davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
Horrors of a Chinese Kitchen.

Let me close with story or two which
don't believe, though grava, travelled
| Chlnaman is my authority. He declares
that the following cruel recipe makes IA
vorite dish with the mandarins in some Of
the northern provinces (When China
man invents a marvel he invariably places
his scene OF action in the north) Set
butter In frying pan over a fire, having
near at hand plenty of cayenne pepper,
salt, &c Then take fowl, duck, or
goose, and hold it alive over the frylng-
pan, with its feet just touching it. The
excessive heat will cause the birds feet to
swell, and will at the same time draw the
blood into them. After a minute or two
dip the feet alternately into all the condi
ments, and return them to the fryingpan.
BY repeating this process several times,
nearly all the blood of the body will run
to the feet, which will swell to the thick
ness OF couple of inches, and be finely
spiced. The feet are the only part to be
eaten Another story of cooks in the
north They build low mud wall, in
closing space two or three feet across
and another wall outside, forming a circus
OF about two feet wide, in which set pots
containing wine, vinegar, soy, &c. In the
inner space they light good fire, and in
the circus thus prepared put live lamb |
The lamb naturally becomes thirsty from |
the great heat of the fire. and drinks what |
he finds as he runs backwards and for |
wards i'll search Of means of escape When |
the drinks are all swallowed and dried in |
to the animals flesh, the lamb becomes
exhausted, falls down dead, and in n very
short time is completely roasted Turtle
may be prepared, according to the same
northern authority, by placing it over the
hre IN pot Of water, in the lid Of which
there Is hole large enough to allow the
turtle TO put out his head. As the water
becomes hot the turtle naturally thrrIsts
his head out to get cooler air, when he is
led with spiced wine and soy, which he
drinks readily as relief from the heat
This goes on as long as he has strength to
keep his head up. and, as the turtle does
not part with life easily, he seldom fails 10
90 on stuliing himself till he Is cook ed
The first man who used this method was a
priest, who, as it happened, lived next to a
soy manulactory. His house one night
caught fire, and he, being unable 10 es-
cape, was discovered at the point of death,
drinking greedly Of the soy which was
running from his neigilbor's LoUse-D.ck-
ms al tie Var R.,,nL'
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
Raising Thunder will, The Wax Works.

The following IS letter from Artemus
Ward, written while in seclusion in the
bosom Of his family, and contains 4 toucs
ing reminiscence of former bender"
Here in the Euzzum Of my family am
cujoyin myself at peas with awl mankind
and the wimmeu folks lkcwize. | go
down 70 the village occashunly and take a
little old rye for the stummIck sake. but
] avoid syiIitus lickers as a giueTal thing
No man eviF seen me intoxicated but
onct, and that air at Pittsburgh. i party
cf onaTy cu-scs in that mizzerabul sity
busted into the hawl Dunn the mite and
aboosed my wax WORK shameiul / didn't
obsarye the ou,r.ju, tgGasacshuns until
the next evenin, when the pePul began
II kongregate. Suddenly they commenct
for to larf and hoi.,r in a Doystelus stile
Sez good people what's up! SeZ they
tAerns crate wax worx, Old man. | i'm
neii:ely looked up to where my wax
wor:; was, and ElE b.ud bileg as j think Of
the site that met my gaze. ! hope to be
,:oG.aGoited ii them ainresed raskals had
MT gone and put au old caved hat onter
George ,ash.ngtoHs he'd aHd shuYed a
short black clay pipe inter his mouth
His nose they had painted red and his
tfows!s legs they had shaved inside Ais
butes
Ny wax fguer of Napoleon Bo1eypart
was likewiza rn4ltTeaiid, his sword was
danglin tween his legs, lis cooked hat
was drawn kleen down over his ze, and he
was placed in stoopin' posishun zackly
as though he was drunk a. a bied owl
Gineral Tailor was standin' on his he'd.
Wingiield Skots cottales was pinned over
his ned and his trowsIs was kompletely
tore off hisself Ny wax WORK represent
in the Lords last supper was likewize
aboosed. Three Of the Postles were under
the table, and two OF them had tar powlin
hats and ragsid pea iackits and were ma
kin pipes Judas Iskarriott had on
cooked hat and was apparently drinIlin' at
a Iottil OF ,s.sky sOt l. tween him. This
ere spectacle was too much for me
klOsed the show and then drowned my
sorrers in a fiowin' buc
Probably lie rite you again before take
my departure on the summer campain.
Very respectfully yours,
AETEMUs WARD, T. X
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
Seed Ccrn--Eariy Termination.

The Bureau County Uil) RepuJEcra
says that Dr. Chamberlin, of that county,
has been experimenting with seed corn in
the view OF fastening termination, and
has made several discoveries which are
made public, The Rep.JIcan says:
Last year DR.. Chamberlin, of this
place, made some practical experiments,
ana demonstrated thEt nearly half the
,ime mag be saved in terminating the seed
by the use of chloride of lime Not salts
hea with Tie success of last year, he is
again experimenting. In his Office he has
four boxes; ia the first corn is platittd
without soaking, and the seed not germi.
mated; and in the second the seed wa.
soaked IN warm water, which has Just
commenced to germinate; in the third is
seed soaked in q solution Of chloride of
lime and copperas, in equal parts, and tho
blades are nearly three inches above the
ground. All the seeds Were planted at the
same time in the same quantity of soi,,
and taken from tho same ear. The boxes
have all had an equal share of heat and
light, neither allowed any advantage over
the other.
This experiment should attract the at
tention of farmers We conclude from
Tour to six weeks may be saved by the use
OF chloride OF lime aud copperas, which is
matter OF no ordinary moment, when we
reflect that delay in the termination o.
the seed of two weeks, frequently places
the crop within the reach of the frost in
the fall. Another fact of some Importance
may also be mentioned The copperas
used in soaking will prevent the oirr,.,
squirrels, worms, &c, from eating the
seed. DR. Chamberlin assures Us that one
pound Of chloride of lime and one pound
Of copperas, in water, will soak enough
seed tor twenty acres. The cost viii not
be over twenty-five cents. Every farmer
could afford to make the experiment, even
if he should fail 10 derive any benefit
from il
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

STATISTICS OK MORMON PopULArIcy-Ta9
VALLEY Tan copies the following statistics
Of Mormon population:
The population Of Morfnons in the Uni
ted States and British Doiuinions in 1856,
was not less than $4,000, of which IS 600
were residents in Utah, 5000 in New York
State, 4,0O0 in California, G0O0 in Nova
Scotia and in the Canadas, and 5000 in
South America In Europe there were
$4,000, of which $4,000 were in Great Bri-
tain and Ireland, 5000 in Scandinavia, g
600 in Germany, Switzerland, and France,
and ths rest OF Europe 1000; in Australia
and Polynesia 2,4U0; in Africa 100 and on
travel $500. To these, if we add the diff
ferent branches, Including Sarengities, Rig
donites, and Whistles, the whole sect was
not less than l26,UO0 IN 1857 there ar-
pears to have been decrease in the popu-
lation of Utah, the number being only 81
622, of which 1000 were children, about
ii, 600 women, and II 600 men capable of
bearing arms There are 2,3SS men with
eight or more wives; Of these thirteen
have more than nine wives; 13o men with
five wives, los with four wives, and :, 2,50S
with more than one wife.
Recapitulation-4,Gl7 men with about
1880 wives
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

CARoIINIAH VOLUNTEERS As SEEN By 4
NoETHsRNER-"C Charleston under Arms -
is the title of a spicy and very readable
article in the AtlIntic MoHMly for April. in
which many of the social and political pc
culiaritieS OF the Charlestonians are sketch
ed with uuprciudiced fairness, though
with an evident partality for the softer, or
more humorous phases OF the subject An
incident of the writer's return to Charles
ton from Fort Moultrie is thus pleasantly
related:
At two o'clock we were stCaming over
the yellev waters of the harbor The VOL
unteers. like every body else in Charleston,
discussed secession and Fort Sumpter con-
sidering the former as an accomplished
fact, aud the latter as a fact of the kind
called stubborn. They talked uniform,
too, and equipments, and craftsmanship
and drinks, and ci gars, and other military
matters. Now and then an awkwardly
folded blanket was taken from the shoul-
ders which it disgraced, refolded, packed
carefully in its covering of india rubber,
and strapped once more in its place, two
or three generally assisting in the opera
ton.
Presently firing a. marks from the up
per deck commenced The favorite target
was conical floating buoy, showing red
on the sunlit surface of the harbor, some
four hundred yards away; with a crack
and hoarse whiz the Minnie balls flew
towards it. splashing up the water where
they first struck, and then two or three
tremendous skips before they sunk A
militiaman from New York city. who was
one of my fellow passengers, told me that
he never saw such good-shooting 1t
seemed to me that every sixth ball either
hit the buoy full, or touched water but
few yards this side Of it, while not more
than one in dozen went wild
1t is good for a Thousand yards" said
a volunteer, slapping his bright new piece
proudly.
A favorite subject Of argument appeared
to be whether Fort Sumpter ought to be
attacked Immediately or not leuten-
ant standing near Inc talked long ard
earnestly regarding this matter with ci-
william friend, breaking out at last in loud
tone:
Why, good Heaven, jim! Do you want
that place 70 go peaceably into the hands
of Lincoln p
No, Fred, 1 do not. But I tell you,
Fred, when that fort is attacked, it Will
be the bloodiest day-the bloodiest day
the bloodest--!T
And here, unable to express himself IN
words, Jim flung his arms wildly about,
grinding his tobacco with excitement, spat
on all sides, and walked away, shaking
his head, / thought, in real grief OF spirit
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
A New J'ype-Setter.
WILLIS DEscgIDEs WONDERFUL MACHINE.


Willis, in his last letter to the Home
Journal, says the machine ''to insert a pig
at one end and grind out sausages at the
other" is really SLOW in comparison with
the new invention for setting types-a Wis
1t to which was the object OF one of his
recent walks in New York:
Aldens type setter not only can set
types as fast as eight men, but distributes
orrestores to their places, the same amount
by the same process-an au to-rec,peration
OF outlay, which it is wondrOus to believe
(for an editor, at leasD may be possible
principle in Nature
The type-setter is worked like piano,
by playing on keys-the mere touch on
the key, for the letter a, for instance, be-
ing instead of the old fashion of taking
up that letter with the fingers, turning it
right end up and right side front, and put
ting into the line, to be adjusted by spaces
1t is a revolving table of brass-the ma
chine-worked by the smallest steam
power, and the cost is about fifteen hun
dred dollars. 1t would 'clear ITSELF" of
course, by the saving Of labor Ito say no.
thing OF the acceleration of work to which
speed IS so necessary in very short time
W Ithout gong into particular descrip
ton OF the machinery, | may say, as one
who has been well-taught type-setter
himself, that 1t seemed to me as the loco
motive seems to the stage driver, or as the
steamboat to the paddler Of the canoe-an
impossible iesiduatatm brought miraculous
ly 10 pass.
Perhaps the most curiously ingenious
part OF the invention is that which gives
the compositor a chance to scratch his
head or indulge in a reverie, speak to his
friend or light his cigar, mend the gram
mar or criticise the copy "-obviating, /
that u 70 say, the necessity of rigidly keep /
ing up with the unvarying steam propul- /,
sion Of the machine This is done by
fegisterwheel, which makes Signals for /
the letters before they are taken, and F.
which will allow - many as sixty to accu- /
before they are disposed of, with .
no hlndrance TO the action Of TIE macLi- /.
merry. Could anything be more like .
brain turned into brass?
The inventor Of this wonderful affair. .
Timothy Alden, was practical priater;
and to it he deyoicG twenty years, dying /
when he had at last perfected this brain .
md nerves giving away 70 the diseases of /
of thought and viii /
How many men ere victims, in these fast .
lays, TO this kind Of everlasting Yet
Alden lived enough OF a life, if measured /
~ benefit to his race. What were the
,ventless ceEtUV.es Of 5letiuscl2h (a5 Il
,ood 10 the world ) in comparison with
wenty year invention of this MassaCLu-
etts type-setterT
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

The NrMBER OF LANGUAGEs-The least
learned are aware that there are many
languages in the world, but the auctusI
number is probably beyond the dreams of
ordinary people The Geographer, Babi,
enumerated eight hundred and sixty,
which are entitled to be considered as dis
tinct languages, and five thousand which
may be regarded as dialects. Adulungl
another modern writer on this subject,
reckons up three thousand and sixty-tour
languages and dialects existing, and which
have existed. Even after we have allow
ed either Of these as the number of lam
guages, we must acknowledge the exist
ence of almost infinite minor diversities; /;
for almost every province has o tongue
more or less peculiar, and this we may
we'll believe to be case throughout the
world at large. 1t is said there are little
islands, lying close together in the South
Sea, the inhabitants OF which do not un-
derstand each other OF the eight hun
dred and sixty distinct languages enumer-
ated by Babi, tifty-three belong to Europe,
one hundred and fourteen 10 Africa, ore
hundred and twenty three to Asa, four
hundred and seventeen to America, one
hundred and se-enteen to Oceanlcs-py
which term he distinguishes the vast mum
ber of islands stretching between HIndos-
tan and South America
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
The Rejected Currency.

The Chicago Tribune, speaking OF the
iiuc uating securities which have hitherto
formed the basis of our currency says:
There is single comforting reflection
in the loss of which the business public
must sustain on the bills OF these banks
AS fast as their bonds are Withdrawn, the
public will be finally rid OF them. If we
are blest with another good harvest our
surplus cannot be invested in huctuating
State bonds, bills be issued upon them, and
they be thrust into the pockets of the peo-
pie They can only be replaced by Hi
nois bonds, which must ever command
par or about that in the money markets
in the world 1t is understood that under
the amended law, passed at the last session
of the Legislature, the bonds of those
banks which do not make good the securi-
ties can be withdrawn at the option OF the
bili-hoider and tLis cf course will be the
general practice, since the bills will only be
bought for about what they are worth.
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

USEFUL ORTHoGGaPHICiL RULE.-In the
other difficulties of English orthoEraphy
is the relative position of and e in words
ending in "ieve' or Give and both, in
manuscript and print are seen believe
and "beleive,' "reprieve' and "repreiye,"
''receve" ard receive The writer was
somewhat surprised On being told not long
since, by a.foreigr lady, who was taugh.
English in Holland, that there was rule
regulating the position of the letters refer
red to in all such wards; and as il was new
to him, and so far as he had been able 10:
discover, new TO every one, he thinks ~
may prove useful to give it publicity.
When the preceding consonant is
letter which comes after in the alphabet,
comes after in the word, as believe"
but when tho preceding cousarant comes
before i in tho alphabet c comes before
in the word, as receive"
The rule is invariable as applies to tbs
class of words referred 10, but is not OF
general application to words Of one syllable,
having the same vowels in juxtaposition;
thus we have "niece," .ceil, &c, which
conform 10 the rule; and "chiet, seize,
&c, which do not
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

4 Fresh WATER SPRING AT SEA-Mr. ".
A. Booth, the coast pilot of the revenue
cutter Harriet Lane, reports the discovery
OF a boiling fresh water spring at sea, of
the coast of Florida lie says the spring
IS situated twelve miles, north by east,
from ST. Augustine, Fla, and eight miles
off shore. Ii bo!ls up with great force, and
can he deserted at distance Of two miles
When first seen il has the appearance ota
breaker, and is generally avoided; but
there i TO danger III the yicin.ty, as there
i five iathoms OF water between it aud
the shore Ten fathoms of water are found
to the seaward, but TO bottom can be
reached with the deep sea led and thirty
iathoms of line at the spring itself. The
water in the spring is fresh and Is by no
means unpalatable. One popularity about
the phenomenon is, that when the St
Johns River is high, it boils up from six
10 eight feet above the level Of the sea,
and presents rather forbidding appear
ance. This spring has doubtless deceived
hundreds, who have hastily put about
from. rs tLey thought imminent danger,
and reported seeing "a rock with water
breaking over it" The Harriet Lane has
passed through it several times, and water
has been drawn from ii by a bucket thrown
over the side, and when drank, no un-
pleasant tastes or smell has been found
Its position and harmless character have
been long unknown, but nov the supposed
danger has become, as it were, a well of
water in q barren land
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

POwEE or LTDCRAHCg AND DIET-Eyen
the experienced trainers of the prize ring
cannot decide what is the best food for
training men up TO their greatest powers
of endurance. They have prejudice in
favor OF muttor-chops and undeTdone
beef steaks; but it is by no means sure
that this is the best The Roman soldiers.
vino conquered the world and built roads
from Lisbon 10 Constantinople, and who
were all trained athletics. marching un-
der weight of armor luggage that few
men in our day could carry, lived on very
coarse, brown wheat or barley bread, which
they dipped in sour wine.
IN our own day the Spanish peasants
are among the strongest and most agile
men in the world. He Will work all dav
in 4 copper II ne, or the wine press, under
hot sun, and then dance half the night
10 the music Of The guitar. What does he
live on ? 4 piece Of black bread and an
onion-perhaps half a watermelon You
may see him dipping his piece of bread
some vinegar made hot with pepper and
garlic, and then he Is happy Sometimes
he gets draught OF harsh, sour wine, but
not strong All the strong wine Is sent to
England.
The Smyrna porter walks off with load
OF eight hundred weight. His only food
day after day, is little fruit-a handful
OF dates, few figs, a bunch of grapes,
some olives He eats 10 beef, pork or
mutton. HIS whole food does not cost
him penny a day.
The Coolie, living on lis rice, can out
work the negro fed on bacon. The Arab,
living on Iice and dates, conquered half
the world
The most tremendous Muscular force,
and the greatest powers Of endurance may
be nourished upon very moderate diet
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

TX the world, he who speaks sweetly and
with affability, will have many friends;
but he whose words are bitter will have
few or mona This we may learn from the
sun and moon The sun by reason OF its
dazzlin. light, drives away every star and
planet from the heavens, while 1t is above
the horizon, and 1t is thus obliged to run
its course solitary and unattended; but tho
moon shedding only soft and tender
lirht. moves On IN the midst OF stars and
consultations, escorted by q numerous
company.
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

TINE OF SowING TlMoTHY-A writer on
this subject in the Ohio Farmer, would SOW
either very early in the spring, or as late
as October in the fall, to escape the effect
of dry weather occurring before the plants
come up, or while they ere very small
He gives an account Of two pieces sown
last year, one after wheat, the ground be-
ing plowed the middle of August, and har-
rowed and sowed to timothy seed the lst
of September after smart shower The
other was corn ground, narrowed between
the shocks Of corn the lst OF October and
sown Immediately. 1t came up, and could
be seen forty rods distance before winter
The first sown showed no signs of growth,
and was again narrowed and res sown the
middle of October, and has since done
well. Land for spring sowing, he thinks
should be fitted in the fall then by sowing
early, the frosts will bury the seed in the
best manner
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

CEssIoS OF A SOUTHERN FEDERAL DISTRICT.
Prior to the adjournment sine die of the
Alabama Convention; on Thursday last, an
ordinance was adopted providing that the
General Assembly shall cede district of
ten miles square for seat Of government
of the Confederate States. This looks as
if Montgomery had already been selected
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13
An Amateur Editor.

The witty editor of the Nashville Patrio.
recently solicited a friend-an amateur
editor-to supply tho printers with copy
during his (ths editor's) temporary alb
sence from the Office. The success Of the
arrangement is thus related:
Finding that there was no call for copy
at the end of half an hour, Cobbwebb
found the editorial business dryer than the
sort he had been used to, and went out to
get drink. When man Of Cobbwsbb S
temperament and natural tendency 10
thirst goes out to get drink, he seldom
thinks it worth his while to return to the
post of duty until he has taken several
Consequently when Cobbwebb got back to
the office he wore veil of invisible gauze
over his eyes, his legs were as Timber as
log chain, and, to tell the truth, he could
nt tell an inhsstand from soup kettle, nor
pair of scissors from saw horse. In the
midst Of this state Of things, there was q
himself to meet the demand. The printer
placed the scissors and copy Of Cincin-
natl paper In his hands. Here" said
Cobbwebb, "hic-here' some poetry; when
you (hic) get that set up come (hic) back
and get some (hic) more" Cobbwebb's
poetry was as follows:
DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.
On Central avenue
Square 49, Lots q and IS.
Z" l2 Lot 61 feet front.
On Western avenue.
Square 10, Lots TO Z, inclusive.
" II, Lots to II.
:" "A, Lot2.
On Dayton street
Square a lots and n
- 3, Lots 10 inclusive.
a. =, Lots 70 ~
On Freeman street.
Square 3, Lots and 3.
On Coleman street
Square 3, Lots 20 1, inclusive.
- :, Lots to (:
On Denman street.
Square 3, Lots . aud 6.
On Garden street.
Square 3, Lots ~ to 25, inclusive.
When we returned at o'clock we found
Cobbwebb seated in coal scutt!c engaged
in dreamy attempt TO clip piece OF copy
out Of the brim Of lis hat with the tongs.
The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-04-13

STRrcK IIr-The Peoria Democratic Union
says an enterprising company have sue
ceeded in striking a reservoir of oil near
that city, and that over one barrel was
pumped from the we'll in one hour. The
story smells fshy.