. “Y hain't got no business with me, fer Buster agin ye, 'n’ Buster know: ‘The man went off in a huff, and, come to find out, he was the agent of the railroad and wanted to contract with Uncle Morg for a big lot of ties. The consequence was that other parties got the contract, which proved to be one with big money in it. “Don't care!” said Uncle Morg. “The chances is th’t if I'd ha’ took the contract T'd ha’ put the money in a bank ’n’ the bank’d busted! Buster knows!” ‘Then there was the new prencher in the dis- trict, the Rev. Absalom Dubbs, the meekest, mildest and most harmless of men. Whei Brother Dubbs went to make his first pastoral call on Sister Binder he was bounced off the remises by Buster so quick that he never Enew how be got out in the'road. the hearts of Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy to know that Brother Dubbs had been weighed in Buster's balance and found so lamentably wanting. But there was no getting around it. Brother Dubbs was under suspicion, and Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy stayed home from meet- ing all that year. ‘Their faith in Buster's wis- dom was not shaken a bit by the fact that the dominic quit the district with a spotless recor Uncle Morg. queer things these day: ofit. Buster knows But the oracular little mule is suffering greatly in prestige now. Uncle Morg’s and Aunt Peggy's heretofore unwavering trust in Buster has been rudely shaken and their calm jhilosophy does not serve to sustain them in their painful awakening. Two or three months 0 one of the nices who had ever been seen Pine Creek country stopped his horse at the Binder farm and got out of the wagon. Buster took to him on sight. He put his nose on the stranger # sleeve aud walked him right up to Unele Morg’s door. Buster even seemed to want to follow the man into the house, he had taken such a fancy to him. That was all the recommendation Uncle Morg and Aunt Peggy wanted for the stranger and he didn't dilly- dally in presenting the business he bad in hand. In than fifteen minutes he had Uncle Me ‘8 ture to a contract to act as agent inthe eriot for the Grab Quick Stump Puller and Lightning Chuck-hole Filler. Last week the contract turned up in the shape of a cut-throat judgment note for $150 and Uncle Morg was upon tosettle. He kicked and they levied on property of his, including the oracular mule. “It T hef to pay the swindlin’ note I will,” says Uncle Morg. “'Taint the money I mind, but to think th’t arter let Buster hev the run o' the place fer twenty year 'n’ better he’ turn to 'n’ steer us agin a banco game is w'at's breakin’ us all up!” nd yit!" said in’ some tur’ble en ye hain't s'pectin’ n that part of the There was the case of the man who | It saddened | pearing young men | it against the hand. and the other MURDERED, BUT BY WHOM? A special to the New York Sun from Clarkes, Neb., says in regard to the mysterious case which has excited so much interest, the arrest of 8. B. Cowles, president of the Pacific Bank of this city, charged with the murder of his wife, has created a greater sensation through- out Nebraska and the northwest than any crime ever committed in this state. The prominence of the man in commercial and political affairs and of the wife in society, the character of the crime, and the motive which may have im- pelled him to commit it, if he did commit it, ‘make a thrilling story. The murder was com- mitted on the morning of February 4 between the hours of 12 and 1 o'clock. According to Mr. Cowles’ story, the family, consisting of the father, mother and five-year- old son, had retired about 10 o'clock in the evening. About midnight Mr. Cowles was aroused by a noise in his kitchen. Getting out of bed and putting on his clothes, he proceeded to investigate. From the bed room he entered the dining room, which adjoins, and in which was a stove, the fire shedding a dim light. From the dining room a door leads into the kitchen. This door Mr. Cowles opened and im- mediately received a blow on the head from a man standing just inside the kitchen. Ho fell tonecleas.. Before the blow. however, he saw that his assailant was.a man of medium height, with a dark overcoat and a slouch hat, and wearing a mask which covered his face from the eyes down. When the banker came to his | senses he was almost frozen. Staggering to his | fect he rushed to his wife's room, and found her dend. Almost crazed he rushed out and sum- moned the neighbors and medical aid. When the physician arrived he stated that Mrs. Cowles had been choked to death. Indeed. the blue marks of the murderer's fingers were plainly visible. There were no other marks of violence. All this time the little boy lay peacefully sleep- ing. “fn the course of the investigation which immediately followed it was ascertained that a ne of window glass in the kitchen had been roken, the catch unfastened and the window raised. This gave the burglars admission to the kitchen. At the door of that apartment they were confronted by the banker, whom they truck down, it was supposed, with a pair of brass knuckles. Stepping over his prostrate form they had apparently proceeded to the bed room, murde: irs. Cowles, and then pro- ceeded to ransack the bureau drawer for money. Jewelry was evidently not wanted. ‘Two gold watches, 2 pair of diamond earrin a diamond finger ring and several other valu- ble articles which were on the bureau in plain view were left untouched. Out in ret jewel case, with the jewelry remaining in it, and Mr. Cowles’ empty pocket book were found. » There was no satisfactory clue to the perpe- trators of the crime. No suspicious wharacters had been seen in the town, and the authorities were greatly puzzled. The banker offered a reward of 1.000, which he subsequently in- creased to $5,000, for the capture of the mur- derers. But no one could be found who could even be suspected of the crime. Gradually frave rumors begin to be circulated connect- ing Bir. Cowles with the tragedy in a way that had not previously been thought of. It was hinted, in short, that he had deliberately mur- dered his wife, and had arranged all the other details in order to divert suspicion from him- |self. Tt was hard for even Mr. Cowles’ ene- mies to give credence to these ugly reports. | His integrity had never been questioned. and he was in every way considered a perfectly up- right man. His affection for his wife was so well known that, as a prominent physician states, he was held up asa model hasband by all the wives in the town. How could it be pos- sible that he had murdered her? Several days after the murder the coroner's inquest was commenced. A verdict was not reached until the 14th. During the week the jury was considering the case some startling | ever, of so indefinite a character and so con- flicting that the case was referred to the city attorney, with the verdict that the deceased was choked to death by persons to the jury un- known. The testimony of detectives before the | coroner's jury did much to strengthen the suspi cions against Cowles. In the course of thei investigations they had found the #50. which a closet: the window was found to have been opened with a hatchet, and the hatchet was dis- covered in the stable. The wounds on the banker's head, whieb he declared rendered him Enconsciuns, were shown upon examination to have been mere scratches, which cou! have been caused by himself. The dis this fact was what caused the suspic was the murderer of his wife. The night of the murder it was noticed that his clothes were wered with blood, The physicians who ex- amined his head expressed doubt that all the blood on the person of the banker could hay, come from such small cuts. It was also ascer- tained that Cowles had taken out a £5,000 life insurance for his wife in the Legion of Honor, | and the authorities looked upon this as a possi- ble motive for the crime. When Cowles discovered that he was sus- pected he was terribly agitated and requested the closest scrutiny. ‘The city attorney, wher. | the case was referred to hit id stated that he would prosecute no suspected person unless some citizen would voluntarily sign the in- formation. Monday at noon Cowles boarded the train bound, ostensibly, for Omaha. mediately thereafter Robert Gregg, ex-sheriff of Saunders county, went before the city attor- ney and filed a complaint charging the banker with the murder of his wite. A telegram was sent ahefd and Cowles was intercepted at Columbus and brought back. He immediately retained four of the best lawyers in the countr; and expresses confidence in his acquittal. Sun correspondent he said “Ihave no fears as to the ontcome of this case. I know that a trial will result in my vin- dication, and as nothing but a trial will relieve me from this weight of suspicion Iam anxious for it to come. My only concern as to the charge against me is the stigma it will cast a my little boy. My wife had been troubled ith heart disease for four or five years and during the past year it had grown worse. She was frequently rendered helpless by an attack of it, and it was necessary to use camphor to restore her. She had asevere attack the night before her murder. Dr. Robinson told me that in case of a sudden shock tho disease would terminate fatally. On the night of the murder we retired at 10:20 o'clock, and my wife then appeared to be in as good health as usual. Wilon T noxt saw her it waa about 1:30 o'clock and she was dead. I have hada detective work- ing on the case ever since the murder.” Mr. Cowles stated further that the insurance on his wife's life was taken out ten years ago and could, therefore, have no connection with her death. It is charged, on the othe: hand, that this money was needed to tide him over a | financial crisis. There is nothing to show, | however, that he is in noed of fund Cowles came here about six yeurs ago from Genoa, Vance county, and before that time he had resided in Saunders county. He was for seven yonrs an officer in the Union Pacific transportation service and is a prominent Odd Fellow and Mason. His banking institution is one of the largest in the state. Its business has been transferred to the Merrick County evidence was laid before them, which was, how- | Cowles said had been stolen, hidden in a can in | of | at | smart to remember it all. Im- | QUEER PEOPLE IN RESTAURANTS. Men Whofire on the Lookout fer Would- Be Swindlers. From the New York Tribune. “Five! ten! fif-te-e-n!” chanted the boy with & white apron, as he turned the crank of a reg- ister that clicked off a ticket bearing the figures of the purchase. “Fif-teen!” he drawled out again, as a man who looked like » sauntered up and asked for a 15-cent ticket. In the big crowd of hungry, gobbling men in the restaurant, intent only on satisfying their own desires, there were two keen-eyed and well- aressed, who were watching the “sport.” When they heard the boy call ont “fifteen,” one of them quickly stepped up to the “sport” and said something to him in a low tone. The “sport” started and then looked defiant. “I owe this restaurant just 15 cents,” he said ina loud tone. “Don't you suppose I know what T have eaten?” aes “Yes,” was the reply, “I do suy that you know what you have eaten. But I doknow that you don’t intend to pay for what you bave had. unless you are compelled to. You owe us jst 40 cents. You hada Haml steak, which is 25 centa;acup of coffee, a dogg and a piece of apple pie, five cents each, which makes & total of 40 cents. Now, see here, you got the steak at the hot-dish counter from that fat, red-headed waiter, and after you had eaten it ‘ou walked over to the sideboard opposite and ped yourself, to hard-boiled ‘exg and piece of apple pie. ‘Then you came to the coffee Mand and dratka cup of coffee. ‘See? ‘Dow t know what I am talking about?” The “sport” now looked crestfallen. He sim. ply turned to the boy with a white apron and said in a subdued voice: “Forty cents,” and the boy, with a knowing grin at the keen-eyed one, chanted “forty cents!” turned out the check to the “sport,” who quickly paid it and hurried away from the curions eyes that were watching him. ‘Then the keen-eyed men be- gen to circulate uneasily around the big res- taurant. It was a down-town buffet restan- rant and, being noon, was crowded. side of the room were sideboards loaded with sandwiches, pies and cakes of all kinds, On the other was a hot dish, a cold luncheon and coffee counters. In the center of the room were circular tables. On the walls were signs: “Help yourself,” “Everything on this Counter 5 Cents,” “‘Ask'the Boy at the Registering Ma- chine for Your Check and Pay it to the Cashier,” ‘Trust Our Customers.” Every man was helping himself and it was hard to get around. Men were crowding by one another holding cups of coffee high in the man had his teeth fastened intoa sandwich, of pie in another while pushing his to @ circular table. Waiters were slamming dishes around and yelling orders, but din sounded: ‘Zen! ti- the boy in the apron, while the keen-eyed men moved around in the crowd, and made rapid mental notes of every new customer who el- bowed his wey into the crowd. Several times they “induced different from those which they had asked for. When the restaurant was empty one of the “spotters” was asked how he managed to kee track of so many customers and teil what they had eaten. “but perhaps it com observing and when my keeping my eyes open I never close them. My chum and I work systematically and it is very rare that a ‘dead beat’ gets away from us or a ‘ekin’ cheats us. of the room and my chum on the other. We take in ata glance what men are eating and atural, 1am pretty ing depends on my hour, but plenty of men who come here don’ need watching. We have a large number of regu- lar customers, whom my chum and I know by ight, and I could tell you uhmost to a cent what many of them buy. Men are mostly creatures of habit and you would be surprised to know how many men come in here day after day, week after week and month after month for their luncheor and eat a roast beef sandwich, a Piece of apple pie and drink a cup of coffee without variation. Chum and I catch onto these fellows. We believe they are honest be- cause they are methedical. But we have to watch the fellows who skip from one counter to another. My friend and I have to move quietly. because people don’t like |to know ‘that they are being watched. We depend somewhat ona man’s face and gen- al appearance and of course the waiters keep their eyes open, too, and put us onto a man they think is ‘crooked,’ and we keep track of him. ‘The unobserving men are, as_a rule, honest, and they don't notice us. But the | ‘sbarps,” who are always on the lookout, Jaily ‘tambic’ to the fact that I have an | themand either they don't attempt to cheat us all, or ‘lower the ante’ only a few cents. Bo is’ that our usefulness does not depend | entirely on actnally detecting men trying to de- | fraud the restaurant, bat reully in preventing | them from attemptiggf to do 0. ‘We have rome c customers occasion- | ally. ‘Shere is one absent-minded old gentie- | man who usually dines at noon at a hotel near |by. When he is ina hurry he takes luncheon here. ‘The first time he caine here he forgot to pay up. Fortunately, there were some gentle men here who identified him. The next time he | came I saw him eat a meal that cost exactly 15 cents, but he wanted to pay the cashier €1. Probably he was dreaming that he had eaten his table d’hote dinner. “The old gentlemar. was greatly surprised when I told him exactly what he had eaten and he thought that I was very afterward learned that he always carries his he dines at his hotel. His wite has it washed and returned the next day by mail.” — AND FIFTEEN FIANCES. FIVE WIVE Said to Be the Record in Lovemaking of a Young M: Called Claude. From the Cleveland Wo A young fellow called at the probate office about noon Tuesday, accompanied by a pretty young woman. The young man asked fora marriage license for Claude Irvine and May Elliott and when Mr. Chandler handed hima the document the young man asked if it couldn't be be kept out of the papers, Chandler expiained that sometimes, when it and might be very inconvenient for the couple to ave the public know they had procured a license, the reporters were requested to skip the names. Young Clande said it wasa case of that kind exactly, and Chandler said the usual request would be made. ‘The young people tarried in the hall of the court house after the license had been granted and Claude “chucked” his intended bride under the chin with the precious document and both acted like a pair of turtle dover, according to Recorder Anderson, who happened in about that time and caught the giddy youngsters a: their cooing. It turns out that the pair eloped from Alle- | gheny and that Claude is very much married and is apt to come to grief in his matrimonial escapades, ‘The following, special from Pittsburgh will explain that part of it: laude Irvine, who eloped with Miss May Elliott of Allegheny five weeks ago, is found to have four other wives living. Two of them are Elia Kaufman of Chillicothe and Maggie Davis Bank of this city, that concern assuming all ——_——_~+e+ —____ AN INFANTILE JOAN OF ARC, A Little Russian Girl Who Led the Mob in From the Pittsburg Dispatch. Sergius Stepuiak is a splendid conversational- ist, and he tells stories of cruelties to political convicts to friends or chance acquaintances with evident One story especially illustrates the means a government will employ to keep itself at the top, even by the punishment of children too young to know of an offense egainst the nation. “At Odessa in 1878,” began Mr. Stopniak, “a great riot was precipitated by the arrest of Sergius Koralsty for a political offense in which were especially interested. The unable to do anything with the aukeentatrer eter atest ret i 4% the sigh the men F 1 i } i z | a 5 | z E i E iq As is fis | = id it i if iF Hi i aa rg! i, TH Hi; i 8 3 i } i i if dl i i | i & 3 i E i f f i z i] ee Fe E H $ of Cleveland. Letters are in A. H. Campe, ing gi in the hands of Detective Philip McDonough and Constable Lloyd of Allegheny, who are working on the case. “Mrs. Camy sho left with Irvine, and she decided a few day ‘On | rying a cup of coffee in one hand anda plate | customers to call for checks | ‘P | a moist “It is a matter of practice,I suppose,” he aaid, | I walk up and down one side | listen for the boy to call the checks. Of course, | we cannot tell what all men eat here ut the busy | did the public no good to know of the marriage | JOSEPH SMITHS “SEEIN G STONE.” A Green Pebble That the Mormon Prophet Credited With a Wondrous Property. ‘From the Syracuse Journal. The germ of Mormonism originated in this city. About the year 1818 a teamster in the salt works by the mame of Joseph Belcher found a peculiar stone, or a stone that the owners claimed contained great powers. Soon after Belcher and family removed to Sus quehanna county, Pa..where Joe Smith was en- hunter. Belcher called his find a “seeing stone.” It was green, with brown irregular spots on it, and about the same shape and size as @ goose 28g, ,, 10 those days the country was very wild and the people very superstitions and strange stories were told of lost animals and children that were found by the aid of this stone. The modus operandi was to conceal the stone in « dark place and Belcher's little boy could then see from its unnatural rs the exact loce- tion of any object he desired to find. Joe Smith heard of this miniature information bureau and soon sought out Belcher, secured the stone and renewed his researches. In 1825 Joe had in his employ a set of men who were called money diggers, and his occu- pation was that of sceing oF pretending to sce, means of this stone piaced in his hat, and + hat closed over his face. In this way he claimed the power to discover minerals and hidden treasures. It is snid that he was insolent, poorly educated and very careless in appear nee. One story told of Smith is thet « straggling Indian, who was passing up the Susquehanna river, bad told of buried treasure. Joe hunted up the Indian and induced him to tell the place where — it was buried. The Indian told him at « — number of paces due north from a certain point on the river. Joe's ex- chequer was very low at this time, and #0 it ame necessary to get a well-to-do farmer by the name of Harper to assist him in the acheme It seems that farmers were “taken in” in those early days as well as now. They commenced digging on a farm near the river and continued es long as Harper's cash held out. Smith now declared to Harper that there an enchantment about the place that was Femoving the | treasure further off; that larper must get a perfectly white dog and sprinkle his blood over the ground, and that would prevent the enchantment from remc ing the treasure. Search was made all over the country, but no perfectly white dog could be found.” Joseph said he thought a white sheep would do as well. A sheep was killed | and the blood sprinkledas directed. The dig- ng was then resumed by Harper. After dig- | Ging for several weeks more and an outlay of $2,000 more of the farmer's sheckels Harper refused to “come down” any further and the digging was abandoned. Joe now said thut the enchantment had re- moved all the treasure: that the Almighty was | displeased with them for trying to paim off on Him a white sheep for a white dog. He would sit for hours looking into the hat at the round and tell of seeing things far away and supernatural, On one occasion a neighbor had a piece of corn planted rather late and on pisce of ground, doubtful about its ripening, got Smith to bless it. It happened that it was the only piece of y by saying he had made a mistake and put a curse on the corn instead of a blessing. About this time Smith rocured a box of lates, which it he bro d for a «l ept carefully locked. ontain @ great quantity of charac- ters and hicrogiyphics which no one but him- self could interpret. From these plates Smith, with the assistance of Martin Harris and Oliver Cawdry, produced the manuscript for the Book of Mormon. ‘The book was compiled in « | small building on the Susquehanna river. about | two miles from the side-ball vil of Susque- tthe manuscript | hanna, and was printed in 1820, ‘ing taken to the printing office each morning and, together with the rf &e., taken away each night. The first account we have of Joe | and his followers trying to start a colony was | in the year 1831, in a remote corner of Luzerne | county, where the climate soon got too warm for them and they vacated. Their next colony was near Painesville, Ohio. ‘The most prominent of Joe's diggings ison | a farm near Susquehanna depot. The excava- | tion was 150 feet in circumference and twenty | feet deep, and although it has been under eul- tivation for several years now, it is easily dis- | cerniblo and often’ visited by the curious. | The old house whers the manuscript was pro- duced is still standing and is owned by one of the ex-officiala of Saxquehai nn county. LINGUISTICAL BOTHERATIONS. A Flock of Misnomers, a Host of Terms and = Drove of Names, From the Ashton (Eng.) Reporter. ‘The English language must appear fearfall; and wonderfully made toa foreigner. Que of them looking at a number of vessels, said: “See what a flock of ships.” He was told that | was a fleet, and that a fleet of sheep was a flock, | and, it was added, for his guidance in master- | ing the intricacies of our language, that a flock | of girls is called a bevy, and a bevy of wolves ix called a drove, and a drove of thieves is called | a gang, anda gang of warriors is called a host, and a host of porpoises is called a shoal, anda | ehoal of buffaloes is called a herd, aud a herd of children is called a troop, and a troop of part- ridges is called a pack, called a whiteness, and a whiteness of geese ix called a gaggle, and a gaggle of brant is called & gang, and a gang of ducks is called a team. A team of widgeon is called a company (or | trip). and a company of teal is called a flock, | and a flock of snipe is called a whixp, anda whisp of bitterns and berons is called a sed Aredge of plovers is called « flock, and a flock of larks is called an exaltation, and an ex- altation of beauties is called « galaxy, and a galaxy of rufiians is called a horde, and « horde | of rubbish is called a heap, and a heap of oxen is called a drove, and a drove of blackgnards | iz called « mob, and a mob of whales is called a | school. anda school of worshipers is called a | crew, anda crew of robbers is called a band. anda band of bees is called a swarm, anda swarm of people is called a crowd. A THREATENED BoycoTrT. A Very Mad Passenger Resolutes @ Dire Revenge. From the Chicago Tribune. “Hold up your hands The passengers in the car were taken by sur- nd, feeling a little | WIM” AND MIX OLD PARTNER. A Quarter Regged for Whisky, but It Wee for Peed, From the New York Reunier “A quarter ain't mach to you, mister, bu it's a heap tome just now.” The speaker wa ® tramp, shabby, unkempt, unwashed ant blear eyed, but there was a ring of desperation ead tremor of expectation in bis voice that made the listener stop for an instant and re consider his determination to pay no attention to the too frequent appeal. “If I give you the money what will you do with it?” he asked. “Jim's sick an’ he's got to have something warm pretty quick. or I'm afraid he ll shuftie Jim's me pardner, mister, an’ Lain't goin’ te giv’ him the shake now down. We've bees all over the country together, Jim an’ me. when he was weil fixed he was no slonch got achill sleepin’ last night, on’ he's in bat shape now. ¥. mister, don't «ay no. Why don't you call the pulice and have taken to the bospital” “They'd throw me ont or lock me up or langl etme, and I don't want to tke no chances Besides, Pm ng to git a doctor.” The man handed the tramps quarter and watched him disappear toward a saloon, “I thoaght so,” be sid, bat in a moment the tramp eme and tened tn the directiog of Bl strect, Bis tenner’ betrayed eo ured anxiety that the donor, impelied by curiosity followed him. Passing on through the seen of filth and degradatio: ng amide bles ered. me! n, “Jim | up the rickety stairs fombled. in bis pock A lighted red in one band and he lignted a pi The now interested toward the dia ered the room, whicl are, and proceeded to footsteps sounding loud on the bare stranger mo: light. The trasy med barren of fu x, bi } * said he, knocking beside what scomed a bundie of rags. “I've got some thing to warm ye. Brace up an’ take it, an’ Pl) Go cut and bustle for « doctor.” There was no reaponse from the rage ~« brace up a minute, old man; it'll de ye good.’ Wake up.” he stranger standing in the shadow at tht door heard no response. “Wait a minute, Jim, a Pi itt ve up abi He placed the piece of and had partially littec when a cry escaped him, cry of bitter am Suish. The form fell back on the rags without re sponse. “Jim” was dead. sities meee THE OLD MAN UNDERSTOOD, He Knew Just How to Get His Wife to As sist the Artist. From the Chicago Trits Mrs. Chugwater, arrayed in her best gown was sitting for her photograph. “Your expression—pardon me—is a little tot | severe,” said the photographer, looking at bei | over his camera. “Relax the features a trifle | Alittle more, please. Wait a moment.” He | came back, made a slight change in the adjuse Ready. Beg pardon—the la little toortern. Relax the | features a trifle. A little more, plense. | your gaze at the card on this upright post and wink often as you feel like it. All ready. | One moment again—pardon me the expressiot is still too severe. Helax the” “Samantha!” roared Mr. Chugwater, coming out from bebind the screen and glaring at bet savagely, “smile, darn you! Smile! — Lenten Sacrifices. From the New York Sun. ‘The most unique penance yet heard of for the Lenten season is that put upon themselves by two young, beautiful and vivacions Brook y young ladies, it is claimed by their friends, are nothing if not have decided that during Uh they will wear off b it very best will save dear papa the expense o' they insist that this in ited ina true nec Of course they would like to see t in the tight and their pretty gow for their personal J» dear papa must be thought of, and Lenten sacrifice on thejr part #b lowed by other youn skeptics say that this per of the chaps who swear off drinking water with y during Lent. - —<0o—— Maligued Society Girls. From the Philadelpiia Prews. The modern “society girl” maligned creature. People are general | taught to believe that the dainty, bewitchit | beings have no time for anything but di | dances, theater parties, balls, teas and recep. | tions, and the absurdity of this notion is w illustrated by a West Philad Indy who not only “goes outa good deal, but’ also interested in church work, athletic spor' ‘and finds time for real work on the piano an mandolin, besides executing dainty bits is black and’ white. Since September 1 this girl has carefully read all of the works of Thackeray, Dickens, Shak: ire, Jean Ingelow, Tem son, Mooreand Burns and portions of : ble, carefully st id a pack of swans is | (ni aradine Lost,” PParadine Megaiwed.” Herrick’s verse, Ward MeAlli enon,” half a ‘dozen ligh Holmes’ “Over the Teacups. Boston will please haui"in its banner. cca. sectarian war: A Great Girl. From Puck. “Love that girl.” vay?" ‘What do you suppose she sent me for # vale ‘I don’t know. “The receipted bill for all the flowers I sent her last year. It's taken a load off my mind, I From the Brooklyn Life. “If you insist on breaking our engagement Miss Ficken, I shall make your letters public.” ‘You are’ welcome to do so, Mr. Scamper; : " = except the address.” —coo————__— there is nothing in them that J am as! How Distance Failed to Lend Enchantment, prise. ‘The train had been stopped at a lonely place ina far western forest. Masked men stood at each door of the car with leveled Win- chesters. It was useless to resist. Every hand went up. “Go through ‘em, Rul voice and one of the outlaws obeyed the order. In five minutes he had relieved the terror- stricken passengers of their watches, jewelry and money ~The first man that pute his head outside of this car within a quarter of an hour will have it ae the leader, as the bandite tumbled ‘Dooty into a sack and made off with it. ago to have Irvine's trunk searched and letters were discovered. The of them are now in, the hands of the ‘Those seen and read, however, were of effectionate character. They gay Lothario was engaged to no less than women.” i i a ref Hi mati f E Cy vil Lis