The morning times., 1896-07-26

a character, was Hines. He used to say i
WASH married till was iorty -nve: not
till was iurty y-Iive, sir. Ind ! have III teen
children, sir; Iiiteeni Thlnk the L<ud
didn't marry sooner, tor no telling how
many would have had. And we never
knew whetler he WIS lpkihg Or teiL serious
over r,hen nattcr. But theeoDtinuousiy amused
us with such and kinured statements. y
Director OF the Mint x. E. Preston rs one
OF ti,e three nity-tnrees which inclHde Mr..
Lockwood and Mr.. Hobbies. He came into
government service as u boy, and has known
all the Treasurersand Secretaries and promi-
nent men since. Mr.. Preston recalled with
especial yividness the days of the war when
the Confederates were making strenuous
endeavors to reach Washington and capture
the Treasury. He says the most critical
time was the morning after the first bat
tie of Bull Run, when the soldiers came
struggling in, wounded. bleeding, discour-
aged, with stories OF hopeless outlook. Then
1T was that from day to day, with the snap
psng of scouts and pickets' guns across the
river, no one felt secure of the morrow.
These men stand to the fore as the vet
Grams OF veterans. Whenwe come down to
the consideration of those who have been
In the department since 1850, they begin
to multiply. Especially conspicuous in the
lists are the women. Those who have seen
long service are as numerous as their
brothers. Best known OF all the women, or
OF the men, either. for that matter, in the
department is Sophie Holmes.
A STRANGE ADVENTURE.
No one who has ever been connected
with the Treasury but kDo ws Sophie Holmes.
Sophie, as She is familiarly and affec-
tionately' called by all who know her.
entered the Treasury in 1862, one OF the
first negro women to receive Federal
appointment as free woman, A part OF
the lore of the Treasury, and surely the
most Interesting OF all the many curious
things that have happened TO her, remains
her experience one night in the first year
of her
Sophie was born in Georgetown; she was
appointed from that town, and has always
lived there. Her first duties where as
charwomaD. When at O'Clock the offices
were closed it was her duty to go about
with duster and rag to make presentable
the rooms of the clerks. One night the
giri-Sophie was only a girl then-was
busting about as usual, wien under the
tables of one of the clerks offices she
found one of the boxes such as usually
held the new bank notes. 1t was covered
over with waste paper, and Sophie at first
itiiStoh lnt Uthp pDssipiS
for the bonfire. Had she acted on her
first impulse the distinction would prop
ably be hers OF having built the most ex-
penslvc small or large bonfire in the his
tory of the world.
She was nonplussed, almost stupefied, in
her surprise. She was new in her position.
aud did not know what to do. She did not
know which of her fellow-laborers orwatch-
men to trust If any. So she simply busted
awayiu in hopes some one she could depend on
would come. 1t is not of record how many
busters and brooms and rags Sophie wore
out that memorable night, but she did
keep nm her feint OF work unwilling to
leave the treasure box to other perhaps
untr ustworthy hands.
BED OF BANK NOTES.
Often the watchnan came by 10 inquire
if Sue was not done, but she only kept TO
her work aud called back "Lor' no; not
near Finally the others finished and left.
The watc,nan made his last round, forgot
Sophie, put out the lights and went the way
of all watctmen-tO sleep.
About this time Sophie ma aDIfested a SIM
liar inclination. She sat down on l,er nys-
terious box, arranged her short skirts about
1t SO as to conceal the nature Of her stool,
and she. too, went to sleep.
Gen. Spinner was at the time treasurer of
the United States. He was known as the
Watch Dog OF the Treasury. So assid-
uous was he in his work thatn OF only did he
spend his day and evenings in the building,
but he had a cot in his office, and there he
slept 1t was his cautious custom to prowl
about during the night to see that alt was
well. On these journeys lie wore ill-fitting
carpet slippers, which, as they flapped
on the stone corridors. belied theshrewdness
of the cautious ,watchInan.
The slippers betrayed his coming. The
Z lip flap even awoke the tired Sophie.
She recognized the prowler, and knew 1t
was at last one she could trust. So she
,alled him from the DARKNESS. Tradition J.
loes not say how astonished the brave
general may have been, but he came to
Sophie and made inquiry of what She
She handed ovcpto him the box
she had guarded Together they went and
-oused the watchmen and they went to
safety room. There the box was securely
ocked, and Sophie went home to George
own, weary after her faithful vigil.
When she came next day Gen. Spinner
old her that she had guarded over quar-
ier of a million OF new money, and for her
aithfulness he appointed her to the posi-
ion which she has held ever since.
Sophie is modest Of her famous adven- |
ture, and feels that She deserves no COM |
nendation ford ding what any honest woman |
hould. She handles daily as much money |
IS she guarded that night in '62, and her |
hiefs look upon her as one of the most |
trustworthy employees Of the department |
SOME OF THE OTHERS.
A complete list would entail a canvass |
II the labyrinth of the Treasury, and |
ersonul interview with each OF tie Gle rks.
hose mentioned have been the longest in |
eryice. In tire middle sixties there
yere many changes winch brought IN new
eople, some of whom remain.
Sumner l. Kimball, Chief OF the Life
'avings Bureau, has been in the department
ince / lS62; Mrs Lydia E. Rosenberg, made
er entree in 1863; Aunt Louisa" Hill,
Who may be seen daily at the head of the
rst stairs in the northeast corner, has
cen in the department SO long that She
orgets when she came; OF the veterans OF
81, there are George W. Maher, of the
pecial agents division; Henry K. Lever,
harles H Buxton, Miss Susan Dugger, Miss
RANGES S. Hoey, Mrs. Villa Leonard, Carl
;ticrlein. Alexander Marshall and Henry
:. Weaver E. B. Daskin, OF ofthefndependent
camein '65. s. N Buynitsky came
rom Russia and. entered the department
] 1868. Had he remained at home he
-ould have succeeded TO q title and rank
mong the nobility. s5
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The Earth's Crust.
The surface of the crust of the earth is
vided by "a German scientist into five
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