HE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE.PAGES 19 TO 26. ESTABLISHED JUNE 19 , 1871. OMAHA , SUNDAY MORNIKG , SEPTEMBER 2d , 1899. SINGLE COPY ITVE CENTS. DOUGLAS sr. ORCHARD & WILHELM CARPET CO. " * - - DOUGLAS ST. Never did we realize that so people would visit store such A C if * & 21 4 * " 11 < Tif7 ± C C many our upon an occasion as we had the pleasure of receiving yesterday the first day of our Fall Opening. 'ever before have we shown so large an assortment of new , handsome and artistic pieces Everybody * Invited. and patterns in Furniture , Carpets , Rugs and Drapery , Art Goods , at prices that are Everybody Welcome. within the reach of all. This Successful Fall Opening Will Continue During Ak-Saf-Ben Week Our whole store is overflowing with rich , handsome and inexpensive Furniture Novelties. We have greatly increased our salesroom space , which enables us to show the largest and best assorted stock in the entire west. choice xtra large , .well made , artis Very grade Ladies' choice hand-polished Writing Desk carved E tic , neatly , rttg * EZ\ design Sideboard , hand carved Morris polished. Chair artistic design „ , ZpO. 3U and polished , swell front top select frame of Pattern top Oak or Mahogany Parlor Table , polished finish , neat $1 * / e drawers , large quartered golden and cheap , a § 2.00 table , at Zpl wO French bevel mir oak or imitation „ ror , golden oak mahogany sev Rocker , very neat design cobbler leather seat , high arms , richly UJO O l polish finish , § 26 eral styles choice carved back and nicely finished. Price . , AP W. O heavyi thick , re value , for only versible cushions , High grade , very rich design Rocker , high arms , embossed < JT ESO price leather seat , hand polished , every bit a $6.00 Rocker , and our price only j J r.OvJ Davenport Sofa , 6 ft. long , rich design , richly upholstered in Gil 7 GSA figured velour. You can't match it for less than $28. Our price only Ipl.Ov / / 4-o Do not fail to visit our carpet department this ew large assortment of odd handsome Divans , new and artis patterns all wool Art Squares made in the following Carp wl > dweek. . Always showing new designs in all N tic designs and coverings , enough of patterns and prices to 30 sizes lines. meet the taste of all. Imperial Smyrna Rugs 18x30 inch , now 98c. yds , price $4. SO 8x2yds , price $ 5.75 10 patterns Velvet Carpet , with border to match. These A handsome polished frame , damask very highly upholstered 8x8 . . yds , price G.I 5 8x8 % yds , price S.OO goods are usually sold at $1.16. Our last 87ic Divan , has inlaid back , and for this price as long as they mahogany panel * * f \ 3x4 yds , price 9.OO 8x4yds , price 1O.26 I extra choice Divan make the * P I Linoleums and Oilcloths' , store patterns , 30c , 50c , 75c , $1.20 at we price 4x8yds , price 1O 6O 4x4 yds , price 12. OO popular 4x4 % ydsprice 18. 50 4x5 yds , price 15. OO A good fine Cork Linoleum for , square yard 45c Davenport Bed Sofa Handsome mahogany We guarantee to save you money 9x12 Smyrna Rugs , both sides alike , price $22.50 finish -frame , rich on these goods 10 to 20 percent ? 6x9 Smyrna Hugs , reversible , price $11.50 carvings and polish. You would never think it a bed , has large cheaper than Chicago or New York for same goods. We want your . box for clothes , upholstered in fine figured velour. $ Turkish Rug business and are going to get it , we know that the Reversible Brussels Rug , 9x12 $9.25 This is probably what you have been looking $38 lines of these goods we are showing is the finest on the market for for this particular one on sale at the price. 80-inch SmyrnaRugs , good quality , at $2.25 ; , , , . , , . , , „ , , > , . - . ' ' , - - ar Orchard & Wilhelm Carpet Company. SHORT STORIES OF THE DAY Adventures of Sylvester Frank Wilton , Formerly of Nebraska. NOW AGUINALDO'S ' AGENT AT HONG KONG NebrnnUii lloy'M Career In the Navy XHTeet of Trumpet Hliint lit a Ito- vlvul Meeting Colonel StnUen- ISnrly .Military Life. Sylvustor Frank Wilson , mentioned fn the dispatches from Hang Kong as a member of the Agutnaldo Junta there. Is well known to the older residents of Omaha , to whom bin Intcst fantastic venture will bo no surprise. Any one who knows Wilson , however , will 1)0 Inclined to demand an acknowledgment from Agulnaldo himself before believing that ( Wilson Is In truth ono of his representative ! ? . Wilson nourished In Nebraska eighteen or twenty years ogp , when ho was publishing a paper at Jiumboldt , Richardson county. His eheet was of the wide-open variety and was well ( nullified to bo called the father of yellow journalism. Because of It he became Involved In a. controversy with a. man who called himself "Doctor" dandy , and the lat ter bad the editor arrested by the United States marshal for violation of the postal laws In Bonding obscene matter through the malls , most of which matter concerned Oandy. Wilson was brought by the author ities to Omaha and confined In the county Jail. Hero ho posed as a martyr by writing articles on the freedom of the press and Rotting them printed In the local papers. About this time George Francis Train hap pened along and being attracted by Wilson's Culminations took up his cause , adding much to the self-styled martyr's notoriety In his own peculiar way , The burden of Train's song was , llko that of Wilson , tbo freedom of the prcto. After Wilson's release from Jail ho went out over the state , representing himself as A correspondent of The Dee , only to be dis credited by a warning to the public when bo was discovered. Then he went to Phila delphia and repeated there his Omaha ex periences , starting another yellow sheet and getting Into jail for some of bis publications , Ho went through the' same program of bid ding for sympathy In oppression and suc ceeded In stirring up quite a sensation. After that Wilson drifted from ono place to another , finally landing In Kansas City , He claimed then1 to bo a newspaper man of experience , and , having a rather pleasing personality , succeeded in getting control of enough capital to start 'the Penny Post , which soon developed Into the same kind of a sheet as he bad published In Humboldt nnd Philadelphia. It Is said that when he had exhausted thu funds with which be started he Interested four cither persona and caused them to lose considerable money In Ills venture. Then , four mouths after start ing the paper , ho disappeared from Kansas City , leaving a large number of debts and a reputation by no means deslrdble. The following spring ho reappeared as the man ager of a female base ball team , which played several games there. Hearing that n warrant wag out for hit arrest , he again left the city suddenly. He was then lest eight of until he appeared In New York and was imprisoned for a term of yearn for some eerloue crime. Now he Is heard from as an agent of the Filipinos iu Hong Kong. Tbo dispatches I convey the Impression that his duties con sist of smuggling arms and munitions of war to the Insurgents , and if this la the case the Filipinos have a good man for the purpose. Wilson was a handsome man , of good presence and gifted with the power to make men confide In him. While ho was In Nebraska he always turned up at Lincoln to serve as a lobbyist In the legislature , and , judging from the successes be made of his own schemes , ho must have been a valuable servant for others. Although much has ten written con cerning Nebraska's representation In the Philippine campaign , especially olnce the return of the First Nebraska , but compara tively little Is known of the state's repre sentation In the navy. Ono'of Nebraska's naval representatives Is Senior Lieutenant Matt H. Signer , now on the gunboat Castlno at Hollo. In 1885 , when George W. E. Dorsey was msmber of congress from the Third district , he was notified by the Navy department that ho was entitled to the appointment of a cadet to 'be ' educated at the Naval acad- t-my at Annapolis. During the previous winter C. B. Slgnor , editor of the republi can newspaper at Plum Creek , had visited Washington during the session of congress to plead his case before the war claims committee- whom had bson referred his claim of $10,000 Indemnity for the blunder of a colored soldier , who shot off his right arm at Memphis In 1864 , Mr. Slgnor being a civilian. Mr. Slgnor said to the commit tee : "I do not ask for this Indemnity for the act of the servant of the government because I cannot make a living , for I can ; but I have a eon In college at Hastings , Nob. , and I find the burden of his educa tion too much for me , and I have to go to the bank and borrow for him. " A member of the committee from Stroudsberg , Pa. , answered : "If you have n son to educate , the government has two institutions of learning , the equals of Yale- and Harvard ; If a soldier of the government has wronged you , why not try to have the government educate your son ? " Mr. Slgnor found the limit for entrance to the United States Military academy was from 16 to 18 years , and at the Naval academy from 14 to 17 years. His eon was about 16. So bo took the first train for An napolis and put In a full day visiting the academy. After Interviews -with Super intendent namsoy , Lieutenant Green , Chap lain and Mrs. McAllister , Lieutenant Rlt- tenhoaso and Lieutenant Leutze , ho con cluded that a naval course keeps a young man busy at drill and study , and is so ex acting that two-thirds of any claea that begins - gins the four-years' course Sails to keep up and Is discharged baforo graduation. Congressman Dorsey gave notice for a competitive examination , and ten I/right boye from as many different towns met In Fremont and , competed for the honor before five examiners. The son of a worthy widow at West Point , Neb. , was chosen , and Matt Hovvlaud Slgnor of Plum Creek was named as alternate. The West Point boy went to Annapolis In September , but failed to pa3s the entrance examination. It may sound curious , ibut It is nevertheless a fact , that ono of the reasons given why bo would not do for a commander In the United States navy was that there waa too little arch in the bottom of his foot , Then came Matt Signer's turn to try for it , and in May , 1886 , he and 120 other boys , nominated from all parta of the country , endeavor-til to pas * the entrance examina tion. There were eighty who succeeded. Of these only thirty-nine were able to keep the pace and graduate in 1S90. Though from aa inland , mm-marltlme state , young Signer served during the last year of hlo academy course as cadet lieutenant when the school was oilt for drill. Ho served for two years in Pacific waters on the cruiser Charleston , under Captains Homy and Dicklns , visiting China , Japan , Sandwich islands , Mexico and Chili. For six years he waa a junior officer on various United States ves sels on the Atlantic , visiting many porta of the United States , also of England , Portugal , Morocco , South America , West In dies and Central America. When the Maine ws blown up and sunk Ensign Slgnor wan In charge of a. section of the flfty-flv runners having a two-months' drill with cannon sjjd targets in Port Royal Sound , S. C. These gunners belonged to the North 'Atlantic ' squadron , five of them to the Maine , and Ensign Signer then wrote hla friends In Nebraska that his section of the gun school did some fine work on the monitor Amphltrlte. In convoying Shatter's army to Cuba , Ensign Slgnor was second In command of the torpedo boat Rodgers , whoso 2,000 horse power engines were continually shaking the little boat into disrepair. In the summer of 1898 he was ordered to tlie gunboat Castlne , then lying In Boston harbor , with hundreds of men at work Im proving It. Hero he enjoyed access to the Boston publlo libraries. When ready the Castlno was sent to Havana , thence In the winter to Manila. In May and Juno of this year the vessel scouted down along the Philippine coast , capturing and turning back many vessels carrying provisions to the Filipinos pines , and on dawn to Sydney , Australia , It then returned to Manila. The effect of the navy personnel bill passed by congress lo t spring was to promote young Slgnor .to senior lieutenant upon his passing a professional and physical exami nation , wbloh he has done since arriving In Manila. Last Sunday morning1 four trumpeters played a part in the grand anthem "Unfold Yo Portals , " at the First Methodist church. The sound of the four Instruments had a peculiar effect , coming as It did from a bal cony high up , and It brougnt to tno mind o' one of the Methodlat brethren the story told of old Peter Cartwrlght , the famous preacher and clrcult-rlder of many years ago. ' The exhorter was holding a camp-meetlni , In Ohio. There was a great number of campers on the Held and the eccentric speaker addressed vast concourses at every service , ibut bo thought too few wore being converted. Ho felt that something should bo done to stir the sinners to repentance , eo ho prepared a strong sermon on tbo second end coming of Christ. Ho told how the world would go on In its sin and wickedness and at last Gabriel would sound his trumpet and tlmo would come to an end. Ho de scribed the horrors of the lost and the joys of these who were saved. The sermon grew in Intensity , and ho brought his people up to a grand climax when suddenly the sound of a trumpet smote the cars of tbo anxious throngs. , Thcro waa a great sensation and many fell upon their knees in terror and began to re pent and pray. Women screamed and strong men groaned ; pandemonium was let loose for a few minuses , After the terror had somewhat ceased , tbo preacher called to a man up a tree and be descended with a long tin bora in hUt hand. The speaker then turned In tierce wrath and upbraided the people. Ho cried out in stentorian tones that If a man with u tin horn up a tree could frighten them so , how would U be In the last great end whan Gabriel's trumpet sounded the knell of the world , The ser > inon hod a crcat effect upon , the vast audi ence , and many hundreds 'Hocked to the front and were thoroughly converted. Charles H. 3ruegroan of this city served during a number of campaigns in the south west In the early ' 80s either directly under the late Colonel Stotscnburg , then a second lieutenant , or in the same command. Stot- senburg's services as the bead of the corps of Apache scout and as an officer of his troop were Invaluable , and even at that tlmo ho showed himself the thorough soldier. "At one time , " said Mr. Bruegman the other day , "I was In a scouting party which Lieutenant Stotsenburg commanded and which Included a number of Apache scouts. Stotsenblirg dressed Just llko the men under dor him a pair of blue troueers , dark blue army shirt and a red handkerchief about his neck. Whenever the men were moving on foot bo walked , too. We had only three clear days out of twenty on that trip ; most of the tlmo It was raining day and night. "Stotsenburg was ono of three or four officers who came out from the Point to our roglmon't In the same year. Most young officers curse their men about as badly as they can , 'but ' these lieutenants did not Stotsenburg , especially , never swore at a man. In camp he was a very strict disci plinarian , but on the trail ho was always looking out for the welfare of the men nnd treated them the best be could. Often , when wo would como to town and some at the boys were out of money , they would go to Btotsenburg and borrow a dollar or two and ho always let them have It. "Wo went with an expedition of 300 men that chased the Indians 400 miles Into Old Mexico. The treaty allows this country to send an armed force 500 miles across the line if It Is on the trail at Indians. Stotsen- liurg , Touey and Bird were the three young lieutenants wo had with us. We got within eight of tlwj savages , but a 'band of Mexican soldiers got to them before wo did and made good Indians of them. That is one peculiarity or Mexican soldiers ; they never toke prisoners If they can help It. The officers In charge of an expedition will re port to his superiors that the captives were killed while trying to escape , or that they died of over-exertion or eamo such cause. Ho seldom brings them in. " A man was Bitting In an easy chair at the Her Grand the other evening in com pany with several others and the talk grad ually drifted around to the trust conference that has been In session In Chicago. After the matter had been aired thoroughly Irom all view points , this man settled back In his chair , took two or three puffs at his cigar , smiled a little , and then said : "All this talk about .trusts reminds mo of a man I used to know over In Iowa. He lived a neighbor to me over there and he be longed to the Grange , the forerunner of the populist party , This man was dead set against trusts. Ho hated the very name of trusts worse than a tramp hates work , and was always haranguing upon the evils o [ monopolies , Wow it happened that ono spring all th * farmers In that neighborhood hod trouble In Betting their seed corn to grow. They planted the corn as usual , but hardly a kernel of It would come up. There was consternation among them until It wan found that the roan who hated trusts so savagely had a peculiar sort of corn that would grow. An soon as this fact was bruited abut there was a pilgrimage toward this man's ifarm , and everybody bought some seed corn. "Of course I waa in the same boat with the rest of them and I went over ono day to get a few bushels to plant. I had the stuff loaded Into the wagon and asked him the price. He replied that It was $1 per bushel. Aa corn was selling In the market at 20 cents at that time my eyes flew open In sur prise , and I asked him If he did not con sider that a little steep. 'Well , ' replied the trust hater , 'this Is all the corn la the neighborhood that will grow and I can get $1 per bushel fop It. ' I hauled out the money and paid it over , 'but as I did so I slyly asked him If he did not consider that ho was operating a monopoly. He looked down his nose a little and then glanced up with the remark : 'Matbbo BO , but I am in terested In this trust myself , and it makes a difference. ' Ho never preached against trusts to me < tfU r that. " QUAINT FEATURES OK LIFE. An old 03ldlcr in a Michigan town , who had a leg amputated ten years ago , bad It burled In a coffin In the cemetery and funeral services held over It , at which he wept profusely. Ever since then , all through the summer months he has placed flowers each week upon the grave. A new Idea for the bill collector comes from Louisville , where Manuel Corsica , a retired organ grinder , being unable to col lect three months' rent duo on a bouoo he owned and had leased , took his Instru ment to tbo bouso and played it steadily until tbo tenant , assisted by suffering neighbors , raised the money owed and paid it. This new method In the case in point required only three hours. A young man in Buffalo , from some im pulsive freak , took it Into his bead to save all his cents. Ho wearied after two years when he got 1,200 of them and tried to sell them , but nobody would buy even at 80 cents on the dollar. Some shopkeepers In timated that he might have been robbing poor boxes , and the agony of the young man Is not to be measured by a cigar box ful of cents. Far me IB In Androscoggln county , Maine , complain bitterly of the injury done to their crops by the protected and rapidly ' Increasing deer , "Why , " says one , "if there was any owner of them I could complain and make him take them off , or pay for damage. At this rate it will not bo long before wo must keep a man with a club In every cornfield in the otate. " Almon West nnd son , Ernest West , of Hartford , Conn. , who are experts in lining bees , made a rich and peculiar find re cently. They were over Marlborough way , In pursuit of honey , and had released the' ' bees several times from the lining box when they saw to their amazement tbo laat ono released enter an old lager beer keg which Jay on Its side. Coming nearer they discovered the keg to be full of bees and honey. The little workers had entered the keg through the bunghole and built their comb around the Inside of the keg , Mr. West captured the bees , honey and peculiar hive , all at once , and took them home. Unduimtfil. Chicago Tribune : "Feathers ! Feaithers ! " derisively shouted the toughs and hoodlums In the audience , alluding In this unseemly wayto , the former occupation of the orator , which was that of a pillow and mattre.ss maker. "Gentlemen , " he said , folding his arms and looking defiantly at his tormentors , "you roa'y call me furthers , but you can't call me downl" And ho resumed. HAUNTED HOUSE NOT WANTED Odd Tale of a Dwelling in Omaha Thirty Yean Ago. GHOSTS DANCE OVER GRAVES OF DEPARTED IiiQtiUltlve Ilcnl Entute Airent MnUca ( liicer Dlicorery , Solrliiir Mys tery " \Vhlcli Perplexed lle l- of the Town. Does superstition embarrass Investment In real estate ? There never was a landlord or rental agent who manegod many estates or properties but had to contend with this more or lees knotty problem. The majority of real estate dealers say they would rather bo the "poor man with the elephant , " whom Do Wolf Hopper made famous In Bong , than to undertake to rent or dispose of a bouso reputed to bo haunted , "Omaha has had several so-called haunted bouses , " Bald a man grown old In the real estate business , "and the history of any one would make a story of more than ordinary Interest. Away back In 1870 there was one I remember in particular because of a per sonal experience. It stood near Twenty- fourth and Vlnton streets and could hardly be graced by tbo name of house when It came into my bands. It waa rather a hab itation a dilapidated shack. "A few years before it was a comfortable cottage. Its rooms were as neat as could bo desired and the lot a corner ono waa deelrable In every respect. Tbo property bad been owned by an old German , a shoe maker , who , wlUi bis family of five , lived in the cottage. During the severe winter of 18C9 the people became poverty-stricken , tbo shoemaker's Ill-health being -the cause , and ono by one they died the mother flrst and the children afterwards , ' "The old German was too poor to afford funerals , so he burled bis family on hlo own grounds not far from the house. In tbo spring ho also died and was burled In one of the cemeteries by some of his rela tives from the east , who claimed the prop erty and oald it. Tbe family had no Inti mate friends and few acquaintances , so the circumstances of their eudden dcmtso were never known , but townspeople believed the cause to have been starvation. "Tho house Btcod unoccupied while Its Bile was being negotiated , and before the year was up rumors became current that it was haunted , People said 'that ' on dark , still nights the ghosts of the old German woman and her children danced on their graves , "One of the chlof attractlonw of the place was a fine well. It was some fifty feet deep and tbo water drawn from It oven on the hot test July days waa as cool aa Ice and clear as crystal. There was not a moro desirable ploco of property In Omaha at that time , and yet in one ehort year superstition made of < the place a drug on the real catato mar ket. It 'became ' branded as a haunted house and In consequence nobody could bo In duced to live In It , even rent free. "Family after family moved In , only to move out again In periods varying from one to flvo weeks , None cared to remain in the bouso longer than a month , and the real excuse for leaving could always be traced to the same cause. Some said the water was not good , others declared the house was too small , but for all that the true cause waa that the house had the reputation of bolng the abiding place of spirits. People returning late at nights Invariably took the opposite elde of the street In passing. "Tho remarkable experience of a negro , named Jackson , was the last straw , and not many months after that the cottage waa ordered toy the owner to bo pulled down. Jackson was a worthless character who did odd Jobs for residents of the town. Ills voracity at any other time or on any other subject would have 'been ' questioned , but such was the mind of the people that they nwallowed his story about this so-called haunted house without a grain of salt. "According to Jackson ho waa returning homo late ono Saturday night after attend ing a dance down South Omaha way. It used to bo the Drexel district. He was feel ing unusually tired , ho said , and stopped to take a nap in the deserted house. Up to that time he had laughed at tbo stories of ghosts .that wcro said to dance in the back yard , and had assorted on a number of oc casions that ho didn't bollevo in them. "He found the front door unlocked and entered the hall. Striking matches ho made his way Into what bad been used as the kitchen , and , fixing himself as comfortably aa possible , ho fell asleep. Ho related that ho was awakened 'by ' fooling the presence of someone In the room. Tbo night was pitch dark. As he started to leave bo saw n weird apparition. Tramping noiselessly from closet to larder and from larder bade- again to the closet , In search of something to cat , were the phantom figures of the old Ger man woman and her children. Their forms were of vapor and sbono llko phosphorous. "Jackson leaped through the window , car rying the gloss and sash with him , Then ho ran to town. When ho related his alleged - legod experience It was llko sounding the death knell of the bouso. As days passed It became more dilapidated and really came to bavo an uncanny appearance. The window panes disappeared ono by ono , the shutters fell off and the doors wcro torn from their hinges < by tbo winds that played havoo through the bouso on stormy nights. Twice It was struck by lightning , and negroes told weird stories of headless people that had been seen entering the building after dark , "When it came Into my hands for rental I know I had to destroy the ghost story , and as I was convinced Itiat boys of the neighborhood hod 'been ' playing pranks , I de cided to catch Bomo of them and disclose the fraud. My first nlght'n watch was re warded by tbo appearance of the ghosts , true to report , above the back yard craven. At first a single white ilguro hovering In the air was apparent in the darkness. It scorned to taper toward tbo head , answering the description of people beholding It pre viously , who oald it were a tall , peaked cap. It made Irregular movements , some times crouching , sometimes standing. Pretty eoon the little ghostu began to appear nnd indulge In wild orgies. "I started toward them. As I approached they gradually became more indistinct an < l finally melted entirely into , the atmosphere. I then went back uom * distance until they reappeared llko blue streams of lire. Sud denly I remembered a former experience and the whole- thing flashed across me. The ghosts wcro in reality , as I afterward proved , tlia phosphorescent fumes duo to the decom position of tbo organic gates thrown till "by " the bodice , half covered as they wore , In the nUM , humid air. In the winter when the ground was frown the shoemaker bad < been unable to dig far below the * surface. Of course my explanation waa never ac cepted. People said I waa trying to rent the property and they couldn't understand how thu ghosts got Into the house , and neither can I unless Jackson got to think ing of the Germans In bis sleep and dreamed bo EO.W thorn. "