A REPORTER'S DEATH.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3110, 5 February 1879, Page 1

A REPORTER'S DEATH.

The sad news comes from Paris of the death of W. Benton; the king of American reporters, who for seven or eight years past—so M. E. Deschaumes nays in Le ! Figaro—has been drawing a fantastic salary from one of 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 admission to Prince Gortsehakoff's presence as a tailor, to Bismarck as a dog merchant, to the Congress at Berlin as a photographer; he had gone to royal ban* quets disguised as a waiter, and to Hoyal funerals as a coffin-bearer; in 1867 be made the acquaintance of Mdlle. Schneider in the role of a Brazilian diamond miner, while during the Franco-Prussian war ha . Bgured as a Turko (blacker than life), a Zouave or Uhlan, 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 was 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. VV. Benton thought as much, and offered to wager with the manager that ho would , enter the den, but the manager declined to sanction his enterprise. W. Benton thereupon invited all the journalists in the city to dinner, assured 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 employer * of the menagerie, Benton, disguised as a bear, entered the cage. "His five companions seemed furiously excited, but he attributed this to their desire to fend off suspicion. The public applauded most; enthusiastically. It was then that the unhappy being, desirous of carrying out his plan, turned towards the Press bos, removed his bear's head, and bowed politely. A tremendous roar of laughter en* sued, followed by an immense shriek "of terror. The bears on seeing this humau face, precipitated, themselves upon the unfortunate man. Before the tamer could take steps to save him, the repo ter, 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.