PART II. THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE.PAGES 9-16.
SEVENTEENTH YEAE. OMAHA SUNDAY. MOENING , NOVEMBER (5 ( , 1887 SIXTEEN PAGES. NUMBER 141.
PERKINS , GATCH & LAUMAN ,
Will Open the Finest China Store in the West ,
They have the Handsomest Rooms , in the Finest Building in Omaha ,
TH RNAM STREET
You are Respectfully Invited to Call and Examine Our Large Lines of
DINNER , TEA , BREAKFAST AND SUPPER SETS ,
Oyster , Fish , Game , Salad , Berry , Ice Cream , Oatmeal , Wine and
Liquor Sets.
KB EvzHSQx
! SFB THE ROYAL POTTERIES ,
Worcester , Dresden , Hungarian , Persian. Cashmere , Egyptian ,
Teplitz , Carlsbad , Crown Derby. Etc.
BRASS , BRONZE AND COPPER FIGURES ,
Vases , Pitchers , Stands , Tables , Fire Sets , Lamps & ChandeliersBac-
caret , and Bohemian Glassware , Etched & Plain , Crystal & Colored.
AND A MAGNIFICENT DISPLAY OF
Silverware from the iable Manufacturers , Carving Sets and
r PERKINS , GATC 5 1514 Farnam Stree -
SOME VARIETY CHESTNUTS ,
How the Good Old Rounder Finds
Pleasure In the Vaudovillo.
"HE SAME OLD SONGS AND GAGS'
trim Sylpli , the Irish Comedian , tile
I Negro and tin ) Itaiijoist all Carry
\ UH Hack UKo the Olil
SOUKS of Childhood.
' 't. Louis Globe Democrat : To the
o"id "rounder , " the man tibout town , the
variety show is nsource of never-failing
( delight , though ho knows when ho pays
Pals money ut the box olllco just wluit ho
is going to sco and hour. Ho known as
well as ho knows he's alive jnst whut
iho grand olio will consibt of , for he's
eeon liundreds of them. It is not the
least of his pleasure of the evening
when ho picks up the play bill and rcc-
oyni7.08.tho familiar luxuriance of the
mljectivos sprinkled about the names of
the performers In this amusement-mak
ing aggregation which holds the boards.
Ho takes his scat , and the whistles from
the gallery gods are dear to his heart ,
for when ho was u lad ho sweated and
whistled in the gallery , too , for the ap
pearance of just such lights of the stage
us ho has eomo to see to-night. Hal
the Muno old fat man at the buss fiddle ,
tuid the Biuno distinguished-looking
roar of the orchestra leader rosining
his bow. Like the memory of an old
Bong learned in childhood is that over
ture , the chief feature of which is sure
to bo the bird in the forest or the loeo-
inotivo. The curtain goes up , and
there before his eyes is the sumo old
hconory which ho used to see In the old
theatre to which ho went when a boy
the gorgeous parlor in which the aggre
gation comes out and presents its full
force to the audience ho used to think
it was biieh gorgeousness at this parlor
that the story writers tried to tell in
Arabian nights. After the grand en
tree and and all that ho sees the scene
shifted , and a sylph-like form
trips out Into the wood , where
the boughs of a majestic oak
bond tholr majestic arches over a purl-
ingstrcam which runs back , narrowing
between highly improbable rocks and
up the Bides of an indigo mountain.
Cau ho believe his eyes ? Ho must. It
is that same charming vocalist who in
years gone by sung his youthful heart
clear out of his burning bo om. Rut no
that was twenty years ago , and it is
no'v the idol of his youthful dreams , it
is anothcraecording to the programme ,
but not at all ditTcront. She binilcs the
tame biiilloand walks with Iho sumo ap
parent propensity to genullect every
time she takes a step. She lias the same
pink slippers with tno tame high heels
and the gorgeous stockings are tilled
out to the biimu phenomenal aptitude.
The dross has not grown longci
in twenty years , nor has the wear
niul tear abated one jot or tittle of
its starchlncss or glitter. The bust Is as
remarkable ns over , the paint on her
cheeks as red , the ochre of her hair un
tarnished the tout cnsemblo is the
eamo. It is the change in things about
a man that makes him feololdbut there
is no change ; it's all just the same as it
wuti iu the good days , and no wondei
Uie old rounder tajiplauds. It's all the
same only different , for he enjo.\s this
now on a different basis than then. Ho
beholds this witching sylph an unchanged
'
changed typo of one of tho' joys of his
earlier days. Ho settles back and waits
for the subsidence of the applause , and
her song. Ho notices now the i-nmo
cute look ut the audience over that fan
of red and green and ivory and gold
the same ollico to the orchestra leader ,
ind btarts into interest at the Hi-si tenta
tive , note of the song. Why , he remem
bers it as well as lie does that supper
years ago , with her prototype , who
bpurned his heart and made him stand
musing desperately ne.xt day beloro the
great display of pistols in a pawnbroker's
window. The very same old song.
'Tis S o'clock mid 1 inn licie ,
Down b.\ the sluulj dell ,
To hear him whisper in my ear
Those words I'll never lull.
Oh 1 ho'll bo always ti no to wo
And I'll bo true to him.
Hit coming Jills my hc.u t with joy ,
My own , my darling .Inn.
The boys who worelout with him the
night ho first heard about ' ' .lim" are all
gone now. Some are dead and ome are
in jail , perhaps , and some so rich that
they have discarded long ago the va
riety bhow and go in their own carriages
to the opera at 5 per .scat. But the
grandest flights of the queens of song
bring nothing like the recollections of
old times which this s-nnir does to the
old rounder. Ho applauds until his
hands are sore , and she comes out again
and bhrieks out the strains of ' 'White
"Wings , " that never glow wearyand are
carr.v ing her cheerily ov < r the con , but
Old Kounder is being carried back into
the olden time , and is aroused from hi *
rovcry by the silence which indicates
the lapse before the next "tiuii" on the
programme.
Can Old Time Imvo turned hack in his
flight and made him a youth again , just
for this night ? It would seem so , for
there are the two Irishmen he KIW on
the btago the first time ho pla\ed
hookey , to take in the matinee on
money obtained from his mother under
the false pretense that ho had to buy
copybooks. There are the same plug
huts , brushed the wrong way. surmount
ing the same terrier "mugs' ' framed in
the scrubby brick-duat whiskers , the
same Irish dialect that was never spoken
in any part of Ireland or any place on
earth except on the variety stage ; the
identical high-water pants , the identi
cal shillalahs. After they have black
guarded each other and beaten each
other , and raised Cain , ho waits for corroboration -
roboration of his eyesight by his hear
ing. Hero it is :
' Pat , phut's good for rats1
" 1'lmtb good for ruts'1 ; Mike , pit-oil's
good for rats. "
"Yor aliyer , it's not good for 'em ; it'll
kill 'em. "
"Boom , boom , boom gees the big base
drum and the llddlcs screech in agony
at the joke this old , hoary , paleozoic ,
joke. Then these "retlned Irish come
dians'1 to quote the play bills quarrel ,
and they spit In each othor't faces and
do other refined humerous things which
amuse the audience , and then they sing
ono of the songs of their own composi
tion , it runs thusly :
Wo cauio not IOIIK npo ,
As oiio and all must know ,
From that dear old little- isle across the say ;
The Kind you know it well ,
Old Ireland ivo must tell ;
\Vo slag and dancts both every niplit and day.
Each succeeding vorao is of ft higher
order of poetic genius , until the culmi
nation is reached in the last by the most
remarkable rhymes the language can bo
contorted Into. These comedians nro
always in their song going right back
to Ireland after th j nave accomplished
the purpose of their long \oynife over
the "sa.\ " namely , to siny and dance
for the populace. The * ! were going
back j cars ayo. hut they haven't gone.
Like more celebrated , but certainly not
more pretentious members of tin1 pro
fession , they never make their farewell
appearance. They have three songs
and live jokes to uorlt oil
cycry night. and the * * , work
Ilium oil. When the * , disiobo
they } to out to the nuaiesl beer saloon
in the neighborhood and tell how they
gave I'M liarrigan all his. best gays and
"most o" do bi/.ni'ss , " tall ; of Barrett as
Larry and of the Amlei'-on as Mary ,
and of Mc'uUniiulh or I'a. inond as jioor
John1 and iniirc-'s ] themselves upon
some poor dude , who pa.\s for Ihcir
beer , just as the old rounder did for
them under the same circumstances ,
when \\as.\oungnnd giddy.
AVhon thtliao disappeared from
the stage , anil the dust they have raised
has settled , their places are taken by
another familiar lignro , n gentleman in
fulldiess with a \erv\ dirty shirt and a
copious How of poll.vs\llnl > h s. from the
pouring out of which it is gathered that
he is a imi-U'iim , and he has aiUertised
for a competent assistant for a public *
performance. There is a ring at the
bell , and then the ? doorof the loom opens
and in walks a very dilapidated negro.
He hangs his hat on tlio wall wheio
there isn't n nail , so it drops on the floor ,
and ho t.lill has a little toy hat over his
c . \e , which hat is attached to hi.s head
by a rubber band , MI that ho ean pull it
oil and let it lly bade. He has a pair of
pantaloons reaching up to his chin. His
coat is ripped up the back. Ho has a
valinj which is empty , and a stullced
bulldog and an umbrella. Kverybody
* '
Knows what's going to happen. Tbi's
caller is to bo \ eifunny. . lie is to spit
in the other fellow'shat , fall _ over chairs ,
strike at his cloy with his umbrella so
that the cloth may lly out in
the audience , persist in unty
ing the gentleman's ncctio , mid
1)0 as uprcmroiisly funny as ho can be
in the tame lines as Il.Olii. ) or1,000 others
just like him , have been every night for
years , mid will bo every night for cen
turies , apparently. Finally , ho is to de
velop the most phenomenal musical tal
ent , playing on all the musical instru
ments in the other fellow's stock , and
finally extracting music from the chairs ,
the table and his stullcd dog. The old
play-goer has seen him a thousand
limes , and ho knows every move and
every tune ho pla > s by heart. Ho
knows it's all a chestnut , and has been
for a long , long time ; but there ho is ,
back in his eliair , roaring with laugh
ter ; just as hearty ab that of the gallery
who are only looking on it for the twen
tieth time.
The girl who bing.s while she dances
with a bkipping-ropo dates away back
from the Hood. There are pictures of
her in the pyramids. She simpers and
blooms perennial , and she sings most
dolefully bomo uuintolligiblo words
about a bench where the honeysuckle
grows. She generally winds up with
an exciting ropo-sklpping exhibition ,
the objects of which is to tire out the
tiddlers and excite the sympathy of the
audience , whore there are whispers
that she's liable to dlo of heart disease.
Just about the time they all expect her
to topple over dead , n martyr to duty ,
bho comes to n stop as fresh ns a daisy ,
and retires with her rope over her
shoulder amid thunders of np-
plauso , in response to which
she appears again and blngs ,
' "When the Robins Nest Again. " After
her comes the roller-skating act , with
, its ridiculous bcglunlug in a rem-eseuU-
tion of a poor sKater on ice , and a Mid
den dexclopmnnt of the skater into an
expert. This is the most wearisome of
all the antiquated things on the variety
slant ! . Xe\'t conies' tlio infantile mus
ical prodigy. Kovoi Mas a variety show
completes without olio of those , and
never was anything more e.xerui'iating
put upon the stage. The children
cannot sing , and their solo chance of
making ; . hit rests , in almost every in
stance , on the.ii'ulgarity in speech or
action. This prodigy business on the
yarii ty stage is one of its most disgust
ing feature's. The prestidigitator usually
appeals next , with a full line of tricks
that have been exposed for years and
jeiu's , but ho generally makes an in
teresting slum , and if ho don't ho winds
up his part with a pie-biting match be
tween the two boys from tlio audience
who ate called up to sco that everything
is done without the aide of machinery.
The song-and-danco 111111 is an old in
stitution , and is ever new. Ho stepsout
with bin face ( -el in lines of desperate
determination , and stands still and
straight while the orchestra tunes up
for him. Then he sings and such sing
. Ming-ancl-cfiiiicu for
ing. Kvcry - - man
fifty years has sung the same
tune , and the variation in words of
their songs has never license ) great as
to entirely remove the suspicion of pla
giarism. The song is always about a
"lovely girl , " who in "tho only
I loved " "s charming
one ever , ( >
ing , young and fair , " which in the
nature of this kind ofer.se , must
have an immediate and direct relation
to "her wealth of golden hair.1 After
meeting "in the bright moonshine , "
she is nski d "will you be inineV" and
they're noing to bo married right away ,
lie. dances , .lust why it is , no ono
know * , but as'oiig-and-dancoman proper
must wear a melancholy expression , hold
his hands down at his : side as if ho was
a corpse dressed up in tights and tinsel ,
and glare at the audience with that
"far-away look" of which the novelists
prate. He goes through his part like n
wooden man , and once oil the Btago
turns up in front of the theater like a
clothing btore dummy , in the loudest
cheeked suit the broad land can
furnish. The banjoibt IH another of the
old-time features. Ho is in burnt
cork , mid appears on the Mage dragging
his chair behind him with ono hand ,
while ho holds his ban jo with the other.
He sits down on his choir and exposes a
great big shoo to the audience , and then
ho strums his ban jo incidental to tolling
what wonderful thlugBhappened to him
when ho was "comin5 in down do
street. " Ho rattles thorn off as a parrot
would Shakespeare. Ho runs one story
into another as though ho had just HO
much to bay , and wanted to get through
It. When ho has rattled it oil' , ho plays
on tlio banjo , and bingH a topical bong
about the prize ring , ] > olitic.s , anything
and everything , just bo there's a line
hero and there tuch us "I can't tell
you why it is. "
The two negroes who rush in dressed
in white clothes put on rear end foremost -
most , and fall around all over the stage
and club each other with bluffed clubs ,
never fail to catch on , though their act
is as old as the pretence of negro bubi-
ness on the btago. They liavo Bongs ,
too , all uliko. They have just como up
from "do old plantation , " and they're
not going to stay long , for they have to
got right back to "dear old massa" and
do "fiols o' yellow corn , " and watermel
ons and magnolias , and hoe cake , and
all that , but they will btay just a little
while to sing and dunce. They mayper-
haps , sing an alleged religious bong ,
but if they do it's buro to bo as vilely
.rendered ua it is huro to bo ancient.
They "guy" each other in the most vul
gar negro dialect , and then all of a sud
den they speak in moderately good
Knglish'and not seldom they branch
oil in German and Irish dialect. What
there is funny in it , all but its supreme
badness , no ono can tell when the mat
ter is discussed outside , but in 9\\o \ \
theater it seems to bts all right.and very
enjoyable , if n man has that number eif
'
beer's aboard which makes him feel
friendly with the world.
Last but not least of these chestnuts
may bo mentioned that of the negro
strolling in a park and meeting a fair
white maiden unexpectedly. They have
never met before , yet she receives him
with the most lavish domostrations of
pleasure. Ho talks to her and they fall
in lo\o right there , whereupon ho anachronistically -
achronistically requests that she wing
that old song they used to sing , "When
they wore little bbys and girls" together ,
before cruel fate had sundered thorn.
And they sing about happiness in the
past and in the future , and dance elf
together , kissing their hands to the au
dienco.
The afterpiece wind ? up the show ,
but no lover of the variety stage stays
for that , because it merely serves to
bring out all those who have appeared
during the evening , and there is an un
written law of the stage , that an after
piece shall bo as excruciatingly bad as
it is possible to make it.
Year after year the things herein de
scribed hold the boards. Ago may
wither and custom stale all thingc else ,
but the chestnut of the variety stage
threatens to hold on forever.
Married hi n Itai-licr Simp.
The harbor shop of George Fit/borgcr
was the scene of a marriage ceremony
about r-i o'clock yesterday afternoonsays
the Baltimore Sun. A man entered ,
and calling Mr. Fit/.berger aside , asked
if ho would allow a couple to bo married
in his place. The request was readily
granted , and the stranger wont out and
returned with a young woman and a
man who was to perform the ceremony.
Mr. Louis Lehman , of Lehman & Hoi-
man , was being shaved when the trio
enteredand Mr. Fit/.borger got through
with him as soon as possible. Messrs.
Fit'/.borger , Lehmanand George Hoson-
inck were pressed in us witnesses , and
the ceremony was rushed through. The
groom puckered up his lips to kiss tlio
bride , but she throw up ono of her arms
and said : "Oh , no ! Not now ! " They
then wont out , iho bride whispering as
she passed Mr. Fit/.borgor to keep the
matter secret. None of the parties
wore known , but the names of the
couple were given as John J. Coclmin
and Ida Shaw. The minister was not
recognized nor his name learned by the
gentlemen assisting to tlo the knot. It
was learned that the couple had pre
viously asked at a store on Bank street ,
near Ann fatreot , to bo allowed the use
of an apartment to perform the cere
mony in , but were refused and ordered
out.
Ho Married a Hijuaw.
An Ashland , \Vis. , correspondent
writes : Louis Hichtor , son of a St. 1'nul
minister and until recently telegraph
operator In Cnicago , wont to the Odan-
nah Indian reservation six weeks ago
as an operator at the Lake Shore sta
tion. About the. tame time Marie Goury ,
a young squaw , returned from the Mil
waukee Industrial school and the two
quickly fell in love with each other.
The result was a wedding , which hns
caused a great commotion nmong the
Indians , who have made it to unpleas
ant for Hichtor that ho hna been
obliged to resign his position and leave
the reservation !
THE OMAHA SMELTING WORKS
The Largest Establishment of the
Kind in America.
OVER FIVE HUNDRED EMPLOYES.
How nil lOslaldisliiuent AVlilcli Itegan
oil a Small Scale IN Now
Doing a Iliihinc-SK of
$1 r , ( ) OOOUO.
From a manufacturing point of view
Omaha possesses many featuresof inter
est , and one of the most important of
those is to be found at the smelting and
refining works situated between Doug
las street and Capitol avonuo. Hero the
small establishment originally started by
Messrs. A. L. King , G. H. Downs , C.
\V. Mead and General W.V. . Lowe in
1809 , has gradually advanced with the
city until at Iho present time the works
have far outstripped in growth and
magnitude all other establishments of
the kind in America and in conjunction
with the Grant Smelting works of Den
ver , ( which are owned by the
Omaha firmtho ) company can lay claim
to the proprietorship of the largest
smelting establishment in the world.
Whilst the Denver establishment , how
ever , is confined to smelting operations
only , the Omaha shops both emolt and
rollno. The largo quantities of ore
which daily find their way into this city
for treatment are principally brought
from Montana. Idaho , Colorado , Utah ,
Dakota and Arizona. Base bullion is
also shipped to the works on a largo
scale from the different smelting works
throughout the country , for the purpose
of rollnomont. About 40 per cent
of this latter substance comes
from the Denver branch of
the firm. An idea of the magnitude
of the company's operations may bo
gathered from the fact that they em
ploy over 600 men and have already
iW,000,000 invested in the ontorpribe.
The annual business done by the cor
poration , too , is in the like proportion.
During the last year upwards of * 15,0 < K- ) ,
000 has been "turned over. " Progress
is the motto of the linn , and it Is wor
thy of note that the work done for each
year since the works wore established
shows an enormous ndvanco from that
of the year preceding. Tlio company
receives on an average 200 carloads of
ore per month , and over " 00 cars arrive
monthly laden with huso bullion con
signed to thorn.
When the ore or bullion arrives at the
works the iirst thing done is to make an
assay from which the company is en
abled to measure the amount of lead ,
silver , gold , antimony , or other metals
they will severally yield per ton , and so
accurate has this process become that by
treatment of a comparatively small portion
tion the furnaces will disclose , almost tea
a dqllar , the not value of a largo ship
ment. Cabh is then paid according to
the prices for the time being ruling in
Now York. The ore is now trcatcil on
the larger Ecalo. As in the assay this
is effected through the medium of re-
vorbatory furnaces so constructed that
by means of a dome , or low arched roof ,
the flame , In passing through the lire
j
chamber is reflected or reverberated rf ij
the ore. Whilst undergoing this fieri | ,1
ordeal the metals are separated and tni
attendant at the furnace secures UICMS
in the form of huso bullion or unronne *
metal. Lead , silver , gold and antimon 15
are thus extracted from the same onv 11
The bullion is then moulded Into bric-ki
which are in duo course sent to the re-
finery. Here they are again placed in
rovorlmtory furnaces and all existing
dross and foreign substances are ex
tracted until nothing remains but tha
pure metal. This also is moulded into
bricks. The gold brick made by the
company weighs UoO ounces and is worth
$ . " 5,000. Silver is turned out in 1,000
ounce bricks which are worth about
$1.000 each.
This process of reducing ore is , of
necessity , of the most technical nnture ,
and a thorough knowledge of metallurgy
and chemistry is necessary for u proper
appreciation of its intricacies. To enter
into an elaborate dissertation on the
inner workings of the process , how-over ,
would bo outside the scope of this
article.
_ The greater portion of the gold and
silver is forwarded to the United States
mintsat New Orleans and Philadelphia ,
where it is purchased by the govern
ment. The refined silver Polls at prices
ranging from 1)1 ) cents to $1.15 per ounce ,
whilst gold brings the uniform price of
$110.07 per ounco.
For Iho half year ending .Tulyl ot
the mcHonl year , the works have turned
out4r.S.V.iG4 ounces of silver and 40,010
ounces of gold , whilst they have placed
the enormous amount of 118,511,000
pounds of lead on the market during the
same period. For the last named metal
the ruling price is about 4J cents per
pound. The company is also extensively
engaged in the manufacture of bluestone -
stone , of which they turn out sixty barrels - |
rols per day. This substance is prinoi- '
pally employed in the working of elec
tric batteries.
The works cover a largo area of
ground and comprise a series of solidly
constructed brick buildings in which the
seething flames of upwnidsof one hun
dred furnaces are constantly at work , j
The present olllcers of the company
are : Guy C. Barton , president ; G. B.
Grant , vice president ; E. W. Nash ,
treasurer and secretary ; and Edward i
Eddy , general manager. Charles Hal- I
bach is the superintendent of the works. j
This gentleman has a Infgo experience i ;
pf the several processes employed in
smelting. W. T. Page , too , is an ex
perienced man , and ably superintends
the furnaces. The refining department ,
with the exception of silver refilling ,
is under the supervision of Herman
Garlock. S. A. Barrow is the chemist
in charge of the labaratory and super
intends the assaying. Fred Shaefer iu
superintendent over the silver rellnlnjf
and bluestone manufacturing. The
foundry and construction dopuriinent is
ably managed by L. G. I ley brock. Kteh-
ard Itominglon is the "boas" in charge
of the yard. All the above named gon-
llemon go to make up a force , that for
sound , practical knowledge in their
several departments , is second to nonu
in any smelting establishment iu
America.
Beaten CorboUnow living in Topokn ,
Can. , who killed WilkosBoothJms been
committed to the state asylum. Last
winter , it will bo remembered , ho sum
marily adjourned the Kansas house of
representatives with a shotgun. "i
A now collofro COUI-HO In "Bclcntltlo tcmpor-
iK-o" 1ms boon added to the curriculum of
Ilui Grant Memorial university at Athens ,
'IVnn It is the Ih-btof the Kind in uuy c lr
Icglut6 Institution ,
