.J ,
I , STORY , OF PIRATE PLUNDER
! ( , RECALLS DAYS OF LAFITTE
l'
sOME OF FRE.EBOOTER'S ALTH RECOVERED
Splendid Gem Now Owned h7 BrownsviUe , Texas , Attorney -
torney , Was Part of Accumulated Booty-Smugglers'
Houses at Matnmorc : " Mexico , Still Stand
, in Magnificent Ruin.
,
Gentleman Instrumental In Discovering Hiding Place of Part of Treasure Be.
lieves That Much of It Remains Securely Concealed In the Old Rendez.
VOU9 of the Buccaneers Who Did So Much to Win the Great Victory
t
. Over the British at New Orleans-Mexican Government In the Way.
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"Yes , that gcm Is ono of the fhwRt
j I hl\ve e"er scen , and Its stl'auge his.
I , torr , to mo , allllll velT mutel'lall ' to
its Intrinsic valuo. "
'rho slIealwr was Mr. Pierce , a Irom.
- Inent attorney of llrownsvllle , ' 1'ox. , liS
I we ! ' 3t on the broad \'el'anlla at hili
handpome residence , smoldn our
. . , clgaJ1 : ! , : tfter the most remurlmble .Tan.
uary dinner I have evel' eaten , wrltcR
Isaac 1\1lne. On the mellu waB roast
wild goose , which had been shot as It
Hew over the house Oil the day befOle : ;
oyster ! : ! on the half.shell , fresh from
the waters of the Gu ) [ at Point Isa.
hel , Hi miles away ; gl'een corn on the
cob , < J1Humbers. : lettuce , celery from
1\11' . Pierce's own garllen ; oranges , figs
anll gmlles from tre01I and vines In the
I , doorynrd-In , Tnnllurr ! The gem un.
del' dillcllssion dla-
, was u very fine -
111ond , whoso Hteel.bhto , bl'lIJlance )11'0- )
( , . clnlnwl ) It us ba.vJn come from the
t Old Mines , sparldlng In an old.fash.
I loned settlu on Mr. Pierce's finger.
, 0 "If ) might. ha.ve Its enUre history
, 0 I si/ould / be very 11Iuch Illeased , for it
, helonged to Jean I.atitte , the pirate. . .
) . ' If It c uld bllt slwul" what a tale it
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Grave of Adrian Vidal.
Atnl"rlcan Who Espouscd Lmlng Cause
In 'Val' , a 11I1 " 'as Shot.
. might tell of fOt'mel' ownership by
some Spanish senoritas , of the bloodY
sea fight which terminated in the.
slnldug of a shill with Its crimson
, deck hurdened with the corpses of Its
,1 defen/lers ; of murder done aftel'wards
; In dll'loslng ) of the wouuded ly the
11 } ) ll'Ilt.ical custom of walltlng the pan } ;
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, of drunlwn outrage and orgy at Bar-
ratarlo. following the piratical vlc.
l tory , In which very lIJ\Oh' the fair
OWJlr of this verr I'ing waB one of the
prizc-li , 'fhero Is certainly a romance
conn'ct < ' . { 1 with this stone , Ilnd It at.
tracts'me the more fOI' the reason that
1 Imow so lIttle of It ,
Lafitte's Real Character.
" .Iean Lafitto is referred to III the
histories as a III rate , and l uch IH ! was
-but from these who knew him , with
wholl ! I have tallwd , I gain the Impres. I
, sion that he was not fully entitled to
that reputation , though he was a fear.
less lighter , with a hand of freeboot-
ors.10 whom his word was law. whose
ra v'ry made thelll a scourge of the
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which ho had been suhjectcd. As
there WIIS no war between France and
Bnglnnd at the limo of his release , ho
obtained a prlvateer'R commission un.
del' the Carthaginian i government
against Slmln. I have seen this com.
mission , which Is still In existence ,
In Slanlsh ) , and hold b ' relatives of
his , near llrownsvllle. ' 1'heso rela.
tlves claim that his only acts of piracy
were against British vessels-and ho
wns be 'OIl11 question a scourge to
these , In 1807 he came 'to Now Or.
leans , und In 1813.14 was at the head
of a formldablo community of free.
hooters In llarratal'la bay , about .10
miles west of the , mouth of the Mis.
slsslppl. Ther had many small ves.
sels and the ba ' afforded thom a se.
cure retreat. In ISH Commodore Pat.
terson uttuclwll their town and de.
stro 'ed It , hut Lafitte and most of his
mon escapcel , returning' later on and
resuming olleratlons ,
Refused British Bribe.
"About the same time the British
were maturing their plans for the descent -
scent lI)1011lthe ) sonthern coast of the
United Stares , and sent a brig of war ,
the Sophia , uuder command of Capt.
Locleyer , at 11arr\tarla , with a letter
from Commodore Perc ' , commanding
the British naval forces In the gulf ,
and one from Col. Nichols , th n In
commlUld of 1he lnnd forces In Florida ,
offering Lafitte the command of a fine
shll ) and $30,000 In gold on condition
of his assisting the contemplated ex.
[ lCdltion to ew Orleans , The prom.
11 > 0 of the British commander of
"bount ' and beauty" to his men In
case of victory Is matter of record.
I.afitto Immedlatoly wrote to Go\ ' .
Clalborno of Louisiana , Inclosing the
two letters , which I have seen , and
offering his services In defending Lou.
Islana on the solo condition of pardon
for himself and his men. The offer
was accepted , and the asslstanco of
the Barratarluns under command of
Lafitte , who had charge of one of the
eight small cannon which constituted
Jaclsons artIllOl' ' force at this battle -
tle , was an Important factor In scorlug
the great victory of New Orleans , Jan.
uar ' S , I8Hi. From this tlmo the history -
tory of Lafitto Is Involved in obscur-
It . . ' 1'hOl'e was' a plratleal com.
I\1tmlty formed at what Is now Galveston -
ton , b ' a Lafitte , hut whether by Jean
or his brothm' Pierre , Is now not clear.
It waB brolwn up in 1821 by lIeuten.
ant , afterward Commodore Kearney.
Lafittes ; portraits , of which there are
two at Matamoros , show him to have
een a handsome man , over six feet
tall , with blacl , hall' , hazel e'es ; and
his Iiolished , easy manners and win.
nlng alldress are stili remarlted upon ,
Pirates Were Scattered.
. . "After the destruction of this ren.
dezvous the ) llrates scattered , Many
of them are heard of afterward anll
are Imown In hlstor ' . They were
slmed seamen ancl bold fighters ,
Many loft the sea und located at Mat-
amoros , just across the river from
Brownsvllle. This was then a great
field for all sorts of scml'Ilratical ex-
ploits. Smuggling was prevalent and
fortunes were made on all sides. , Ves.
sels would unload their cargoes by
da ) ' or night , and the goods were often
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tJ. . "House 0 f Pirates. "
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nm 70 'ears ago , In these VOl' ) ' waters.
j. He was a Ii'renchman and began his
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" 0' I arcer as ! 1 lieutenant on a French prl.
, "utcnr , was cllpturel ! .br an English.
II1h l11an-of.wur and thrown Into prla-
; on at an l ngllsh ) lort , where he WCia
t ltept for manr yean ; aud so harbar-
, oUBI ' trm\led that his I't.'sentment had
II. Inrle bearing In shaplu his subse.
quent pursuits ,
1 I "It Is asserted y old residents nt
j ! atI11J10I'nS who Imew him Umt his ac.
Jt ; . tlon In botraylnl , ; the gngUsh In HlOlr
! ! i" aHompt to cl\pturo Now Orleans was
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. . Jt' In retaliation Cor the brutalities to
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smu/'gled / or worse-blood stained
fruits of lllratical cruisers. Of these
followers of I.nfltte , the richer , more
promlnent-carltalns and lieutenants
-settled In the same row of houses ,
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Among them were Constantine Tarn ,
. , and Ramon LaI.'on. 'fheso peolle )
clI In great splendor until abollt
1850 , when the ' gradually dlsall.
poared , loavlng the houses they 111\d
occupied. about as ther are to.tla '
The ) ' were mtrpmel ) ' In vlah In the USt
of mono ' , which seemed to fiow
through their hands 11I(0 water. It Is
relatetl that their WOlllon oven WOI'O
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gold heels on tholr shocs. They entor-
talnml In princely st'lo , giving recoil'
Uons and banQllets which' for magnlfi.
cunco were 110t excelled oven In Eu.
rOlean ) court ! ! . Kings mul ClueonR of
l nsland Fl'ance ' nothing
, Spuln or ga\'o
11:01'1' Iegnnt In thl ! ! line , Nothing at > .
prou'ltlng th m was oVur gh'en Oil this
contillentln , thORO dll 'S , evOlIf at the
present time.
Entertained Prbmlnent Men ,
"All promlnont Icople who came to
Matamoros were "ecolvell and en tor.
taln01 b ) ' them-Gen , Lawton , Gon.
Corbin , tIll' McCools , oven Oen. Sheri.
, Uan-huve been their gnests at these
receltlons. ) Among thoh' "I sitars oc.
caslonully wus soeu a man of mag.
nlflcent bem'lllg , great mnnly beauty
unll ca1'l'lage. lIe wore jewels ot ox.
tl'U01'dlnar ' sllondo " and ' .
) I1lwl1)'s car.
rled a court sworll with embroidered
belt blazing lth jewels. I was a bo '
then , tUlI1 remember these things well ,
fot' the ) ' were to mo lIke dream of
the Arublan Nights. 'rho man had
with him on these visits a. Spnnlsh
lady of great beauty who was always
at his side. None excolt ) tItO 'I'arnl1va
family ever talltCd with her , but it was
n. current belief among us chlldron
that the man was Lafitto and the
woman u lad ' whom ho had 'Calturlll ) !
In some or his sea fights , killing her
111alo relative , tal\On hol' to DarrntnrJa
and stili hold her ns his wlfo , She was
oven supposed to bear IL 'tItle. She attempted -
tempted to escape from him twlco , but
i. : .1t * ' ; f : : " : ' . , ' ' : i ; . tZ : ' .i\1 : : i , : ' : ! i'YdJ. l'.r.e" ' : ' t ; : S : r
"House 0 f Death. "
did not succeed. Her people no doubt
mourned her as dead.
"After the Tarnavas left the house
It was novel' again occupied and so far
aB I lmow has not been entered for 50
) 'ears until about a ye r ago. The en.
tlro premises are In ruins , us you saw ,
but In its prIme It was as handsome as
any resltlence on this continent. The
slate roof IB failing' in , though the
brick walls will probably stand for n
century , as they are very thlclc amI
solid. 'I'he rotting balconies 1001 , down
Into an Inner conrt still full of orange
and fig trees Jaden with fruit-but I
have seen this garden and the bal.
conies lighted UI ) at night , filled with
the handsomest women wearing the
finest dresses the world then con-
tained. 'fhe high ceilings , magnificently -
cently propol'tloned rooms , carved
spiral stairways of mahogany , largo
arched windows , mahogany fioors-all
Indicate the taste of the occupants ,
'rhe pigeons of the town now make It a
roosting place , entering throngh tJlC
failing roof and the brolen windows ,
but In Its day It was n magnlficont
home , such as few ever enter even In
this era of wealth , except the most ex.
cluslve and arlstocraatlc. Now to the
story of this ring :
Had Treasure Chart.
"In June , 1906 , a gentleman from
Chicago came to my office soliciting I
my assistance , He had a map or chart i
and a letter , of which he gave the fol. '
lowing hlstor ' : Ills mothel' , a willow ,
l\Opt a boarding house 26 years ago In
Chicago , Among her hoarders was n.
man of about 60 years , who was a sail.
01' on the lalw , He had evidently
crulsod on salt water for many 'ears ,
In fact the ether sailors often tnllecif
of that. and the fllct that he seemed
to hold himself aloof from them ; thll
whllo mixing freely with them , he
would novel' relate any of his experl.
ences In the Imst , as sailors generally
love to do , This man's name was POl'-
fide LaFon. One night he was
drowned by the wrecltlng of his ves.
sol , the Irene , of Sandusly. His effects -
fects lay about the house for years In
an old sea chest , all efforts to discover
any relatives being Ineffectual. In the
hottom of the chest was the chart and
letter , the' latter stating that LaFon
had IICen a pirate under Lafitte prevl ,
ous to coming to the lalws , and had ,
with his comlJ\nlons , burled a very
large treasure In JHatamoros. 'fhero
was also some fine jewelry and a beautifully -
tifully decorated dalger : In the . chest ,
and the churt. 'I'he latter I.at once
recognized as a partial map of the city
of Matamoros In the vicinity of the
Casa 'J'arnlLva or "houso of the
pirates , " as It Is now called , nnd the
street leading to the Casa Mata , or
"house of death" In the outskirts
whol'C the 1)1'160ners wore executed In
the early da's ,
"A HnUlor chart on the sumo parch.
ment gave a comillete map of the
rooms In tIlC Cas a Tumava. In ono of
these rooms a spot was marlwd with
1. cross near the wall ; u similar tnark
was Illuced In the basement of the
house , IInd also In IL Illnco In the out or
walls lit the Casa 1\lata. \ 'rho Chicago
man , whose name I do not gIve for pro.
fesslonal reasonB , sllid that the mall
had never received an ' attention from
hlg mother or himself because they did
not really l < now where Matamoros' '
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W S. There was no railroad to Matn.
mores or that locullt ) . , and nolther ot
them ever expected t ! ! Kot there , BlneD
the completion of the new St. I.J. n. 8J'
M , rallwa1 , however , ho concluded to
go ( Iown ( In ono of the I1omcBookors'
xcllrslons. 'I'ho existence o [ the map
rocurl'od to his mind nnd ho brollght IL
along , though with IIttlo fultl1 In fls
having allY foundation In fact.
Found Chest Well Hidden.
"We visited the 1'ull1ed houso. The
map was very accurate as regarded
the I\llIlrtmcnts with the oxcoptlOI1
thnt the room 1111\rled with the cross
dill not seem to oxlst , By mensurlng
the walls , hOWOV01' , we Coul1d I1n Insldo
wall of bl'lck-nll the hmQr wl\lIs 111
this \ oC bl'lcl-lIcal'
blllhl\nK are - 1\
stalrwll'J , wus much thlcleOl' than the
olhers , amI cut 111 to It-and there wn8
the treasul'o room , It hud boel1 built
Into the wall In such n. mnnnor that
Its oxlstol1co would ' ' be
nO\'Ol' 81181Ieet-
OIl. Though four Ceot RqIlRI'O , the stall"
WilY at the side , rlll1l1lng to the se/- (
end ami third stol'les , IlI'ovel1ted th
extra thlclmess of the wall beln ! ; no.
tlced , part of the width of the , 'oom
being talon ort the width of the stall"
way. 'rho only entrlll1CO was through
the tIoor 111 the top stor ' , the plnco be.
Ing prllcllcally Il dry we ) ) In the wa ) )
reuchhig clear CI'OI1l the tOl ) n001' to the
basement.
" 'I'ho trol1sure chest , of old wood ,
with brnss bindings 111111 Ilecullar locks ,
ren1l1lned , nnd wo sml1shed It Ollen. It
was practicallY empty. ' 1'hero was a
handful of Spanish and English gol\1 \
coins and several jewels of which the
ono I weal' Is one , In the box nnd on
the floor. 'Va searched thoroughly.
What Wo found was "alued at $4,300.
'rho balance of the treasure , which
the lett9r stated to bo ovor' $76,000 ,
had been taken by some one , possibly
some accidental discoverer. The oth.
er places Indlcatell to contain trens.
ure wo did not flnd. 'I'he desCl'lllIons )
wero'imperfect 01' else the places w ro
too well hidden. Our time was 11m.
Ited , slnco It soon became noised
about whnt we were doing and wo
were stopled. ) You know what the
Mexican government Is.
Believes Treasure Stili There.
"I feel cOl'taln that the tre sul'O fa
stili there , If the places can bo 10'
cated. but do not see how that can ho
done without plent . of time and )1OS' )
slbly pUlling down the hOl1se , 'rho
outer walls at the Casa Matn. are now
obliterated and It would require a
great deal of digging to locate the
treasure Indicated to bo burled thore.
The letter gave the vnlue of ono as
$100,000 In jewels and the other as
$125,000 In gold. I hnve , filII bellof
thnt there Is much treaslll'o burled In
this locallt . , by Ithe pirates , the smugglers -
glers , the revolutionists and even
those who operated here dUl'lng the
civil war when this was the only IOrt
the south hlld Olen for many months.
'I'he sunltCn )1lnco ) In the brick IIUVO'
ment of the basement at the Cnsn
Tal'nava , I thlnl" indicates 11 secret
passage fmm the well In the court to
the street ; but It mny just as well
lead to n treasure chamber.
" 'fhe o.\nnon shot over the door In
the second story ? Oh , I don't Imow
the history of that. It IH my hnpres-
slon that It was shot In there during
some of the I'evolutlonal' '
many , ) fights
which took Illace In the Htreets of Mnt-
I1moros , It muy have ! won planted
there during the bomhardment of Mat.
amoms br Gen , Scott , and I sometimes -
times think It was , "
Elephants as Laborers.
Most amusing Is It to see ono of
thes working elephants taclellng a
huge squared log and placing It on the
stuck. FlrHt of all ho ef thnntes Its
length and weIght as It lies on the
ground. 'I'hen he digs his tusks under
lit at oao nd , curls his trunl ( ever ami
I trlCfl tCl drng ono end of the lo on to
I hIs tusks , ! Should o find the task bOo
yond him , ho will Ivo a queer IIltlo
I trumpet note , al1d up comes a col.
I league to help him at the ether el1d.
In a moment the two olopllllnts have
swung the big log hotweon them , walk
In step to the IllIe , and then ono of
them , apparently hy pl'econcorted
agreement , IllaecH his end In position
on the stack , while the other rams
homo the log-'I'ho Clrclo.
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Will Collect Southern Birds.
Fl'ank 1\1. Ohapmal1 , n curator df tbo
department of ornllholog ) ' of thO'
American Museum of Natural History ,
has left New Yorl ( to malto a colloc.
tlon of southel'll hll'lls for the Instltu ,
tlon. He will tr ' eSllOclall ) ' to obtain
white horonB In various stages oC development -
velopment , for It III fenl'ed the 8110cle8 ,
owln1 , ; to actlvltlov fOl' the roUHuory
trade , will hecoUII IJxtluct.
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SEE WHAT YOU BUY
DO NOT TAKE THE CATALOGUE
STATEMENT FOR IT.
CASE OF A MAIL-ORDER BUGGY
The Purchaser Will Ashamed to Use
It and Gold It to His Hired
Man-It PilYs to Ouy
at Home. ,
( CopyrIght. by Alfrcll C. Cll\rk. )
The EaRt l nd of l.ondon Is an ox.
ample of what the clt ) ' does tor hu.
manlty In creating . mloor '
IlOvert ) , ) ,
(1Isoaso , drunleonuoss and crime. Jef.
[ orsol1 was right when ho said : . 'Grcat
cities 11.1'0 grout sores upon the body
llolltlc. " Is It any wonder thnt lo\'ers
o [ tholr kind are horl'or.strl < : 'l.on at
the cl'lndlng o [ these gl : mll ( ) ml118
whose grist Is the bodlos UllIl souls of
mon ?
But there Is nnother movement cOli.
nected with this ' '
cUl'1'ent sottlng cltr'
ward which , lllce It , lu full of grave
monaco to the welfare o [ hUlllunlt ) ' .
This Is the dry rot' now Invading thou.
sands o [ vl\lages \ and towns. It Is not
Ia.cl , of caplt\1 or business energy In
the towns , or dls rlmlnatlon In
freights or exhaustion of the Boll In
the surrounding country that IB bring ,
Ing' about this chungo , but n. new and
'dangorous Corlll oC cumpulilion , and
the caprllcs of these who bur , Go
Into those towns nnd you will find
them at a standstill 01' going back.
ward , Inqulro of tholr bnslnesR 111011
or commercial travelers and you will
learn t.hat buslnes8 Is not as good I1fJ
formerly and thnt the prospect Is [ era
a continued shrlnl\l1/e / 111 trade , An
obcervant commerclul l1'avoler snhl
to the wrltor : "I bullovo the day of
the vlllago and town Is over. 1'ho big
fish are everywhere eaUng Ul ) the lit.
tlo fish. A few amnII JInes of busIness
that cannot lHI done by' mall , snch liS
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b.
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The mail-order habit will cut the 11mb of local prosperity from the tre. . .
of national life and drop you and your community Into the bottomless pit
of business stagnation. Are you wielding the saw that meanl certain dl. I
aster to you and your communityi' '
barb ring , blacksmltblng or the servo
Ing o [ soft drlnls and Ice oream may
survJve , but such lines trade can.
not sustain a decent town. " 'I'ho
cause of this wldesprel1d loss of busl.
ness Is tJIO aggresslvo und destructlvo
competition of the catalogue honses
In the big cities. It has been possible
for 40 years or moro to buy or some
houses In the cities , If ono felt that
the n10rchants of his town were ex.
acting too much pront , but this ertort
of the mall order houses to cut the
rotaller altogeUler Is n. now thing , UlO
growth of the ) last few years. Start.
Ing with a few Jines of trade , this
form o [ COlli petition has come to cover
almost everything that , can be sold In
a country town and It Is oven assortecl
that a savings banI , delartI11nt ) Is , to
be added by ono of the catalogue
houses.
The cla'm that the mall order
houses of Chicago are doing an an.
nual business of over $200,000,000 may
seem large , but ono house alone has
sold goo ell , : to the amount ot $29,000 , " :
000 In the ) last six moaths alld'is now .
Incubating a now Illan to Increase Its
enormous business b ' selling shares
of steak to thousunds of Ileoille In the
hope of maldng them regulal' CIIJ' :
tomeI'S ,
'I'ho sllIIfully worded atlvortloment !
I and the big catalogue , with Its pic.
tllres of articles In a hundred lines of
trade , are very alluring to buyers ,
most of whom are not familiar with
prices and qualities. Some of the
articles below the usual prices are o [
an Inferior quallt . , whllo the average
prlco Is usuillly fullr up to what would
ho paid to' the homo dealer. As was
Hhown last winter In a. speech In con.
gross , articles Cor the mall order trade
are orten mIsbranded at the request
of the mall QI'der 11eoplo wllh dellb'
erato Intent to deceive. One at the I I
Instances gl von by this con rcsslllan
was of SOIIIU thousands of finger rings
stampell "Courteen carnts" when they
were In reality only ton.
'rho b yer wbo ardors from his i
catalogue , or f1'o)1II an advCl.tlsemont ,
does not seu JlO artlclos till they
come unci Is often disappointed In.the
quality of the most of them , but there
Is no redress as there would bo If ho I
bought at hOIllO , Ho does not lIIeo to
own that ho Is Illsappointod , so he
males the best of It and trios to ) ler.
suado himself that ho hRs savcd
mono ) ' , 111 many Instances ho Is not
well onOlu : : ! ! Inormed In values to
. . .
know that ho 'ould 11'O '
( \'O boullt : JU'
ChOl(11) ( ' and selt'ctt'cI much mol' ' ' ' an ! .
Isfoctol'II , ) ' at homo , On a I'ural route
with whlrh I allt CamillaI' anll ever
whlrh mOAt oC the IncomIng I'ttcrs
1\1'0 f'Om mnll order hOllsos atHI the
oUlgolng on8 carr ' back mont'r or.
dorl4 , IIvolI n Crlend of mln ( ' who
bnllght a watch frum the NltaloJuo at
what ho cOIIIIIIII.I't'li a ram hargaln.
'I'he watch cnmo , to bl' Slll' ( " but It dill
not go , that Is at the , 'Ight sliced ,
ami , ll11hollgh mOIl ( ' ) ' ol1oll h was
SPOI\t on t It to brln the prlco ul1 tea
a good flluro , It wns III > bettor as a
tlmoleeper tllIln thut famolls watch
of Capt. Cuttlo's , Another frlel1l1
bOllght a buggy at $34 unci was e1nted
OV01' his IlIlrchRso until It caInO and
ho sa.w that the top was a VI r ) ' ordln.
ary nrtlclo oC all cloth , Instt'lul of
leather , lul he was so ashnmoll of It
thnt ho sold It at n. loss to his hlrml
man 111111' housht n belter ono In II
nohhborlng town , A 'Indy and 'cr
two daughters bought she ( > ! t from rho
clltaloguc 1111t ! when aBlCC11 why they
had troublQ with thulr feet said It WnB
becouso o [ lII.fIltlll ! ; shoc , But sllcll
lnstuncos of the ball nlTccls of huy-
Ing "shht ul1soen" I1I'C dally occurring
all over the countrr , It Is only nntur-
al and Inovltllble that such things
should hapJlolI.
Lot \19 see what will ho the ertect
ot this formldablo diversion of tr llo ,
If carried to Its loglCl11 conclusion.
Nearly all tbe buslnoss bouses of lh
sll1l1l1er to\tns wJJJ become banlrupt ,
the value of town ) lroper1) ' wJJJ decline -
cline , churches nud Hchools will re-
colvo a feeble SUlllol't ) and the towns ,
Instead of being cunters o [ business
and social actlvltr , will almost cens
to otlst : ! . The countrr in gcner l wilt
become 11I(0 mnnr ) lortlons of the
south where the Inrg ( ' Iliautations , by
gottlna tholr SUllllles ) In the cities.
have kept the nolhborlng ! towns
down to the cross'l'ol1lls typo-dreary ,
unpainted IIttf plnces of n. hnlC dozen
ramshnclelo houses. The evil eCCccts
ot thIs loss o [ trade and destrucUoa
of the value o [ town } Iroperty will rOe
' ' w.f. . . . . . . -
\ V'w. ( ,
. , , ; \I. \ ; : . ,
ZoO ; : -"ir -
. : . - .
. . -
,
,
, "
act upon the value at farm 1 > r lIertT
by cutting off the homo market. They
will add to the taxes on lands by reducing -
ducing taxable values In the ! towns.
Surely It Is not to the Interest of any-
bed , ) ' , except the lo ted corporations
carrying on the mall order bUlllnesl.
to see the towns and villages Call Into
decay. A llvo town Is not only or
value to the lands surrounding It , but
Its well stoclted business houses' are
a convenlenco and a benefit to th
buyor. Even If mono ' could , in the
long run , bo saved by ordering evory.
thing trom the city , the lnconvenlence
and uncertainty of It would always
malco such shopping unsatisfactory.
Ordering from a. . cntaloguo is n. leap
In the darle , except In the case of a
Cew articles whoso color , shave and
quality are alwa 'H the sa lO.
' 1'0 the man wbo 'can soberly loolc
on both sides of the question and who
cnn put himself In the ) llaco ot "tho
ether fellow" the query Will como :
Is It best from mere whim , or even
for a. . certainty of saving from one to
half a dozen dollarH In a year to turn
illY bacl , on the old , convenient ways
of doIng hushles3. : Inll to d.o my part
toward ruIning the business of my
I old acqualptances anll frlenlls , and of
destro'lng the value of lrOpcrty In
the town where 111 , ) ' frlendo live ?
} . ' , B , ! llIr.LEU.
Didn't Suit Him.
People who IJatronlzo the cars run.
nln out to Forest IIills are tamlllar
with Conlluctor Crawler , the man who
wears six aervJeo stripes on hl J
610evo , Su'S a writel' In the Boston
Herald ,
On thl' nctornoon of election day In
NOVPlllbol' one of his passengers wus
an old lIIun who had been Imbibing
onourh to mnko him go to sleep In the
corner of the car.
.Just before It reached Dudler street
the conductpr annollnced with his
IIsual rich roll of the 1' , "Clr.r.cult and
,
Gul1 , "
"Yer a liar ! H's John B. Mora.n . ! ' .
shouted the sleOIr ono. waking up
BUlldenly.
New Metric Chart.
A now motrlc chart representinG'
geographlcallr IIIcasnres of the International -
national motrlc s ' tcm of wulg\ts I1nd
moa6ures has been IlrelJarcd b ) ' the
bureau of standards of the department
of COl1l1110l'CO and labor , amI will bl )
Curnlshod tree to an ' 2chool toachlnc
tbo S'S tom.