The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-06-21
Another Idol Smashed.

The STATESMAN is friend to
antiquarians and adores his
torical relics, but at the same time it
must protect the unsuspecting from
being taken in by the unregenerated.
The State of Texas is honest and SIM
pie and easily imposed on hence, a
job is not unfrequently worked on
sit. The latest was that beautiful and
plausible story about General Sam
HOuston'S war cot, 1t was well got
ten up story, as is proved by the
STATESMAN and other prominent
state journals having been "taken in
by it for a little while-and, as for
that matter, all the other papers are
still duped. but this article will fix it
up. A STATESMAN reporter
versed in philology and beds.
and war relics and Gen.
Houston's history, and such scientific
matters, went into the office of the
commissioner of insurance, statistics
and history and examined that 'war
cot" In appearance it is indescrib-
able. Its appearance resembles a
tarantula laying on its back with all
it's legs punched and pointing up
wards, more than any thing else. The
directions instead of one. On the end
leg bearing this inscription: whit
marsh patent, September 10, 1882
On the "leg" opposite this is another
blass plate, bearing this
wonderful and curious device, in
characters difficult of translation, but
which the pathological editor finally
made out, by dint of hard study:
Brown & Lambert, agents, III
Front street, New York" Now, as
Gen. Sam Houston was not in any
Mexican war since 1886, it seems
some body stole his camp bed after
that and labeled it 1850 as the year
in which the pretended inventor, or
owner, advertises himself as the pat
entee. As the patent laws do not
permit a patent on an article or in
invention which has been in use two
years prior to the application for a
pate.t, it would seem Uncle Sam
would be wanting the man who OBJ
tanned a patent in 1850 for a bed
stead which had gone through
the war of 1886, with Gen. Sam Hous-
ton. 1t may be claimed that Gen. Hous-
ton had it in the mexican war;" and
not in the struggle of 1886. Indeed, a
veteran, with tears in his eyes sug-
gested this to the reporter as he was
demolishing the beautiful tented
field' theory of that old bedstead; but
the reporter cruelty and historically
remarked that the Mexican war
closed September 14th, 1848, by Mexi-
co making an unconditional surren-
der to Gen. Scott, while this patent is
dated September 10th, 1850. The vet
eran left, a broken-hearted man, as
he had tried to believe Gen. Houston
had used that old notwithstanding
bedstead in some war or
paign or battlefield. But we
have one more fact to add, and that
is: The chances are nine to one that
this old bedstead was made long after
1850, as tits not likely it was manu-
featured before the patent was OBJ
tanned; and, again, it is more than
probable that Gen. Sam Houston
never saw a bedstead, or anything
like it. We hate to say all this, but
we must. And, in conclusion, we
will state that the bedstead was pre-
sented to the state by a gentleman
who never said that Gen. Sam Hous-
ton ever saw it; he only said that the
one from whom he obtained it told
him that part of the story to make it
more valuable, in order to pa wn it in
pay for the repairing of a gull or pis-
toll. This is the true story of bed
stead; and we are panied at being
compelled to shatter another his
tOrical rnlic-idOl