The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-02-25
WASHINGTON LETTER
[speclal corregpondence.l


placed there for cabinet members, con-
4 gressmen and others to inspect. Bor-
glum is the sculptor of the statue of
General Sheridan in Massachusetts ave
nue.. The bust of Lincoln is an excep-
tionally large one and has attracted
much attention
President Roosevelt has given a
hearty Endorsement to the plans of the
Arlington Confederate Monument as
ISOLATION for the erection of a monu-
ment in Arlington to commemorate the
Confederate dead buried there.
A Story of Indian Days.
When Quanah Parker, the most noted
Indian chief in the United States,
walked into the White House a few
days ago, it was noticed that he shook
hands with unusual cordially with
| Major Charles Loeffler, doorkeeper for
President Roosevelt and all other pres
ldents sfor nearly forty years.
Met on Battlefield.
When he had gone away, the story
of their first meeting became known.
1t was on a battlefield in 1860 Parker
then being a small boy. 1t was Major
Loeffler who saved the mother of Par
ker from being ridded with bullets and
possibly the life of Parker himself.
Major Loeffler was for many years a
soldier in the United States army. He
served in the Indian campaigns around
the Texas border and in the Red river
country. His soldier life was full of
thrilling incidents. Once he saved the
life of Fitz-Hugh Lee, then lieuten-
ant in the army
Saved q Squaw's Life.
1t was nearing Christmas week in
1860 when a squad of twenty cavalry
men, in which Major Loeffier was then
a corporal, routed a, band of Comanche
Indians headed by Chief Parker, the
father of the present noted leader of
the Comanches in Oklahoma. The
! band fought as it ran. Suddenly half
dozen men under Corporal Loeffler saw
splendid mounted Indian dart across
the plains some distance away. The
Indian rode like true Comanche. In
short space of time the men were
gin firing. AS they leveled their rifles
Major Loeffler raised his hand and
commanded them to refrain, declaring
that the flying Indian was a squaw.
The men were inclined to believe that
he was wrong, but they obeyed his
command. 1t was not long until the
flying figure was overtaken, and it was
hnt 10 T 1.ioh
Mother of Quanah Parker.
The Indian was not only a squaw,
but she Rugged close to her bosom a
young boy five or six years old, who
had been lost sight of so close did he
stick to his mother. The surprise was
further enhanced by the discovery that
the woman was white as white as any
of the soldiers. She was the favorite
wife of Chief Parker and the mother
of Quanah Parker who grew up to be
the greatest Indian his tribe ever
knew. The woman had been captured
by the Comanches when a mere child,
had grown up with them and had be-
come the wife of the chief of the band.
She was faithful to them, too, and
pleaded with the soldiers to release her
and permit her to go on with her COM
panions. She was not held in captivity
long, being released, and returned to
her husband. She died thirty years
ago.
A Plague of Mice.
In the Humboldt valley of Nevada
there was a plague of field mice. An
expert of the biological survey is now
on the ground He has found that in
some sections of the valley the mice
average 5000 to the acre, number
that seems almost impossible. but the
truth of the report is verified.
The mice were destroying the alfalfa
which is grown in the valley at a rate
which made it certain that within a
short time the industry of alfalfa rails
Ing must disappear.
When absolute ruin of the industry
was confronting the alfalfa ranch own
ers, the work of the naturalists of the
survey was begun, and it is now prac-
tically certain that the plague of mice
will disappear.
What Gopher Cost.
The survey was appealed to by the
bureau of irrigation for help in check
ing the damage done to bitches by bur
rowing animals One gopher hole in
an embankment caused loss of ST.
800, and in many places irrigation was
almost impossible because of the I'M
dermining work done by small anil
mails The work of the borrowers
made way for the water which by the
erosion process did the rest. The sci
entsts of the biological survey after
experimenting taught the men inter
ested in irrigation how to protect them
selves against the inroads of the small
beasts "that work in darkness" N
Soft Jobs at the Capitol.
There are some strange jobs around
the United States capitol building
Many men are carried on the rolls who
have mysterious occupations, and it
cannot be denied that the whole estab
lishment is one of the most extrava-
gantly conducted in the world.
| One favored constituent of an infiu-
entail congressman draws a fat salary
for sprinkling tooth powder in the cap
! ltol telephones. Once a week this hap
py mortal, with smile upon his face,
makes the rounds of the various COM
mittee rooms and carefully dusts into
the receivers of the telephones a lit