davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

WINTER LIFE ON PRINCE EDwAlip's
IsIAND-The following is an extract from
4 private letter, dated Charlottctown. =.
+. l., January 81: We are frozen in
and have been So for more than two
months. and are likely to remain isolated
from the rest of the world for the next
four months. We have daily mail. cx-
cept when the weather is very severe. 1t
is brought across in Il small boat. to which
six men are strapped. These men draw
the boat where the ice is hard enough to
carry thcm and when they ct to the
water. jump in and hoist their sail They
often break through the lee, but being tied
to the boat are enabled to eNtrcatg each
other, and then the team trots along ar,in
The distance from Cape to Cape i, nine
miles, which is often accomplished in two
hours, but q: times it requires twelve OF
fifteen hours. No passengers cross unless
compelled by business, and in such eases
they are strapped on, and bave to do their
share Of the puliin-. 1t is u very rare
thing for 4 Lady to cross, though believe
one has done so this winter We are not
having Il very severe winter here in fact,
it is quite moderate for this climate. 1t
alternately freezes and thaws, ana we are
frequently treated to 4 rainy day Th
changes are very sudden. Il will lie
thlwing rapidly, and in twelve ho:,.S af:
terward the thermometer will! have cone
down below zero. and there will be !,
northwest wind blowing which makes
YOU feel rs if there were ii dozen Fl Zen
razor5 shaving the hair of your face, and
a hundred needles pricking the lining O
your nose. \ northeast blast here is DIFF
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

MYSTERIOUS Mt SIC IN THE AIR.-A sin
gular and unaccountabe phenomenon is
agtating the social circles of North Chill,
Monroe county. and is the cause of much
speculation and supcrstitious foreboding.
renee of the curious phenomenon is un-
mlcachable.
About : o'clock every morning there can
be heard Il soft, soughing sound in the air,
like the music of an -Eolian harp, but of
greater volume. This weird music seems
to pervale the air for miles. Families
living widely apart have heard it at the
same hour. At first it was noted with
simple curiosity, but its recurrence with
such regularity when the air is not dis
turbcd by violent storms have given it a
romantic interest. What is it? is the
question. Various theories have been
presented, such as the vibration of The telc-
graph wires, OF the sound of the far dis
tant locomotive whistle trned down and
mcllowcd by the distance, or some pecu-
liar condition of the atmosphere, OF form
alton of the ground. But these do not
satisfactorily account for it. 1t is unlike
the sound of tie wires, are too akin to
music to he caused by an engine. 1t is
heard miles away from the wires-on each
side Of the rairo;t! where the sound of
vibration wonld be carried away bv the
wind. It seems to ilolt high in the air
now clear, now faint. then swelling again
to dlstlnctnesS. Some people have avcred
that the sounds proceed from a certain
spot of ground about a mile from the sta
tion Of North Chill. They assert that the
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RAILROAD AC-
cIpENI>. >.-Our reports for two years show
that about twenty-five per c"ntum of our
train accidents We're coll sions; seventy
five per centum We're collisions in
Great Britain. Here sixty per centum
We're dclailment>; there less than ten per
ccntum. The causes are evident. There
;he railroads are nearly perfect in condi-
ton OF track: here, on the average. exceed
ingly Imperfect. Here most of the roads
are very far from crowded; there Il large
proportion of the lines are crowded with
trains to an extent known here only on
three or four Of oar busiest roads
There i> indeed a radical difference be-
tween European and American railroads
II was Indispensable that the latter should
be cheap In fact. with labor and all ma
tcrial> higher than in any European
higher than in almost any other civilized
country, our railroads have not cost half as
much per mile ;l> the European roads
The economy has been in the construction
of the roads. They have more and shorter
curves. often unbalasiel and generally
poorly halla>ted rold-bedS. and usually
much lighter rails, bridges and similar
structures. frequently no fences, and cen
orally they cross highways and city streets
At grade. All these impcrfcctons make il
easier toi' trains to leave the track. except
that perhaps the liohtne>s of the rails is
compensated by more frequent ties We
might almo>, say that European rolling
stock could not run ut all on some Amer-
can roads that We count pretty good.
American ingenuity has been largely
devoted to the contrivance of rolling
stock which will run on imperfect tracks
and OF apparatus to mitigate the effect of
accl!rnt>. Cur ears are made flexible bv
trucks, which adjust themselves readily to
Inequalities Of track and sharp curves. our
UncVuailcd brakes and the rigid Miller
platforms lessen the effect of the too num-
crou> accidents, and the strength of the
car bodies is made such that they often
pas whole through shocks which would
crash English carriages y like egg
Shells
We have this in our favor. that if We
sometime have the means and the DISPOSE
tlon TO make the roads thoroughly good
IKE tNc, European LDads (as 4 few now are
SO tar 5 ira, Ks are concerned). provide
crossings above or below the tracks, and
keep the force needed for 4 complete sio.
nal sN>tein.o our safety apparatus developed
to meet circumstances which made fire.
uucnt accidents incvitahlr nn"ht ia give
of all other countries. The improved roads
/ should make accidents rs rare as in Eu-
rope; the existing safety apparatus shoult
make their effects much less serious
! Rti'r0Gd Gt.erC.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

earth vibrates, and that The sound seems
to rise and float away >kyward. This.
perhaps. needs further investigation and
v"rificalion. That this mysterious music
has been heard and i causing consil rable
interest is undeniablc - RocheSttr Express.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

lil7 SOui ill'it iSll'S i'l us iUlllDc' EIONll,
The glorious conquest over human Ill;
\ spirits Joy which death can never XIII.
jerome, January, $50. W. c. DESMOND.
The }sOa..
The American Museum of Natural His
tory ut Central Park has Just acquired Il
grand seric, of skeleton, of the great eX-
tinct birds, the moas. DR. Hast. the Gu
rator of Canterbury Museum ut Christ
Church, New Zealand, informed several
of the great museums of the world that
he had for exchange a series of six perfect
skeletons. including five species of the
above c-mentioned, and about twice thai
number of skeletons, more or less perfect.
which are valuable for purposes of study.
The trustees of the American Museum, in
accordance with their settled policy to pro
cure the most desirable material. tele
oraphcd by cable direct to New Zealand.
and made them at once their property.
Dr. lIaast has given to the world 4 de
tailed account of the discovery of these
birds through the pages of the hiOsoIAi-
cal AtStHutc. of Canterbury. New Zealand
In the spring of lN12. in company with
,''fI'' '.i''I NJ ''ilPl"S ii - ,'" S ~ l'v''
Paint IJer. are Several lorre cavcrus
which have been produced hv the action
nf +hn ..r, unon !, I,~rrl. Volcanic forna-
t,nn and witch have been at some remote
period on = level with the ocean, but ar,.
now elevated considerably above. This is
inferred from the fact that the ragged bot
IONS Of III. caycrns are covered with Il
derp hed of marine sand. On examining
the content, of the cavern,. he found that
the native races more or les recently had
occupi.I them. and left heaps of refuse
m,tt,r called in the l,norare Of archrolo-
u5s,s. titrL.,l-miHi rs. that is. the natural
waste or refuse Of a camp. There are
traces of Europcan occupants. relics found
on the service indicating I'm occupation by
the later settlers. and deeper in thc strata
r1 stone, Of the prehistoric man. The
latter are found in the lowest beds, and are
minpIcd with bones of hurc birds. All hay
jnr been b,lricd beneath the sands Of the
nrirhLori,,. sen. evidently ut :. time when
the wave, of the Pacific rolled into them.
l. !. INTERESTING ia notice that in nnnn-
rnus instances. homes were found by DR.
Hans; tllot had evidently been broken for
the ,u1.Dosc of extracting the marrow; this
and the fact that stone implements are
found MINGLED with the bones show conclu-
si,rl, that the bird. were cocv.,I with man.
though they may bc very ancient Dr.
IIaast maintain, that the moas have been
extinct many hundreds of years. On the
other hand. DR.. Hector, of the Colonial
Museum. believes that their extinction is
very much more rcccnt--within a century
or thcrc:lhout>. And he even expressed a
belief that I. tr,y noas might Vet exist on
the grassy slopes of some of the southern
A,pinc hills. brtwrrn the limits of the bush
land snow line. Reports are constantly
occurrin. of the discovery of live moas.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

SPEAKING OF CATs.--While almost
every one has 4 wonderful specimen of
The cat family. we think at our house that
we had one d" hard TO beat We do not
pretend that he can sing scientifically. or
talk the English language fiuently. but
what he don't understand in the cat cate
cory isn't much. When We moved out of
town the question arose as to the best
way to move that cat (whose name is Nco-
demus); whether he should be put in II
bag, nailed up iu a box. or carried with
the family in the carriage; but lest he
might get up 4 scratching match with that
little ten pound episode of our family, it
was decided to put him in box. But
Nick had decided otherwise H.. hunted
around until he found an empty basket
into which he cr:lwled and laid down rs if
TO Try it. When the carriage came in the
afternoon he deliberately puchti himself
into the basket. pre;en ing 10 be asleep
The basket was placed IN the carriage and
he was SO carried AWAY, refusing TO leave
it until they had arrived At their ,lestina-
ton. Now VIII" can say that cat WAS not
ob>crvant of what WIS going on around
him. and had not Judgment enough TO act
accordingly? v?-O1r Dtntl6 .11liDlatS
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01
TERMS FOR ADVERTISING.

For one square of l. lines less Of Agate type ono
Insertion $780, for each subsequent insertion 25 cents
tnlss the number of insertions marked the ad
ftrtseinent It Will Ia continued until ordered
Liberal discount made to merchants nd otheI adver
Using by the
Probateand Commissioners Notices s.. .0Cesch.
For not !ces Of liherations. Estrays Formation
ana Diss puIuii OF COpartnershlps ST pa each
threelnsertlons 1t sent by nallthe money must
company the letter.
Not1ces1 in newe colufnne 10 per line each in
5ert1on but no charge made of lessthau scents.
Notices OF Deaths and Maria gratis but
extended Obituary Notices Poetry hargedtat
the raLe OF i've cents uerllne.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

No IARM-Rev DR. w. of F.. when
he can find leisure. is fond of hunting and
lishiny. He is 4 keen shot and ready wit
Coming home one day from :, shooting
excursion. with several ducks in h. hand,
he met 4 Quaker friend whose >alut.ilon
was
Good morning, friend w. Where did
thee Get those ducks?'
Shot them, was the answer
Well. does thee think ii right to give
pain to such harmless birds, and even 10
take away their lifc9
Why not?' said the doctor You know
that they. asA Aell rs we. must die at some
time; and if tnev can be of use to US rs
food, do not see anv harm in shooting
them. any more than killing the chickens
You and every day ca
Yes. said the Quaker Il know every
creature must die lchen It's time comes, but
it seems cruel TO take its life before that
time
Well said the doctor. friend H., when.
with 4 ell-loa,!ed gun. get my eye on :,
duck. l gencrally .H'ld his time has come.
So. even on Your own view, there can't be
any harm in killing it
All. friend W., said the Quaker with a
laugh. l see it is hard TO get away from
thy wit is from thy shot.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01
Chr freeman.
NONTPELIER, VT,
WEDNESDAY, MARCH l. 1876

The Rev. W. II. II. Murray, wishing to
procure a piece Of the old Boston elm as a
m,mcuto, asked the policeman in charge
what he could have. The officer said, rath-
,r sharply, = You can take anything you
en- curry of, which was equivalent to a
refusal, ao the cleaners had made n
,l=lu sweep of all the small boughs and
-p'ul,rs. But, interpreting the pcrmis-
,u in IT, widest sense, Mr. Murray picked
upa limb some ten feet long and nearly
a~ many inches thick, and placing it on his
.h,ld,rs. carried it to the office of the
.,.I,ll XHls.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

NJ. Boillot has been studying the action
of ozonc in retarding putrcflction 4
piece of meat was put into a vessel con-
tanning air. and II similar piece into
another vessel containing ozonizcd air
At the end Of five DAYS the meat in the OF
dinary air was in 4 high state of putrcfac-
ton, while that in the ozonized air re-
mained quite fresh. At the end of ten
days the conditions remained unchanged;
but after that period the ozone appeared
10 lose It's nnxrr
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-01

\ FAsTIbioIs TEA,Ir.-Thc "chcck
lest " tramp mas turned up in New Lon
don. He wanted something to eat The
servant girl cut frow a loaf just baked four
slices OF bread and from a roast two slices
of beef. preparing for him :: couple of
sandwiches. These were rendered him.
but lie Indignantly drew back saving,
- Well. haven't You any hot coffee ," The
servant responded by asking: 'you don
suppose we keep coffee hot all day to deal
out to tramps. do vou?" Then don't
want this, replied the injured gentleman.
He handed her back the sandwiches and
moved on.-Ntr Utre4 YulLtdtllu.
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27
DiscOuraging.

A Detroit youth of thirteen sold
fifty pounds of old iron and a piece of
lead pipe Il few days ago and received
cherished idea of establishing a week.
ly newspaper which should represent
the interests of every section Of
Michigan. lie was willing to COM
mence low down and work, and he
established an office in the cellar Of
his fathers house, purchased two
quarts of ''pi,'' hired his sister as an
apprentice, and work was began on his
first numb r. The boy had an idea
that IN independence journal would
pay best, and his first edition, which
consisted of seven copies of sheet
about as large as an envelope, was de-
voted to items of a personal nature.
1t was rather a family sheet, also,
seven of the items in it being hits at
his father and mother, and the lone
one was Il bit of advice to his school
teacher. While he was out hunting
up advertising and soliciting sub.
scribers his father laid the type away
to shoot cats with. his mother kindled
the fire with the wooden press, and
when the editor and proprietor return.
ed he was given woo-shed interview
and then welded to the handle Of a
lawn mower. lie was yesterday
''hollering' over the alley fence to
one of his friends that he couldn't be
crushed out nor frightened off the
track by no bloodthirsty mob, but the
prospect for new paper is dubious.
Free Press.
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27
" Rlack-Eycd Susan"

Gay wrote this well-known ballad on
Mrs. Montiford, a celebrated actress,
contemporary with Cibber. After her
retirement from the stage, love, and
the ingratitude of a bosom friend, de.
prived her of her senses, and she was
placed in a receptacle tor lunatics.
One day, during a lucid interval, she
asked her attendant what play was to
be performed that evening, and was
told that it was s'Hamle::." In this
tragedy, while on the stage, she had
ever been received with rapture in
Ophelia. The recollection struck her
and, with that cunning which is so
often allied to insanity, she eluded the
care of her keepers and got to the
theatre, where she concealed herself
until the scene in which Ophelia enters
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27
After each one of these d;san,o;n+.

After each one of these disappoint.
ments their despair grew greater, and
the last of these unhappy beings was
nearly at deaths door when, for the
fifth time, as 4 ship was in sight, but
this time ut a less distance than the
preceding ones. Hope began to dawn
in the survivors of the crew of the Is.
abella, and their joy was without
bounds when they saw the vessel, q
schooner, come about and steer for the
hampton reef. If any of the Chinese
were still living there, they would
probably tell their deliverers that the
crew had sought refuge upon a neigh.
boring island, and boats would be sent
for them. They were saved. Prov
idence so decided. The captain of the
schooner, the Laura Lind, had noticed
the wreck of the Isabella, and suppos.
ing that some Of the crew might have
survived the disaster, sailed to the
reef. OF the seventeen Chinese four
were living, and the account of their
miserable existence during six months
was something heartrending. With
Ort water or provisions they had en-
dured the same privations as the crew,
and had witnessed three of their mum.
Der perish with hunger and thirst.
Several times, they said, they had res
olutely stretched themselves upon the
ground patiently awaiting the death
For some time every vestige CT
clothing had disappeared. They were
completely naked, and much sun-burnt.
They were rescued the 9th Of January,
six months after the wreck. The cap.
tain treated them with the same kind.
ness he had treated the Chinese. They
set sail for Noumea, which they
reached Oh the 18th of April.
1t is probable that the captain of
the Isabella, with the second mate and
some OF the crew, reached al Austria.
liam port. 1t is impossible to explain
how he could have been so ignorant OF
the laws of humanity as not immedi
diately to have had measures taken tC
save the remnant of his crew. It is
true that it is also difficult to under
stand how whole crew could coo]ly
abandon to almost sure death the II
Chinese passengers Of the Isabella.
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27

in her insane state; she then pushed
OH the stage before the lady who had
performed the previous part of the
character could come on, and exhibit
ed 4 more perfect representation of
madness than the utmost exertions of
mimic art could effect. She was in
truth .Ophelia herself, to the amaze
ment of the performers and the
establishment Of the audience. Nature
having made this last effort, her vital
powers failed her. On going off she
exclaimed, ut is all over" She was
Immediately conveyed back to her late
place of security, and 4 few days after
Like lilly dropping,
Bowed her head and died.
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27
Hunger, Thirst, and Exposure
Of Paris Figaro, June 50.

Correspondence Of Paris Figaro, June So
In the month of July, 1875, an Eng.
lish ship, the Isabella, sailed from the
port of Newcastle Harbor, in Australia.
bound for Hong.Kong. Either through
the ignorance of the captain or driven
by adverse winds. the Isabella left the
regular route followed by ships upon
: this voyage and ran aground upon
some reefs in latitude 10 deg, min.,
10 sec. south, longitude l5S deg, p
min., 3 sec. east, marked as the Bamp.
ton reefs o.. the maps. This was on
the 4th of july. 1875, toward 2 A. NJ.
The ship was ladSn with iron and coal,
and consequently ali hopes of setting
her atl0at again had to be given up.
The vessel had to be abandoned, but
the captain did not think that was
enough. She had besides the crew 10
Chinese passengers aboard. who, after
having passed some time in Australia,
were returning to their country. The
captain and crew abandoned these un-
happy people and went off in small
boats to an island in sight, which they
have since discovered was Round is
land. The following day and the one
after passed without the crews return
ing for the Chinese left upon the reefs !;
lat last, becoming desperate. ten of the
latter jumped into the water and were
drowned in attempting to swim to the
land. Meanwhile this is what happened
on the Round island. The captain,
together with the second mate and
eight of the crew, left in the gig with
the intention of reaching the coast of
Australia, leaving upon the strip of
sand ten persons. For provisions they
left them fourteen pounds of bread.
There was absolutely no water, and
for clothes all they possessed was what
they had on. The shipwrecked crew
accepted their fate with resignation
and promised to wait patiently for
some passing ship which would take
the1a aboard. The second officer, with
whom we have had the pleasure of
conversing for a few moments, told us
that they did not deceive themselves
while trying to console one another :;
lin reality they only counted upon some
unforeseen chance to deliver them.
They knew, of course, that they had
!diverged from the regular route.
There were scarcely even a few tufts
of bushwood upon the island. These
served them as a shelter, and they
went about in search of food. The
island being too small to have any
game upon it, they were obliged to
catch sea.gulls and to gather shell-fish.
Food, however, such as it was, was
sufficiently abundant that was not
the greatest cause of their suffering.
What nearly proved fatal to them was
the dearth of water, and three Of them
persisted for the want of it. The only
water they could procure was rain-wa-
tier, and several times they passed
several weeks without being able to
quench their burning thirst. Tlsee
|or four times they saw vessels on their
way to China, but they were at too
great a distance for their signals to be
noticed,
Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-07-27

to ask you to remember the 9Th Of
March, for that you will do to the end
of your days; but have also reason
to remember it for on that day, as l
learned by letter from home by the
on the Great Western Railway, in the
collision that occurred near Reading.
Well if you remember that evening, we
were to have great spread at Doug.
las Thompson, Wilkinson and some
twenty others were invited, including
Captain Wilkes. OF course, you know
what jovial fellow Wilkes is, good
for 4 story or a song, and can take his
part in an argument with the best of
them. Every thing went off very well
during dinner; and after the cloth had
been removed, and one or two songs
had been given, the call was for
Wilkes. He, however, who is usually
SO ready and willing to oblige, made
some excuse about hoarseness, which,
however, was so palpably fictitious,
that we all burst out laughing; and
upon being pressed again by some of
us, including old Douglas, he positive
ly refused, and intimated his inten.
ton of going on board ut once. We
could see that something had occurred
to lrritate him, but for the life of us
none of us could guess. Before leav.
ing the room, however, Douglas called
him to one side, and asked him the
cause of his going away SO early. He
replied that he was uneasy in his
mind that depression of spirits such
40 he had never felt before had como
over him within the last half hour,
but for which he could not account !;
and asked Douglas kindly not to detain
him as he wanted to go on board to see
that everything was all right; and if
he felt better, they might expect to
see him in the course of an hour or SO.
And in an hours time he did return,
not to join our party, but to horrify us
with the details Of what had occurred
on board the Wild Dayrell. DR.. An
derson, who was one of our party,
went on board Immediately, to attend