The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1895-05-22
WEDNESDAY ....... MAY %, 1895.
TwEEo's FAMOUS CLUBHOUSE.

Gold Coins In the Mortar. the Flagpole and
the Famous Carpet.
MIR E. Z. Benedict's negotiations for
the purchase of the Indian Harbor hotel
property at Greenwich, Conn, nave re-
called many stories about the Americas
club and William M. Tweed. Among
William NJ. Tweed's nearest friends it
was known that two men used to accom-
pany him almost everywhere as a sort
of bodyguard. Tweed always had q
horror of heing stabbed and a feeling
that some enemy was waiting an oppor-
tunity to thrust a knife into his abdo-
men. These men were instructed to pro-
tect him, one OH each side, and. in
walking in q crowd, to keep a few PAGES
in front of him. One of these men was
an FISHERMAN. whose home was i'll
Greenwich, and he was not only Tweed
faithful friend. but his valet as we'll
He died not long ago.
Not many of the guests who have
wandered through the drawing room OF
the Indian Harbor hotel in the last ID
years have known the history of the
wonderful carpet beneath their feet, and
yet it is so famous that men interested
In the production Of such fabrics have
travelled hundreds Of miles to examine
it. 1t was made in Brussels in 1870. 1t
vas ono entire piece. and the loom upon
which it was woven had to be made ex-
pressly for its. manufacture. With all
the pounding and humping and aa"o
tug or the muIrltudes that for nearly a
quarter of a century have used it it is
still bright aud thick. There was a good
deal of talk about this carpet in the
palmy days of the Tweed ring, and
some members It the club did not agree
with Tweed about the purchase Of so
expensive q floor covering. 1t was only
Tweed's persistence and the carelessness
with which he spent money that finally
settled the matter.
II van something on that floor"
said he one day, that will last as long
as the building does. There shall DO no
seams in it. so that when 1t is cleaned
it can be raised to the roof, edge up
and beaten from the windows.
1t Is said that this beautifully woven
OAA POo hno bCNOA u III buO lOOAp
and that IL lies just as it was originally
tackled down in the spring Of 1871. II
cost o great deal Of money, and the inn
port duty upon 1t was very large. No
one but Tweed really knew what 1t did
cost. except perhaps his secretary. Charles
Hall, and probably he will never tell.
The nap still gives beneath ones fest,
and the colors are as fresh and bright
as when Tweed and his satellites made
the room ring with merriment and sip
ped champagne beneath the glitter Of the
great chandeliers. AT the corners of the
are tiger heads, and underneath
one car still plainly read the letters
"a. c."
1t was a queer freak that the clubmen
had Of touching every new thing with
gold. Every new boat that was launched
had its golden rivet. and at the laying
of the cornerstone of the clubhouse a
peck basket full of gold and silver coins
was buried in the mortar. Some search
may be made for these coins. The club
f1agpole had a gold eagle nailed upon
it's apex. and the knobs of the lockers of
the yacht Mary Jane Tweed were deco
with quarter eagles. The yacht
also had q gold eagle at her topmast.
This was Twsed's favorite craft, and
she often came bowling along toward
home with Field Point on the lee shore,
the gold at her topmast rejecting the
sunlight with bright flashes.
1t was this craze to make a free and
use of money, and particularly
gold, that led to mailing gold dollars in
the eyes and teeth of the tigers in the
carpet. 1t is said that a carpet tack was
driven through the center OF each dol
lar, and the constant wear of many feet
all these years has kept the coins bright
and glistening, although the casual OBJ
server might easily mistake them for
golden spots in the web and wool of
the fabric itself. New York Sun.