The Washington herald., 1909-02-15
WASHINGTON CHAT.
q THE sPECTAToR.

There is in the Treasury Department
an account designated as the Conscience
Fund. p which wes opened BY the Reg
lister Of the Treasury in 1871. and Is made
up of moneys received by the United
States government from unknown per
sons. Remittances come every few days.
and sometimes two OF three are received
in one week The letters transmitting
this money are rarely signed. unless. as
is sometimes the case. they are sent by
priests or eIeEgymen at the request OF
penitents II IS impossible, Of course.
when the communications are anony-
nous. 10 receipt for this conscience"
money. but acknowledgment or It S in-
yariably made through the local press.
The largest amount received at any one
time was $500 in Treasury bills. which
were made into a package and then cut
in two, the money thus divided being
sent in different mails The smallest
amount was 2 cents. IN the form Of
postage stamp.
The letters accompanying these remit
tanees make interesting reading. i
woman from New York once sent several
hundred dollars, duty due on some mer-
ehandise, she acknowledged. which had
not been declared. not 10 escape paying
the duty. but because she most seriously
objected 70 the obnoxious way in which
the examination OF the trunks IS con
Quoted. and had finally decided she would
no longer submit 70 having her handsome
dresses and laces thrown about on q dirty
wharf or her lingerie handled by irrever-
ent hands Acting on this decision on her
last trip from the other side. she had
put some old clothes and a few dutiable
things which she had declared IN one
trunk, swearing that the others contained
nothing on which duty could be demanded I
Her rUse was successful, but, feeling that
she owed the government on her foreign
purchases, she took pleasure in forward
ing t. Il is TO he feared that there are
many unpatriouc enough 70 sympathize
with this eccentric woman
One Of the ''ex's'' resident II Washing
ton tells many amusing stories o. life IN
the Northwest IN the early days. when
the red men still roamed the prairies
unrestrained and LIE there was rugged
and picturesque.
I vas doing some surveying, he says,
and was at X with two companions,
when Asiatic cholera made it's appear
ance IN town. Ny friends and 7 were all
affected with what we took 10 be an at
tack Of II. and each OF US had cured hira-
self with a different patent medicine.
Naturally. we sang the praises OF these
medicines. and there were some heated
arguments as TO which one was the best.
zone day, in the midst OF one OF these
an old Indian, Crooked Pete,
put in an appearance at the door Of our
shack The Indians at the camp a few
miles out Of town. be said. had been
taken with the cholera. The braves who
were not stricken had run OF, leaving the
sick. the old men. women. and children.
They had no medicine. no one 10 care for
them, and those who had the disease were
lying on the ground waiting FOR death.
Pete had come 10 me because he knew
thai at one time I had been sort Of
government agent for the Indians. They
had confidence IN me. would obey me. he
said. and he hoped could do something
for them
When I heard Pete's story. I sug-
gested 10 my companions. as the most
practical thing, that We 20 out 20 the
camp and try our medicines on the de-
fenseless savages We went. according
y. armed with bottles and iron spoons. |
When We reached the village We found
that Pete had not exaggerated The H.
dians were grOaning On the ground. and
one old souaw had a blanket drawn up
over her head. which signifed that she
was either dead OF very near death
'We divided the Indians into three sec
tons. each OF Us taking one 10 dose with
his fayOrite nostrum. They took the ned
icse without objection. but some Of them
were so far gone that We were compelled
10 pry open their teeth with OUT spoons
When I had finished dosing my patients
went 70 the old squaw who was thought
20 be dead. and prying her tightly set
Jaws open poured a spoonful OF my mix
ture into her mouth She did not swallow
and 7 had about given the case Up IS
hopeless when I heard a gurgle as she
gulped down the stuff, then 6ose5 her
with more.
You viii hardly believe Il. and I con
fess the story has \ patent medicine Rd-
vertisement favor. but IN an hour that
old squaw vas Up and walking about.
and the next day she was practically
well None OF Us lost a patient; they all
recovered. but crowed over my cure.
as showing that, while their medicine only
cured. mine could bring the dead back
10 life. This Joy was short lived, how
ever. because on the afternoon Of the
second day my old squaw died, the only
one OF the whole lot who gave Up the
ghost
1T happened this way: Crooked Pete,
who was sent 10 town for some crackers
and other things We needed. brought into
camp a quart OF whisky for his own per
sOnal use This whisky he carefully hid
in the hollow OF a tree. but the old sguaw
was watching him, and as soon as Pete
was at a convenient distance she pro-
ceeded 10 steal the FIRE water, the whole
OF which she drank n less than an hour
the poor old creature was dead. and 70
this day NY companions insist that my
medicine was the cause Of her death"
Earthquakes 10000 n Year.
From Current Llte-strs
Systematic observation OF earthquakes /