Evening Star Newspaper, October 31, 1896, Page 20

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, OOTOBER 381, 1896—-TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES, SOLDIERS’ HOME. SERVED UNCLE SAM A Day With the Saidinatthe Home Near This City. NOW UNDER A RELAXED DISCIPLINE Military Calls Are Heard but Not Heeded as of Yore. THEIR RECREATIO HE the and MAJORITY OF seven hundred odd inmates cf the Soldiers’ Home near this city are men who have put in twenty or more years of hard soldiering in the regular army of | the United States. | The remainder are} men who, disabled in the line of duty in the regular army, be- came eligible for ad- mission to the home without having served the required twenty years. A reporter for The Star who visited the home a few days ago noticed a considerable sprinkling of quite young men, a number of them not more than twenty-five years of age, seated at the mess tables among the old-timers. These young men were admitted on ac- count of various disabilities acquired chief- ly through accidents in the line of duty. A recruit who, on the day after his enlist- ment, suffers an injury while in the per- formance of his duty as a soldier ts not only recetved into the Washington home, if his injury is of such a character as to pre- clude the possibility of his further service, but he is given a pension commensurate with the nature of his disability. The yoke of military discipline is not made to bear with any great degree of heaviness upon the disciplined men who in- habit the home. The echoes of the beauti- ful mulitary trumpet calls that constantly greet the cars of visitors might serve to | create the impression that soldiering of as rigid and alert a character as that of a Mess C: frontier garrison is going on within the of the home, but such an impre id be a mistaken one. It has been quite reasonably determined by the various able go nors of the home that men who for twenty or thirty years have jumped into formation at the sound of a trumpet are entitled to the indulgence in a little re- laxation of the regulations, and the military calls at the Washington Soldiers’ Home while they in every case signalize the hour for some concerted movement of function, as In the regular army, are not expected to elicit prompt respons: Reveille Without Roll Call. First call for reveille goes all right enough—not until the reasonable hour of 7 o'clock, however—and so does reveille, but there is no scurrying in the quarters over either of the calls, for the reason that the old soldiers do not have to “stand calls.” No man who has not been compelled to hop out of a warm bunk in the darkness of a cold morning at Fort Assiniboine, Montana, or at Fort Spokane, Idaho, in order to answer his name at zeveille, can appreciate as these old soldiers do the pro- found, soul-soothing delight of reveille without roil call—the pure bliss, earned only after years of subjection and atten- tion, of lying in bed even for two little min- utes after the call has gone from the ad- jutant’s office. ‘ It is thus with the progress of the entire military day at the home. Discipline is maintained, but it is not maintained at the point of the bayonet. Men who have put in so many years in a regular army outfit as have a majority of the inmates of the home are pretty likely to turn up in their proper places at the proper times, although they are not expected to exhibit the alac- rity of young fellows in active service. Delinquents are very uncommon at the home—so uncommon that the mounting of order, as in military posts, has never been deemed necessary. Of course, in a regi- ment of seven hundred men, many of them thoroughly used to the roughness of cam- paigning life on the outskirts*of civiliza- tion, there are occasionaliy to be found men who once in a while swerve from the path even of the comparatively lax disci- pline prevatling at the home. For these there is a guard house—an unusual sort of @ guard house, measured by the standard of the regular army “mill.” There being no guard, the old soldie who is confined in this guard house for his sins of commission or omission is not sub- jected to the humiliation—which he has probably often experienced, however, while in active service—of having a sentry trail- ing around in his wake, with fixed bayonet. If the old soldier ts deemed a fit subject of discipline, he is conveyed by the six mem- bers of the provost sergeant's staff—all strong, lusty men, used to Post “police” duty, and not to be trifled with—to the guard house, and comfortably locked up until he exhibits a sufficient degree of re- pentance. During the period of his incar- ceration, which never lasts longer than two } himself. a regular guard for the preservation of ; of the provost sergeant, who is also the “regimental tailor,” and whose quarters adjoin the guard house, in order that he j die may the more faithfully perform his police duties. When the delinquent old soldier—of whom, as has been said, there are fewer every year—has been kept “in quod” for a day or so, he is taken before Gen. Stanley, the governor of the home, reprimanded, and perhaps given a few days on the “dump,” which means a few days of in- voluntary indulgence in the mild pastoral pastime of picking weeds along the gravel- ed walks, or some other simple penitentiai cecupation. Early Morning Hours. The routine of the day at the home re- sembles that of the regular army in ail save its ccmparative and necessary laxness. The first thing in order after the “blind” reveille, within a short time after which all of the old soldiers are astir, is the ma- tutinal “wash.” There are a great many people comfortably situated in life in Washington who have nothing like such luxurious facilities for the making of their morning ablutions as the inmates of -the home. In each of the buildings used as quarter= there is a large wash room, beau- tifully fitted up for the purpose, mosaic floored, and with marble and porcelain wash stands and running hot and cold water. In each of the wash rooms there are a couple of dozen porcelain bath tubs. It is curious to observe how old habits stick to tke old soldiers in their way of goirg about this before breakfast wash. The regular army soldier probably never lived who did not tuck his personal towel in the strep at the rear of his trousers while on nis way to the company wash room, and every one of the old-timers whom the reporter for The Star observed at the mo:ning cleansing performance the other day unconsciously followed the cus- tom, which, in view of the fact that there are always several hooks above each wash stand, is quite unnecessary. Each of the old soldiers carried in @ lit- Ue tin tobacco box his personal piece of soap—of which the high-priced and highly- scented varieties were much 4n: evidence-- and his individual comb and brush. Every man gave himself a scrubbing and a dry- ing such as js dominated a‘military wash, a kind of thing that brings the blood ting- ling to the cheeks. By the time the wash room is cleared mess call is scunded by the trumpeter (‘wind jammer,” in the army vernacular) at the adjutant’s office. The inmates of the home are not Obliged “to “Yall’ in” and march to the mess hall, as each of them has probably done for many years in the varicus posts at which he has sol- diered. But all of the men are generally to be found in their places when the break- fast bell rings. The mess hall in gen. eral of the home, where all of the inmates eat, is in the Scott building. The first thing that will occur to the visitor who steps into this mess hall is that if is the most baronial affair he has perhaps ever seen. No other word than baronial will descrike the vastness of this gigantic, pil- lared rocm. One will voluntarily look to the entratce to the room for the trooping in of scores and hundreds of burly knights, with the clatter of mail and side arws— the “goodly trenchermen” of Sir Walter Scott. Instead, he sees the business-like entrance in twos and threes and halt dozens of blue-coated men of middle age, who, although reither burly nor clattering, have for the most part seen harder and more responsible service than Scott's blus- terers ever did. In the Mess Hall. ‘This mess hall at the home resembles the great “consolidated” mess halls which used to be maintained at recruiting stations of the regular army, like David's Island, N. Y., and Jefferson barracks, Mo. Vast as the room is, it is thickly scattered with the long rows of pine tables, the-surfaces of which are scrublied “to’'the whitentss of clean jinen. There is a plate, knife and fork and coffee bowl for each man, and «very man knows his place at his respect- ive table and goes to it. Even the blind men, of whom there are nearly a dozen, walk to their table places without assist- ance and with unerring skill. A sergeant, known as the mess hall steward, is in charge of the rcom, and the meals pass otf without confusion or disorder, and with as lively, and often as witty, a seasoning of conversation as may be heard in the ban- quet halls of the festive. ‘The soldiers are waited upon by their comrades, “extra duty men,"” who are paid for this extra service, and who, in spotless aprons, are kept pretty busy dur- ing the progress of the meals, for tie cl-l ores of seldiers are accustomed to alertness on tix part of their “kitchen police.” The meals which are served in this mess hall are well cooked, varied and well served as tho: placed before the guests of any first-class hotel. While the breakfast Is in progress, the sergeant in charge of the mcss hall reads from a list the “details” for the A details are of men who have been singled out for various kinds of fatigue duty. Tne great difference between the Soldiers’ Home and the regular army in the matter of fatigue duty is that, white soldiers in active service are obliged to perform fa- y, some of it of a very onerous , a8 a part of the regular routine of the military day, the old soldiers at the home are not obliged to do any sort of werk whatsoever unless they wish to, and when they do perform any extra work they are paid for it. * A great number of the old soldiers are detailed every day for various little tinker- ing Jobs around the home and the grounds thereof, and they are paid for this extra duty at the rate of from thirty to fifty cents a day. In making these details ¢ preference is generally given to the vet- erans whose pensions are quite small, or who receive no pensions at all. Besides the members of these daily fatigue parties, here are a great many of the old soldiers ho hold permanent positions, known as xtra duty” jobs, the men performing such service being generally mechanics— plumbers, painters, earpenters,. etc., who keep the various buildings of the home in first-rute repair, and are paid for. thei: work at the rate of $15 per month. Then Comes Inspection. For the old soldiers whose names have not been read out as members of the fa- ugue parties, there is particularly nothing to do but amuse themselves until the din- ner hour. Each man is obliged to do a little “policing” in the immediate radius of his bunk, which, by the way. he makes The sweepings from around the bunks in each squad room are carried to the center of the room—there are eight or ten bunks in each room—and this is dis- posed of by the “room orderly,” who is ap- pointed each day from among the o pants of the room by the sergeant of the squad. At 9 o'clock every morning there is an inspection of the rooms by the governor or deputy governor, and everything apper- taining to the veteran's living and sleeping | Space around his bunk, and the chest for his clothing and other gear at the fost of the bunk, must be arranged in prop:r | orderly fashion for this inspection. ‘he in- specting officer rarely finds gccasian to dispense mild reprimands for inwividual cases of neglect in such tidying. ‘The week- ly inspection on Saturdays is rather more rigid than the daily inspection, and every- thing in every one of the home buildings is expected to be in more than apple-pie order for the Saturday inspection. After the regular morning inspection, sick. call is sounded by the trumpeter, and such :nen as are ailing, who have previous- ly had their names placed upor the sick re- port, present themselves for treatment at or three days, be is under the observation the beautiful and spacious hospital, which is in charge of surgeons of che regular army and assisted by regular army hes- pital stewards. It is a model hospital of its kind, having all the appliances and ac- commodations required by the most a vanced knowledge of medicine and surger There are six wards, three for the sick and three for the convalescents and such other in es of the home as requ:re constaat attention and assistance on account of their disabilities. There is a library within the hospital for the use of sush,patients as are unable to walk to the main library. But the great majority of the old sol- ters assemble, after breakfast, in the large reading room in the basement of the Scott building, where there sre many duplicate copies of the local morning and evening besides papers from all of the lead- jes of the country aml all of the magazines. The reading room is the favor- ite place of adjournment after meals be- smoking is permitted. There is a omfort-indicating 4: f blue ke in the reading room during #ll hours of the day, but especially after meal hours. Short, black, villainous-looking clay pipes predominate. It is mere idleness to present an old soldier with a fine r wn or briarwood pipe. He will carefuliy lock it away in his chest, and go right on smok- ing the two-inch, ebon-colore that probably a relic of the sutler store or can- teen in the lest post in which he performed active service. The faliacy that “‘seasoned” clay pipes are “sweeter” than any other kind of pipe whatsocver will always prevail among old soldiers :nd sailors. if they are not disposed to read, the men with nothing else io do on their hands may walk across the hall from the reading recom to the billiard room, in which are many fine new billiard and pool tables. If they are not attached to the cue, they may stroll over to the home library, where, in an as- sortment of 7,000 books, there is not much difficulty in selecting sometaing to every man’s teste. They may take the books to their quarters and keep them for two weeks if they do not choose to read in the library. A Beantiful Park. There is, in brief, no lack of comfortahl+ and peaceful means by which the inmates of the kome may dispose of their idle hours. If they elect to engage in no special eccupation, but simply to go ferth into the air, they have at hand a field of exiora- tion, all of the beautiful nooks and cran- nies of which it would take long for them to exhaust. There are few parks in the world that can claim such a variety of beauty as the park of the Soldiers’ Home Mess call goes again at noon, half az hour after “recall from fatizue’’ has been sounded, at which time all of the men employed on extra duty knock off work and go to thelr quarters to prepare for din- ner. After dinner a considerable majority of the old soldiers, faithful in the practice of a habit of their active service, curl up on their bunks and doze for an’ hour or so. The post-prandial doze of the soldier has been an institution almost approximat- ing the dignity of a ceremonial since the days of Alexander’s conquests, and it is certainly consistently followed up at the home. But, directly after dinner on many afternoons, little groups of the old soi- diers will be seen tidying themselves up with no accompanying cheerfulness, as of men going on leave to the elty or on fur- lovgh te more distant places. The little bands of crepe which these men vlace around their left arms tell of their mis- sion. The cemetery is a beautiful inclosure of nine acres, where sleep nearly 7,000 sol- diers who died during the rebellion, and more than 1,2x) inmates of the home. “Tattoo” goes not long after supper at the home, and the melancholy “taps,” when all of the lights except those in the library and hospital are extinguished, is sounded at half-past 9. By the time the last mourn- ful note of “taps” has died away the old soldiers are, for the most part, tucked snugly in their bunks. But they’ are not obliged to stand “check roll call,” as they did when they were on the active list. The “sergeant in charge of quarters” does not: plough through the squad rooms, lantern in hand, making a list of men who are not in their bunks after “lights out,” as in the regular army. The old soldiers are given every liberty in the matter of leaves of absence, and are not compelled to give a detailed account of themselves if they remain away from their quarters a trifle past the regular hour for turning in. When they wish to go on leave to the city or elsewhere, they put their names down on the “leave list” with the sergeant of the squad, who in turn submits it to the adjutant for approval. Requests for leave of absence for any period up to a month or more are rarely approved, unless the applicant, by ir- regular conduct while on previous leaves of absence, has in some deg forfeited his full The pensions are all surer of the home, who nsion certilicate and when one of the veterans needs money for a leave of absence or furlough he ap- plies to the treasurer for the amount he wishes. Religious Services. A great majority of the old soldiers are strict in their attendance at the services held on Sundays at the picturesque, vine- covered chapel. The services are held by three chapla! of different religious de- nominations. The regular chaplain, Catholic priest, opens the day with mass. A Lutheran clergyman ofliciates later on in the morning, and he is in turn followed by an Episcopalian minister, the Rey. Dr. James A. Buck, who has ‘min- istered to the tual needs of inmates of the home for nearly fifty years. E The new theater of the home, a reall¥' remarkable bit of architecture, in fine white marble, which ts now in course of completion, is to be opened within a couple of months, and first-class performance given by professionals, and paid for out of an appropriation from the immense Sol- diers’ Home fund—which now amounts to over $,000,000—especially made for the pur- HI pose, will Spare the old soMliers the trouble of traveling to and from the city for their theatrical entertainment. Reasonably enough, the men living at the Soldiers’ Home are somewhat tenacious of their right to be called “members” of the home instead of “inmates,” although the latter term, while used in no derogatory sense, is much more often, through the force of long custom, applied to them by outsiders. The term “inmate” they con- sider as applicable only to the residents of a strictly eleemosynary institution, while the fund of their home was originally erc- ated by the vallant services of the soldiers of the United States army—as, for instance, he levy of $100,000 made upon the City of Mexico, during the Mexican war, for the benefit of the home—and has since been. augmented by, assessments from their own pay and that of their comrades. — HIS OWN TRAP. AUGHT IN Surly Cable Conductor Taught a Les- son by a Portly Passenger. From the Chiergo Chronicle. He was a State street cable car con- ductor of most surly and disagreeable tem- per. When a woman carrying altogethe too large a bundle for her strength board- ed the car he grumbled a running five ri utes straight about the perversity of hu- man nature in general and of the feminire! sex In particular. A few moments before he had viclousiy kicked at a newsboy who dared stand on the platform while selling a newspaper. At Adams street a portly mititary looking gentleman and his wife got on the car. “That is the smallest I have,” said the military gentleman, as he tendered a $5 bill for fare. The conductor growled again and grum- bled inacdibly, bet finally dug into his pockets for the change. First he gave two silver dollars, then 90 cents—all in dimes—and then the bulance in quarters. He seemed in exceedingly great hurry as he handed the quarters to his passenger. The other passengers noticed it, too. Now, it so happened that in the change. made a very bad quarter was given. The military gentleman was on the point of calling the surly conductor back when he discovered the latter had handed him nin. instead cf eight quarters. That decide him to hold his peace; he wasn’t out in any event. They had ridden quite a distance when the surly conductor came back again. . “Didn't I give you too much ci he queried frowningly, and in a tone thit plainly insinuated: “Weil, you're a nice fellow to try and beat a poor conductor.” The military-looking gentleman looked up. “You did,” he said. ‘You gave me very bad quarter which you were very anxious to shove on me, but ss I could not possibly use it I'll give It back to you. Here it Is.” The other passengers who had witnessed the whole performance laughed outright, their tantalizing sneers following the surly conductor to the door, whith he opened and then slammed shut with a bang. nge?* a Our Wednesdiy and Saturday issue cach week until election, will give the report by states of the famous woman's vote for President. a: square, “their ‘meais there. CHEAP LUNCH ROOMS A Feature of the Cite That Favora- bly Impressed a Visitor. WHAT FIPEEEN’ CENTS WILL BOY Ne Use of Some: Dining Rooms as Club, Houses. ae ee AND COMFORTABLE ——— 5 CLEAN “No city that I have ever visited,” said the man about town to a Star reporter, as he guzed reflectively through the windows cf a well-known restaurant, “compares with Washington in its wealth of really cheap and wholesome lunch rooms.” This sort of thing,” he continued, indi- cating the room about him, ‘‘éan Be found everywhere, for good cooks are native to every clime, and from New York's most famous restaurant cn 5th avenue to the long, low dining room with sanded floor in which are served the marvelous dinners of New Orleans’ most noted chef the same re- sult. is obtained where one can pay for it well. But for cheap, wholesome fare Wash- ington is unexvehed. “Not long ago,” he went on, warming to his ‘subject, “at luncheon time I happened to pess an unobtrusive building. The sign, ‘Try Our Vifteen-Cent Lunch,’ attracted my curiosity, and 1 went in. Perhaps I was un- usually hungry, and that may partially ex- plain my enjoyment of the meal that fol- lowed. yet you know I pride myself on be- ing a judge. of good plain cooking, and few gourmets are that. “I had -a: well-flavored soup, in a rather thick bowl, to be sure, bri china breaks easily and profits at such places are small. Then came my choice of roast mutton or stewed beef, two vegetavles, and tea, cof- fee or mitk. I took the mutton, which proved ‘to be excelieht and tender, and: with this was served sliced raw tomatoes: and potato salad. -I looked askance at the po- tato salad, suspecting cotton seed oil, but it was made with olive oil, and the onions were present in exactly the right quantity. The coffee was fair, and the apple pie with which I finished-my repast proved a pleas- ant surprise. It wes not onty good, but tasted as my grandmother's apple pie did on the old farm in southern New York state. S . “When I atscovered that. the little pitcher by my -coffee cup contained very Passable cream and completed the iflusioa of boyhood's days by pouring it over my ple the result was so satisfactory that-1 ordered ‘more.’ This brought the. price of my substantial meal up to 20 cents, and I gave the hard-worked waiter a tiv in keeping and came away happy in the dls- covery of a new purusit—that of inunting psubstantial lunches at ..mall ipriees, Average Cost of a Lupchegn, “Since then I have eaten no luncheon which has cost me more thaft 3¥ fits, until you elighted me by appearing in town today,” he said, with a bow to the soldier- ly looking man opposite: “Twenty cents has been my avefake!€xpenditure for a midday meal, and I Nave learned many -things about dining and lunching cheaply and well. For igstanop; if av man 4s..fase: tidious about his Jable linen, ust hay his luncheon auteieart a ae BBE bE ant thé: linen,’ thotigh cotirse, will be spot- less, Later an army ‘of hungry diners will have rendered it uvinviting, and where prefits are smail every expense, launder- ing linen included? must ‘be kept down to 2 inimum, head : sePhen, tooindiiterentsplaces are cele- brated for differeng. disnes, just as in high- er-priced restaurants. . There is, one plyce where for 10 cents a turkey ‘sandwich is served which would make a formidable 0 a famoussandwich served at your The soldierly looking man smiled, ein the congcious superiority of this particular sandwich, known in “England, as well as in Wushington, for its super- fority to all others but looked interested as his companion proceeded: “The sandwich in question, like that of your chef, is made of triangular Ss of tcasted bread, and when daintily cut turkey, smoking ‘hot, is put between the lices and two of these triangles, forming are set before you on ‘a plate garnished with cold slaw, with a Germ dressing, you forget that your surround- ings are meager and bare compared with the luxurious of your ordinary dining room, and you quite lose yourself in ad- miration of culinary skill, and enjoyment of its result, as every true man does, wherever he finds it. oye Used asa Clpbe | “In one of the most satisfactory of the cheap restuurdnts,” he continued reflectt ty, finding his auditor still attentive; “it furnishings are specially plain, and. it makes no pretensions to table cloths. But it of all those I have tried is the most cos- mopolitan. -This dining room seems. ta be a sort of club to many of the men who take When they come in they &o.to the counter and ask for their, mail; “and ff I pass there.morning or evening I see thom sitting there, quietly reading: t papers, as you might do in your own club window. “The special feature of the lunch at this place is the coffee, which is excellent, and served arbitrarily with the milk already in it, in mugs. The pancakes, too, are de- licious. Indeed, everything is well cooked and good of its kind, though the variety to choose from is,not large. The prices are most reasonable, and a man would have to order a large part of the bill of fare to have his meal amqunt to much more than fifty cents. “Another pleasant feature of these very moderately. priced lunch reoms-is the courtesy accorded to women. TAls is espe- bof town cially noticeable after New York, where many of the down-town dining rooms are avoided even by working women on ac- count of the rude stares encountered. Here in Washington they come and go unno- ticed, served exactly as the men are. This 1s probably due to the large number of wo- men employed in proportion to the popula- tion. But to whatever the result Is owed it is most gratifying. Traveled though I may be, my western mother’s training still dominates me in my impatience at the rudeness oftentimes d'splayed toward wo- men in what are called the centers of civil zation. “But I am wandering from my subjec he said, apoiogetically, as he handed th waiter a fee which would have won him | enviable notoriety in any of the lunch rooms of which he had spoken. “However, the next time you come to town I will atone by taking you with me to one of my favorite lunch rooms, where the bill of fare, though not as varied as that put before us today, will afford you an ample meal, and the environment will furnish more food for thought than any conventional, class restaurant could possibly afford.’ a ae AMAZED LEASE HOLDERS. The Schenley Estate in Allegheny WHI Raise All Rentals. From the Pittsburg Post. Lease holders of property on the Schen- ley estate in Allegheny were intensely worried by a circular they received last week. The circular notified nearly 2,00) lease holders that their leases ex red next April, and asked each lease holder to state the amount of ground he occupied and character of building upen it. It was learned that all the property own- ed by Mrs. Schenley in Allegheny, embrac- ing about 150 acres, in the very center of the city, Is scheduled to be improved, and the new leases will be increased in value. The lessees will be called upon to increase the value of the property by means of im- provements. It is the plan of the Schenley estate owners to make their property the most improved, If rot the most valuable, in the city of Allegheny. The agents of the estate will agree, with the consent of the owners of the Schenie: estate, to renew all leases on Allegheny Property, prcviding that the lessees are willing to put up buildings of three stories or more on their holdings. Though the value of the property in- volved in this transaction cannot be defi- nitely stated, City Assessor Brown says it is not less than $2,000,000, and when the Property is improved it will add at least $500,000 more. Though the Scheniey te is in the very heart of Allegheny, there is much unimproved property, but all hold- ers have leases. The Schenley holders want to catch those who lease the unim>roved property. If holders of Schenley leases can- not guarantee to improve the property they will not be able to get extensions of their ieases, but if they can there will be no trouble. Within the limits of the Schenley estate aré some of the finest residences of Alle- gheny. Of course, the holders of this kind of property will be allowed to renew their leases, but not at the old figure. Every piece of leasehold ground owned by the Schenley estate will be advanced in price and the yearly dues proportionately in- creased. . The sending out of the circular caused & commotion yesterday in the best part It was the common tesic of discussion. It was generally agreed that the demands of the Schenley agents would have to be acceded to, and within the nex: few days all lease holders will send a defi- nite statement of their hold'ngs, the amount of property and the improvements they have made. A great many lease holde! did not know that their leases expired n April. Bra <a YOUNGEST SOLDIER I WAR Remarkable Record Made by Joe Cou- will, From the Chicago Tribune. It is row claimed that Joe Cougill of North Manchester is the youngest soldier that eniisted and performed actual service during the late war. It was only througa the influence of an intimate friend, a su- perior officer, that he gained admission to the ranks. When the war first broke out, then a lad in his thirteenth year, Cougill enlisted and was assigned to the Ist Indiana Battery His youthful appearance soon made him favorite with his comrades, and althoug’ young he was a brave and heroic soldi Hé remained with the battery uAtil th close of that great struggle and was mus- tered out with an honorable Gischarge. After the war was over Cougill returned to North Manchester, Iad., where he has since resided. There is perhaps no soldier discharged from the se ® sound man that had met with as many adversities and perplex:ties of iife as has Joe Cougill ini le a success. Although honorable, h's parents were poor, and it behooved ‘him to earn a liveli- hood as best he could. On the morning of July 4, 1868, while manning a cannon in firing a salute for a celebration, the gun Was accidentally discharged while he was “ramming” the load and both his hands were torn off above the wrists. Without hands the battle with life was rough for a few years. As scon as the wounds healed sufficiently he began practicing penman- ship, and today with a stub pen between his. stub arms can execute as tine work as a professor of the art. In the spring of 1877 he was elected city clerk of North Manchester on the republi- can ticket, ard has held that office e since, being elected last spring for the twentieth successive time. For the last few years the democrats have put up no man against him. He has also been local agent of the Pacific Express Company for the last fifteen years. He is a member of John A. Logan Post, having served one term as its commander and the last six years as its adjutant. eos - Short-Lived Infant. A conscientious registrar of births and deaths at St. Ives, England, recently cer- tified to the death of an infant aged one minute. Yes, sahib. “Well, say. fm-as many hours."—Life. =~ “Are you the Mahatma that made a tree ‘grow four feet high in twenty minutes?” Vil fill your “hat with rupeés It you grow a crop oF halt ob my head |IN FAUQUIER COUNTY A Unique Settlement That Flourished Before the War. —— j ANNUAL BIG MUSTER AT SALEM The Residents of the Free State Turned Out in Force. i FOND OF WHISKY pale Correspondence of The Evening Star. WARRENTON, Va., October 26, 1896. The “Free State” was the name given in former years to a section of country oc- cupying some eight or ten square miles of Fauquier county on the south side of the graded road leading from Marshall to Or- lean. It was a wild, rugged and sterile country, comprising a number of small mountains, the valleys between them af- fording but a small area ot arable land. The original grant, which included this tract, comprised a large proportion of more valuable iand, to the development of which the atterticn and energies of its owners were devoted, leaving this less desirable part of it “free” to be taken up and squat- ted upon by any who chose to do so, and it is said that it thus acquired its name— the “Free State.” The conformation of the country not being the best for road building, none of the great thoroughfares made in the early settlement of Virginia runs through the Free State, and this, together with the general lay of the land, rendered it an isolated community, and many of the first settlers were attracted to it as much or more by the seclusion it offered and free- dom from inquiry into their antecedent as by any other consideration. Hence, in course of time, the Free State came to be peopled by a class of individuals as rough and uncouth as the country itself. They increased and multiplied, living among themselves and to themselves, settling their own differences, frequently, if not generally by force of arms, without appeal to or in- terference by the law. They had no schools, churches or stores, nor cared for any, and, having no desire to see, and less to be seen by people out- side their own community, but few of them ventured far from home. Marshall, then called Salem, was their nearest village, and aimost the only intercourse the average Free Stater had with others was when they carried to the stores there the sumac, chestnuts or other products to exchange for whisky or tobacco, two commodities that were freely indulged in by all ages of both sexes. Free Use of Whisky. Bush Thompson once bought a barrel of whisky, and-in about six weeks went back to the same store to negotiate for another. The clerk -expresged,.some surprise at the early, need gf the second supply, but Bush silenced him by asking: “How long do you expect one barrel of whisky to last a workiugman with fourteen children, when they ain't got no cow?” At election times, when contests were cicse, and when a circus came to town, large numbers of free staters came to Salem, but the one day of the whole year when the census of that far-famed coun- try might be accurately told in Salem was at_ the annual big muster. the whole population, and it was these big musters that gave to the free state and to Salem that reputation that made them famous throughout the length and breadth o2 the’ old domimio#. Before the war it was the law or custom fer the militia force of the whole country to meet at Salem for gencral review and drill, and a gala day it was. Widespread reputation the free stater had as a free tighter. nobody ever heard of two of them meeting and fighting without an audience. It must be done in Salem and in a crowd. It has been said that there is not a rock in the streets of Salem that has not been used on somebody's head. If this ts so, they must be posse So, cn a big muster day the various clans of the freeé state filed into Salem. The morning was given to the review of the troops, which were disbanded about noon or earlier, and then came a scrub horse race or two, followed by an interval for the luncheon or dinner. After dinner some fellow would quietiy lay off his coat and proclaim himself the best man ‘In the county. The challenge was immediately accepted, a ring formed by the spectators and the fun of the day commenced. Krom this, other smaller or larger fight would spring up in the crowd, until fighting became so general that to all appearances the whol? seething, panting, sweatin, swearing, bloody crowd would be engage in an indiscriminate slaughter, from which is was next to impossible for any to es- cape unmaimed, if, indeed, with life itself. These fights were so “free” that a man really seemed out of place if he were not engaged in some capacity. A Washingtonian'’s Experience. Ned Ashby illustrates this by an anec- dote: He had gone from this neighbor- hood to live in Washington city and had told so much of Salem and the big musters that an acquaintance became very much interested and expressed a desire to be present on one of these occasions. So he accepted Ned's invitation to spend his vaca- tion in Virginia with him, and on the ap- pointed day he and Ned went to Salem. ‘he review was over, the races were run, the luncheon eaten and the champion had prociaimeu himself, been promptly tackled, and as pretty a free fight as ever was seen was in progress. 1i seemed as if everybody Was in it, and Nea’s friend, to get a better view, stood up on a bale box in front of a store (which, of course, was closed) and Was enjoying the scene to the utmost, when suddeniy, without provocation or warning— whack!—he was struck across the back with a hoop pole and knocked heels over head to the ground. Scrambiing to his feet, he said to his assailant: “What in the thunder did you sirike me for? i wasn't doing anything!” “No,” was the reply; “that's j are neither fightin’ nor partin’ ‘These were busy times and every one was expected to be doing something. This was the free state before the war; now all is changed, and there is not a fair- er neighborhood anywhere in Virginia than this. When the cail was made for yolun- teers, the pe»pie of this region responded nobly, and there were no better soldiers in the army of northern Virginia than the free staters. Many of them were found in the Mountain Rangers, the gallant Turner Ashby’s first company; in the Bluck Horee, the Warrenton Riles, Stribling’s Battery and in other gallant but unnamed com- panies in the 6th, 8th and 17th Virginia Regiments, all of which went from Fauquier in the early part of the war, and Mesby’s command, recruited !argely from the same section later on. Four years’ as- sociation in the life of a soldier wore off the rough edges of these men’s natures, and they came home at the close of the war a very different class of people—those who came home at al! They went to work with higher hopes, aims and ambitions, with the result that their mountain sidcs are now dotted with cattle and sheep feed- ing in luxuriant pastures, while che narrow but fertile valleys are bicoming as the rose. Churches, schools and stores have been erected, new roads built, and the lawless and undesirable clement ef population has been frozen out and sent to seek more con- genial neighborhoods, while better citizens have come in to take their places, until the once despised free state compares favorably with any country neighborhood in Virginia or the south. Since the War. ‘This change has been effected in a single generation—the short thirty years since the war. It is not to be presumed that the old inbred lawlessness can have been entirely stamped out in so short a time, but what is left of it finds so little encouragement that hit; you Then there was a general outpouring of Bright's Disease, Gout, Rheumatism, etc. BUFFALO LITHIA WATER @ veritable aniidote to Albuminuria of Bright's Disease, especially when of Gouty or Rheumatic origin, and ine only Natural Agent possessing thts guclity. The Best Table Water. Value in Typhoid Fever. Dr. ROBERTS BARTHOLOW, M. A. LL. D., Professor of Materia Medica ane General Therapeutics in the Jefferson Med! ©! College of Philadelphia, ete.: “The BUFFALO LITHIA WATER Js the best table water known to me; and have some experience of them all.” Dr. ALFRED L. LOOMIS, Professor 0 Pathology and Praciicat Medicine in the Med- jeat tment of University of New Fork wrote: ‘For the past four years I have use’ BUFFALO LITHIA WATER in the treatment of Chronic Bi ‘2 Dis- ease of the Kidneys, occurring in Gouty and Rheamatic subjects, with markee beneatt.” Dr. WM. H. DRUMMOND, Professor 0, Medicat Jurisprudence, Bishops University, Montreal, Canada: “In the Acute and Chronic (Bright's Disease of the Kfineys) of Gouts and Rheumatic origin, as well as in the graver Albuminnria of Pregnancy, I have foun BUFFALO LITHIA WATER a veritable antidote,and I knew of no other natural agent possessing this im- portant quality.” GEORGE HALSTED BOYLAND, Paris. France, M.A., M.D., etc., formerly Professor in The Baltimore Medical College, and form- erty Resident Physician at The Springs, in The New Medical Journat for August 2nd. epbritis “Albuminaria.—These cases count by hundreds. There is no remedy s0 absolutely specific in all forms of albuminuria and sht’s disease, whether acute or chronic, as Spring No.2, accompanied by a milk diet. ial Gases o(presoaney where albumen is ie found in the uw: 2s late as the last week aed confinement, If this water and milk are rescribed, the albumen diea| rapidiy from the urine and the patient has 8 positive guarantee against puerperal con- vulsions.”” DR. CYRUS EDSON, Health Optcer of New York City: 2 “1 have prescstbed BUFFALO LITHIA WATER with great benefit in Bright's Disease of the Kidmeya.? DR. GRAEME M. HAMMOND, of New York, Professor of Diseases of the ‘Mind and Nervous the New York Posi-Grad- uate Medicat School and Hospital: “In all cases of Bright’s Disease of the Kidneys, I have foun BUFFALO LITHIA of the t service im increasing the uantity of urine amd in eliminating the albumen. DR. JOHN W. WILLIAMSON, Boyd- ton, Va: | BUFFALO LITHIA WATER meeis some most important indications in the treatment of Typhoid Fever. rime importance, it affords e guarantee As has been stated, it was the habit of | 3/pervectly puro waier. It wide digestion, the free stater to settle his own difficulties | 209 especieily p: niegrity of the by fore: ts, and by common consent] gsrome, t insures healthfal action of the frcem time memorial the annual big] kidneys, and prevents distension of the muster day the time and Salem the lac: It is a gentle excitant of the place for such settlements. Despite the and a permanent nerve ¢, and is especially valuable in suck cases where quinine and other tonic dies are not wel! ¢ by the stomach. Water for sale by druggists and grocers. ~amphiet on application Proprietor, Buffalo Lithia Springs, Vs. ed of a healing virtue, Sy a grey for, despite their frequent use as skull: The Yale Laundry gives crackers, there is a record of but few, if| you better—cleaner—whiter—laun- any, casualties resulting from these fights| 4 yo7- in the past gertury: = dry work. 514 1oth st. It it is but seldom manifested. The one ex- ception is Nat. Carter, and it is his recent arrest, trial and conviction that has awakered the train of thought recorded in this article. Nat. comes of the old stock of the fighting free stater, and it 1s believed that he is the last typical character of that semi-barbarous people. The leopard cannot change his spots, nor the Ethiopian his skin, and it seems that Nat. was equally unable to change the lawless Delligecent nature that was born and bred in him. By nature he was shrewd and cunning, and while it is generally believed by his neighbors that he was responsible for a Score or more of crimes and misdemeanors, still his tracks have been so skillfully cov- ered that the legal evidence has been deti- cient. About six months ago, however, he com- mitted a crin:e, the peralty of which will probably terminate his lawless career. His wife had been unable to live with him for a long time past, and he had formed an inti- macy with a young woman named Butler, J with whom he was openly living within a stone's throw of the farm where his wife bad taken a servant's place. Old man But- ler, meeting him in the road one day last spring, remonstrated with him, whereupon Carter set on him and beat him into in- sensibility, and thinking him dead, threw the body over the fence to some hogs, supposing they would soon destroy all evi- dence there might be left against him. But butler did not die, but partially re- covered consciousness later in the day, and in the state of nudity in which Carter had left him, dragged himself to a house and told enough of the circumstances of his case as to justify a warrant for Carter's arrest. Hearing this, Carter took to the mountains, and it was only after most un- tiring and assiduous efforts of the local ecnstable, Mr. Marshall (a great great grandscn of the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, by the way), that he was at me captured and lodged in the county jail. is trial was had in the court house here at the last term of the county ccurt, and he received a sentence of five years in the penitentiary. ——___—_ The Star's Election News. The Evening Star’s election news will completely cover every point of interest in the country. In addition to the facilities afforded by the wide-reaching arrangs- ments of the Associated Press, The Star has posted staff and special correspondents at all the important news centers, and the readers of The Star will enjoy the benefit of a service unrivaled for accuracy, full- ness and completeness. Those who want to get the quickest and best rews should arrange to get Tuesday's edition of The Star. The Star will display the news Tuesday night on a mammoth screen, fo that every one who desires can get the news as quick- ly as the telegraph brings it to the city. The Star will receive and display the bul- letins of the Associated Press, the Western Union and the Postal Telegraph companies, besides the special bulletins of its own corps of correspondents and the election news to be gathered and distributed ovex the country by long distance telephone. —_s»—___ Politeness is Cheap. From the Indianapolis Jourral. “Politeness is the cheapest thing there is for its intrinsic value.” “Yes. That is the reason it is used. That is why people put ‘I am your obedient servant’ at the end of a letter, where it ecsts nothing, and don’t it at the Of a telegram” tid ont