The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-02-21
CROUCH'S TREASURES.
Maple Hill Preacher Who Has
Many Valued Relics.

The ordinary observer consent with
merely surface glance Of life in its var
led phases. has little idea Of the rich
veins of human interest which lie within
his sphere of possible investigation if
once his attention were directed to their
discovery. In a population such as ex-
lists in Kansas congI0merate COM
munity- consisting of, at least. every
European nation, tribe and tongue
grated on the American native stock,
there may be found specie Of folk
lore, made Up Of family traditions, in
diVidual histories associated with treas
ured heirlooms. a vast amount of ma
terial. waiting for some future historian
or genius Of fiction TO utilize. Placed
for convenience. or radiance, and almost
forgotten, in the dim light Of the neg
leeted attic covered thick with the pen
etrating Kansas dust, commercially val
ueless. but sought eagerly by the anti
quarian because Of their association
with some historic incident or era
NAV be found articles which recall and
reenaet to the mind most wildly the
historic incident or era with which they
We're connected
The family traditions and personal
histories which are cherishedsand trans
mitted to sons and daughters by some
OF our citizens Of European birth. are
full often times of the deepest interest,
and valuable as indicating the kind OF
men that are being ABSORBED into the
body polite Thus the writer not many
years since, found himself living in close
proximity to a neighbor of striking
appearance whom he found had fought
in the war for Hungarian independence
and when surrounded by the Russian
troops the main body were compelled to
surrender-he with three hundred cav
airy refused to lay down their arms.
and antedating the herolsm Of Bala-
cIava made desperate dash. vut a
lane OF death through the mass Of Rus
sian troops. and escaped in safety to
Tur kish territory In a house not Tar
from where these lines are written,
hangs All oil painting which I found
upon enquiry was the portrait Of the
grandfather who followed the great Ma
poleon TO Moscow where he persisted
among the hundreds Of thousands that
fell in that caiamitous campaign. but
with most of his regiment met with
death peculiarly awful for even that
inferno OF horrors. for the Russians hav
ing cut dam above the French en-
carnpnent the water flooded the ground
knee deep and in that arctic frost, fr0ze
almost instautaneoustE. solid 10 the
knees. the Inflated fr0ons, so that thu
entire surface of the solid sheet was
studded with the frozen upright forms
of the regiment. For rslIcs suggestive of
less gruesorne experiences / may men
ton that recently while Tansacking the
attic OF q country house / happened to
stumble over a tine-w0rn antique look
ing trunk covered in rusty leather. and
+ fFs9aralfv oruamentAd with an excess of
old fashioned brass headed nails de-
serfbirg circles, eIipfics, curves. lines
and angles wherever space would allow
of their being defined NY curiosity in
duced me to lift the lid. while searching
for a date. and was rewarded by the
discovery OF the makers card, which
bore the following inscription.
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