New-York tribune. [volume], February 04, 1912, Page 5, Image 19

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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WHAT OUR ARTIST-REPORTER SAW AT ELLIS ISLAND
Visit of Dickens in '67 as Viewed
Bv Himself and His Devotees
_
I
( nntiniied from flr?t pace.
"The owdsctous treatment ot the lug
gage, vhlcb was more outrageous than a
man could besr." ii" repUed. Nearly i
trunk had suffered mutilation. .
Not long after his arrival in this country |
Dickens began to suffer from what he
laned an "American catarrh." which great?
ly afflict?-<i him and became more and more
aggravai"! aa his readings progressed. The
winter was an unusually severe one, which
doubtless did not serve to mitigate the ail?
ment In the least, a lifelong devotee of
Hdeetrtsnlsm, on the theory that strenu?
ous phy, cal eserdse would counteract tn?'
Herta el strenuous mental effort, be t?."k
long v.?:,.- whenever drcumstancea per
nrttted Tin hotel keepers and othere did
?hat they could to make him comfortable. |
"My Igndlord," he wrote, referring to the
manager of the Westminster Hotel, where
he staved in New York, 'invented for me j
a drink of brandy, rum and snow, called;
It a 1 intaln sneezer." and sai?! it j
was t?. i".-, down all less effectual sneea- :
lng. But II i .i- not yet bad the euect Did
1 tell you tiiat the favorite drink before ,
you gel ip an 'eye opener'?" These did
not reduce the nasal trouble, nor mollify
thepaini.il fool troublea which developed,
the lar ented, Dlckena thought, by
walkint It) th? snow.
Thtre w. j.- in? identa In th.
tour out oi which Dlckena, with his tre
kaadoua r< : >oir of humor, used t?. get
fct 1. : I i t client of his fli'lids. At his
flrat reading at Washington the reading
*as varied for him by an Incident which
had a sequel. t
"in th- 'Carol' a moal rldtculoua incident
esHrrecl All "t a sudden I saw a <t"g
I**!1 out fi?mi among the acata In the
<+ntrn ai*.le an?l l??'k very Intently at me.
?'he g*ii< ,.l attention being hxe?i on me, i
??ont th.iik anybody saw this dog, but I
f'U tu r . ? his turning up again and
taking tint I k< pt my eye wandering
?bout in ,: of him. II?' was a very
easUe-doc, ., ,| n was va?H for me thai i
*?'?* reading . comic part of the book. But
?he** b" bou ed out Into the centre aisle
?gain. In _n entirely new placo, end (Still
looking intent i ;,t me) tried the effect ol
e b;,rK ,,,?,_ m>. proCeedlngs, I was
*?*?? eseb a parpxysm ol laughter thai it
coniinunicated itself t?. the audience, and
' *> r"ai? ?i ,.i oi. unotlM i. loud and \ouk
"N?xt ?_l(_( , thought i heard ?in "CoP*
Perfirkii u , ,!,|, n)> ?uppressed bark. "
???pwiied in this v. i.?? One ol our people,
?tending j . within the door, felt his leg
tou*'h?d, and, looking down, beheld the
?log, ?Urin* intently at me, .ml evidently
?U? alout to hark In a transput t ??!
*"c? ol inin.l and fury. !.<? Instantly CSUght
N"" up lri |K,;n i.an.ls and threw mm ?-*<'
"*? head mi,, n?. entry, Where tli?- ?beck
lekei-i, r.-.,.v..i him bk<- a gain" at ball.
**"*t night ? . . ame again, witii another
?kg. but om peop ? wan ss sharply on
"'* lookout loi tutu that be ?li'In't fOl "??
"* had I'vldenlly promised to pass tl'?
? eilier d?,K,
??en* wus interested in noting the
"??nge? in th.- American social structure
*hl,ti ha.l t.,K.-n place In the interval sln?-e
?I previous VHl und commented on a few.
?* ?f iiwM<. of course, was the negro un
*** ?he n, w j eglme of fr? i doni. Me thought
? eetect.d ?, prejudice against him even
ties of the North. One of the evl
JNo of ti?- iiiHimer in which sUv.-ry
"???m.-.t , , ,,,?,?1 in I'lymouth
FOch. the ?niir.ii of all churches wbci"
?** ?'"ni?! ?, a?) expecl to find It.
h'-n I r, ,,,| in Mi. I',< ech? r'n church at
^?Nllyn. |?, ?,-?!,., ave found the trii?
.;****? ha.l ,-,| ti?- fa? I thai 9 <??'!?""
[ ?t'ltr gaUerj bokllng YA was 'the coluurcd^
gallery." On the first night not a s?
could be Induced to enter it; and it was i
until it be? ame known next day that I w
?ertalnly not going t?. read there more ti.
four times that we managed to 011 it "
Evidently, Dickens ?lui not come clow
enough In touch with the affBll
church, for Dr. Rooslter w. Raymond, w
has been connected srith the cbui
throughout his life and who heard Dlckei
there, does n??t agree with the English no
elist's theory regarding the use ?>f the utt
gallery in the top of tie auditorium
the rear
"Where Mr. Dickens gol the notion th
i)??- upper gallery in Plymouth Church w
'the colored gallery' it la difficult to 1ms
Ins,*' be has written to The Tribune. "Bt
since that was never th?- truth, the trv
.id not hav? 'suppressed' it. it
hardly neiessary to say that no distinct!?
ot color wai drawn In Plymouth ?"bun
during Mr. Bee?liter's life, or has i.e.
drawn sin.?- liIk death.
"it is not unlikely that the second gsllei
vv.?s not occupied at the first of the Did
ena readings. It was tOO far away fro
the platform to be certainly a good pla.
for a hearer, People did not know befor.
hand whether Mr. Dickens would ).?? audit,
at that distan?-?-. Moreover, the price <
tickets was. for that period, very high.
remember that my father could afford i
buy two course tickets only, ami that ti
family t<??ik tuno in enjoying the supren
?blight ?>f "heating Dickens read Dickem
Very naturally, many persons may hav
waited to see whether Ihey could not g<
something i?-tt?i than the upper gaiter
for single tickets. After the tirst reodln
il was clear that the reader could be hear
anywhere in the house and that the ami
downstairs were generally preempted, an
when Mi. Dickons*! agent announced tin
no extra readings w?>ui?i be gjven thm
who Wat,led to hear him at least once 100
what they COUld get.
? Perhaps Mr. Dickens got ??is notion <>;
?.??lore.i gallery' from Baltimore ?ir sum
other Southern city, in applying it t
Plymouth Churoh he exhibited a trait no
usually attributed to him, namely, uncon
scion- humor. Dtckens had p.. relation.
with or special knowledge of Plymoutl
Church. His agent almply ?ngaged th?
room as the best lie could got st that tim?
and tor that purpose in Brooklyn."
'I tie farewell readings were given in April
?in?i just before the last on?- i? wai
< atertalned at a public dinner at Del
monlo?'a, this city. There were mom that
iwo hm.in.i persons present, Home?
Qreeley acting as toastntaster. owing i<
ins phystsal condition than was sonn
doubt at On- last moment Whether liickeiif
would be able to attend, but he appear..!,
ifi'.i ma.i.- a speech, in which he referred to
'tin- ?i.unges he had DjOtod In the eountiy,
pioinlsing his In sis that no COpy of the
?Aim? m?.m Notes" or of "Martin Chuzzl
wit" should appear In the future without a
.n?e t?. th.- - banges which he men?
tkMV ?I
Among those St that ?linmr was Henry
Holt, Ute pubHthOr, then a young nun.
I'pon til? Invitation of 'fiie Tribune he has
described the ?llnner as he r? calls 11 in the
following words:
"I was ai tin- ??inner given Dickens at
DelmonJco's, which was then ?in th?- north?
mot eorhei <>f Ptfth avenue ami Uthstroot,
in the bouse originally built by Mo I
rjrinnoB, th.- patron <?f the Kane exp?di?
tion f'?r th.- North Pole, <-f which most peo?
ple who may read this probably never
hoard. Them was ?? eoteili <>f young jour?
nalists, ??f ?rhom ti"- Isndsm a*ere the
Bweetsei cousins, who had founded the
j ROUIld Ta,,|e (<?f will, I? the ?iii?>.?t people'
? already alluded to likewise probably Bevel
| hoard), Hnd one of who n later founded the
ir.?.-<nt tail] 'Mail.' That ?oterie, of which
'SON'S REST,'' THE SCENE OF
.COLORADO PIONEERS HEROIC
DEFENCE AGAINST INDIANS.
'. j. though not a journalist, was on.-, used t.,
on.e a month, 1 believe, at I><l
monlco's, and consume the ?irumstlcks of
?he chicken* at 12 ?? plate, while the mc,,;,,|
,.,,,,, ?,.,? furnished In another dining
room at I'? " piale, and the breasts m a
higher ordei of dining room at Us "toata
Umea we would i""k in at ib.- .h" re "f
these other rooms Once. I remember, the
|10 ?linn?! we looked at but didn't ?at was
lt. lohn Roach, the BhlpbuJIder.
?Tl,f)i.,. young fellow.-, when they <"ii
((iv,.d the smMtkwi Mea of dining nick?
el.?, were much In doubt avheilier they
COUM get the big guns of the press to back
,i(N1 ,jp. hut when Oreolay and Hurlbut.
,,,,, ,,,, Th,- \? . rl.i. agreed to cine they
felt safe.
"Dickens di.l not arrive till buig sfter
the ?lipner bou:', ami WSI rOPOTtsd I" be IsM
Up with an attack of gout. You can realize
i hat we youngster! were in ?'? "daw. i beard
aomebod] remark that, taking Into con
.,,i, ration ids remark! on ble previous visit
to America, b? l?ad bettor die "f ha* foul
than not appear on thai occasion At last
!,, ,|?| sppear, with his feet swathed in
black .-ilk. and N'"ke at the dinner as if
nothing were the mattet with him, apologiz?
ing, however, for his lateness. ?>r possibly
only for bis voice (I incline to believe the
litter but cannot trust my memoryi. by
aaytafi that he was suffering from what he ?
,vas 'assured was an entirely typical Ameri?
can catarrh'.' Notwithstanding the condi?
tion of his feet he ?lldn't say gout
"When his gout p.rmitted While here he
vaa :l|| the time taking long walks, even In
,,.???,m..ns not..?'.! by the papen, and
l?.?o,e long be killed himself, as many did
? - th,t time, because of the then prevalent
superstition that a man could work his
brain and digestive organs all he pleas, d it
h, would only WW* his muscles equally
bard.
??I don't remember whether Rsymond
WOke at the dinner, and I Incline t?. think
that it wa- sfter in-."' Though Dich?
ens was by no means bad, the honors of the
MO
NUMENT MARKING GRAVES OF SIMPSON AND HIS WIFE.
evening, In mv collection, v? r. home off
by Ore.lev. Whom shrill, piping voice I
then hear?! for the first time. 1'arke God?
win spoke making fun Of IhS then new
doctrine of evolution, which, as he phrased
It announced thai l""K ?*??" a ,nt of ,,">t
begun twisting and twisting and twisting
until ii got twisted into Parthenons and
Shak.sp.-..res. Twenty or thirty years l.u?i
he ha?l become an cnthusiasti?- evolutionist.
,,n.l bore with his usual BWOOtnem tnv
twitting htm on this speech- Hurlbut wos
the most elegant figure ??f the ? ? < asion-as
always, 'the man of the world.' and then In
? ?loubie mono, i ??"'-'?'i idvlm say of your
readers wlio dO not know anything about
him as moat of them ?lo n?.t now, to In?
quire about him from their older friends
who were In the way Of knowing."
Dickens arm obMged to leave the room
before the dinner WOO over. On the fol?
lowing Mondai he gam bit hut American
rending Hs sslled on the Russia two day?
later and reached England the Irai week
In May. He died two rears later, on Jone
i ire, of an cfi.-i"" ot hi.i on the bi tin.
i, i (,. i, is believed, shortened somewhat
by the exertion?, of his great Am?.neun trip
Shaft Marks Spot Where Simpson
Held Utes and Cheyennes at Bay
Colorado Trapper and Fan
"Stood Off" War Part:
for Five Weeks.
Trinidad. Col.. Jan HO.?Prominent air
the rocky, meeallhe billa that surround
City, is a rugged, gray point, within
outskirts of the town, known as "rfii
Son's !.? St." Recently there was erect? ?J
tills hill a monument commemorating
brave fight put up at this spot by .'?
of the earliest settl-rs
Coloi ta wer party of I
' '-. Here Simpson and
little family herd the imi'.ans at bi
w? > Us until rescue.l by soldiers from :?'
! Lyon. The Indian lighter and his wife
j burled on top of the hill, and thousands
I visitors climb the steep ascent annua
I and wonder at tin? valor displayed by I
pione.r in holding this rocky eminence
I long against an overwhelming force.
Simpson was a well known character
ins in tiie early days of the trap;?
and gold hunters. He came West in t
I :"s and bttilt B cabin on the present Bite
? Trinlil.nl. which was then on the old Sari
1'e trail. Within ?Mplit of the dOOf I
Strings of prairie schooners used to ps
and repese on their way to or from San
i'.- The trail took a sharp turn to ti
south near Simpsons home, and, ail
Climbing the steep Rgton Mountains ?
Ule present Colorado-Ne v.- Mexico line, tl
fortune hunters fourni themselves at ti
very threshold of their Kl Dorado.
A!? ng the trail passed many charactet
(Bmous In Western history, chief amon
these being Kit Carson, who guided man
expeditions in safety through hostile In?
Ian country. Simpson was a skiiie
trapper, and often went with Carson o
trapping expeditions in the mouutaisi
l.lk?- othttr pioneers, Simpson was g rougi
and ready Indian tighter, and was ? -gage?
with Carson on moro than one punitlv?
expedition against the Blooms and othe
tribes that made trawl along the Santa Ft
trail a matter Of Brack hazard.
The i't?s and Chejronnm made- the foot
hills and the plains adjoining the Rockle?
their hunting ground, but they rarely gav?
(mulle to settlers. Con**e?iuently, on?- .\i.:5
morning in l?"-"., when Simpson's children
Hob and Nora, aged fifteen and thirteen
?v.r.- making their way to a small strcatr
near their home, they were surprised t?i
not I larga- j.arty of Indians riding toward
thrm at a terrific pace, shaking their
Uuices and uttering bloodthirsty cries. At
the same time they heard a cry from the
direction of the cabin. ;. ?1 saw their father
running toward them with his rifle in his
hand.
?Simpson had just returned from an ex?
pedition. He had heard that the Cheyennes
and DUO had gone on the warpath, and h.?
had hastened home just in time to rescue
his family. Seeing the trapper, the Indiana
hesitated, fer Simpson's fame as a shot
had h r.-ad throughout the frontier, and
the re?lskins knew that several among
them would meet death If they persisted
In their attempt to capture the children.
Telling the children to run ahead of him.
Simpson made hia way back to the cabin,
where hia fright?-n? ?1 wife was making
hurried preparations for departure. Simp- j
son informed the members of his family |
that the Indians had massacred several
families on the Arkansas River, and that
lalntoreenieiils would soon arrive. It wns
hopeless to attempt t<> defend the cabin,
und he t?il?l his wife that they must at?
tempt to reach the lop <?f th.- hill a f? w
huii?lri?l ?aids from the house.
TWO burros were packed with provisions,
: a keg of water and all the ammunition
trapper possessed. Driving the bur
1 ahead of them the members of the li
family set out from the house. Simp
covered the Indians with bis rifle av|
| they approached too near, ami the fan
? was unmolested. The hill which appea
i to the trapper as a good place for defei
was sec? setble only by a single aam
, rocky path, up Which one must climb
day in reaching the summit of "gfmpeo
? Rest." Th" summit of the hill Is (1
: alo;- half an acre iti extent ami BUrroUl
, e?l by a high, rocky wall. It would be I
possible to storm such a natural fortr.
except by overpowering the defenders
the narrow defile which served sa ..n ?
trance.
When Simp--.m and I.is family reach
p of the hill, they descried a lar
! body of Indians galloping across the pla
I to reinforce the accuttag party that hi
attempted t<> apture the children. Aft
s consultation at the fool of the hill, ti
I Chief a;.,l a few of his folloavers di
I mounted and Climbed XI * ?- path. When ne?
the top Umpsoa stepped out ami con
[mended them to halt. The wily chief ei
I deav<>re?l to get the trapper to surrende
promising that no harm would come t
? liltn or his family. Hut Simpson kne'
I Indian nature too well to trust m a wa
party, and Anally he ralssd hi*' rit!? an
told the Indians to "git" or ac would shool
They ran down the hill, dodging from rod
to rock, and, once at the foot. gounifl
th? it- war cries ami prepared to storm th?
fortr? -
In the mean time Simpson and his fam
lly hail bon getting SOBM noavlders in read.
iness at the* ??Ige o? the hill. When thi
narroav path below them had been fillet
With Indians, the] i"'!> I MfOVOl rocki
down the lull. Five "f the Indian.-? wer*
?wept ?way ami the r, si ran in terror,
Simpson tiring among them and killing
two ,,r three more.
The Indians Saw that It was hopeless to
attempt to storm the natural fortress, so
they surroundsd the hill and began a siege
In the endeavor to starve out" the de?
fenders. The siege las n? parallel In the
history of the West. For live weeks the
plucky pioneer and his family held their
'Ortreaa They killed their burros when
provisions ma low. Fortunately, there had
ticen heavy rains, and depressions in the
rocks at the top of the hill were filled with
water, giving an ainpl?? supply. At th*
end "f the tiltil week, avhen hope was
marly ab?ndernd, the Indians suddenly
brought In their ponies and rode away,
with shrill crics. A troop of cavalry from
Fort Lyon, IM miles distant, avhbh had
been s?'iit out to render aid to any set?
tlers who might have ?scaped the marauii
lag Indians, soon came in view, and Simp?
son and Ids family were rcecued. Simpson
lived long in the West, and many of his
descendants now live within sight of the
hill on which the pioneer and his wife are
burled.
THE BITTER BROWNS.
Mayor Crump of Memphis waa talking
about two opposing factiona In a nearby
town.
"They are as bitter," he aald, "as the
two Browns."
"The two Browns spelled their names dif?
ferently-one uf*ed an 'e'?and they were
dreadful rivals socially.
"They met one evening at a banquet, and
Brown said, with a sneer:
"A fool asked me to-day if I was sny
relation to you. I told him that If you had
a single drop of my blood in your veins I'd
cut it out of you."
And if 1 hud," aaid Browne, "i'4 let
you."