Evening star., 1902-03-15
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about o'clock in the afternoon. On taking
the VII! up to him to sign that evening
found he had failed very rapidly as far as
physical! strength was concerned, though
mentally he was perfectly able to under
stand the paper which read him, and was
also able to sit up and sign It, The wit
nesses l got in the hospital. / was In
structed TO keep the will and. to file II In
the Probate Court when necessary. have
never found IL to be necessary since though
the old gentleman died the next day. 1t
turned out that all his wealth was imagi-
nary. and he had not a cent in the world. He
had been wealthy man. and at one time
owned all the properties he willed. or sup
pcsed he wiiled. but they had long before
passed out of his control and ownership
Providence Hospital was not a cent richer
D. his munificence. and the sisters named
never got a penny. The children did not
nave enough to bury him. I had hard
days work Of 1t. and. besides my time lost
s. which l paid hackman to hurry me
out to the Soldiers Home cemetery and
back TO write the will He was of a dis
posing mind all right, but he had nothing
u dispose.
noticed something the other day that
was to me In the nature of novelty" re-
marked prominent local court stenogra-
pher. who has spent considerable time in a
business way among the descendants Of the
American aborigines. What struck me as
strange was my meeting here In Washing
ton with an Indian who wore eyeglasses.
In the course Of all my experiences with
the red men | never before observed Poor
Lo making use Of lenses to aid his sight
Perhaps the name of this particular Indian
has something to do with his adopting
what is unquestionably a very necessary
custom of civilization. He bears the cog
nomen 'Foggy Cloud and Is a member of
no har 5iop
OF my acquaintance are blessed with keen
sight or the most pronounced type and l
do not remember hearing that any Of them
ever had eye trouble of any Character"
: x X
Mr.. James I. Petty. the District auditor
and his assistants have to consider many
knotty problems that arise in the ordi-
nary run of the business Of the auditors
Office Intricate points in connection with
the disbursement Of public funds and the
accounting for the same require constant
brain work. But the most annoying fea-
ture OF the establishment. and one that is
wearing on the patience Of the affable au-
ditor and the members of his force Is in
no way directly concerned with vouchers
and figures The source Of what has grown
to be almost torment IS large steel safe
which is in position near MIR. Petty's desk
This supposedly burglar proof receptacle
for money, records and valuable papers
would not attract attention If its outer sur
that across the front Is emblazoned in huge
letters OF gilt the name. washington Flour
and Feed Company"
question arises in the mind of nearly
every person who visits the office as to
what the safe of q cereal and grain COM
pany is doing in the Office Of an official OF
the District government 1t is the endless
chain of inquiries regarding the presence
Of f1,ac 70 hot
to the employees. They are thinking very
seriously Of having sign made to bear tn.
explanation:
This safe was purchased by the Dsrric.
government at auction The name across
the front is that of former owner.
4 X X y
The way In which an error may be taken
up and passed along was recently Illus
trated in the Senate. Senator Blackburn
arose. and. presenting a memorial from
some Of his constituents in Kentucky
asked that it be referred to the commit
tee on isthmian canals" The President
pro tenn. responded that it would be re-
ferred to the committee on isthmian ca
nails. 1t was taken up by newspaper cor
respondents. who announced that the paper
had been referred to the COMMITTEE on
lsthmlan canals There was one lynx
eyed copy reader however who caught up
Congress
sional Record. in which the language of
both Senator Blackburn and the President
pro tenn. was changed to show that the
reference was to the committee on inter-
oceanic canals. The fact Is there has
never been committee on isthmiau ca
nails" in the Senate. The fact that the
commission of which Admiral Walker is
president Is designated as "isthmian' has
tee OF the Senate dealing with the same
subject by that name. but not until the
past week has the expression found its
way into the Senate chamber
X X
I'm garrison life Peter Douglass means
dead man'-that is officially, not reallv
dc ad.' observed an army officer to a Star
reporter 1T had its origin at Fort Monroe
a quarter Of century or more ago, though
there are number OF officers who knew
the original Pete and quite number more
who knew the facts In regard to his case
One OF the leading officers Of the artillery
service today, then a lieutenant was sent
from Governors Island. in New York har-
Dor. to Fort Monroe with a detachment Of
nineteen soldiers. They came down by sea
and the first night out the soldiers got on to
barrel Of fine whisky which was in the
hold. and by the aid Of a gimlet and some
straws the most Of the nineteen men were
in a very hilarious condition before mid
night. On the second night out some Of
them tackled the barrel again. and In a short
time they were again intoxicated Among
the number was Peter Douglass. When the
time came for them to land at Fort Monroe
Peter Douglass could not be found. 1t was
generally thought he had fallen overheard
or, while intoxicated. had jumped over
beard. Anyhow. the lieutenant turned over
but eighteen men. He reported Peter
Douglass as having been drowned. and the
record was made accordingly Three days
afterward. when the ship that brought the
party down was unloading some freight at
Charleston. s. c., Peter Douglass crawled
out of the hold looking somewhat the worse
for his experience. After bracinx I'D he
managed to work his way up to Fort Mon
roe. where he supposed he would join his
company. but on presenting himself to the
officer in command there he Was told that
as the record there had shown that Peter
Douglass had been drowned they were re-
quired to consider him dead. even II he was
not dead. Douglass admitted that he was
pretty nearly dead, but that he had man.
aged to pull through. Anyhow. he was not
admitted to the quarters in the garrison
and was told that he had better move
along; that he was out Of the army as sure
as he had ever been in 1t. But Peter did
not go far away. That evening he met
some Of his comrades, three in number
from Governors Island. and they celebrated
his coming to life in true soldierly manner