Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

Such a case occurred in little town in
Mexico.
There the American. well groomed.
prosperous-looking and evidently touring
the country either on a holiday or look
ing for some business opening, dismount-
ed from train and sat down on one OF
the benches an the platform OF the NIT
railway station. He complained Of fee
ing dizzy A friendly native. who spoke
a few words of broken English. asked /.
there We're anything he could do
NO" replied the American. II guess
I'll be all right in IA few minutes"
He rested a while. and then asked the
way to a hotel. saving he believed he'd
lie down and rest few hours. The
native volunteered tn show the way. ana
the American rose and started of with
him. He had gone but a few steps when
he reeled and fell When a physician
reached him he was dead-he had been
stricken with apoplexy.
The sudden death threw the little VII
lage into a turmoil of excitement. who
is the Americana? was asked or al
sides. And when ii came time to ans% =
the question 4 remarkable fact developed
For all that he seemed a typical man of
large affairs. there WAS not a single thing
about the dead man by which he could be
identified. He had no letters IN his
pockets or i'm his luggage. His clothes.
all readymade. had been bought i'm half
Il dozen cities in the United states. and
the establishments by which lteN lad
been sold could not tell the nam. ri the
purchaser. Evidently he Was z wide
traveller.
His effects were gone over and proved
of more than usual value. Has clothes
Were all OF good texture and ext e.ssive.
In the pockets of the clothes be wore
when he was stricken We're a number ot
silver dollars and "A number of America
greenbacks. and i'm his trunk was neaiis'
SIS in American and Mexican gold.
The money. along with the jewelry and
other little personal effects of the dead
man. Were sent to the museum of deal
men s shoes to find resting place
along with the rest of tie somher het-
erogeneous collection. I'm due course OF
tiWe the jewelry and mayhaD the other
effects will be sold. The money. however.
cannot he sold. Ii Will he kept awaiting
claimant. until the law allows ii to he
converted into the United States Treas
ury.
museum Of dead mems shoes are un-
known, however. as is instanced by tue
case of an aged man who died In Ho
de Janero. sef-made exile from his
native land. for rca sons which seem
strange 10 U.S. but which must have ha, Q
been all-compellins to him.
He was a southerner, and veteran
Of the civil war He fought on the Con
federate side. Many Conre1erates had
their lives saddened 10y their defeat
Many remained "unreconstructed' long
after the war was over, but with most
OF them the wounds gradually healed.
Not 50 with this veteran. The defeat
of his beloved south not only broke his
heart but soured his entire life.
He refused to live under the dolnnance
of the hated Yankee" and so he exiled
himself. He was unmarried. and so lac
sold his little farm IN Georgia and de-
parted for South America. eventually
landing in Rio de Jane.ro. He never re-
turned to tire United States. He had "a
few hundred dollars when he landed in
the South American town he chose as IS
new home-money went farther then than
today-and soon he had a little store.
which, while far from being Golconda.
nevertheless supplied ample profits 10
meet his modest needs.
So the unreconStructed veteran lived out
his life and died-and when IL became the
duty of Uncle Sam to look up his heirs IL
was found that they had all died before
him. As near as has ever been found
out the old veteran died without living
relative in the world.
The old veterans estate is now in the
museum of dead mems shoes 1t is not
very valuable but il is notable in that IL
includes several thousand dollars i'm Con-
, federate bills. Evidently he cherished
even the worthless money of his loved
south. The bills showed that they had
been kept carefully and tendeTly-thev
We're found tucked away. wrapped in It's
sue paper, and tied with red ana white
ribbon
SO the museum of dead mems shoes
continues to receive its strange assert
ment of jewels and shovels, scarf pins
ard swords and gum boots and linen.
storing them away to await the claim
ants who rarely appear.
About - per cent of the articles sent IN
this strange museum are scattered 10 the
four corners of the United States by the
hammer of the auctioneer-and the men
who once owned them sleep on undis-
tCrbed-their part is done.