The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-01-23
BENJAMIN T. BUTLER.
A CORRESPONDENT NOTES SOME or
THE GENERALS IRREGULARITIES.
His Strong Points OF Individuaiity-yiews
which Generally Hun Counter to the
CommonIy-Acccpted One.-An
Unheroie Mishap.
New York Cor. Chicago Journal

NO man more ouu tnan benjamin ". Butte
comes % town. He is here now As b
walks In Broadw way, or sits In the theatre, O
goes into court in the practice Of his profe.
sion, he provides amusement for all spects
tori. Not many Of our notables are th
equals Of their oaricatures But no Dol
traiture OF Butler I'm the most hostile Q
comic journals is an overdrawinz Of hi
strong points of individuality. The regar
for him is a strange mixture OF ridicule an
respect Put him into a suit Of tattere
clothes, start him Off as tramp and b
would be 20 remarkable a figure In tina
grotesque walk Of life as to defy compet
ton, and make the dogs bark more In aw
than aggressiveness. But he wears goo,
clothes nd has that unmistakable air O
prosperity which Il sure 10 command tn
respect OF mercenary Americans.
"Butler is the Funniest man on earth" re
marks his fellow-lounger In the hotel cor
ridor
II am told that be has accumulated half
million" says another observer.
Instantly the sentiment in the careless
breast OF the first speaker changes from
amazed contempt TO serious admiration.
may not be the same i'm Chicago. but here il
New York a man IL known by the bank nc.
count be keeps. The fact that Ben Butler Il
wealthy through his own efforts IL enough *
make US respect him, In way; and trust
that / am offending no political
prejudice when / write that Butler
INDECENT would he merely ridicul
GUS crank, while Butler afiiuent
is admirably eccentric. 1t is true, however,
that he lis an unsolved puzzle to those nigh
him. The only certain conclu sion is that Ia
Is the most entertaining of men. His con-
.versation Is unique. His views nearly al
ways run counter 10 the commonly accepted
ones, and-stranger still-they do not inn
press the nearer as having been formed, like
those Of professional philosopher, for the
express and only purpose Of establishment.
asked him what he thought about journal.
ism for instance.
IL love reporters and l hate editors" he
answered. at is a common fashion TO re-
gard all reporters as liars On the con-
trary. have in a long and varied expe-
rienced. found them trustworthy. don't
mean TO say that there are not wofully
bad exceptions: Tut nine times In
ten the published interview, the
printed speech, the hurried account of
any public occurrence, is far more accurate
than the most conscientious and honest rec
election OF an unprofessional observer would
afford"
Butler is n man of varied accomplish
ments. He Is one OF the most elaborate Of
eaters. He is a sumptucus liver When in
New York, he literally demands the best
that a fashionable hotel affords in the mat
ter OF both lodging and meals He has the
exacting taste Of an artist, and something Of
the skill of one, too. A curious habit of his
Is the using Of pencil on his finger nails.
He uses the ends Of his fingers to receive a..
well as make memoranda; and, while much
OF the data thus manicured is dry and Stats
teal, there are numerous pictorial featureS
In his earlier years he was something of an
artist, and on returning from day or even
ing OF intercourse with his fellow man AMI
woman his nails are usually covered with
hasty, covert sketches OF what has particu-
LARRY impressed him.
However, / doubt IL he made the slightest
picture OF the funniest thing that ever hap
pened to him. 1t was In the Union Square
theatre, which is furnished with chairs that
are automatic to a degree, involving ma
chinery sufficient for steam engine to every
seat. These contrivances are the invention
OF Steele Mackaye, a curious individual,
who wrote "Hazel Kirke," devised the
double stage in advertising use Mt the Mad.
ison Square theatre, lectured years ago on
the Delsarte system Of expression by panto-
mime. Each OF the chairs belongs to pair
swiveled to n solid, iron pos, 10 which it
hangs IN dependen. uncer,aint, The
stranger who attempts To use IL
uninstrictei by an usher Is dis
mayed AMI dumfounded by the prob
lem of bow TO get into it; but, when manip.
uiated by an expert, 1t unfolds arms, a
cushioned seat, n peg to hang his hat on,
and even place for the insertion of his
umbrella or cane. On conforming himself
to the right angles for seated posture, he
hnds that the Mackaye chair fits itself to his
shape with wonderful GexiLi.ity. Not only
Ices IL conform readily TO the man with
hort legs to his long body, and to the other
nan with long legs to n short body, but on
inst.nctivsly for q yawn you
Ind that II NO far transforms itself into
ouch as TO all but deposit your head In the
ap OF the person next behind you. TIE
urther and AWFUL inherency Of this chair Is
hat, instantly on the sitter rising. IL auto
natically withdraws itself from under him
md adheres closely to its standard.
Behold Gen. Butler placidly seated In one
If Mnckaye's chairL He had enjoyed the
,alf-hour piece which opened the entertain
nent. for II was a neat little thing, and the
ong agone marrying Of an actress has
pecially interested him in the intrica-
les OF stagecraft His big bald head
eminded me Of the globe In the school az
NY childhood, than which no object Of ro-
undity has ever more endurably impressed
ne. His massive shoulders and length Of
'ody made him as conspicuous as most SIX
ooters, and all gazes were immediately
from the actors to him after the
all Of the curtain. At this juncture, when
% was the focus Of the audience, he rose 10
is feet for a stretch of his disproportion.
tely Lrief legs The chair silently folded its
intricate parts, and stole away to hug its
entral standard. The statesman, having
ettied the kinks in his calves, reasonably
imposed that he would drop gracefully into
lis seat again. The hard floor, away down
n the level of his feet, was the first surface
With which he came into cantact. His bulky
cad was just In sight, and IL was more gro
esque and Kaleidoscope in expression than
NY comic rubber dolls while distorted by
DO unheroic nature of the misha up and the
ilarity OF the spectators.