The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-05

0A tlIG CElllliB thtlu Wdiio- OhI lis Ah~
time that he was building this palace
away out here on the frontier of Texas,
Carleen n=ver SAID a word of his family,
or, for that matter, a word of his own
history. HIS tongue ran like bell clap
per on all subjects but one, and that one
was Carleen. His agents had purchased
calttde ALL over Eastern Texas and as a
consequence at the end of a year or more
his hmm ense estate was we1l stocked. At
that time ne was regarded ais one Of the
greatest cattlemen on the frontier.
The strange man did not limit his ex-
trnordinary improvements to the palace
that he erected He kept a large force
In his quarries, and a litl1e army of ma
sons Wsre employed for several years an
building long lines of stone fences. These
structures were not erected after the
MANNER of such Old tumbbe-down affairs
as on= often sees i'm some of the Older
states. The walls were of solid DRESSED
stone, and there wisTe great stone pillars
around The entabiature of which w-rel
trailing vines, clusters of grapes and
festoons off flowers. exhibiting i'm the
highest styfs of art the skill of the sculp-
tor Between itheEe pillars swung mas
slve iron gates. These are not yet ruins,
but here on he Wild hills elf the San Saba,
wlrsre wolves howl at night and der
sleep beneath the shade of the oaks, miles
and miles of these magnificent wallis may
b. seen winding over this undulating
pIsnries and Through the green valleys.
while UP there on the mountain stands
white against the western sky that gil
garitfc pile off stone and mortar of which
no man can say whether 1T is a monu-
ment ITO t1e genius or folly of the French
man Cahneen4 He was certainly of great
advantage to this particular part of
Texas. He brougfjl an abundance OF
money into TIM country, and he gave
thousands Of oeopl, ernpl 1ymerlt As
hong ais he prosecuted his gigantic
schemes this was the most prosperous
portion of the state. AT one time more
than 1000 people were employed on the
ranch. . He kept the road open to San
Antonio, a distance Of n arly 300 mkls1s,
and relays of horses were established
every ten CIR fifteen miles. He had
daily mail, and the road was lined with
teams hauling supplies and machinery
to the famous ranch. Carlsen was very
fond of the society of educated men and
accomplished women, and for long hms
the big ranch house which he Called the
palace of ST. Cloud, was crowded with
people who appeared to be ther- in search
eff pleasure ITO the exclusion of everything
else.
The Frenchman liked San Antonio, de-
lighting ITO call lit "Old SananIoone," and
hel went there very frequently. He
painted the place carmine when H. got
there, and it rs we'll remembered that he
never Lacked for friends to help lin.
one TIME we ned1NQ HtH3J We OIOpDth plVo,-
900 I'm gold at the Hl Moro, but If 1T was
true it never caused him to change the
expression oIf his features. Some times
he extended his trips to Old Mexico, and
upon one occasion 1t was rumored that
he went to London and Paris.
He had been pursuing his strange ca
reer about SEVEN years. living like
Monte Crsito and exciting the wonder OF
all Western Texas. as If he were Gag
liostro in league WI h th+ devil, when one
rainy evening, just before Christmas,
lady descended from the overland stage
in Mena rdviile This woman carried
cruc.fix In one hand and Bible i'm the
other She inquired for Carleens and
then asked for a room in which she might
appeal to God undiSturbed. On the next
day she went to the palace OF ST. Cloud,
and ais she entered at one gate Carleen
went out at the other. He nsver stopped
until he was safely ensconced inside OF
the White Elephant i'm Sam Antonio He
never d. MED that the lfdtle' woman was
his Wife, hat that there was some ner11-
BILE SECRET beitween them which Marty con-
gealed the mans blood every time ne
Thought of 1t, and made the woman's
face repulsdve to him, was beyond ques-
tion. He at once plunged into tine WiIa-
est kind of dissipation, and his bss raders
and fast st ponies We're kept busy for TWO
weeks bearing messages between SAN
Antonio and the ranch. AT length sucn
mygts aiouS affairs as existed between
thu two people We're arranged IN some
way, and the lht tie woman returned 10
Galveston and sailed for Europe, eitill
numbering prayers and carrying her cru
cifix I'm one hand and her Bible IN inc
other From this timel on to the end or
his career In Texas Carleen was never
the same man. He evidently labored DAY
and Hight tel drive somethng from MS
MIND THE grsat ~house was crowded.
,,-;+l, ,@ao,,la vxnho vrpf-e tIsnt uDOn Dbc3s1Ie
alone and strange rumors circulated as
M eames of cards where not only mil
Hons but beautiful women were lost ana
won. Carleen began to give way money.
He made one Of his nedghooIs a preselis
of a. large, pasture, and a fine h@rd OF
cows To another he gave large pand
of graded poTled Angus steers. 10 a
favortte ci-wboy he gave whole droVe OIL
fine horses, and at the feet OF peau-
tiful singer from San Ant'onla ne thre"
a cl,sck for 500, 900 I'm gold. The daMgh-
,tAr of a gamekeeper who handed mum d
cup of cold walter from one of his own
springs was rewarded with band OF
sheep. He attended school exhibtlDom,
and ait the close of the exercises he pre-
senl.ed each and every one or tine mute
boys and girls with a check for $o,OOO. -,
During the flood tide of his prosperity
he had stocked a. fine park of several
hundred acres with th- rares't specimens
of wild animals from every known nook
and corner of the globe One day, just
before the final crash, when the French
man was in a. particularly hylar, Gus mood
he mounted his hors+ and invited every
one about his house and in the country
to help him sbay these geological specl-
mems Hos guests, heated with wine,
and his cowboys, always eager for a
frolie, wire, of course, ready for sucn
fine spor,. The slaughter lasted three
whole days. Elephants, lions, tigers ana
le41parls were hunted down and shot
with Wtnchesters to the music OF MOUNDS
and this blast of horns. Deer, antelope
and rare birds were spared, and atter
fine royal sport was ended the gates of
the park were thrown open and 9hese
allowed to run wild. There were plenty
of neop1e who believed that the mysteri-
ous spenldfhrtft had found BoIwie's fam
GUS lost silver mines Of the San saba.
Others thought he was some Europ ar an
nrince who had inhSrited a dn1itless FOR
tune and There were others who insisted
that the man was either capable of con-
verting the baser metals into gold or elSe
~ bo5 lNao,, fyr>pat pfJata or an OfQ