- Police/Fire - Janesville Sesquicentennial
-
- Pity those who angered the 'Temple of Doom'
- The "Temple of Honor" did more to reform the morals
of some people in Janesville than all the
- police courts and police justices within its precincts.
- That's what S. A. HUDSON, the city's first justice
of the peace, had to say in 1879 when asked
- about this group of pranksters who lived by a code called,
"The Thousand and One."
- The order was credited for running frauds out of town, and
for playing the last joke on those
- critical of the young city.
- It had no manual; it named Confucius as its patron saint.
And, it swore in unsuspecting initiates by
- the "sacred toe of Buddha."
- Chief conspirators in the order were: Isaac WOODLE,
Charles JORDAN, William
- MITCHELL, William HODSON, Judge LYNCH,
a Dr. ROBINSON, Godfrey BISHOP, John HOYT,
Ira JUSTIN, James BURGESS and Judge ARMSTRONG.
- The order, viewed as the life of the town, carried on its
extravagances in the "sacred temple" in
- LAPPIN's Block, as well as city streets and the county
courthouse.
- "Their chiefest joy was the initiation of a book agent
or a lighting rod man," a historical account said,
- and the demise of a bogus astronomy lecturer from Boston.
- It was said the astronomer saw "more stars in one night
in Janesville through the medium of the
- Thousand and One, than he had ever before discovered in all
his astronomical experiences."
- The astronomer was told he would have to join the Thousand
and One to get an audience. To be
- initiated, the pranksters said, he would have to share the
secrets of his life with the order.
- Led into the temple, the man heard Grand Senior HODSON
announce allegiance to Confucius
- and read a list of questions to cover the astronomer's history
from a well-worn ace of clubs.
- The "spirit of Confucius" answered these questions
with a series of knocks, understood only by
- WOODLE, a man holding an ominous club. The blindfolded
candidate, who sat on a dry-goods box, would not confirm or deny
Confucius' answers.
- As stubbornness persisted, someone in the midst announced
the death of a brother member. "With
- the greatest nonchalance, a donation of $5,000 or $10,000
was voted to go to the widow immediately."
- A second vote caused the initiation to proceed. This time,
the astronomer begged to share his
- secrets. Permission finally granted, the man confessed so
much of his hideous past that the order had to stop him from
telling all. Otherwise, they said, he would have been hanged
in any state where capital punishment existed.
- The man then was elevated in a blanket until ever muscle
tensed, and was dropped through a chute
- to a dressing room. He picked up his battered and bleeding
body and went to a hotel, "glad to escape with his life."
The man left Janesville on the morning train, "a wiser but
not a better man for he was heard to swear vengeance on his persecutors."
- Another time, a mechanical genius came to town with a patented
three-wheeled buggy. Though
- novel, the buggy broke. The patentee had the same experience
as the astronomer; his departure was sudden.
- Another amusement was the snipe-drive, a prank - not unique
to Janesville - whereby an
- unsuspecting sort was told that thousands of delicious birds
lay at the south end of town and could be had by the bushel-load.
- Those of the order said they would scare up the birds along
Spring Brook. The creatures then
- would fly into the bag the man held upstream. Once the prank
was in full play, the boys returned to the city to tell all that
someone was left holding the bag.
- "More than one individual has quit Janesville forever,
after returning from an unsuccessful snipe
- drive," said one historical account of this infamous
order.
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