Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-14
JOHN J. DONEGAN'S TRAVELS.
Returns After a Six Months Trip to
 California.

|
 spent in California and other places
 for the benefit of his health. When
 MT Donegan left here last fall many l thought he was 'too far gone' to re-
 cuperate, but in this they have been
 agreeably disappointed, for he is now | q robust man and feels almost as good
 as he ever did at any time in his life. | He spent most of his time at Red bank, Gal, a charming agricultural dis
 tr1ct about seven or eight miles from | Los Angeles and considers 1t the near
 est approach available on this earth to l heaven for human being who has
 temporarily lost the blessing of good
 health. The weather there is all that
 any body could wish for and he found
 the people kindly disposed and ever
 ready to lend encourag cement to the
 stranger who calls among them in the
 hope of rebuilding a shattered consti- [ tuition. 'It would be impossible for
 me-" said MT Donegan, ito give you l anything like a true description of the l feeling that comes over man from
 this part of the country when he gets
 up in the early morning and takes a l stroll through the fields and seesNnoth- l ing as far as the eye can reach but de- | lightful trees and fields covered with | vegetation. Many of the residents of l Redbank are folks who went there in poor health and after building up de- | cided to located there permanently l They are made up of all classes and 1 as a general rule are very wealthy.
 "On the way home I stopped three
 weeks at St Louis, where I had the
 pleasure of meeting few old acquaint- | ances, among them Danny Ryan, the
 acrobat, and Frank Hill, both of whom
 are travelling with the Forepaugh-S
 circus. Frank Hil sells tickets and dropped in on the grounds before the performance started and had a long
 chat with him. He is doing we'll and
 looks good. sent for Ryan and told
 the messenger that man who wanted
 a positioms-as slack wire performer
 desired to see him. When he came
 out and saw who was there he laughed
 so that I thought he wouldn't be able
 to go on that day. Ryan is star.
 He took the house by storm that day
 and when he got through thought the audience never would cease cheering.
 also had the pleasure of handshake with Frank and Tom Donahue, who
 are playing with St Louis. The team
 lost to Chicago by score of 12 to 4
 while l was there. It was a great
 game and was attended by very large crowd. The boys didn't know what to say when spoke to them. They wondered what was doing there. I told them that had been appointed manager of a big ball club organized in Waterbury and had concluded to se- cure as many local players as possi- ble and was after them. They 'tum- bled' and asked if Roger had signed.
 1.-The Anheuser Busch Brewing asso4 ciaFion of that place is a monstrous plal and I thought I'd have a ramble through it. Everybody who enters registers. While was at the, book noticed a man looking over my shoul- der and before I had time to put the pen out of my hand I was grabbed by the arm and asked If wasn't native of New Haven. recognized the voice the minute the man spoke. It was that of Harry Woh1maker an old schoolmate of mine, whom I had not seen for nearly twenty-five years. He has splendid position there and was so tickled to meet one from home that he couldn't do too much for me. II suppose you know MT Keefe, who used to conduct a harness shop on East Main street, opposite the Immaculate Conception church? met his nephew, Tom Keefe, an old New Haven friend of mine, while waking down one of the main streets. At first wondered who he was, but after I learned his name it did not take us long to get chatting l oh H,axve oN +NI the same nine and thought we could do any team in New Haven. He is | in the corset business and is we'll off.
 "I was sick for five days in St Louis I and came near being killed with kind ness by members of the Knights of l Columbus and the Independent Ordef l of Foresters. The latter body at that place is composed mainly of Irish, | English and Scotch, the latter predom- mating, I think, and I'll never forget | how they used me. The Scotchmen and their wives never tired of trying to assist me and if had accepted all l the invitations extended to me to call l upon them at their homes I suppose | wouldn't have left there for a twelve month. I found the Knights all right, | too. Their ranks are made up of the business and professional men. The initiation fee there is much higher than in the east and for this reason
 the membership is confined almost ex- clusively to, men of large means, | judges, lawyers, bankers, merchants l and manufacturers. One of the mem | bers, MT Higgins, the we'll known mu- cilage and glue manufacturer, is said
 to be worth millions, but if you got l talking with him you'd never know
 anything about his wealth. He Is a | plain, unostentatious gentleman, and | unless someone gave you the tip you wouldn't suspect that his check was
 good for any part of S5,000,OO0, but those who know him say he's worth | every dollar of 1t and more.
 "I visited Excelsior Springs and | brought home few cobbIes from the grave of the noted outlaw. Jesse James,
 whose remains are inferred in the gar
 den at the rear of the house he was
 shot In. His widow, one-armed woman, makes a living by collecting A l