The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-04-01
ina STATE HOUSE DEN.
Strange Discovery in an Unfin-
ished Part Of the Capital.
A Room Reached by a Narrow
Board
Sixty Feet in the Air Rudely Furnish
ed and Signs That Cooking and
Eating Was Done There I'm
known TO Janitors and
Guards.

It is possible that at some time in
the past our state house has been made
the rendezvous of one or more thieves,
perhaps a gang of them.
The two top stories of the four wings
of the state house have not been fin
ished and the rooms are barren and
rough and dirty.
In the corridor of the west wing be
tween the hall of representatives and
the dome is a temporary wooden stair
way. Immediately above it is another
At the landing of this stairway there
is only one passage and it leads around
to the north wing.
At the head of the stairs and at the
northwest corner of the dome there is
a large light shaft that runs from the
roof to the basement
On each side of this light shaft are
two windows.
While making a tour of the build
ing in the interest of its future archi-
lecture State House Superintendent
Stanton noticed that the end of q
board protruded from one of the win
dows of this particular light shaft. He
took q closer look at it and found that
it reached across the corner inside the
light shaft and ended on the sill Of the
nearest window within the north wing.
He investigated and found that the
board had evidently been used as
bridge by some one
Somebody had been making use of
that wing without asking permission.
He searched all the rooms in the
wing.
The search soon ended in a large
room in the extreme northeast corner
of the north wing
Of of it was a small one that was de-
signed for use at some future day as
a vault.
There had been a good wide doorway
to this vault but it had been rudely
closed, excepting a small hole just big
enough to admit a human body, with
broken pieces of hollow floor and cell
ing thing.
Mr.. Stanton ventured to call into the
dark hole. There was no answer. He
lighted match and thrust it in the
hole
He could see just enough to satisfy
him that the place had been occupied,
so he squirmed in and lighted another
match.
BILE a very rude one There was also
a box for a seat In another corner
was a pile of old carpet that has prOba-
bly, been used as a bed. On table sat
q lamp and on its chimney was q rude
ly constructed wire apparatus that had
been made to set things on while they
cooked.
On the table there were several pieces
of tin bent up at the sides in primitive
imitation of plates. They were yet
dirty with grease and on the floor were
scattered about egg shells and crumbs
of bread and crackers.
There was dust over it all and a gen
eral appearance of not having been
used for some time, perhaps years.
To get into the strange quarters,
whoever used them had put the board
in the windows and had daily or often
to crawl along it sixty feet high in the
air. where a misstep or slight turn
ing of the board would have sent him
down to death.
With the exception of Mr. Stanton
and the strange occupant of the room
probably no human being had entered
that part Of the state house for ten
years.
The greatest mystery is how the man
could have furnished the room with
its table and box without plunging
down the 1iehfsbaff with them