The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-05-14
SEEKS AFTER TRUTH.
DENVER MATCHMAKER TO DWELL
WITH. NATURE, FAR FROM CROWDS.

-;'sis
VIII Travel I'm Novel wagon-Hidden
Secrets Will Be Fathomed-such the
Eastern Mystics Have Learned on Tibets 8
Lofty Heights.
Elisha Lane of Denver has just started
out on an expedition SO novel that the
paltry quest of Diogenes for an honest
man is, child's play compared with it.
Mr.. Lanes mission is ''to wrest from
nature her secrets and he philosophic-
ally proposes to go about this task by
quitting himself in harmony with ma
ture.'
To this end he has had built house
wagon in which he will travel from
Denver clear through to southern Cali
fornia, halting by the way wherever the
lisp of leaves, the brawl of mountain
streams or the soughing of winds in
primeval forests seems to be telling the
secret of which he longs to become pos
sessed.
This latest seeker after truth will not,
however, travel alone. He will be ac-
companied by his wife and three little
children, aged years, 3 years and 10
months, respectively.
The itinerant home fer this family
cost $3.50, and it will be drawn by two
horses. It is 1s feet long, feet wide
and 6 feet high, and is made of pine
boards ~ inches wide and three-quar-
ters of an inch thick, placed vertically.
Under the drivers seat is a tool box,
the space beneath the body of the wagon
is to be used for storing household goods,
and at the rear is a feed box for the
horses. The entrance is at the rear
through a door of polished oak with
glass panels. and the interior is quite in
keeping with this handsome entrance.
The floor is handsomely carpeted, the
portieres are hung on bronze rods, the
walls and ceiling are artistically pa
pered and the two windows, 30 by "a
inches each, are provided with dainty
lace curtains.
Across the front end Of the wagon an
oak seat runs which becomes the sup
port for the head of bed, which is re-
leased by spring from it's position in
the wall. A bed similarly devised is at
the left of the door.
By careful economy in space this
room also contains a tiny chiffonier, a
plate glass mirror, washstand, fold
ing writing table with drawers and
pigeonholes, and stove, the ashes of
which will be dropped to the ground
through sort of funnel.
Every detail of this conveyance was
planned by Mr.. Lane himself, who Is
man Of about 81 years and watchmak-
er by trade. He was born in Bowling
Green, KY. He married Miss Carrie
MacFarland of Leavenworth, Kan. and
lived in Kansas City until July last,
when he removed to Denver. In appear
ance Lane bears striking resemblance
to Schlatter. He is entirely self educat-
ed. not to say uneducated, for by his
own confession only two years ago he
was unable to read Shakespeare with
any appreciation of his meaning.
The sum total of his philosophy as ex-
pressed by him is: ST claim that there
is some secret force, some hidden power
in nature, which men have not discov
cred. A few men have caught faint
CLEANS Of this occult force, and thereby
they have become wise beyond their
generation. Luther was one of these
men and Schlatter is another. To gain
this knowledge man must follow ma
ture, and it is for that reason that al
low my hair and beard to grow. When
I reach the mountains, shall hope to
touch that higher state which has en-
abled the adopts of India in Tibet to ac-
quire their mystic power"
In order to sustain the material man
on the way to the wellsprings Of "Hid-
den Truth" Mr.. Lane will halt from
time to time in mining camps and in
small towns, and take heed of time by
mending watches and selling eyeglasses
New York World.