El democrata del condado de Costilla. [volume], July 22, 1933, Image 2

About El democrata del condado de Costilla. [volume] (San Luis, Colo.) 1923-1939

Image provided by: History Colorado

                
Women at West Point
By ELMO SCOTT WASTSON
. NE does not usually think of the
n United States Military academy at*
Jr West P<jlnt as othlT than man’s
Jk world, yet there have been several
JJ women who have had such a part
* names a part of the “West Point
f tradition.’’ The first* of these was
a the woman known to fame as
“Captain Molly.”
' Si
In the cemetery at West Point stands a monu
ment bearing a bronze tablet which shows in
bas-relief a stalwart woman standing behind a
cannon, ramrod and portfire in hand, and below
It is this inscription: “In Memory of Margaret
Corbin, a Heroine of the Revolution known as
‘Captain Mollle,’ 1751-1800. Who at the Battle
of Fort Washington, New York, when her hus
band, John Corbin, was killed, kept his field
piece in action until severely wounded and there
after by act of congress received half the pay
and allowance of ‘A Soldier In the Service.’ She
died and warn buried on jiver^
- 'g—ltfL % ••
liberty and that her heroism tnagTiot be forgot- *
ten, her dust was moved to this spot and the 4
memorial erected by the National Society of the
Daughters of the American Revolution In New
York State. 1926“
Such Is the brief story which the tablet {ells
but there are other details worth recording. Un
til her death in 1800 she lived In a private home
near West Point, supplies for her being sent di
rect from the secretary of war.
An Interesting sidelight on that part of her
career was revealed recently when Capt Walter
H. Wells, Intelligence and publicity officer at
WeS * SSl nt ’ ln digglng * hroa Sh some of the old
files at£the academy, came across the manuscript
Jetters written by MaJ. George Fleming, com
mander of the arsenal and ordnance and mlll
• tary storekeeper, at West Point to “The Hon
orable Maj. Gen. Knox, Secretary of War.”
• On October 7, 1786, Fleming wrote to Knox: •
“I have sent another account of Mrs. Swim’s for
taklag care $f Captain felolly up to the 2T£h
of September and £ave removed her to another
I thought aim was not so well treated
sift fight
July 8, 1787, there was another letter which
does nof*palnb a very flatteringjnortralt of the
’flpvolutloiiary
tferee orders on you, for the malntalnance of
Captain Mfillr, in faror of* Mr. Denniston: one
lj#j»tefc»UAry 19 to April 12, the other from
4IP u td' July .5, 178fl| inclusive, which ac
cptfcte were lodged In the war office last fall,
aad Mo Mrr Swim's, fete other Is from Septem
ber 28 to July 5, 1786, inclusive, and will be de
livered by Mr. Denniston for Mrs. Randall. As
Molly la such a disagreeable object to take care
of, and I promised to pay «thera every quarter,
I have been obliged to borrow the money to pay
the'people; if It can possibly be repfaced. *1
should be very glad.”
On April 21, 1787, there was another letter
wtth a curious touch of an eternal feminine prob
lem-something to wear! On that date Fleming
writes: “I am informed by the woman that takes
care of Captain Molly, that she la much ln want
of Shifts. If you think proper to order three or
four. I should be glad.” Two months later, on
June 12, be wrote again to Knox “If the Shifts
which you Informed me should be made for
Captain Molly are done, I should be glad to have
them sent, as she complains much for want of
them.’’ Whether or not Oaptatn Molly ever got
her “Shifts" Is unknown, for there Is no further
reference to the matter nor does her name again
appear ln the records after 1789.
In contrast to the militant spirit of “Captain
Molly," both ln war and in peace, was the spirit
of another woman whose name Is written high
in the annals of West Point She was Miss
Susan Warner, the daughter of a New York
city attorney, who upon retiring from practice
in the metropolis made hla home on Constitution
island la the Hudson river opposite West Point
He was accompanied there by his two daugh
ters, Anna and Susan, and every Sunday after
noon for years Miss Susan conducted a Bible
class for the cadets at the military academy.
Had she lived she would have found among the
names of the general officers in the World war
many who had attended her classes. A frail,
■mall woman who still clung to the poke bonnet
and the silk dress of the Civil war period, she
was rowed across from her Island home and
carried in a military conveyance to the hail set
•fart for*bar la one of tbo academic buildings.
■bo came to bo regarded as almeet a part of
tbo teaching corps of tbo institution and on her
W*- of chevron* for
Wear”Point eadet uniforms for 60 years.
4 2.—Letter to General Knox, secretary of war,
from the military storekeeper at West Point re
ferring to an “Account for Mrs. Randall taking
care of Captain Molly twenty-four weeks, being
from June 7 to November 21, 1787, inclusive."
3. —Miss Anna Warner, sister of Susan War
ner, author of ‘The Wide, Wide World" and
Sunday school teacher for West Point cadets.
4. —The monument to "Captain Molly" in the
cemetery at West Point.
5. —Inscription on the “Captain Molly” monu
ment telling of her heroism in a Revolutionary
war battle.
6. Picture of Cadet Henry Moore Harrington
framed in Indian beadwork.
♦ " —A
7 Q
death she was burled with military honors be
side the cadet monument In the West Point
cemetery. Her sister, Anna, following her wishes,
gave Constitution Island to the United States gov
ernment, and their home there Is preserved as
a memorial.
But Miss Susan’s connection with West Point
was not her only claim to fame. Under the pen
name of I£limbeth Wetherell, she wrote two
hooks, ‘The Wide. Wide World." published in
1«$1, and “Queechy,” published in 1852, which
attained a wide popularity. Of "The Wide, Wide
World" it has been said that “It was the most
popular novel ever written by an American with
the single exception of Mrs. Stowe's famous
story. 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ ” It attracted as much
attention in England as In America and It was
translated Into French, German and Swedish.
However, Miss Susan was Indifferent to this
fame for It Is recorded that she "never liked"
her book, "The Wide, Wide World." Perhaps
she unconsciously anticipated the criticism that
followed Its publication. A French critic marv
eled at America's reception of a three-volume
novel devoted "to the history of the moral prog
ress of a girl of thirteen." An American critic
described It as having little story, not a semb
lance of melodrama, and declared that Its suc
cess was “purely artistic." It Is one of the liter
ary traditions of New Tork that, after the read
ers for George P. Putnam had advised against
It, he was persuaded by his mother, who read
the manuscript, to publish It.
Long before Miss Susan became the Sunday
school teacher for the cadets there was another
woman who had an Important place In cadet
life at the academy. She was Miss Blanche
Berard, who was postmaster there for half a
century. Appointed by President Polk In 1847,
Miss Berard held her position there until 1897
and few of the cadets, perhaps, realized that
hack Of her pleasant smile, as she passed out
their mall to them, there was the bitter memory
of a tragedy In her Ufe. As a young girl Miss
Berard was engaged to an officer attached to the
academy. One afternoon this officer rodo his
spirited horse, of which he was very proud, to
the post office to demonstrate Its good points.
But the horse became frightened suddenly and
threw the officer off, killing him. So the woman
postmaster remained "Miss" Berard to the end
of her days, true to the memory of her first and
only love. But one big thrill came to her In
her later life. While on leave of absence from
her duties at West Point, which she spent In Eu
rope. Miss Berard had the honor of being pre
sented to Queen Victoria of England.
It Is an Interesting coincidence that the pres-
THE COSTILLA COUNTY DEMOCRAT
ent postmaster at West Point is a grandniece of
Miss Berard and that there has also been trag
edy In her life. For she Is Miss Grace Alleen
Harrington and she Is the daughter of Lieut.
Henry Moore Harrington of C troop of the Sev
enth cavalry who perished with Gen. George A.
Custer ut the Battle of the Little Big Horn on
June 25, 1876, and who was one of the three of.
fleers whose bodies were never found, at least,
not Identified after the battle.
Not only is the Ignorance of her father's fate
one of the tragic incidents In the life of the
woman who Is postmaster at West Point, where
so many of Custer’s officers were once cadets,
but there Is another tragic memory which she
has carried through life—a memory of her moth
er. who suddenly disappeared several years after
the Cuater battle. "Amnesia It would he called
nowadays.’’ Miss Harrington says, “but at that
time It was ascribed to gpief and the uncertain
ty of what had happened 0 my father. Several
times we heard from Indian) that a lady dressed
In black had been seen on fie battlefield. Other
reports came from Indian territory. We Investi
gated all these rumors and Anally after two
years we found her in Texns where a severe at
tack of pneumonia had servsd to bring bnck her
memory so that she knew who she was. But
she was never able to give any account of her
wanderings while she was gone or why she was
there.”
As Miss Harrington staads behind her desk
In the post office amid the busy turmoil of mall
distribution for the 1,200 cidets at the academy
and an equal number of officers and regular sol
diers, she can look up to two pictures on the
wall which serve as a link between the blood
stained battlefield of the Little Big Horn In far
off Montana and the peacefsl banks of the Hud
son. One of them is a picture of her father in
the regimentals of the Seventh cavalry, the uni
form which he wore on that fatal day ln June
more than half a century ago. The other Is a
picture of Cadet Henry Moore Harrington. It Is
enclosed in a frame made of beads and these
beads were obtained by her mother from Indians
In Dakota—perhaps members of the very same
tribe who overwhelmed Custer and Harrington
and all the other gallant officers and troopers of
the Old Seventh.
Among the other West Polat traditions Is one
of perfection in attire and one of the require
ments for that perfectloD Is perfectly aligned
and perfectly sewn chevrons worn as the in
signia by the officers and non-commissioned of
ficers In the corps of cadets. Those ornate chev
rons of gold lace, black braid and broadcloth
are very difficult to make, since they require
great skill and experience la the making, but
there Is a woman who has proved herself capable
of the job.
For more than fifty years without a break
Mrs. Louise Regan of Highland Falls, N. Y„ has
made every chevron, gold nr gray, worn by the
stralglitatandlng Weat Pointers. She really start
ed sewing them when she was ten years old
but her uninterrupted service with the cadet
store of the academy began when she was eight
een and since 1879 all the corporals’ stripes and
Insignia from sergeants up to regimental com
manders have come from her hands. She la
past seventy years of age now and she has made
stripes for many cadets who are generals In the
army today.
It Is difficult, says Harris P. Scott, managei
of the cadet store, to turn the straight-rolled
gold lace into the curves necessary to make
those long V’s turned up without druwlng or
wrinkling the material. Five yards of gold lace
are required to make a pair of chevrons for a
regimental adjutant of the corps of cadets.
There Is also the background of broadcloth with
the silk striping between the gold lace. This
lace la of real gold and Is Imported from France.
It la all hand labor and the material must be
worked lu cool wenther as hand perspiration
deadens It. She works from January to June
each year making chevrons for the cadet officers
to-be in June after graduation.
Mra. Began la n widow anil without children.
She was born In Highland Fnlla, moving to
Yonkers upon her mnrrlage and then returned
to her birthplace. The cadet atore has sent
her tho work wherever nho was. Her health la
splendid and though the work la hard on the
eyes she hopes to continue aa the only maker
of the splendid gold and gray and black chev
rons that grace the uniformed sleeve ot the
Weet Printer.
*® br Weetw* Kewspsan UaleeJ
YOUTH CONFESSES
HE SLEW MOTHER
TO GET HER CASH
Sight of Blood-Stained Death
Weapon Too Much for
Boy Murderer.
Flint, Mich.—“l killed her! Now I
guess I’m done for. Tell the people
who believed In me that I thank them.”
Thus did Balfe Macdonald, seven
teen, wayward son of a millionaire
family, confess that he beat his wid
owed mother to death with a book-end.
The confession came shortly after
Bnlfe and his pal, William Terwilliger,
sixteen, were returned here from Nash
ville, Tenn., where they were captured.
Slain In Mansion.
Macdonald’s mother, Grace, fifty
four. widow of a millionaire Flint
banker, was found slain In a bedroom
of her mansion the same morning
Balfe and young Terwilliger disap
peared.
Chief of Detectives Tewhey said the
youth confessed without police pres,
sure, except for the fact that he was
shown the blood-stnined book-end.
Leaping up to the other side of the
small grilling room he cried:
“Don't show me that! Don’t show
me that!”
A moment later he launched Into
his full confession.
Chief Tewhey quoted him as saying
that young Terwilliger and he were
planning to run away that night, and
that “Bill was sleeping in the base
ment of the house, waiting for me.”
“Mother and I began arguing about
money,” Tewhey quoted the boy. “and
suddenly I picked up a book-end.
“She began to yell, ‘You can’t do
that to me.’
“I covered her head with a pillow.
I didn’t know how badly she was hurt.
I woke Bill. We sat on the stairs
and didn’t know what to do.”
Take Mother's Money.
“Finally we went out to my sister’s
room, where 1 knew mother had hid.
den some money. We took $45 and the
car and headed south.
“’ln Louisville, Bill bought a paper
and we found out mother was dead
and the police were hunting us.”
Young Terwilliger. transformed from
an adventurer Into a frightened, wide
eyed boy. sat in the room while Balfe
told his story—the same story which
“Bill” told police that Balfe had re
lated to him.
Indians Declare Love
Charms Govern Squaw
Ashland, Wis. Marital disturb
ances among Indians of the Bad River
reservation are being created by love
charms nnd witchery, it was claimed
In Circuit court here when 24 Chippe
wa Indians petitioned Judge G. N. Rls-
Jord to show Mrs. Dorothy Beauregard
clemency. She pleaded guilty to de
serting her 11 children.
The petition said that Bobldosh Ce
derroot had worked a love charm over
Mrs. Beauregard, and that she was
not responsible for what she had done.
Judge Risjord sentenced her to one
to three years ln the penitentiary.
The petition revealed the following
charms nnd witchery:
“The love chnrm can be procured
from Indian medicine men for a small
fee, and the person over whom It Is
exercised lias no control of herself,
■ut must obey the wishes of the per
son who has the medicine In his pos
session.”
The petition also pointed out that
witchery is being practiced among the
Indians in various forms, nnd that
such practices have been going on for
a long time, and that a real Indian
medicine man has almost supernatural
powers.
Bailiffs Are Routed by
Women in Eviction Case
Toronto, Ont.—They don’t like bail
iffs down in the Ukranlan section of
Toronto. Three eviction officers tin.
dertook to oust Andrew Mishka and
his sick wife from their home at 5
Cameron street and found they had
walked into a trap set by the unem
ployment council—a trap consisting of
four husky Ukranlan women.
The women scratched and mauled
the two bailiffs who went In and threw
one out the front nnd the other out
the bnck way. The third took to bis
heels before he was reached.
“We will fight all eviction cases,”
reads a cardboard sign, now pasted in
the window of the Mishka home, nnd
signed, “Council of the Unemployed.”
Robin May Have Caboose
Until Eggs Are Hatched
Benton Harbor, Mich.—A marathon
robin who had to keep on the wing to
hold the pace with her brood is get
ting a rest here.
Conductor Roy Blodgett saw the
bird flying under the caboose of a
freight train. Investigation revealed
a nest in the under structure, and In
side It two blue eggs. The next train
brought an extra caboose with the
order: “Use extra caboose until robin
Is done with car.”
Lightning Burns Watch
Out of Owner’s Pocket
Plnetree, Idaho.—Except for burns
about his face, Carl Beebe Is all right
again, but his watch will never be the
snme.
He was lending three horses near
his home, when lightning struck. The
two outer horses were killed, Beebe
was dazed, and a hols wqs burned
through the watch ln his pocket The
center horse was unharmed.
News of Silver State
Action of Gilbert Sanders seeking
to oust John J. Hendrick from *’ie
office of city attorney was dismissed
in District Court at Trinidad.
A bandit, disguised by false whis
kers, held up the Bank of Alma and
escaped with between $1,200 and
$1,500 in currency.
Santa Fo railroad department offi
cials at La Junta have received notice
that all employees of the locomotive
shops at Ia Junta will return to a
four-day-a-week work basis. They have
beefi working three days a week for
about a year.
In the first beer case to come be
fore a court in Morgan County under
the new 3.3 law John and Walter
Ramer of Brush, were fined $l5O and
sentenced to thirty days in jail when
they pleaded guilty to selling the brew
without a license.
Clifford B. Noxon, president of the
Colorado Federation of Labor, was
appointed president of the state land
board by Gov. Ed C. Johnson. I.’oxon
will succeed Raymond Miller, who
signed to become United States col
lector of customs.
Sidney Unwin, 40, a miner, fo:- :ly
of Boulder, was fatally beaten at Crip
ple Creek with a hammer said to have
been wielded by Mrs. John Snowden,
40, during an argument over pay
ments on a truck Unwin had sold to
Mrs. gpowden’s husband.
W. B. Buck, prominent Colorado
Springs producex, was elected preri
dent, and M. H. Harris, secretary of
the new Pike’s Peak Poultry Growers
Association. An all-day picnic for
poultrymen will be sponsored by the
organization July 25. <
Checks ln payment of the third and
final dividend to depositors of the
defunct state bank of Yampa were
mailed recently. These checks total
$4,651.03. The total amount of divi- #
dends paid was only 36.8 per cent ot
the amount on deposit when the bank
closed.
Addition of a third branch office
at Grand Junction to the Colorado
state organization of the Home Own
ers Loan corporation completed the
administrative setup of the corpora
tion in the state, with the central
office at Denver and other branches
at Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
Carl L. Law (Dem.) was declared
elected Judge of the Cheyenne County
Court by a majority of four votes by
Judge J. C. Young of Colorado
Springs in District Court after a con
test between Law and Viggo H. John
son (Rep.) following the November
balloting. Johnson had held the of
fice for eighteen years.
Mountain States Gasoline Corpora
tion completed its No. 6 well, SE%
section 4-34-62, on the Garcia dome
gas structure near Grand 4 Junction
for 200,000 cubic feet of gas daily com
ing from a depth of 1,210 feet. Tho
company operates a gasoline casing
plant in the field. The g -cragcs
about three gallons to the 1,000 cubic
feet.
It. M. Gow of Denver was named
state veterinarian for a thirty-day pe
riod. In the meantime, a dispute over
the appointment will be aired by the
state board of livestock inspection.
Gow was selected for the place by
the board and the governor had agreed
that they should select the veterinar
ian who serves on the board with
them. Gow succeeds Dr. Charles G.
Lamb, state veterinarian for many
years.
Property of the Lakeside Amuse
ment Park was bid ln recently for
$97,700 at a sheriff's sale in Golden
by Fritz Nagel, acting trustee for the
bondholders. The amount represented
the sum due on unpaid balance of ■
mortgage held against the company.
Nagel announced the park will con
tinue to operate as in the past. The
Denver Park and Amusement Co.,
owners of Lakeside, will have the cus
tomary time in which to redeem the
property.
Instructions for liberalizing the sale
of wine for religious purposes, which
are expected to double the federal
revenue from this source, were re
ceived by German H. Ellsworth, head
of tile United States bureau of indus
trial alcohol at Denver. The essential
difference in the new regulations from
the old, Ellsworth said, is that they
permit the sale of double the amount
of sacramental wine and families may
procure the wine from distributing
centers with the approval of rabbis,
priests and ministers.
Clark Bender of tbe Boulder Herd
Improvement Association had the top
producing dairy cow in Colorado for
the last year. His registered Guern
sey produced 781.4 pounds of butter
fat. A Guernsey owned by the My
ron Stratton Home of El l'aso County
was second with 709.4 pounds of but
terfat, and Catherine and Robert
Roemer of the Northern Association
own the third high cow, a Guernsey,
that produced 677.6 pounds of butter
fat.
Grant McFerson, atate bank com
missioner, recently took charge of the
affairs of the Englowood State Bank.
Deposits ln the closed Institution are
about $40,000.
Colorado Inventors granted patents
in Washington recently follow: Sam
uel I. Bousman, Denver, assignor to
the Dorr Co., Inc., New York, sedimen
tation devlco; Tbeodoro Earle, Den
ver, milling machine; Claude S. Whit
man, Denver, fire extinguisher; Evert
Mosher, assignor of one-fourth to J.
G. Hopkins. Eads, electrically operated
window.
Giving the Home
That Cool Look
Decorations Can Do Much,
Through Suggestion, to
Help Out.
The homemaker who expects the
family to remain at home during part
of the summer at least, can do much
to Introduce a cool element In the
rooms by following the suggestions
offered here. Some of the methods
lessen the heat through coolness real
ized through touch, and others
through sight and lowered tempera
ture. All are conducive to comfort.
One essential element in the dec
orative scheme is coolness of touch.
To attain this there Is no textile so
perfect as linen. The next best Is
cotton goods with linen finish. A
glazed or satin goods or finish is also
cool feeling. Glass and metal are
cool to the touch, us are also china,
pottery and ceramics of high glaze
and those of luster finishes. What
ever the home decorator has which
can be used correctly in her rooms
shouljl be featured.
4 second essential is coolness
through appearance. For example a
light-colored material is cooler to
look at than a dark one. Therefore,
when considering materials to cover
furniture remember that the light
toned o’nes will foster the cool look.
Of lnte. furniture covdrs of rich nnd
gay colors have been popular, which
Is in accord with the brilliant color
schemes which were the natural re
action from . the nll-toft-somber
schemes Just preceding tlie present
riot of color in decoration. *ln sum
mertime, however, If you would hove
your rooms appear cool, use delicate
colored furnltufe soverlng^textiles. .
A memory ofAhc coolness of atrfios
phele created h.v oyster-whlU?
terned weave Hnon covers on
ture and carpeted floors in a Philadel
phia residence still lingers with me.
I was byt a child and Philadelphia
1 was ffrematurely hot, |vhen stopping
there between* trains I cslied on'a
frleud of my mother’s. Just to
the shaded coolness of the drawing
room was a relief. To sit tho
linen-covered chairs nnd touch the .
cool* textile was refreshing. The
homemaker has succeeded today In
creating the desired cool atmosphere
if iter rooms give such if welcome im
pression of relief from torrid heat.
Accessories which strengthen the
Impression of coolness are grateful
in summer time. For example, a
clear glass bowl, brimming with wa
ter in which goldfish disport them
selves, is such an accessory. Fronds
of ivy trailing from a glass jar sus
pended in a window create a pleasing
Impression of crystal coolness and
shady dells. A silver vase tilled with
flowers suggests the coolness of
shimmering moonlight In a flower
fliled garden.
Whatever by sight or touch recalls
to the imagination things or impres
sions of coolness should be featured
ln summer decorayon. Such tilings
put persons In the mood to react to
such measures ns can lie taken to
actually lower temperatures, such oh
dimming sunlight, creating draughts
through open windows, etc.
©. 1933. Bell Syndicate.—WNU Serytce.
a— f
Everydody's Doing It
Constable—l Shall have to’ sum
mon you. miss. You’ve been
40 mile* an hour.
Young Woman —You’re too late—
another policeman told Tfle *he’d do
that a village or so hack.—lsindon
’ Tit-Bits. *
-a
HOW SHE LOST 18
POUNDS OF FAT
For Less Than SI.OO
"Will nay In regard* to Kruarhcn: .1
took It to rednrr. I lost IS pound* after
nslig one bottle anil feel flnr. .lunt bought
one more bottle tedoy and e*prct to lone
IS more pound*. I now weigh UK and
feet fine.** Mm. Harry Robinson. Akron.
Ohio (Jon. 6, 1033).
Once jt day take {Crunchen Salts—one
half tcaspoonful in a gins* of hot water
firift thing every morning. Besides los
ing ugjy fat SAFELY you’ll gain in
health and physical nttractivenc.«s—
constipation, ga* and acidity will cease
to bother —you’ll feel younger—more ac
tive-full of ambition—dear akin
sparkling eyes.
A jar that lasts 4 weeks costs hut a
trifle at any drugstore in the world
hut demand and get Kruschen and if one
bottle doean’t joyfully please you—money
back.
I~ Sprinkle Ant Food along win- I
dow silts, doors and opening* I
through which ants come and I
co. Guaranteed to rid quickly. I
Used in a million homes. Inez- I
pensive. At your druggist's. fl
PARKER’S
MggWy HAIR BALSAM
lUmurai DuiurufT-Htopa Hur Falling
uavv* I m part* Colot and
■VSL Boauty to Gray and Fad'd Hair
Wc and II 00 at Dronlata
<h saaJttmmJLLl
FLORESTON SHAMPOO Idaal for dm In
connection with Park ora Hair Balaam. Mnkaa tha
hair soft and fluffy, bit cent* by mail or »tdrau
ghts. Htoco* Chmlcnl Work*, Patchogu*. NT.
WNU—M 29—33