Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-02


ECENTI.Y new play was pro-
duced here, in which the ell
uactic scene was most unusual.
a character in the play whose
wife. under a mistaken 1mpres-
sen had publicly horsewhlppeo his pes'
fricna. was so wrought upon by the oc-
curreuce that he summoned the huiiiiiio'-
al man tn his home and required him, at
the pistol point, to lash him severai tAhie'
.cross the face with whip, In order TO
atone for the indignity that had oeeh put
,,non him by the mistaken wife. 1t was a
v,yv tense scene, and think the audience
.,,.:e~ea a slight chill while it was In
mr., s,ress The whip appeared to be
r..ti;ne rattan. and it left welts-prooapiy
no, pepu,ne-upon the face of the man
who forced his Inundated friend to use
il upon him. .
NV companion at the play was Wen
known citizen of Oklahoma who Is down
here for the Easter season. He seemed
strangely moved during the Whipping
scene in the play, and afterWard ne toiu
me why. II made so odd Story that
am going to repeat 1t in his own words.
THAT whipping scene" he said AFTER
the play. startled me because renein-
her a case in which something preclseiy
IKE that actually happened. 1t brought
hsct before me the face of John Boards
Ley, one of the squarest men that ever set
foot In our Oklahoma country lie iost ms
life in the big Oklahoma HOOD lew
wears ago. He was horse trader ana
his home was at Ponca City. 1t was In
Ponca City that this thing the play 81
strikingly reminded me Of happened.
.x
"Beardsley's wife was a half-Mexican
woman whom he had married in San An
an, devoted to John. and fine housewife
but her temper, seeing that she was part
Mexican, was very violent and ungovern-
able.
Johns great friend and chum I'm Pom
ca City was Joe Mum, contractor In
indian supplies. The two men had
punched cattle alongside each other or
the Texas ranges and were sworn COM
rades and pals long before either OF them
had thought of marrying. John married
his half Mexican girl first, and then Joe
slipped up to Wichita and married CIR
he had got his eye on some years before
She was teaching school when Joe got
her. and she was a fine, nice-lookins
woman with very sweet disposition
John and Joe set up housekeeping II
Ponca with their wives. and for time
things went on swimmingly in so far a:
the relationship of the two couples Wa:
concerned. Then the two women ieli out
Munn's wife, IL was understood, had lei
slip some harmless little remark tina
Johns wife construed into an insult
Beardsley's half-Mexican wife worked her
self into a rage over the remark ant
overwhelmed NUNS wife with a storm
of vituperation.
THAT. of course. stopped the pleasan
intimacy between the two families Johl
and Joe went on as usual, never REFER
ing TO the business between their wives
Then one day. quite while after tn
falling out between the two women
Mum remarked to Beardsley that III
deemed it a pity that their wives couldn'
get along agreeably. 1t was a raw sub
tect with Beardsley, who knew tina
his wife was to blame. and in his raw
ness he made some kind of snappy re
ply Then he and his old pal had a sor
of growI, and from then on they Wen
their ways and didn't speak to each othe
after that.
st. Valentines day, eleven years age
Mrs. Beardsley received a comic valentino
in an envelope with the st. Louis post
mark on II. Tho address was typewriter
The comic valentine pictured a negres
in a tantrum. Being half Mexican. Mrs
Reardsley's skin was very dark There