, J THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY , MAY v ID , 18S9.-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES THE LARGEST CLOAK E IN THE WEST I CHlton's ' Aprons , Low neck , no sleeves. Children's ' Aprons , Low neck , no sleeves , Children's ' Aprons , Low neck , no sleeves. Children's Aprons , Low neck , no sleeves. Children's Aprons ' , \\n\M \ \ | \ Children's ' Underwear In muslin and cambric , all sizes and styles. INFANTS' FLANNEL - NEL WRAPPERS. 1.15 Former ' price , $2.25. . NOW , INFANTS' FLANNEL WRAPPERS. Former Price , $2.50. NOW , INFANTS' FLANNEL WRAPPERS. Former price , $4. NOW , INFANTS'FLAN NEL WRAPPERS. Former price , $4.50. NOW , INFANTS' .FLANNEL WRAPPERS , A LARGE LINE OP IKZici C3-lo-ves , In all shades , at half price to o'.oeo out. PULL STOCK OF Lisle Thread Gloves , From 16o up. SILK JERSEY MITTS AND GLOVES , Our entire stock of LADIES' CLOTH SUITS FOR STREET AND TRAVELING. CHILDREN'S WASH SUITS IN GINGHAM , CHAMBRAY - BRAY , Etc. , Sizes 2 to 12 years. A very large portion of our BEADED WRAPS of the choicest quality ; also about 500 STREET JACKETS for Ladies and Children. O-OO3DS They Cost Elsewhere. Swiss Embroidery 45 INCHES. I'lll/ / Swiss Embroidery 45 INCHES. Swiss Embroidery 45 INCHES. Swiss Embroidery 45 INCHES. SWISS EMBROIDERY 45 INCHES , III I J5.90 A full line of 22 and 27-inch EMBROIDERIES In Swiss and Hamburg- , from . . 35c up to $1.50. 45 INCHES 45 ; INCHES iibr I'U ' 15c ' ' ' uuiimu'g I'JM'OHlCrj 45 INCHES Itatai1 ! ! Emkoidei ] 45 INCHES Children's ' Muslin Caps 35c , worth 500 , J 650 , worth 51.00. 85c , worth $1.35. . AND UP TO $ H.5 f MONDAY MORNING We shall open two cases each of IN CHOICE PATTERNS , . These are not to bo confounded with cheap goods. Scotch Zephyr ; BEAUTIFUL QUALITY AND DESIGN , At 25e Yard SUE ANIMALS TALK TO HIM , ' , Strange Old Colored -Character of Nebraska City. BbRNED ROOTS TO GET A WIFE. Silo Came lilkn tlio Sibyl of Old , but \n \ Hlvnl ilooaoo Finally Killed Her The i'ioknninny's IlUKDeur. The Black Wizard. CITY , No"b. , May 18. [ Spciial to THE BEU. ] The arrest of thOi 'ld colored man , Ben Knight , a few days ago , for committing a murderous assiuill on a prominent citizen , has brou ltto light an interesting state of affaifyuunong some of the colored people ple ofj.ih.is city who regard Knight in the lignt of a wizard or hoodoo. Many of them look upon the old man with fear and awe , and believe him capable of accomplishing many wonderful and unnatural things. Ho claims those un earthly powers and pretends to exorcise them. Colored superstition credits him with power to destroy lifo by a few MVSTKUIOUS ACTIONS. consisting mostly of boiling herbs and Baying maglo words. Knight has for ton years lived in a hovel , the inside of which has never boon seen by any other person , and ho guards it with a jealous care. Colored people givu bib habitation a wide berth , nud would just as soon think of dying a horrible death as to enter his un canny hut. Ono of his great feats , accredited by the colored people and claimed by himself , is his ability to converse with nnd understand the language of ani mals. The old man could bo soon sit ting by the side of an old dog or cut.and talking with them for hours at n tuna , and occasionally laughing at a funny reply from his companion. Ho would oven translate HOUSK AND JOO LAXOUAOE sometimes for the benefit of some white friend in whom ho had confidence. His recent troublogrew out of this torso bilk. Ho approached a horse belonging to another man and opened a conversation with tlio antnml , and the latter ex pressed a wish to go with Knight , whom ho wanted to adopt as a "daddy , " according to Knight's translation. When the latter tried to coax the horbO along the owner objected and a mur derous assault was the result. A Vl'.MAI.K COMPANION. It is said of Knight that some twenty years ago ho took it into his head to got a wife , or rather a female companion , and his methods of bringing it about conllrnied.tho superstitious belief in his uncanny arts. He shut himself up in his house and burned roots and boiled herbs and became mysterious. The nshes of the former ho scattered to the south winds and bathed himself iu the liquid of the latter , while at night ho chanted unearthly songs. After the seventh day there arrived at his hut ft strange young colored woman , footsore nnd tlrod , having traveled all thu' way from bomo southern pointin answer to Ills call , and ho took her as his wife. Thov lived together a number of yoara and accumulated some property , when she bu < ldeny | died , Knight still claims that she was , KlU'UI ) 1 V A IUVAL HOODOO , vho was the colored pni tor of a church in this city , and who was after her pro perty. This rival hoouoo seemed to begetting getting the bettor of Knight , for in a very short time tlio latter had lost everything - orything , and ho even buffered for boniething to eat. Ho , however , got in his work again , according to the col ored belief , some time later when the church above referred to became divid ed against itself , and ono of tlio factions deliberately 3TOLU THE ( JIIUKCII UUILDINO one night and carted it away to another part of town. About the same time there was an alarming increase in the death rate among the colored people , and Knight's dark influence was blamed' * for all of it. Several colored citizens oven went BO far as to consult a justice as to the advisability of having THK OLD HOODOO HANGED. Several years ago , at a colored festi val a number of people became violently lently ill , and several of them died. Physicians said it was the result of poisonous flavors in the ice cream , but majority of the colored people know Ben Knight was responsible , as he had been passing the place during the oven- ing. Black mothers KltlOIlTKN TIIKUt ClUMHIUN to sloop by reference to the hoodooand every ill and misfortune among the race is traced directly to him. As ho "s now in jail , and likely to bo bent to the insane asylum , Jiis people are un doubtedly resting easy , believing that his power is broken. Although Knightcan neither road nor write , ho is bomothlng of a lightning calculator , and can compute interest with remarkable rapidity , and can add amounts in a way that is astonishing. Ho is u genius in his waybut this qual ity has gotten him into trouble. .MUSICAL. AND URA.nitV.rm "Ermlnio" hns reached Its 2,000th perform , once in Kngland. Rose K.vtlnp is playing Mother Frochard In "Tho Two Orphans. " Seven of the London theatres tire no\i occupied by musical productions of one kini or another. "Charlotte Corday" Is to ho revived nt the Odcon In I'aris , with Mmo. Sogoud- Weber us the heroine. Grace Hawthoruo will bsgln an engage ment In the Union square theatre on the 17th of November , Daly's company will net in Boston next week , ut the Hollis Street theater , nnd the demand for seats is very active. Minnie Palmer seems to ho pleasing the public with "My brother's Sister" at the Filth Avenue theulor , Now York. Possart , the German tragedian , will return hero next season , under the manugoment of Herr Gustavo Amborij , of course. "Macbeth" has passed its ono hundredth night at the London Lyceum , and will sur vive , doubtless , for another century or two. A new piny by Cecil Ualoigh , frofrssedly nf tha typo of "Jim the Penman , ' * will bo tried In l udon at the Comedy theater next week. Mr. William Gillette has completed a now play founded upon real or fictitious Incidents of thu civil war , which will bo produced iioxc season. A statistician remarks thai "tho population of I uropo Is greatly added to by tha invasion of American girls who are determined to bo priino donuo. " "Captain Swift" was a failure In Sydney , although Charles Warner plnyod thu title part , and Haddon Chambers , the author , is a resident of the town. Six of the children of Henry Compton , the famous coraodiau of the old Lonuon Hay. market tboatru la the palmy .Uuckstono days , re now upon the stage. Gounod has been officially intrusted with the composition of the cantata by M , Vlcalro , "Quutrovlngt-nouf , " for the colouration ol the centenary of the rerolutkm. The German emperor has , it is said , stgnl- flo J bis intention to bo present at two of the On or about May 25th , Miss Alice Isaacs , of New York City , Formerly with Stern Bros. , will open an In our store , in consequence of which we have decided to sell all our jg& AT THE TWO UNIFORM S PRICES OF FTE EaSa ( AND They are wortjjrfrom 4Oc to 75c per yard. forthcoming Ua.vreuth performances of Wug ncr's operas , to bcsin on Julv 21 next. Yet another dramatic version of "An In a Looking-glass" will be soon. Thu nutlior is VIr. Luwrenuo Marston , and the adventuress will bo played by Miss Lillian Lowii. Aubrey Uoucicault , son of Dion , has boon ploying Modus in London t'o the Ilolun of Miss Uosa Koniiey , whosu f.ithur w.is a jour nalist well known in the the.it rlual world. In thn contract between Helen Dauvray and H. Clay Miner is a clause which provides that In the event of her breaking the con tract she is to pay Mr. Minor a certain sum. Mmu. Sombrich will shortly visit Paris , after which she will go to London to fullill an engagement at St. Juntos' Hull , at some orchestral concert to bo given by Hcrr Emil Bach. Geraldlno Ulmar will como over from Lon don next month and she may stay here , al though Gilbert and Sullivan and D'Oyloy Carlo want her to sins in the Savoy theater for another year. Sara llernhurdt hus got rid of her lion's whelps. So soon as they became dangerous she showed that her eccentricity not so strong as the common instinct of sclf- presnrvation. "Edltha's Burglar" has been expanded into u four-act play by the author , Mr. Thomas. Tlio original sketch is the third act of thq now piny. The piece will bj tried in Boston in Juac. Koso Coghlmi will pass her summer vaca tion in southern California , partly because she no longer has it country homo and partly because her next tour Is to begin ut San Francisco in August. It is said that Mr. ManMlold hns decided tn cut all the Cibboriun and other interpola tions out , of his "RicunrJ III. , " therein- - lowinc the wholesome example of Henry Irving. Bettor late than novor. It cost Mr. Irving a pretty penny to act before the qnoon at Samlringhnin , In the first place , ho lost the receipts of tno Ly ceum theater for that evening , and the ox- louses of the preliminary preparations at Sandrlnghum were very heavy. A party of Norwegian singers , a hundred in number , are announced to visit Paris dur ing the exposition. Tliiy have boon selected from the most famous rhorul boelct'os , nnd will give two concerts at the Trocadcru , under the direction of M. O. Gronduhl. IIopo regarding Uoito'8 "Moronc" may well be given up. The opera makes no pio- gruas ; not that tto : librettist couipOHor is lu/y , hut that ho suffers from nn Invinulblo self-distrust. Ho writes ana destroys , and destroys as much as ho writes. Stuart Kobson and 'William II. Crane gave their last performance as partners in the Now York Star theniur in "Tho Henrietta , " and both made speeches. They were both huppy in their talk , nnd especially Mr. Crane , who took occasion to express his belief In American plays. fiINCUL < AniTlES. John Wheel , a Dawson , Go. , boy eats flies. Jotiah Anderson , the giant of Marlon county , Kan. , was klllod by lightning. Ho is sill foot and seven inches high. A curious fact'in natural hlstoiy coraos from Fnlrlio , Scotland. A hou , after hatch ing several chickens , died ; thereupon u cat took charge of the brood , and has slnon re mained their jealous puiirdlun. The American liner British Princess , in port nt Now York , reports sighting a sou serpent. Captain Smith , her first officer , hitherto a thorough disbeliever in the many tales of the monster , says ho now has no doubt of iu existence , fo > - ho saw plainly the mystery of the ocean. T. C. Mitchell , of Thomasvllle , Go. , caught a mother fox and three llttlo foxes a few mornings ngo whllo out hunting. Mr. Mitchell carried one of the foxes homo and placed him among a litter of newly born pups. The mother of tha pups gives him the same attention that she gives her own offspring , and the llttlo stranger bids fair to be raised by its foster mother. One of the most curious of all Australia animals is the ornlthor hynchus paradoxtu. It Is paradoxical , being half bird and half mammal. U lives chiefly in tha water and seeks its food by means of Its bill , in the mud , like ducks. This unlinal bos had great Bttentlon called to It by the Darwinians , who use it us an Illustration of A connecting link between species. BANKING IN COUNCIL BLUFFS Careless Methods of Handling Ohooks nnd Drafts. OVERDRAFTS AND THEIR EFFECT Trials of the TcKcr mill Oasnlor an Illustrated In ilie liinkine Houses ol' the iliiiT ( < Travels of a Check. A nankpf's Pcrploxitlo * . It's easy enough to get money into a bank and still easier to get it out , at leiiht it Heeii'H so , if one has only the capital with which to try the experi ment. There arc very few , however , who realize the annoyances which are caused the clerks behind the counter , who necessarily take pirt : in this opera tion. These annoyances arise from the great variety of methods and the fre quent ignoring of any metnoil. "Bothered ? " romnrkcd ono of the Council Bluffs cashiers , ' 'you ought to bo in my place a little while to got a really true Idea of the situation in this city. " The scribe suggested that such a change of occupations would bo agree able at least to the Interviewer , but the interviewed quickly chilled all nego tiations of this sort and proceeded : "You would be .surprised to see how few men know how to deposit money , or to draw a check. I've been thinking of Innintr a little pamphlet printed giv ing information for those doing busi ness with banks. I don't know as it would do any good , but something ought to bo done to onlightun the dear public. For instance , there is ono cus tom quite prevalent hero In the Bluffs , which is not allowable in any city that is. overdrafts. Why , our custom ers do not MJQIII to think but what it is all right any time to check out more than Ofay' hnvo in the bank. They overdraw to suit their own convenience , and seem to think it is all right if they make a deposit and bring their account into sha'po ftitliln the next two or three days after they thus give a check. Now , in the oast.rt don't make any dilToronco how gooU' ' ifmnn may bo , if ho over draws hls"account , his chock is thrown out. Sometimes our overdrafts amount to two orv tlfreo thousand dollars , and all in HAloTimounts , " "Whv > clont ' | you adopt the methods of other cUi'eir'iuid throw the chocks out heroV" ' „ ? "I thinkMvo shall adopt that rule , but the busincs men hero have been al lowed to do'hs ' they please so long that it is a little risky. I suppose they would got hot and take > their business to homo other bank. If any of our customers want to overdraw they should come to the bank and make a loan , and give their noto. It's hard work to get thorn into any Buch businoss-liko way of doing though , " "What else can a banker find to grumble - blo about ? " "There's plenty. It'sstrango how doM - ] M > sitors tumble tholrmonoy Intoa bank. They often wait until they reach the bank before fixing their deposit. They then stand at one of the counters and begin emptying their pockets , making out a ticket while their money and chocks lie around whore anyone could grab them , and where everyone can see just what they are doing. Customers should make up their deposits before they leave their olllce , and thus save all this confusion. Then the tables and counters would bo free for the use of transients. They were intended for such uso.and not for regular depositors to occupy by the half hour doing what they ought to have done in their ollicos before they come to the bank. Then there are so many annoying ways f making a deposit. Somo'shovo in the silvei-j bills , chocks and all in a heap , leaving the teller to sort it out as best ho can. Why. there are .some who bring in nickles , dimes , silver dollars and all in a great pile. Of course they ought to have the nickle , or dimes , rolled into packages marked with the amount ana the name of the depositor. Then there is no need of delay on the part of the toller. Ho can afterwards correct any errors there may bo in any of these packages. Sometimes deposi tors just pass in their money and chocks and have the teller inakco'ut the ticket and do the work they ought to have done themselves , and if ho objects thev got hot right oil' . " The manner of drawing chocks seems to bather the Blulfs bankers a good deal also. There is probably no city of its size Avhero so many peculiarities of methods are shown. It is nothing un common to see checks given for amounts oven loss than a dollar. Often these checks are so carelessly drawn that any crook could easily raise the amount , anil several Instances hayo occurred hero whore such crookedness has boon in- dulged'fn. Some oven use a load pen cil in drawing chocks , and often tlio endorsement is made with a load pencil. "Ono of the peculiar bits of careless ness among the business men of the Blufl's , " remarked ono of the more care ful ones , "is the way in which chocks pass from ono to another without being endorsed by the one who handles It. Ono case recently came to light which indicates clearly the result of such carelessness. In ono of the largest offices in the Blull's several checks had boon properly made out and signed. Instead of being duly delivered to the parties to whoso order they were made they fell into the hands of a dishonest follow , who iorgcd the names on the back of tlio ehecfsand got them cashed nt stores whore ho made purchases. Two of these checks passed through several hands , without being any further endorsed , ana in time were deposited - posited , and nt last reached the mana ger who had drawn the checks. lie discovered the forgeries of the endorse ment , and then a hunt began. It was very dillloult to trace back the course of these two checks. Of course the per sons who deposited thorn in the bank were found , for tlioir endorsement was required by the bank , but they could not remember from whom they recaivod those checks , and there was no endorse ment to indicate. They had to pay the ohooks , and learned a lesson. No ono should receive a cheek without having the person who prdsonts it endorse it , no matter how many olhor endorse ments there may bo on the cheek. " Ono of the tellers In speaking of en dorsements , remarked ; "I never saw a city where there was such a diversity of endorsements on chocks. Some en dorse across one end , others the ether end of the check. Some endorse in the middle , and some lengthwlsa. They endorse in all sorts of ways , and often when there are several endorsements it takes several minutes to puzzle them out. They make a queer combination. It seems as if faomo folks oven tried to see how they could endorse a chock BO as to make it as awkward as possible for the tellers. Of course , the proper way to endorse a check Is so that when it is turned ever the endorsement appears at the end nearest the loft hand. Then the next ondorument should follow this Have Kou Ever Tried Our Positively Fast Black. < \ SET O / : IN 35c 40c Cotton , , , , Lisle Thread And Silk , 60c , 75c , Etc. We solicit comparison. They are superior goods , closely. There are not more than half the checks which arc thus endorsed. " The Council Bluffs bankers nro n good-natured set of men , and they are ' eager to get and hold business. 'ABU result of their fear of offending custo mers , there has grown up a careless , bhiftiess manner of doing business in many details. The hank clerks are called upon to do a great many little duties which the customers ought to perform , and to accommodate them selves to a great many little annoyances which might as well bo done away with. /.Thoughtlessness and _ competition have aided in maintaining numerous such littla ways of carelessness on the part of even good business men. The growth of the city and consequent increase of business are fast necessitating a reform. A BLOOD-SUCKING TREE. Tilko n Gigantic Tnrnntnla anil Fcoda on nirds. Mr. John II. Botlermau , an American and whilom resident of Chihuahua , Mexico , writes as follows to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat about a singular discovery which ho recently made : I have taken much interest in the study of botany during my sojourn in this country , the flora of which presents ono of the richest Holds for the scien tist in the world , and have wandered some distance from town on several oc casions in my search for specimens. On ono of these expeditions I noticed a dark object on ono of the outlying spurs of she Siorrc Madre mountains , which object oxcitea my curiosity so much that I examined it carefully through my field-glass. This revealed that the object was a tree or shrub of such nn unusual appearance that I re solved to visit the spot. 1 rode to the mountain , the sides of which sloped Hulllciontly for mo to imiko my way on horseback to within a few rodb of the summit. But hero I was stopped by an abrupt rise BO stoop that , I doBpuirod of reaching it even on foot. I went around it several times seek ing for some way to climb up , but the jugged , buotling rocks afforded not the slightest foothold. On the top of this knob stands the tree I had seen. From the spot on which I now stood I could sco that it somewhat resembled in form the weeping willow , but the long , drooping whip-like limbs were ol a dark and apparently slimy appearance , and seemed possessed of a horrible lifu-liko power of coiling and uncoiling. Occa sionally the whole tree would seem a writhing , squirming muss. My dcsiro to investigate this strange vegetable product in ore used on ouch'of the many expeditions I made to the spot , and ut last I saw a sight ono ( lay which made mo believe I had certainly discovered an uiihoard-of tiling. A bird , which I had watched circling about for some time , finally settled on the top of the tree , whim the branches began to awaken , as it were , and curl upward. They twined and twisted like snakes about thabird , which began to scream , and drew it down in their fearful em brace until 1 lost sight of it. Iforror stricken , 1 stozod the nearest rock in an attempt to climb the knob. J had BO often tried in vain to do this that I was not surprised wnen I fell back , but the rock was loosened and full also. It narrowly missed mo , but I sprang up unhurt , and saw that the fallen rock had left a considerable cavity. I put my face to it and looked In. Something like a cavern , the floor of which had an upward tendency , met my sight , and I felt a current of fresh air blowing on mo , with a dry earthy smell. Evidently there was another opening somewhere , undoubtedly at the summit. Using my trowel , which I always car ried on my botanizing expeditions , I enlarged the hole , and then pushed my way up through the passage. When I had nearly reached the top I looked out cautiously to see if I should. emerge within reach of that diabolical troo. But 1 found it nowhere near the aperture , so I sprung out. I was just in time to sec the flattened. carcass of the bird drop to the ground , which was covered with bones uqd. feathers. I approached as closely as. dared and examined the true. It was low in sixo , not more than twenty feet high , but covering- grout aroa. Its trunk was of prodigious thick ness , knotted and scaly. From the top of this trunk , a few fpqt from the ground , its slimy brunojjqp curved upward and downward , nearly touching the ground with their tapering - ing tips. Ifs appcaranco was thai , of a glgantlo tarantula awaiting its prey , On my venturing to lightly touch ono of the limbs , it closed upon my hand with such force that when I toro it loose the skin came with it. I de scended then and closing the pueaago returned. I went back next day carry ing half a do/on chickens with which to Iced the tree. The moment I tossed in the fowls n violent agitation shook ita branchus , which swayed to and fro with a Mlnuoutj , snaky motion. After devouring the fowls , thoau branches fully gorged , drooped to thojr former position , and , the tree giving no sign of animation , I dared approach it and take the limbs In my hand. They were covered with suckers , re sembling the tentacles of an octopus. Thu blood of the fowls had boon ab sorbed by these suckers , leaving crimson stains on the dark surface. There was no foil ago , of courseof any kind. Without speaking of my din- covory to any ono about , 1 wrote an ac count of it to the world-famous botanist , Prof. Wordonhaupt , of the university of Heidelberg. His reply states that my tree is tha Arbor Dlaboli , only two specimens of which have ever boon known one on u peak of the Himalayas and the other on the island of Sumatra. Mine is tha third. Prof. Wordonhaupt says that the Arbor Dlaboli and the plant known aa Venus lly-trap are the. only known specimens , growing on land , of these forms of lifo which partake of the na ture of both the animal and the vege table kingdoms , although there are in stances too numerous to mention found of this class in the sea. The Portugese man-of-war may bu mentioned , however , as ono , aim tlio Hpongo as the best known specimen o ! tills class. The career of "Itobcrt Elunioro" ended inglorlou&ly , at the Union Square theater , There Is jiootio justice in Us iunouilnloua failure , and no unu concerned In the repro- sentution is entitled to the least couimlneni- tlun , except the luckless uctora who wuro culled upon to act In It. A now oporu , "Don Manuel , " by Uloliard HcnberKur , has Just been performed wUh much success at thu Lelpslo Hiadt theater. The comuosor Is a thoroul'licoiiig disclio | ! Q { Richard ( Vaguer , and his present work 1 said to ho constructed musically sotnuwhttt on the lines of ' 'Tristan nnd lsode. ) " Persons advanced in yoara feal younger and stronger , as well aa ( roof , from the infirmities of ago , by t Dr. J. II. MoLuan't ) Sareaparllm. Putin TlilM Bomuwii try on Xnur The most unconscionable , thlof is , ho who steals u busy mini's tiino , aaya tluj Boston Times for , minute * atglun oat ) never be reclaimed.