Evening star., 1934-07-15

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the water"
The Ordnance Museum.
Just below the White House on
Seventeenth street is the Ordnance
Building. and in this are a number
of curiosities not seen by Washington
visitors They are kept on the second
floor in he Ordnance Museum, great
oblong hall with a white ceiling. It's
windows are dirty and everything
about it is grim, somber and dreary.
One end of the room is walled with
a big oil painting of the generals Of
the Army in marching order, while
the other is covered with a case Of
shelves containing ammunition and
swords. The body Of the room is
filled with guns, cannon, shot and
shell. Everything that pertains to
war and the battlefields are here to
be seen and many a saber that hangs
before you has been soiled with hu-
man blood.
There, for instance. IS a bowie knife
blade fastened to a rake handle. which
John Browns men used at Harpers
Ferry. The great knife shines like
silver, but its point is broken off. And
how? Most likely by striking against
some mans breastbone. Just beside
1t is jeff Davis rife, which the Union
soldiers found on him 1t has a long
strap so that it can be thrown over
the shoulder. 1t is a light gun, plainly
made, but its bore is as large as that
of a shotgun.
Very near the museum in the Ord
nance Building is the Office of Judge
Advocate General Swain. and if you
call there at a certain time OF the
day you will see a sad-eyed grave
faced old Negro woman enter and ask
the Judge advocate whether he has
ANYTHING for her today. He will tell
her No, Helen and she will go
away with the same weird face, still
lightened by expectation, undlmmed
by disappointment.
Helen is a curious character and a
curious story is connected with her.
Many suppose her demented, but II
so. it is but slightly, for she is harm
less. On the day preceding GARFIELD
Inauguration the Negro woman came
into Gen. Swaim's Office and told him
that Gen. Garfield would be assassi-
mated She said she had heard men
conferring together about the plans
for the deed. and she had seen one
of them pay over money to the would
be assassin. Gen. Swain. accustomed
to dealing with cranks Of all kinds
thought the woman crazy, so he SAID
nothing about it. He gave her some
work to do about his own house and
got more for her elsewhere. When
Garfield was actually assassinated ne
was forcibly reminded of her prophecy
and she now tells it as remarkable
story. Helen wants a place in the
department and comes daily to ask as
to her chances.
The Presidents Stables.
The Presidents stables are a half
square below the Ordnance Building,
on Seventeenth street. They are not
wonderful in either structure or con-
tents. The building is new one
story-and- attic brick, tastefully built
There are two wings running at right
angles. with the main building. one
at each end, the space between them
making a court or yard.
The two wings contain the car
riages. Many a man in Ohio has
lust as fine, and there is no gold
or silver trimming about any OF them.
The horses are good plain roadsters,
worth. perhaps, several hundred dol
lars apiece, and there were SIX IN
the stalls when I looked at them
today. The front part OF the stable
on each side the middle hall is al
lotted to the horses. which seem TO
be well kept. The stalls are quite
fancy. being divided by iron lattice
work, and painted in red and brown.
White House Spiders.
At the White House yesterday aft
ernoon the roof of the main portico
was cleaned by throwing stream
of water upon it. The result was
a huge shower of spiders. Thousands
of these animals of every species had
collected under the caves and in the
hooks and corners, so that the roof
Of the portico was actually discolored
bv them. The water, sent with the
force of an engine, brought them
to the stone floor below, and soon
perhaps a million of them had COW
cred it. All kinds of spiders. big
spiders and little spiders. black
spiders and green spiders, brown
spiders and yellow spiders, rolled and
tumbled and swan around in the
water. which to them was a veritable
flood of Noah. The spider most COM
mon is called here the Presidential
spider" 1t has a round. plump body.
a fuzzy pair of gray and yellow feel
ers and six shiny legs. These spiders
are as old as the White House and
their present here dates back to that
day where the memory Of man fails
to go.
AS evening drew on the spiders
began to crawl back TO their old
homes. and for a time the white
pillars were so covered with them
that they looked as though they we're