The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-13

'All sorts of behind-the- people. Take one of those guns into the noun tains of Virginia, an it will be modern. They're still using flint-locks there. All through South America and Africa | there's sale for such guns, and in many parts of Asia, too. sold two hundred of them last week to a man in | the China trade. His firm has eight ships, and they're arming the crews against the pirates that now infest Chi nese waters
 l But some of these are rusted to | pieces"
 Well. they either serve as curios or as old iron. When they're too bad for anything else, they are melted down and begin life over again
 What guns are those with the long barrels?"
 Arab. Notice the broad butts. They seem senseless, but there's good reason for them. They're made like that so that the weapons won't sink in the sand when being loaded This weapon with the enormously thick bar rel is an elephant gun. It weighs twen- ty-five pounds, and is made so thick in order to lessen the force of the recoil from the heavy charge of powder. You see that it's in perfect condition. A man rushed in with it the day before yesterday. I didn't think anything of it: wouldn't even give him two dollars. He said he would leave it with me any how. We'll. that gun turned out to be the very weapon Montclair (N. Jo man was looking for. He was delight ed with it, and when I charged him twelve dollars he paid me five dollars on account to bind the bargain, Hes going to mount it on stand in his nall, and when people seem to have any doubts about his stories of hunting DIE game in Africa he can show them the elephant gun.
 "This cannon here I believe to be the oldest in the country. It is made oi fine bronze and the date on it is 1631 We got it from Porto Rico."
 After duly admiring the old cannon there was tour of discovery that ex- tended all over the warehouse, where heaped up from floor to ceiling throughout the five stories, was Wha' at first appeared to be the most amaz- ing aggregation of rubbish ever assem" bled under one roof.
 This first impression was hardly ac- curate, however. In spite of cobWeps and dust and the presence or Vas' quantity of utterly useless things, the place was full of treasures. Bales anc boxes and packing cases full of sea stores of all sorts that had never peer opened were scattered all about.
 They don't know what they've got said the solitary salesman of the es- tablishment, who acted as guide, refer' ring to the proprietors. They throw these things in here any old way ane then forget about them. They're toe busy down stairs making heaps of mon ey to think about them
 Confusion was everywhere absolute 1 Not the least attemupt at classification had been made. Here was gun car riage in sections; pile of old unl' forms; packingscase three-quarterf full of army caps; mass of Japanese lilv bulbs that had spoiled; quarter ol q, ton of soap; a great quantity or shot blackIng; box of white hats, such aF are used in the navy; boxes of t1nnlc l lies. crates of fruit that had dried anc mildewed: heaps of boots that had nev- or been worn and proba bly, never would he so compactly had the spiders boune them with their cobwebs. A mound ol books was on one of the floors, mound of photographs on another, and Tn little room by themselves collection ol paintings, some very well framed anc some not framed at all. Of course, ont of them was an old master" This col lection was spoken of with awe by the salesman,
 "They're all masterpieces, he said "That big one there's an Dyck.
 As the exploration extended the guide quite lost his bearings, and the d1scov' cries were as real to him as to the re porter
 whats in this barrel?" he aueried striking a match and peering down some shining black stuff.
 "Oh. yes!" he exclaimed, suddenly re collecting. Its gunpowder-enough tt blow the whole place to Kingdom come"
 Heaps of loose ammunition were en countered at various points, and a there are several cats, to say nothing O rats, roaming about, an explosloi would not be very surprising under tn circumstances, the cartridges being o the detonating variety.
 "Why don't you establish some k1n' of order here?" asked the writer, Wip ing away veil of cobwebs that nat fallen about his face
 "No time.'' said the guide. "Ther are only three of us in this big place.
 "Td never rest till I found out wha had and arranged it after fashion the clothing in one place and the proVl sions in another, and so on"
 "Then you wouldn't make so mucl money as the boss" responded tn guide.
 "But there's such deal here that absolutely going to waste.
 "There's plenty more where it cam from"
 "Where did it come from ?"
 Government auction sales, mostly then sheriff's sales and private auction sales. There was fire at the nav, yard not long ago, and everything Il the building was sold at auction. Som of the goods were damaged and som were not injured at all. The govern ment doesn't stop to look it over yer closely. I reckon. It cleans out am nuts in new goods. Then, when war ship has been cruising for five month