The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-20

| packages of seeds and who are personally
| interested as members of the great farm
| ing community in making crops appear as
| small as possible, In the hope that the mar
ket for their products may be influenced
thereby toward higher range The actual
| shipping statistics prove the falsity of gov
eminent estimates of the yield in crops year
after year, until the trade has learned TO
| place very little reliance upon official fig
ures. Understanding by the government
| statisticians has become chronic, and IL is
not their fault, for they do the very best
they can with the information at their
| command. former statistician of the
Agricultural Department undertook to cor
rect the estimates of correspondents by ar
bitrarily adding several points to their con-
I illusions, but he got in trouble on account
of it and lost his place.
White-haired Gen. Joe" Wheeler mem
Der of Congress from Alabama, tells a war
story of how he first made the acquaintance
of the lady who afterwards became Mrs.
Wheeler. The general was beating a mas
terly retreat from an overwhelming Union
force and making his way across the eoun-
try from the vicinity of Nashville eastward
to the Tennessee river. He had several
thousand cavalry in his command They
were holly pursued, but by forced marches
night and day kept out of the way of the
enemy, and the general on the fourth day
at dusk had the pleasure of starting in TO
swim across the river with a small detach-
ment of about dozen men, who had
brought up the very rear of the command.
The Yankees were right behind them and
appeared and opened fire upon them from
the bank before they were one hundred
yards from the shore. The light being bad
they all escaped unhurt. 1t was pitch dark
before they reached the opposite bank by
wading and swimming, and the little
squad were scattered, each one TAX
ing care of himself best he
could. The general dragged himself up
road, leading his horse. Seeing the dim
outlines of a house q short distance from
the lane. for it was little more than that,
he opened the gate took his horse inside
the Enclosure, and, turning him loose, lay
down on the porch without trying to arouse
the inmates of the dwelling. 1t was the
first rest he had had in four days and
nights, and he was asleep in a minute. The
next morning he was awakened, fed and
cared for by the hospitable people. He re-
manned there a day or two, and it was
during this sojourn that he met the future
Mrs. Wheeler. cit was strange" said the
old general in recounting his adventure.
how much business 1 found in that neigh
horhood to do in the next four months.
THAT was the hottest chase l was ever
in' said the old general meditatively, as
he dwelt upon the memory of that flight
into the hills of eastern Tennessee, "but
l had the best guides in all that part of
the country, men who knew every foot Of
the ground for 200 miles. Two of them were
T11,- 7 Nd Inv
did us a mighty good turn
The Capitol guides take pleasure in point
ing out to visitors from the South the faces
of Jefferson Davis, Bob Toombs, Alex
ander Stephens and two three other
heroes of that section painted in the frieze
at the top of the rotunda in the picture
representing the fall of royalty. 1t takes
somewhat vivid imagination to distinguish
the Hkenesses, but the guides, one and all,
make oath that they are intended for the
men named.
In a small room in the basement of the
Capitol, which is now filled with books and
sealed, one of the walls is covered with
decorations placed there by the painters
employed about the Capitol in their idle
moments. One of the artists painted there
on the portrait of Jefferson Davis's chill
QFGn. lil6S6 pictures sui ISIlldlll, dlo WltIl
the books that now fill the room are re-
moved to the new library curious visitors
will be permitted to go there.
The decorators in the public buildings
sometimes do funny things with their
brushes when not closely watched. One of
them, two three years ago, painted the
A. p A. emblem a red schoolhouse and the
American flag, upon one of the grand col
umns in the Pension Office about one hun
bred feet from the floor. Some of the Cath
Ollie clerks in the bureau tried to get an
order for the erasement of the Ito them)
offensive decoration, but they did not sue
coed, and it is still there. An ardent artist
admirer of Gen. Benjamin Harrison painted
the picture of the Indiana statesman on
one of the columns of the same building,
but as it was in a very conspicuous position
il was erased by order of the commits
sioner of pensions.
The scenes in the Senate, of which
"Pitchfork" Tilman is the storm center,
are very much less impressive to those who
witness them than they seem to be in the
printed descriptions in the newspapers.
From the published accounts it would APP
pear that he is a veritable terror, when, as
q matter of fact, the Senate has learned
to pay very little attention to him He rare
ly engages in a debate with any of
his fellow-senators that he is not clear
ly overmatched and outclassed. He busters
and DULLES and oftentimes descends to
coarse language in repartee, but the i'm
preston that is left on the minds of hearers
after these episodes is that he has been
very much worsted and that his colleagues
have neither respect for nor fear of him.
Nevertheless, he is an annoyance, and
will continue to be a factor in the daily
performance much q buffalo fly is in a
herd of cattle. Senators feel more comfort
able when he is not around, or when he is
in a state of temporary quietude. 1t is not
agreeable 10 the club membership to have
one around them who is prone at any min
ute TO wake up, get an ak and try to break
up the furniture or throw a club through
the chandeliers, To this extent he is a ter
ror, but that does not imply that he has the
slightest influence upon affairs, 1t implies
that he is disagreeable and irritating
quantity. w, G.. NICHOLAS.
BRUSHING UP BACHELORS
Women who Mend Mems Clothes and
Earn a Living Thereby.
New York Press.