The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-01-22

river to rescue q newsboy who had fallen
between the hulls of two big steamboats,;
unless she heard the cheering ofthe thou
sands of spectators that were gathered on
the bridge, the shores and the decks of
the ships, or saw the hero carried up
Grand avenue on the shoulders of the
populace, his soldiers following in proud
and dazzling array, while his own gorge
Gus uniform was dripping and ruined as
only a plunge into the Milwaukee or Chi
cago river could ruin that splendid en-
semble OF gold lace. brass buttons and
blue broadcloth.
However, if Mrs. Smith has never been
informed of the many military exploits of
the distinguished Milwaukeean, it is ut
that she should hear something OF his
valorous deeds in Cupid's tournament
grounds: for the bending of that gods
bow is no more of trick 70 General
Auer's skilled hands than the unsheathing
of a sword or the firing OF a Winchester,
and in the past four years he has done
more toward graduating celibacy from
the land than ten thousand theorizing,
intrepid and irresistible Charlotte Smiths
could accomplish in so many years. Mrs.
Smiths intentions are no doubt good, but
General Auer's deeds are vastly better.
Aside from the secret appreciation of en-
forced spinsterhood, and the open ami
mostly of preferred batchelorhood, the
New York woman has gained by her lat
est vagary only ephemeraI notorlety.
While she has been framing long congress
sional bills, exploiting her pet hobby, and
Fostering Uncle Sam almost to death,
General Auer, always the man Of quick
action, is quietly carrying on the good
work of transforming bachelors and old
maids into benedicts and matrons.
The contamination of General Auer's
first attempt at matchmaking was the
marriage of Margaret Mather and Gustav
Pabst, whose courtship was inaugurated
by the general while both were guests of
a large house party at 1.-THE Shacks,
when the host was himself still a bach
elor.
1.-THE Shacks'' is rather an undignified
name for the most lordly estate on Lake
| Pewaukee. which is thirty miles from
Milwaukee, and the loveliest sheet of wa
ter in all Wisconsin. The name was orig
inally confined to the little log shooting
box and fishers lodge which stands near
the pier, and for which it is very appro-
pirate but as time went on dozen more
Of these rustic buildings went up to &C
commodate the overflow of guests at
| tracted thither by the lavish hospitality
of the host and the perfect vortex of
| pleasure and amusement to be found
there both summer and winter. Then 1t
| became known as 1.-THE Shacks,'' and no
distinguished man or woman's visit to
the citizens of that city until he or she
has partaken of that princely, etanioetaoi
has partaken of it's princely, though prim-
| tive hospitality. Scientists. poets, novel
| lists, sculptors, actors and actresses al
ways find the doors of 1.-The Shacks'' wide
open, and within, Liberty hall
It wasat the shooting box, the original
| Shack that l found it's owner one day
last week. We sat on great oak blocks
| before the wide-mouthed fireplace Qor
| there areno such articles as chairs there),
| and General Auer talked delightedly
about old maids and old bachelors and
love and courtship and marriage. while
| the big blazing hickory fire roared like
a cannon as it belched up the chimney
and lit the rude, dark, chinked walls until
moose blinked his sightless eyes. The in
| terror of the "shack" is the queerest sight
| in the world, and more resembles a mu-
| scum of prehistoric relics than the trap
pers lodge of amodern American. Tro-
plies of the hunt and chase were strung
along the log rafters overhead, together
with clumsy trappers' clothes and fishers
suits, snowshoes, skates, cavalry boots
and fish nets of every pattern and weave
! Resting on pegs inserted between the logs
were Indian bows and arrows and fire.
arms of all sizes and designs, not dozens
of them, but hundreds of them. Wolf
pelts and buffalo skins covered the floor
and were piled up high in the corners.
| The table consisted of one thick horizon
! tai slice of a mammoth oak, supported by
three stout, Embarked hickory saplings.
| The small PANIED window peered out
| through vistas of leafess trees to Lake
| Pewaukee, now stiff and silent.
| It is not an ideal place for the purpose
but nevertheless the "shack" is where
| General Auer plans most of the matrimo-
| NAL campaigns in which he is interested.
| Here hundreds of romantic love affairs
have had their inception.
MY work a philanthropy" exclaimed
| the general in amazement. well, no;
hardly that. I am simply happily mar
ried man who wishes there were more Of
| them in the world. All 1 am trying to do
is TO convince some of those mistaken
people who pride themselves in being
known as independent bachelor-maids'
! and gay and jolly bachelors how vain
and empty not only their names, but their
| lives are. I am only trying to do my
quota, only IN a different way from Mrs.
Smith, toward counteracting this ever
! increasing propensity of the American
| people to lead single lives"
Then you don't approve of Mrs.
Smiths plan of procedure?"
mo; ii is altogether impracticable. as
well as ridiculous. However. there would
be no OCCASION for such al agitation If
married people were not so selfish. and'f
they paid more attention to the welfare
and happiness of their unmarried friends.
II is almost a force< of habit among mar
ried women, even though they themselves
are as happy as queens. to discourage
their unmarried female friends from TAX
ing that step. They are either too negli-
gent of the future of their girl acquaint-
ances or II they do attempt 10 NEEDLE
in their love and courtship affairs. they
show total want of tact and bungle
the whole business by being oversolicitous.
which usually means death 10 the most
promising match in the world. II the man
in the case happens 10 be an old bachelor.
Z The moment man over IS years old sus-