The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-11

ai~IssBH VII |
THE HOUSE IN A TREE.
that the door is barred ana they are i'm
priSpnod About year ago "A Texas crank
presented hinlsnlf rs "A silent caudidat" FOR tho
presidency said he. My pvnpic told mc /
would bc king if / stayed IN "A tub of cold
water all night. dbl 50, and | heard the
whispcrings Of inspiration l expect that
George Washington will soon appear and
cover me with jewels. ! want 70 pre-
sent myself To trr president as a silent
Candi,lat" for the next term IN the White
Huuss.' Ifa was, al course, not permitted t.
sgs tn. president and what byrumr of him Is
not known About the patent pilicc yUu may
oir"n 80 thc experimentation crank aud
numbers nf lcttcI,' are COTTON at thu patent Of
icc daily from Icppl, who claim t. have sue
c,-SCuIy invented this. ono OF tbr examiners
t..l,- mc that au ODD man and his Nou walked
all the way from Tvnu,e-'c not long ago to
patent perpetual notion tut on being asked
To- furnish working Ht'-irl- and h"inE
shown that their id,.i could not ~us-rt,i, they
Went away ia despair There urc crauks who
want seats iu tlr cabinet and there are
numerous cruui- who think they have the
right To- - int. the Treasury and uS' the gov
cruui,fIt money AS they rhu,.-,'. Now and
thrI. &, religious cr5tuk calls upon some VI the
SnuIety L,di.~ ia Washington, and not long
20 one presented himself la u l,aolin. sen
atrr'S wifi and sh" got ria of him by hunInr-
Ing his religious dclu~iors
emo uf the most noted crauls about Wash
iu-tnm was an old man named Ijnchuycr,
vino Ld Il number of drlu~iuH, and who used
to come into tho White House and congress
ami the Vuriu.ls departments, and make his
demands ia very noisy manner He Is in
the asy lun now near Washington, | think,
ami when 1 last sIw him ne wa, being car
ricd ont of the house of representative, 10y the
srrgcaut-at-arms and yelling like "a tr"opcr.
There are a number Of queer characters ia
Washington who can hardly tie labeled
CrankS, yet who are 81 different from the aver
age run of humanity that they come very
close to it. One of thcsc i PR. Mary Walker,
WHO struts about Washington in mems
clothes; wearing hlack hroadcluth pantaloons.
patent heather boots, Prince Albert coat
and n plug hat She Is n short haired little
woman of less than five feet, and her hands
and feet are small She has n weakened,
driod-Up face, und she looks like "A funny
little dwarf rs she struts about with cane
taintiiy held between her fingers. She likes
to bc secn, and Wherever there Is "a respect
able free crowd you viii find her III 1t. She
calls upon the president, representatives and
senators, and she does not uhIcct to Office
whcu she can get II.
\ queer woman about Washington is an
old lady with high bonnet and IA doughty
complexion. You soe her often about the
Capitol. and no one seems 10 know much
about her. / think she lives at the Louise
Home for OId Ladies, and | understand she
has thc blood IF the best families Of Virginia
in her veins.
The man who lives in a tree is fast acquir-
ing Ii national reputation. He calls his home
Airy Castle and hc has lived in il now, win
ter and summer, for several years. II con
SiSts of tent like house, built upon pine
platform fastened between two oak trees
The walls of the house are wood, hut the roof
is "A tent of ri!Gcd shape Tho platform
r. | should judge, thirty five feet square, and
it is fastened 10 the trees as high up from the
ground us is the first story of IA business
building. He goes up to 1t on ladder, and
he has wide platform outside On which he
can come during hot evenings in summer
and enjoy the air He has the interior of
his tent house comfortably furnished, and he
heats il with an oil stove. With n table or
two and chair and good bed, and with
pictures and photographs strung about the
room, he has very comfortable bachelor quar-
tiers, and thinks he likes the notoriety which
his queer house gives him. He is IA clerk in
the pension office nt 81 800 n year. He is n
onc-armcd man, dark whiSkcrcd, pleasant
faced, and about 40 years of age.
Ono of the queercSt men in Washington is
n man who brides himself on his shape and
who pads himself out of all recognition. He
is a tall bruad-Shouldcred fellow, with face
like that Of a bully and with eyes that never
appear - licking at any one or anything.
His h.,s,u shoulders are padded with many
inches Of cotton, so that his blue flannel coat
falls in at The arms where the padding ends.
He has very large cuffs and these arc long
that you cannot at times see his hands, which
are very small and remarkably white His
feet ;.gc also small, and he wears boots with
high French heels. His head Is iargc, hut ON
its top he has little flat derby several sizcs
too small for him, and this he pulls down half
over his ewes, making him look like a drunken
sailor OF the dude order You always sgc
him about tin, book auctions and find that
hc has one of the finest libraries IN Washing
ton. - knows all about books and seems 20
have plenty OF .Ig1lvv' His family i, !
derstsnd rich, ami he =, given a big allow
ancc annually To us H. h. plca~,s.
Thesenra but specimens of the many cranks
in Washington Any night, about the hotels,
You Iuav strike u long haired man,
and GA TIN streets you will daily short
haired women. Men with hobbies conErc-
gate here and there are always plenty Of
str,vt preachers. iutilrl> AMI mon with
striking ideas ready Ia haranEuc any crowd
they can get together At the Capitol the
crank tlsriv1s and multIphe- ~ the years 20,
anil the man who stripped himself thu other
day and ~to,ll naked in tn" rotunca at mid
dny. IN trudiu.. L. think himself statue has
had his ,1uutcTyuTts ia times past, though us
yet no ones craHkineSs has taken Just thc
same direction
FRASk GEORGE CAEPENTER-