davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
An Absent-Minded Woman.

A funny incident which lately occur
red in the gas office in Chicago is de-
scribed by the Inter- Ocean. The wife
of member of the Illinois Senate en-
tered to pay her bill, carrying her porte
monnaie, as was her custom, in her right
hand. Having occasion to write her
signature, she changed her pocket-b book
to her left hand, then started to go out.
Noticing that her right hand was empty
she missed her pocket-book sand turning
to rough-looking individual who had
been standing by meantime, exclaimed
angrily: "I'll thank yon for my pocket
book, sir"
Two or three of the bookkeepers
rushed out, expecting to see the man try
to escape, but he stood still and calmly
answered: II haven't it, ma'am"
"You certainly have; / laid it down a
moment ago here, and you are the only
person who could have taken it."
81 beg your pardon, ma 'am," said the
stranger, "but I am no thief. / have
not got your pocket book"
"I'll have you arrested and searched,
cried the irate lady.
"As you please" responded the man.
And as the madam tried to open the
door to call police man, she discovered
her purse in her left hand. The stran-
ger smilingly listened to profuse and
prolonged apology.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
Mr.. Choate and the Ambitious Boy

A great many boys mistake their call
ing, but all such are not fortunate
enough to find it out in as good season
as this one did. 1t is said that Rufus
Choate, the great lawyer, was once in
New Hampshire making plea, when a
boy, the son of farmer, resolved to
leave the plow and become lawyer like
Rufus Choate. He accordingly went to
Boston, called on Mr.. Choate, and said
to him: 81 heard your plea up in our
town, and l have a desire to become a
lawyer like you. VIII you teach me
how?"
AS well as I can," said the great
lawyer. '-Come in and sit down"
Taking down a copy of Blackstone,
he said: "Read this until come back,
and | will see how you get On"
The poor boy began. An hour passed
His back ached, his head and legs ach-
ed. He knew not how to study. Every
moment be came a torture. He wanted
air. Another hour passed. and Mr.
Choate came and asked: "How do you
get on"
"Get on! Why, do you have to read
such stuff as this?"
ayes"
"How much of it?"
"All there is on these shelves, and
more" looking about the great libra
ry.
"How long will it take?"
"Well, it has taken me more than
twenty-five years"
"How much do you get?"
"My board and clothes"
SIS that alp" -
"Well, that is about all that have
gained as yet"
"Then," said the boy, Il will go bach
to the ploughing. The work is not neal
as hard, and it pays better"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
Physical Phenomena of 1874.

An unusual number of physical phe-
nomean appeared in different parts of
the globe during the past year. OF the
typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes of the
Eastern Hemisphere, the destruction oc-
casioned at Hong KING on the 22d and
23d of September was most disastrous,
5000 persons and much property being
destoryed thereby; the New England
coast storms in May; the great storms
and rain falls of June and July in the
Southern and Middle States, attended
by floods at Pittsburgh and Allegheny
City; the hurricane in Jamaica; the
Mississippi overflow; the destructive
foods in India, and at Lorida, in Spain
in the month of August; the snowfall
in Persia; the great severity of the win
ter in Northern Asia and in the Alps
and Pyrenees; the unusual number of
iccbergs in the Atlantic; the great hail
storm in the south of France; a slight
eruption of Etna and earthquakes in
Vera Cruz. St. Thomas, Ecuador, Porto
Rico, Mexico, Utah, North Carolina,
Scotland, Inspruck, Smyrna, Constan
tinople. and Ceylon, occasional heavy
losses of property and considerable suff-
ering, but with the exception of the
Hong Kong disaster, the loss of human
life has been comparatively small
| Toledo Blade.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
A Texas Lunatic.

Some months ago large and power
fully built man went into the Office of
Judge Smith, of Austin, Texas, and ask
ed the Judge to send him to lunatic
asylum. The man said he was dan
gerous madman, ard not fit to be rum
ming around loose. His appearance of
blunt candor did not convince the Judge
and he told the man he could do moth
ing for him. The man went his way.
The other day he visited the Office
again, and the Judge recognized him.
There was another man, Mr.. Denton,
also in the Office, and it was we'll he was.
Judge Smith asked the visitor what he
could do for him. and the visitor drew a
long knife and told the Judge he had
come to kill him. Now, big knife
drawn in the hand of big man in
Texas means something. The Judge
grasped his heavy cane and Denton
picked up a chair. There was a lively
scuffle, at the end of which several chairs
were, broken, the cane was splintered
and the man with the knife was lying on
the floor with bleeding head. This
time the Judge thought the man was
mad enough to send TO the lunatic asy-
Ium, and he sent him accordingly.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
The Weather We May Expect Next
Summer.

Professor Tice, the meteorologist, 10
whose remarkable predictions, and their
no less remarkable fulfillment, concern
ing the physical perturbations which ac-
companied the late equinox of Venus,
we referred few days ago, states that
the period from the 18th of June next
through the first half of July will be a
season of high electric tension in the
atmosphere, many thunder storms, pos
sibly many rainfalls and cyclones, such
as waterspouts and tornadoes. The cycle
occurs again about the middle of Octo-
Der. The phenomena twenty days be-
fore and after should, he says, be parti-
cularly noted. He claims that there are
meteorological cycles which are infu-
enced by the equinox of Venus, and
the record of the phenomena he adduces
not only proves the occurrence Of per-
turhations at these equinoxes, but that
they begin to manifest themselves as
early as twenty and sometimes as early
as twenty-five days anterior to the oc-
currence of the equinox, and may con-
tinue as many day subsequent to it
The exact day of bad weather cannot be
foretold, nor the immediate locality oi
the paroxysm; but by means of this
system he claims to he able to tell where
the disturbance will be felt least and
where it is liable to be the greatest
[Pittsburg Commercial.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
An American AerOnaut's Plans.

The Pail Mall Gazette of April has
the following: "An American balloon
ist, by name Mr.. Donaldson, has in
formed the Societe d'Aerostation, oi
Paris, that within three or four months
he intends crossing the Atlantic, from
the United States to Europe, in bal
loon measuring Z 900 cubic metres. Mr.
Donaldson is convinced that there exists
a constant current of air in the upper
strata of the terrestrial atmosphere set
ting at that season from West to East
He is undeterred by previous failures
and has provided himself with cans OF
Liebig's meat extract. life-belts, blue
lights, and rockets, carrier pigeons, bot
ties TO contain floating messages. astro-
nomical instruments, and flags. by means
of which he can signal to vessels near
which he may pass. He will probably
travel alone, for the sake of lightness;
and the ballast in the balloon car will
principally consist of 'fre-pots' of Mr..
Donaldson's own invention, which are
said to be tin cylinders containing a
chemical substance which becomes in
6amma bic instantaneously upon contact
with water, and emits brilliant and
long-lasting fame. As Mr.. Donaldson
is borne rapidly along eastward he will
drop these ire-pots into the sea every
ten minutes, so at night the whole hori-
zon, he expects, will be illuminated, and
he will leave a fiery track behind him
on the Atlantic The scheme sounds all
the more big one, as the recent voy-
age of the Zenith balloon, from Paris
to the neighborhoO6 of Bordeaux, is the
longest on record, and only occupied
sixteen hours The balloonist Green,
in ali his fourteen voyages, MAS never
longer in the air than three of four hours
at a time. Sixteen years ago the 'Geant'
balloon went up from the Champ de
Mars, and descended in Hanover, after
six hours sailing. Subsequently MN
Flammarion and Goddard travelled from
Paris to Prussia in eleven hours. Sew
eral trips have since been made. How
eyer, Mr.. Donaldson hopes to be in the
air mot longer than a week."
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
niking in Holland.

In Da,ch drainage work the dixie is a
very important element. These vary,
of course, according 10 the circumstances
under which they are required. On the
North Sea coast, where they are built TO
Withstand tides rising ten feet beyond
their average, and, lashed by storms,
they constitute work of stupeLdous
magnitude and cost. In the case of a
holder of a few acres, they may be the
work of single man. Occasionally in
their construction serious engineering
difficulties are presented; especially is
this the case where the dixie is to be con-
structed in the water. Here the two
sides of the foundation. which must
reach from the solid earth TO the surface
of the water, are made by sinking great
RATS Of fascines made of willow osiers,
often from 100 to $50 yards square,
strongly secured together, and making
a compact mass. These are foated over
the place they are intended to occupy,
where they are guided by poles sunk in
the bottom, and are loaded with stones
or with earth until they sink. Upon
this first, second and smaller one, and
often third, and even fourth, always
decreasing in size, are plased in turn.
The space between the two walls is filled
with solid earth, and on the top of this
secure foundation the dixie is built. IF
the dixie is TO remain exposed to NOV
ing water, it must be further protected
by jetties, or by mason-work, or by wat
ties placed upon it's slope. or by rows of
piles, basket-work of straw or rushes. or
sometimes by brick walls.-[Col. Geo.
E. Waring, in Scribner for May.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
Why a Child Loves Sugar.

The craving of children for sweets is
well known to be one of the most i'm
perious of their appetites. 1t has refer
ence probably to that ceaseless activity
which especially characterizes the age Of
childhood. 1t may be that sugar per-
forms in their system the part enacted
by the fatty substance in the bodies of
adults. AS it undergoes exidation-is
burnt up, circulating with blood-it
may be the source of the power which
enables them to keep in motion from
morning to night. Besides this it is
known that it renders easier and more
perfect the digestion of the aibumiDous
food upon which their growth depends
In respect to these offices it is, there.
fore, nearly essential to their we'll being
And yet how strong, for generations, has
been the prejudice against sugar! Under
what difficulties, and in the face of what
discouragements and protests, have oul
children obtained the luxury Prof
| Palmer.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
The War ClOud in Europe.

1t is but aspeck in the sky yet, but it
is enough to excite some apprehension,
although the British Premier declares
that Germany has not menaced Belgium,
and the German paper which has been
so hostile in its tone disavows that it
speaks by any Government authority.
The main reason for fearing trouble is
the general belief that France intends to
try conclusions again with Germany,
and is perfecting her military system to
that end, whilst Bismarck is equally
determined that if there must be fight,
France shall be caught unprepared
again. There are such immense arma-
ments that peace is nearly as expensive
as war, and it is not likely that the sui
len truce which now prevails will long
be maintained. France has thus far
exhibited much prudence, but the sit
nation is critical one, and very little
fuel added to the flames will bring
about a confagration thai will envelop all
Europe 1t seems to be but question
of time. and rot Amvery long time at
that Pittsburgh Telegraph
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
Monkeys Made to Work.

In the Straits settlements of the East
large apes. of naturally intelligent
breeds, are employed by their masters
much in the same way that human
slaves are made use of in some parts Of
Africa. The cocoanut palm is valua-
BILE for its fruit. but this is very difficult
to procure, so the landlord of "tope"
Of palms IN the Malayan peninsula
trains his apes to climb the trees and
judiciously pick the ripest nuts for him,
just as the Mozambique Arab trains his
negroes to perform the same arduous
office. But there appears to be slight
difference between the two cases-the
apes seem 10 delight in the work. We
learn from some correspondence in a
Ceylon newspaper. that the apes thus
employed in the neighborhood of Sing
apore and Penang are bred in Atchin,
and the owners itinerate and hire them
out. They go up the trees with line
their masters, choosing the proper fruit
They twist the nut round and round til
it falls down from its stock, when ths
feat is hailed on the part Of the apes by
jumps and chuckles Of evident satisfac
tion. The correspondent of the Ceylor
Journal says he has frequently stopped
at the police station at Tungey Baxup
and had "kurumba" sent down from
the cocoanut trees in this fashion,
Pail Mall Gazette. -s.-,-.s 3 s
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23


CooKIEG FooD FOR SToCK.-The
writer of an essay published in the Re
ports of the Nebraska State Agricultu-
raj Society, says ! know, by experience,
that there is saving of fully one-third
the quantity, and when we consider the
thrift and rapid improvement of the
stock-one half of the value of cooked
material over raw. Most people think
it too much trouble. and loss of time,
to cook their stock feed, but this objec
tion is largely imaginative, and soon ov
ercome by the rapid and healthy growth
of the stock. An economical and prac-
tical cooker can easily be made after a
plan of Mr.. S. H. Clay, of Kentucky,
who builds an oven or pit on the ground
of brick, six to eight feet long, three
feet wide, and two feet high, II think
eighteen inches better height, with
chimney at one end. The pit is covered
with box of two-inch plank of the
above dimensions, with sheet iron bot
tom. This pit, if closely banked up.
will hold long time, and cook large
quantity of materials with very small
amount of fuel, and the whole cost viii
not exceed six or seven dollars. never
feed more than my stock will eat up
clean; after few times the feeder will
learn to graduate the amount to the
needs of his stock, and no more.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
Fugitive Real Estate.

Col. Waring, in Scribner for May, tells
the following incident of the drainage
of HARLEM Lake:
A curious phenomenon, however, oc-
CURED in connection with the outer dixie
of the canal on the east side of the lake,
where it crossed an area of floating soil
which bordered wide ponds near the vii
lage of Aalsmeer. An area of many
acres, detached by the canal from the
old works of defense against the lake,
found itself one fine day driven by the
tempest from the bank of the canal to
the other side of the pond. The pro-
prietor implored the aid of the commits
sion. His land had foated to the OPP
posise shore, widely separated from his
other fields, and resting on water thai
was not hia own. By the combined ef
fort of the proprietor and of the com
mission these fugitive fields were towed
back TO the borders Of the canal anC
pinned in place by piles and poles which
prevented them from undertaking an
] other voyage.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
People Who Take The Half Loaf.


The Old adage runs: "a half loaf is
better than no bread" We purpose
saying few words about the people who
take the half loaf There are hundreds
Of hard working literary drudges who
toll like slaves for mere pit,ance
There are highly gifted preachers who
give health and finally life itself In the
struggle for bare living. There are
teachers who break themselves down IN
their arduous calling, for sum pitiful
in comparison with the services they
render. There are girls employed a.
copyists and in other clerical service,
who slave from morning until night for
a triling recompense. There are sewing
women who exc out the poorest subsist7.
ence by the most continuous and con-
suming labor. Everywhere there are
large classes of deserving people who
have no Unions" to encourage and
snstain them, who will not beg nor
st4rve; they take the half loaf and
struggle on fighting a silent fight with
fate and uncheered in the main by hui
man sympathy. These people hold no
mass meetings nor clamor for the public
to listen to their sad story, Many Of
them are signally useful, but the gener-
al world does not even'know that they
exit. Solaced by the consciousness that
they are doing their work faithfully
they keep on, some winning late ap-
probation and the smiles of fortune,
whilst the large majority succumb at
last to the triple assaults Of III health,
poverty and broken heart, Yet who
can withhold respect from these brave
souls with whom fortune deals no churl-
ishly. They miss what the world calls
suecess, but in their sphere they exhibit
az much courage az is shown on the bat
tie field, nay, greater cOurage, since
there il nothing to stiDulate and cheer
them on. When we debate Of wages and
of the working man, let us remember
the silent army Of workera which heats
no drums, nor carries. flags, nor holds
public meetings, but noiselessly ills its
place in this mysterious universe and
goes hence where recognition OF merit is
not adjusted by the human soale.--
Pitts. Telegraph.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
The Worlds Population.

The celebrated German statisticians,
Behm and Wagner, have been figuring
on the worlds population again, and
find it to be 1891 100000. This is all
right; but when they turn their eyes to-
ward the United States and compute, on
he basis of our past increase, that our
population in the year 1000 will be 546,-
100000, the Cincinnati Times is inclin-
ed to doubt whether the gentlemen have
not made made mistake of couple of
hundred or SO. Still taking into con-
sideration Duluth and the Banana belt,
and the undeveloped paradises in New
Mexico, it seems that we might take
care of that many and few more.
The inevitable squabble over a rich
mans will has begun in Detroit. Mr..
E. B. Ward, dying few months ago,
left fortune of S5,OO0.OOO, and the fu-
neral was hardly over before the heirs be-
gan to quarrel about the bequests. One
relative, who had received $4,000, said
he deserved ten times that amount. and
gave notice that he would contest the
will. The latest move is combined
one by the widow and some of the other
heirs, and consists of a petition to the
Michigan Legislature for an amendment
to the present law relating to the settle
ment of estates, so as to do away with
the special administrator who may now
be appointed 10 take charge of the es-
tate until it is settled, and, instead, to
give the executors control. The soDs
resist the proposed change in the law,
and as a powerful lobby is enlisted on
both sides, bitter contest is anticipa-
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
A Jump for Life.

A jump for life was what a man de-
cided to take while at work on the pile
driver at the Green Bay elevator He
occupied a position away up aloft, to
work the hammer, which occasionally
needed attention. While in this unen-
viable position, a huge pile was drawn
up by the machine, the hammer was up,
ready to drop on call, when the whole
pile driving machine began to sway.
The man aloft saw that it was gong
over. He took in the situation at a
glance. If he remained where he was,
il was to risk his life in the fall with the
ponderous hammer, weighing twenty-five
hundred pounds, an immense oaken pile
twenty or thirty feet long, and the
large timber of the machine. 1t all
flashed through his mind in an instant,
and turning upon the ladder, he made a
leap for his life landing upon the plat
form of the freight dock, thirty feet be-
low. The weight hammer went down
through the dock and the machine went
over on its side, but the man was safe.
His jump saved his life, and, aside from
little soreness in his back, he felt no
injury, and resumed his work next day.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
A Cosy Retreat.

A raid was made on the illicit distil-
lers in Southwest Virginia, several
weeks ago, and a number of them cap
tured One offender, with a romantic
turn of mind, had discovered a com
modious cave, through which meander-
ed crystal stream of water. Above it
was large hollow tree, with number
of large limbs reaching ont from the
parent stem. The enterprising manu-
facturer of the ardent spirits had man.
aged to convert this hollow tree into a
chimney, through which the smoke
from the distillery passed in indistinct
clouds, being diffused in unnoticed
quantities to the limbs and out into the
air. He had all the paraphernalia of a
frst-class distillery, and was quietly
squeezing the juice from the cereals Sc
cluded and apart from the vulgar, pry-
| ing, meddlesome outside world, when
officious myrmidous of the law interfer-
| ed with his pasiime.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23

An ounce ball from an Enfield rifle
was removed from behind the eyeball of
General John +. Miles in San Francis
co few days ago. The ball entered the
eve at Liberty Gap. Tennessee, July "a,
1898. The General lay in a comatose
condition for two or three days, and the
surgeon pronounced death almost in
evitable. He rallied, however, and the
wound finally healed. But the recovery
was never complete. The General has
suffered from neuralgia pains, and OF
late the uniniured eye had begun to
show signs of weakening through sym
pathy. The ball had adhered to the
bone, and was fast in its place, but yield
ed 10 the instrument and was speedily
abstracted. The eye was then dressed
and the General left in a comfortable
condition. Thus. for nearly twelve
years, the General had been carrying
! in his head an ounce Of lead.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-04-23
New Way to Further a Good Cause

There was double service in Meth
odist church at Nottingham, Manitoba,
on recent Sunday. A quarrel had di-
vided the congregation, and each party
claimed to be dominant Each had call
ed new minister, and the two clergy
men were on hand to begin their labors.
The first TO arrive took possession of the
pulpit. and the other sat behind the
chancel rail. The man in the pulpit
gave out a hymn, the other man an
other, and both were sung confusedly
by the rival sections of the assembly
Then the man behind the railing started
off on his sermon, and the other began
to read chapter of Scripture. When
the reading was over, and it was plain
that the preaching vas going TO last
much longer, the partisans of the reader
sang another hymn, with a loud organ
accompaniment. The musical noise
drowned the voice of the clergyman in
the pulpit, but when it was over he was
found TO be preaching right along, az
though nothing unusual had happened.
The clergyman in the chancel, less cool,
was unable to fix his thoughts on dis
course, and so remained silent and beat
en-. At the close of this extraordinary
scene, deacon explained that il had
been enacted "under legal advice, and
to further the cause Of Christ"