A REPORTER'S DEATH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 43, 19 February 1879, Page 4

A REPORTER'S DEATH.

The sad news comes from Paris of the death of W. Benton, the king of the American reporters, who for seven or eight years past— so M. E. Deschaumea Bays in Le Figaro— has been urawing a fantastic salary from oie ot the great American dailies. The lamented W. Benton scattered abroad

the dollars of { his journal with princely munificence, was on intimate terms with all the political and military celebrities of Europe, spoke eight languages with perfect fluency, and assisted at all the wars of the Old World as a most conscientious spectator. He had gained admisaon to Prince Gortschakoff.s presence as a tailor, to Bisraark as a dog merchant, to the Congress of Berlin as a photo grapber; he had gone to Royal banquets disguised as a waiter, and to Koyal;funera]s as a coffin-bearer; in 1867 he made the acquaintance of Mdlie. Schneider in the role of a Brazilian diamond miner, while during tbe Franco Prussian war he figured as Turko (blacker than life), a Zouave of Üblau, according as the exigencies of

the situation demanded. The accomplished journalist was about three weeks ago in a great German city, where the sensation of the time waa a troupe of | trained bears. There were six of them, | and they went through their drills and ! other performances with such startling regularity that it was very generally suspected that they were not bears, but men disguised in bear skins. ~W. Benton thought as much, and offered to wager with the manager that he would enter the den, but the manager declined to sanction his enterprise. j W. Benton thereupon invited all the j journalists in the city to dinner, as- : sured them that the bears were frauds, | and invited them to be present at the afternoon performance next day, when , he intended to unmask the humbug.

Having bribed an employee of the menagerie, Benton, disguised as a bear, entered the cage. "His life companions seemed furiously excited, but be attributed this to their desire to fend \ off suspicion. The public applauded enthusiastically. It was then that the unhappy being, desirous of carrying out his plan, turned towards the Press box, removed bis dear,s head, and bowed politely. A tremendous roar of laughter ensued, followed by an immense shriek of terror. 'I he bears on seeing this human face, precipitated themselves on the unfortunate man. Before the tamer could take steps to save him, he, frightfully mutilated, had breathed his last. Thus perished poor W. Benton, whose editor-in-chief seeks vainly a man fit to replace him." — New York World