Evening Star Newspaper, January 16, 1921, Page 68

IKKY BOY O, it ain't so soft, being pri- vate sec. to a hard-boiled egg. Anyway, Dot every day in the week. And who- ever it was, back in-the early days, that tagged our mainstem as Old Hickory, he must have been a good judge. For he sure looks the part and at times he acts it. ‘Specially after he's had an income tax session with his lJawyers complicated with an annual directors’ meetin’ and a touch of rheumatism in that bad knee of his. Wowey! That's when the gen- eral office force of the Corrugated keep their noses to the desks and Piddie goes tiptoein’ around pale in the gills and as nervous as Rube crossin’ Broadwa T'll admit I don't enjoy these little outbreaks so much, either. Not that they get me p: cky or trembly in the knces. I've been through too many of 'em. But I find myself kind of sittin’ on the edge of my chair ready to answer the buzzer when he pushes the button, and wonderin’ Just where he’ll break loose next. Here the other day, though, al- most forgot that we were havin® an area of low pressure, as the weather man would put it. For the moment, anyway. In fact, although it was only the middle of the afternoon and 1 had a lot of work in front of me, my so-called mind had strayed out to Marhor Hills, L. 1. 1 had a good enough alibi, too. It was the ) gter’'s birthday. and he was ty. Course, by going to Old or Mr. Robert and puttin’ 1 might have begged off ernoon. But 1 hadn’t. 1 wasn't needed exactly. Lesides, 1 ured that by slippin’ out a few nutes before the whistle blew | 4 make the 5.03 and land home in | > the break-up of the affair he watch ‘Tkky Boy get away is second plate of ice cream. must have been kind of deep in h thought not to hear my ring on the buzzer, but what followed brought me out of the trance all right. I don’t know what kind of a hail you'd call it, COMES ALONG but it sounded to me like a cross be- [ EVERY FIVE MINUTES OLD ! e, _ |HICKORY IS ACTUALLY CHUCI tween a bull bellowin’ and a brick be- | K L e NG tng thrown through a plate glass win- @ow. What it was meant for was: “Torchy!"” “Coming, sir!” I sings out as I slides toward the door of the private office. As usual 1 finds him puffin’ impet ous on a brunette cigar and scowlin wmurderous at some papers on his desk. Oh, yes, a nice, pleasant old boy, when he's in one of them moods. Just the kind you'd like to sit down for a nice cozy chat with—I don't thin “Hah!" he snorts. are you, young man? “Looks so, sir, don’t it?" says I *But I thought I heard you call, Did yo —want me for something?” he gasps. “Did I—say, do you imagine 1 was simply exercising my voiee? Why the syncopated Sis- syphus should I shout that way unless 1 did want you? Now, what about this report?” If T'd been a mind reader, or could have got a glimpse of what he had crumpled up in big fist, T might have made a fair guess. As it is I has_to stall around. “Yes, sir.” says 1. “Which report " “About our plant at Beaverdale, Pa.. he snaps ‘Oh, that one!" says I “Precisely,” says he. “I understand it was Robert's brilliant idea to send you out there?” ~em willing to give him all the eredit for that” says I, “for if you k me, Beaverdale ain't just ‘the “Growing deaf, r ace I'd pick out to spend three days n. Say, Mr. Ellins, you ought to try ht in that hotel there. Or have have not, and don’t intend to.” vs he. “But you saw something be- sides the hotel, T take it>" “Sure!” says 1. “I saw everything n the whole blooming place, from the switch tower at the spur track (0 the slag dump at the other end of Main street. 1 went all over the plant. too, with the superintendent knd his assistant, and 1 listened for bours while they skethed out the de- 'ERY LAST ONE THIRTY DAYS. SITUATION, YOUNG MAN, CONFINE YOUR SYMPATHIES TO THE STOCK HOLDERS.” | tails of this row with the labor union | that's been going on for the last five | manths. “Hah!" says Old Hikory “Then Syou did learn something worth while. Anything eise?” Yes, sir,” says L “I talked with | Wops and Hunkies and Lithuanians and other low-browed garlic-scented parties from different parts of the map I Aidn't ket quite all they said, | 1 expect, but I could guess at most of it. And 1 chummed around in| their ear-heer Jolnts with the walkin® de « and leaders who've been runnin’ the strike, and I horned Into some of their meelings—eat on the stage with the orators onc “What'" gays Old Hickory representing ‘he Corrugated Trust “Hardly.” says I I ain't quite #0 reckless s that. Besider, I didn't want to send in my report from a Tospital, or have It read at the post- Ain‘s mortem pro. ‘Oh!" says O!d Hickory. “In ais- Buise, were you? As what”" “Well,” says I, from some re- marks 1 dropped I believe they kind of thought I was figurin’ on opening a movie house in Beaverdale. Any- way, they got real folksy with e, ‘ ‘em. men get together. some of them leaders feed ‘em raw stuff and talk kind of wildand woolly. T heard more or les of that, matter of fact the men themselves are fed up on that sort of thing. went big at first, when they still had credit at the stores and fund could be drawn on in place of the weekly pay envelope. five months of scant rations this the strike had been under way less| weks.” snorts Old Hickory, “You Yes, wouldn't miss that sort of thing, and I wouldn't. rollers and furnace men and o on have different tastes. Y a regular thrill from watchin' Bill Hart ride through a barroom window with a .48 in either hand; they stamp | enthusiastic at Doug Fairbanks' mon- | keyshines, and they can laugh them- | iselves sick over a pie-throwin' com- ledy. So they feel lost without it.” “Then why don't they go to work and get t show back “That's just what I was scoutin’ around to find out,” says I did. kindly to our tryin' to bust that up. You see, it's sort of a combined club, and church, and debatin’ society for It's the only place where the It fight-to-the-last sound “Are “Well, nit. “By adds ‘But says O the de; must that Beaverdale plant as an open shop or keep it shut. “That'll They’ I even chase off the walkin’ But I doubt if they'll give | up_their union charter. | They'l delegates. “The! he. THE YELLOW CURL! showed me all the vacant buildings | and corner lots, introduced me to several young lady Poles who might | be induced to sell tickets. lied cheer- ful about how many hundreds would turn out to every on the side let me pump out of them Just how proposition. know, but the women. bet in them thrce days I got to know more'n half the first fam'lies. and all. show-man’ I was the most popular guy in Just hungry for movies. idea. screen since last summer when the Beaverdale Arcade closed performance, and they stood on the strike Not just the men, you | Why, 1| kid As the picture- | Th-huh! Why, they're | You've no | the | town, bar none. Ain't seen anything on up after 1 know,” I goes on, But them puddlers and | They can get r fool moving picture demands Old Hickory. “And I 's the union. They don't take Course, I'll admit But as a It the strike But after dope crust don't F Yiaimun e THREWRN Rl 80 alluri They're aching to | et bagk to work.” they?" grunts Old Hickory. they've had every opportu- signin’ off from the union” I “That's what they can't quite Lswillow.” by the great grinning hyena,” )id Hickory, bangin’ his fist on sk, “that is precisely what they swallow. We're going to run right”” says T. the open shop. be all Il stand for n the plant stays closed,” says “There's a lot of orders pilin’ up,” I suggests. “We'll efther switch ‘em to other plants or let ‘em out on the subcon- tracts, says Old Hickory. “Those fellows are living in company houses, oo, We'll evict every last oue of | der that I backed out prompt. | as I sneaks to my desk in the corner | truce with strikers, I should judge. in thirty days. And the next sent out to imvestigate young man, con- them wit time you're ser a strike situation, | fine your sympathies to the stock- says 1 “How's Eh? says he. “Knee? Tts just as comfortable as an ulcerated tooth combined with a neck boil and a hor- net’s sting.” “Sorry to hear it, sir,” says L Anyway, 1 said’ 1 ‘was. But it wasn't for fear I'd weep on his shoul: n _ Robert gives me the grin. M little session with Been having a the governor, eh?’ he asks. 1 _nods. “What, may T ask,” says he, “was the pleasing topic “Beaverdul 1. “He's been looking over my report. “A says Mr. Robert. “Not a propitious moment for considering You're a good guesser,” says I My respected governor has other plans than ours, eh?’ asks Mr. Robert. bsolutely,” says L “Sprayin’ 'em with machine guns is nearer his idea. As for me, 1 got off easy. I think he wanted to drop me down the elevator ft at first. He's on some rampage, you don't mind me say- in® it.” Mr. Robert chuckles. “And this is the night I selected a week ago.” he “to ask him to have dinner “I hope it's a merry party.” says 1. Altogether, we had a hectic day of it in the Corrugated, with the whole force on the jump and now and then somebody gettin’ called in on the car- pet and coming out with their chin down and their jaws set. Who in- vented this rheumatism thing, any- way? He had a grudge against the THE SUND; human race, T'll say. And you can bet when I saw Old Hickory and Mr. Robert boardin’ the 5:03 bound for the same station I was I took care not to get in_the same car. I didn’t even let Mr. Robert have an openin’ to give me a lift home in his machine as usual. Somehow the walkin’ seemed good that evenin’, no matter if it was a bit slushy underfoot. So I'm just too late for the finish of the birthday party. But 'Ikky boy is still celebratin’. His dress-up clothes are somewhat rumpled, like- wise his taffy-colored curls, and his pinky white cheeks are more or less ared with chocolate ice cream and you young rough-houser, says as he gives me the flyin’ tackle, “how does it feel to be all years old? old Torchy!” he shout; swarmin’ up me like I was a ladder. Sce all the fings I got. White duck ‘at quacks' Drum 'at goes ‘Bang- bang" ‘rfing. An—an’ Buddy dog, he—he stole lot of cake, he did.” Y STAR, JANUARY 16, 1921—PART 4. g By SewellFord THE RAMBLER WRITES OF THREE FAMOUS BOATS THAT “MADE” POTOMAC PORTS “The rascal!” says I. “Thought he was Eoing to be barred from the party? T did mean to keep him shut in the Kitchen." says Vee, “but some- how he slipped in, and he did have the best time romping with the chil- dren. Really, he behaved just as though he knew it was a party. Look at him now, will you, Torchy. He's still bubbling over with mischief.” .. Hey, ol Buddy dog!" sings out Tkky boy, slidin’ down and makin’ a dash at him, _ Off the pair of ‘em go, through the living room, into the hall and back, skiddin’ on’ the rugs, bumpin’ into chairs and generally upsettin’ things, with Vee and me standin' by tryin’ to smother our giggles. You know how an Airedale will cut up, but you don’t know, maybe, what a close sec- ond to him a youngster like ‘Ikky can be. “They're en?" marki ‘I should say 80.” says Vee. “But Richard must quiet down, for its near his bed tim, Botween Vee and the nurse they did manage to get him upstairs and {indresscd, but 1t as half an hour ater than our schedule wi down to dinner. RenpYDeat “Ho hum!” says Vee. “I've had rather a strenuous afternoon. I wish you could have been here to help, instead of in that pokey old office. says 1. “Anything but. says she, “didn't high nee run smoothly today?” Just as smooth as a car with two flat tires taking the cobblestones at forty miles an hour,” says I “But let's forget it. There's a quiet even- Ing ahead. ou can't always tell, though. W nadn't ‘got settiod befora tha livin room fireplace when he hears a horn honk outside and the front doorbell rings. Who should stream in, too, but M. and Mrs. Robert Ellins. with ickory paddin’ i Ol Y P along in the “For the love of soup!” I whis; to Vee. ‘The He-Grouch!” i And then, while I'm helpin’ stow away their wraps, I has a chance to ask Mr. Robert, on the side: “Say, what you got against me?” “Geraldine’s idea.” says he. “She thought seeing you and Vee would put the governor in a more cheerful frame of mind. Besides, the knee is a little better since dinner. “Huh!" says L “Course, we're tic- kled to death. This is about the second time, I be- lieve, Old Hickory has ever honored us with a visit, and T suppose it wouldn't have happened now only we're such near neighbors of Mr. Rob. ert's. I must say, too, that he don't look a bit more chummy. as he limps in heavy and eases himself into our biggest stuffed chair than he did a few hours before in his private office. But by the way Vee fusses over him, gets a soft cushion for his right foot, and puts a smokin’ stand at his elbow, and so on, you'd think he was a fa- vorite guest. “Hah!" he grunts, lightin’ up a fresh cigar and lettin' the blaze from the hickory logs play around his game knee. “This is what I call a comfort- able homey room. Due to you, I sup- pose. young woman. “Torchy and T planned it,” says Vee. “We're glad you like it. You must come oftene: “I do wish,” puts in Mrs. Robert, “that daddy dear could have just a glimpse of little Richard.” Which don’t seem to make any great hit with “daddy dear.” She's got a very vivid imagination to call Old Hickory_that. I'll gurgle. “Eh, “What?’ says he. “The boy? No, don’t bother. Might get to romp- ing around over this confounded sleeping volcano in my knee. “He is rather a lively youngste puts in Vee. “That is, when he's awake. He's sleeping now, thank goodness.” “Yaint!” comes a protestin’ little squeal from the stairway. “TIkky boy wants to show Uncle Robert white duck ‘at quacks. See!” And in he prances, luggin’ the ac- complished duck that he'd begged to have stowed away with him in his erib. “Well, now!” exclaims Mr. Robert, liftin’ him up In his lap and exam- inin’ the toy respectful. “Blessed if I ever did see such a duck before. Let's hear him quack again, 'Ikky boy. And 'Ikky responds to an encore willin’. ‘Then, before anybody can stop him, he's wriggled down and is making a dash for Mr. Ellins. “You see quacky duck?" he demands, bangin’ Old Hickory right where he some team, I re- howls Old Hickory. " gays 'Ikky, starin’ at him with them big blue eyes as round as butter plates. *'Ikky hurt?” “Well, just a touch,” says Old Hick- ory. Tkky sorry,” says the youngster. ‘Tkky tiss and make all well.’ Which he proceeds to do as gentle as he knows how. Then he stands there gazin’ up at old Hickory sym- pathetic. Tl admit he's some pic- ture, in his little white pajamas. And he sure can give a good imitation of a young cherub, with his lips puck- ered up and his tangled curls framin’ the pink cheeks. Innocent! Say, you'd never guess there was a yeip or a howl or a bit of deviltry in him. And the first thing we know Old Hickory has fallen for 'Ikky boy. Hard. * Fle's steered him ‘round on the side of his good leg and is gettin' all the facts about the birthday party, and how old 'Ikky is, and how he expects to grow up and drive an ex- press truck and wear a shiny badge on his cap. Inside of five minutes Old Hickory is actually chucklin’ and run- nin' his fingers through tham vellow curls, He even delays the process ) Burning of the W. W. Corcoran. the Wreck of the Ex- press and Wreck of the Tallapoos a. 3 e Gettmg Informa- on” F tion” From a Gov- ment — News Ac- counts of the Old ‘ HREE incidents associated with | T the Potomac river are in the l gins this story. These incl- dents are the burning of the steamer Express and the wreck of the Talla- poosa. There is sufficient reason for one, the burning of the Corcoran, took place on the Potomac river. The Ex- Chesapeake bay and the Tallapoosa sunk after colliding with a schooner The W. W. Corcoran was the Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall steamboat, know. Government correspondence a wonderful thi sist on information about the Talla- | poosa’s general and particular duties and the things she carried you would |of the Expr save time by going up to the N: Department, minutes than assistant secretaries could get for you s, T It you really in-| 5. where somebody reter you to some old clerk who can get more information for you in ten all the secretaries in seven months. But the Rambler As the Rambler see mind's ¢ two masts. ol ship in she was brizantine square rigged on th schooner rigged on the ma memory plays so many trick may have been schooner rigied | The W. W. Corcoran was burned early on the morning of September 3, 1891 the Express broke up under the action of high waves and wind about 5 o'clock in the morning of October 23, 1878; the Tallapoose went down at about midnight August 22, 1884 The story of the burning of the W.| W. Corcoran was printed in The Star on Thursday, September 3, 1891. Tart of that story follows: he good old steamer W. W. Corcoran has m;‘:i" \‘u last run. It was burned fo the water's edge this morning at an early hour | 2n fow lies out on the banks of the fiats ol <ite her wharf, a total wreck. he fire was probably ene of the worst tha Ly ever taken. place on the river f Washington and the loss of prop undoubtedly have been enorine been for the prompt action of one of the tiver tugs. Ax th © lowe may e expressed 45,000 and one human life. ; ’ Hobert Grantley. s colored hoy. about fif teen years old, who worked on_the Corcors as & bootblack and generul errand Y. drowned by jumping from the burning steamer ax she swung out into the river. Hix hody Was recovered at about 10 o'clock and removed to his home, 444 K street northwest. Yesterday was one of the largest occasions of the season for the Mount Vernon and Mar- shall Hall Steamboat Company, there being a tournament at the Hall that was attended by thousands of people, Both steamers were in service and worked until late at night. The Corcoran made three round trips and reached her wharf on_ the last one at about twenty minutes of 2 o'clock_this morning. She carried a load of perbaps 550 p: ugers, and as soon as all were off the boat was made snug for the night and seven men mude their beds on board tain o Just a Word About ernment Depart- Side-Wheelers. Rambler’s thoughts as he be- W. W. Corcoran, the wreck of the; grouping these accidents, though only press went down during a storm in in Vineyard sound. being the successor on that route to the steamboats Arrow and Mary Washington. The Express for nearly { half a century ran between Washing- ton and Baltimore. She was known to everybody along the Potomac be- low Washington and the word—com- bination “Steamboat Express’ was familiar to everybody in Washington. The Tallapoosa had been a man-of- war in “the old Navy” and was “di patch boat” from the early seventies up to the time of her sinking. The Rambler is not really sure that “dis- patch boat” is correct; in fact, he does not know just what a dispatch boat is supposed to do. He believes that it has many things to do besides car- rying dispatches. The old Tallapoosa used to carry supplies from one navy yard to another. The Rambler does not know what kind of supplies she carried, but he believes that she car- ried groceries and other freight, such as machine parts, cordage, sailcloth and made-up sails, tools, ofl, etc. If you insist on knowing precisely what the old Tallapoosa did for a living, you might write to the Navy Depart- ment for information. The Secretary might refer your letter to an assist-| ant secretary end the assistant might refer it to a chief of bureau and the chict of bureau would refer it, etc. until it was finally referred to some- body who could get the information. Bye and bye, you would get an im-| portant-looking letter without a pos- tage stamp on it and part of the in- formation you wanted might be in 1t, and if you are a very lucky person some of the information might be, right. But ithe Rambler does mnot} —_— when Vee announces that 'Ikky must } go back to bed and get to sleep. | “That's a fine boy of yours, Torchy,”; he remarks, turnin’ for a last wave. Not wantin’ to start any argument, idn't deny it. z Lt deny Jow.” he goes on, “I'm fond of children; especially of boys ‘Me, too, says L “L got ac- i ith "a whole raft of new quainted W izattiotinew long ago. too.” Old Hickory, noddin’ re?” ones not mighty cute, “Yes?" says hig head. - Whesetl “ verdale,” S - A ays he, shootin' a shrewd glance at me. “Strikers’ brats, eh? “Uh-huh!” says L o mignt have rubbed it in. But that don’t get you anywhere with 01d Hickory. I just tossed it off and Jet it ride. Couldn’t help givin’ him the jab, you know, but T didn’t twist the knife. And I'm rewarded by an appreciatin’ wink from Mr. Robert. for the rest of his visit. though. the old boy don't have much to say ex- Sept that if he's lucky he'll get a couple of hours of sleep that night. T used that as my cue next mornin’ when I'm called into the private office about 10 o'clock. “Did you get them two hours’ sleep, Mr. Ellens?” I asked. Nearer six, son.” he growls. “And today I seem to have & knee instead of a torture joint. And, by the way, Torchy, along about daylight I got to thinking over that Beaverdale osition.” P fow you could evict ‘em without callin’ on the state militia?” I sug- ests. gna shrugs his heavy shoulders. wperhaps we_shall not be forced to evict,” says he. “It would be rather rough—all those children. And you Say the men will come back if ‘we open the gates and donm't insist on that non-union clause?” “All but a few soreheads” says I «Pil bet I could arrange it inside of an_hour. “Then go do it,” says he. “Eh " says I, gawpin (62 «It's your plan, and you Seem to be quite a capable arranger,” he goes on. “Here's a note to the superintendent, giving you full authority. There's a train at 1 o'clock.” v “All right, sir.’ says I, feelin’ a bit . but startin’ to go. Ay PN moment,” adds Old Hickory. “Promised ‘em a moving picture house, didn’t you? Well, arrange for that also. Take one of the company’s buildings and hire a manager. Tell him to give 'em plenty of Bill Hart and Douglass Fairbanks.” And as I walks through the general offices with my chest out and my chin up. Mr. Robert gives me the hail. “Where to now, Torchy?” says he. ‘Out to Beaverdale, Pa" says T “Gotta pick out & site” it for what?" he asks. «“For a monument them strikers will want to be erectin’ to me in about six weeks,” says I I think I'll have my- self sculped ridin’ a horse, like Gen. Sheridan; or would you have it taken standin’ on top of a tall shaft, like the one of Columbus up at the cir- cle? (Copyright, 184k by Sewell Ford.) jall the facts before he began writir iafler getting the facts. t of her. These were Capt. Bell, the captain of STEAMER the steamer: 8. J, Stuart, first officer: W Johnson and Jobm Dorses, colored, deckhand Willlam Johnson, colored ‘fireman, and Robert Grantley, colored bootblack. On tie boat ulso a5 a nephew of Capt. Kell's, & voung man who had been down the river and who bunked on the boat for the night because the cars had stopped runuing, * It was perliaps quarterpast 2 when Mr Stuart turned in, having seen to ail the p arations for the night, the piling up of ch and the banking of the firex. Drobabis never tied to the wharf at the end of any of her numerous trips in a better condi- tion. " The engineer, Mr. Cole, a man who en- Joed the ntmost confidence of his employe: had personally attended to the Sres and had gone home, not far from the wharf. It was ‘about 5 o'clock when Mr. Stmart { 2woke in a natural way. without ans supicion of fire being on the bout. He walked about u little and then returned to Lis room, where he lay down on a sofs, and he was quite awake, when & few minutes afterward he & g on his clbow he logked out, and di He slipped his shoes on h around to the room of the ptain, across the boat. Calling to him, he managed to awake him. The captain on hearing that the steamer was on fire, called to his n crew. Mr. Stuart then jumped down to the lower deck and ran into the fireman, Johnson, who | was coming, half suffocuted, from the lower | part of the boat. The smoke was then pouring | out from the firehole in dense volumes and in | few more seconds the flames bhad appeared at the opening. 1t is very interesting to the Ram- bler to study the technique of this story. The man who wrote it got| written it must have s He seems and he vy | perished. among will | Pryor, engineer M and | county, Mr: W 5 Tarleton and child of St. Inigoes, Dr. Cecil county, a passenger. m | breaking o te to turn out the { da was blown ashore at the mouth the Patuxent and twenty-three hooners were reported as lost Twelve of the passengers and crew ss are known to have them being Leonard st officer; Edward Philip Rice, lookout; Randolph Jones of St. Marys M. G. Bacon of Bacons rys county; Mrs. J. F. fi Howard, harf, St. M does know that the Tallupoosa was|D. €. Burch of St. Marys county, something of a plea: boat or a|Thomas Carrington of Alexandria, “junket-ship.” being sort of a side-steward; Matilda Isaacs, colored, wheel Mayflower with a black hull, ajchambermaid; Henry 1 n of Bal- red water line, a tall smokestack and | timore and Chloe Dyson. colored. Barker of was | om and ¢ Cant. cked up . ¢hi in Dougla: liam Barker, son of Capt att, fireman George Walker ter; Robert Hawkins, fireman; William Gant, cook; H. Lewis, hand, and Capt. John L. Walm; Two col- ored deckhands were picked up from floating wreckage by a schooner un- named, transferred to the tug Dupont and landed at Baltimore. Many re- markable survivals were reported and every now and then the announcement was made of the recovery of a body in the bay or of finding one that had been washed ashore. pt. Barker was quoted as telling the following at 4 with and other ot midni erease in a henyy o The -~ broke n. ers for W. . veering er lubored r over lier up Joiner work began giving way. and efforts were fnade to head her for the shore. The storm & Tow xo furions that it was impossible to stand agaiust it, and the rolling of thie boat prevented the engine from working fast enough to keep steerage way on her. 1t ‘Was evident that the upper deck wus, fast giving way, and it was deemed adsisuble 10 let go the anchors and bring her lead to the wind in the hope of her riding ont the gale. The effort was futile, as the cables parted as soon ‘a8 she broached 'to, and the steamer went adrift, no longer manageat Alout 4 Tvery feacible means was emplored to bring | 0 her | lapoosa came to Washington the day after she went down, and The Star of Friday, August published this telegram from ttage City, Mass.: The Tnited States steamship Tallapooss e survivors have ed _with n with the xouk off Lere last uight. landed at Woods Hole. ~She coll large three-masted schooner. She top of ber main: water. The Ta sel of 630 tons used as a dispatch boat two lives have been lost by the d A dispatch from Boston told that thy Tallapoosa with 140 men and officera left there bound for Newport News to take on board Secretary Chandler {At 11 o'clock. during a thick fos. when thr les northeast of Ook Blu Martha's Vineyard, she w oner Jam - ed, from a carpo Her side was crushed in ard sank in five minutes. s s'le - her distress whistle was heard by the Boston and Savannah steamar bound from Savannah. She came up, and the schooner Mary A. Hood, which happened to be close by, rescued the crew with the exceptio’ of Surgeon Black and Landsma8 “eorge Foster, colored. The Gats City blew her whistle and the steam- er Fish Hawk, lying at the whart o3 Woods Hole, ent out her steasm launch. The schooner James . Lows {ell also took on board several of th4 Tallapoosa survivors. In the old d ches the Rambls: ‘r.fl('lu‘i the names of the following the 003 K bow on by the Lowell of Bath, P4 apt Baltmore for Portland wit of coal. Commander Merry, in mand; Lieut jam H. ¥ cutive officer; Ensign Wil Whittlesey. Paymaster Tiffany a3d Master Mechanie Steener. In one d s- 1teh it is said that the Yantis, Com- | mander Wildes, was standing by a the scene of the wreck. Of couvice there was a long ingestigation. On October 17. 1884, The Star, in 413 river front notes, printed this item “The schooner James Lowell, the we-:- sel which sunk the Tallapoosa, has 2"~ | rived at the whart of the Independen! Ice Company.” ¥ “The Tallapoosa was raised by #i7 Merritt Wrecking Company. repaifd her under control, but all to o purpose. The Fxpress was now off Hoopers straits, and the sed Was running at 4 great height, evers wave frer crash, Joiner work hions. The pussengers time to realize what had Ton following billow swep 1d with it nearly all on board. * % * reached Baltimore the day after, the papers of Thursday, October published this: Arrivals from down the ba are bringing a few particulars of di ke. The steamer Express, Capt. tx of the boat b to Crisfield engers probably lost. of the sinking of the Tal ingy and taken crew and ps The ne = e came a terrifie| stryck by a coal-laden schooner started from the and crew hardly arred before deck like so much | captain then. it The first bit of news of the accident | Tallapoosa. and | water, left this port on Tuesday after- He reports some of the | and returned to service. But ooV laden schooners seemed to purfud 1801, she wa: it | the harbor of Buenos Aires. Com { mander James M. Forsythe was he She was found unfit fo; further naval service and was con- | demned and sold. the sale being made {March 2, 1892. It may be that the still in the land, or the of going steamboats, and | though she is far away, the Rambler *|will bet an eight-cent cigar (there {are no five-centers) that the Talla- On August | ner. e aiorming | poosa often thinks of the happy days he spent at the Washington navy yard and in the Potomac river. The . Tallapoosa , was built at the Boston navy yard and launched Feb- ruary 17, 1863. She was armed with two 100-pound Parrot rifles on pivots, in broaa | four 9-inch smooth-bores side and four smaller guns. THE R‘OBBE_R MME. LUCIE DELARUE- MARDR Translated from the French by Wil- liam L. McPherson. BY HE convent of the White Fathers of Carthage stands on one of those historic hills ) have seen everybody connected with the affair, and’ then, after tell- | ing in the first paragraph w hap- pened, he proceeds to present the facts in the order of their happenir though, of course, he did not collect the facts in their sequence. When he sat down to write he had a jumble of facts which as he went along he arranged in the picture in their proper order. It was a very good piece of work. * ok ¥ ¥ But now to matter of the Corcoran. In that story the Rambler reads that the fire hose of the boat was set to work; that Mr. Stuart telephoned to police headquarters to turn in an alarm of fire; that the watchman at the ferry wharf where the Corcoran was moored cut her hawsaw and she drifted out into the river; that the incoming tide sent her in the direc- tion of the Macalester; that beyvond the Macalester lay the George Leary; | beyond the Leary, the Wakefield, and beyond the Wakefield, the Tygert. Then, the steamboat Washington came in from Norfolk. The Corcoran, in her drifting, touched and set fire to the Leary; the Leary was saved, and for that act credit was given to the engineer, Mr. Germond, his assist- and, G. W. Lawrence, and to the second mate, J. A. Posey. The tug D_ M. Key, Captain Taylor. made fast a line to the Corcoran and the tug Po- tomac ' helped to tow the blazing steamer toward the flats where she grounded. The fire department responded promptly, No. 4 engine being the first to arrive, but the boat was beyond the reach of the hose. Then the police boat Joe Blackburn laid a cable of hose from the shore to the {Corcoran, and firemen got on board, but the Corcoran was past all hope of (being saved. Nothing from the boat was saved, and there never was an explanation of the cause of the fire. Policemen Considine and Stuart of the Joe Blackburn recovered the body lof Grantley. Manager S. C. Ramage gave The Star man an interview. in which he said that there was “not a boat on the river better officered than the Corcoran.” A few hours after the fire The Star, with the fire story, was in every home in Wash- ington and the suburbs, and carried an editorial_vigorously pointing out the need of a fireboat for Wash- ington. The W. W. Corcoran was built in 1878 by the Quintard iron_works of New York for Capt. L. L. Blake and Col. Joseph C. McKibbin, represent- ing the Mount Vernon Steamboat Company. Her cost was $45,000. The steamboat Arrow was sold just before the arrival of the Corcoran. In 1885 the Corcoran was rebuilt at the Alexandria shipyard. It was esti- mated that in the thirteen years of her service on the Potomac the Cor- coran carrfed 1,100,000 passengers. One of the historic storms on the Chesapeake was that of October 22-24, 1878. The Express went down, the Shirley of the York river line was blown ashore on Barren Island, the steamer Massachusetts went ashore at Drum Point, the Tangier lost a large part of her upper works, the Theodore Weems sustained in- jury, the steamer Loulsa went ashore on middle ground, the steamer - Arabs, of Africa on which two great races once fought for world empire. sar it is a pale and lonely cathe- dral, the gigantic and glorious tomb of Cardinal Lavigerie. In the shadow of that cathedral- sepulcher the fathers, silhouetted like their bodies robed in white and their heads turbaned in red, live between the past and the present. Above is their museum; below are their cellars. To the past belong the glass win- dows, lined with statuctes; the Tows of urns, the golden jewel boxes, the Punic sarcophaguses in which skele- tons of hign priests and priestesses repose. To the present belong the cellars, with their tuns, their casks and their bottles. There in obscurit - lence and coolness repose the red and white wines which constitute the wealth of the convent * = = A garden of cactus and eucalyp- tus blooms within the low walls, in which the fathers have incrusted all sorts of antique fragments—pieces of statues and vases, of sculptured mar- ble and ornamented stone—all elo- quent vestiges of that trage civiliza- tion of which nothing now remains. On the horizon, at the end of th immense fields of barley which cover the site of ancient Carthage, is the sea. In the month of March masses of wild poppies run in red waves from the ruins of the city down the hill_slopes to the blue waters. It is as if Carthage again poured its life- blood into the sea. 7 Under the indigo blue afternoon sky a father who had come up from | the cellars was forced to shield his eyes from the violence of the sun's rays. He walked through the gar- den where the eucalyptuses, refreshed by the eternal wind from the Mediter- ranean, smell so sweet and so fresh. The eucalyptuses have the func- tion in Tunis of everywhere drain- ing the soil, of pumping out the marshes with their deep and greedy roots. Nourished by pestilential mat- ter, they fabricate out of it the most wholesome and vigorous odor in the world. The father certainly seemed to be suffering from the heat. But the sweat which covered his brow wasn't due altogether to the African sum- mer. He had charge of the wine vaults. He thought he had diScov- ered just now that one of the huge tuns, ‘which ought to have been filled ; to_the top with red wine, sounded hollow. uld any one bhe stealing my wine? Perhaps I am mistaken” he said to himself. “How could such a thing be possible?” * * Xk His uneasy suspicions shifted from the band of Christianized Arabs set- tled about the convent to the Bed- ouins who browsed among the city’ ruins, and then to the little handful of Europeans employed in the ca- thedral. “I am going to investizate. going to catch somebod: Being in doubt, he said nothing to 1am one elge. But he multiplied his watched that night and set many traps. At the end of two weeks he made another test. The tun sounded a little hollower. The wine had run lower. “But there isn't any fissure! If the wine were leaking there would be signs of it. Robbers couldn’t tap !the tun now without being caught. What is the trouble?” Little by little the monk's supersti- tions were aroused. He was afraid when he was alone at night in the cellar. By day the others noticed that he talked to himself. Once the superior surprised him saying over formulas of exorcism, as if to chase away evil spirits. he superior took him aside. “What is the matter, my son? The monk hesitated for some min- utes. Then he told his story. A few days later he fell ill. He was fe- verish and had hallucinations. “You must take a rest,” said the superior. They put the monk out in the open air, under the most beautiful euca- lyptus in the garden. a monster of a tree, which surpassed all the others and which every one admired for the { extraordinary determination Which it { seemed to show to grow and flourish | The delicious odor, the warm wind | any rounds, and his long reveries calmed the mouk’s nerves. The fever fell and {the halluc tions ceased. Never- theless he asked every day about the cellar and the tun. But the superior jhad given orders. “You were probably mistaken,” the { Arab servants told him. “The tun has |always sounded hollow. Nothing un- yusual has happened. Put your mind | at ease, maste: But one evening, while the conva- lescent was dozing happily in his ichair to the far-off droning of the {waves of the Mediterranean and the nearer murmur of the big eucalyptus, {a tumult of exclamations aroused him. * ¥ ¥ ¥ Five or six Arabs and as many white fathers were running toward ! him. “The tun group. .“We have found the robber,” cried the other. ‘While all gesticulated and taixed at the same time, the youngest of the fathers took the sick monk gently by the hand. “Follow me,” he said, with a mys- terious smile. ‘When he had descended once more to the cave of the vigils and terrors, |the former guardian, guided by the {other's lighted lamp, approached the tun. It lay open like a cavern. “Look,” said the youngest father, banding over the lamp. Bending down, stretching his neck, with fear in his eyes, the monk saw —and understood. Through the foundation wall a long root, plowlng its way with a patience and force found only in the vegetab! kingdom, had pierced the earth, the sfone and the wood, and had succeed- |ed in reaching the heart of the big tun, It was this root which had slow- 1y drained the wine, while in the sun- light and the fresh breeze outside the is empty,” cried the one beautiful eucalyptus which all ad- mired, the criminal eucalyptus, the drunken eucalyptus, grew almost while you looked at it, and, with its wealth of foliage secretly fed by the genial liquor, ovirtopped, like some incomprehensibia\ jant, all the othe trees in the ga@ E r