The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-03-25
A Philadelphia Mystery.

Somebody or something has carried terror
into the hearts Of a number of Philadelphia
housekeepers by means of mysterious marks
put upon the houses by an unknown agency.
The Bulletin of last Friday contains the follow
ing account of it:
The marking still goes on, Notwithstanding
the police have been instructed to look out for
the markers, and are supposed to have been
doing so. The mystery is very deep. One
policeman up town says that he examined the
front of the houses on his beat about II o'clock
p. m, and saw No marks. In half an hour af-
terward nearly every house was marked, but
by whom that policeman didn't know.
The marks comprise crosses, lines, death
heads, figures, strokes, numbers etc. In some
instances rows of houses have been marked
without single omission. In others single
houses have been skipped as if by de-
sign. The general place of marking is under
the bell-pull, or the bricks under the window
SILL The article used is principally chalk,
but sometimes paint or tar has been rubbed
in.
Various theories are advanced in regard to
the object of the marking. The first marks
seem to have been dscerned in Kensington,
and they were attributed to men who were 60
ing about selling shoe blacking. The idea was
that one man marked the house he had visited
so that the others would not 20 there. Huck-
sters next came in for the blame, but on some
streets where they always went to back doors
the fronts of the houses were marked, and, Of
course, somebody else had to do that. Then
the beggars were thought of. 1t is known that
these fellows are in league, and generally notify
each other of the treatment they receive at
different houses What had heretofore been
done by words was now put into more practical
shape, and by means of the signs on the houses
tramp" could see at a glance what he might
expect The latest theory is that newspaper
carriers have caused the mischief by placing
the marks on the houses. The explanation is
that by the marks trouble will be avoided by
assistants, and when change of carriers take
place, the difference in the character Of Tie
marks representing different papers. An up
town lieutenant Of police asserted positively,
this morning, that the carrier for the Public
Record has sold his route and then marked the
houses along it so that his successor could see
where to leave the paper. Mayor Stokely re-
ceived some letters about the matter this morn
ing, but they do not throw any light upon the
mysterious subject. He didn't seem to be
much troubled about the mysterious "upris-
ing" but he would like his policeman to get
hold of some of the markers, and thus allay
the excitement.
A few days will probably bring out the full
explanation of the whole affair.
The same paper thus editorially comments
upon the mystery:
The fright existing in this city in conse-
quence of the presence of mysterious marks
upon many dweling-houses is even more gen.
eral and widespread than was indicated in our
mention of the matter. The marking contin-
ues, and in all parts of the city nervous old
ladies' superstitious servant girls and children
look at the cabalistic signs and shudder to
think that the day of doom is rapidly approach,
ing. Meantime, with an apalhetic disregard
of the gravity of the impending crisis,
the Governor has manifested no inten-
ton to place the military under arms; +; the
mayor has not distributed extra cartridges
among the policemen, and the ringeaders of
this conspiracy have not been arrested But
we are not so much surprised at this as at the
fact, disclosed by this panic, that there are
good many thousand grown people in this city
who have not as much common sense as might
be looked for in babies that have just learned
to talk.