Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 1909)
0 FETTERMAN MASSACRE DAK Pica of the Overworked Phrases Some Expressions Be; Consideration at Hands of Writers, Setting Up that They Hare Been Pressed Into Usage Far Beyond Their Capacity and Askinj Best They Have Earned by Long Serrice Omaha Veteran of Indian War in West Recalls Bloody Event -AY' S. S. PETERS TELLS OF FIGHT THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: DECEMBER 2t tarty-third UititrrMrr of a Horrible tj, n Taken an I alted Mate Trnope hr leglaae t ne'er Red load. "Villi the passing of the year and our own approach to the Inevitable beyond. I ran but fp that we. Um few smvivort of the events of forty-three and forty-two years ago, should be permitted to contribute the story of our participation In great rvenu of those clays rather thim to submit to the Inaccuracy of modem historians and romanticist, such a It C. T. Brady, whose narratives are derived from the re ports of Interested parties, relative to the events of the Sioux Indian war of lsiu-. In which Red Cluuil. the recently deceased Sli.ux Indian chief, was o potent a factor." said .S. S. Peters, an active participant In all those event.s. "1 have hitherto refrained from comment 1114 upon these nfTalrs oecau.se l Knew tnat ' without any chance to rest or to re tlia Brady. Coolant, Bunt line and like nar- cuperate ourselves for tha terrible strug railves w-e accent-.! as historical facta. . . of ..(.pre. We have worked faith because there ar:i no one who had the ...i... ,.. Wi, ... nnr cnmnbiiniI audacity to controvert them. I have, how ever. bc-n surprised to find that my esti mate of Red Cloud Is concurred. In by these vt-isatlle historians. This estimate I gave of him twenty-five yais ago. What I wish now to eiahor.ua upon is the Hlmax of Red Cloud s great career. I: is an opportune moment to do so. In that December 21. l'.. was the forty-third anni versary of that tragic event. It appeala to me with the keenest sorro'V and anguish, because on that day t happened to be one of the first, men thai. sa.v the mutilated bodies of my brothers, comrades and friends lying In a bloody group on the nuunacr grcund that ended all for Colonel W. J. Fe-tti-rmun and his eighty two comrades, the bH,'t still ooslng from their ghastly winiiida. their bodies still warm from the life blcod that counted through their veins bu an hour before. There la so much to say and to tell of tl'is affair, that I can but begin with the i event Itself. I wwi still suffering from a sever wound received at tha hand of Red Cloud and liia party six montna before u almost a day (July JO. IstSH), at Craay Wom an' f'jrk of Powder river, the first of the set engagements between Red Cloud and tlu whites, and which affair the alleged historians of that epoch dlamlsa with but a line; but. in those days wounds did not count Story of the Nunacrt. "But. to the story of the massacre of Fet terman's command, on that fateful morn ing of December 21, UM. "From the moment of the establishment of the post of Fort Phil Kearney, In July, IWt, at the forka of the Big and Little Plney creeks. In Wyoming, garrisoned by five companies of the Eighteenth Infantry and one of the Second cavalry, this com mand of less than 300 men waa constantly beset by Red Cloud and his banda of Brule and Ogalalla Sioux, numbering mora than 3.1X10 hostlles. "Fuel and building material were ob tained under constant fire from tha In dians from the foothills of the Big Horn mountains. Wood train camps were estab lished on the mountain ruad a few miles from the Incompleted fort, which had to he stockaded for protection from the In dians. "Tli ai tacks on thr wood trains were of Much frequent occurrence that but little attention was peld to them except to bury the dead and care for the weunded. This was the constant story during the summer and fall. I'p to this time about sixty men of the command had sacrificed their lives In the building of the fort. Ammunition had ben reduced to less than twenty rounds per man and no reinforcement! had rrivad at tha tort. . "About half a mile east of the fort, at the top of a high hill, wa had established a picket post that overlooked the country to the west and south. This hill arose abruptly from the Little Plney. "On the morning of December il the picket at Signal hill reported that the wood train waa attacked as usual by In dians, the train corraled and the escort fighting. This waa about 11 o'clock and the train waa moving toward tha timber. iiuiuaL uuiiinumicijr a, iw inuiuns ap peared on one or two of tha surrounding heights, a party of fifteen or twenty of them being near the Big Plney. west of the fort, where tha Boseman trail crossed in its ascent of tha Lodge Trail ridge. Fmnw cara Men to Relief. ".V detail of elgtuy-ona men, with two ciliiena, under command of Brevet Lieu tenant Colonel W. J. Fetterman. at ouoa i volunteered to go to the relief of the wood .how that the command was suddenly over-trin- i whelmed, surrounded and cut off while In Colonel Ketterman moved out rapidly to 1 r(ltreat. Not an ofrlcer or man survived' 1 he nht ..f Hi wood road, for the purpose few boille, WHr, found . tm no,.th ,, f cutting- ufr the r-treat of the Indians i of thc lllvi(,e over whlc tlu. n)ad runa Uien attavHiiitf the wood train. As he ad- Just beyond Lodge Trail Ridwe. M.1M-.U across l mi tug fill-!' to Hie west. 4 fw InOiune appeared In lus front and on Ins fhiiiliw. u:i. continued flittuist ahout linn, beyond rife range, and t In 11 d'sap- 1 l.iared beyond I.'nl4. Trail ft:d;. When Kutie inan ivn.i m; l.o.lge Trail Kitlge, til;; picket :.lgnal.-l ihc fort that the Indiana! 'il p'trealvd from the wn.pil train, and the ti-1,11 had I.T K 11 i:jii-.tl .m.l niuv.d on! toivji 1 the Ihnuer. 1 "Thi; wood t:a;n in.ile the round ti.p. 1 and was not a-iin d:st'irbd thut day. ' "Al ahout fi.'.eeu minutes before U o c;ok Culuiiel KiMitn-nittM' command had -U'.bed III.' 1 !' j! or !..),!., Tr.nl KUlge. ! llhouf rcgurd, to orders, f ir reasons that Hie silence of Colonel l 1 1 .M'nia 1 now pre-1 nn u from Hiving, ho with the com-1 mund. in iV-w mom nta d.s irueaivd, Imr-' i:u iha.-id i h rid,;e. till moving w. t. j ! Iring siioi-tly t hen al it-r commenced, and1 incnaa.. .11 .v ,,,,. . ln about fifteen, minutes and at n.i.n r 0 clock in., it as a continuous .,,, iat,i,i (ir. 0f niuaketry. j plmiiiy auniU. .it i,e fi t. As soun as I tilt- tiring livcame. rapid I'ol.mcl H. B. Car I'nguni ordered t'aotaina T. K. Ten Kyck. witlt forty-three nie being ail the men atillahle lur duty in th r,,rt ,,..! tort, a.nl two ; etrurtiiati immediately. He moved Lilt I ml j.t , , ,u1loi . . i .......... .,,,,, mwani in point from which the sound of firing proceeded v.r.1 ui me iun. aiKi.mi sDont three miles. "The sound of firing cuntinud to he heard during llva advance, diminishing ln rapidity and number of shots t,ll w8 reached a high .imi.,it adjaoent to Lodge Tiail Ridge, overlook. ng me haillefleld. at abvul a quarter before 1. ourier back. jpiain Ten Eyck sent as soon as ha reached the summit com-! manding a view of the battlefield, that the Penu Creek vailey was full of Indians; that ha could see nothing ot Colonel Fet- terman's party, and requested that a how- User should b sant to h.m. The howitser was aot sent. TheIndlana. who at first beckoned us to come down, now com menced retreating, and Captain Ten j ck. advancing to a point where tha Indians had been standing in a circle, found tha dead naked bodies of Brevet Lleutenant Colimei Fetterman. Cam sin Brawn lha entire murdered command of F.tter- mnn. At this point there were no indica ions uf 4 severe struggle All the bod:e HIS is the communication which the musical editor did not know whether he would print or not. Usually the musical editor does not print ail hie correspondence; if he did It would be very In T teresting, sometimes. Hut tills one deserves conaideratlon. The cause In Just. There Is no doubt whatso ever that nimethlng should be done. It runs ad follows; "To the Music Editor of The B.e: ' Knowing full well that no appeal has i over been made In The Bee In vain, when j a principle of Jus'Ice was at stake, we. t.ie , undersigned, desire to make known to you. I our resolution and our unanimous opinion ' that we are not being given the con- j slderailon to which we are entitled. Wa j have been worked overtime, and we are weary unto death. While others have been j reposing in Indolent ease we, the under signed, have been working day and night. about wages, but we do want and we think that we are enatled to have shorter hours. Trusting that ycu will do what you can for us and help us with your In fluence, and knowing that if you will suggest this to the musical editors of the country, there may be a chance for us to remain aJlve for a fair period of y.ars to come. We are. your truly, "TECH NIQL'K." "CHARMING." , "EFFECTIVE." "INTERPRETATION.' "MEZZA VOCE.'' "LARGE AND ENTHUSIASTIC" "EXQt.'ISITE." "PLEASING MANNER." I "FINE TASTE." ' i "FXKClTION." ! "COLORATURE." J "SPECIALLY COMMENDED." j "TEMPO. AND TEMPI." "RARE QUALITY." i "BEAfTIFUL TONE." 1 "SL'PERB RENDERING." ! "DELIGHTFUL." "WENT WILD." and others. It in but fair that The Bee should say a word In behalf of these unfortunate and overworked members of the republic of let ters. It Is true that they are overworked. They should be retired with honor and on f'lll pay. As a matter of fact what have they spe cially to do with a musical performance? Technique la a nice word to use when you don't know just what to say. It is like talking about "Values" In connection with a picture. You cannot make any mistake about that. Always una "values." It means so much. But don't ever ask any one what he really means by "values." It might be awkward. Technique has been handed around aw fully indiscriminately and has been used to describe something which It really is not. It might surprise some to know that technique is not flngar dexterity tn rapid scales at all. Execution: Poor old execution! What la an execution? It usually Implies that someone has been executed, or, In other words, formally and correctly murdered according to tha prescribed custom of tha law. Now, If this sense of tha word wars used to describe tha "murdering" of a composition, 'twere well. But when la It used that way? It la usually noted In con nection with the word "brilliant" or some other such member of tha vocabulary. Than take that word "Charming": how very appropriate to apply that to a beau tiful young girl who, with her winning way and her haaven-llt smile, sings to us of the joys of tha spring-tide, and then to turn around and maka It do double duty by applying It to tha hideous looking crea ture who with cheeks blown up and reed pipe In mouth, sits squatting before soma ugly snakes, "charming" them. "Effective." Now, there, is a word to luy in a space not exceeding two acrea in extent. I Colonel Carrlnsrtan's A aeon at I auota from tha official rennet nf Coicnel EC. B. Carrtngton the culminating features of the massacre, as follows: " -The road or. the little ridge where the final stand took place was strewn with arrows. arrow-heada. scalp pols and , broken shafts of spears. The arrows that vur. n.ni b.rni.b r.,, .11 ,u-, i... -VVarlv ell w.re h-..n.l nu, f.... I'OCkH at the point nearest the fort, these rocks, enclosing a ."pace about six feet Jooare, having been (ha last refuge for defence. Here nnri also a few unexpended rounds of Spencer cartridge. " 'Colonel Fetterman and Captain Brown j r-sd each a revolver shot In the left temple, j As Brown always declarnl thst he woul 1 j reserve a shot for himself, as a lust resort, ao 1 am convinced that these two beiiv; ! men fell, each by the other's hand, eather ; than undergo the slow torture Infllctel I upon others. " 'Lieutenant Gr'iuimoiid's tK.dy wsm .jn the road between tlw two extieivtes. with ! a few others. i '" The officers who fell believed ttuit 11.) I Indian force could overwhelm that nttnlier I of troops well held In hand. ' This terrible m ansae ra bore mark) of . ' great valor, and has demonstrated tiin . force and character of the foe: hut no valor could hava saved them, j " Puols of blood on the road and alupmg 1 sides of the narrow divide showed wher? Indians bled fatallv. bur their bodlea were can-ted off. I counted sixty-five such pools ln t)e ypao 0f an acre, and Uiree within i ten feet of Lieutenant Grummond's bed v. . , 1. - .... ... eleven .-mrncan iiursri ami nine inuiau ponies were on the road or near tha line of bodies; others. cr'ppld, were In the valleys. " At the northwest or farther point, be tween two rocks and apparently where tins command first fell back from thc valley) realising their danger. I found citizens James s. Wheatlev and Isaac Flshr ot j Blue Springs, Neb., who. with ' Henry nfiM-- t,)t lnvtncibls. but fell, one havinir 101 arrows lti his naked body.' Cynical Jabs. Beauty is only skin deen hot nuns woman i ar deeper thaji they look. noma young men tn courting, are aa flckie aa a last year s hammock rope. Teil a girl she has a musical laugh and si. will giggle for the rest of her Ufa. All the world may love a lover, but It bares to buy wedding presents for him. Vt ban an old moid makes a gooae of her self. It s a pretty, g.,od ,ig ta o chicken. l'on t place too much conf'denca in an. I piarancea. Mmy a nun with a rd nun I has s white heart. ; It takes a lot of nerve for a fallow to propuaM to a girl, but he should aava some of it for star emergencies. New York i Times. apply to musical presentations. It means "Made jtit." That Is, the person made his way out. or "tame out" all Harht. It Is an- I plied to a great many things, and la usefu'. j wh-n one dues not have much to say. either for or against, and wants to say it nicely. i "Int Tpretatlon" has a good right to ob ject to l's being obliged to work overtime and to work In the place of others who could do the work just as well and better, j Interpretation has to go to work lota of ; times, when the one who should ba set to ! the . task is Translation. When you 1 translate, you merely "carry something across" from one language to another, j You take a sentence out of German and put It Into Eng lsh. But when you Interpret 1 that Is mure. Many musical people are ! merely and only "translating," when they j think that they are interpreting." I "Metaa Voce" is usually applied indls- ! crtmlnately to those soft tones which die ' Into sweet nothingness. The writer has j heard people rave over the mezza voce ef- fects of a singer, w hen one of tha most j conspicuous things about his or her sing ing, was an utter absence of real meiaa j voce. This word cannot be explained In print. It requires the living voire. i "Exquisite." Her Is a word that is i driv-n hard. From the milliner to the ' dressmaker, and from the florist to the 1 glover, am! from exquisite pleasure to ex- i qulslte torture. It has been parsed and re- 1 passed without mercy. Think of applying' the same poor unfortunate word to the i torture of a South African In the Congo ! by a merciless brute of a men-shaped j ilemnn. and then to the gentle odour of a fragrant violet. "Pleading manner." That Is a phrase which should be Invalidated home "for good and all." It ia one of those mildly I meaningless, meant-no-harm, gentle Annie phrases which sound well applied to a i white kitten will) pinkieli eyes and a bow of very pale blue ribbon around Ita neck. "Fine taete" Is so suggestive of the cof fee urn or the cobwebbed bottle of the key-SUH.-iIed corner of the wine cellar that is Is justified in asking to be excused from the music room. "She played the second movement with tine flavor;" "he sang this number with a remarkably fine aroma." "Specially cummended" Is very reminis cent of the grocery store, or the breakfast food, or the summer hotel. "Her staccato effects are to be specially commended." Why not recommended? or "endorsed?" "Rare quality." Oh, how thoughtless to use this In connection with a musical af fair. Does It mean that it was not well enough done? It ia suggestive of the Club or Porterhouse Steak and tha succulent English Mutton Chop. "Uaye it rare, please." means that one does not want it "well done." It originally meant "thin." Could It be possible that critics have known this when they have used the word In describing some tone quality? "Colorature." There is another wrongly used word. It Is used with reference to agility, and the word Itself means colored and should be used with regard to tone color and not tona-agility. We will not mention the case of the "Superb rendering." As has been said before in this column, tt Is suggestive of tha lard pall an eminently respectable and necesary household object, but ona which Is not to be placed upon tha piano. But, why enlarge further? Tha case Is clear. The snow Is faling and the cars are crowded, and It Is time to go home. Nrt(t year wa may, hava something to say. A Happy Aw Year! THOMAS J. KELLY. Fifteen hundred seats will be offered at SO cents apiece on the occasion of the Schumann-Heink concert. January Bth. Much Interest Is manifested In this event and the above prices certainly compete with what we hear of "European privl leges." Miss Hopper further anuunces that she will present Dr. Wullner at the Young Men's Christian association audi torium on Tuesday evening, January 18th". SEASON TOLL ON THE LAKES Second Most Dlsnstrona History of Traffic Inland Seas. Tear In With tha foundering ot two ships, the burning of another and tha loss of fifty two lives tn the bitter cold and storm of the first week ln December, another seetton of navigation has closed on the great lakes. In serious disasters, loss of life and property and tragic Incident It has been one of tha most remarkable In the history of shipping on tha lakes. Storm and wrecks hava claimed more than 1X lives in the eight months since the first freighter forced Its way through the Ice floe which blocked tha passage ititu Lake Superior. Property of value es timated to be greater than fc,000.i)CO has been destroyed. Channels have been blocked by tha bulks of lost ships and the siiores have hardly been frea from wreckage since the middle of April. Tha dangerous coasts of the Atlantic rail hardly tell such tales of danger, suffering and death aa are written on the records of recent years in the history of lake navi gation. The great lakes are no more tamed than the ocean. They strike mare quickly and in t greater fury. The season . , . ! moi-t dtsustrous to shipping of any with , ., . ,.. tlv. , the excentlun of 1905. Tha property oss in that year was placed at tll.iKl. Fifty-one ships were wrecked representing ' a net tonnage of ,'JOS. The season ot VM was disastrous above j the average, aixty-two vessels of various ; sorts passed out of existence. These ves- j sels had a registered tonnage of 42,075 j and a carrying capacity of j.412. Their ' value was O.21J.000. Though this loss I was heavy, the entire sixty-two ships j capacity or valu. flv. modern freighters . of the larger type. . . T i . I? IJOT for y-elght ships w.r. lost of an estimated value or -700.000. In 1W fifty- unev were loiai wrecHs, representing a property loss of 1X34.000. . w .te.o.er muN.ruJon . the foundering of the car ferry Marquette and Bessemer No. S and the burning of , tne steamer tiarion. all In La km Erie terminates a season which opened ln- aoMnlelttiiKlir T - ,i anin W . .. . . ,h. i . w . ... .77, . April. They found open water to tha Soo. but tha passage Itself and Lake Superior beyond still blocked with Ice. The floes ex tended beyond tha range of vision on April si. out a. ready five vessels, eager ta In crease their earnings by tha earliest possi ble start, had gathered at tha boo and wars fast In tha lea. On that day tha first of tha upper lake disasters occurred. Tha steamer Eher Ward, grain laden from Milwaukee to port Huron, ran fa.rly Into a great Ice floe that was half submerged and almost Invisible. Tha steamer sank Ilka a stone. Vina of tha crew got to tha boats, but five went Jo a with the ship. aJlevetand DispatcU. Enjoy F'l Its cars are embody the IL Bell, Douglas 1823 OLD PLDS TREES STRIPPED Former Method of Picking Fruit in Insurance Orchard. LAST EXPOSE EEC ALLS OTHERS Brooklyn Scandal Revlvea Memories of tthady Ways of Insurance Examiners Away from Home. The remarkable disclosures concerning the manner In which former officials of 'he New York State insurance department se cured large loans from the Phenix Five Insurance company of that city, has pro vided the most sensational scandal that ihtt!, dfiVHl0Ped in insurance affairs since hi iiivesiigaLion oy me -Armstrong com mittee of 19UG laid bt.re the waste and ex travagance in the management of the three great life insurance companies of that city. The specific disclosures ln the Phenix case have been loans aggregating ta.DOO made to the late James F. Pierce while he was superintendent of Insurance tn 1X93 and K96; advances of flflO.oOO to Isaac V'ander poel while he waa chief examiner of tiie insurance department, between lic.19 and 19o; borrowings of Io8,100 or more by Rob ert H. Hunter, who was Lou Payn's special lieutenant, while that politician had charg of the Insurance Department during the Black administration, and while Hunter was tha first deputy superintendent of in surance tn that state; and advances of tfil. 1100 to William K. Bulkley. who was for several years the third deputy superin tendent engaged with the work at Albany. Hunter has explained that the advances to him were made by Deurge P. Sheldon, pres ident of the company, persona.ly. But the books show That the loans were carried bv the company. Sheldon was Indicted this week for misappropriation of the company's funds. "Janketlng Tours" for Examiners. For years it has been a favorite prac tice for the Insurance officials of western states to take a Junketing tour eat in the m-inler for the purpoxe of 'examining" various Jjew York Insurance companies. . . . ' These men used to represent the type .... .01 niirinuni-e wnirii ;s orainaniv seen at a conference of Tammaiiy hall leaders. ne decrepit politician who eame on a fe years ago for the purpose of looking Into the affairs of a great wall street fire insurance company, spent ttoree days in specting its books and walked away with a 1300 fee. In addition he received about I'S a duy for expenses, and since the same sort of performance was gune through with several different companies, his expense 1 item nr.ihlthL' n,,rr him naoi-Kr lhal It happened to be a great foreign , insurance company tnat ha was investl- , at tnat , . , raana(er of lhe concern, an underwriter of Interna- . ...... t ...,..(.. I reputation. sized up the situation Mrv,.M ut sl,rh , Uur tmtv t,tf nnur man for J10 a week, ompany nearly i0 an This Instance liov ever, was I'liin that of another western no wi'riti Insuutim I oom mis .loner who took a Journey of ev eral hundred miles ir order to tell tha r.,i st expert underwriters In the world how to manate thsir comranies. This man. too. was of a low political order, and had about as much knowledge nf Insurance af. fairs as a tuuior clerk In one of the f'.re offices ordinarily acquires sfter a month's acquaintance wliU the bi.t-iness. He malt demands upon one of the Hfu companies In a way which showed plainly that he In tsndud to rescind Its license to do business In his state unless they compiled with "certain requirements." His damand con sisted chiefly in letting him do sufficient work to earn a thousand dollar fe. Tne officers knew full well that the undcttak- C 4 Miniate Flowers and. CO u "The Safe Road to Travel built along lines of the most generous dimensions and latest electric lighting, heating and ventilating devices Electric Block Signals Perfect Track New Steel Passenger Equipment Dining Car Meals and Service "Best in the World" For literature ami information relative to rates, routes, etc., call on or address nTTY TICKET OFFICE, 1324 FARNAM ST. Phoaes Ing was useless and would not help tne. company or Its policy holders one whit, bui the fact that they had a r.ati of an unsa savory reputation to deal with made theru compromise with him uson a- basis which furnished the westerner with luxurious hotel accommodations for a week and sent him av iy with 1500 Christmas monev. as a fee. But this was not all. Tha official managed to work in a friendly attorney on the deal also, so that the legal end of the transaction probably cost the com pany 1230 more. "Investigation of Many Devils. ' But tha historic Incident of ail time must be what Insurance men no.v remlnlscentiy refer to as the "Investigation of Many PevTls." The story of that junketing tour ha never yet been fully told, but those In touch with the situation say that the aggregate expense bills for one great life i insurance compnny alone footed up 1(3, WK). It happened only a few years ago not so ' long before the Armstrong committee be gan Its inquiry but Its picturesque Inci dents will always be recounted whenever Insurance officials discuss the scandals of the past. It consisted of a Joint examina tion by many commlseloners, some of whom were highly respectable men wltn perfectly i honest Intentions. Several did their work well and cliamed reasonable fees. Others are said to have lived, a year on what they made In, those few weeks. They represented departments of various states which hail contributed an enormous volume of busi- ness to tha New York companies, both fire and life. These men hit upon the novel dea of having a Joint Junketing tour of several months' duration, with their own pet clerks in charge, and everyhody re ceiving a larger sum per day that he ever earned In his life before They began on one of the lifj companies that msiliua specialty of swelling its vol ume ef new business at "any old expense rate," In order to show a vast Increase ovir tiie business of the previous year. The result was that most of the new business cist them in commissions 7a to 90 per cent of the entire first year's premiums. The unscrupulous politicians saw that such reckless expenditure for new business In dicated a willingness on the part of the management to pay almost any fees for tha sake of being let alone. On reaching the company's office here the examiners held a conference with the officers, and told them plainly what they proposed to' do and what Information they sought. All the work was gono over, and the officers soon found that the undertaking meant for tha company the largest expense bill ever sent In by an examining force. A compro mise waa effected, but not before some of the officials hail been promised large fees, for their part In the work. In addition to almost ruinous allowances for 'ex pense items " Race fur r'rea. f Alter the examination was completed, it is related that olio of the commissioners chased an officer of the company half a block with the demand that his allowance shouui be r.OHO or "ft.ooo larger than it ' vated t the crowning heights' of power, was. It has nevi r be-n known whether j as. of course, compelled to h-sue a joIii the dishonest r-quest was grained or not, age without delay, and he did It on his own but the fact that the offle'al in question Incomparable scale. Among the coins which was ahle to n tire with a comfortable ; Napoleon had m.nted were some millions fortune after a few yar of such work ' r '-franc pieces, and the emperor deter led insurance men to believe that he git m" ei' tnat ne would popularise these coins all he ask.sd for In connection with the stories growing out of the same incident it 's said that the attorney general of ulle of the states whose Insurance official was concerned in the examination received a large llei onal fes fur Ills servi. es. in ad ditlon to the (C!.0ii0 allowance which he got from examining the titles of var'ous par cels ofreai estate. And most of the title work ciaicerned a class of property about which ha possessed no expert knowledge whatever. On another occasion it Is related that a commissioner from a southern state ac tually figured out the dimensions of tha company s safe to gain some idea of how many securities it held. This story seems Califor unshine VIA TO 21 too' ridiculous to be true, but it is repeated as actually happening In the downtown of fice of a great life company. The man was about as well euuliroed, to value tha company's assets as a blacksmith was to adjust the mechanism of a delicate watch. But ha enjoyed the undertaking hugely, as the company paid the bills for a grand outing for his wife and children. In addi tion to the various expense Items which I enter liberally into such allowances. It Is needless, to say that the work of this crea ture was without the slightest value either to the company or to tha state from which he hails, and that the proceeding was con ducted "for revenue only." , Besides the commissioners actually en gagwl in the "Investigation of Many Devils." they brought with them a whole army of clerks, with several highly puui experts and various actuaries whuH chief equipment for the service seemed to be their ability to make out large bills on the basis of extravagant per diem charges. One of the actuaries employed In this work was said to have been highly incensed al finding, from an Inspection of the com' pany's books, that a competitor of his was receiving a $11,000 yearly allowance from the concern as a "consulting expert." With tlie details of this transaction in hand, ihu actuary promptly demanded that he be added to the payroll at the same figure. He probably got the money. But the old conditions no longer exist. Fverv Insurance Henartmenr In the conn- lrv hllJ ,,, hv fnH . ... which fojlowed the historic Investigation of 1906. Abuses still exist, hut ln nothing like the degrae thst prevailed before Gov ernor Hughes conducted his merolless cross-examination in the New York City hall. Then, too. the laws of l.i made It a misdemeanor for officers of insurance companies to do now what thev hud not tho courage to refuse to do In the rush days of I!I2 and Vm. TJic New Yoik In surance department has neen reorganised and everv policy holder in the state enjoys better protection today because of the more competent supervision that is now af forded. New York Post. SEARCH YOUR VEST POCKETS Monte Ona Haa a Krrack rtve-Frane Piece Which la Worth T..100,0O. somewhere in thi.i wiiis world, posaibly In the collection of some numismatist, pos sibly among the relics kept by some lover of the great Napoleon, there is a mighty fortune, a sum-total of loud monev that would maku almost any man go wild with Joy. Somewhere, hut who knows where' W bat collector, a.l unconscious of the royal prise, has millions in his grip, millions he, perchance, will never even lrv to find,' 1 ' is a hundred years and fivs since, from Rhone to Rhine, from Alps to Pyrenees. tthe millions named Napoleon emoeror for i evermore. The rrcn iwi,n .i.,,. .i i " extraordinary way. In one of the 5-franc pieces, folded to a tiny sine, waa Inclosed a note, signed by th great Napoleon, and promtsing the sum of 5.uwi. 'Kt francs II. omi.imo ln American uii.ney to the finder of that particular coin. , Th" N"P"i,"! Hole is not a legend or a ...jrui il ia nown oy me iren van of j France that the emperor prepared and Si'fied that note an, I th.e .t m. .I.-.- ... closed in a 5-franc coin, which was promptly mixed with the immense number freshly minted and ready, for distribution. Thus tha note of the great Napuiaun went out lino the world and what became of It? Naturally, those coins were In great de mand everybody who changed a large piece j demauded tne new 5-franc coin iu ex- J 9 Independent, A3231 bsIbIbbWmS change. Everybody who got one, aa a rule, probed and dug and sounded the metal, in eager search for the hidden note. Tha . Rothschilds, it Is assertsd, had agents for years gathering thoHe coins all over Franca and even In the French colonies. But tha years went on. Napoleon grew great and faded, new kings ruled ln Francs and Uia Corsican's note did not appear. Popular tradition ln Europo has it that the Rothschilds finally got the note and cashed it. quietly and with no ostentatian. Tho writer has been told by scions of tlis family that this Is an error that the coin containing tha fortune never came Into the possession of the mighty financiers. An other Europe.m tradition says that Alex ander of Russia, after the allies took Parte, f und the coin; that he placed the note In the Imneriiil treasure vault of St. Peters burg, and that the Romanoffs have ltep: It ever since, letting the Interest accumu late, and each new csar agrees never to cash lha note until Rassta shall be In deudly need. This legend, too. is probably erroneous, Russia 'has needed money badly a great many limes since Id 14, and that note wouid have bein cashed lonj since had the Romanoffs ever found It. DexpltM the fact that Napoleon's note, at simple Interest, ia worth J7,.X0,iX)0 now. whilii the writer Is not a good enough banker to estimate its gigantic value at compound Intsiert, the French government stands ready to pay the debt upon demand. Napoleon's pllgbted word la a sacrel trust to the French nation, and the m:in wild brings Napoleon's uote can have the monev without a murmur. Who, then, has tha ncte? Who is ln position to enrich him self "bevond the dreams of avarice?" French authorities and numismatists de clare that there are not. In all probability, more than 2,.VK of Napoleon's S-frann pieoaa I left In the world todsy. Of these probabtv" 90 per cent are in tha private collections of Napoleonic atudents. Somewhere iinun thse collections in every probaoility, tha great fortune rests, hidden between tha shields of metal, a mine of wealth t Its discoverer, but destined, perchance, never to be found. New York Telegraph. . GIG PERCENTAGE OF WASTE teal fonaamed hv Loromoft vee anal the tgaaatltr leal la Action. One-fifth of a'l -he coal mined ill ilia I rated states hi Ii was burned In railroad locomni ives ui a cost to tha roads of l70.7o,iWii). according to a report sunmitted to the geological survey. The figures look large, but their prlnci- t pul "ignif icar.ee lies In the argument which U.eii analvils makes for tha conservation of natural resources. Prof. W. F. M. Cuss, dean of the I'nlversity of Illinois, who con ducted the experiments, reports that qf the :M iMiO.OliO tons of coal the railroads used .In lilki "10.UMi.OtiO tons are lost through tne heat In the, gases discharged front the stacks of the locomotives, fl.40.00n tons through cindars gnd sparks, 5.040000 tone througn radl.Ulun. leskags of steam and water, J.Mo.ilU) tons through unnonsumed fuel in the ashes and TX.OOO tons through Hie Incomplete combustion uf the gases. Moreover, ls.000.a tons are- censumad tn starting fires In moving the locomotives to their trains, in backing trains into or out of sidings aaid In keeping locomotives hot while standing." Van Norden'a Mag-' zue. The fact that Chamberlain's Cough Plem- ' cAy ne,uitnt to ,ake na" u,',,, l " vorue Willi nnuiimi .v.rjwncn. FOaTUJES MACE II WHEAT 110 buys options on 10.000 hu. of wheat. o rurther risk. lach to mnvemeic from option Drice nakaa vnu 11 uu :c-t'JO0. ac-iii"l. etc Write for free ,-lr. culars, COX.O"sIAI. STOCK si (esUUH OO aevaiaaa, Ohio.