MESSAGE FROM A PLANET.
AN AERIAL VISITOR THAT PUZ
ZLES SCIENTISTS.
Curious Marks Found on the Interior
Surface of What Is Denominated
an Aerolite The People of Bing
ham p ton Excited.
Binghamton, N. Y., Nov. 16. Scien
tists in this city are puzzling over an
aerial visitor that dropped in this vi
cinity this morning.
Prof. Jeremiah McDonald, who lives
on Park avenue, was returning home
at an earlv hour this morning, when
there was a blinding flash of light and
an object buried itself In the ground a
Fhort distance from his premises. loiter
It was dug up and found to be a mass of
lome foreign substance that had been
fused together by inteni-e heat. It was
Btill hot and when cooled off In water
was broken open. Inside was found
what might have been a piece of metal,
on which were a number of curious
marks, Uiat some think to be charac
ters. When opened the stone emitted a
strong sulphurous smell.
Prof. Whitney of the high school de
clared It to be an aerolite, but different
from anything he had ever seen. The.
metal had been fused to a whitish sub
stance, and Is of a quality unknown to
the scientilic men who have examined
it.
The aerolite Is now on exhibition and
will be placed in the geological collec
tion of the high school.
Several persons have advanced the
opinion that fills is a message from an
other planet, probably Mars. The marks
bear some resemblance to Egyptian
writing in the minds of ime. Prof.
McDonald Is among those who believe
the mysterious ball was meant as a
means of communication from another
world.
MILITARY RECOMMENDATIONS.
Widow9 and Orphans of Military
Men to Be Provided For.
Washington, D. C, Nov. 16. One t
the most important recommendations
in the annual report of the inspector
general of the army Is that a fund be
created for the benefit of the widows
and orphans of military men. There Is
now a stoppage against the soldiers'
pay to insure care for him in his old
age, and it is suggested that if a sim
ilar reservation Is made from the pay of
persons hereafter appointed to the
army, and the fund be increased by 'he
addition of all fines imposed upon com
missioned officers by court-martials, the
relief measure would be sufllclent.
The work of Inspection during the
year has shown the army to be In all
its departments In a satisfactory condi
tion, although opportunity was afford
ed to recommend a number of small
changes in methods and equipments.
The new rifle is said to be still defective
In some degree In the sights, and it has
not been shown to be as satisfactory In
skirmish work as at long-distance
shooting.
Says It Was Murder.
Denver, Nov. 16. The Jury In the esse
of Frederick K. Sanchez, who killed his
wife In the Colorado House in this city
October 20, returned a verdict of guilty
of murder In the first degree. San
chez's defense was that he accidentally
shot his wife In a nightmare, imagin
ing a robber had entered his room. Her
life was Insured for $1,000.
SHORT BITS.
Mrs. Mary Crelner, an aged widow of
Tiffin, O., was burned to death In her
borne.
The Baueh murder Inquiry by the cor
oner at Freeoort, III., bus been contin
ued to Nov. Z.
Lulu McCloskey, aged 5 years, was
fatally burned at Danville, 111., by com
ing In contact with a stove.
Cattle near Eldora, la., are dying from
eating cornstalke on which poisonous
smut had gathered.
Joseph Fisher, an aged horse trader
of Vim.ennes, III., is under arrest on a
charge of "bootlegging" whisky.
Near Kansas City, Kan., John Dodds,
white, shot and killed Edward Carter,
colored, during a dispute over $10.
Frederick C. Sanchez has been found
puilty of murder In the first degree ut
Denver, Colo., for having killed his
Wife.
William Carr Is on trial at Kansas
City, Mo., on a charge of having mur
dered his Infant daughter by drowning
lier.
W. C. McKeller, manager of the West
tm Union Teh graph company at Keii
dallville, ill., committed suicide by
Shooting.
W. II. Mclntoch of Butler, Infl.,
charged with having defrauded De Kalb
county out of $.'.0,000, has been found not
guilty.
George F. Cage, senior partner of the
wrecked brokerage firm, Gage & Fel
low, Boston, pleaded not guilty to em
bezzlement of $5,400.
W. T. Wicker, a farmer living near
Bhelbyvllle, Ind., was fatally scalded
by filling Into a barrel of boiling water
while entaged In butchering hogs.
Joseph Williams, fireman of the
Northern Pacific, transcontinental train
In Minnesota, committed suicide by
jumping Into the firebox of his ens'.ne
near Mandan, N. D.
At Galesburg, 111., Joseph Shaffcn
pleaded guilty to the charge of having
attempted to burn the town of Wtl
lUimslield, and was sent to the peni
tentiary. A small acetylene gas generator fx
ploded In M. W, Klock's barber shop at
fcheflield, III., completely wrecking the
plate glass front and everything In the
plav.e.
Creditors of David Rosenheim, this
Veteran Jollet, 111., clothier, whose store
was closed by the sheriff Thursday,
threaten to begin criminal proceedings
arainst him under the debtors' act, al
leging fraud.
Grand Rapids capitalists are to devel
op the pearl fishing Industry In south
ern Michigan and employ several hun
dred men gathering mussel shells, in
which some valuable pearls have been
secured this season.
Chief Hazen of the secret service bu
reau at Washington has Identified Al
bert Thomas, recently arrested at New
Itedford, Mass., for passing raised
United States notes, as Albert Llntner,
raid to be a noted burglar and confi
dence man of Indianapolis.
The bank, of Antlgo. Antlgo, Wis.,
closed Its doors by order of the board
Of directors on account of Irregularities
In the books. The extent of the short
ae Is not known. Deposits will be paid
In full.
Er-Representatlve John M. Langs
ton of Virginia, one of the prominent
colored men of the country. Is seriously
III at his home In Washington, D. C,
and at one time his case was thought
to be hopeless, but later he has shown
lomi improvement.
ALL ABOUT TENDING THE BABY
Hints Fer the Ccmfort, Health and
U -amy of toe Child.
If you i8ut jour baby'siyis large and
fine as pt iMihle, ketp it in a dark room
the first month of Its life In a room
with gietn shades. DM you ever notice
how large r.d liquid a baby's eyes ar:
in their tranquil opening in its shad -d
corner, an.l how they retreat and shrink
up uren th- light is admitted? That is
the foundation of the miserable small
eyes and peering sight which disfigure
our jw-opl -that and the school books
and the small print newspapers and
monthly magazines. Impure air also
ruins young eyes and dulls their color.
In nine cases out of ten a baby cries
from cold, or the effects of cold, such as
colic and various internal disturbances.
Give a child pure air, good handling,
and keep it warm, but lightly clad, and
it will survive even a bringing up on
patent baby food. If that must be. Wli.'n
it goes out, put the hot snnpstone, well
wrapped, under the pillow on which it
tests; put it near the child's feet, as he
rests, and he will sleep surprisingly.
When old enough to be taken up. dress
him warmly with long silk sleeves and
bag-like stockings of fleece-lined silk up
to the thigh stockings he can kick
about in, but cannot kick off, as they
are tied to the most indispensable part
of his furnishings and you secure heal
thy skin and well knit muscle growth.
Whatever food is used, don't keep it
in the stationary wash basin to cool, or
in the dressing closet, or the bathroom,
where the worst emanations will get to
it, spite of covers and corks. The tiled
Jardiniere on the window sill can hide
milk bottles, and we ought to have some
highly ornamental development of the
artistic 'r-fbox for small new families,
which would not ruflle a landlady's feel
ings In any position or send a husband
on sight to the club for refuge.
Feed th" baby once In two hours by
the clock in the beginning weeks, and
lengthen intervals very gradually. Ut
upon honor about this, always giving a
coffeespooriful of filtered hot water as
dessert. A baby ought to have filtered
water for his bath, and have it much
warmer than common. There can be no
manner of doubt that the cool bath or
the tepid bath has sent many babies un
timely to heaven. Anyhow, the child
must have pure hot water to drink. It
will stop a baby's crying, and soothe
craving hunger when there is no proper
food to be had, as on 'ong railway Jo.ir
neys. It Is a great regulator of small
Internal economies. Hut If the baby
writhes and cries madly, and no pin Is
In evidence, and he is otherwise comfort
able, and has been well fed, and isn't
cramped with lying too long In one po
sition, from which babies suffer agonies
as they advance, then diagnose coll, at
once. Heat a flannel quickly, lay it on
the abdomen, turn the child over on Its
breast across your knees or against
your own shoulder, holding the back of
the head in the hollow of your palm.
To the papas and bachelor uncles, one
parting Injunction: I-arn to hold a baby
so you won't look ridiculous In the eye
of every woman who sees you, nor s t
the small voter howling. Take the baby
with one broad hand under his drapery
and the other clasping his spine and
head in one dextrous, soft grasp carry
him to your shoulder and hold him ly
ing full length against your military
breast, the fuzzy top head Just showing
above your black serge. The change of
position stretches his limbs and gives
the little fellow relief. f'Hiiy him gent
ly about, but don't begin gymnastics
with him for a few years yet. If you
toss him about the milk may spill out.
to the detriment, of that new spring
suit. Hold him quietly and as if It
agreed with you don't lay him on his
back for he spends two-thirds of his
life in that position and grows very
tired of it. He will love and thank you
for a change. Believe me, nothing looks
more becoming In a man than gentle,
knowing treatment of a baby, without
blushes. And never do you walk with
any woman and let her carry the baby,
even if It Is your own wife. There are
things every spectator pays or thinks
at the sight which would wound you If
you heard them.
To keep the baby's hair golden, which
Is the main point many mother's read
this article for, feed It pure, unboiled
milk, sterilized by standing covered In
boiling water twenty minutes. This for
the first year of its life, after which It
may take fine oatmeal or wheat gruel,
boiled gently three or four hours, and
crisp, whole meal crackers, very care
fully toasted in an oven. Wash the
head with the best casllle soap (whitel
dally the first year, after that wash It
with a saltspoonful of borax In a pint of
hot water, rinsing well In warm water
and drying quickly. Weekly anoint the
hair with yolk of a fresh egg, well
rubbed In the scalp, and rinsed In warm
water. Let the child run bareheaded in
the sun of early morning and evening
by the hoii". Nothing Is better for
bieachlng the hair, complexion, or for
growth than the early light from sun
rise to 3 o'clock. Nor will the midday
sun do anything but good to the locks,
If the iieat Is not too great. l":;ing per
oxides and other bleaches on babies'
hair Is absurd and dangerous.
PRICE OF WILD ANIMALS.
Dealers Who Make a Business of
Supplying Menageries.
"What does an animal like that cost?"
This question, Superintendent Stephen
says, Is asked oftener than any other
by people visiting the Zoo. How old the
animal Is. what it feeds on. would it
harm a person who went Into Its cage,
is it a bad fighter, does it breed In cap
tivity? such questions as these are not
asked much more than about once
where the cost is asked about a hun
dred times. Put that's the American if
It. The annual confidential quotation
of prices of "Zoo animals" was received
from the world's principal and greatest
animal mart, Hamburg, Germany, yes
terday, by the Cincinnati Zoo, and In
view of the fact Just stated Its leading
features will prove of Interest, and th
more especially since l.gur s of this kind
are rarely got hold of by the press or
public.
Among these confidential quotations
are the following, they being net:
Female Indian elephant, six feet high,
trained to d 1 several tricks, curries MX
people In saddle, $1,500; female elephant,
five feet six Inches high, no tricks, j I ..'!')') ;
young, fresh Imported male elophari's,
four to five feet high, from Iturmah,
$1,000; females, $1,100; zebras, 5 years
old, per pair, $2,000, and both broke to
drive In single or double liarneHs; eight
months' old zebra, male, $4.'.0, find fe
male, three months old, $.15(1; Nubian
wild ass, 6 years old. $200 ; wild aMso
from the rtussfan steppes, per pair, $:ioo;
double humped camels, per pair, j.'iOO;
llatnns, 4 years old, per pair, $J50; ah
deer from India, per pair, $'J0O; Slka deer
from Japan, per pair, $$150; watcrlmck
antelopes, 2 years old (countr.y not
given), per pair, $7.10; Hengal tiger,
male 6 years old. female 3 years old, per
pair, $1,750; Itengal tigers. female .1
years old. each $7.i0; Nubian lions, 6
years old. per pair, $1,500; Nubian lions,
Vk years old, per pair, $1,000, and 1 year
old. $100; female Jaguars, IS months obi
each, $22.1; pumas, 3 year old, per pair,
$.100; India leopards, male, $175 each;
striped hyenas, each $75; Rtis.d.tn
wolves, each $100; young polnr bears. It
months old, $n, and fully grown, $l.ooo
per pulr; young ltusslan bears, $150; Af
rican and Indian porcupines, each, $10;
mnle kangaroo, $125; besver rats, $'!0
per pair; malt ourang outang, 7 years
old, $1,500.
i.lEPUBLIGAR GREENBACKS.
HOW THEY ARE CIRCULATED
IN THE MINING DISTRICTS.
Men Allowed to Earn Only Beggarly
Wages Forced to Accept Bogus
Money Guardians of the Nations
Honor Every Day Work.
Republican campaigns, state and na
tional, are said to have been for the
preservation of a single money stand
ard. This must be so, because Senator
,Hanna, Congressman Grosvenor and
other republican statesmen so assure
the people.
Curious to know how the suffering
miners of the Sunday CreeB, valley were
profiting by the sturdily! maintained
gold standard money, I ran down into
the home county of Congressman Gros
venor to see for myself.
This mining town of thirty-five hun
dred souls lies in a hollow between
the hills, is on the Hocking Valley and
Kanawha A Michigan railroads, south
east of Athens. It is as wretched as
most mining towns, where prosperity
has not come, where starvation Is a
constant menace and the mine owners
feed like vampires on their serfs.
Seven mines are in the immediate
neighborhood all controlled by the Wren
corporation, the largest mining opera
tors In Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana.
The shafts are known by numbers, and
fully 2.100 men are employed, all resi
dents In Glouster and the neighboring
villages. One mile northward is Trim
ble, a w retched one-street village of l.Coo
people, 2fio of whom toil in the mines at
less than half time, none averaging over
seventy-five cents a day. Jacksonville,
a mile further, over a muddy road,
claims 500 miners, huddled with their
families in wretched clapboard shanties.
To the westward of Glouster, a short
mile, is Hollister. where 300 miners
struggle for existence, and near by Is
Oakdale, with about the same number
of coal diggers.
In every face Is the same haggard,
anxious look. The' few women encoun
tered on the streets of all these villages
are dressed In single calico garments.
Most of them are hatless. Children in
the streets are shoeless and hardly ha!f
covered. With pinched, pale faces
that Indescribable thing that makes
the eyes so prominent the boys and
girls solicit help of the stranger within
their town.
In every village mentioned Is a com
pany store. There are found the only
evidences of prosperity. Clerks and
proprietors, who from June until Octo
ber were absent, are again behind the
counters redeeming the orders and flat
money of the mining proprietors. Prac
tically, government money Is unknown.
A scrip is the currency of all these min
ing communities. Contrary to statute,
these certificates of indebtedness are
made to resemble the national currency,
are numbered and stamped, as If they
emanated from the treasury at Wash
ington. ,
A contest for sound money. Indeed
this "toady" as it Is called is worth its
face nowhere but at the store of the
company that Issues It. At such places
the prices of dry goods and groceries
are higher than elsewhere. At all other
stores, the hotels and saloons, a dis
count of 20 per cent is made on all such
money. The toiling workman, after
four or five days in thn darkness of the
mines receives his four to eight dollars
In these greasy shin plasters. HIS rent
Is $ to $10 per month, and nowhere is
credit given him beyond one week. Even
his glass of beer is drawn with m ire
froth than liquid if he presents "toady"
in payment.
Entering one of the typical company
stores at mine No. 10, which Is one and
a half miles northeast of Glouster, I
priced shoes and other necessary arti
cles. The quality was always poor and
the price fully twice what would be
charged In New York for similar goods.
At Mine No. 10 all the forty workmen
live in the company's houses and the
rent Is taken out of tin- miners' wmps
In advance. The struggle for life is ut
terly hopeless, because It often happens
that more than one week's work, at the
half or three-qunrters time In vogue. Is
necessary to pay for the wretched hovel
In which the wife and children are shel
tered from the rain and snow.
Never did my eyes behold such abject
poverty as this valley discloses.
Tnat suffering has been rife here Is
conceded by republicans. Into this very
Section Governor Rushnell sent car loads
of provision,'! during the past summer.
The struggle of the miners for their
rights began about June 15. Immediate
ly the strike was declared the com pony
stores put up their shutters and nulled
up their doors. Their managers disap
peared. The thriftiest of the min-rs
who had saved somethinir, found That
their scrip would not buy provision! in
the shops of the neighboring villages.
If they went to the bank at Glouster
to get the wretched stuff changed into
silver money they received only 80 cent
on the dollar. That condition was no
worse than It had been before the strike
began. An era of absolute starvation
set In, relieved temporarily now dnd
again, by the appearance of a few car
loads of flour, potatoes, rice and bean
coffee from the slate executive.
During the awful summer that Is past
no one remembers to have heard the
voice of Charles Grosvenor, the white
bearded apostle of sound money, raised
In protest against the systematic depop
ulation of his own county by the coal
barons. I believe he Is on record for the
Armenians nnd the Cubans, but never a
word for the starving women and chil
dren of Sandy Creek valley, within an
hour of his own home,
Hugh Gormley is mayor of Glouster.
The name of the town, you observe, is
spelled without any English redundancy
of letters. It Is plain Glouster. Gorm
ley Is a young man In the tailoring trad"
on the main street. He comes from an
other part of Ohio, but settled In Gioim
ter for life. He Is well educated and ob
serving. He has been a reader of Henry
George, and believes In much that the
dead philosopher taught. He talked
freely.
"Present conditions are little better
than when the lockout existed," said he.
"We all witnessed pitiful scenes during
the past summer. Children came to my
house In droves crying for food. Poor,
little, toddling babies who were hardly
weaned. I am only a tailor; nobody can
eat clothing. It is relatively a second
ary necessity of life. Hut my heart bled
for many cases that came to my notice.
We, who had something, but not much,
rhared with others who had nothing.
For this suffering the coal barons, the
men who are demanding that we must
support Hanna and McKlnley, are di
rectly responsible. Coal Is not a drug
on the market. Overproduction Is a
myth. The fact Is that mine owners
can use their money In speculation In
Wall street to greater profit. All the
coal they can mine could be marketed."
"How do the wages average?" I asked.
"Not above 75 cents per day," was
Mayor Oormley's reply. "Miners are
paid (15 cents per ton, and two tons Is a
fair day's work. But the men are not
allowed full time. They have to be con
tent with what they can get. The scrip
to which you refer Is used throughout
this entire section, though probably lers
n an In some other sections.
' Paper money la very scarce, and as
for gold, we have not seen any here for
eui. I doubt If there Is any In our
bunks. 1 really do not know the names
of the men who manage the Wren cor
poration stores. They are not of us at
ail, but strangers, who are batten-d
upon us. We hardly get familiar with
the faces of one set before they are
withdrawn und new men sent in their
places.
"What sympathy can they ie expect
ed to feel for the poor miners? They are
legitimate jrey for such non-resideni
sharks. Hundreds are starving today
in thiB valley. Conditions are only bet
ter in spots, and yet we are told that
prosperity is here, that sound money
has brought it and the single gold stand
ard must be maintained. Any govern
ment money would be welcome to us. I
will not take the plaster money of cor
porations iut of principle, because I be
lieve its issue to be illegal and the uses
to which it Is put in keeping the laborer
under the paw of the capitalist infa
mous. "If Hanna is not repudiated by these
miners it will be because of the threat
that is already current here that if he
is defeated all mining w ill be stopped,
all tenants evicted and every dollar of
capital taken elsewhere. A starving man
is easily frightened. He has not the
nerve or courage of a man with a full
stomach."
Ocean Tramps Swarm to Our Ports.
New York, Nov.' 17 Never since 1S3I
certainly, and probably never since
trans-Atlantic freightage began, have
such large quantities of grain been car
ried abroad as will sail this fall to feed
hungry Europe. Any craft that floats
Is good enough to carry grain this year.
The skippers and supercargoes who
are ever on the scent for business, and
range from South Africa to Hong Kong,
in their wayward courses, are now
gathering to the American ports as flit-s
Bwarm in a candy shop.
Twice this fail once In plain sight of
the Coney Island excursion boats I
have seen crews of Lascars eating their
queer, foreign-looking meals, squatted
flat on the decks of tramp steamers hail
ing from Indian ports.
The Lascars were sitting In a circle,
with a bowl of rice in the center, on the
deck. They dip the rice out with their
hands, tilt their heads back and throw
In that is. the crude Lascar of com
merce does so;though some have learned
to eat with spoons by the time they get
to New York.
It Is a strange mixture of races snd
religions tbat gathers on the water
front to help feed Europe with Yankee
grain. There have been seen this year,
Hindoo Mohammedans and Lascars of
the same belief prostrating themselves
toward Mecca in the ports of Philadel
phia and Ilaltimore as well as New
York. There are Buddhists and Con
fusclans If that Is the correct word;
and a ship's engineer told me one day
that the cook of his craft was a Mahdist
from the Soudan a man from what has
been the most Inaccessible spot on this
earth for the last fifteen years.
The Mahdist believes that the true be
lievers are invulnerable to Christian bul
lets. "But many of the Mahdists have been
wounded by the Egyptians," argued the
tensing engineer one day.
"True, O Kwageh; but they must
have been bad men, or the prophet
would not have let them be hurt."
Carpets Becoming a Back Number.
In 1876, the year of the centennial cel
ebration, two bales of Oriental ruga
were imported to America. They were
the cheapest kind of Eastern rugs,
known to the trade as collies, but they
marked the practical beginning of the
business in this country.
Last season some 1.100 bales of Ori
ental rugs were entered at the port of
New York probably 30,000 rugs alto
getherand these were of all grades,
from the cheapest to the most ex
pensive. It really begins to look as
though rugs would supplant carpets
altogether in many city houses.
"You don't know what a relief It is,"
exclaimed one housekeeper. "When we
moved Into our new house wdth its beau
tiful hardwood lloors, I vowed that I'd
never have a tack driven into them as
long as I lived. To be sure, the rugs
cost a trifle more than carpets at the
start, but I'm sure they'll last four
times as long, and they're so much
easier to take care of."
Just at present the most popular thing
In expensive rugs comes from northern
China. It was discovered a couple of
seasons ago that in some of the small
villages in the interior of China rugs
of beautiful colors and striking antique
patterns were being made. A number
of them were brought to this country,
where they have attracted favorable no
tice and have brought large prices, sell
ing easily at a couple of hundred dollars
apiece, while the finest ones bring more
than twice that amount.
I recently had a talk with a gentleman
who has returned from an extended trip
through India. Tersia and China In
I Bearch of art treasures In this line.
Prefers to Ride a Cow.
The Marquis d'Ayguesvlves owns the
first and only cow that has ever been
saddled and bridled line a horse. Some
time ago a number of gentlemen resid
ing In and about Bordeaux, Interested
in horses, formed themselves Into a
club with the Idea of holding a horse
show upon a glorious scale. Each mem
ber of the club was to bp responsible
for one of the items upon the program
of the cirque, and with one exception
they all concerned themselves with the
exhibitions they would give of their
skill with horses.
The one exception was the Marquis,
who saw himself covered with glory by
doing trick riding on a cow. To this
end he begin personally to train Su
zanne, an urusually Intelligent animal.
She was treated exactly the same as a
young, unbroken horse. During the
first month the Marquis found It nec
essary to groom the cow himself, as
well os feed her, In order that she
should learn to know his voic e nnd be
come acquainted with him. Finally,
after the most herculean efforts, the
Marquis succeeded In getting the cow
to Jump all sorts of obstacles, nnd the
Marquis became tinouestionably the
star performer of tho amateur circus.
Quaint Ceremonies In London.
Nowhere In the world have so many
quaint and queer old ceremonies and
customs dating back to mediaeval
times been retained ns In the city of
London. Many of the features of Its
municipal life have been In existence
since the crusades, and among the
strangest Is the so-called annual Lion
sermon, which has Just been preached
In St. Katherlne's church, Ijcadenholl
street, by Dean Clarke, chaplain to the
queen, who at Its conclusion received
the sum f $100, In accordance with the
time-honored usage. It seems that In
the thirteenth century a former lord
mayor of London named Sir John
Gayer was wrecked on a desert part
of tbe coast of Arabia. There he was
confronted by a huge lion. He there
upon sunk upon his knees and prayed
to heaven to help him. When he arose
he found to his Joy that the Hon had
turned tall and fled. Upon arriving
home he determined to commemorate
his miraculous escape, and accordingly
left a large sum of money, the Income
of which was to be devoted to paying
for a yearly sermon on the anniversary
of his encounter with the king of
beasts.
CHOCTAW'S HAPPY REPRIEVE
WALLA TONAKA MAY LIVE TO
"PLAY MORE BALL."
Story of tr.a Famous Younff Indian
Who Was Condemned to be Shot
His Prowess on the Eail Field May
Save His Life.
Kansas C;ty, Mo., Nov. 17 Walla
Tonaka, savage and man of honor, In
dian murderer, ball player, gentleman
and philosopher, did not die Saturday.
He is under reprieve, and it is possi
ble that he may never be executed for
his crime. Nevertheless, his willing
news to meet the death that had "?en
decreed for him stands as a vivid object
lesson of the simple, heroic virtues that
have well nigh disappeared under tne
veneer of a complex civilization.
To meet a parallel of this unruly sav
age's unconquerable honor, one must go
back to chivalry, when white men
viewed their personal obligations with
such an unclouded vision, like a child
or an eagle, that they would rather die
than break their word. But then, Walla
Tonaka is no knight errant with a coat
of arms. He is a drunken Choctaw. Yet
every white man who cherishes a spark
of sentiment will rejoice that this sav
age did not need to face the rifles of
his brothers yesterday and fall into cn
open grave with his death song gurg
ling into'silence in his throat.
Walla Tonaka grew to manhood with
his tribe in the Indian Territory. He
was one of the wildest bucks on the
reservation, and one of the bravest.
The blood of his ancestors coursed
fiercely through his veins, and he Irked
the petty restraints of life in the Terri
tory. Not one of the young men of the
tribe was so bold, so fleet, so strong
as he. nor so sure a shot with a Win
chester. No one could throw him in a
wrestling bout or catch him in a race.
Not one earned in such full measure
the coy admiration of the most eligible
Choctaw maidens; not one so vividly
recalled to the old chiefs the brave days
of their youth.
For want of more primitive ways of
venting his superabundant vitality,
Walla Tonaka threw himself furiously
Into the athletic diversions acquired by
the red man from his conquerors. In all
the Territory there was no more cun
ning and skillful and speedy baseball
player than he.
There came a day and it was in no
wise different from many another day
spent by Walla Tonaka when he filled
himself with firewater and went mad
with the potency thereof. All the sav
age in him mounted to his brain and
tingled in his linger tips and blazed out
of his eyes. The other young braves
who got drunk with him showed sav
agery enough, but none was so savage
as he, because none was so full of what
the French call the "joy of living."
And so thev made a great noise and
did many wild and desperate thing3. It
was necessary for the peace officers of
the tribe to quell the disturbance, be
side which an orgie in a Tenderloin dive
would have seemed like a sewing cir
cle. It so happened that the function
ary upon whom this painful and dan
gerous duty devolved was Walla Ton
aka's own urcle, Lampson Young, dep
uty sheriff of Eagle county.
No words of studied politeness were
used. No words of any kind were wast
ed. The deputy sheriff tried to disarm
his unruly nephew at the muzzle of a
revolver. There was a scuflle. Walla
Tonaka's Winchester cracked, a puff
of smoke floated away in a white, trail
ing wisp, and Lampson Young pitched
forward on his face with a hole through
his lungs.
Walla Tonaka was tried by the fath
ers of his tribe, found guilty of murder
In the first legree and sentenced to be
shot, according' to the custom of the
Territory. He heard the date and place
and manner of his death decreed with
out the quiver of an eyelash and walked
away from the court, a free man, to ful
fill his parole when the fated day should
arrive. For such is the custom of these
savages.
However he might scorn to evade the
fate he knew he had earned, his friends
and admirers, who were many, sought
to save him by appealing to the supreme
council of the tribe. But the supreme
council, after weighing the matter care
fully and smoking much tobacco over
It, affirmed the decision of the lower tri
bunal, The word had been spoken.
Walla Tonaka must die on a day early
In August.
Walla Tonaka showed no change. It
Is part of the personal religion of such
savages as he bred in their very bones
to ait as men would act if they knew
and observed the philosophy of Zeno.
He had given his word that he would
keep the appointment with death, and
nothing could have made him disap
point his executioners. It would never
have occurred to him to run away. It
would never have occurred to the fath
ers of his tribe to lock him up.
"Is an Indian a dog, that he should
break his word?" said Walla Tonaka to
a white man who asked him why he did
not flee.
And Walla Tonaka would have died
in August had not a diversion been cre
ated which brought his case unremark
able to the Indians themselves to the
attention of the world that Is civilized.
And the world that is civilized rubbed
its eyes In amazement at the spectacle
of a man who would walk with com
posure to his death rather than com
promise his honor.
The Convention Hall committee of
Kansas City wished to raise funds. They
decided that it would be an excellent
Idea to have a game of baseball played
by two Indian teams imported from the
Territory for that purpose. This wish
was communicated to the Choctaw fath
ers, and the invitation was eagerly ac
cepted. The red man was on his met
tle. He would show the white man how
nobly two nines of stalwart bucks could
play the game of the paleface conqueror.
The very best blood in the Territory
would, it was determined, be Infused
Into the twu representative base ball
teams. And then, from one end of the
Territory to the other arose the mur
mur: "Walla Tonaka! Where Is he? How
can the red man play ball without the
bravest spirit in the tribe? And alas!
Walla Tonaka will be under the ground
when we go to show the while man how
base ball should be played!"
And the fathers of the tribe grieved
sorely, for that they knew that Walla
Tonaka was Indeed the bravest spirit
of all the buck ball players. They as
sembled together and smoked more to
bacco over It, and at length they saw a
way out of the difficulty. They would
postpone Walla Tonaka's appointment
with death long enough for him to go to
Kansas City and cover himself and his
tribe with glory. Then he should return
and slnir his death song by the opeu
grave. That would not be cheatln.;
Justice and. at the same time, it would
be to the rredlt of the Choctaws.
Walla Tonaka was willing. He loved
base ball. He would be delighted to ap
pear before the white man and be the
chumpron of the tribe. His black 'yes
glittered at the thought. And, of course,
he would return to die on the day set
by the fathers.
So It was arranged, and the Choctaw
braves Journeyed to Kansas City, where
they played ball before shouting thou
sands of pale faces In Falrmount park.
And Walla Tonaka, tha condemned
man, won more shouts than any of tks)
cither players.
Thus It was that th story been Tin
known. Walla Tonaka's comrades told
the white men sorrowfully that their
champion was little belter than a dead
man that he was awaiting the hour
when he should walk to his grave side
to pay the penalty of his crime. And
the white men could not understand It.
Such stoicism was beyond their com
prehension. They crowded round Walla
Tonaka and pestered him with ques
tions and advice.
"Why don't you run away?" they
asked him. "That would be easy. No
one could stop you. Surely, you don't
want to die!"
"Indian brave!" grunted Walla Ton
aka. drawing up his magnificent frame.
"Indian not afraid to die. Choctaw not
a liar!"
And so insulted was he at the sugges
tions offered him that a gloomy feroc
ity crept into his eyes, so that the white
men learned quickly that It was not
safe to ure-e their civilized point of
View upon this child of the forest.
Most wonderful thing of all. to the
palefaces, Walla Tonaka was not only
the most dextrous, but also the most
cheerful and good-humored of the Choc
taw ball players. That was because bis
companions were grieving for him, but
he was not grieving for himself.
After leaving Kansas City the Indians
played in many other western towns,
p.nd everywhere they went Walla Ton
aka was hailed as the flower of them nil.
Everywhere, too, he was gazed at eager
ly as the man who had made an ap
pointment with death and meant to
keep it. And when the players finally
returned to the Indian Territory, the
condemned man went with them, as a
matter of course.
This was the date set for the execu
tion. Walla Tonaka was to be shot by
four men who were his friends. Two of
the cartridges were to be blanks, but
none of the executioners were to know
which two.
But Walla Tonaka's friends were still
trying to save him. As a last resort
they resolved to appeal to Chief Ispar
becher, and they set out for Tuseahoma,
the capital of the Choctaw nation.
Those who were anxious to see what
they deemed to be justice executed, ar
ranged to have the execution take place
at Alikchi, far in the interior, wher
the news of a reprieve would be late in
coming. Moreover, they changed the
day of execution from last Saturday to
the preceding Thursday.
Still Walla Tonaka was ready, a free
man, to obey the behest of those in au
thority over him.
Chief isparhecher was merciful.
Moved by the prowess the condemned
man had won on the base ball field, he
granted a reprieve and an order for a
new trial, A mounted courier, one oi
Walla Tonaka's warmest friends, set
out from the capital and journeyed at
furious speed toward Alikchi. He rode
night and day. Three ponies died un
der him. He looked like a ghost when,
late on Wednesday night, when all pre
pararations had been made for the ex
ecution next morning, he arrived with
the great chief's order.
"It is well." said Walla Tonaka, "for
life seems good."
CRAZED BY CIGARETTES.
Victim of the Deadly Weed Tries to
Commit Murder.
Rase, incited by the unsatisfied crav
ing for cigarettes, resulted yesterday in
an assault which may end in death.
Thomas Kelleher, 18'years old, of No.
148 Essex street, Jersey City, is one ol
those unfortunate victims of the cigar
ette smoking habit who are frequently
described as "fiends." His appetite oi
filling his lungs with nicotine poison in
the manner which fascinates cigarette
smokers alone had taken complete pos
session of him physically and mentally,
and to satisfy that craving was his
constant, eager, unceasing desire; a de
sire which finally overmastered every
other sense and emotion.
On Friday evening Kelleher, his sup
ply of cigarettes and his ordinary source
for securing more exhausted, found him
self in the vicinity of a little tobacco
shop at No. 1H0 Morris street, kept by
Mrs. Leffermann. Kelleher loitered
about the show window for awhile, ag
gravating the appetite which already
dominated him by feasting bis eyes oi;
a display of the coveted weed in the
window. Finally the craving overcame
him to such a degree that he entered
the shop and asked for some cigarettes
from Mrs. Leffermann, who stood be
hind the counter, admitting that he had
no money. He was refused, and then
he begged the woman to give him just
one, but was again refused. This seemed
to upset him mentally, for he began to
abuse the woman, and became so disor
derly that her husband, who, with theii
son, nine years old, was in the shop, or
dered Kelleher to leave the store. He
did so, after again begging for a cigar
ette. When he reached the street he
picked up a big rock and, rushing back
into the shop, hurled it at the man who
had ordered him out.
His aim was bad, and the rock struck
the boy, Daniel Leffermann, in the ab
domen, knocking himr senseless. Then
Kelleher dashed from the shop and ran
wildly down the street. Mr. Leffermann
gave chase and overtook the. cigarette ..
crazy youth, w ho was turned over to the
police.
When the case was called in police
court, it was learned that the injuries
inflicted on young Leffermann were so
serious that there were grave fears foi
his life. The prisoner, was therefore re
manded without bail. '
AN OPPRESSIVE MONOPOLY.
The People of Sunny California are
Crying- for Relief.
San 'Francisco, Nov. 16. The proposed
appeal to the federal courts to crush the
coal "combine" of California has excit
ed much attention. No monopoly on
this coast has been more insolent oi
grasping than the Coal Dealers' associ
ation of California, which has dictated
terms to mine owners and has robbed
small consumers for years. Coal has
always been dear here, but the recent
development of British Columbia, Ore
gon and Washington state mines gave
good promise of cheaper coal. The deal
ers, however, were determined to retain
their monopoly, and the price of coal is
actually higher now than when it cost
more to Import it. A long ton of do
mestic coal In British Columbia costs
$2.50; the freight is $1.25 and the duty
67 cents, mnklng the cost laid down here
not more than $4.50 a ton. Washington
nnd Oregon coal can be delivered here
for about the same price. Yet in this
city consumers pay $10.60 a short ton
for British Columbia coal, $8.50 for
Washington and $7.23 for Oregon coal.
The coal producers have an ironclad
agreement that they will sell only to the
California association In the state, and
no retail dealer can do business who
refuses to patronize the monopoly. As
only fifty thousand tons of the eight
hundred thousand tons of coal annually
consumed are produced in California,
the power of the monopoly may be seen.
These facts have been submitted to the
federal district attorney, and he baa
sent the papers to Washington.
President Igleslas of Costa Rica hae
taken another step to secure till re-election.
He has exiled his predecessor,
former rresldent Mora.
The season of the California Jockey
dub opens next Monday at Oakland.
