The Olean Democrat from Olean, New York • Page 10

THE SEMI-WEEKLY DEMOCRAT, GLEAN, V. THE OF FANCY, REAPPEARANCE OF THE VEILED PROPHET IN ST. LOUIS. Conceits of the Jtforty -Kxjio- IIoo, 1'tolemy mid the Itelii- carnation of the Black Cut--A Fe.sllv* and Interesting Season. ST.

Louis, Oct. St. Louis could rise from his African grave and be ina- hatma-ed out of his G24 years thoro to look upon his metropolitan namesake oi the glorious, free aud boundless west, how his mediaeval eyes would stare! By all accounts ho was an exceedingly grave personage, aud if he tolerated any amusing nonsense his biographers forgot to mention it. Fancy him, then, reincarnated in St. Louis the first of this month and looking on the motley array of mimes and merry maskers--Al Mo- Kanua and AH Bttba, LSopoep, Enabdil Bugaboo Bill, Caliban, Comu and Cinderella, with Rex, ilomus and the Veiled Prophet, IIoo Hoo and KJUL; Hotu, and all the fanciful creations of the spectacular drama.

The Forty Buy.s' Custom has set apiduthe first Tuesday in October as the day for the Toiled Prophet, as the first Wednesday in September is set for the opening of the 40 days' exposition. Toward that day. therefore, all interest concentrates from the beginning of the show, and from it as a new era are traced all the subsequent festivities. As minute description weary, it can now be treated historically only. Suffice it, then, to say that the alleged hard times have had no apparent effect here, for the attendance at the exposition has been larger than ever before, and during the festivities the city has literally been jammed--all the hotels full, all the public resorts thronged, all the illuminations on a grander scale than ever.

Everybody has read of the Veiled Prophet and its attendant orders, but there are other orders of which the history is estremely curious. Instance the Hoo Hoo, which is claimed to be a re- vival of an order among the ancient which made a cult of thewor- ship of the sacred black cat. The Egyp- tuivl aid and good fellowship, and tho officers aro: Grand smirk of tho universe, senior high IIoo IIoo, junior high IIoo Hoo, scrivenatcr, holy boojuin, bander- snatch, custocatian, arcanoper and gur- don. This will do for a specimen. Tho Veiled Prophet is far older, dating from 1878, quite a hoary antiquity for St.

Louis. But tiiis is by a sort of succession from New Orleans and Mobile, and tho scenic proKontatioiiH there trace back through tho carnival and saturnalia to tho prehistoric festivals of Greece aud Home. And finally these had their origin in that symbolic nature worship which seems to have been the first religion of tho Aryan race. On tho New Year's eve that ushered iu that, year Michael Kraft, a prominent citizen of Mobile, had a late supper with a few choice spirits, and on their way home after midnight they passed a hardware store belonging to one of them. In a spirit, of fun they seized on the cowbells, gongs, rakes, hoes and other implements aud proceeded to wake Mobile to the "New Year with discordant racket.

Thus began the Cowbelliau de Rakiau, a PO iety which still nourishes, aud yearly tij Mystic Krewe awake Mobile to the joys of innumit fun and the -pint. In 1852 the Strikers' was organized in Mobile. In 1857 New Orleans organized the Mystic Krewe of Comus, taking the characters in Milton's "Paradise Lost," and finally in 1872 Rex, the king of the carnival, assumed jurisdiction of the Crescent City. In 1878 came the greatest of them all. A few choice spirits of St.

Louis organized parly in the spring, and the next October" the Veiled Prophet and his allies made their parade with a btauty and it brilliancy which astonished aud delighted tho people. Every year since vi-'it has been repeated, and from all Missouri, Illinois and other ithin a circuit of 200 miles the poople come by tens oi ANONYMOUS LETTERS. A Woman Sjya JOr Ki-x Is J'wr Jiofil at Them. ter'a v.rii'.- to do, tux! THE VEILED PROPHET. 'tians believed in the transmigration of souls and regarded Ptolemy, their first Greek king, as the reincarnation of the original and sacred black cat.

"With the last of the Ptolemies the sacred cat left the earth, for some 1,900 years, but reappeared Jan. 9, 1802, to save the lives of nine good men when every one else in their car was instantly killed iu a collision near Gordon, Ark. Application For Ulein'bersliip. These nine founded the order, and here is the form of application for membership: To John Henry Smith, Snarkof the Universe. Pharaoh I of tho Gregorizm -Age: The undersigned, standing on tlio Txmndary line of tlio Dominion of the Black Cat, hmably presents himself as an applicant for tho TJIO- graphical degree, or degree of the playful Mtten, Concatenated OrJer of Eoo-Hoo, vaunt- yag himself as worthy thereof and making prof- 'ert of the following brief biography." His account of his life is examined, and if the committee find him qualified in health, honor, charity and sociability he is made a Hoo Hoo.

Only lumbermen and those associated with them can lie admitted. Ths objects are nin- th aids. Ev-ry-tore on the hue oi ell the public buildings are briJiianUy ilLir.iuuted, the public gardens are PC their gayest, and even tht river front is ablaze with lights. ''Pike county is there," an enthusiastic native, "bjth tho Pikes, in fact, and the Saturday before it the Pikei maybcsecnhiH-iiurjin a load of tobaccc for lo r.ike Him and the old woman to tLc Original Desisms. That the display sprang at a bound into great popularity was largely due tc the originality and genius shown in the first designs.

Some old citizens think they have never been excelled. The floats have since represented "The Festival of Ceres. 'The Progress of Civilization." "Shakespeare's Plays," "The Arabian 'American History," 'Bible 'The Veiled Prophet's Travels Around the World'' and many iu which solid instruction was combined with beauty and art to a wonderful degree, but in none has there heen greater originality shown than in the first. In 1880 the floats presented 3 history of the order and its spectacnlaj displays. This year we have had history, mythology, science and literature, with a great deal to amuse the little folks.

After the pageant comes the Veiled Prophet's ball, and the partnei chosen by his prophetic highness ranks as the queen of beauty in old time fes rivals. Such is a very brief history ol this delighting pageant, and the ruosl interesting fact is that in all these 11 years the secrets of its origin and annual arrangement have never been revealed. J. H. BEADLE, I'-tl "of Tic, fcaid Meandering Mike, when to his request for food sac ofurev! Lira pie.

"do ye remember a year vrl.cn yo gave me, a sufferiu feller creature, a pie?" "I bcli.vc so." "Madam. I'm that man." "Wa-ir coed?" "Good! It saved my life. There was an unfcclin farmer that fired a hox of tacks right fur ray heart at short range. I hed yer pie buttoned up inside my vest, an hero it is--full o' tacks, ez ye kin see fur yerself. It ain't near wore out, an I won't need another ter take its place fur a year Star.

YOV.K, Oft. per cent of tho unonymou-. I aro written by women. This statement is verified by noted experts in handwriting, who also add the information Ihut 00 per cent of tho forgers aro found among men. Tho motives which prompt tho con- btruction and sending of an anouyinuuF letter are various.

Prime among them i.s tho love of making mischief, which is often a feminine trait much to ba deplored, while jealousy and auger form no inconsiderable part of the poor judgment which women display when descending to this low device of revenge upon some enemy or rival. In the first place, it is the easiest thing iu the world to trace tho writer of an anonymous letter, particularly if that writer be a woman, as it is almost an impossibility for women to disguisa their handwriting. They are creatures of impulse, full of whimsicalities aud erraticismp, aud their handwriting naturally partakes of these peculiarities. To one who understands the science ot writing there is a marked difference between the letters formed by the hands of men and women. Whether due to sewing, playing the piano and other womanly accomplishments which exercise the fingers to a great extent, women's handwriting possesses the distinct mark of what is known as the finger movement--that is, the pen is held by the index, second finger and thumb, while the hand moves along the paper with the pen, producing a formal kind of writing very hard to disguise.

The mtiscular movement, on the contrary, which characterizes the writing of men is made by pointing the penholder toward the right shoulder, the fingers scarcely moving and the free, full moaou of the hand coming from the lower part of the arm near the elbow, giving a more rnachinelike appearance to the letters, and notwithstanding that many women's notes look as if they might have been penned by a man it is said thet net 10 per cent of the women living write with that muscular movement. The type of handwriting most in vogue today among women of the higher classes is the English or angular hand, and this style has prevailed for the past 10 or 15 years. Among the lower aud less refined class of women you will notice the round, petite Italian writing used almost entirely, and this distinction forms one of the expert's clews iu first determining in what direction to look for a suspected anonymous writer. A womr.u is a born copyist. By observing her methods of work for years this conclusion has been arrived at and is partly due to her gift of close application as well as unparalleled patience in accomplishing whatever she undertakes.

She will labor over the imitation of a piece of embroidery for weeks, while the average man, on the contrary, gives up any task in disgust if not successful within five minutes. Thus it is that when women do turn their dishonesty to forgeries of different kinds they make much more correect forgers than men. A strange anomaly, though, regarding their aptitude in this direction is that, though their imitations will be moie exact from an observer's standpoint, they invariably leave much raorenoticeable trace of their own characteristics than their "brothers in crime. Experts will tell you that in the generality of anonymous letters they find the offenders very nearly related to their would be victims, and these discoveries often lead to sad and embarrassing results. A prominent dry goods merchant of New York entered the office of David N.

Carvalho, the noted expert, with a most scurrilous letter in hand. This epistle was addressed to his sister's betrothed and informed the young man that he had better inquire into the moral character of the woman he was about to marry. What to do about it and how to find the author were the questions he at once put to the expert, who advised him to go home aud gather up the con- o-iYJi and his lui proceeded oflico with a wj'iuh nearly rfttig- v. a i i a alort- i i i i i vi j.iov i Iv (1 to tho i.jiujr, i i 1 nt; report, i A and plan then: etting along i out to i-o aside. "Well, how you ijuquiicd 5h.

tbo next day as ho called fnr tho of the investigation. "It's MI-, answered tho pnrt, i report, and aftei receiving ciw in payment proceeded with f-'oiro i.t'-H-r work on hand. "You tomy reading the report the man, towhifl Mr. Carvalho returned a pleasant tive. All ut once, with a mutterui curse, the man made a desperate spring for his throat, sit the same time touting, "You M'cuiHrel, that's my wife!" Together the two men rolled to the floor, and it was several minutes bcfor" the expert was enabled to free hintseli from the enraged man's grasp.

When he succeeded, Le forced the man out of the door aud threw the bundle of letters after him, "I admire your loyalty to your wife, but you shan't kill me on account it." Two mouths passed, when one day a knock carne at the door, and on opening it the same merchant entered, but now bowed down with sorrow and with deepest apologies on his lips. He had found out the truth. His young wife had fallen iu love with her sister-iu- law's lover, aud in order to break off the match had resorted to this vile means of endeavoring to blacken her teputation. ADELE PORTER. COLONEL BOWiS'S BLADE.

He Wielded a Deadly Weapon That Hi-s rauie Immortal. Two states clair.i the birthplace of Colonel James Bov.ie--Tennessee aud Maryland--and the question lias never been definitely settled, but he gave the name to a weapon as (loudly as any that has ever been forged from steel. Shortly after Louisiana became a state the old Spanish and French records created a great deal of trouble. It frequently happened that a planter who Lad taken up a large tract of land and fairly opeucrt it out as a plantation would learn that it was claimed by some one un Jer an old colonial grant. James Bowie was a veiy frequent claimant under these old laws, says a Chicago Times writer.

Several capitalists of the time had sent him to Havana, where the old papers of the Spanish colony of Louisiana wore kept, aud caused careful transcripts of them to be made. They appointed as their agent to put them in possession of these properties James Bowie. In these early days it did. not afc any time take much provocation to bring on ''a personal encounter," as a fight to the death euphoniously entitled. A man who had been to the trouble of opening up an estate only to find it claimed by a lot of people he did not know was generally pretty ready to fight for it, whether a fight would settle the question or not.

The consequence of this stato of things was that James Bowie and his two brothers, Stephen and Eezin Bowie, had on band almost constantly some sort of ''diffi- culty'' that had to be fought out with deadly weapons. This was before the days when the percussion cap was ia general use, and the smaller pistols of the period were flintlocks, inconvenient to carry and not very reliable. So the knife had to be used when one wanted a really trusted weapon. 3Ir. Bowie worked out with a pocketkuife aud shingle his idea of a weapon that would be about the proper thing for tho business he bad iu hand, and it was made by the local blacksmith at Shreveport.

after this model, which he carried for several years. About 18:30, however, he heard of a Xe Orleans cutler, a Spaniard named Pedro, who was making some knives of a won derful kind and temper. They could be driven through a silver dollar without damage to point or edge. Mr. Bowie at once availed himself of ths professional services of this artist, who made him a knife which was a marvel of temper anc beauty.

T5ie blade was 9 inches long, and blaile and handle together measured 15 inches. He used this weapon in 19 encounters, and it was in his stiffening hanc when, with six dead Mexicans about him showing the evidence of his fatal skill, he was found dead at the Alamo. Bowie's method of using the knife was one peculiar to himself. He did not hole it in his hand with tbo long point down ward, but. grasped the handle as a swords man would grasp the hilfe of his sword Jle always struck at tlio nock of and aimed for the jiitful.ir ami seldom mlKsed hlH coup.

In tho most famous of his one fought on Natohea is- land, mi island in tlio Mississippi river ahucht oppoi-iti! fie city of Natchez---ho cut two men's Jieails almost, oil, giving each only a hv.vcjiing blow. Howio'only 110 pounds when at bid prime' Jle wan -'i quiet, soft voiced man, who never drank nor dissipated in siny way. lie enormous physical strength for his and was as quick and litlio as a wildcat and as game. JIo was a terror to all tho "hard cases'' from Louisville to New Orleans. OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

Incident Showing Tlmt Death IT the Most Singular Waya. COLONEL BOWIE PRESERVES OKDEE. In 1830 the Methodists about Church Hill, were holding their annual meeting. They bad been a good deal disturbed by the crews of rough flatboatmen, a large number of whose boats were lying in the river below the town. One morning after service was ended a number of the men held a meeting to decide upon the measures to abate this trouble.

Among them the parson, who was a uewcomer, noticed a small man whose only peculiarity was a pair of steely, blue ringed eyes-eyes like a cat. "I will attend the services tonight, he said in a low, gentle voice, "and will help you to settle any difficulty that may occur." This seemed very satisfactory to those present, but the clergyman somehow forgot to ask who he was The evening service had begun. Just as the preacher was about giving out the second hymn a big Kentucky flatboatman staggered up in fiont of the pulpit and gave a Choclaw warwhoop. In a second the little man had him by the collar with his left hand, and iu his right had a knife, with its point against the boatman's brawny throat. "If you say another word or make the slightest noise, by G--, I'll drive this knife through your neck from ear to The big man.

trembled like a leaf and silently took a seat, while the other, putting his knife exit of sight, joined with great fervor in the singing of the hymn. There was never a quieter meeting held than that was thereafter. was the gentleman who so speedily settled tiic difficulty tonight?" asked the minister wlvn the service was ended. "Don't you know'" his friend replied. "That was James Bowie." She FFeld Colonel Bowie's Head.

Senora Candclaria. who is said to be 109 years old. is the last survivor of tho Alamo. She in the fort during the 12 days from Feb. --3 to March 6, 1S36.

when 177 Tcsas Americans held it against 5,000 Mexicans Scuora Candelaria asserts that she was supporting the head of Colonel Bowie, who L-y ill in tho fort, when the Mexicans rushed in and killed him and wounded her. Her life was begun under the dominion of Spain, and she has seen five flags float over Texas. Her home is near San Antocio. -To Occa.sion Por punctiliousness. "Is this your umbrella, sir?" inquired the stranger iu the brown suit, hurrying after the stranger in the drab suit just got eft 1 the train.

'My dear answered the other "there need be no formalities in this case. "vTe both it in the vacant seat at the same time. You got it first. 1 see it is a gold headed affair, and I congratulate you. Good Tribune.

Strained Eolations. "What are the your vrife and yourself?" "Oh, only her mother, two uncles, a sister and a fevr Free Press. Consolation For General Tarsney. Tarring and feathering was ouce a legal punishment for theft. It is said to be found in the statutes of both England and France about tho time of the crusades.

An Electric Cootjack. Lightning tore the shoe off the left foot of Fred Drcyer. a Chicago railroad flag- man. Drcyer suffered no physical damage. CHICAGO, Oct.

within tlu past ten days has tlio telegraph told oi death cauhcd by unprecedented accidents. Tho first occurred in tho stato ol New York on a railroad leading from Buffalo. A freight car in tho middle ol a moving train was derailed, but a.s the track was straight it bumped aloug on tho ties i'or a- milo or more, and no one noticed it. When the llrst curvo came, however, it plunged to tho left. Unio'-- tunately at that moment another freight train was passing on the opposite track in tho opposite direction, and tho lunging car struck the locomotive cab aud killed tho iir -mail.

The other siugulai and fatal accident occurred in New Jersey, where a bicyclist collided with carriage at night, and the handle bar oi his machine was driven into his abdomen, causing almost instant death. Although the first accident was unprecedented, so far as I have been able to learn, rail casualties somewhat similar have occurred several times, the most serious being out the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore- railroad a little south of Northeast, on Oct. 12, 1889. At the location of the accident a fast express going north met a freight going south on a double curve. The.

door of one of the freight cars was loose and fell ou the north bound track "directly in front of the flying express engine. The huge machine was thrown high in air, and a general smash of the passenger train followed. Two persons were mortally hurt and 17 others painfully. Unless you read the dispatches thai tell of accidents regularly you cannot have any adequate idea of the horribly curious ways in which death may come. Nearly every oue will remember, however, the singular death of a Brooklyr clergyman a few years ago.

One of his children was ailing, and the father wished to administer a dose of medicine- He took the cork out of the bottle and held it between his teeth. Then, in order to amuse the little one, he threw his head back aud laughed, drawing the cork into his throat and choking. Sur gical aid was summoned at once, but the cork could not be removed, and aftei two or three days of the most intense suffering the minister died. Itlore singular still was the fate ol Mrs. Anna of Milwaukee ii.

1890. A fly of the blue bottle variety goi into her nostrils and was removed with difficulty, leaving a strange itching. She supposed it would shortly disappear, but it persisted, aud the nest day her nose and throat were badly swollen. A doctor was called, and he discovered that her nose and threat; were infested with maggots. Tho fly had laid its eggf in the poor nasal passages.

She died after about two wetks of awful torture, as it was found impoFS-iblo to dc anything ior her. Jonathan of Slonniouth, met death a fuw years ago iu quite as unusual though not so painful a manner. He was seated on the iron seat of combined thrashing aud traction engine, steering the unwieldy machine over a rough road, when one wheel ran into a deep rut. The jar detached a chain belt, and it flew upward, striking him in the head, and killed him instantly. Near Akron, Farmer Barnes caused a hiding burglar to come to his death in a most singular and unexpected manner in 1891.

The farmer went to his barn to do the evening "chores" and noticed movement in the hay in the mow. Skunks had recently troubled him a good deal, aud he jumped to the conclusion that the movement was caused by one of those odoriferous ani- rnr.ls. So he grabbed his pitchfork and stealthily got close enough to jam the implement into the hay where the skunk was supposed to be. The tines struck something solid and stuck. Pushing the hay aside, the farmer found that he had struck a negro, aud that oue of the tines had iuto the head just below the Iclt eye.

TJuconsciousness followed shortly and then death. Later the negro was fo.aud to be one who had broken into ppvral Akron houses and had been pursued by the Akron police the night before his death. JOKN F. JL Buy Your Groods of tlie following; firms: FITZGERALD Clothing, Hats and Furnishings. MAYER BROTHERS, Fresh and Salt Meats.

ANDREWS COXKLING, Furniture, Carpets and Wall Paper. HERMAN SCHUETZ, Jewelry J. B. FRAWLEY, Hardwa Stoves and Ranges RILEY WANDS, Wholesale and Retail Groceries, W. A.

GOODWIN, Drujs and Stationery J. M. JOHNSON, Boots and Shoes. C. C.

MORIAN, Candies, Tee Cream, Etc. For each Cash Purchase made of any of the above firms amounting to One Dollar you will be presented with a check good lor 5 cents at the Box Office oi the Olean Opera House, when accompanied by a sufficient number of checks to purchase a regular admission ticket to any pertormance at opera house. On a purchase of 00 of any of above firms you will receive 2 checks; on a purchase of 13.00 you will receive 3 checks, etc. Buy a dollars worth of your butcher, three dollars of your grocer, a dollar of your druggist, and five dollars of your furniture dealer and you have a free ticket to the next attraction at the Opera House, MEWSPAPKJRl.