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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1913)
8 tf n rs at t 1 he Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page i Copyright, 181J, by the Star Company, tireat Britain lUshta neaerfeO. Hood ooe of Jc Will Washington's Commercial Club Break the Chain of Horrors Which Makes Its Hew Home a Place of Dread or Will It Jldd Hew and Weirder Links? THE moat Implacable of spooks, with a terror-Inspiring rocord covering a century and a quar ter almost the whole oxlstonco of the National Capital at Washington has been boldly challenged by tho Commercial club of that city. They hayo bought tho land which rooks of murdor, suicide, deaths by Are and mystorlou Infection find tho un tannlest ghostly visitations that havo vcr figured in ghostly history,, and Are spondlng 1120,000 to convert this awesome spot Into a cheerful f&tre of Washington club life. Although three soparate buildings liave successively taken the placo of ae lonely cottago whero, In 1702, a record of horror began, the ghosts have remained with tho land. They rendored uninhabitable ovon tho present handsome mansion which "Baron Roson occupied with his famlb Surlng his period of sor- vice as Russian Ambassador, Tho wife of DakhraetlctJ. tho Daron's suc cessor, a WashlngtoS sjlrl, familiar with Its history, would nave none, of It It has remained vacant and .voided for tho daring members of the Commercial Clul :o recon struct and occupy, while tho oldor generations of Washington society await with shivery confldonco tho resumption of the apook'a blood curdling activities. This .persistently haunted spot, latterly known as the Tyler houeo, Is on tho south side of Farragut square, almost In the centra of that fashionable resldencb district. On the same spot stood tho mansion oc cupied by Secretary of the Navy BenJamlatF. Tracy and his famtly during the Harrison Administration. The Tracy servants wore fright ened out of their wits by tho ancient 3 wok's malicious activities. The. I max of horror came with a con flagratlon In which Mrs. Tracy and her daughter lost their lives. Out these ghosts, which had remained with the land although the cottage of their origin still stood, moved out to, the Junction of tho Brlghtwood. road with Mount Pleasant proved themselves fireproof. To be readily Intelligible, the story begins with tho building of that fatal cottagtj back Ja 1782 co incident with the earliest work upon jwaat, during a century and more. TbanACentOr, SS ' Jl ) i JEW ft I has dovoloped into the finest legis lative structure In tho world. Tho bulhlor of tho cottago was a young English stonemason employed on tho Capitol foundations. He built It with his own hands to bo a loving welcome to the blue-eyed, golden haired woman whpm ho had. sum moned to Join him In his now pros perous stato from across the soa. Tho beautiful, goldon-halred bride camo, and waB enchanted with tho homo proparod for her. Whoa, he loft homo in tho morning, with his heavy stono-chlpplng hammer and his kit of tools, she walkod 1 with him among tho roses to the gato and kissed him goodbyo. Sho .waB there, to4 moot him' on his return; at night often with-her groat" masses The Daughter of Baron Ro en, Whose Noire Wars Wracked by the Weird Sight She Saw While Living in tho "Hoo doo" Home. mm H I, ill a Ex-Secretary of the Navy Tracy, Whose Wife and Daughter Were Burned to Death in the Hoodoo House. afire it -ir to ll ,t?. of sunlit hair floating about her graceful form. Those of his fellow workmen who were permitted to visit at the cottage did not wonder at tho husband's adoration. .But they did not realize that the demon of unreasoning Jealously was harrowing him into Insanity, that he was conjuring up all sorts of in juries to himself during the long hours when his treasure was alone In tho cottage. Cunningly he con cealed his jealous madness from her. No suspicion assailed her when he retumod ono sttornoon earlier than usual with the tale that the night watchman at tpe Capitol was 111 and he must serve in his stead. Having flnlsbod his supper, the stonecutter kissed his wife, took up hts kit of tools and was off. Until some time after dark he re mained away, then, with swift .and silent footsteps, he returned to find the cottago dark with closely shut blinds. But from between them streamed out from the sitting room a narrow bright ray. On the instant, with every magnified Jealous fear augmented be rushed noiselessly up the steps, on. to tho side porch and, giving the Venetian shutters a quick turn he gazed full Into the brightly lighted room. What he saw Heaven only knows or If. indeed, he ac tually saw anything at all mora culpable than his wtfo entertaining some caller. Whatever it may have been, real or fancied, the sight turned him frantic. He snapped the shutter asunder, raised the sash and valuted Into the room. One glance at her husband's face revealed to the poor young wife that murder had possession of his heart, and that naught tout flight might save her. With the fleetness of the WasMnKtOB Commercial Club's New Home, Situated on a Spot Which Reeks with hunted deer she sped up the steps Xfwviy- maA Km for Years Bn Haunted by the Vmannlest Ghostly Visitors. 2-w15i-th" 'lozy wheIe't tage window open ing outward. Closely fastened for the night she could not open it be fore tho madman, rushing close upon her heels, caught and held her relentlessly. With his stonecutter's heavy hammer ho literally crushed out her life." This done, seizing her by the long bright hair he had so adored, he dragged her down the steps and out of tho front door, down through tho rose garden, over the muddy road and into the thickest of the belt of woodland, which later was to form the delightful old garden of Corcoran house, on which now look out the windows of the former Army and Navy Club and the Rochambeau apartment house. Then he wandered away, no ono knows whoro, to be gone for several years, until lured back by some aw ful Instinct to the scone af his lovo and happiness and frantlo crime. . Not for some days was the mur der discovered; not until friends go ing to call found the houso open and deserted, with a trail of blood down tho stairs, across the thres hold, and hero and there still in horrible little pools along the road way to tho woodland whero tho mutilated body was found. When, later, tho stonecutter was taken into custody bo mndo no denial but with horrible frankness gave every revolting detail of tho wan ton murder for which he was sum marily hanged. For years the cottage with its rose garden and the Nubian blacka moor (standing guard at the gate stood idle a haunted house, shunned by all In daylight as In darkness. Then) suddenly one sunshiny morning the place was opened up as If by magto and workmen ' completely removed the disorder ,lnto which through the years of abandonment and neglect. It had fallen. It was a quiet neighborhood with few curious onos to make Inquiry even thon a retired spot selected for this very reason by the wild young son of a wealthy Congressman wherein to luxuriously establish the beautiful young woman with whom he elected to set up his household gods without benefit of clergy. A fast life the young couple led a life of drink and card playing, in which the gayest of tho gilded youth about town uproariously took part A fast life it continued until the merry pace came to a sudden stand still as the. young fellow, In order to pay a so-called debt of honor, forged for a large amount the name of his father's dearest friend. The friend sought him out and con fronted him at the club with his .crime. Tho distraught youngster rushed to the cottago and told his story, wlklly accusing his companion of being the cause of his ruin. Then he blow out his brains and fell a corpse at her feet. f It was In Winter, and snow lay deep over the roadways of the city. As the servants rushed with blanched faces Into the room they saw their mis tress In a dinner gown, with thin slip pers, standing mo tionless, gaxnlg at her lover's corpse. A moment later, brushing past the agitated onlookers, rending the air with her shrieks, she rushed into the night For days she was a wanderer, with reason completely gone. hen finally she was discovered, lying exhausted on tbs frozen ground. she lived but a few hours and without uttering a word. Many years went by, years In which the charming honeymoon cot tage stood deserted and shunned. Then ono fine day tho property was purchased by an army officer, Colo nel Bacon, who, having married a MIsb Stoughton, of Washington, was fully aware of what ho was doing. With the true military spirit of hit ting at the root of things, Colonel Bacon announced that the cottage was for sale at a ridiculously low figure, and a purchaser having been found who undertook to put it on wheels and move It far away to tho Junction of the Brlghtwood road with Mt. Pleasant, whore It now stands Intact. Again Washington society stood agape, propounding tho query, whether the curse went with the house or remained with the land. Colonel Bacon, and his wifo, build ing themselves a handsome house on 1 tho haunted site spent a number ot happy years, until, Tmlng ordered away Just as the Harrison adminis tration began, tho moment was au spicious for leasing the house to Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy. With the awful tragedy of the Traoy fire, which resulted in the burning of the Secretary's wife and daughter, and of the latter'a maid, the wholo world Is acquainted. Every monarch in Europe gave sympathetic recognizance In telegrams which lit erally showered upon the stricken head of the United States Navy. That was the last sacrifice of nu man life upon that fateful spot When later tho Augustus Cleveland Tylers bought the property, and, tearing down every trace of the fire scarred house, built the splendid mansion which the Commercial Club has JUBt purchased for Its future homo, every one regarded them as brave Indeed, and looked for some thing tragic to mark their occu pancy. No sooner were' the premises In or. der and the family arrived than the place was ordered under quarantine by the Health authorities, as one of the maids had contracted scarlet fever. As she was a faithful crea ture, Mrs. Tyler would not hear tc her being taken to a hospital, but in. stalled her In the upper story. This ended the Tylers' hopes as entertain, crs. No ono cared to visit tha "haunted, house." Tho Tylers began to be bored to death. After a couple ot seasons they moved away "for good and all." This evacuation was followed by a series of occupancies by wealthy people, all more or less known. The Seth Barton Frenches established themselves thero Immediately after their marriage, and Mrs. French, fresh from a long residence with her parents In Greece, gave some delightful Illustrated lectures in the grand salon, which, overlooking Far ragut Park, will undoubtedly be the Ghost j Mrs. Seth Barton French, Who Escaped the "Hop doo" by Hurriedly Leaving- the Haunted House. favorite lounging room of the Com mercial Club. But the ghosts so de moralized their servants that they had to give up the haunted residence. When the Bakhmetieffs were ap pointed to succeed the Rosens it war generally supposed that as the Rus sian Embassy is still unfinished that they would lease and occupy the Ty ler house on Farragut Square. But no. Mme. Bakhmetleff, being a former Washington woman, and having spent all her girlhood in the old De catur house on Lafayette Square within a stone's throw of the Tyler house, would have none ot It Had not the nerves of Baron Rosens daughter been wrecked there? The membership of the Comm.er cla Club Is over five hundred. Will habitation of the ghostly premises by such numbers, will the gayety of modern club lite ban ish the wraiths of the murdered stone cutter and his beautiful wifet Washington Is awaiting with inter? st the answer to that question