Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-04-26

smelt powder burned IN anger or heard
the singing of hostile bullets.
Crane represented New York pub
LEGATION during the brief farce comedy
rurko-Grecian war, and was also in
| Cuba during the campaign at Santiago.
He was always distinguished by cool
insolent bravery which, although
tinged by affectation, was certainly
real. He is an inveterate smoker of
cigarettes and frequently caused heart
disease among the army people in
Greece by sitting around on powder
kegs and heaps of shells, putting away
as if in the Turkish parlor of some
Tenderloin resort, says a New York
paper.
In Cuba he did some clever descrip-
tive work, and was always well up to-
largely to the magazines, and his war
stories printed in the monthlies were
always readable.
Crane is of slight physique, but in
Cuba was wiry and apparently in good
condition. He was devoted to con-
versations pertaining to himself, and
sulked If the conversation led away
| from him. However, his conceit had
none of the bumptious quality tat dis
| tinguished some of his fellow cores
pondents. He seemed quietly con-
scious that he was the greatest move
list and correspondent that ever lived,
and seemed shocked to receive any in
I timation that this fact was not gen.
orally recognized. In this he differed
from others. who always endeavored
to establish proof of greatness when
opportunity offered.
One incident in Cranes rather siren
uous career illustrates very neatly
the faint of affectation in his char
acter. With several fellow unfortu-
mates he was wrecked while heading
for Cuba with a filibustering expedi-
ton, and for a time it looked as
though his career were doomed to a
sudden end. The captain of the sink
ing craft explained there was about
one chance in seven hundred to get
ashore, and appeared rather despond-
ent A small boat was prepared and
four men entered it, ready for a long
trip to the Florida coast, with excel
lent prospects OF never reaching there.
When Crane got aboard the little craft
1t was noted that he had prepared for
death by Swapping on a belt with two
heavy revolvers and a bowie attached.
| 1t meant death in case he had to swim,
as the hardware was enough to carry
| Boyton in his rubber suit to the bot
tom. His orly explanation was that
he wanted to appear properly framed
up when his body was washed ashore.
This trick of playing TO the gallery
is noticeable about Crane. but there
is something back of it which makes
It less offensive than il would other
wise have been. His gameness re-
lieves his rather arrogant self con-
ceit of much that would otherwise jar.
Cranes style is marked by fond-
ness for striking obscure phrases. In
his writing he has frequently sacrificed
a fine situation to turn neat SEN
tence. He is compact and vivid in his
work, however and his style is sell
| dom tiresome. Such phrases as "A
wave of establishment whirled into her
hair occur frequently in his stories
and while they have caused him TO be
r.d.cuis3 BY many readers, there is
usually enough good stun carried
along with these bits Of fantastic writ
ing to round his stories UP in fairly
good style. Frequently he invents
something as good as this:
Freddie surveyed them with the
ironclad gaze OF man who is mixing
a cocktail
Crane suffered severe shock to his
reputation in New York several years
ago by his defense Of a streetwalker,
who was arrested in the Tenderloin.
There was something Quixotically
courag eous in this act, however, and
while generally condemned by the
professionally good. he was regarded
by those OF broader gauge with much
appreciation.
: For some time past Crane has re-
sided in Sussex castle near London.
where he asserts the literary atmos-