The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-18

SEEING THE SIGHTS UNDER DIFFICULTIES
age to earn livelihood by plotting visitors
through the corridors and galleries Of the
! huge building. Guides are az necessary in
this building as In the Mammoth cave
But for their aid Strangers would wander
aimlessiy about, getting Lost in some Of
! the laDyTinthine passages and missing
their dinners and the best parts Of the
| show.
The Capitol guide is very useful person
and a very polite one. He knowsaa about
tho building, which he has inhabited for q
dozen aud perhaps . score Of years. For q
half dollar he Will give you the benefit Of
| his long period OF observation and refec-
ton, throwing tn, by way Of good measure,
a few Of his original and unique thoughts
concerning men and things. He viii tell
you more about the Capitol than you have
ever dreamed Of, and Ia a few particulars,
I am sorry to say, moro than was ever
dreamed by any accurate and veracious his
torian.
These guides meet with acme strange ex-
periennes. They are called upon to escort
all sorts of people. There is no place in
the world, {" said one Of the guides, who has
lived in other lands than this, where peo-
pie are go determiuedto haye theirmoney's
worth. Very feYz Of our customers are
awed by what they sec. They ask ques-
tions by the million, and refuse to take
our word for some of the things which to
them seem incrsdible. Many time have
had my statement Of the weight Of the
great bronzs doors disputed by strangers,
who veantsd to bet me IS that 1 was either
mistaken or lying. 1t appears to be a
characteristic Of the Anaarican more than
of any other race that he hates being guyed
or led to, and is always suspicious that he
is being taken in By some call tala. In such
cases he Is ready TO talk it ont, and call
what he thinks Ii your little bluff with an
offer to settle the matter by wager Of s.
or $40 More than once I have taken the
trouble to back up my statements and con-
vince doubling customer Of my truthful
ness by consulting guide book. The sus-
picious Yankee Is always ready TO doubt
what Is told him by word Of mouth, and
equally ready to behsve what he sees in
print.
Zone Of the unpleasant features of this
business is the large family of children"
continued this guide. AZ have taken
through as many as a dozen IN one Job lot,
and right interesting they made 10 for ne,
too. OHs or two Of the younger children
were SO l1ISTna1Ay playIul EndG Cn6y puIted
at my coat and tried to climb up on things
and knock my has eff, and played all sorts
Of such pTaeks with a1e. One little fellow
was determined 10 run sway from his
mother and scxrs her ozt eS two or three
years of her lie by hiding away, and I
tired myself cut chasing him Then the
baby of the household. whom carried In
my arms for a time ont Of sheer pity for
the wearysnother, persissed In keeping I'D
q howl aA thFvugh ths CGpftoL 1t was
rather funny when one member Of con-
gFess came Hp to me and asked Il the flu
ture sbatesnasa wss practicing his speech
for my benefit, but when about thirty or
forty members and Newspaper men re-
peated the joke WAS more weary than the
poor mother.
Another thing which have noticed"
added thisgzSde, Is thein1epeodenceo tthe
wonsenofAMerca. Among our best custom
ers arc the young wenssn who coma down
to Washington all alone to see the sights.
Scarcely day passes that we do moo see all
the way from ora to dozen independent
girls who have determined to see the Cap
ibol, and who have Travelled alone perhaps
for two or threedays and nights in order to
do so. They come IN town, put up at one Of
heminor hotels or boarding houses, and