Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, July 18, 1893, Page 5

#fellow, who knows more § HEAP BIC INJON'S OLIDAY Annnal Festivities of the Oollected Tribes at the Winnebago Agenoy. MEDICINE DANCE, GIFTS AND DOG SOUP HMow n Mot DAy Was Spent by the Noble Med Man in Parsuit of Evanescent Fleasure Klis Ball, His Politios mnd His Personal Habl WisNenAGo AceNoy, Thurston county, Neb., July 16 —[Staff Corresvondence. |- Tho citizens of Omaha, surrounded as they are with all the fixuries and coavenionces of modern civilization, little dream of the sccnes of superstition and un- tutored savagery that are yet be- ing enacted within the contines of this thriving and progressive state, Hent upon witnessing the annual celebra- tion of the Winncbagoes, a sort of a red man Fourth of July, I boarded the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneap- olis and Omaha b o'clock train Friday evening and threo hours luter was in Pender, the nearest point to vthe agency, and the only town within the big and bounteous county of Thurston. Penderis a smart little city of possibly 1,300 souls, with handsome public buildings, churches and school houses, two newspapers, snug privile residences and every essontial manifestation in the way of general improvement that so marks the age in avhich wo live. It s finely located, near the romantic Logan, upon an elevation, or o scries of eleva:ions, that command an en- trancing view of the wavi (. blooming agricultral paradise which euvirons it com- pletely for miles and miles. beyoud the reach of human vision. Instead of finding the scenc of the Winne- bago fandango within an casy stroll of this charming town, I quickly learned that it was adjacent to the agenc, lly it not quite twenty-cight miles . upon a ono hundred and forty acre tract of as fine land as lays out dcors, allotted to them by the government especially and exclusively for these ann reunions and weir festivities, But such a drive. ncross a rolling vrairie Iand,grander in beauty and the variety of its attractions than any picture man could ever hope to paint on canvas, was to bo regarded inthe way of a genuine pleasure, rather than a laborious discomfort. Nature's Swoet Symphony. he broad corn fields strotehing away like ans of green, sang iu the breezy tone of vaying staik und waving blades: that de ous fainy, far-away roar, like that which comes in from the sea at dead of night, and always to be heard upon the limitless prains, murmured softly, and these,with the biended voices of ruval valley, tho tinkle of the sheep Dells, tha rustle of the yellowmg wheat and drone of the cicadie, in most porsuasive music, scomed to invite one to make the journey. But a wore powerful attraction than all the delights of nature combined was the assurance of witnessing a scene of wild Jollification by the remnant of a once power- ful nation of America’s aboriginal citizons. This was something not to be resisted. We made the drive, stariing from the Peebles house, oven before the sun's first rays had begun to glint the tassels of tho ‘waving corn, but it is needl to enlarge upon the grandeur and picturesque beauty of the country through which we journeyed. Throughout this almost endless plateau, 1f T may so call it, and while the whole territory i8 almost one unbroken world of corn, wheat and pasture land, theroare no settloments, Hero and there, on the edge of some strag- gling motte or bunch of timber, are clusters of rough habitations, the abode of some tenant of the Ind ands, and along the small streams the abandoned hut of some cowboy or muskrat trapper is to be detected a oceasionally, 1t was but a comparatively fow yeurs ago, when this brond terri- tory was the home of the buffalo an the antelopo, over which alone the warlike Sioux and fierce Pawnce galloped their gaily” bedecked po- nies, either in conflct with each other, or in pursuit of the lordly game that was always Tound there,but is now next to extinet, There are no buffalo, elk or antelope there now. The Indian alone remains, and he is so meta morphosed in looks and demeanor that it re- quires a considerable stroteh of the imagi- nation to funcy him what ho was then. ‘I'he golden tangle of the midday sun glit- tered amid the scrub oaks that thickly dot the sloping hillsides, the damp air of the valley is full of fragrance, and the serpen- tine stream, winding in and out, gave flash for flash, as we camo in sight of the be- bluffed spot where stands the agency. Good Fellows at tho Ageney, A sharp turn round a jutting, craggy point, the tramp of our tired horses over the litule bridge, a slight ascent and we pull up at the door of the one-story log store of the pos’ trader, Tom Ashford, a handsome, athletic about the Indians than the Indians do themselves, and who is most generous in- dispensing his knowledge tells good stories and tells them well, and in fact is anall round, wholesouled, good fellow., A short distance from the trading post are the quarters of Captain W. H. Beck of the ‘enth cavaliy, the new agent recently ap- pointed by President Cleveland. These quarters consist of low, rambling sort of a frame building' of a dozen rooms or more. There are soveral other buildings within the radius of of 200 or 800 yards, and altogether the agency is well calculated to romind one of the trad- ing stations upon the extreme frontier a half a cenvury ago, when such places were the world in miniaturo, a focus of 1ts pas- sions, its prejudices, its hates and loyes, ‘There wero a motloy lot of ragged and greasy Indians, bucks und squaws, mixed up with counterfeit cowboys and country bump- kins, with the odor of "bad whisky in their nostrils, in ana about the trader's store, and after o rather hurried inspection of tho outfit, wo again hooked up our horses and started to tho scene of the celebration some two miles further on, situate upon an em. fnence giving o distant view of the dark falley of the Missouri river. Ou our way over we fell in with a camping Bu;'t,y from " Pender, consisting of Agent ck and his family, Hon. W. . Pocbles and Mrs. Peebles, G. Y. Chittenden and wife, I, L. Sloan und wife, S. Hanes, C. M. Howard and Miss Katie Tellokamp and brother. They had their tents pitched in a rove of dwarf oaks on the very apex of the divide, a lovely spot, and were' enjoying the long summer day after the most robust and approved American fashion, We halted long enough to quaft a couple of bottles of Budweiser, right off the ice, then resumed our journey, with the sweet strains of min. dolin and guitar, mingled harmoniously with a delicious sopeano, s fair tenor and oo bass, from the merry picnickors behind, fill- ing all our senses, Another quarter of un nour and wo were upon the festal grounds of the Winnebago, and a thrilling and remarkable scene lay spread before us, Lo On is Native Heurth, There wero tepoes here, tepees there, and tepeos everywhere, crowning the ridge as far as oue could see, and specking both sid of the blufts, some in regular rows, othe: if tossed here and thers by some mighty but unmethodical hand, Topees of deer and cow- akin, topees of canvas, topees of carpet and rags, and tepees of scragey brarches of oak and willow; scrawuy borses and spavined pouies, mangy dogs with wolfish suouts and pointed ears, curs that looked like brindle mops, aud half naked and filthy bucks, untidy squaws, and cunning, chubby papooses, strapped on & squaw’s back or rolling and kicking up in untutored delight in dirt and sand ang leuves. Thero wero Indians of all ages, con. ditions and kinds, from the Santee centen- an to the Pottawattamie babe vath its eyes barely open. Squaws in full dress and squaws in as good as no dress at ull: ditto bucks; some with plug hats, others with soldiers' caps, but the bulk of them with a crow's wing or hawk's tail for head cover- ing; long-haived Indiaus and short-haired Indiaus; blooming muidens and toothles: ’rny«huired.dmnhnx hags; the thrifty red armer and the worthless red vagaboud and gambler; sober Indians and drunken In- dians, good and bad, lazy and izdustrious. attractive sud repulsive, they were all thers om an equal level for the ono day anysway. ‘The tall Santes from 'way north of Rosobud agency, with his smooth- shavon cranium with its bofeatherod scalp- lock, steaight as & hemlock, poworful, ugly, keen-oyed looking fellows, who must have been topnotchers with the tomahawk and scalping kaife in days when poor Mr. Lo had show for his white ally. The stolid, low-browed, snaky-orbed Sioux, in wild holi: day parapliernalia of coyote hide, bull's horns and feathers of the turkey buzzard, Always suilen, covort, reticent and suspi- cious, yet the nearest upproach to the orig inal abotigine of all that straggling, illy clad, frowsy and dirty assemblage. he quick-footed, sharp-voiced Kioway, with his bedizened and beribboned pony, was an interesting individual on_account of his picturesque dress and proud bearing ; the slovenly Otoe and crafty Sae, with primiti bow and arrow and abont as much intel gence in his face as you would expect to s in a chop-housa buckwheat cake; tho round faced, smiling and greasy Omaha, with his hulky body, beads, feathers, banded ankles and whisky. They were all there, “plenty Dig Injun,” too, overy one of them, as they were the guests of tho Winnebago, mighty man, pompous and overbearing, on tho occa- sion in hand at least, 1t is estimated that there wore fully 1,800 Indians present, which included a band of about 700 Winnebagos, the rest coming from the distant reservations of the Santee, tho Sioux, Pottawattamie, Omaha, Kioway and Sac. Danetng In the Modiclne Lodge. Tho medicine dance was in full blast whon we reached the scene, and even before making a cursory round of the musbroom tepeo town, wo hurried forward to the medi- cine lodge, where possibly 100 warriors and squaws wero indulging in the wild and weird orgies that distinguished their celebrations centuries ago. The medicine lodge was a spacious strue- ture erected upon the highest point of land for miles avound. It was built of serub-onk logs, planted upright in the sandy soil at in- tervals of six or soven yards, F'rom the tops of these, from one to another, and across and back again, were strotched thongs of cow- hide, until o very retioulation of thong and cord had been formed, upon which was heaped the branches of the oak and willow, and g cornstalks and weeds, furnishing a tolfTably ood roofing, not only suficiently impervious to preclude all discomfort from the tiery rays of the July sun, but to defy very thorough drenching in case of inclem- ent weather. Iivery availablo inch of space on the in- side of this modicine lodge, and encompass- ing it to the dopth of twenty-five head or more completely roundabout. were half naked or red-blanketed Indians, as deeply interested in the grotesquo spectacle being enacted in the center of the lodgg man or woman ev wus in n opera or thrilling tragedy. It with ex- ceeding difficulty that we were cnabled to crowd our way into a spot commandinga view of the charmed arena, but Iidward Rose was my guide, and his long arity with the Winncbagoes proved the open sesamo. erry Fox" Led tho Dance. Cho-ock-sopa-ne-ke-nee-kay, or Jerry Fox, an ola Sachom nearly 10 years old, was conducting the ceremonics’ when wo entored. Rose called him over, and, giving a short, sharp yelp, the tom-tom beaters lay down their sticks, the fierce looking bucks ceased their contortions, and the plainti chant of the squatting squaw gradually grew fainter and faintes, finally dying out in gloomy cadences of lingermg, mournful sound. Mir. Rose introduced me to Fox, as T will call him for short. and told him as nearly as ho could in Winnebago that I was there for Tue Beg, and was going to write the cole- bration up for the enlightenment and amuse- ment of the white reader. The old fellow looked pieased, whother he knew what Rose told him or' not, und, with an expressivo ugh! he_said something toa squaw at his elbow. She disappeared at once into the crowd, returning quickly with a camy stool in her hands. This Fox ol and, placing it near the tom-tom band, wayved me toa seat. I couldn’t help but look at the old fellow, in that wild garb, and wonder at the thoughts that must be filling his dusky brain. There was no monkey business about Cho- ocle-sepa-ne-ke-nee-kaw. He was a superb specimen of what you might have conjured up his forefathers to have been; the fierce and truculent warriors of the wilderness back in_ the primeval days of the mighty KKing Philip. Land commanding, despite the burden of a hundred years, with'a_hard, cold, austere look i his bronze face, wrinkled with care and age. But his eyes, buried deep in his skull, sparkled like those of a mink or a weasel, and gave no_indication of the long, wild ‘lifo he hadled. Ho wore a strip of wolf-skin tied tightly around his head. with the painted tail feathers of an eagle or buzzard sticiking out here and there, and a flowing mustang’s tail depending from his scalp lock almost to his heels. His sinewy, red arms were braccloted with brass bauds, and about his ankles was o strand of smail copper sleigh bells. Cho-ock had been a mighty warrior in his day, so 1 was told, and_a ‘grear hunter. He took a prominent part in the Minncsota massacre in 1862, ullied with the government, and was one of the scouts who chased tho truculent Little Crow into the dense morass north of Mankato, whero he was treacherously mur- dered by one of his own warriors, A short, sharp whoop and_the weird cere- moines were resumed as it nothing had oceurred to interrupt them, On with the Dance. There were a dozen bucks or more beating the tom-toms, huge tub-liko contrivances, feathered and painted, with a gout's skin stretched across the top, and around which vhe bucks squatted like so many delighted children. On these the red musicians beat, with monotonous system, with long vliable sticks, bulbed at the end with chamots sk in and cotten, Around these tom-tom biaters was seated u circlo of young squaws, prob ably numbering twenty or more, and around these another row of squaws, old and squaiid, wrinkled, thin and yepellant, while around the wholo were the dancers in tho gymnas- ticand fantastic evolutions of tho great medicine. ‘T'he monotone of the tom-toms and the “hiyi! hi-yi! ki i-yi! he-ho! ki-yi! he-ho! k ! k-yi! ki-yi!” of the bucks and the squaws together, old voices and young, shrill and strident, us well as sofy and melodious, intersnersed as it was every instant or so, by a sharp yelp from someono of the frenzied dancers, made sight and sound white man seldom enjoys. It was weird, singular and_creepy, yot fascinating to & dogree incredible, and despite one's scruples about the dauger of disouse or ver- min, he would find it impossible to tear him- self’ away whilo the orgies continued and he had a chauce to stay i the pusn, At an understood signal the din dancing were suddeuly discontinued as quickly ns they began, and in the midst of breathless silence, h-ko-keg-kaw, or Wild Jack, clad in a shabby buckshin suit, em- broidered with strand after strand of red, blue and yellow beads, strode inwo the arena via an avenue that had opened up for him a8 1f by wagic, leading & small, dun pony with one haund, while in the other ne clasped his pipe and tomahawk. He was closely foilowed by Wa-ra-ra-chun-kaw, or the White Horse, a tall, slender, half-clad, oldish luokiug buck, who lod s sécond pony, These were gifts to the chiefs of the visit- ing tribe and during the day something like fifty head were given away, a generous custom that has been iu vogue amoug tho wild children of plain and forest for hun- dreds of years. ‘I'he presentation of ench wift was the signal of a scene of wild hilarity, Iu eich instance the leaders of the ponies, with gesticulations that looked more like fight than anything else, and a short ad- dress fairly hissod from between clenched teeth, would beckon with his tomahawk, and the vecipient of the Winnobago's generosity would appe: Silently and stolidly ho would relieve his red cousin of the pony's halter, and as silently and stolidly leave the arens, leaving all demonstration to the laughning squaws and young men. hen that short, shurp yolp again, the and monotonous tom-toms, the squaws’ dolorous chaut, the warriors' flerco cries, and the stooping, stamping, bending, crouching, whirling, erawling evolutions of the dancers would be resumed, only to be interrupted again and again, as above related through- out the live-long duy. Can s more thrilling experience be im- agined! The dance itself, which partakes of sowe of the features of the mediciue, Roso told mo, 4130 has parts of the Green Core, the Sun, Ghost and War dances in it, and on a whole, in consequence, exceeds in interest any terpsichorean specialty the tribe may of can indulge in. Harangued by Frize Beauties, 'Long about bhalf past 2 tuere was a half THE OMAHA hour's ceasation in these coromonies, during which all the assemblod tribes, in squate ting, sitting or lolling postures, listened to a stirring address by Ho-chunk-ko-ne-kaw, old Red Leg, the orator of the nation He is anold vetoran of the war and buftalo trail, and was also a government scout dur- m( tho Little Crow uprising, He would be a fine specimen of the Winnebago were it not for a huge wen on the side of his face,which he holds up with ono hand or tho other while shooting off his elocutionary pyrotech- nics. Old Red Leg was followed by Black Hawk, Hew-ga-ge-nuck-kaw. He was an ugly old scalp raiser, and is said to havi been hostile to the whites in the Minnesota massacre. He arose and_advancing, wich a great deal of dignity, to the center of the circle, stopped and stood a moment, scan- ning the immobile faces about him. Then he put himself in an attitude to speak. 1 was majestic, even it Black Hawlk was di nd disheveled. He proudly flung the tat- tered robe of coyote skins from his powerful form and stood erect in all the barbaric lofti- n and dignity of person as ever distiuguished warrior before. Every In- dian was now an eager and attentive subject, and the Hawk began speaking with the native eloquenco and_ impressiveness of the Indian sovereign. The first words that fell from his lips, though soft and mild, caused his lolling auditors to straighten up into attitudes of respectful attention, but as he went on, his language grow less calm and deliberate. and bis face darkly flushied with the feelings within his breast. His little eyes glowered like a wolf's, but the dusky forms of those wild bein, were as silent and motionless as if they had been carved from stone. Ana all he was talking about, 1 afterwards learned from Rose, was the leas- ing of a few thousand acres of land, and the bountiful outlook of the maize crop, and all the time I thought he was haranguing of rapine anda murder, Black Hawk through, the dance and the music was resumed. At one time there were fully 100 bedezined, half naked Indian vagabonds, ioafers and ' farmers, leaping, Jumping, stamping andscreaming injdelirious ccstacy, and the medicine lodge might well have been taken for some unhaliowed arena or pandemonium where malicioys demons had assembled to enact their bloody and infernal rites. Buck after buck fell into the whirling multitude, until about all Within tho medicine lodge, including Roseand Tom Ashford, were numbered 1n its dizzy mazes. If it hadn't have been for ‘omin his shirt slooves and stove pipehat and ,'with a gray Scotch suitand straw hat, tho spoctacle might have been conjured uto oae of wildeat terror. He was the Bello of the Ball, Eh-shook-ke-kaw, or Jim Bird, was one of the loudest bucks at the ball. He was cn- tirely nude, save a small calf’s-hide breech- clot and moccasins, but was painted a bright yellow from the crown of his head to his ankles, and from the way the bright eyed squaws followed Jim's grotesque movements I imagined he must be as much of a masher as heis of a dude. The girlscall him Pussy- Cat, and he is tho Ward McAllister of Skunk creek. Wah-sted-da-ke-kaw was an- other honey-cooler, both in his skill as a dancer and the ingenuity aisplayed in his make-up. Wah-Sted's head W closely cropped, save the inevitable scalp lock, which was tied full of red, green and crim- son feathers, while from each side of his head protruded the long horns of a Texas steer, and a couple of big brass rings clinked and jingled from his big Roman nose. 2y Bear, Pats-ket-te-kaw Wah-shet- eh-kaw, and Wow-nich-strus-kaw, Also star performers, particularly the latter, who went through the intricate and devious convolutions of the Winnebago Ger- man with but few more clothes on than when he came into the world. He is called the Black Bird, and is said to have run down an antelope o few years ago on the open plain. Hew-ne-kaw was a scout in the late rebellion, and is a government pensioner, drawing 342 a quarter. Heis an intelligent fellow. a goodpenman and reader, but loves ‘'pogeneno’—whisky—fast horses, women and the ghost dance much more fervently than he does knowledge, and this combina- tion is sooner or later bound to get him into trouble. Snowball can dance as good as the youngest buck in the party, notwithstanding he is 80 years old, and Naw-ske-nck-kaw, can jump over u pony’s back and never touch a hair. Nos-mo-nuck-ke-kaw, with black. red and vellow torso, and old ico apron for a breech-clot, and a grensy horse blanket for a robe, was a conspicious figure in the dance. He has been to school at Carlisle, Pa., and acquired a good educa- tion; still ho would rather lay around in the little mangy tepees, with the buxom Winn, bago girls. trap mush rats, drink *‘pagenea, and loaf with his people, than clerk in a white man’s store, or carry clay in a white man's brick yard. Mo-nuck-ki-kaw has a head on_ him. Se-gotch-che-kaw, another raider of 03, and a follower of Little Crow and Waucouta, is 89, and yet he won't miss a chauce to tip his fantastic red toe if he has to travel from moon to moon to get thore, Old Man Eater, Won-ga-ga-rutch-kaw, is another very old warrior, in fact so old tl Lie canuot even give an idea of how old he is, He saw service on the frontier of Wisconsin o half a century ago, and was a relentless, treacherous and blood-craving hostile in th Minnessota uprising. Another patriarch of the tribe is y Wolf, a little, weasened dried-up old fellow, very quiet and inobtru- sive, and famous always as an unswerving friend of the whites. Here's Whero Flao Went, But to return to the festivities. Toward ovening, Cho-ock-sepa-ne-ke-nie-kaw ran rapidly through the medicine lodge uttering o series of yelps like those of a canine caught under the fence, and with one accord, but without push or jostle, the whole crowd, bucks, squaws and children, arose and ran for the hollow in which the day's feast of roast ox and dog soup was to be held. The Indians range themselves in circular rows and are waited upon by the squa who can dish up a shovel full of dog and grasshopper and get it in a greasy pan before a con ent neighbor with a celerity that would make a restaurant flunky fall dead with envy. Dog soup is the Winnebago's nutional aish, just the samo as spaghcitiis to the New Orleans creole, They will eat a nico savory piece of roast beef or pork, but if You wish to part rly tickle their palates give them dog soup, be'it made out of setter, pointer, bull or rat terrier; it is all the same to the desicate gastrobomic organs of tne Winnebago. With the most of them the first course at o big meal is dog soup, then some more and once again, the dessert heing i tical with the emulsion of hair, flea: tle and toenails that distinguished the first course, The only wonder is where do ull the dogs come from? Coneluded with Gamnes. After the banquet came a game of lacrosse, which was about as exciting us a game of mumbly-peg, then u number of bucks gave us u cuteh-as-catch-can wrestle, others foats of leaping and jumping, and still others a displuy of their skill with the paste-boards in thy seductive divertisement of stud-poker, a in which game the ladies are especially dex- terous. “The closing event in the day's program was the five mile horse race, with thirty- five entries. The cupitalists of the tribe had thrown in” and raised a purse of §164, of which $50 went to the first horse, 84 to the socond and £0 and §20 to the fourth aud fifth respectively, ‘I'his wus quite a thrilling feature. the funny part of it being thut the last man in came riding, yelling and sereeching an i dig- ging his in nis vony's sides with alt the voleimence aud excitement that signal- izod the winner of first money. In fact aft all the winners were in, the batance or 1ot up & particlo, but kept on riding for dear hife, just as il a portion of the prizes were you'within their grasp. boree ended last nignt, the In- king up camp, with litlo evidenco of the mirth and excitoinent through wh ich ey hiad just passed, SANDY GAISWOLD. — —— Was on His Musele. TanLe Rock, July 17.—[Special Telegram to Tug Bk ]—Harry Robb, a colorod man, oreated considerablo excitement last oven- ing by promisculously knocking down Joff Carter, William Triolf and others on .the without provocation. He was soon locked up and this moruing pleaded guilty to assault and battery aud was tined $10 und cosLs. e To Fill Judge Blatchlord's Place, New Yok, July 17.—Cougressman Thomas F. Maguer said this afternoon that the president had tendered Judge Idear Me- Cullen the appointment to the suvreme court of the United States in the place of the late Justice Blatehford. Mr. Maguer said that his information came frowm law- yers and he understood it Was coreect. —— The balloon goes up tenight. DAILY BEE: TU BENEATH A MOTOR TRAIN Thomas 0'Connor Horribly Mangled on & Lincoln Street Car Line, —_— SOME MYSTERY ABOUT THE AFFAIR ———— Friends Think fTe Was Mardered by Tramps for Money and His Body Pinced on the Tmek to onnor murdered, or was he the victim of an accident? This is the ques- tion that will occupy the attention of the coroner's jury this evoning, and in the mean- time the public s discussing severai theo- ries as to the probable causs of the young man's death, O'Connor was a young man vearsof age, and for some time has been em- ployad as u stationary engineer in this city. He had ono child and lived at 1307 K street. Yeaterday morning he started to waik to the residence of his tather, noar the peni- tentiary, and it is known that he spent the day there. He started to walk home late in the evening. He had been paid off the evening before and while at his father's residenco he had 0 in money which he displayed to his parents. At 10:30 last night Motorman Elston, on the South Fourteenth street car line saw a man lying on the track ahead of him while ho was run- ning his car at full speed. Reversing his lever and putting on the brakes he made un effort to stop thear, but he was too la te. Tho wheels passed over the man's body, crushing his head to a pulp, mangling his right arm and crushing his left side. The car was then stopped and the people on board assisted the motorman to remove the body. The man never bréathed after he had been picked from under the wheels. Some one walked to the state penitentiary about 200 yards distant and telephoned the volice. Tho patrol wagon was sent out and the remains of the unfortunate man brought toa local undertaking establishment. An examination revealed the fact that the man had a terriblo gash on the top of the head thatuppeared to have beon made by some sharp instrument. In his pockets wero found a brass badge giving hisname and residence, In his fob pocketof his trousers, sufely pinned in, was $15. The rest of the money he was known to have carried all day Sundily wasnot to be found. ‘These facts have led inany to believe that the young man was murdered by tramps. "Tho sceno of the fatality was on a lonely part of the road, with high weods growing in the streets on both sides of the track. It tha spos a gang of cut, throats would ily sclect to waylay an intended vie- and il O'Connor resisted and made a flght he may have been killed in the struggle and his body placed on the track in order to cover the evidences of the crime. The body lay at the foot of a steep grade where it would be dififcult tostopa heavily loaded car. Those who do not incline to the theory of murder think that O'Conuor was_drunk and lay down on the track to sleep. This theory is hardly tenablo for the veason that he was not a drinking man and had been at home with his parents all day. Then, too, tho motor car haa passed, the spot less than six minutes before on its \ay out, and 1f O'Con- nor had wandered that'way he would hardly have had time to sink,into profound slumber before the car returned. — Again, it is argued that if he had really 14id down on the track his injuries received from the car were not necessarily of a nature to have caused in- stant death. 1t Was Purely Accidental, The coroner’s jury commenced its inves- tigation at 7 o'clock this evening. A large crowd of spectators being gatherad by pop- ular interest in the case, Contrary to gen- eral expectation, however, the testimony of the several witnesses brought out no sensa- tional features. Neither was any evidence adduced to show that O'Connor had met with any foul play. ‘LThe mystery surrounding the' case was as deep when the last witness was dismissed as it was this morning. It was simply established that the decensed had visited his parents and remained until within fifteen minutes of 10 o'clock last nfght. when he started to walk to the car; that he had notdrank o drop of liquor and that he was not subject to fits. The most interesting statements were made by l)tflm!y Sherift Langdon, who has worked all day on the case. He discovered that O'Connor had crossed the track from the west side to the cast and again ap- proached iv from the cast. His tracks were plainly discernible in the soft ground. The footprints of another man werd also found leading acrossa plowed field from the west side and the two series of footprints met at the point where O'Connor's bondy was found. The pockets of the deceased had not been rifled, and no testimony was drawn out to show that he had more than 313, found pinned up in his fob pocket. In the absence of any positive evidence throwing light upon the mysterious affair the jury ro- turned a verdict to the effect that O'Connor's death was accidental. Independonts Muy Endorse Maxwoll, Chairman Blake of the independent state central committee this afternoon issued a call for the meeting of the executive committee in this city on July ‘The state central com- mittee will not be called together, but the exceutive committe will issue the call for the state convention, The committee is composed of (. W. Blake and C. H Pitrtie of Lincoln, O, Nelson of Schuyler, D, . Deaver of Omaha, Daniel Freeman of Beatrice, P. H. Barry of Greely Center, W, P. Brooks of Cook, J. I, Bishop of Lincotn, and J. D. P. Small of York. Chuirman Blake said this evening that leading .in- dependents all over the state are favoring the nomination of Judge Max- well as the independent_candidate for judge of the supreme couot. Judge Bates of York and Judge Rush of Beatrice are mentioned, but only as secondary candidates. Maxwell is the favorite according to Chairman Blake, who believes he will be nominated on the first ballot. Blake says the independents will take Maxwell at first hands but will not endorse him if placed 1 nomination by the republicans before the independent com- mittee meets, Estato of Heirless Italluns, vernor Crounse was this evening the re- ipient of anautograph letter from Secrotary of State Gresham in which his attention was called 1o the fact that the government y had complained that the local au- hud neglected to comply with tho provisions of the consular couven- tion of 1878 botween the United States and Italy. The articlo referred to provides that in case of yhe death of a sub. Ject of Italy in this .country who has no known heirs or testanentary executor desig. ed by him vhe local authorities shail give notice of the fact to the nearcst cousular agent. Governor Crounsg is requested to make the complaint public in order that no further mistakos moy 0CGur. State Hoard of Kdualization The State Board of 'Eqtalization held its first session this forenvon’and meetings will be held every few Ux"}q for the next two weeks in_order to pérmit county oficials from various parts of ‘the state to appear and moake known their grievances. From the manner in which 1)”! forenoon’s sassion started out the board Is likely to have a busy time of it before the assessments arve finully adjusted to the sauisfaction of overybody concerned. Fouly One of the first to s POBHF bofore the board this morning was County Clerk Sackett of Douglas county. Mr. Saekett had no partic- ular complaint to make of the Douglas county assessment, but he wished the ussist- ance of the board in unraveling some compli- cations in which the cowmissioners of the big county on the river had nvolved thom- selves, The Douglas county commissioners had mude a lovy for a county insane fund un- der o misapprehension of the law. Under this levy the fund will amount to about 3 000, Mr. Sackett asked the advice of the board s to what was necessary to do in the aso. Tho moembers of the board were of thesopinion that they could do nothing, but suggested to him that the commissioners of Douglas county could direct the clerk not to extend the lovy on the tax list if it should be found that it was illegal. The clerk and two commissioners from Cuss county were prosent and stated to the board that they would have to fave a re- duction upon tho real estate o that county. Thoy claimed that their as- Sessmont Was tivico a8 high as it was in Saunders county. Representativo Van Duyn and two com: missionors of Saline county, asked the board to make & horizontal reduction in their county. Under the roturns of the asscssors their property is valued at 5,000,000, They think that this amount should be reduced to about 3,000,000, in order to place them upon an equal footing with the other counties in the state. Commissioners Ballard and Waldron of Adams county, met with the board at its aft ernoon session. Their complaint was very similar to the others. The assessors had been a little too enthusiastic and had placed the valuation of the county too high. Kepre: sentatives of Gage, Scott Bluffs and Clay county, also notified the board that they would avpear this afternoon and mako known their complaints agaiust the unjust assessments of theiv property holdings us compared with neighboring counties | Allof the counties of tho state with the | oxception of Blaine, Boyd, Custer, Dundy and Thurston have returned their asses ment rolls to the auditor of public accouuts Placing the reports of the counties at the | same figures they returned last year, tho en vire assessed valuation of real and personal propert 62374, A comparison of the returns of the soveral counties of the state shows that the judgment of the assossors has varied as widely as the boundaries of tho state. Some of the coun- ties have been assessed at 20 per cent of their actual valuation, while others have re- turned as low as 7 pee cent. Thelaw which makes it incumbent upon assessors to place the actual valuation upon all property coming ithin thelr jurisdiction seems to have been more honored in the breech than in the ob- servance. After the Yankton & Norfolk, Secretary Dilworth of the State Board of Transportation reports that considerable grading for the Yankton & Norfolk railroad in the state this year is §104,955, has been completed in Pierce county. Tho grade of the proposed new road crosses tho Pacific Short Line av Osmond iu_Plorce county and extends for a considerablo dis- tance south toward Norfolk. Mr. Dilworth says that although the work of grading the new line has been suspended, there aro several things which indicate that dirt will be tlying again in the near future. An intoresting fact in connection with tho proposed road has recently developed that will be of cunsiderable interest to the busi- ness interests of the city of Omaha. An of- ficial of the Missouri Pacific who recently paid a visit to this city intimated that it was the intention of his company to sccure the control of the proposed Norfolk line as soon as possible, ana then extend the recentl, quired Kansas City, Wyandotte & N western northward from Beatrice to folk, where a conncction would be Nor- made with the new road and the two consolidated. This move, he said, would give the Missouri Pacific o through line from Kansas City northwest into South Dakota, and be of | great benefit to the business interests of the | metropolis at the mouth of the Kaw river. The Yankton & Norfolk road shoul 1 natur- ally run into Omaha, but the Kuansas Ci men already see an opening into a rival's territory, aud with their customary nerve are hastening to avail themselves of its pos- sibilities, Nebraska Real Estate Mortgages. The recent articles in Tue Bre exposing the unreliable naturo of the mortgage in- debtedness records furnished the state Bureau of Industrial Statistics by registers of deeds and county clerks over the State seem to be bearing fruit, for the Juno re- ports show a marked improvement. Out of fifty-one counties which ha so far filed their reports with the deputy commissioner of labor, twenty-six show that the aggregate amount of the mortgages released excoeds the aggregate amount of the mortgages filed. When the returns arc in from every county in the state it is confidently ox- ed that the excess of releases over the ngs will be in marked contrast to the r ports of former months, The bureau is secking to impress upon county officials the importance of having mortgago releases placed upon the records, and the county ofcers are in turn calling the attention of the mortgagees to the matter. A prover un- derstanding of the law will place Nebraska's credit much higher in the financial scale than it is at present, and there is good rea- son for the belief that another year will show a marked difference in_the mortgaged indebtedness reports sent in to the state bureau. Gossip at the State Iouse. Ex-Senator Wolbach of Grana Isiand was a state honse visitor this forenoon. ‘The oftice of the state labor commissioner is gathering statistics of the manufacturing industries of the siate. The work will in- clude a list of all manufactories in the state, the capital investod, annual output, number of employes, annual amount of wages paid, and other interesting and valuable fea- tures. The report will be the first oftle statement of the manufacturing interests of the state ever published. A. R, Sampson, commissioner of public lands and buildings, returned today from an over Sunday trip to his home in Broken Bow. Superintendent ot ud Public Instruction started west this morning and will visit teachers' institutes in Scotts Bluff, Chase, Hall and Hamilton counties bofore returning to his ofiico in the state house. Considerable progress is being made in the work of publishing the laws passed by the last legislature. The proof sheets of 136 gos huve pussed through the hands of the etary of state, and the work will soon be comple Johnson was at the state hous After a week's stay at York, whero seuate and house journals are being printed, The proceedings of the first fifty- two days of the house 0 type und satis- factory progress is being made in the work. The hduse journal for the last session will be one of the most voluminous in the history of the state. Superintendent McKelvy, of the Girls In- dustrial school at Geneva ' transacted busi- ness at the state house this afternoon. H. 1. Clarke of Omaha was at the state house ihis forenoon, Secret of State Allen returned this morning from a several weeks trip to Ohio, where he was called by the illuess ana death of his brother, ‘The National Live Stock Commission com- pany of Chicago filed its articles of incor- poration with the sccrotary of state this afternoon. It has a capital of §500,000, Labor Commissioner Erion now has com- plote files of the Omaha and Lincoln daily newspapers for the past three years. The filos are the only ones in the state house out- sude of the newspaper offices The Central City bank a, Rice is the title of a case filed with the clerk of the suprewo court this afternoon. 1t originuted in Mervick county. John Barsby, commandant of the Soldier's home at Grand Islund, was in the city this afternoon. Another Will Contest. Another chapter has been added to the scnsational romance conns 1 with the now famous Dole-Stratton breach of promise suit. This case has been veferred to so fr quently thut its history is known to every son outside of the insaue asylum in this city. Itisa case in which Florence Dole of tratton of £20,000 for seduction and iso. At the first trial the 7,000 damages but Strat- ton secured o rehearing and at tho second trial the fair plaintiffl was made bappy by a verdict for #13,000. The case went to the suprome court where it is now buried out of sight in a dusty docket. In the mean- time the father of young Stratton died and in his will left the whole ot his estate, valued at from 50,000 to $0,000, to bis wife, cutting Thomas off with $50, and a daughter, Mrs, Mary Guuder, with » paltry %25, Mrs. Gun- der today commenced suit in tho aistrict court to have the will set aside upon the grounds that her father was in no condition of wind to act intelligently 1 makiug a will and that his wental powers had been im- { paired by reasou of a sunstroko receiv while he was in the army. She also avers that the old gentlemau was unduly wflu enced by his wife, who desired to not only this ainst W. H. C. Red Willow county sued Thomus for county ach of shut her out of uny benefits of her father's ITCHING HUMORS ‘Torturing, disfigring eeze s, and overy wpecion of itching, Lura. fvg, scaly, “crusted, and pimply #klis aud ‘scalp diseilsce, with dryy thin, and falling hair, relicwd by o aingle application, and specdily and wically cured by the Cuoricuna Resenies, when the beat physlclans fall, [ estate, but atso to deprive Miss Dole of the pleasure of apending any of the money which might have gone to the son had he not be- came entangied with her in the breach of promise suit. During the trial the Gunders figured quite prominently and their sympa- thies were entirely with the plaintiff, 1ns Survived Three Panios. Captain John L. Carson, the well known Nebraska banker, who has for a year or more lived at the Hotel Lincola in this city, has been engaged in the banking business in Nebraska long onough to ba able to boast that he has weathered two of the groatest financial storms that ever swept over the country. The first v the panicof 1857, the second the famous crisis of 1878, and he foels perfectly confident that the state will pass through the present panic in good shape. He said to a Dee representative last ovening that tho expericnce of tho first two panics furnished him no light to sce through to tho end of tho present crisis. In 1857 the panic was procipitated by the natural outgrowth of the abuso of the state banking system. In 1873 tho crash resulted from the heavy failures on Wall street, togother with the collapse of an ora of speculation unprece. dented in the history of the country. In tho later year the failures succecded the panic. At the prosent time the conlitions aro exuctly reversed. The pauic is traveling ahead of the failures and men are going to tho wall through the shesr fright of the peovlo who are perturbed over o situation which thoy freely admit that they do not understand. Judgo Doane's Fee. The managers of tho impeachment caso filed with the clork of the Lancaster county district court this afternoon their answer to the application of Judge Doane of Omaha for an alternative writ of mandamus to com- pel them to pay him the sum of 00, In their answer thoy allege that they are not indebted to the judge in the amount of &0 orany othor amount; that the impeachment proceedings are still pendin, and that the services for which he claims the addi- tional compensation have not been fully rendered. They further allowo that they have no power to audit and ollow clains and issue vouchers thereon, but that the auditor of public accounts is the only man who can perform that duty; that the claim has nover been presented to the auditor and that con- m;}ll_cnl.l)' it has never been rejectod by that ofticial. They also point aut thafact that the judge bas a suffcient remedy at law if the anditor refuses to issue a warrant for any amount ho may see fit to claim. They therefore ask that vhe writ ve denied. His Injuries Wero Fatal, Joseph Rumble, son of W. S. Rumble of whis city, died today from injuries received about two weeks ago. He 18 yoars of ago and was employoed at th Jooper & Cole steam radintor factory. About two weoks ago he was sent to burn a lot of w Sto, sat- urated with oil, in the furnace under the boilers. — Whilo' engaged in this work o heevy blaze suddenly puffed out from the furnaco door, complotely ouveloping his body in flames. He was badly burned, but fora time it was believed that his life would bosaved. He lingered for two weeks, suf- fering untold agony, and death camo to his relief tod His father lives at 934 South Second street and is cuiployed in the Lin- coln Pottery works. Objeces to el Claim, y came into the morning ‘with the state- uld not pay the estate of A. aldwell the sum of 35,000 without & bit- fizht. Several months ago a Union Pa- fic engine ran into an electric motor in this city and killed Caldwell, who was employed as motorman. His administrator sved the railroad company for damaes in the amount of $5,000. In its answer the Union Pacific alleges that the Linecoln Street Railway company never socured the right of w across the tracks and therefore, Caldwell Was a trespa: nd his death due to his own negilgence, The Union Pacific raily district court th ment that it we L. Divorce Court Record. The records of the district court in this county were this afternoon ornamented with two wore petitions for divorce. Therfirst was filed by John F. Hawkms, who seeks a separation from his wife Lydia on the grounds of infidelif They were marriod at Memphis, Tenn., as long ago as 1577, but re- cently Mrs. Hawkins has become quito friv- olous, and according to the potition has com- mitted adultery with several men, two of whom are referred to in the document. The other case was filed by Elmer E. Solders, who married in White Cloud, Kan., several y In 1880 he moved to Lincoln from Oregon, but his wife refused to accompuny him. He has not heard from her since and has reluctantly come to the conclusion that she has deserted him, WEST UNDER ARREST, nd Istand’s Ex-City Treasurer Chargod With Embezzling Twelve Thousand Dollars. GRAND IsLAND, Juiy 17.—[Special Telegram |—Ix-City Treasurer John W. West, was arrested today charged with the embezzlement of $12,000. He pleaded not guilty and waved examination. His bond was placed at £,000 and so far he has be unable to secure the sur treasurer from 1837 to 1803, 5 candidate for re-clection last spring, but when he saw all hope of re-election gone ho confessed to his bondsmen that he was short in his accounts, the shortage dating from his very first year., His frecdom was allow ponding the thorough examination of h books. Somo of the councilmen learned that he was making pre tions to invest Now Mexico silver mines, and his arrest was de- cided upon at a sceret meeting of tho coun- cl Saturday nizht. He has a largo family. When the warrant was presented West acted as if he bhad been expecting it, Trampis Komuiis Mied, GRAND IsLAND, July 17.— il to Tue B —A bricklayer has identified the ro mains of the tramp who was killed here yes- terday by a train. He 1s believed to bo Henr 'y of St. Louis, and the son of well-to-do parents, who live near Wain- right's brewery. Hartington's Water Works Completed, 30N, July 17.—[Special Telegram 1z Bee.)—The water works system is now completed and was tested today. Every: thing was found to be all right and the city council met tonight and accepted the plant, — Balloon tonight and tomorrow night. DELICIOUS ° — NATURAL FRUIT FLAYORS. Of perfect purity— Of great strength— Economy in their use, Flavor as delicately and delicious!y as the fresh i DoN'T FRET! about your nerves; don't bo pale. wouk, nory- ous. frotfu pless; don't huve painin b ok orside: doii't by without ambition for work or sieasure. Puta kesn edgeon life. Use Nerve eans. i new vecetablu discovery of re- warkab e power over all nervous troubles in Loth soxvs 1 @ box, cnough for two woeks At druzgists, or by il Nerve Boan Ca, Buffalo. N. Y. Vanllla Lemon Orange Rose, el Catarrhal Deafness, Mra WAL Grove 160, Landindy of the Wi ase, Connoll Miufy, Tows, Offers Hor Testimony. It I8 & common thing tor catareh in the head tosteal ou alowly until total deafness is the result. Mrs. H. A Rice. who is the popuiar tandlady of the Walnut Grove House, 1304 20th streot, Councl Blufts, Ta., tolis hor oxperience as follows; - “My groatost fonr was that I would boeo totally dont. My disenso had beon running on £or twolve yoars and sturtod from eo ds | took KoIng across tho prairies to school. Every cold ROt agaravated my catarch and mado ny hearing worse. Toriible paing would shoot thronsh my head and eyes, and my noso and at wors ehioked up. An Incossant buzzing sound wus In u\r ours, wspoclally the right. My appot to fallod, and T gave out instrensth reely drag mysoif around. 1 lown st and gotting woredeat ory diny when Dr. Shopard tok hold of my so. Whon [ went tohim I eould ho i only whoen people yoiled inmy s, asd in ohurch L conld nov hoar a word the preacher would sny. Toduy Tean oustly hoar orlinary co yersation wnd at ehureli can hoar every word, Tho roaring in my head that almost crazed mo s not half 50 bad and ©analmost u now Woman with plenty of strength anl appotite. am waining overy day wnd i ghid 1 ean tostity hortily to vhe goold work dons in iy case. 1 will o giad to verify this stitoment atany time." Cata b aud @l curable diseaacs treated at tow @i waiform ratss—medicines free. Pationts ot & distance swe eisfully treatsd by mlls Sent for symptom blank, DRS. COPELAND & SHEPAR), BUILDING. OMAHA, N Every Curable Dis I ted- Offles Hours—0 to 11 a. .32 t05 p. i 7103 e . Sundiy—10 4. m, 1012 m. Searles 3 Searles SPEGIALISTS DR. ¥, L SEARLES, Consultinz Sureo Graduate of Rush Melical Colleze. (CON SULTATION ¥ER,) For the treatment o GHRONIC, NERVOUS AND PRIVATE DISEASES Weocure Catarrh, All Diseases of the Nose, Throat, Chest, Stomach, Bowals and Liver. Blood, Skin and Kiduevy Dissases, Femanle Wenknesses CURED. PILES, FISTULA, FISSURE, parmanently cured, Without the use of Knife, lizitiro or caustic, AL maladies of a privite. or dolicato naturs, ot efther sex, positively cured. Call on ‘or addross, with st 0d Rectpos, 118 South 15th Dr. Searles & Searles, 5 ua 3, Neoxt Door to Postotfio; D, for Cireulara, St 5. In all your outings— to the World's Fair— Seaside — Mountains — everywhere, take Beecham's T ° “2'50'. (Tastoless) Pl l ls a:,* with you. Tiiness.frequently results from changes of food, water, climate, habits, etc., and the remedy is Beecham’s Pills, 00 SIGHT, PRESERVE YOUR EYE ~—USE— o HIRSOHHERGTE™ P LB . EYEGLASSES L DTENTED Jigre are 1633 Max Moyer & Do o WHY SHOULD YOU PAY 250 As you have heretcfore done, for a LIGHT WEIGHT, ROLL COLLAR, We are now making one, with Deep Points, equal to any in the market, FOR 20cC. ASK ONLY FOR THE ALDMERE. 1l the Leading Furnishe The Monarch is the best warm weather Shirt, Solid comfort and complete satisface tion guaranteed. CLUETT,COON & CO. DR. MCGREW is the only SPECIALICT WilO TREATS ALL PRIVATE DISEASES and DEBILITIES of MEN ONLY. Women Excluded, 18 years oxperlence, Irculars fre 14th and Farnam Sta., OMAuA, NEB. BIRNEY'S &t curch catarely 00 ColLs.