CRACKED DISH PERIL. Millions of Deadly Germs In Bro ken Chinaware, Say Experts. TWENTY-THREE KINDS FOUND Dr. H. W. Witoy Experiments on Dishes Taken From Quick Lunch Rooms and Hotels—Blames Unclean Conditions For Many Diseases. To those who leave their offices each uoon to snatch a hasty lunch the Unit ed States government has a word of advice to offer. It Is this: Whenever a restaurateur offers you a cracked mug and a chipped, seamy plate on which food Is served, flee it as you would the pestilence. In the recesses of those cracks lurk thousands of bac teria, and they draw no distinction between the millionaire employer :.nd his ten dollar a week stenographer. The bureau of chemistry, at the head of which Is Dr. Harvey \V. Wi ley, has recently concluded experi ments 011 cracked china utensils taken from the lunch rooms of Washington. The conditions tliey find to exist In the restaurants at Washington are dupli cated in every big city. In New York nnd Chicago, where trade at quick hinch establishments Is much greater, a far larger population of germs is believed to have taken up its abode in the cracks and crevices of the table service. The examination of the chinaware by the government came about as a "esult of a crusade being waged •against unhealtliful kitchens and serv ing rooms in (he District of Columbia, says n Washington special dispatch to the New York Times. With the ap proval of Secretary Wilson and Dr. Wiley the government chemists were turned loose on the trail. They dis covered millions of germs in the cracks. Dr. George W. Stiles, bacteriological chemist of the department, had charge of the tests. Several dozen cracked mugs, plates and saucers taken at random from the counters of lunch rooms and from the cafes of hotels were examined. The result was that Dr. Stiles discovered twenty-three distinct species of organisms lurking in tile cracks and seams, in the final test it was found that these organisms ranged In number from 48C to 14.550,- 000 to every square inch. Nearly all of the bacteria belonged to the family of bacillus coli. which Dr. Stiles says "unquestionably be longs to the group of undesirable bac teria, particularly when associated with foods In any manner." The bacillus coll is blamed as the cause of many inflammatory diseases, principal among which is appendicitis. Many of the other bacilli found in the cracked chinaware are due to unclean conditions. These may not be notice able, and the kitchens of the lunch rooms may be clean and spotless, but the impossibility of cleansing the uten sils thoroughly when they are cracked leaves the bacilli to increase and mul tiply. The presence of the breeders of dis ease is just as much a menace to the girl who has left her typewriter to snatch a substantial meal of cocoa and chocolate eclairs as it is to the man with the drooping mustache who regales himself each noon on "coffee and sinkers " The bacilli are no re specters of persons. Dr. Stiles In dis cussing the result of his tests says: "This is a question which must necessarily appeal to every responsible individual who seriously considers the matter of eating clean and wholesome food. When we consider the great number and variety of organisms stud ied in relation to these cracked mugs the question of household sanitation becomes more imperative than ever, and a study of the sanitary conditions in private and public life would in many instances furnish startling re sults. "Many of our hotels, public restau rants and cafes are particular to see that splendid serving rooms are pro vided and elaborately furnished, which fri>ni exterior appearances seem to be all that could 1h? desired for the wel fare and comfort of their guests, but let one go behind the scenes in many places nnd note the changed condi tions. The picture may be entirely different from that expected. "The sanitary aspect of refrigerators and iceboxes during hot weather may develop conditions beyond human tol eration. Why people do not take bet ter care of these places of storage Is difficult to say. However, it is a re grettable fact that many such places often contain highly objectionable ma terial, and if not intended for im- , mediate use it often contaminates and ruins the entire contents of the ice box. "In concluding, it seems highly de sirable to eliminate the use of cracked dishes for the reception of food ma terials and to make an appeal for a more careful observance of the known hygienic measures to protect our food from unnecessary nnd undesirable con tamination." Dr. Wiley is chagrined that the tests were not made sooner. If they had j been, ho believes something could have been done to drive the lurking foe of j health from the lunch rooms of the i cities. English Sparrows to the Front. New York State Entomologist E. P. ; Felt says the English sparrows will 1 take care of the white winged linden moths which recently infested New York city and which have reached Al-1 bany and Troy. It was to rid the country of this moth that English spar rows were introduced In 1850. News One Year Old. Yery lone'v Is the life of an agent at h Hudson bay trading post. All means of entertaining himself are carefully i economized. A story is told of an J agent who received every year a com- j plete year's issue of a daily paper j with his annual supplies of food, am- j munition and clothing. Instead of reading the latest paper first and has- j tenlng through the file, he began at the beginning and had a year old newspa- j per on his breakfast table every morn- J even dampening the paper to give it an appearance of newness. In this way he kept up his supply of I news, always a year old, until the next annual consignment arrived HOUSE THAI REVOLVES Scheme of a Jeweler to Cure His Insomnia. TO BE BUILT ON TURNTABLE Owner Will Be Enabled to Move His Homo In Any Direction to Woo Zephyrs or Avoid Light—Will Be Run by Electricity— the House to Be Practically Noiseless. William Itelman, a Jeweler in New York city, has had plans drawn for a revolving house which he will build at Bayside, N. V. Mr. Ileiman's Bayside home will be the result of many years of thought over the matter of genuine home com fort, for he lias often declared that, with the advantages of modern appli ances and electricity, there seemed lit- I tie reason tor the sunny side of a house being in the sun all summer and the shady side being in the shade all winter. Mr. Itelman would have a home the windows of which may follow the sunshine in winter or avoid it in sum mer. An architect has studied the problem and hns completed plans for such a home, which will be built at a cost of $30,000, exclusive of the real estate. As proposed, the house will be con structed on a turntable, which will be operated by electric power. The own er, in his library or bedroom, may press n button and on the piazzas will sound a tinkling of bells to those who are about to enter or leave the house, warning them that the Itelman home is about to maneuver by either the right or left flank. Allowing family, servants and guests time to get either in or out of the house, Mr. Reiman will then press another button, and the house will swing to right or left, as he may desire. Sitting in his library window and wearying of the view, he may turn the house around and get another vista without leaving his chair, or if the | breeze shifts and the owner of the house finds himself cut off from it he gives the alarm anil moves his home around and around and around until be gets the breeze where he wants it. Of course sunshine nnd shade will be his to command, nnd if he desires to j sleep late and the light is in his win- I dow he presses the button near his bed ! and swings away from the east. { The house was designed by Mr. Rel i man himself, and the plans as drawn ] show that his scheme is eminently practical. Mr. Reiman will have nei | ther front nor back yard to his house, j The lawns will be so laid out that the | frout entrance will fit at any point of j the compass. The revolution of the ! house will be practically noiseless, and part of the turntable will be visi ble. Mr. Reiman believes that his house will have a lot of hygienic advan tages. | "I have had this house in my mind for a number of years," he said. "Prior to the actual decision to build I made some experiments to test the feasibility of the plan. I do not looii on the matter as a fad, for it is a question of common sense. There is no more reason why one should be roasted or chilled in certain rooms of | a house year after year than there is ! that one should live on the outside of | It.l am satisfied with the plans pro | vkled me, nnd I believe that others will I build revolving houses, following ray j plans." Mr. Reiman will begin building the | house this summer and will have it I ready in the late full, j "I will use the colonial style of architecture for the house,"he said. "The kitchen will be built away from it. There will lie five bedrooms and baths on the second floor and on the ; lirst u large reception hall, dining room, den, library and pantry. There I is only one other house < 112 this kind tluit 1 have heard of, and that one is j said to be i:t Switzerland. The rcvo | lutlon will be practically noiseless. 1 j have considerable trouble in sleeping, j and that is the main reason why 1 am I having this house built. If the sun is ' shining in my eyes in early morning or If my room does not catch the j breeze that may be blowing, 1 can just | press a button at the side of my bed i and remedy the matter. If the house j proves a success, which I have every j reason to believe it will, I will build another down at Long Branch. X. J., | where I own some property." The site chosen by Mr Reiman over ! looks IJttle Neck bay and the sound. Funeral For Part of a Finger. j A funeral much out of the ordinary | was held in Littleton, Colo., a few | days ago, when a fall sized ; nd quite : expensive coffin was used la which t■■ bury half of a man's finger a i l a pi-re lof his scalp not larger t'.ian ad< :• ' A hearse was used, and 11 tv pallbearers. The section of finger a 1 j piece of scalp were all that coi:'d be found of Luther Ileckmau. so:i vi and Mrs. William Heckuian. wh as I ' ■vn rp nt the recent explosHl in t!; i 'utilizing house of the Dr. I.lit Powder company at Louvier Ornithological Weddings. t There was a poetic appropriateness j in two recent weddings which were | celebrated in London in which Mr. i Bird led Miss Linnet to the altar and ; Mr. Wren was linked to Miss Nlghtin -1 gale. Although it is seldom that one comes l across two of these "ornithological" weddings in one day, they are by no means uncommon. Xot long ago a church near Dublin | was the scene of an Interesting mar | riage in which a Mr. Crowe was united ' to t> Miss Crowe by the Itev. Tanon Peacock, the wedding march being played by Mr. Rook. Much more re markable, however, was a match which set Edinburgh in a flutter some j years since. The bride was Miss nen | rietta Peacock, and the bridegroom was j Robin Sparrow. The Rev. Mr. Daw performed the marriage ceremony Philip Hawk officiated as best man and Miss Larklns as principal brides maid, while Uie marriage lines were exCmcted by Xohn Cnftr, session clerk. "It is wottftg.- of further remark," addß a reporter, "that the sexton's j name is Rawo, aae of the pew openers is a Qull, and the assistant sexton U a Hen ry Laycock."—London Sun. iu Cw i NOTES C.MBARNITZ RIVERSIDE CORRESPONDENCE ' SOLICITED U/\ J*ft "I! i JACK HORNER'S MISTAKE. %\~hen stingy Jack Horner Put his ail. In a corner And stuck in his thumb tor a plum. He was rather struck dumb To find there was none, Because his ad. was so bum. To shake a plum tree. You may quickly see, It takes a man of large size; To bring In the gold. You need not be told, You must largely advertise. A space Is a space, And an ad. is an ad:, And If you're a second Jack Horner You'll run in a 1 % i To pull out a gold mine, But get lift with your ad. In the corner. C. M. H. BRAIN FAG OR BRAIN JAG? Certain goose bone prophets in our schools of chicken house philosophy are wrinkling their brows to invent unusunlities. One erudite seer says that the longer a hen waits to lay the thicker gets the shell. If the hen has to wait long for the j nest, the shell gets so thick that the chick can't break through. This may not be a shell game, but it certainly is a thin shell argument for a thick shell theory. If true, the egg shipper might rejoice, for lie could easily pro duce eggs with shells so thick that no baggage smasher could crack them. Our California friends, who sell eggs by weight, would need only furnish few nests and much oyster shell at 30 cents the hundred to get rich. Now, we believe when a man waits long for a shave on a Saturday night his whiskers grow with his impatience, but you can't apply this to an old hen. I When an inspiration comes to a hen to ; lay, the egg is finished and has passed the lime pores. It is then Impossible for it to return to the egg making room, for it is now occupied by an- ; other egg. A hen does not secrete sufficient lime to do such double stunts, the average hen finishing only one shell in two days. Besides, the shell is generally j finished so smoothly when moment for j laying comes that no new lime would adhere. The oviduct down which the egg 1 travels works like a department store moving stairway. The muscles only ! move one way—viz, to push the egg along to the outer world—and thus the; egg can't return. Neither dare the egg remain long in the oviduct, or the hen dies of egg bound. Then nature has j so constructed the healthy hen that she can never put off till tomorrow what she should do today. She does not lay to accommodate you, but tore- 1 lieve herself. If you don't provide a nest, she steals one. When the time comes she must lay, and If a nice soft nest cannot be j found she will lay on a hard board. She will go hungry to lay, for she prefers an empty oviduct to a full crop any day and cackles with joy and relief when the egg is laid. The thick shell theory is the result of brain fag or brain jag. You may de cide which. A WORD TO THE WISE. The breeding season is over, aud the alert poultryman will be the first to advertise his surplus old birds at home and abroad to catch the early trade, knowing the few eggs they lay in the hot months will not pay their bills, and then comes the molt, when they lay hardly any. The longer kept the less chance for sale, and in molt they arc not fit for market or to ship for breeders, and the feed they get should goto the pullets. Now, think of the hi B u priced feed and the millions of hens aud ducks that must be disposed of to sa <~e a loss! Indeed, when the sharp poultryman does not see an early and hard pull for breeders coming his way, thor oughbred or no thoroughbred, he dresses them and sells for the best price he can get before the enervating heat and molt put them out of condi tion. He makes that much at least, has room for young stock, less work for himself in the heated spell nnd more feed to push his young layers, on which depend his big winter profits. DON'TS. Don't fail to remember that redhot days mean fewer eggs, am l then comes the molt. Don't fall to buy a half wild turkey male. Plenty on the western market at a fair price. Don't neglect a large supply of water when you feed oats. If the oats aren't soaked, you will lie. Don't forget to disinfect the water : vessels once a week and keep them In the shade. Only decency. Don't leave young stock to the fury of thunderstorms. You can stand a aueking and the other ducks also. Don't take your eye off the clerk when he mixes that egg soda. May putin something strong. Then what? Don't do a wildcat stunt when your neighbor proves your cat steals chick ens. If his chickens come over Into yotir garden, just trade. PIGEON POX. Pigeon pox is caused by protozoa and is more apt to appear In damp quar- , ters and wet, foggy weather. Protozoa, , or fungi, multiply rapidly where there Is moisture, while bacteria increase . faster in heat. Thus pigeon fanciers who are too lazy to patch leaking roofs or to clean up may simply blame the weather when their pretty pigeons are ornamented with yellow topped warts. Moist droppings mean pigeon pox, and J this may come from splashed bathing water as well as iks. Chicken and pigeon pox are similar, with the exception that the ailment is gen ' erally confined to.the chicken'*) head v% 11111* tiu uiurons tue uiaeast? win iravwr from bead down the neck, over the under surface of the body and on the inner side of wings and legs. It sometimes appears on the back of the body and wings, and when it takes n diphtheritic turn, invading the mouth and throat, the disease is fatal. You can Imagine the aprjoarance of n flock of beautiful plgeonJwlth bunches of yellow topped warts on their eyes, necks and bodies. Their rough plumage, rapidly ex hausttng strength and refusal to eat are signs to their worried owner that Ills pigeon cote will soon be empty. Many, of course, cannot see, ami ' squabs calling for feed to parent birds j that are too blind to find their young j or feed makes a pitiable sight. The disease may be introduced by a purchased bird into a pen that is kept riGEON rox. j spick and span and a flock that is in the ['ink of condition. So you can see the necessity of quar antine and also for a special place to cage sick birds. The first thing to do ! is to remove all affected birds, with their squabs, to other quarters. White wash thoroughly, having the lime strong with crude carbolic acid. Renew nest material and keep unaf fected birds under close observation. Feed dry meal sprinkled with sulphur. In treatment if disease can be local ized or confined to spot where it first appears tlie warts will dry up and fall off and the bird will be little affected. Remove top of warts, dip a toothpick in carbolic add and just touch the red spongy surface with the acid. Paint with iodine, having care not to gs-t remedies in the eyes or on unaffected j surface. Some burn out the warts with a redhot iron. This Is cruel to the bird and dangerous for the doctor. FEATHERS AND EGGSHELLS. I The dry hopper feed fellows aren't preaching its superiority for fertility. Their failure to make good last season ; shut off their eloquence. ' "I will try geese this season," writes j a friend. You ought to have a good market for breeders and eggs, judging ! from the number who are cackling I about geese. If you desire to keep your white | chicks from cream and brasslness feed cracked corn sparingly. If you're in ! the brass weather vane business it doesn't matter, j One big squab firm trains kittens to keep rats and mice out of the lofts. | The cats and birds become so accus tomed to each other that they drink from the same canteen. The establishment of free dispen saries for poor consumptives in Penn sylvania is certainly a mercy. Free nursing, free medicine, pure milk and i fresh eggs cheer many a poor soul. The eggs are eaten raw, and fresh, san itary eggs are in demand, j Poultrymen In general are giving n western judge the blue ribbon. When ; two chicken thieves were brought be fore him he gave years In the penitentiary and stated that he considered It as great a crime to steal a chicken as to steal a piece of plated silverware. Other judges, sit up and take notice. Mr. J. 11. Sublette, an American, has a poultry plant and apiary in the sul> urbs of Havana. His eggs commanded IK) cents all winter, and bis honey sold at a premium. Knowing a negro's feat of bees, be surrounded his 1,000 I. -n - with 500 beehives. A darky is espi cially afraid of spooks, witches, hard work and bee stingers. A poultrymnn In November put pullets In fifteen colony bouses to di-j cover whether they would do better there than in the big scratching shed They laid well and kept well, but did not pay so well. Chickens love coin pany. A big tlojc on the roost throws off an amazing lot of heat. The out side temperature of a hen's body in health averages 103 degrees, and she wears no "nightcap" either. She needs no "eye opener" at the dawn, nor does she care for a "morning glory." But you did swear off. In the time of Pharaoh hens set. and the modern hen has asked for no patent on an Improvement In her hatch ing apparatus. Now there are myriad manufacturers of hatching machines that all seem to be different, but they nil claim to have patterned after moth er hen. But there are hens and hens. Some set some set standing and some set not Some incubators hatch chick ens. some hatch trouble, and some hatch a conflagration. Perhaps some of the Incubator firms patterned after a bob i .led rooster in mistake. Green Leaf In Limestone. A remarkable freak of nature and a rare And from a geologist's point of view came to light recently on the farm of John R. Sanderson, located a few miles from Latrobe, Pa., while Charles D. Fausold was digging a hole in the ground. The hole, about six feet square, was being put through a bed of soft limestone, and one of the stones encountered, a piece of lime stone about 8 by 0 inches in dimen sions, was accidentally struck upon the edge with a pick. It split open at the blow, and inside was found a gTupevine leaf. It was of an ordinary size, looking exactly as a leaf from a modern grapevine looks, and it was as green and as fresh and tender as though It had Just lieen plucked from a vine. It withered as soon as it was exposed to the air and sun. The leaf was found in the center of a fifteen acre field of corn. New Peanut Country. Brazil Is fast becoming a peanut country. In 1903 the area devoted to peanuts was only 3,800 acres. In 1907 It was 80,000 acres. Why is It that the only time the newspapers spell a man's name right Is when he is arrested for street fight ing?— Los Angeles Times. LUDWM LUNATIC Patti Once Threw Him Into a Frenzy of Madness. I A FREAK OF THE CRAZY KING. He Frightened and Enraged the Great Diva by His Strange Whims, and When She Finally Sang For Him In Munich It Drove Him Wild. When Patti was In the first heyday of her fame Ludwig 11., the mad king of Bavaria, set his heart on having her sing for him at his private auditorium in Munich. lie wrote letter after let ter, begging, imploring, offering ex tra vagarit sums of money, but Patti resolutely refused to go. She had heard too many stories of Ludwig's freaks and was desperately afraid of him, but at last the king offered her a sum so i enormous that it seemed ridiculous to I refuse it. Then the singer plucked up courage and started for Munich. When ; she and her maid alighted at the sta : tion not even a carriage was there to meet them, and they liad to inquire the | name of the best hotel and call a cab. j That was the first shock to the diva's : nerves and temper. After luncheon she started out to see the town and inci dentally to examine the posters an nouncing Europe's greatest singer. Not a mention of her name could she find. She rushed back to the hotel and told her maid to pack the trunks. Just at that moment a resplendent officer delivered a letter from the king. The letter stated curtly that his maj esty would wait for her at 7 o'clock precisely in the royal palace, where his singer in ordinary, Mme. Fischer, would give her further directions. Mine. Fischer would also sing with Mme. Patti the duets which his maj esty wished to hear. A programme was inclosed. Patti wept with rage. "I have never been treated so bru tally," she said. "I shall leave at once. Tell the king so. I will not sing never, never, never!" The officer pleaded with the irate prima donna. Ilis majesty had been wild with ex citement ever since he knew she would i come and had not slept for three ) nights, so great was his Joy at the i prospect of hearing her. "Besides," added the officer, "you know your king Is—is—ls" "Crazy," snapped Patti. "Yes, thafs very comforting, isn't it? I don't know why I ever came." Just then she caught sight of this postscript: "The king commands Mme. Patti to appear In pare white, without any j color whatever, and not by any means ' to wear a satin gown, but soft wool. Silk is painful to his majesty." •■nis majesty will have to be pained. I have no white woolen gown except my peignoir. I shall wear red velvet" "Red"' groaned the officer. "Oh, no, no! Red sends his majesty Into fits. If you appear in red, he will scream and have convulsions. Oh, do be pa tient, inadame! I will bring Mme. Fischer to you. She understands the king's nerves. She will explain." He fled from the room, and shortly after Mme. Fischer appeared upon the scene. She soothed Patti Into good humor and also attacked the white wool peignoir and transformed it into a most becoming Greek robe. Before 7 the royal carriage arrived at the hotel and Patti went to the pal ace. She was led through dimly lighted rooms and corridors Into Lud wig's private theater, which was in utter darkness save for the moonlight that entered through the windows. Patti stood upon the dark stage, while an orchestra, somewhere out of Bight began n soft prelude. Through the gloom she could Just make out a white ' face In the royal box opposite the 1 stage. Not another auditor was In the great hall. Patti felt the cold shivers creeping over her. She shook with nervousness and fear, and when she should have begun her aria not a sound could she make. She opened her mouth, but her throat was paralyzed from nervous terror. There was a pause. The king sprang up and leaned forward out of the box, his white face gleaming in the moonlight The violins repeated the prelude. Patti gathered herself to gether and made one heroic effort Her voice rang out into the great empty place, and the king sank back into the dark box. Patti, though badly scared, made the effort of her life and finished the aria from "La Traviata" triumphantly and stood flushed with victory. Dead si lence. Not a sound came from the gloom before her. She went off the stage In a temper. Mme. Fischer was behind the scenes, and Patti waited with her for the signal to sing the next number. A messenger appeared at the door, nis majesty had had enough music and had gone to his apartments. For a moment Patti stood stunned. Then she laughed. The rudeness was so colossal that It was funny. Mme. Fischer took the diva to supper and then home. The next morning Mme. Fischer called at the hotel once more, accom panied by the court chamberlain, who bore the promised check, an autograph letter of thanks from the king and some jewels of great value. King Ludwig, Mme. Fischer said, was in one of his maddest moods, wild with re gret, cursing himself and cursing Pat ti. He had walked the floor all night, groaning that he was a traitor, for Patti's voice had so ravished his senses that for one moment he had gone over to Italian music and had been false to Wagner, the one musician who alone had satisfied his majesty's soul. "That was better than having bored him," added Patti, shrugging her shoul ders. National Cemetery on Deer Island. A new national cemetery analogous to the Arlington cemetery at Washing ton is to be laid out on Deer island, according to present plans of the war department, says a Boston dispatch. It will be reserved wholly for soldiers, sailors, officers and civilians who died while in the employ of the United States. Many sailors who died of ship fever and a number of soldiers who succumbed during the war of 1812 and the rebellion were buried on the island. Bocker—Doing wrong is simply fol lowing the line of least restetapoe. Knocker— Yes, It's as off the Decalogue —Life. BENDER FAMILY'S FATE One of Posse Who Killed Them Told the Story. SECRET KEPT MANY YEARS. George E. Downer on His Deathbed Declared Father, Mother, Son and Daughter Were Bhot Down by Vigi lantes After Hot Pursuit. When the Bender family of infamous memory fled thirty-five years ago from their blood reeking shanty on a Kan sas prairie, their disappearance was as absolute as If they had been swallowed by an earthquake. Time and again ru mors of how they escaped to foreign countries or that a sheriff and a United States marshal had annihilated them were circulated and discredited. Their fate was recently revealed for the first time by a man sick unto death, who for over thirty years lived the life of a respected and honored business man in a Chicago suburb. The man who told the wonderful story gave nothing from hearsay, noth ing from rumor or "reasoning," but his was the recital of an eyewitness, of a man who watched the fiends, who helped to organize the posse which pursued the fiendish murderers and was present, gun in hand, until Kate Bender, fighting to the last, plunged, with a bullet in her forehead, across the bodies of her mother, father and brother. George Evans Downer of Downer's Grove, grandson of Pierce Downer, who founded the settlement in 1823, told the story, fully believing he was on his deathbed and that it was his duty to publish the truth to the world, says a correspondent of the Chicago, Tribune. A compact entered into by the members of the vigilance com mittee at the time kept his lips sealed all these years, but realization of the fact that if he dkl not speak the truth might never be known induced him to tell how he assisted in the extermina tion of the fiendish family. Mr. Downer lived at Independence, Kan., during the bloody reign of the Benders. lie personally visited the Bender farm on the road between Osage, Mo., and Independence. He went several times In an effort to gain a clew to the mysterious disappear ances from that neighborhood. It will be remembered the Benders fled after the murder of Dr. York. It has al ways been supposed the butchers got clear out of the country. As a mat ter of fact, as Mr. Downer revealed for the first time, the Benders were put to death the night of their flight. Downer, whose visits to the Bender place had convinced him that the Ben ders were guilty of monstrous crimes, associated himself with four other men in an effort to capture the human butchers. They had no idea of inflict ing summary Justice themselves. They planned to capture the Benders and turn them over to the legal authorities. They discovered that the Benders had fled aad took up the trail only a few hours later. Prom this point Downer's story is told Just as he gasped it with dying breath to his wife and son. lie said: "The night was dark, and we feared that they might escape us, but our luck was good. We sighted them rac ing as fast as they could over the prairie and shouted to them. The moon bad risen, but frequently was ol>- scured by heavy clouds, and the riding was anything but good. As soon as we shouted they opened fire on us, and this determined our course. "There was now no question of tak ing them prisoners or giving them a trial. There was only one thing to do. and, though It has troubled me all my life, I couldn't see how I could have acted differently. "We set our horses going at break neck speed, and the bullets flew fast from both sides. The bad light and the rough going over the hilly prairie made aiming almost impossible, but we were overtaking them rapidly when a shot from the wagon struck one of otir party, killing hlui instantly. Then the older Bender, who was firing from the back of the wagon, pitched out on the prairie dead, and Johu, his son, jumped and ran. He was shot before he had run a hundred feet from tlie wagon. "Kate hail been driving, but at this she stopped the wagon short, sprang out, cut one of the horses loose, the one said to have been given her by her wooer, and sped away on it. One of our party shot her horse under her. It rolled over on her, awl before she could extract herself we overtook her. "We dismounted and went toward her, expecting to help her and with no thought of trouble. But, my, how she did tight! She fought tooth and nail like a tigress, and we had to handle her like a bucking broncho. At last she was firmly tied, hand and foot, and thrown over the front of a saddle tar of tlio men "When we got back to the Bender wagon we found that the old woman within hnd been killed by a bullet. The old man and John were dead, and we found our poor comrade stark dead on the prairie, guarded by his faithful horse, who stood over him like a senti nel. "Kate, whose bands had been partly loosened, calmly admitted that they had killed Dr. York and many others, burying their bodies In the orchard. We asked her why she had done it. &3klng why some of the people who were known to have no money had been killed. " 'I liked to see the blood come,' she answered. "As she talked I thought of the time I sat at her invitation on that fatal bench, and the goose flesh came all over me. The others were as absorbed as I when she turned suddenly, snatched the gun from the belt of her neighbor and fired at him point blank. The bullet buried itself In his arm. "Before she could make another move a bullet struck her square be tween the eyes. With a groan she pitched forward across the bodies of her father, mother and brother. It wns all done Jn a flash, and it was fully a minute before there was a word spoken. "The man who fired the shot had, It seemed, anticipated some such move on her part from the beginning and in consequence was the oaly one on his "A sigh of relief went up from us all when the last of these cutthroats was burled. We burned every trace of them and made a compact not to re veal the names of the vigilantes nor the fate of the Benders. "We returned to the house and ex cavated In places where traces of clay showed on top of the black loam soil of the orchard. We turned up the body of Langehor and his seven-year old daughter. The body of the man, as In all other cases, was naked, but the arms of the little girl were tightly clasped around his neck, and In her hands were clutched handfuls of clay, showing that she had been alive when burled. "We then notified Senator York, and 200 men were on the place the next day. We allowed a story to circulate that the Benders had got away some time before and that our attention had been attracted by the deserted appearance of the place and the dis turbance of a starving calf. This was largely In order that the attention of the supposed confederates of the Ben ders might not be attracted to us." It Is not known how many murders the notorious Bender family commit ted during their stay In Labette coun ty, Kan., In the early seventies. It Is known that no member of the family was ever legally punished for any one of the crimes committed by them. The family consisted of William Bender, about sixty years old; his wife, about fifty-five years old; Kate, about twen ty-five years old, and John, perhaps twenty-three. In the early seventies the only roads were trails across the Kansas prairies, and the Bender farm was located on what Is now the northeast quarter of a section The house stood on what Is now the north line of the quarter and was on the main traveled road be tween Osage mission and Independ ence. Ilere the Benders kept a little store supplied wKh food for man and beast, but it is said to have been more of a decoy for weary travelers than anything else. Here it was that many crimes were committed of which the world will never know. Kate Bender professed to be n mag netic healer. 4 description of the house In which these crimes were com mitted reads like fiction. Neverthe less what was discovered after their sudden departure bears out all the de tails. It was a small frame house not more than 10 by 20 and fronted north. There was n door at either end, and the room was divided by a canvas partition drawn tightly over upright scantlings. This partition was the death trap. The victim was decoyed to a seat close against the canvas, and Kate did the murder. Kate used a shoe hammer from be hind the canvas, and the old man fol lowed with blows on the temple with the blacksmith's hammer. Afterward a loose board was taken up and the throat cut. Then the body was robbed of clothing and valuables and cast Into the cellar to await a convenient oppor tunity for burial. HE HAD TO PAY. Half a Dollar That the Traveling Man Hated to Spend. "The 50 cents I hated most to spend," said the traveling man, "went to the Canadian Pacific railroad. I don't mind paying for things I get, but this par ticular expenditure couldn't be in dorsed 'for value received.' "A number of us got into St. John. N. 8., one night just in time to catch the night train for Boston. We got aboard only to learn that the train didn't carry a diner. Now, a long night ride without dinner isn't a pleas ant prospect so we besieged the con ductor. " 'Why don't you start on the Mont real, which pulls out Just ahead of us?' he said. 'lt carries a diner, and we can pick you up at Frederickton Junction.' " 'No danger of your passing lis?' we asked, and he assured us. that he couldn't very well, as there was only one track. So we all piled out after leaving our baggage in our Pullman berths, "It was surely a tine scheme we thought as we dined at our leisure in the Montreal train. After dinner we sought the nearest smoking compart ment in a sleeping car and prepared to wait in comfort for Frederickton Junc tion. "Then along comes a much uniform ed official and demands 50 cents each for the privilege of eating a meal and having a smoke aboard his train. We explained carefully that we belonged on the other train, had given up the price for Pullman berths, and. further more, that we had lieen sent aboard this train for the sole purpose of get ting our dinner, 'llldn't the Canadian Pacific run both trains?' we asked. "But It was no use. We had to pay." —Washington Post. Policeman (to tenant of flat)—A no you say the rug was stolen from your hall. Can you glre mo any particu lars of It? Tenant (nervously)—Ob yes. It was a fancy reversible rug red on one side and green on the oth er. Policeman (impressively)—Ah— and which was the green side?— Punch. SOBS m! A Reliable TO SHOP for all kind of Tin Roofing, Spoutlne nnd Conoral Job Work. Stoves, Heatoro, Ran«w t Furnaoos, oto- PRICES TBB LOWEST! QUALITY Tflfi BEST! JOHN HIXSOIV SO. Ul & FRONT IT.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers