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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1904)
-A-A-A-U-r-G-H! He got my lunch! I'll lunch on him!" It's a reassuring assertion with which the head devil of Ak-Sar-Ben greets the victim who ha Just been ushered Into his Satanic presence. Hoarse, raucous, yet thunderous in tone la the salutation, and cacaphonous Is the diabolic w choru that follows as the assistant devils shout their Infer nal approbation of the head devil's mildly expressed senti ment of benevolent assimilation toward the Jndlvidu.il who has been presented to make an example of the secret work whereby the knights of Ak-Sar-Ben are this year tried be fore being admitted Into full fellowship In the glorious order which Is now coming to be recognized as one of the institu tions of the great middle west. And this announcement of his nibs from the regions of the everlasting bonfire Isn't a mere stage Joke either. It Is all but literally carried out, and If the victim Isn't actually sacrificed he has reason to think he will be, and some almost wish that they were before the end comes. For the head devil Is a man of parts. such as even Jim Jeffries might not be ashamed to admire, and he has a voice i i . i . L t,u i.t. val.mn a nA ti I Halluarv la a iraA tn In KCepiUIS Willi III" I'M., Di'i"., niiu -...vj . ' both. During the ten years of Ak-Sar-Ben's mild and beneficent reign over the kingdom of Quivera his loyal sub jects have prospered In every avenue of endeavor, and while they have waxed In material strength and substance, they have yet demeaned themselves with becoming modesty, nor have they become puffed up nor self-Important because of the manifest greatness of their realm and the magnificence of the seven cities of Cibola, which bedeck the wonderful plain of Quivera as bright Jewels might enhanoe the charms and set off the beauty of a fair woman. It was, therefore, the occasion of some wonderment when It became known that Sampson hnd. in the tenth year of his stewardship, de parted from his usual practice and allowed an emissary from the realms of the prince of evil to come Into the king dom and establish himself In the citadel of the king, there to preside over the preliminary tests of the valor, courage, and discretion of applicants for admission to the glorious company of those who have been knighted and enrolled under the banner of Ak-Sar-Ben. May his name ever be blessed. But so It Is. and once eaoh week Is the peaceful routine of the court of the king. In the presence of his high cham berlain. Sampson, destroyed and the deliberations of the wise and stron of the kingdom Interrupted by the visitation of the head devil, deputized by his Infernal master to Intrude upon the knights for the time with a full retinue of lesser devils, " and to work his pleasure on such as he may seize upon. Just at the hour when certain men have chosen by the vote of the knights assembled to be given distinguished honor nd set apart from the others who are seeking admission to the goodly company, and while the royal bazaza, his scribe, and assistants are engaged with the business before them, the great hall of the citadel Is plunged into darkness and the rostrum on which the high officers of the court are stationed disappears and in Its stead yawns a pit, from whose mouth leap sulphurous flames, shedding a ghastly, lurid light over the scene, and the head devil and his retinue appear from the flaming chasm. With a strangely human exhibition of weakness, the head . devil demands that he be served with a lunch, and demands such a menu as suggests that he Is not accustomed to the ways of polite society a't home. But the Incongruity of the order Isn't allowed to Interfere with the proceedings, for the lunch is served, the attendant devils having seized upon the candidates for honor and forced them Into the menial position of servitors for the head devil. Just as this person age Is about to partake of the surprising refection it dis appears, and amid the crash of wrecked tableware, the devils dispense, carrying with them the. embryo knights who had 'wn elected for dlstlneulshment bv the klnjr. Before the astonished spectators have had time more than to gasp, a whizzing sound Is heard, and the first victim of the devilish carnival im shunted across the hall In a cage borne by a flying machine, amid the shouts of diabolic glee from the assistant devils, who are merely having a bit of sport on their own account and without any special reference to the visit of the head devil to the great hall of the king's citadel. Again and again does the flying machine make its trip, and victim after victim Is hurried along from one batch of grinning and growling assistant devils to another, until suddenly the head devil puts a stop to the proceedings by taking a trip In the flying machine himself. It suits his satanJc whim to appro priate to his own uses the cage, and from It he gives orders that the man who stole the lunch be sought out, and while the search Is going forward he soars around the castle. inspecting tne piace. . Suddenly, a shout goes up, and the chief assistant devil, who Is little If any less In bulk than his master, accom panied by a crew of assistant devils as formidable In size and appearance as himself, drag forth the man suspected of Inter ferlng with the gastronomic divertissement of the head of the devilish company. Immediately the head devil's attention is centered on this Individual, and from that time he gets what Is coming to him. " He stole my lunch!" howls the head devil, and the other devils shout again In grisly chorus. ".Get It back!." commands the head devil, and the chief assistant devil proceeds to do so. With a huge knife the victim Is ripped open and the stolen lunch Is brought to light. Each of the several articles ordered to be served is produced, and recognized by the head devil, who still sits In the cage of the aerodrome, shouting his orders and giving vent to demoniac glee as he contem plates the dismemberment of the man who fell down when he was commanded to serve a lunch to the homeliest devil that ever escaped through the barred gates of hell. Wkth the fierce glare of a searchlight turned on him, the chief assistant devil proceeds to dissect the victim. If not with the skill at least with the thoroughness of a demonstrator in anatomy. And at last the head Is tossed to the head devil, that he may top off hie refection with this delectable morsel. Having completed his cannibal repast the head devil dis appears almost as suddenly as he came, and with him his crew, and the beneficent power of Ak-Sar-Ben again holds sway. The mangled victim Is miraculously restored to life, and no token of the visit of the devils to the citadel lingers round the great 'all. save the sulphurous odor and an un certainty In the minds of the spectators as to their mental condition. It Is not so much what he does as the way he does It that has attracted special attention to the head devil. He seems to be peculiarly fitted for the work set before htm, and to enter on It with a genuine gusto, giving It the deft and dainty touches of the true artist, lending to his conception of the part the promptings of a mind whose artistic In stincts and impulses come from a line of ancestors familiar with the canons of the actor's craft and the painter's guild for many generations. It Is not a puling devil he enacts, nor a namby pamby devil, nor a devil with bowels, but a Ht : V ' v 'i t- ' ( v, f m I Hti ., m ( 1 P-vu$hcrew 7 YltYlv 1 M I I 1 . - 5- - i - . mm mm M I f AT devil endowed with all the devilish attributes and Imbued with the Infernal Instinct that leads him to the secret weak ness of his. victim as unerringly as a woman reaches a con clusionand by the same process. He has also proven himself a protean devil, for In his time he has acted many parts, not one of them but was calculated with a deliberate Intent to disturb the peace and quiet of the persons on whom he was permitted to practice his " cnntrlp sleights." He has assumed as many distinct and separate forms as his long dreaded prototype, and like him. again, has maintained a steadfast ness of purpose that would be admirable In any but a devil and natural In a Scotchman. This purpose, as Indicated, Is not so much to be commended, for it has been to make some unhappy mortal wish for the time at least that he had not been born, or, at least, had not sought to obtain his spurs of knighthood at the court of King Ak-Sar-Ben. And how well that design has been executed many hundreds who live In the west can testify., for those who have passed under his more or less gentle ministrations during the last decade are easily numbered by hundreds, while those who have wit nessed with mingled feelings of mirth and wonderment the undoing or "updoing" of these unsuspecting ones are thousands In number. Last year Ak-Sar-Ben's head devil was a Roman centurion, and with the aid of the chief assistant devil he encompassed the discomfort and for the time at least the mental and moral overthrow of many a knight who went to the "den" expecting that something would happen to him. but not for a moment thinking he would be burned at the stake, branded, or maltreated In any one of a number of ways used by the Roman cohorts who did duty under the two centurions In dealing with the barbarians who sought to be presented at the court of Cn?sar. What a glorious old Roman he would have been had he flourished In the days of the Ca?sars. He would have certainly carved for himself a place near to the throne, If not on the throne Itself. For this head devil Is as well equipped mentally as physically, and would have understood the politics of that day as well as he does those of the present. He doesn't monkey with politics any longer, for his professional work gives him ample em ployment, and his recreation is now found In his divertisse ment as devil. Two years ago he was called upon to enact a part which was his very own. Week after week he toad to pose as the chronic disturber of the calm and peaceful deliberations of an orderly and well contented body of business men. Each time he found It necessary to Interrupt some one who had been chosen for his eminence among his follow men to address the gathering. And how well he did It! How eagerly did the Initiate listen for that stentorian "Mr. Chairman!" And then he went on and kept It up till he had gained his point. So well was this little bit of iby play carried out that on one occasion, when a bright young minister of the gospel vhn has since been called to a fashionable churoh In the east, was getting well Into his opening remarks as orator of the evening, the " Mr. Chairman " carried the speaker off his feet, and for the time at least relieved him of his mental equipoise. As the debate waxed warm, and the chairman In vain tried to quell the disturber, the ministerial orator waxed Indignant to the point of boiling over, and In a few hot words expressed his regret that the Omaha business men had carried their rivalry and differences to that point where they could no longer meet In harmony, even at the den of Ak-Sar-Ben. and, clapping his hat on his head, started for the door, determined to wash his hands of the whole affair Maybe the head devil didn't shout with glee when he got a chance, and maybe that zealous preacher didn't feel sheepish when, many minutes after, he was asked to resume his dis course. In the meantime having witnessed one of the most edifying and entertaining exhibitions ever devised for the instruction of the knights of the order. On these Incidents does the head devil feed himself, for he has a genuine American sense of the humorous and the ridiculous, and he certainly does not bear down lightly when ho has a chance to squeeze a laugh out of some one who haa been turned over to him for the time. In one capacity or another has he served at the court of Ak-Sar-Ben from Us beginning, and always has he been ))i swwi( II : - Mm a l ie i Vsatft? the head devil. But he has a most energetic and efficient corps of assistant devils, many of whom have served like thekr leader from the start, and all of whom look for their reward, as devils usually do, In " the fun they are having." It's no snap being a devil in this bunch, for the work Is arduous, and calls for nimbleness of wit as well as limb, and the youjig men who assume the several roles easily earn all they get out of It. But, while republic may be ungrateful. unlimited monarchies like that of Ak-Sar-Ben show their appreciation of services rendered In the most substantial manner, generally by allowing the servnnt to serve some more. Recruits are not hard to find, either, and the ranks of the assistant devils are In no danger of depletion. H. L. Ramacclottl, D. V. S., familiarly saluted by his friends as "Doc.." Is Ak-Sar-Ben's head devil. Personally he Is the antithesis of a devil, for he Is as good natured as he Is big, and as tender In his ways as he Is good natured. As Ms name suggests, he Is of Italian extraction, and Inherits his capacity for the artistic verities, which talent he so notably expresses In the various roles he has been cnll.nl upon to enact In his service at the court of Ak-Sar-Ben. He has played there many roles, and has played them all dovlllsh well. His commanding figure and magnificent voice give him peculiar advantages In the work, and his long experi.n.-. and Intimate knowledge of the men who are likely to fill Into his hands on Initiation nights enable him to extrnct even more than the ordinary amount of " anguish " from his victims. Ak-Sar-Ben was Instituted In Omaha more than tiino years ago. during a time of great business depression. I's avowed object being to revive to whatever extent possible t'i trade of Omaha by attracting visitors to the city duriii'i ;i carnival period each season. It was looked upon as a doubtful expedient, but the experiment Justified a continua tion until It has come to be as much of an Institution as the Mardl Gras carnival of New Orleans or the Veiled Prophet's parade at St. Louis. The first parade hartUy warranted the conclusion that success could attend the undertaking, hut the Interest that had Ix-en aroused by the existence of the knights of Ak-Sar-Ben as an organized body of boosters was too powerful to die out In a season, and It was further potent in exciting efforts at originality, to the extent that the second parade given under the auspices of the king and his 'etinue exceeded in beauty and magnificence any that had ever been given In America, and each succeeding year has noted an im provement over the last. Prior to the advent of Ak-Sar-Ben, the street parades of the various cities that maintained carnival processions ' were lighted toy torches. This means was utilized for the first parade In Omaha. It was effective to a cenain point, but was entirely unsatisfactory to the men who had set their minds to make Ak-Sar-Ben the great success It has become. The illumination of the streets by stringing rows of Incandescent electric bullbs suggested the plan of illuminating the floats In a similar way. Then City Electrician Schurlg and Augustus H. Rentze. the chief designer of floats, set themselves at work on the problem, and the second parade witnessed Its solution. For the first time In America alle gorical floats passed In review over long miles of city streets, brilliantly lighted by efleotrlcity. 8clence had been' wedded to pleasure, and a new step had been taken In the art of carnival processions. Other cities have since adopted the plan, paying tribute for It to the designers. The current for lightning has been taken from the trolley wires of the street railway, and the effects are Indescribably pretty. Nor has this Idea been confined to carnival parades. Henry Rustin, an Omnha electrical engineer, when called upon to design the electric installation and illumination of the Transmississlppl and International exposition, held at Omaha In 11. adapted the plan to the purposes of the ex position, and for the first time visitors were given an idea of what beautiful results could be obtained by proper appli cation and manipulation of Incandescent electric lights In connection with such display. Commissioners from Paris visited the Omaha exposition and carried back Ideas that were Incorporated In the great fair given at the French capital two years later. At Buffalo Mr. Rustin again hid charge of the electric Installation and lighting of the build ings and grounds, and here, his Omaha experience ampllhVd. he gave the public new delights, and finally, when called upon to assume similar duties In connection with the Louisiana Purchase exposition at St. Louis, he seems to have reached a point beyond which man can hardly go. In this way the whole world has been benefited by the existence of Ak-Sar-Ben. and this without the slightest diminution of the luster of the splendid street display given each season ir. Omaha. The1 Initiation at the den has not been devised In a mere spirit of Idleness, but is more or less of a satire on man's Innate love of mystery. It does not undertake to Inculcate any special lesson other than that of genuine good fellow ship, while membership In the body means that one Is expected to work for the material upbuilding of the city In season and out of season. Local knights pay a fee of $10 on Joining, which entitles each to the pleasure of Initiation, to a ticket to the coronation ball, given each year the nlnht after the big parade, and to such other privileges as grow out of the existence of the Institution. For the current year the membership reaches to nearly 2,500. Visitors to the city are taken In without money and without price, and are treated as though they belonged In Omaha, for the one nipht at least. Each year the Initiation must be renewed, for the work Is changed each season, and the only thing the oldest of the knights can be certain of is that something new will be sprung on him when he goes to the den for the first time In the early summer. The general effect of the Institution has been good. Hundreds of men from all over the I'nlted Btates have been Initiated t different times, and each one lias gone away with a wider clrrle of acquaintance than he could have formed in the ordmry course of his business, and with a better feeling fojr the city. Business men and their employes get better aci4inted with eao:h other st the den than they do anywhere any where Arise, k-Sar-BtYls w lac, and the universal opinion In Omaha Is that A worth more than it hu ca, f