Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-31
A Wild and wierd Harangue Inter-
spersed With Slanders.
SOME oANTElNFeRNo SKETCHES.
Sin STEPPED Nebraska and Rum Be
sotted Omaha Held Up 20
the Gazs of Few
Crank Followers.
A siandcrous Attack.

building was occupied, there being present
probably one hundred and fifty women und
children, and from fifty to seventy-fvo men.
The BEE reDrosontatlve did not arrive at
Tekamah until S:35, and by the time he
reached the hall Mrs. Cougar was in tho
very midst Of her pyrotechuics and the way
she was making tho fur fly was n caution.
She is woman probably verging close on
to fifty years of age, with rotuud figure,
and very massive masculine features On
the present occasion she was dressed IN
frock OF some plain brown stuff, with
yellow bow at her throat, and her
white hair done up in sort Of
Popocatapetl peak on the crown
or her mead. Seated back of
her on the stage, in u semi-crcle, was the
new Methodist minister Rev. Dayhoff, the
principal of the schools, one Beck, with his
hair parted in the middle, n quartette Of
young girls, and three little boys
When the reporter entered the Indiana
propagandist was in tho midst OF fiery out
burst descriptive of the dimensions and char
acter of Mr.. Peter Her as first class liar
and rumboodlst. With the cleverness of a
prestidlgitateur Mrs. Cougar would fly from
ller to woman's suffrage, from woman's suf
frage to temperance. from temperance to
politics, anu then back to Her. Iier seemed
to be the burden of her discourse for the
first half hour after the reporters arrival;
then she switched and jumped onto Omaha
with both feet, metaphorically speaking, of
course. After depicting what a slovenly,
vile, rum -besotted, sin-steepeu, bankrupt
metropolis this city Is, she told of
the beauties Of Iowa under prohibit
ton. How for seven years absolute
teetotalism had been enforced there,
how the great state had gotten out of debt
under this reign. and how she was out-strip-
ping the black blotch Nebraska made upon
the map IN prosperity, culture, wealth and
general advancement
Growing tired of this, she went back to
her pet theme of prohibition, drawing some
Dante Inferno sketches of the curse of too
much "lush,h comparing it with the old
slave trade in the south. Instead of bid
ding on those poor colored slaves in the ante
bellum days." she said. "it is these that the
rum seller is bidding on Come here!" she
beloved, turning and beckoning with her
hand to one of the little fellows sitting upon
the stage behind her. LAY down on your
back on the floor, want to show these good
people the sort of a sidewalk the liquor
dealers are building for thcm.n Then she
called the other boys and stretched them out
alongside the first, ana putting one foot upon
the delicate abdomen of the one nearest her,
she cried in Lady Macbethean tones, Here
is what the liquor dealer is bidding for day
after day; here is the sidewalk the fiends of
Bacchus are building for you fathers and
mothers and brothers and sisters to walk
OVer-UcnS OF thousands Oh tDeSe lllUle Qarl-
ings are bid OF by these devils every year"
This, of course, was very touching and
dramatic scene, and when over there wasn't
wet eye in the house.
Nj RS. Cougars next point of assault was
Mr. Rosewater and THE Bee and she pro-
ceeded to recount the notorious ISLANDERS she
had retailed at her Lincoln meeting the night
before; how THE BEE had been subsidized
by the liquor dealers association, and how
Mr.. Rosewater had connived with the liquor
n lar.c tn Haf, n ,pfof
and how he had been paid 81, GOO for his
work, and all of which she said the house
journal, with the reports of the legislative
investigating committee, would show Then
she specifically charged MIR. Rosewater with
having bribed or attempted to Dribe' the leg
islature, repeating time and time her specific
charges of bribery and corruption, and OK
horting the people to rebuke Mr.. Rosewater
by dropping his paper. eXpunging it from
their households and instead subscribe for
the New Republic, which is true prohibi-
tion sheet published at Lincoln, and for
which she is doubtless cauvasser.
Then she got in her work for the period of
aquarter of an hour in q full page ''ad'' for
the New Republic. urging every body to sub
scribe for 1t, that it only cost 81 per annum !
Then she artfuliy touched upon the collec-
tion question, talking low and soft and per-
suasively as the hats were being passed
round.
When the chapaux were returned with
their clinElng nickels and dimes, Mr. Dayhof
unjointed his lengthy form, and reaching
down in the capacious depths of one of his
cavernous pockets he 6shed up big,
bright John dollar, and pinchlng it gingerly
between his index finger and thumb he held
il aloft, high above his head, and turning it
from side to side, so that all the audience
could behold its beautiful simmer, he
halted moment IN tins attitude, as much rs
to say, Look what am going to do" then
ho walked over TO the stand and pitched the
huge simoleon into one of the hats, returning
to his seat like Alexander from his conquest
of the world.
At this juncturc Mr.. Rosewater, who had
accompanied the reporter to the rink for the
purpose of facing Mrs. Cougar in her sian
derous personal charges against him. and
demanding retraction, or at least the
source of her information, walked quietly
down the centre aisle, and in respectful
manner asked ''if he would be permitted to
ask the lady question"
Mrs. Cougar was evidently expecting him
and had possibly been apprised of his pres
ence in the hall, for she sprang eagerly to
the front of the stage and in Il loud, strident
voice, cried: "Mr. Rosewater cannot
speak in this house. Put hIm out. Gail on
the men of Tekamah to defend me. Arrest
him and throw him in jail"
In an instant ths hall was in bedlam,
and cries arose from all parts
of the house PUT him out
the river!n and bowling mob seemed about
to swoop down upon Mr.. Rosewate; and rend
him limb from limb. All this savage DEM
onstration, however, did not seem TO perturb
the gentleman TO any measurable extent. He
only folded his hands in front OF him, and
gazed upon the bowling dervishes as if he
was only amused at the circus being enacted
about him. Ninety-nine men out of hun
dred would have fled for their lives.
Mr.. Rosewater finally retired to the rear
of the hall, and the uproar subsidized. While
it was at it's height, however, there were
several gentlemen who crowded forward to
Mr. Rose waters aid, notably one farmer,
who exclaimed to the people. "Eou are hurt
ing your cause; this is no way TO act. MIR.
Rosewater should be heard"
After order had been restored Mrs. Par
melee, the president of the w. q. Il. u, at
the instigation of Mrs. Cougar, arose and
thanked the audience for rebnking MIR.
Rosewater. and for not allowing him TO speak
in their meeting. Then receiving another
prompting from Mrs. Cougar, she submitted
a motion asking that MIR. Rosewater be
censured by the meeting, and called Tor
standing vote. All of the men, however, IN
the house at the time, were on their ieet, and
the motion went through with q whOop
Mr.. ROsesyater denounced the stories told
by Mrs Cougar as lies, and stated TO the
crowd that they should have allowed him an
opportunity TO have defended himself when
he was being charged in such an unwar-
ranted manner with crime. but by this time
they were pouring out of the hall, and seeing
there was no chance for any sort OF a hear
ing. he left. and in company with the re-
porter proceeded TO the depot, where an hour
after he was placed under arrest