Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1894, Page 14

14 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1894-TWENTY PAGES. could hear him on the other side of the door | rust into the fresh cut. You are to get out THE GREAT LARAN REBELLION ——— WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING “STAR BY NYM OBINELE. ——_—_— (Copyrighted, 1894.) CHAPTER I. In the early autumn of 18— a young man who was registered at the Lexington, Ky., Military Academy as Surden Bench, aged twenty-two, got up about 3 o'clock in the morning, and, taking $800 belonging to the academy and his fellow students, decamped. The significance of the circumstance at the time arose from the discovery of the de- iberate and ingenious method pursued by Beach to accomplish his purpose. He had gonceived some kind of a town celebration and induced the young men to write home for funds. He also succeeded in getting them to make him the depository of the money, which, according to the books, amounted to $834. He disappeared from Lexington and all the efforts of the faculty and the authorities to trace him failed. it is now known that when he left the academy he struck across country to the Salt river, where he had a skiff in hiding and presumably a negro confederate. With characteristic Kentucky impulse, the young men of the school held an indignation meet- ing and offered the $800 to any one who would capture him and turn him over to the authorities. This reward put upon his trail sevefal western deputy sheriffs, who tracked him to Cafro, IL, where it was suspected that he had changed his boat, bought am- munition and supplies and set off down the Mississippi, traveling generally in the night and hiding in the bayous during the day. Deputy Sheriff Col. Abner Petingill of Frankfort published in the Louisville Jour- nal a year later a communication setting forth that his party had tracked Bench to a bayou, somewhere between Tiptonville and Fulton, on the Tennessee shore, where the fugitive had sunk his boat and struck through the wild tract of country extending to what fs known as the “Highland Rim,” in Henderson county. This communication is curious In one statement. It says: “We discovered, after much tedious searching, the sunken boat and then struck his trail in the woods. We had not followed it far be- fore we came to the conclusion that he was accompanied by a woman.” Col. Petingill then states that it was his belief and the belief of his party that Bench met with an accident somewhere on the Rim, for all traces of him disappeared, and after camping out for two weeks in the wilderness and discovering no new trail the party returned. The fact is, Bench had accidentally dis- covered the Laran cave. In his endeavor to escape from his pur- suers he had struck straight up the Rim, and in jumping from one of the upturned eretaceous strata he had landed upon a de- pression, which gave way beneath his weight, and he fell perpendicularly into a erevice twelve feet deep. This crevice has since become famous as the Laran portal. At its bottom he discovered the descent which led to the arena, and having ex- ploited the place he and his companion lived there until the following winter. As soon as he felt satisfied that the search was given over he sent the woman out for supplies, and built a brush house over the opening to conceal it from the negroes who brought them game and provisions. They must have remained in and about the Laran cave very nearly three months. In that time Bench made a very thorough investigation of it, and prepared maps and topographical diagrams of the surrounding country. Some of these drawings may now be seen at the government museum at Rock | island, and, considering the rude means at | Bench’s command, they are singularly care- {uj and accurate specimens of cartography. In those three months Bench had con- ceived and worked out one of the most astounding and gigantic schemes with which the history of audacity and indomit-| able will makes us acquainted. CHAPTER It. He is not heard of again until five years have elapsed, and the second cvent of | which it is necessary briefly to make men- tion here occurred exactly three months before he came to the surface in the fur- therance of his vast project. In the winter of 18— occurred the revolu- tion in Venezuela known as the Vargas to the administration, of which you are a loyal adherent. “Respectfully, etc., ete. Gov. Ixtel, a plethoric and good-natured man when not dealing with convicts, let his hand drop to his side with the letter in I Have Been Sent on an Errand. it. With the other he took off his glasses and looked at Mr. Kent with a broad smile. “Why, bless your enterprising soul,” he said, “that old alligator won't talk. You couldn't pump ten words out of him if you worked a month.” “Nevertheless,” replied Mr. Kent, “I am here to make the attempt, with your kind permission." said the governor. “I “Take a seat,” never heard that Laport was mixed up in politics.” Mr. Kent sat down. “Well, sir, it isn’t generally known. But he is nevertheless the depository of certain secrets which to hold will no longer be of any service to him and which if he will give them away, as we say, will secure for him the influence of a number of powerful friends who can, if they set to work, get him a commutation of sentence.” Mr. Kent was evidently a clever talker; he was thoroughly posted in che political situation; he brought with him from New York a good deal of inside news ani sever- al rattling stories that were new. He can- didly confessed that he had no stomach for this job and wanted to be back in the me- tropolis, But duty was duty and he'd have to make the attempt. He did not think he'd get much out of it, but if he Jid it would be a feather in the cap of the present ad- ministration and an additional plume for himself. Mr. Kent talked so long that the sover- hor invited him to take dinner wiih his family, and the guest proved such an inter- esting talker that Mrs. Ixtel, late in the afternoon, proposed to the governor that it would be far more hospitable to have the gentleman stay with them than to zo off to a hotel. He played backgammon that night with the governor; sang the latest songs for Miss Ixtel and accomdanied himseuw on tne piano; and he sat up till 12 o'clock talking bert and drinking the governor's whisky. The next day about 9 o'clock in the morn- ing. the prisoner, a round-shouldered old man with @ great deal of character in his square jaw and massive chin and deep-set scintillant black eyes, was brought into the office of the prison. No one was present but the governor and the reporter. “Laport,” said the governor, “here's a gentleman wants to talk to you. I hope you'll treat him with more consideration than you do me.” The old man looked from one of the men to the other with a sulien defiance. “You gan save yourself the trouble,” he said. “I've nothing to say.” He folded his arms and stood looking at the ceiling. “Well, sit down and be comfortable, if you can’t be human,” said the governor. “There's a chair.” Kent then began a free and easy explana- tion, to which Laport paid very little at- tention. He approached the subject of his inquiry, the governor thought, with great tact, and then asked one or two unimport- ant questions, The only answer the man made was to turn to the governor: “Is there anything in my conduct,” he said, “to warrant you in inflicting this ex- tra punishment on me? Send me back to my. . inclined,” said the governor, “to put you in a dark cell for a week to pun- ish you for your infernal obstinancy. I've treated you altogether too well, old man.” The old man gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, but was silent. Kent began to apologize for him, and, as coaxingly as he could, asked him severai more questions. To one of them he growl- ed out a sullen “No,” and was on the point of saying something else when one of the guards came in with 4 message for the gov- ernor, at which he relapsed into silence, and no further attempts could induce him to say a word. When he had been taken away the gov- ernor said: “You see I was right when I told you it was a hopeless task.” “On the contrary,” said Kent, “I feel i encouraged. I've only been feeling of rebellion. A Spanish bark, the Valencia, | carrying arms and supplies for the insur- gents, which had been bought in England, encountered a heavy storm while off the Guif of Maracaibo, and springing a leak | ran off past Point Gallinas, and the cap- | tain, in order to relieve his craft, threw | over at fiood tide two four-inch, ‘breech- | loading, rifted steel guns, at a point called the Bahiata bank. The mate of this ves- sel claimed to be an American, and when the Valencia was captured two days later! he managed to escape by connivance of | the authorities and went straight to New Orleans. It is suppseed that he met Bench there. At all events, he went back to Car- acas as sOon as th revolution was over, and is known to have bought up, on some plea or other, the shells and ammunition originally shipped with the guns that were lost and for which the government had no The guns, however, were not lost. They lay in plain sight on the Bahiata bank at low water, and, having been carefully seal- ed, had suffered little damage. CHAPTER Tit. Three months later Bench comes to the| surface at the Moyamensing prison, now a federal penal establishment. He arrived there as the iepresertative of an influen- tial New York paper with a letter to the goverrcr—the officer that under the old system we knew as the warden, And here the story of the great conspi- Facy properly begins. 4 card was brought to the official bear- ing the name of “Andrew Kent,” with the tide of the New York newspaper in the corner, and it was fcllowed by a well- dressed man of about thirty, whose easy | dignity and informal heartiness impressed the warden fa‘ Ixtel, I presume?" r smiled and said he was. from the New York newspaper = you saw on the card. I have on an errand which this letter ernor put on his glasses and read that was handed to him. It ran oe The b connected with ib is s to terview of this, Mr. Kent, is staff of this paper and . if possible, an ix an Laport, now t under se terests of the can be mater n be induced to talk, z h some information cerning his confed- rob the govern- who flent, managers of this man, like the bearer © facilities, m “T think T'll lock him up for a day It will make him civil.” P y or two. “I wish,” said Kent, “you’ with him for half an hour. any headway then I'll give go back.” "d lock me up If I don’t make up the job and The next day the governor's family went to a church picnic and Kent accompanied them. He proved on this occasion to be the life of the little party. There seemed to be nothing that he could not do, from making an omelette in the woods to mak- ing a speech to the children. The goveraor was really quite proud of his guest. Kent had now been three days inside the prison jurisdiction, and how well he nad improved his time appeared afterwards. | When they were coming home from the picnic he told Mrs. Ixtel that he nad over. Stayed his time, and must finish up his business on the morrow. If the governor would lock him up with Laport he thought he could make the fellow confidential, The upshot of all this was that on the fourth day Kent was taken to Laport's cell, carrying nothing but a pencil and pad. which the governor had furnished him, and Jocularly remarking as he was going through the corridor that they ought to search him first, for he might have some files about him, ‘and tet that rascal out to teach the world a golden silence. ‘The governor laughed, as he now did at ee ee Kent said, and only re- a ie ie gets way F take all the blame.” "> “Tom me Tl — sg ol rejoined Kent, value a human life don’t forget to let me out inside of the hal t sek Baie if hour. Make it They entered the cell together, was sitting on the stone between his knees. looked up as they came in. The pls dimly lit by one embrasure. nished with an iron pallet and @ pa Kent went toward the light and at a large gold watch. of 10,” he said. pod |, Laport looked up and addressed himself | to the governor. | “Are you going to put this lunatic on he said, “till I knock my brains out inst these walls?" i “but as you Laport floor with his head He neither rose nor il. E looked “it fs ten minutes “Give me till a quarter | “The best way to get rid of him,” replied »vernor of the Federal Prison, | ue the governor, “is to treat him civilly. He doesn’t want to annoy you and he comes from some of your friends. - sald Kent, “you can treat me con- The governor is going to leave moments. If you | fident jally | us together for a fe will answer some of my questions I can be of service to you.” | Laport dropped his head between his hards. The governor gave a shrug and! | turned to the door. “I've heard of squeez- ing pis lead out of a sponge.” he said. “It's holiday work to squeezing that old bundle of serap iron.” “For God's sake, don’t forget me when the time’s up,” said Kent, and sat down on the iron bed. The governor then went out. Kent heard lthe creat bolt shot with an iron clang. ‘Now then,” he said so that the governor if he listened. “This is the last chance I’ve got to talk to you, my friend. If you will tell me what I want to know it will secure you the influence of powerful friends.” He listened. He hed?d the retreating foot- steps of the governor in the corridor. He sprang softly but quickly to the iron door and put his ear down. The governor was some distance away. Laport looked up with something like 2 momentary interest in the strange actions. “Now listen to me, Jean Laport,” said Kent, dropping his voice, “I've just twenty minutes to say all I've got to tell you. I have come here to liberate you. business of newspaper and politics is a blind to get in here. I can stay here three days more. In that time I can free you. You must follow my directions minutely. In three interviews I can get the tools to you. I have made all the arrangements to take care of you when you are outside the walls. aes any chance of their changing your cen?” Laport looked at Kent suspiciously. “What do you want to free me for?” hé ked. asl . “I know your whole history,” replied Kent, “and I sympathize with you. But sympathy has nothing to do with my ac- tions. I want your help. You are the best mechanician in the country. I have work for you—let that suffice. If they do not change your cell within five days you are a free man. Now, listen. The first thing to do is to get a stone out in the darkest cor- ner of the cell so as to hide the tools I bring you. Here is the thin steel knife to ic acid and Kent took from an inner breast pocket as do it, and here is the murii syringe to soften the mortar. he spoke tool, which he screwed together, @ small phial and a little syringe. ‘‘You are to gather the mortar in this handkerchief will take it away when I next see you. The wall on that side is part of the old wall of the original penitentiary. It was and I ithe window on Saturday morning at ex- actly 2:30 to the minute. I will bring you tomorrow a tiny duplicate watch set to one I have myself, and a little box of wax matches. 1 will also bring you a pair of kid gloves, padded so that you can use the loops in the wire without cutting your hands. You must be at the far angle in the wall exactly ten minutes later and you will find the other wire thrown over for you. It will not do to have it there before and you are to pull it after you when you are on the other side. One other thing. You must manage in some way to set the bar back in its place. No one will look in- to your cell till 5 o'clock from the wicket in the door, but the absence of the bar might be detected by the patrol on the wall. He carries a bull’s-eye. Can you do that?’ said Laport, “if I have ny foot- hold on the wire and you can bring me half an ounce of gum shellac softened in al- cohol.” 7 “Very good. You will have eight minutes to get over the wall and you will land in a high lump of jimson weeds. I want you to remember the rest of my directions. It is necessary that you commit them to mem- ory. At the time you land in the weeds, there will be a man on a horse in the road and he will start east at break-neck speed. You are to give no heed to him, but crose the road, drop over the bank—it is shale and cinders and will leave no footprints— and then turn to the left and follow it west for one hundred feet, where you will come to a culvert and brook crossing. You are to take to the middle of this stream and follow the bed five hundred feet, rolling your trousers up so as to keep them dry, until you come to an outhouse painted red, which overhangs it. Light a match, and if there are two crosses in chalk on the lowest clapboard, you will know that is the place to turn. Then follow the path from the outhouse up to the dwelling, but be careful built by contract and is only faced up with blocks; the center is filled in with cracked stone. You can loosen one of those blocks before tomorrow and I will bring you the implements to cut that bar and the wire to make the descent. I have made the meas- urement of all the spaces outside, watched the system of guard relief, and will furnish you a plan for every foot of your way.” Laport was turning the tool over and in- specting it with a workman’s admiration. ent continued: window. It is twelve feet above the laundry shed. The window bar is iron, not even case-hardened, You are to work at it on Friday, when the engine in the laundry is running. From the corner of the laundry to the angle of the prison wall east is fifty feet. The guard cannot see you till you get to the wall, and if you get there at the right time he will be on the eastern stretch and you will be in the shadow of the main building. there will be a wire over the wall in the far angle. Once you are over I will take care of you. I'll give you further directions tomorrow. You must clearly understand that to carry out this scheme you must remain in this cell and, to insure your staying here, you must assist me in deceiving the governor. I shall tell him that you complained of the confinement and shall advise him to keep you here till I get all the information I want.” Kent stopped and listened. He saw that the prospect of freedom had awakened a flash of interest in the old man’s eye. “What do you want me to do,” asked Laport, “that you take all this trouble?” “I want to employ your genius,” said Kent, “and pay you handsomely, If you I Have Come to Liberate You. don’t like the employment, you are at liberty to go and do as you please. But you will not object to it. There is no time to discuss that now. I will tell the gov- ernor that I am getting the information I want from you. I have already invented a plausible story. He will let me come back here tomorrow. Do your work tonight so that when I bring you the tools you will have a place to put them. Everything de- pends on your loosening one of those stones tonight in case they examine your cell. Follow my directionseand I will give you your liberty. Stand still a moment and let me measure you.” He took a little piece of paper and a tiny tape line from his pocket. “You under- stand,” he said, “that it is to get a disguise ready that will fit you.Tomorrow I will bring you two blank checks to sign. You will un- derstand later what they are for.” A moment later a step was heard ip the corridor, and Kent was sure the governor was listening. What the governor heard in part was this: “Now, then, why not tell me the rest of it? These men can do you no service now. and the friends of the administration will secure your pardon if they are furnished with all the facts. You have told me enough to make it worth my while to stay I'm anxious to get back.” The governor shot the bolt and, opening the door, looked in. “Time,” he said. Kent appeared to be so engrossed in his interview that he did not instantly per- ceive the entrance of the officer, but went on talking to Laport. “Think it over,” he said. “Your own personal comfort if not your freedom may be involved in it.” ‘Then he and the governor left the cell. ‘The first thing that Kent did was to tell the governor that he had succeeded in un- sealing Laport’s lips, and had already got from him some intimations of the political gang which had attempted to use him, He then narrated a story of his own inven- tion, which was so ingeniously fabricated that the governor was deeply interested, and himself proposed that Kent should stay until he got the whole of it, and this Kent at lAst consented to do, merely re- marking: “I'd keep the fellow in that cell till I get it, if L were you. The confinement galls him, and I have no doubt he will ral Hiding the Tools, sooner or later give away the whole mat- ter in order to get back to the workshop. Keep him locked up twenty-four hours lorger.”” The next day there was another inter- view. The moment Kent was alone with the prisoner, he asked: “Did you get the stone out?” Laport took from his breast, where it had been concealed under his woolen shirt, a small folded packet. Kent took it, fingered it a moment, and put it in his nip pocket. The two men then went to the dark corner of the cell and Laport, getting Cown on his knees, showed him that he had loosened one of the small flagstones in the flooring. Kent looked closely at the work, saw that no one could perceive the difference in the seams unless he brought a light to it and merely said: “Good.” Then the two men sat down on the edge of the tron bed. Kent had brought with him a circular steel cutting saw which fitted into the case of his gold watch. The brace and other ap- pliances he took from different parts of his person, and Laport, with the instant divina- tion of a mechanician, fitted them together. They were slender and apparently fragile, but had been made by a surgical instrument manufacturer, and were of the finest mate- rial. Laport examined them with uncon- cealed admiration. | Kent, however, did not allow him to waste | the fraction of a minute. “Put ‘t away at once," he said. Laport touched the flat | stone with his foot on one corner; it tipped at the pressure; he inserted his finger and, lifting it up, placed the implements in_the | space beneath. He also received ‘rom Kent | a little coil of steel wire. “It is to let you | down from the window to the laundry roof,” he said. “Every inch of it has been tested up to 500 pounds. But all this me- chanical assistance is of no gort of avail | if you fail to follow out my schedule of | time and scrupulously fit every oye to my arranged program. You will cut the bar to- morrow while the engine in the jlaundry is running. How long do you calculate it will take you?” “If it is an iron bs hours with that saw “Very good. You are to leave a segment I can do it in two of wep to hold it in its place and rub the’ here another day to get the rest of it, and| “You are to escape by the to walk on the gravel and not in the grass. There is a back kitchen with a side door and a common latch. It will be open. There will be a hot fire burning in the large kitch- en stove. You are to lock the door and divest yourself of every bit of clothing and burn it there before doing anything else and see that all the shreds are destroyed. When that ts done, go to the second story, front room, where you will find the disguise a tee, artes ~ the breast pocket of ree photograph: whe’ has ven ne pstaphs of the man are to careful about the wig and mustache. You ought to be in the Upper room not later than four. The alarm will be given about five-thirty. Th 4 at wl give you an hour and a half to complete the disguise and the sun will be up. At will take a paint pot and of the house - ceed to paint the siding at the Since whats the job ts left unfinished. You are to speak very little English. You will be fifteen feet above the street. You are to answer all questions in a guttural and unintelligiile manner. The main entrance of the prison is nearly opposite that house. The men in the prison ‘office are already familiar with your figure on the ladder and regard you as & stupid Alsatian who has hired the place and is fitting it up as a saloon. At five- thirty I expect a wire will be sent from the nearest hamlet (fifteen miles east) that an escaped prisoner has passed through on a horse. You will be able from your perch, if you are quick-witted, to discern by the movements at the prison entrance if the chase is taken up in that direction. If it 1s, you wil' have twenty-four hours start, for they will not catch my man inside of that time, and when they do, they will be unable to identify him. Inthe blouse will be a small pocket compass and a little map. “At exactiy 12:15, when all the farm hands are at dinner, you will take a basket on i your arm and set out leisurely across the Stubble-field, south of the house. You are to follow the path across the field in a southwesterly direction. When you reach the stile at the stone wall, two paths are seen on the other side; take the path that goes down to the wood. The moment you are in the densest part of the grove, you are to make the most speed you can, fol- lowing the path by the brookside until you come to an oid and ruined mill a mile west, You will sit down on the old mill stone in the grass, and wait till you hear some one siging “Home, Sweet Home.” It is the signal that all fs safe, and it will be a wo- man’s voice. You are instantly to enter the old mill and follow exactly the direc- tions of the lady you will meet there, bear- ing in mind only this, that a woman has not @ man’s sense of time, and you will be missed and inquired for some time during the afternoon, and everything will then de- pend on your speed of movement after you leave the mill. The arrangements from bers vane Ce perfect. Delay alone may e them miscarry. Can yoi these points to me?” eee oe (fo be continued.) ——co2—____ WHERE THE BRIDAL PARTY EN- TERS, The Orthodox Middle Aisle Plan ts Done Away With. From the New York Times, Just where to look nowadays for the en- trance of the bridal party at a church wed- ding is more or less of a problem. The old orthodox middle-aisle way, down to the altar and straight out again, has been quite done away with, its place being taken by an arrangement that is as movable as the feast and fast days in the calendar. Every bride has the right, and usually the inclina- tion, to vary the program of the ceremo- nial, and the guests in the pews, not being taken into her confidence, have simply to obey the Scriptural injunction; “Watch and wait.” They do wait, and they also watch with much craning of necks and twisting of eyes not to lose even the half second of appearance. Ata wedding the other night it seemed to be tacitly understood that the bridesmaids were to appear frém the door at the right of the chancel, and presently they did so appear, three of them, very pretty, and walking slowly down the right side-aisle. Every eye was upon them and their prog- ress interestedly watched; they had aimost reached the rear of the church when it was discovered that three equally pretty and equally deserving-of-attention young Women were making a similar progress down the left side-aisle, almost unnoticed. There was a loud murmur of surprised Ohs! and Ahs! as the audience realized that it had lost something, followed by a speedy readjustment of vision to take in both processions. A feature of this wedding was the dis- carding by the bride of the conventional white satin wedding gown. She wore in- stead what the French rightly insist all young brides should wear—white silk tulle. The expression, ‘‘a cloud of tulle,” was eminently applicable to her appearance as she walked up the aisle with much tulle drapery and fluffiness about her, into and with which the long tulle veil tastefully and becomingly arranged itself. They Are About the Same as Those Worn in Summer. From the Delineator. The latest evening hats and bonnets strongly resemble those worn during the |- summer. The shapes are different, as a matter of course, but they are distinguished by a grace and airy lightness that «re truly summery. The daintiness of construction and material is often carried to the verge of imprudence by women who value, be- comingness more highly than either health or comfort. An exquisite example of this class of head-covering is a coronet formed of green glace velvet rose petals. The shape looks very much like a crown when on the head, strings being omitted to emphasize this ef- fect. The back trimming consists of two small jetted wings that rest snugly against the Psyche knot, one at each side, the knot fitting exactly the opening. In front are loops of jetted and spangled rope that svg- gest an Alsatian bow and complete the decoration of the charming, crownless bon- net. Quite as small, but somewhat more pro- tective, is an evening bonnet covered with yellow velvet, which is embroidered with goid and pearls and draped over the crown to form points toward the back. Folds of yellow velvet cover the brim, over which a short pearl-and-gold fringe falls from the elaborately wrought crown. In front is a dainty bow of white crene that supports a white-and-yellow aigrette, and at each side of the bow is thrust a pear-shaped pearl pin set with Rhinestones. ‘The ends reach almost to the ears and on each is adjusted a rosette of yellow velvet, from which falls a white velvet string. The white and yellow combination is very deli- cate and is decidedly fashionable for both hats and gowns, Bnet A Good Manager. From Puck. . Cook (7 a. m.)—Please, ma’am, the dog got hold of the steak that was for break- fast. Shall I go out and get another? Mistress—Is there any news in the morn- ing paper? “Yes, indeed, ma'am—big accident and horrid’ murders, an’ bomb explosions an’ rumors of another wa GROUNDHOGS ARE SLEEPING, But Within a Few Days They Will Look Around for Their Shadows. Their Habits, Home and Food and How They Live Through the Winter. Next month the legendary and prophetical groundhog will come out of its hole and look around for its shadow. That will happen on Candlemas day. If he sees it, which | will naturally be the case if the sun shines, he will return to his underground habita- tion for another long rest, being convinced that this particular winter is destined to linger in the !ap of the forthcoming spring. This interesting animal is equally well known as the “woodchuck.” But it has a great many other names besides. In fact, people would seem to have exhausted in- genuity in devising varied designations for the beast. Linnaeus, the famous founder of the modern school of natural history, en- titled it “mus monax,” which, being inter- preted, means a cross between a mouse and a monkey. The Canadian French speak of it as the “siffleur,” or “whistler.” This is on account of the whistling noise which it sometimes utters when startled. In the great fur-bearing region about Hudson's bay it answers to the name of the “thick- wood badger,” while to the westward the hardy inhabitants of Alaska mean wood- chuck when they exclaim “tarbagan,” and the wild Chippewas likewlse when they grunt “keth-hilloe-kooay.” The Groundhog at Home. The animai’s habits do not vary with the multitude of his titles. He lives in a bur- row remarkable for its extent. It is dug into the slope of a hill or by the side of a big stone, making an excavation twenty or thirty feet long, which descends obliquely four or five feet, then gradually rising to a large round chamber, where the groundhog family sleeps and brings up its young. The little ones are born three to eight at a time. When the farmer,with his horses and mow- ing machine, chances to slump into “one of these holes, disappearing from view until excavated by charitable neighbors, he is apt to feel annoyed and to revile the whole woodchuck tribe without discriminatioy. It is largely on this account that bounties for Killing the creatures have been offered in New Hampshire and other states, as much as 10 cents for each tail being paid. Hunt- ers will not kill them, for the fur is worth- Jess and the flesh by no means palatable. It is not true that in certain parts of the country farmers have found it necessary to shovel paths through groundhogs in or- der to reach their barns. Save in the way just mentioned, the wood- chuck does little or no harm to anybody. He is strictly a vegetarian, feeding mostly on clover and grass. Rarely does he enter the garden, preferring the open meadows and rocky hillsides. The first rains that fall copiously after haying is over cause the ffesh green grass to spring up anew. This second crop in many places consists largely of red clover, which the groundhog regards as a most delightful delicacy. It eats so much during the latter part of August and the first half of th> following month that it becomes exceedingly fat and inert. About September 30 or a little later it goes into winter quarters, and it does not come out again to stay until the middle of March. During the Winter. This creature is the most remarkable ex- isting example of a hibernating mammal. It lays up no store of provisions as the squirrel does. Its food is of such a nature that it will not keep, and so the groundhog must sleep to save itself from starving. It disappears with astonishing precision with- in a few days of the autumnal equinox and remains underground until about the time when the fun cuts the plane of the equator at the vernal equinox. Often the weather is very warm when it retires, and it will come out in March when snow is on the ground, making long journeys to find places where patches of the coveted green grass have been laid bare by thaw. At the end of the winter the animal is thin and doubt- jess feels rather seedy, having lived on its MADE HIM WELL. Paine’s Celery Compound Was a Blessing. Andrew Ennis of Wal lingford Had Been Sick for Years---Five Bottles of tne Gréat Remedy Cured Him. “I have been troubled with rheumatism in my back and dyspepsia for many years, and 1 bave taken five bottles of Paine’s celery and I now feel entirely well, and qan sit down and eat @ bearty meal without any bad feelings after- ward. I had tried many different kinds of medi- cine, but they did me little good. Paine's celery compound bas been a great blessing to ae.” 80 writes Mr. Andrew Ennis of Wallingford, Conn., whose portrait is bere given. To endure pain and submit to wesknesses, ac- counting them inevitable to old and middle age, is a sin against nature's plan, When the blood has grown sluggish and impare, and the nervou: The Consumers of Fancy Flour Can buy our “Cream Blend” Flour of the following grocers. It is the only recognized Blended Piour on the market, and a trial will convince the most skeptical that it is the very best in use: Whole- sale by B. B. EARNSHAW & BEO., Washington, D.C G. W. GOLDEN, 1034 29th n.w. RP. WH vor. 14th and S nw, ‘X, cor. 6th and Hi nw. EKER, 130 Ist nw. ), cor. 34 and F nw. a nw. EB. Laks, cs JOHN H, ONTRICH, cor. 6th and H aw. Y. T. MORRISUN, cos. 6th ahd I n.w. HORTON & ERO., Ket. market .w- RAOUL own tissues and without sustenance for so long a time. uring the term of hibernation physical waste is reduce? to a very low point, the heart's action slackening and the breathing becoming so slight that ii can only be de- tected by delicate instruments. Even when kept in a warm house through the cold sea- son a tame groundhog becomes torpid at the usual date and remains so until the he- reditary habit has been carried to the cus. tomary term. In this latitude the hiberna. uon of the animal is not so complete as farther north, and a few hundred miles far- ther south it is interrupted by periods of wakefulness, during which the woodchuck goes abroad and gets its meals. The prac-« tice of hibernating is merely a device of na- ture for enabling the animal to get along without food at times when there is no food to be had. Otherwise {t would perish and the species would become extinct. No use for the groundhog worth mention- ing has ever been discovered. It is other- wise with another queer mammal—the por- cupire. Porcupines have been used as fuel, for which purpose they are said to be su- perior to wood. Some time ago at the Wil- mot mine in Minnesota the porcupines came to be regarded as such a nuisance, being very numerous, that one day the foreman threw a couple of dead ones into the fireplace of the steam drill. To his sur- prise the steam ran up to eighty pounds in a short time. From that time on the miners were instructed to kill and bring in every porcupine they could catch for vse im the furnace. Such, at all events, is the story. —_——~_—_ A REFUGE FROM THE WORLD. Home is the Little Bulwark Against the Outside World. Florence Hull in February Godey’s. Society, which protects its members and makes it possible for them to dwell together in unity, is the oppressor of individual life. It exacts of every man and woman the per- formance of certain “social duties,” which Phrase, taken in its larger sense, means everything which has for its expressed in- tention the good of others, even though the ulterior object be the individual's own pleasure or profit. Few persons are so lacking in policy as to confess to be being self-seekers; every one is obliged to prac- tise altruism to a certain extent, whether he really feels an interest in the welfare of others, or only works because he cannot live without it. Society thus makes drafts upon us which we must respond to, and in return it affords us the comforts and amenities of civilized life. Yet there is an instinctive feeling in the heart of man that society is not friendly to the development of those impulses and emo- tions upon which his happiness as an in- dividual depends. He is perpetually called upon to spend his energies, no suggestion is made that he should conserve them. And so, looking about for some place in which to recuperate his exhausted forces, he con- ceived the idea of erecting a little bulwark against the outside world, in which those matters personal to himself should be car- ried on privately and in quiet. ‘This is the origin of the home. It was, first of all, a refuge, a defense against hos- tile powers, whether they came as armed foes to assail life and property, or as thievish guests to carry off what wag dear- er still to the owner, wife and children. Protection against the elements, and against the rapacity of his kind, is an in- sunctive precaution man exercises in his lowest condition. When he can only think of things as valuable, he guards things, building, as the Saxons did, his mud huts, with thatch of reeds and straw, surrounded by the great outer wall or fortification, and thinkthg himself happy if no seizure is made of his rude furniture, his armor and his metal drinking vessels. As he becomes trore refined, he has more property to guard, siiver and gold, tapestries, jewels; after a while, books and statuary and complex, he employs other men to watch his possessions, and constructs banks to hold what is more precious, and contrives cunning locks, of which no one knows the secret but hinself. ———+ 0+ ______ The Inconsistent “400.” From Lite. First Tramp—“These 5th avenue People @re very unreasonable with us.” Second Tramp—Yes; never and lecture you for being dirty First Tramp—“And yet when I rang and asked for a bath only I was refused." lve money Her Methods, paintings. His defense now becomes more | J. ¥. EDMONDS, '304 N. ¥ W. 8. CARTER, ith and Ri . WEISS, Eth ROBERT WHITE, jr., cor. 9th and I nw. INO. M. BUCKLEY, cor 21st and M now. JACOB RIEHL, Sth and H nw. F. A. NEWMAN & BRO., 632 4% st. sw. J.C. DeATLEY, 708 7th st. s. EMIL SPABN, cor. 6th and L s.w. A. J. SANFORD & BRO., 1212 Union sw. L. DENTY, 1200 34 F. SCHNEIDER, SCHNEIDER, ABD WALLS TLES, 27 3d ne. CLARK, cor. 4th and B ne. TLLIAM BRAHLER, 401 H ne. ISON MORIUS, bul H DITTOE, cor, 15th +) | kk tet heck ang Gales n.e. es & BRO., cor. Ist ond F ne. . PALMER. cor. 6th and E ne. ROBERSON & Sth and A ne. MeALLISTER, cor, th and Md. ave. ne. . FRECH & SON, ‘cor. 7th and B ne. RUSSELL, 622 H no, . H. ENNIS € CO., cor. 6th and Hi ne. iss M. R. HYDE, cor. 12th and H ne. . KENNEDY. oth and B se. KENNEDY, coz. 10t% Bee. F. ATCH. cor. 34 and I s.e. + H. SUITE, cor. 3d and Cs.e, |. M; TCOHY & CO.. cor. 11th and M se. H.W. HOWLING. 5i9 7th s.w. ANACOSTIA GROCERY €O,, Anacostia, D. C. jat3- DR. CARL 807 12TH ST. N.W. SURGEON SPECIALIST. Over twenty-five years’ experience. THIRD YEA AT PRESENT ADDRESS. Dr. Carleton treats with the skill bora of expe ce Nervous Debility. Special Diseases. Practice limited to_the treatment of Gentlemen Exclusively [abe Ct pt ni 2407) 2a BAP: Inflammation, x Debility, Eruptions, Bladder, = Bwellings, rina ell ry Sediment, Ulcers, Contused 1 Bore Spots, Despondency. Did you sow the wind? Have you reaped the whirlwind? “Are you to lose your grip? Do you realize that you are beginning tof before your time? Is life losing its charms for sou? Do you feel unfit for business of society? Consult Dr. Carleton. Special experience is ab solately necessary. He has it, and be is positively 4 hington who limits Sclentific, L, & guarantecd. Be on you- guard against humbusa, Antiguated” methods” and ‘illiterate practitioners, and don’t forget that you cannot buy’ silk for the price of cotton. Valuable pamphlet free. Hours, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays, $ a.m. to 2 p.m, only. 221-3 4 p.m. to 8 pm Consuitation Bree. Is It Wrong To sell goods cheaper than other dealers when you sell them at a fair profit? Dealers who want to double their money say bad words at wus for selling All-bair Mattress, $6.95 (they get $12.50): Folding Beds, $7 Rug Parlor Suites, §27.5¢ (old elsewhere, $59), &e. The people who pay cash with one voice exclaim, “We want the lowest Price we can get—and we know GRASTY sellr everything for cash, and that makes the price. All-wool Carpet, €0 and 65c.; All iy Car pet, 85c.; Cottage Dinner Set, $5.95: a Solid Oak Bed, $2.95: Single, $3.50; Double. 18-spring Lounge, $3.50; Best Carpet Lounge, $4.50; Pine Turkish Couch, very large and soft, $14.85 —regu: lar price, $25; six Tumblers, 15¢.; Initial Tambk $1 doz.; all Vases half price. We can fornish Jerery room im your house except stoves. Remem ber, we have one way to do business—that is THF {RIGHT WAY. anything you buy not as repre | Seuted money will be refunded upon: same. If there ever was a time to the price that time is upon you now. your list and come and see. Grasty, DOUBLE STORES, 1510-12 7TH, BET. P AND Q N.W. Ja6-cod,tt FEDORA DRESS SHIELDS, return of look after Make out From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. “What makes you tell Johnnie that his “Very well. Warm over something left from supper, and place the paver by my husband's plate.” studying aloud annoys you?” She—‘Because I know he will be anxious to keep right on and get every icssen.” BEST IN THE WORLD. GREAT REDUCTION IN PRICE WITHOUT IM- PAIRING THEIR QUALITY. Qe W. CAMDEN sT.. BALTIXNORE. daC-Lawat system is diseased, Painc’s celery compound wilt repair the damase The medical journals have the names and ad- Gresses apd full histories of bundreds of cases of chronic am€ acute rheumatism that have been Permanently cure@ by Puine’s celery compound, Xe other remedy has cured like obstinate cases of Bright's disease and iver troubles, Where all others have failed, this marveloas blood purifier | amd true nerve tonic bas made” people well. Of all the achievements of medical science. this means of restoring healthy action to. the merves and important organs of the bo@y stands ue | eminently abead. — | All Nervous, Mental and Special Diseases, HEADACHE, WAKEFULNESS, DESPON- DENCY, WEAK MEMORY, DEFECTIVE VITALITY, PROSTRATION, NEURALGIA, EP- ILEPSY, PARALYSIS, STOMACH and LIVER DISORDERS, when caused from Diseases of the Nervous System ARE SUCCESSFULLY TREATED and PERMA- NENTLY CURED at The United States Academy Of Medicine And Surgery, 907-809-811 14TH STREET NORTHWEST. OF- FICE HOURS, 9 to 3; © to 8. Sundays, 10 te verage, Which Tuay save ws many Aocrors’ bills. “Ir is by the tous articles of diet that a constiterion it ly built until stroug enough dency to disease, Hundreds St outing around us ready to attack Wherever is a Weak point. We may 2 shett by Keepiug ourselves ‘well, fortihied with Ulowl aud a properly 42s,mtu-ly Fas See Lendon, ‘If You Are Married ‘We have som>thing important to «ay to you— about the fornishing of your house. Per Paps morey ts searce—but that makes no dif- ference—CREDIT isn’t searce—and your credit ‘G good bere for all the furniture Peis you need We'll Furnish Your House Or any part of it nd you ean pay us @ Uitte at a time—once a week or once a month, There is a price mitked in plain figures oe every piece of furniture in our house—tve big douvie foors full—and that price is there to Stay whether you pay cash or buy On Credit. We have no potes for you to sign, anf there's no interest to pay.—You will find Parlor und Bed Room Forviture here at ail prices—clear up to $200 a suite. We make and lay every yard of carpet absolutely free of cost—don't even charge for the waste 4u matching figures. We keep stoves, too— heating ced cooking. Help yourself to aap- Thing you need on credit. GROGAN’S MAMMOTH CREDIT HOUSE, $19, S21, 823 TIM ST. N.W.. % } LET. B AND I STs. ja2 We clase EVERY evening at 7. emesis Physical Ladies who cannot | * ei find shelf CORSETS to Culture suit sroua eave us Corset Co., | w07 G St. | | i