The Arizona champion., 1886-02-13

Special CorrespondenceC CHAMPION.
 WASHINGTON, D. C., February 9th, rSS6.-Surveyor-General Dement,, of Utah, has succeeded in making him. self the most notorious man in Wash ington, just at the present time. When he reached here about week since he made the statement that he had unearthed gigantic land frauds in Utah, and that one senator, formerly cabinet minister, had been paid S25,- 900, by a Mormon company, as a bribe, and he promised startling revelations that would fguratively make the hair of the country stand on end. Of course the newspaper cor respondents got held of the story, and that evening MT. Dement, was a much interviewed man, and the result was tcle yraphed all over the country. The next day Dement, was summoned before the committc on Territories, and there denied having made any such statements. The correspondents, among whom are Curtis, of Chicago, and Townsend, definitely assert that Dement, made the statements as they telegraphed them and furnished the paper they wrote on, as he dictated the supposed facts. The word of these gentlemen cannot be doubted, and Dement, isin an awkward predicament. He must either have been drunk or insane when he made the statements, or else somebody saw him immediate ly afterwards and ehectually closed lis mouth. But the matter will be probed to the bottom.
 Everybody here knows Jolly Joe Parrish of St. Louis, who has been trying to get a bill through Congress the last ten years, to recover some thing like S75, We'll, Joe has got his bill through both houses at last, ard has been awarded S5S,ooo. Just before the close of the war Par rish made a cont ract with the Gov ernment for 30, ,ooo tons of ice and started off 10 the Northern lakes to make his contracts for the supply. The war closed and about 20, GOO tons of the ice was left on Joe's hands, which he has been trying to get the money for ever since. Congress has decided he is entitled to the cost of the ice, but to no prospective profits Joe is the happiest man in Washing ton, and is settin' 'em up all around.
 Much regret Is felt among the old timers of the national capitol at the death of David Rice Atchison, who was president of the United States, for one day in I84o, and who died at Plattsburg, Missouri, a few days since, in his 7oth year. The facts of the case are these: He was president pro teM of the senate, and the 4th of March of that year falling on a Sunday, caused an interregnum Tn the official life of the executive of the nation for one day, and MT. Atch- lson, by virtue of his position, was president fer one day, between the time that James K. Folks term ex. pired and the inauguration of Zachary Taylor. Atchison was a senator for twelve years, and was twice president of that body.
 The Mexican side of the story con cerning Captain Crawford's death reaches here to-day, in dispatch from the governor of the state of Chihua. hua, to Senor Romero, the resident Mexican minister here. It states that about I5o Mexicans, under the con- mand of Major Corredor, reached a place in the Sierra Bavis, where they knew they were close on Geronimo and his hostiles. In the early morning they came upon what they imagined to be band of the hostllcs. They were satisfied that hostile Indians were coming up the gorge in which hey were posted, as they had an outfit and ponies such as the hostile Indians would use, differing entirely from what U. s. army outfit would be. They at once opened fire, which it seems was returned with deadly effect by Captain Crawford's s:outs. The Mexicans claim they lost Major Cor redor, who was killed by the first vol ley. Command was then taken by Lieutenant Juan de ia Cruz, who was also killed, together with three private soldiers, and four others were badly wounded. The report makes bitter r.