The Dalles daily chronicle. (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, December 10, 1891, Image 4

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    THE OLD STAGE DOOR.
Tis up a little alleyway, .
Where dost and darkness reign.
With all the kindred mysteries
That follow in their train. -The
tragic and the eomio blend,
Just as they did of yore;
Look oat, or else you'll tumble
At the old stage door.
The paint that once bedecked it
Has vauished long ago.
Like that on many a footlight queen
Whose smile we used to know.
Whose voico has long been silent.
Whose face is seen no more.
When play and song are ended
At the old stage door.
The chosen few who enter now
Are faces new and strange;
For those we knew have passed away
With Time's relentless change.
Ah, well, we'll veil with laughter
The tears that vex us sore.
As we turn away heart heavy
From the old stage door.
Robert Gilbert Welsh in New York Sun.
THE DUMB WITNESS.
The histories of California chronicle'
"briefly, in the sections devoted to Los
Angeles connty, the murder in 1841 of
one . Nicholas Finch, a German. But
naught say these chronicles concerning
certain curious details connected with
that crime, known to those versed in the
unwritten history of southern California,
and these matters are set forth as fol
lows: Fronting the old parish church ' of
Nuestra Senora la Beina de Los Angeles
still stands today a long, old fashioned
building of two stories with dormer
windowed roof, once the residence of
his reverence the bishop of this diocese.
This edifice is now the focus the thea
ter, I believe of the Chinese quarter,
and the cross that topped it, so long fa
miliar to the eyes of Angelonos, has
been supplanted by the great swinging
lanterns of lacquered wood and brilliant
hued paper.
Ere this house came to be used as the
episcopal abode, Nicholas Finck kept
within it a little shop, where he sold
liquors, groceries and other miscellane
ous wares. From time to time he re
plenished his stock from the vessels
which touched at Sau Pedro, and when
he went down to that port to make his
purchases, he was wont to leave his door
key with his friends, Charles Baric and
his wife Sophie, French people living
across the plaza, close by the church.
about where is now the site of a modest
photograph gallery.
One day Mine. Baric discovered that
her compadre's door was not opened, and
he marveled somewhat thereat, know
ing, nrst, tnat no trading vessel was
anchored at San Pedro, and, moreover,
that Finck always, as has been said,
brought his key to her when going afield.
And her wonder became alarm when
three days passed, and the door remained
closed, and there was no feign cf her
friend and neighbor. So the little
Frenchwoman crossed the plaza, her
husband having been for some days ab
sent from the pueblo, and she knocked
at the door of Nicholas Finck, and, get
ting no answer, she put first her eye,
then her ear and then her nose to the
keyhole. The eye saw utter darkness,
the ear heard no sound from within, but
to her nostrils came an odor at once foul
and forbidding that made her limbs to
quake, her hair to creep, her gorge- to
rise and her blood to curdle. ' And she
hastened away with fear and trembling
and told her misgivings to Manuel Be
quena. who. in those days, was the al
calde.
Then Don Manuel, seeing that the
case, indeed, wore an ominous aspect,
called on Don Ygnacio Coronel, Who
held an office corresponding to our pres
ent clerkship of the courts, and they
went to the house' of Finck, with three
stout alguaciles (constables or bailiffs),
who broke open the door, after the al
calde had thrice summoned and received
no answer. " When the nauseous stench
that came forth had been in some meas
ure weakened by the inrush of fresh nir,
they stepped within and at once saw, in
side the narrow room, the body of the
German, lying near the counter,
stretched in a pool of blood, stiffened
and decomposing. His head was beaten
to pieces, and the barrel of a gun, that
had been hammered somewhat toward
the form of a bludgeon, showed the
means of his murder.
The officers proceeded to examine the
premises, whose condition told, not too
obscurely, the story of the crime. Some
small wares on the counter and a magni
fying glass clutched in the fingers of the
dead man indicated that he had been en
gaged in a dealing of business when he
was stricken down. That the assassins
had rifled the little shop was manifest by
the state of the effects, some scattered,
some evidently missing; that they had
escaped ' by the rear was doubly proved
by the barring inside of the street door
and by the leading to the inner rooms of
bloody footprints whose number and
variety of shape showed that four or five
assailants had been present. The living
mnma lif n ;ml thA ahnn nasi hfknn nlnn-
dered, but the outer door, leading into
the usual corridor and thence to a low
walled corral, had been shut, and even
locked, from the outside. The searchers
. . opened this door and stepped into the
. yard
"They have killed his dog also!" cried
Don Ygnacio Coronel, at sight of a great
mastiff stretched on bis side upon the
earthen floor of the corridor. But even
u he spoke the creature stirred, slightly
lifted his head, glanced toward them,
and feebly wagged his tail. When they
went to him they found that he was
tethered by a fast chain, and was gaunt,
weak and almost famished, having been
without food or water since the day be
fore his master was murdered.
"We must succor, this poor creature.
. not only from humanity, but also as
precaution." said Don Ygnacio; "he
mijrht possibly prove to be a valuable
witness."
The alcalde looked sharply at the other,
as if to see if he were jesting, and the
alsruaciles grinned broadly. But Don
Ygnacio's' face was serious even to so
lemnity, as befitted the occasion, and
one of the men was promptly dispatched
for food and water, which was adminis-
; tered to the dog.
The discovery of this murder was fol
lowed by wild excitement in the pueblo.
The resident foreigners that is, not
Spanish-Americans as usual, acted as if
the crime were a result of race antagon
ism, rather than personal motive, and
they ' called loudly for vengeance, and
were not far from creating an incendiary
uprising. Guards were posted to watch
over the public safety, an ordinance was
issued requiring citizens to be within
doors by 10 o'clock at night and a volun
teer guard was placed over the jail, be
sides which a small detachment of sol
diers were sent thither from Santa Bar
bara. And now ' was set in motion all the
complicated machinery of the old Span
ish law, not altogether unlike the proc
esses of the French criminal courts,
and various vagabonds and suspicious
characters were taken into .custody.
These prisoners were kept under guard
of several Boldiers, and they . were con
ducted to the alcalde for examination by
a corporal. The dog of the murdered
man had been given such good care that
his strength was fully restored, and he
had been brought to the scene of ex
amination and tied within the room, r
; It was the observant and reflective
clerk of the court who first noted that
the animal was growling, Bullenly and
resentfully, as one of the prisoners stood
before the alcalde, whose 'attention he
called to the fact by writing a few lines,
in which he suggested that the prisoner
be returned to confinement until the
matter should be discussed. According
ly, Don Manuel Roquena sent away the
wretch cringing there, and the guard
was directed to bring in another prisoner
after a few minutes. Again the dog dis
played marked anger and hostility, as he
did at each new installment of suspects.
"Let us try an experiment," said Don
Ygnacio. "Will you arrange, DonMan
uel, to have another guard bring in, one
by one in turn, the men who have just
been before us?"i
This was done, but the intelligent ani
mal, a few moments since so savage,
now only looked inquiringly at each ar
rival, but made no demonstration of
enmity. Then a pretext was found to
call back the corporal who first had
brought in the prisoners, lie was one
Santiago Linares, a slender, dark fellow,
with a youthful, almost boyish counte
nance and ingratiating manner. He
was maneuvered near the dog, and no
sooner had he come within reach than
the mastiff, bristlingand snarling fierce
ly, sprang upon him and would have
throttled him had not those present
torn Linares out of his fangs. Trembling
and ashen was the fellow, yet full of
self possession, and feigning wonder and
indignation when taxed with complicity
in the murder. " He had not even been
in the pueblo, he declared, on the night
of the crime; it was his day off from
service, and he had been at the mission
with his mistress, one Eugenia Valencia.
Nevertheless, he was at once sent to
jail, and 1 that incomunicado; that is
to say, solitary confinement, where no
one could see or communicate with him.
Aild "Send for la Eugenia," instructed
the alcalde. '
ini8 Valencia woman came of a very
criminal stock,' and she and her family
were at the bottom of a vast percentage
of the disorder that befell in those days
in Los Angeles. The brothers were
scamps and practically' bandits, fitting
Bons of depraved parents. " Another sis
ter lived for many years in illicit bonds
with William W , one of the wealth
iest of the foreign residents, whom it
were hardly kind to indicate more clear
ly, since his descendants still live among
us. After she had borne this man three
children his jealousy of her flagrant in
fidelities led to a scandalous shooting af
fray, notwithstanding which he would
6till ' have married her, but that the
authorities banished her from the pueblo
as a measure of public safety, and she
died some years later at Mazatlan, where
W , because of his vested interests
here, could not follow, her. He sent,,
however, for her children, and educated
them with his legitimate children, he
having married meanwhile one of the
Lugos from Santa Barbara. Of such
a strain resolute, bold, unscrupulous
was the woman whom Manuel Kequena,
the alcalde, sent to fetch from San
Gabriel.
His messengers took her all unaware.
She had not even heard that the murder
was discovered, and so when they had
secured her, the officers searched her
dwelling and found bundled away there
in a large quantity of the effects and
clothing plundered from the murdered
German. The officer who arrested her
did not fail to impress upon her the sig
nificance of this find and its .tendency to
criminate her. Thus when she arrived
at the courtroom she was quaking, full
of terror and an abject conviction that
her own liberty and her own life were in
peril. Under the stress of this fear, and
almost without waiting to be questioned,
she hastened, when brought before the
alcalde, to declare that she had been in
the company of the men who had killed
the German and that she had been a
witness to his slaying. She was of
course put into confinement incomuni-
cado.
( Santiago Linares was now told . that
one of his accomplices had confessed, and
had named him as the chief offender.
Upon this, spurred not more by fear .than
by anger and vindictiveness, he made a
declaration implicating Asencio Valen
cia, a brother of Eugenia, and another
bad character of the pueblo, one Jose
Doarte, whom he had, he said, accom
panied upon that fatal evening, not be
ing aware of the purpose of their enter
prise. ..-The two men he named were promptly
arrested, and they, when they learned of
their accusal, began a perfect siege of
cowardly but ferocious protestations and
disclaimers, each alleging his own inno
cence while inculpating the others. The
discrepancies between their statements
were carefully noted, and the discordant
witnesses were brought together in ac
cordance with that feature of the Span
ish law known as "confrontation." These
comparisons of statements resulted- in
the elimination of much subtrusive false
hood and the establishment of ;' many
facts upon which they were all agreed.- J
Thus it was proved that the -gun -bar
rel found beside the murdered man was
owned by Asencio Valencia, who had
adapted it to the uses of a crowbar. ' On
the night in question,' the four Eugenia
Valencia, Asencio Valencia, Linares and
the third man had gone to the house
and knocked at the door of Finck. The
German was naturally of a cautious and
suspicious inind, and, there being at the
time much lawlessness and crime in the
pueblo, he refused to open the door, this,
indeed, being a precaution he always ex
ercised. The woman Valencia, however,
urged him to admit her, saying that she
had a - valuable jewel which she had
brought to pawn to him under the stress
of great need.
'Finally, after much urging, Finck set
the door ajar, and Linares at once thrust
his foot within the crack to prevent its
closing again. Eugenia pressed through
the opening, and the others pushed close
ly after her, and when within closed the
door behind them promptly. :?
As yet no offensive demonstration was
made, but when Finck, doubtless some
what reassured by Eugenia's tendering
of the jewel she declared she had brought
with her, fetched a magnifying . glass
and ' bent over to examine the offered
pledge then the heavy gun barrel was
brought down with a crash upon the
bead of Finck, who was felled by the
blow and immediately beaten to death
with the same weapon. Here was the
point of variance. No two of the men
agreed as to who did the actual slaying,
and Eugenia professed ignorance in that
particular. The concurrence of state
ment further showed that after the mur
der the assailants had looted Finck's
shop, securing about ten dollars in cash,
but few, if any, valuables, as the Ger
man's cautious habits precluded his keep
ing such at hand. Eugenia, full of vex
ation at their little profit, made 'up a
bundle of the man's clothing and other
effects and the four left the premises,
first fastening the front door on the in
side and going out by the rear.
Now, according to the Spanish law,
their confessions of complicity were
sufficient to convict all these people of
murder. But, under the laws of Mexico,
modifying the former, the local authori
ties of - the California courts had no
right "or warrant to pass sentence of
death, and it was necessary to send to
Mexico the statement of the case, with
all the details, before such sentence
could be passed, even in the most fla
grant crimes. In the present instance
the public feeling of horror and the in
dignation was very strong; therefore,
taking into consideration the atrocity of
the crime and the lack of facilities for
securing the prisoners during the long
period which must elapse before the re
turn of the decision from the tribunal of
the Mexican capital, after much and de
liberate discussion of the ituation by
the best men of the pueblo, the towns
people resi lved upon summary adminis
tration of justic-j. and 300 armed men
assembled, after tho prisoners had been
warned of their fate and given three
days for preparation. - i
fadre Tomas .CisTeaega came in irom
San Gabri-sl to attt nd them, and titer
his ministrations the three men vere
taken forth and led to the corridor of, the
house where their crime was done, and
there they were, i a the language of ; the
Mexicans, "passed under arms" ihat
is to say, executed by shooting. This
expiation took place between 10 and 11
o clock in the morning of April 6, 1841.
Then the won tan was declared : under
sentence of banishment from the coun
try. Before she could be sent away,
however. Governor Alvardy commuted
the sentence, and thus she was allowed
to remain, pursuing her infamous call
ing and propagating social ulcers, which
should corrupt and canker for many a
year in Los Angeles the most criminal
of the four for it was clearly shown
that if she did not actually strike the
blow, the womau had instigated and
planned the murder.
But the faithful dog of Nicholas Finck
had surely borne well his share in aveng
ing the foul and brutal murder of his
unfortunate master. Y. H. Addis in
Omaha World-Herald.
- The Manofacture of Mirrors.
Early in the Sixteenth century a manu
factory of glass mirrors was first estab
lished on a commercial scale in Venice
and the republic enjoyed a monopoly of
this profitable business for 150 years.
The makers of looking glasses formed an
important corporation among them
selves and were allowed unusual priv
ileges. This process was to blow cylin
ders of glass, which were afterward flat
tened upon a stone, carefully polished
and silvered on the back with an amal
gam. In this way quite large ones were
produced, sometimes measuring as much
as four feet m length.
The secret was carefully guarded and
the laws were enforced which declared
that any workmen at the trade who car
ried his art to a foreign state must return
upon requisition on penalty of imprison
ment for his nearest relatives. If, not
withstanding this penalty, he refused to
return, emissaries were sent to kill him.
Nevertheless, in 1665 Colbert, at that
time prime minister of France, imported
from Venice twenty makers of looking
glasses, who set up their business in the
Fauberg St. An tome.
Before long the French mirrors excell
ed the Venetian, and a fresh impulse was
given to the art in 1691 by the discovery
of a process for making plate glass.
From that time to this the looking glasses
made is France, have been the best in
the world. Wnslrii .'-ton Star.
When a. Uon Is Docile.
Naturally animals resent any attempt
to cure them, and it requires an amount
of coaxing to get them to take medicine
that would exhaust the patience of most
people. A sick lion will he in its -cage
most of the time, or sit up on its
haunches, with its ln-sd drooping a little
and all of the lire gone out of its eyes.
It will allow its keeper to enter and pat
its head, but it will not tonch the care
fully prepared medicine unless it is con
cealed in some delicious morsels of fresh
meat. New York Epoch.
omenv:
Tbo tt m:a..i aSietio::? ol Wiiin cn ere eirk-hesd-
ac!:e-., i:j.:g; stio i i jicrra:n troubles. Vhcy
rise large"? f.om rtomai li lisorCcra. As Joy's
Vi'c:abio Carsaparilia Ij the cn!y bowel regu
lates preparation, yon ca tee srhy it-is inoro
effective 'tUnu any otlier Erirss.i-.iirilla in those
trcVoIca. It 13 doily ralicvin- Limdr&Ja. The
:Uo-.J i.i mlU, direct and eCl-ciivc. We Lave
oore of k-ttcri from grateful women. -
We refer ii it few: '
Nervous debility, Mrs. J. Barron, li2 Tlh St, S.F.
crvous Ct un:ty, Mrs. Fred. Loy, 327 Ellis St.S.F.
General debility, Mrs. Eclilcn, 510 Mason St, 8.F,
Norvctis deWlity, Mrs. J. Lamphere, 735 Tnrk St.,
Keryous ilebllity. Miss E. Koscnblum. 2S2 17th
- SC., S. !"
Stornnchtronbles, Sirs. B. L. Wheaton, 70 Post
6iek hcaGaefces, llrs. M. B. Price, 16 Prospect
i-iace, c. i1. -Sick
headaches, Mrs. 31. Fowler, S2T Ellis St, S.F.
Indigestion, Mrs. a D. 8tuart, 1221 Mission St,
Coyst:pat;on, Mrs. C. MelTin, 12 Kearny St. aF.
" V U . V Sarsapariila
Most modern, most effective, largest bottle.
Same price, 1.00 or 6 -for (5.00.
For Sale by SNIPES & KINERSLY,
THE DALLES. OEEGON. ,
Health is Wealth !
Db. E. C. West's Kebvb Jlnb Brain Trka-i
went, a guaranteed specific for Hysteria, Dizzi
ness, convulsions, rus, nervous .neuralgia,
Headache, Nervous Prostration caused by the use
of alcohol or tobacco, Wakefulness, Mental De
pression, Softening of the Brain, resulting in in
sanity and leading to misery, decay and death,
Premature Old Age, Barrenness, Loss of Power
in either sex, Involuntary Losses and Spermat
orrhoea caused by over exertion of the brain, sell
abuse or over indulgence.- Each box contains
one month's treatment. $1.00 a box, or six boxes
tor td.uu, sent Dy mail prepaia on receipt oi pnee.
WK GUARANTEE SIX BOXES '
To cure any case. With each order received bj
us for six boxes, accompanied by $5.00, we will
send the purchaser our written guarantee to re
fund the money if the treatment does not eflee'
cure, uuaraniees issued oniy oy
6IAKELET HOCGHTOK,
Prescription Druggists,
175 Second St. The Dalles. Or.
REAL MERIT
PEOPLE
Sav the S. B. Cough Cure is the best
thing they ever saw. We 'are not
flattered for we known Real Merit will
Win. All we ask is an honest tiial.
For sale by all druggists.'
S. B. Medicine Mfg. Co.,
Lmfur, Oregon.
A Revelation-
Tew people know that the
bright bluish-green color of
the ordinary teas exposed In
the windows is not the nat
ural color. Unpleasant as the
fact may be, it is nevertheless
artificial; mineral coloring
matter being used for this
purpose. ;Tbe effect is two
fold. It not only makes the
tea a bright, shiny green, but also permits the
mse of " off-color " and worthlois teas, which,
once under the green cloak,' are readily
worked off as a good quality of tea. -An
eminent authority write on this sub
ject: "The manipulation of poor teas, to give ,
them Sinner appearance, is carried on exten
sively. Green teas, being in this country
especially popular, are produced to meetthe
demand by coloring chcarcr black kinds by
(lazing or facing with Prussian blue, tumeric,
gypsum, and indigo. . ThU method i to gen
eral that eery little genuine uncolorcd green tea
it-offered for tale." -.
' It was the knowledge of this condition of
affairs that prompted the placing of Beech's
Tea before the public. It is absolutely pure
and -without color. Did yos over, see any
genuine uncolored -Japan-teat ; Ask your
grocer to open a package of Beech's, and r-u
will see It, and probably for the very first
time' It Will be found In color to be -jurt be
tween the artificial green tea that you have
been accustomed to and the black teas.
It draws a delightful canary color, and is so
fragrant that It will be a revelation to tea
drinkers. Its purity makes it lo. more
' economical than the artificial teas, for less
- of it is required per cup. . Bold oniy in pound
: packages bearing this trade-mark: -
BEECHvi TEA
Ture-AsWdhood:
If your grocer does not hare it, he will get
It for yea. Meetta pet poud. . roi tele at
' Zieslie 13x-tX3liTs9-
, THB pAlLES, OREGON.- - :
$500 Reward!
We will pay the above reward for any case of
liver Complaint, Dyspepsia, Bick Headache, In
digestion, Constipation or Cos riven es we cannot
cure, with West's vegetable Liver Pills, when the
directions are strictly complied with. They are
purely vegetable, and never fail to give satisfac
tion. Sugar Coated. Large boxes containing 80
Pills. 25 cents. Beware of counterfeits and imi
tations. The genuine manufactured only by
THB JOHN C. WF8T COMPANY, CHIGAGO,
BtJlEELEY A HOtOHION,
, . : Prescription Druggists,
75 Second St. The Dalles, Or,
Still
Deek
on
PhoBnix Like has Arisen
From the Ashes!
JAMES WHITE,
The Res tauran tear Has Opened the
Baldioin - HestauFant
ON MAIN STREET
Where he will be glad to see any and all
of his old patrons.
Open day and Night. First class meals
twenty-five cents.
YOUR RTTEJ1TI011
Is called to the fact that
Dealer in Glass, Lime, Plaster, Cement
and .building Material of all kinds.
Carries the Finest Line of
Piciure flouioings
To be found in the City.
72 CUashington Sttfeet.
A NEW
ndertakin
PRINZ & NITSCHKE.
DEALERS IN ' . '
Furniture and Carpets.
We have added to our business a
complete Undertaking Establishment,
and as we are in no way connected with
the Undertakers' Trust our prices will
be low accordingly.
Remember our place on Second street,
next to Moody's bank. -
Glenn
WW
-: DEALERS IN:-
Hay, Grain and Feed.
Masonic Block, Corner Third and
ffeu 6. Columbia Jtf otel ,
THE DALLES, OREGON.
Best Dollar a Day
' . " ' . ' '"'."'' m
. i-irst-isiass ivieais, zo venxs.
First Class Hotel in Every Respect.
vyngton flolth DllSS,
SITUATED AT THE
Destined to be the Best
Manufacturing Center in
the Inland Empire. -
. . For Further Information .Call at the Office o " .
Interstate Investment Go.,
0. DATAYIOR.'THE DAltES. 72 WASHINGTON ST., PORTIAKD.
JOHN;PASHEK,
pieroint- Tailor,
Next door.to Wasco Sun.
Madison's Latest System used in cutting
garments, and a fit guaranteed
each time.
lepaiirincj and Cleaning
Neatly and Quickly Done.
R. B. HOOD,
Livery, Feed and Sale
JTorses Bought and Sold on
Commission andMoney
Advanced on Horses
Left for Sale.
-OFFICE OF-
The Dalles' and Goldendale. Stage Line.
. Stage Leaves The Dalles Every Moraine
at 7:30 and Goldendale at 7:30. All '
freight must be left at R. B.
Hood's office the eve
ning before.
R. B. HOOD, Proprietor.
Opposite old Stand. The Dalles, Or.
THE
Dalles, Portland & Astoria
NAVIGATION COMPANY'S
Elegant Bteamer
HIGUMTOR
Will leave the foot of Court Street
every morning at 7 A. M.
for
Portland and Way Points
Connections Will be Made with the
Fast Steamer
DAIiltES GITY,
At the Foot of the Cascade Locks.
For Passenger or Freight Bates, Apply
to Agent, or Purser on Board.
Office northeast corner of Court and Main street
NOTICE.
R. E. French has for sale a number of
improved ranches and unimproved
lands in the Grass Valley neighborhood
in Sherman county. : They will be sold
very cheap And on reasonable terms.
Mr. French can locate settlers on some
good unsettled claims in the same neigh
borhood. His address is .Grass Valley,
Sherman county, Oregon. ...
ee
eiies.
Court Streets, The Dalles.Oregon
House on the Coast!
' 1 I
GlOC
None but the Best of White Help Employed.
T. T. Nicholas, Prop.
HEAD OF NAVIGATION.
Best Selling Property of
the Season in the North
west. 5 -..'