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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1899)
THI3 OMAHA JPAIJDY IfEK : TuifJAMDAr , AOCHJ3T 01 , an illustrated , true and concise history of the > O o & Special Pictures of the 1st Nebraska Raising "Old Glory" nt Fort Santa Crttr , Jindrone Islands * including the late Colonel Stotsenberg , Camp Mesa , the Hospital Reproduced from ail illustration iu " On to Manila and the line roster of the regiment Illustrations taken pital fighting a complete , nt the time by showing promotions , etc. Douglas White , the war correspond < a all the ent of the Sait to be Francisco Exum- of the First Nebraska an opportunity of hav- inen served ing a complete and correct history of the rGgi- for 4fe ment The Omaha Bee has at great expense placed this beautiful future The Old Bell nt Sumnye , Xndroni book within their reach no coupon required order quick as we Islands. Cast in zCSo. refer Reproduced from nil Illustration In . have only a limited number. "On to Manila. " ence. $ & > ent pr < to any address upon receipt the price. The First : American Plajr Sained Over Manila. Address , History Department Omaha Bee. . Reduced froiu an illuitration In "On to Manila. " STRANGE SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS , Hy L. JIcL. WILSON. always maintained that thcro la no euch thing na the supernatural. I liavo found In ray own experience that every occurrence , no matter how mysterious It may appear at the time , can bo logically accounted for , If properly Investigated. ( True , In eomo caeca , years have elapsed before - , fore I discovered the actual solution , but I have never failed , In the end , to do so. I There are certain sensations cocnmoii to the human race , ascribed by the super stitious to uncanny Influences , which are nothing but tricks , played upon the system by disordered nerves. This Is even notlcea- bfo In animals. A horse becomes panlc- Btrlokon at a piece of flying paper In the nlr , or sometimes nt n perfectly still and silent object , such na n , boulder In the road. These things may appear super natural to the horse , but to us who know better they are undeniably of the earth earthly. Ono of the moat extraordinary and spectral Illusions Imaginable occurred whllo I was living In C . My bedroom was light and airy , n bay-window occupied the end , In the side wall were two ordinary windows , the bed stood between them , the mantel piece was opposite , over which hung a tlfo- elzcd water-colored portrait of my grand father ; It represented him seated , reading a book. On a beautiful afternoon , about 5:30 : o'clock , I happened to look out of the window nearest the bed , I could not bo- llovo my nouses. Sitting on the porch of the house opposite , In his familiar chair , was my grandfather , reading. I called the family , quickly , and they all saw It , clear , sharp and distinct. In less thnn flvo minutes from the tluio I had 11 rat seen It It faded , molted away and was gone. My grandfather was dead , and this was the anniversary of that event. I could not glvo any explanation of the vision. My family was much affected by It , and the depressing weather which set In next , day did not * help their Ipw spirits , but as noth ing occurred , with tlmo this were away , and , ( hough I never passed the window without looking for It , I did not again see the phantom. On the next anniversary a stretch of bad weather prevailed , and evidently the old gentleman did not consider the porch a comfortable place to sit In , under the cir sr cumstances. Ho did not appear. I was valient , und when the 9th of April came around again 1 was at my post , and on the lookout. Sure enough , dimly at first , thcro gathered out of nothing the familiar form of my grandfather , seated on the porch opposite. For a mlnuto the spectra was very brilliant , then faded away 03 before , and so quickly that I had no tlmo to In vestigate the surroundings. The following afternoon It appeared again , ouo mlnuto later than on the previous day , but did not remain BO long. I now became convinced that It had gomo connection with the picture on my wall bocauao the attttudo was the same , yet there was no window opposite the pt < : tur < 3' I took It down the next morning , with the aid of a atopladder. and replaced It with a water-colored one of Landseer's famous dogs. With the variation of a minute the dog appeared , lying OR the porch opposite. Thuo , after year * of frmtlota search , I had discovered that on the 9th , 10th and llth of "April the sun's ra > s struck the eldo bay-window , were reflected acrosa from the bookcase door to the glass of my grand father's picture , and thrown from there through another side window onto the porch surcas the street. In three dajs time tl'o ' sun could no longer strike at the proper uglo to produce the effect , and so , with bad weather , the solving of this mystery had been delayed for years. A Sound M At another tlmo , while In the country , I hail a hair-lifting and most disagreeable experience. I had gone ahead of the fam ily , whom I expected next day , to open our minimer residence. The weather was murky and n thick fog had risen from the lowlands and settled In the valley. When I retired to my room I wns especially struck by the stagnant atmosphere , for although the window was wide open ouo had the sensation of being shut In a confined space , almost to the point of suffocation. There fore I did not look upon the olil-fnehloned , canopied bedstead with approval , but threw mjsolt down on the lounge , which was placed against the high rosewood footboard. It wns well after midnight when I was awakened In great fright , but by what I did not know. Silence wns overywhero. I lay on my hack broad awake , with every nerve tingling. Suddenly I heard a smothered voice , within six Inch of my face , and right on the lounge with mo , call mo by name twice und In an agonizing tone cry : "Oh , help mo , help mo , I am dylug ! " I sprang up and made a light , but the room was empty , the bed untouched and no tangible presence about. While I was standing thus , dumfoundcd , u quivering groan rose up from the very spot where I had bcon Bleeping. I deliberately lay down upon the lounge. I felt my hair stir and the cold sweat started from every pore of uiy body , but I had perfect possession cf my will-power and determined not to let fcur get the upper hand. Distinctly I heard the labored breathing of someonu In distress , right alongside of mo. mo."Oh "Oh , can't you help me ? " This , close to my ear. There were ono or two sobbing sighs , then ellence. I could In no way ac count for this uncanny visitation , I knew there was no other living pcwon in the house. Presently a cock crow , n dog barked , and at last dawn came with the twittering of birds. That day while at the village drug store I heard Farmer Jones ask the clerk to give him something for his wife , she was very 111 and had cried nil night for him to help her. Instantly I knew that It was this poor woman's volco which had reached mo. Their place wns Just across the rpcadow , about half n mlle from my bouse. Her husband's Christian name and mlno were the same. I questioned him closely and found she had repeated the words exactly as I had heard them In my room. FOI ; pla > s Btrango tricks on both land and SIM. Owing to some unusual state o ! thu atmosphere the volco had crossed the Intervening space , wandered In at my win dow and made a Bournllng-board of the foot of my bed. A mlrago of tound was the result , If UBch a term .can be used. A L'lilIIy Vl.Itor. A guest arrived at our house ono day In the fall of the year. We had experienced much- trouble with now servants , and my < wlfo. wishing to aid the chambermaid , ar ranged the bed in tliu bparo room herself , and looked about to st'u that ail was In order , At breakfast 'time ' we asked our friend If ho hod enjoyed a by und sleep and found his quarters comfortable , He replied that there was nothing he could suggest except a little moro bed clothing. My wife had thought two heavy blankets and a comfort , b&sMo3 the spread , would be sufficient , considering the weather , but then no two popple are/ / alike in UiU resjxct. She gave thg serv&ut an other blanket and told her to put It on Mr. L ' 3 bed. Naturally .we inquired if lie had fared bed- ; ter In 'the ' morning. He looked rather fatigued , I thought , and was quite embarrassed - | rassed when he eald a comfort would bo J very acceptable. My wife seemed astonished , but assured him she would see to it herself. | In the afternoon she put a comfort on the foot ofhltt tied and In speaking to me said Mr. L hod all the available bed clothing at her command and that only a salamander could live under such a lot of stuff -without suffocating. Ho hod four blankets , three comforts and a spread. | Wan and haggard ho appeared the next morning. I laughingly Inquired : "Well , were you warm enough last night ? " "I don't eeo how you people get along without freezing. " he responded. "You must bo extremely cold-blooded. " "For heaven's sake , Mary ! " I exclaimed , "why don't you glvo the poor man enough clothes ? " Two largo blankets wore added to his col lection. At breakfast li looked horribly. I In quired about his health. "Pray , do not trouble yourself further , " ho replied , coldly , "I shall leave today. I'll go up to Mason's place , whe-ro I can got warm. " I had always known L was eccentric ; I certainly thought ho was a little touched. As everything had been done for his comfort and welfare this rude remark was allowed to pass without comment. After his depar ture my wlfo wo-nt to his room to pet the bedding which had been contributed from other parts of the house. She turned down the spread , but found nothing but the sheets. She Inquired of the servant , who declared the clothing was all there when she made up the room in the morning. Search high and low failed to discover the missing articles. No trunk or package largo enough to con tain eiven ono blanket could possibly have been taken out of the hcuso without our I wrote to Mr. L - and asked If ho could explain the mystery. He promptly replied that he could not. He had never Been any thing except the sheets and other spread during hl entire stay with us. He had been obliged to sleep in his clothes , using the tablecloth as on outside wrap. At first ho thought it accident or forgetfulncEs on the part of my wife , and ns he seldom retired until after midnight , ho did not wish to complain at so late an hour. When re peated requests brought no change or re lief , and he could no longer stand the fatigue , ho was forced to believe that for some un known reason wo desired to freeze him out. out.As the bedding did not mnko Its appear ance , I was obliged to buy new. This , however - over , remained undisturbed. Matters went on OB usual until the advent of company from the city was resented by the chamber. maid as a personal insult to obtain more work from her than was our due , BO In the early morning she left. My wlfo pre pared her room for her successor. When about to leave the room she noticed that the end of the sheet had slipped down and was trailing on the floor. Fhe lifted the corner of the mattress to pull It up , and there , on the springs , carefully laid out , were all the mUslnj bedclothes. Now my wife remem bered that when the girl first came she had complained of the hardness of her Bleeping accommodations. Evidently without con- nultation she had proceeded to remedy such a serious defect in the household equip ment. A nhumtlY Hell HI HIT fr. Again the mysterious came near baffling me , during the illnces of a member of my family. I bad been watching at the bed side until after midnight , when the nureo relieved me , and I went to my room to snatch a little rest. My sleeping apart ment was Immediately over the front door on the second floor , while the patient's roam was on the first , which , under the w , we had thought would be cooler and moro comfortable. I was greatly fatigued by my long vlglf and the strain of anxiety , together with the heat , and found it Impossible to sleep. I sat down by the open window and leaned well out , hoping to get a breath of fresh air. The moonlight glittered on the stone door step beneath me , and every object was clear cut and distinct. No one was visible , either up or down the street. The human race i might have vanished from the face of the earth.for all the evidence there was of It. At this Instant my door bell reverberated through the cntlro house. I was extremely surprised and startled. I knew by the manner of the found that It had not been done by human agency. I caught up a light and ran down through the lower part of the bouse to the kitchen , where in a corner of the celling the bell was hung. The clapper was still moving slightly to and fro. The nurse who was In the slck- rocm was much annoyed , knowing that on account of the extreme nervousness of our patient a notice had been posted to that effect and requesting that the bell should not bo rung. She supposed someone had disregarded It. The house was old and when I rented It had been provided with only brass knockers. I had the bell put In and the wire crossed the ceilings , exposed Its entlro length ; therefore It was Impossible that cither rats or mice could have caused It. The Incident completely unnerved the nurse. She was convinced that the Dread Angel stood without. As the tlmo drew near' for the patient's medicine to bo given I wont down , not wishing to trust the some what hysterical woman. The prescription had not been used for some days , the con ditions not retiring It. All the medicines wore kept on a tall chiffonier , In the ante room , whore I went for the desired drug. While crossing the floor my foot came In contact with an object , which I found upon examination to bo a small cork. When I reached for the bottle it was open and the contents frothing over the sides. I looked up and directly overhead the exposed bell wlro ran along the celling. Fomentation had blown out the cork , which struck the wlro , and produced , what many would have considered , a supernatural manifestation. A friend of mine , on a hot summer night after retiring , found It impossible to sleep and concluded that a cold bath might soothe his jaded nerves and make him more comfortable. Ho refrained from striking a light , not wishing to add mosquitoes to his already miserable condition , Resides thcro was enough came In from the street lamps to make the objects tn thp room dimly visible. Ho arose , went Into the bath room , and after a refreshing plunge groped his way back to bed , when his eye was sud denly arrested by the form of a man , seated nt his private desk , leaning over the open drawer. Snatching a convenient knife , bo cau tiously crept up behind the silent visitor and dealt him a tremendous blow in the body. Such a thrust meant certain death , but In this case a ruined suit of clothes , an overturned Inkstand and a deep and vicious gouge In the lop of the table wan the only result. Ha hud forgotten that the evening before , when his suit came homo from the tailor's , ho Imd thrown it on the chair to preserve It from wrinkles Pure Imagination is tbo rouse of making commonplace , everyday occurrences appear ! supernatural. I think all of us have been' startled by a curtain or wimple shadow , re sembling some other object. . . . 1 ' A Spool. ( luilr. ' Ono night I sat up Into the wee small hours , absorbed In a book of Wllkle Col lins. ' The family had long since retired and our big , black cat , which lay curled up asleep on the fur mat at my feet , was my only companion. The reading lamp was out of order and I had lighted four burners in the chandelier , which produced euch a flood of light it gave shadows or dark recesses no chance to exist. I had just app/oached one of those places in the etory "that thicks men's blood -with cold" when out of the cor ner of my eye I distinctly saw the hlgh- 'baclted ' leather chair tn front of mo move. My vlslcu glued to It. Then I recognized what nn absurd trick my wrought up nerves had played upon me. Only a few minutes before a loud crack behind the bookcase had given mo quite a start. In the stillness of the night the sound made by contracting woodwork Is always ghostly , while In the daytime we glvo It no con sideration whatever. I continued my story , but kept a sharp .lookout on the chair. It stood upon the perquetry border , which ran around the room next the wall , Immediately In front of the window , Its back against the sash curtain. This was the only piece of drapery , If such It could be called , on that sldo or the room. A number of times I was almost Euro I saw the chair tremble , but so slightly I could not bo certain. Finally I flxcd the exact position of its legs upon the pattern of the wooden flooring , whcro If It moved a hair's breadth I could see it , but It did not. I made up my mind that the jarring was produced by my own heart thumping against my ribs and determined to finish my book and go to bed. I almost forgot the Incident , so powerfully had the tale ab sorbed me , when the cat at my feet began to make stealthy movements. I looked at the floor the chair had advanced toward mo from the wall , throe inches beyond the spot vhero It previously stood. I could BOO It move. The base board beyond was plainly visible , the window was closed and locked. It was Impossible for any ono to bo concealed behind the short , flimsy sash cur tain. Slowly but surcily the legs slid forward over the polished floor , while I marked their progress with riveted gaze. The cat had arisen from the fur robe and stood with arched back and brlstHnc tall , a silent spectator. Preacntly the forward legs touched the edge ef the carpet and stopped short , no longer having a slippery surface to glldo upon. The chair began to bob back and forth , first on one leg , then on the other ; it executed quite a dance and wont through a succession of bows and antics which might have been amusing under dif ferent circumstances , but which were not appreciated by cither the cat or myself. At lost , driven frantic by these wild ges tures , I jumped up and with all my strength pushed the chair 'tack ' against the window. A cry from outsldo and hurriedly retreating footsteps gave mo an idea of who my late visitor was. Wo had been much troubled for months by unruly boya , and one morning , finding a pistol shot through the library window , I had called in the police. They traced the act to the guilty party , who , after a rather stiff fright , was allowed to go free , under promise of reform , The window , which was about elx feet above the ground , had not been repaired , as the ball had only left a Illtlo hole where It had penetrated. The young scamp , I suppose , thought he would return Rome of the fright the police had caused him over the episode , for when I went outside to look about I found a piece of telephone wire hanging out of the hole In the glass. The fellow's face when next I , aaw him was- somewhat disfigured by t unexpected push I had given his Instru " " OXI3 OK UJVCLU SAM'S MUSI'l A Curloii * rollvulloii lixhll Di'iul Lettrr dill "The museum of the Washington contains a varj articles which have eluded In the sales cole , " writes Pattl Lj September Ladles' them may b eeer great aee , watche raisins and of knives , a clothwj keroecoe lamp , china , dainty fj .human skull * , than four feet long , and , In short , every thing that ono would Imagine would not bo sent by mall. It hardly seems neceesary to say that dynamite and llvo serpents are classed as 'unmallablo , ' yet the mall service has been called on to transport both. "It seems almost Incredible that In the neighborhood of $10,000 In actual cash should have been conllded to letters during the last year , and harder still to credit that the most exhaustive efforts failed tn find the owners of one-fourth of thiit amount. The en velopes which nro addressed are kept on file for four yeara , blank ones not no long , but In either case a liberal margin of time Is allowed for claimants to appear before the money Is finally turned Into the treasury to the credit of the Postofflco department. In addition to the money contained In letters during the same period , something llki ; $10,000 was found loose In the malls. It la officially styled 'loose money. ' "It Is estimated that during the last year 0,000,000,000 pieces of mall matter. Including ull classes , were posted In the United States. Of this number , 6,312,731 were sent to the dead letter office , making an average receipt of about 21,000 letters and parcels for each working day. During1 this period moro than 83,000 pieces were dispatched cither with in sufficient postngo or none at all , 32,000 bore no address whatever , 34,000 were misdirected , 200,000 were unclaimed at hotels , and something - thing more thnn the last number were sent to fictitious addresses. And to these figures must bo added 2,973,387 letters and circulars without Inclosures of obvious value which could not bo returned to the senders and were destroyed. Moro than 50,000 letters contained mr icy amounting to $38,595 , whllo 32,422 Included drafts , money orders , etc. , to the value of $315,000 , to say nothing ot 30,000 wltli photographs. " Kodol Dyspepsia Cure cure * dyspepsia b * cause Its Ingredients ore such that It can't help doing so. "Tho public can rely upon It as a master remedy for nil disorders arising from Imperfect digestion. " Jamci" M. Thomas , M. IX , In American Journal of Health. N. Y. _ MILLIONS IN AVIinULS. ICiiorinoiiM Qniindly of Iron for Ilntlroiid Hulling Sloi-k. If one stops to consider Into what n myriad of articles iron enters and how rapldfy the field of construction Is widening , the demand which has taxed the furnaces can be under stood. Not the least c causing the iron the country to extent , says the , railroad. It Is that Just 000 railway of the the quan tf , and othe. tlon of ontan the due , and at the same ( line what a tremendous temptation they present to the cxtortlonaU rapacity of the Iron trust. HATTLK OK FOHT I1OWMNO. Vorilcvrmcitt of the Civil TVnr ot "XVliluh Little IlnM Ilron Written. Where the Gulf of Mexico comes Into the ablno fake , on the coast of Texas , near . .ho Louisiana line , there Is u narrow chan nel of water which Is about 400 yards wide , relates the Nashville Democrat. On the .lorth bank of this little channel today one aces the smokestack , n few feet above the water , of a Bunkon boat. Just opposite to It , on the southern bank , there In a dirt wall , square in its shape , and about ten foot high , and over this Is a painted sign that reads "Fort Dowllng. " That Is nil that now lives as thrilling cvldenco of a thrilling drama , the cqunl of which the world has never seen , and that was played out at this place back youdcr in the clos ing days of our civil war. General Banks , with plenty of men and ' .oats and plenty of ammunition and uup- pllca , had gone up the Ilcd rlvor into Louisiana and was hammering Klrby Smith and Dick Taylor Into destruction. The federal government conceived the Idea that Smith and Taylor might be attacked in the rear by an expedition landed on the nhores ot Sablnu lake , and consisting of tome 10,000 men , who would be transported to their landing by a pait of the federal fleet. To reach the banks of the luke , of course. It was necessary to go through Sablno Pass this narrow channel of which I have spoken. Illchard Dowllng , In command of about forty men , was acting as a scout for Smith and Taylor , and saw the ovldenco of the coming of this fleet of gunboats and transports , and , with his forty men , took possession of a llttlo mud fort at the mouth of the pass , In which there were three or four blx-pounders and perhaps a ulogo gun. There ho waited with gunu loaded and in structions given to his men that they muat not flro until the gunboats mine well abreast of him , only about 300 yards away. His plan of action was not to shoot until they were Immediately opposite , and then to discharge his whole battery at the gun boats , Tlls ) was done successfully ; her boilers were exploded , and , together With hundreds of eoldlcrs , she oank to the iipot whore It now rfats , Many died from the steam that scalded them , moro from the water that engulfed them. Loading his guim , he sank the next vessel with the aimo disastrous result to the enemy , and , loading yet oguln , he turned hlii guns on the transport following , with a thousand men aboard of her , She , in re sponse , ran up a white flag. The rest of the fleet turned and Balled nwny , leaving of the drowned boldlera und wjlng , in u dugout as it la it to ro- roh
