The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-25

Miss Carver's Trip, and the Agony of Mind 1t
Caused Certain Manageable Men.


| There has been considerable excitement in this
| town during the past week over the perform
| ances of young woman named Jennie Carver.
Jennie came here about two weeks ago from
some point in the East, and representing herself
unmarried and an experienced school
| teacher, she received about dozen proposals of
marriage before she had been here week. 1t
| turned out finally that she was pretender, and
now that she has gone the full measure of her
deceitfulness has become apparent.
AS near can be made out, the girl was here
| in the interest of number of New England
| women, or else she was employed as CORE
| spondent for newspaper. When Red Bank
| was founded there were ten times as many men
| here as women, and the scheme which was
adopted of hiring school maams and then
marrying them appears TO have caused
| inquiry in certain portions of the East
as to the desirability of young women com
| ing to this and other far Western
| towns with the idea of securing homes and hap
| piness. Miss Carver struck the town one rainy
| evening. and, proceeding at once to the hotel,
| secured a room and asked where the may or lived
When she had been informed she set out for his
house. and, arriving there safely, she held long
conversation with him. He escorted her back to
the hotel, and nothing more was seen of her un-
| til the next day.
| The news of her arrival spread rapidly and
nearly every man who had not already secured a
wife. dropped In at the tavern just to get look
| at her. The mayor reported that she was here
| simply as tourist though she might be per-
suaded to stay if there was good opening any
| where The school had been provided for, and
there was no immediate chance of work in that
| quarter. Several men wanted servant girls.
| and the citizens who were in search of
| wives thought she would do, but the fear
seemed to be that she would not stay long
| enough to give the people chance to address
| her on the subject of taking up her residence
| here. At length one man. Henry Blow, decided
| to interview her. He sent UP his card and she
received him in the parlor. Blow informed her
| that there was great scarcity of ladies in this
country. and that he would like to have her con-
| slider proposition of marriage
"Who fromP said she.
From me- or some Of the rest of the bows +"
| stammered Blow, getting red in the face and re-
cognizing for the first time the fact that he was
getting in tight place.
well, now, the young woman continued, "this
| thing is getting interesting. Suppose l should
conclude to take my pick instead of you doing
| it? Who sent you here2"
| Blow hemmed and coughed little, and said
| he came of his own accord He was afraid she
| would get away.
you needn't worry about that" she contin-
| ued I'm here to stay some time. Suppose you
come around here week from now. In the
meantime l am going to take in the town and
see how like it,"
Blow came away and reported that he was
afraid she wouldn't do at all. "She's sharpern
bowie, " he observed, and her eyes kinder look
| clean through you. l don't believe she is needed
here-at least, not just now"
After that there was less anxiety to have her
stay, though quite rs much interest in her as
ever. She was around town good deal, but
sought to avoid further interviews. When the
week was up Blow called again. determined to
back out if she accepted him. She greeted him
pleasantly, and began questioning him in a
| most searching manner. Finally she took out
pencil and paper and made few notes. In the
course of the conversation it leaked out that she
was here to investigate the town. and that it
was her inter ton to warn all VOunp
from it.
Blow then saw that something more than his
own interests were involved. The good name of
the town was at stake, and he resolved TO do what
he could to save it.
''What are you going to dol" he asked.
Il am going to write you up for just what you
are, the whole pack of you. This is no place for
young women to come"
But" expostulated Blow ''see the happy
wives here. Ask them about the town."
The young woman would do nothing of the
kind. Red Bank was fraud. and she intended
to write 1t up--ln fact, she had written up good
part of it already
Blow labored with her for some time, and
when he left her he notified the principal cti-
zens that they had got more woman than
| they needed He reported that Miss Carver.
was the agent for some Eastern female semi
nary or something of that kind; that she had
got the record of every man in town, and that if
her report was ever published it would kill the
place. When he said this, most of the men
turned PALE and few of them wanted to know
what part of the country she was from. After
long conference it was decided that she must be
| relieved Of her notes in some way before taking
her departure, and the landlord was informed of
the nature of the crisis He agreed to do any
thing that was necessary to save the town, and
it was decided that when she came to leave her
room should be invaded and her satchel investi
gated
This has been done. She left here last Fri
day, and while she was paying her bill two of
the boys got into her room, opened her satchel,
and, extracting all her manuscript, left wad of
blank paper insits place. A few minutes after
her departure the men who were in the secret
| assembled in back room at the hotel
and read the manuscript and notes. The first
was unfinished article on Red Bank, giving
the town hail Columbia, and scoring many of its
leading citizens. Almost every man in the place
was described in abusive terms. even the mayor
not escaping and about half of the women were
also made light of.
The assemblage stood the reading of the letter
pretty WE'LL but when it came to the notes it was
with difficulty that some of the men could be
persuaded not to follow the stage and arrest the
woman for libel. The worst of these notes read
as follows, except that the names were spelled
out in her manuscript r
Jacob F-y D'kn miner Loafer Breath like
pestilence. Had four wives.
jeremiah On. sixty years old. Left Lowell,
Mass, escape burglary Abandoned his wife;
Henry NJ. J-y, brute. Half civilized. Limps.
= Harting. Full whisky. Gambler Killed man
San Fran
Joshua Nh, one ear gone. Has photographs of
sixty young ladies in East.
| Peter ]. Az n. G. Long hair. No teeth.
George w. LII. Bgamist. Can't look you in eye.
When the citizens read these things they
looked solemnly at each other. and some one
asked what was to be done. The girl had not
| been gone long, and it was suggested that she
might be overtaken, but it was seen that that
would do no good unless she could be killed,
and no one dared suggest that. After free
interchange of views, it was agreed to wait a
while. She might come back. or, finding her
notes gone, she might tackle some other town
and be summarily dealt with. The people of
Red Bank were beginning to wish they had fol-
| lowed her up and scared her to death, when the
mayor yesterday received a letter from the Hon.
! Marston FL. Moore, member of the Legislature
from Perryville, which as follows
Ibave to inform yea that have saved your town