davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
An Island of Ponies.

Of tbe northeastern shore of Virginia, and about five miles from the mainland, lies a small island known as Chincoteague -an island possessed of peculiarities shared by no other portion of the eastern United States; for here roams, in an en- tirely untamed state, breed of horses, or rather ponies. as wild as the mustangs of Texas or the Pampas.
 How these ponies first came upon the island is not known except through vague tradition, for when the first settlers came there, early in the eighteenth century, they found the animals already roaming wild about its piney meadows. The tra- dition received from the Indians of the mainland was that vessel loaded with horses, sailing to one of the Elizabelhan settlements of Virginia, was wrecked upon the southern point of the island, where tke horses escaped, while the whites were rescued by the then friendly Indians and carried to the mainland, whence they found their way to some oi the early settlements. The horses, left to themselves upon their new territory, became entirely wild, and, probably through hardships endured, degenerated into a peculiar breed of ponies.
 In 1870 the island was first prospected; {; it was subsequently, granted by King James II. to person by whom it was sold in minor sections to various others. At present it is greatly subdivided, though one landowner, Kendall Jester by name, holds over six hundred acres of marsh and pine land, and there are other hold ings scarcely less in extent. Among the earliest settlers were the Thurstones, Taylors, and Mifflins; the head of the last-named family was a well-known Quaker, who, upon the introduction of slavery to the island, removed thence to the town of Camden, in the upper part of the province of Maryland, near Dela- ware.
 It was long before Chincoteague was fairly settled, and even as late as 1888 there were but twenty-six houses there {; now. however, many strangers, tempted by the exceptionally good fishing and oyster-drcdging of the place, are pour ing in from the mainland to settle there. To mere visitors the ponies are still a great, if not the. main attraction, and during the periods of penniDg g"-driving them into corral-numerous guests arrive daily from the coast--Scribner.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
Douglas JerrOld's Witticisms.

Jerrold was, without doubt, the prince of English wits in his day. His witti- cisms, generally made on the prompting of the occasion, surprised every one by the quickness with which they were con- ceived and uttered. What made their freedom from reconciliation the more certain, perhaps of but a single word, which only was sense as taken in connec- tion with what some other person had just said.
 Douglas Jerrold was little spare man, with an oval, pallid face, a keen grey eve, and resolute mouth. He generally sat somewhat aside from what might be called the current of conversation, and only opened his mouth when he could cap something with bon mot.
 A tedious old gentleman once meeting Jerrold on the street, and having stepped him posed himself into a button-holding attitude, while preparing to grapple. aWelI. Jerrold, my boy, what is going on 2" 'I am," quoth the wit, instantly shooting off along the pavement.
 A dull foreigner was indulging in a rapturous description of the beauties oi the Prodigue. GAS to one song in parti- cular," (naming the seng) "l was quite carried away" "Is there any body here that can sing it ?'' said Jerrold.
 Somebody told Jerrold that George Robins, the auctioneer, was dead. "And, of course," added the gentleman, "his business will go to the devil" 70 then he'll get it again." replied the wit.
 A friend was telling, one evening, where he had been dining, and what he got to eat. "There was one article never saw b fore; none of you can guess what it was; it was a soup made oi calves tails." Extremes meet !" was Jerrold's remark.
 He had theory in the spirit of Caudle lectures, that women rather like that their husbands should stay out late, occasionally "It gives them wrong"
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
The Boomerang.

My experience in boomerangs is mainly
 confined to the natives about the Conda
 mine and its affiuents, where was ire quently in company with natives fol
 about 8 year. They had two weapons one large, for war, the other Small, fol game. 1 should think the weapon i. seldom thrown in war, since most of theil | contests (sucn as they are) take place ir
 scrub or forest, where it could not bt
 used to advantageI but have seen a na
 tive frightfully cut in the abdomen, an6
 was told by native that he had beet
 struck by boomerang thrown by the
 hostile party. have seen few of these
 contests, but never saw the booiiierahe
 used in any way. The "waddys" were
 thrown freely, the spear seldom. The game boomerang is thrown among flights of ducks and also parrots when congrega ted on the trees and gathering nectar from their flowers, and with marked effect l This I have seen several times. There are two ways of throwing the weapon, which, as I could throw it well at one time, will endeavor to describe. It is grasped quite at the end by the right hand and raised above the head, the ell. bow being bent, the weapon assuming a position with it's convex edge downward on a nearly horizontal line at right angles to the intended line of flight. The arm is brought swiftly around from left to right, becoming gradually extended un- til it reaches line directly in front of the lace, when the weapon is delivered from the now straight arm with the con- cave edge toward the line of flight. This is the method of throwing into the air. No dependence can be placed on the re- turn of the weapon within circle of 20 yards. though it sometimes returns dan gerously near the thrower. If it meets an obstacle it is either stopped and falls dead to the earth, or it's course is changed. In either case it's peculiar motion is de- stroyed, as must be obvious. In the other method of throwing the weapon is held in the same way, but delivered near ly on line with the hip, and made to strike the earth about 10 yards in front of the thrower, pitching l believe, (theugh it is not easy to observe,) on one of it's horns. Thence it ricochets and flies straight away for perhaps 70 or 80 yards, keeping position of about four feet from the earth, and gradually rising until it is spent. It returns very little, if at all. In this way only can it be used for war, since in the other it begins to mount at once, and would soon be above the enemy's head. The weapon is made of various woods, piece with slight elbow being selected. It is hardened by baking. The right form is arrived at by trial. as I have seen during the process of manufacture. Those sold to Euro peans are the failures. had to pay a good price for the two brought home, but they are excellent specimens --Nd- ture
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
An Unlucky Man.

The unhappy Kentuckian, who bet on every race during the week, and lost every time, illustrates the freaks of for tune in this respect He had just $50 left, and in sheer desperation cried out in the crowd that assembled at the hotel after the races "I1l bet $50 can name two men here with twenty-three fingers" When the bet was taken, this child of fate continued Anybody Fl do. Here, my friend, I'll take you. Ihave thirteen fingers, and you have ten, that makes twenty.three. knew there was one bet I could not lose" The stranger gazed at him moment with pitying expres
 sion, and then said, compassionately "Well, Pm sorry for you. You have struck a hard streak of luck. / had M,ee of my fingers shot of at Chicka- mauqar- Nashpiae (Tenn. American.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
How Mir. Parker Caught a Thief.

"Did I ever tell you how I caught a thief once ?" asked MT. Parker of his friend MT. Johnston, as he sat smoking pipe in MT. Johnston's comfortable "place."
 '"No, tell us about it, said MT. John ston, filling the glasses with fresh ale.
 "Well," said MT. Parker, :" don't mind if l do. You see, bought me a nice overcoat two or three years ago; it was one of lot of nice overcoats, and I was rather proud of it. hung it up in the hall one day, and that evening, just as was coming into the hall from din- ner, saw chap getting out of the door with my overcoat on. 1 rushed after him, but it was no go-he got away. Next day met that fellow on Broad- way and had him arrested but when we came into court and I tried to indentify that coat he had fifty other fellows there, and every blamed one of them had coats like mine and l couldn't swear to it and tie judge had to let him go. Per haps wasn't mad !! Great guns! said I, am I to be robbed with impunity 2 Parker, old boy said to myself, this will never dol! So l went right back to the store where l got the first coat and got one exactly like it. Now, said l, I'll set trap for that young man and I'll see if I can't indentiiy this coat. I baited my trap with the new coat, and sure enough the sneak thief come along and marched off with it. chased him, but the rascal got away, and began to wish 1 hadn't been so sharp. We'll, l locked for that fellow more than week {; at last l caught him <! Young man, said I, want that coat
 "'There's some mistake here, said he.
 "'Yes, sir, there is,' said 1; you've got an honest mans coat on.'
 We'll, said he, bold as brass, I'll go to court with you. There's a thousand other coats like this in New York. There's no mark on it; you can't swear to it..
 "We'll see, said l.
 "We went to court. There were the fifty fellows with coats like mine, as before. The judge took the coat and examined it.
 "I find no mark, said he; can you indentify this as your property, Mr. Parker?"
 Certainly said l; my initials are in it. The prisoner began to grin, for he had searched the coat, no doubt, and found no mark.
 "'Give me the coat said l. The judge handed me the coat, and, taking my pen-knite, ripped the seam on the | shoulder and took out two small peas There are my initials, said I--'P. P Peleg-Parker.'
 "fWell, Pm d-d !" said the pris oner. He wasn't (not just then al | least)," concluded Mir. Parker, with ( benevolent smile, but he got two year in the penitentiary nevertheless-N y World.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
True Love fin New Jersey.

In the hey-day of his youth New Jersey swain made fervent love to New Jersey lass. His love-making was of the high strung sentimental sort which young Lord Mortimers always indulge in novels of the class to which hand some, sentimental peer is necessary as a hero. He sighed like furnace, and probably wrote bad sonnet., if he could write-which is not made evident by the telegraphic reports of the case-to her eyes and other features, whatever their color or shape may be. He evidently wished that he might be the glove upon his sweetheart's hand, the belt about her waist, or
 The wind. the summer wind, That wandsrs OCT her damask cheek, in order that he
 might leave kiss behini
 Or hear her voice in kindness speak, and all that sort of thing.
 To satisfy these cravings of his loveIorn soul, he purloined handkerchief her handkerchief as he believed-lneaning to keep it near his heart, without permitting the laundress to wash out the memories of Her, with a big H, which clustered lovingly about its borders and nestled in it's folds.
 Unlucky swain The handkerchief was not his dulcinea's, but belonged to that damsel's unromantic mother, who had wrapped certain talents that is to say, dimes-in one of it corners, and hence the youth was speedily hauled before a Judge on a charge. of ieloniously appro- priating the subsidiary silver coins in question. He confessed his love in court. as he had already confessed it in court ship, and upon producing the handker- chiet from it's hiding place over his heart, with the coin untouched in its knotted corner, he was released. Moral The course Of true love never runs less smoothly than when your in tended mother.in-law begins to miss val uable articles after your visits.--N Y Erenin9 Post.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
French HOardings, and French Pro-
 ductiOnS.

We hear recently great deal of the example of France, and Prof. Price is among those who point admiringly to her in this crisis. Now. as every one knows, the savings of people in England, Ger many and America, are deposited in banks, whence they are loaned and be- come utilized as capital; in France the peasants heard their savings in old stockings and secret corners To with draw from either of the countries so large an amount as that of the indemnity paid Germany would greatly disturb trade; but the peasants, periodically unearth- ing their hoardings of secret gold in ex- change for government bonds, enabled the state, to the surprise of all, to pay her heavy penalty without distress or financial disturbance. But this was an exceptional position. We are scarcely to argue therefrom that hoarding is the true principle: that nation is better of because its work-people hide their savings, withdrawing them from public use rather than placing them in banks where they may become active capital. Prof Price attributes the successful pay ment bv France of the German indem- nlty to "the practice of one of the very greatest of economical virtues--she bad saved" Now, it was solely due to the manner in which her savings had been held. The fact seemed to have dazzled every body. The example of the French peasant is now held up on all sides-that he lives the narrowe4t and most restricted Of lives; that his excessive economical spirit not only limits his comforts, but keeps him ignorant, superstitious, dull, spiritless' hopeless, (the tragedy of the French peasant-life is only too well told in the pictures of Millet;) that he has neither intellectual life nor any grace of art oi refined civilization--thesefa facts are noth' ing to the economist the peasant hai drudged and hosrded; he has refused
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
HOW APAPER IN MADE.

"Pray, how is a paper made?
 The question Is easy to ask, Bat to answer it fully, my dear.
 Were rather difficult task; And yet in banteriDg way,
 As the whip. poor-will sings in the glade. I'll venture a bit of lay
 To tell how paper is made. An editor sits at his desk,
 And ponders the things that appear To be claiming the thoughts of the world Things solemn, and comic and queer And when he has hit on theme
 He judges it well to parade. He writes, and he writes, and he writes, And that's bow paper is made. An editor sits at his desk,
 And puzzles his brain 10 make ou Photographic" so squabbled ard mixed, IL is hard to tell what it's about. Exchanges are lying around
 While waiting dispatches delayed, He clips, and he clips, and he clips,
 And that's how paper is made. An editor out in the town,
 In search of the things thst are rev The things that the people have doLt The things they're intending to do- Goes peering and pI ying bout,
 For items of mapy grade; He tIamps, and he tramps, and he trnmps, And that's how paper is made And all that those workers prepare.
 Of every conc ivable stripe, Is sent to the printer, and he
 Pr ceedeth to stick 1t in iypa. His lines all respecting his will,
 In slow-moving columns paraGe- He sticks, and he sticks, and he sticks, And that's how paper is made. In short. when the type is all set,
 And errors cleared up more or less, Iris s1ocksd in form," as we say,
 And hurried away to the press. The pressman arranges his sheets. His ink gives the requisite shade, Then he print, and he prints and he prints, And that's how paper is made.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
Indian Reverence for n Meteoric Stone.

Some few mouths ago paragraph ap- peared in these columns containing a short description of an aerolite which was then and is still in the possession of the Rev. Dr. Wood, of this city. Little was known at the time about the history of this curiosity further than that it had been from time immemorial in the pos session of the Indians frequenting the Saskatchewan valley It is doubtful whether it will ever be known, the exact time this mysterious visitor reached the earth, as the event is too long past to be preserved in the memory of any one now living. The following particulars, how ever, taken from letter addressed by the Rev John Macleod, of Morley vile, to the Rev. Dr. Wood, can be re- lied on: "As to the meteoric stone, l have not met any one who saw it fall and my impression is that this occurred previous to the memory Of those now liv- ing. The locality in which it was found and from whence it was taken is about one hundred and thirty miles southeast of Victoria. Saskatchewan, and near Bat tie river. The native Indians looked upon the wah-bish, or iron as they termed it. as something supernatural, and es such reverenced it. Parents made offerings at it's shrine for the lie and prosperity Of their little ones; travellers for the success of their journey war parties to insure (if possible) the victory ever their enemies and to aid in stealing horses. They also laid their tobacco and other stuff upon it's altar. Great attrac' tive power was attributed to it for the bringing of the buffalo and the animals to it's vicinity; and as an evidence Of this the more snperstitious now say that on account of it's removal the buffalo have entirely left that part Of the country. - Toronto Globe.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
The Average of Life.

There is considerable speculation as to the average of human life. In ancient Rome in the peroid of from 200 to 800 years after the Christian era, the average duration of life in the most favored classes was thirty years. In the six teenth century the average longevity in Geneva was lwenty-one and one-fourth years. Between 1874 and 1888 it in. creased to nearly forty and three.fourthr.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12
FATE OF THE CHARS.
The Poison Bowl. the Dagger and the
 Bed CurJ.

The Poison RowI. inc Dagger and the
 Bed Cord.
 It may be interesting just now to note what history and rumor says of the fate of the czars of Russia From Rur;.. (S62) to Jurie, or George I. Ol55 who built Moscow, there were .eventeen dukes of Kiev. To these follow sixteen grand dukes of Vlad..mir, ending with Jurie, or George rn,, in 1925. The succeeding sove. .feigns, nine in number, bore the tt.e of grand duke of Mos, COW. In i517 commences the list of czars of Muscovy, whose territorial bor. .ndaries have spread by purchase but Chiefly by conquest, until they reach the giant dimensions of the present Russian empire. Feodor l., second czar, was poisoned; Boris poisoned himself; Ivan VI, of the house of Romanof, was de- posed; Peter III. was deposed and mur- dered Paul 1. was strangled in his bed chamber; Alexander I. is reported to have died by slow poison Nicholas, too, is reported to have been poisoned, as his death was unexpected, and his body lay three days in private state before any public announcement of his death was made. Another and still more con- mon idea is that Nicholas died from mor- tification on account of his disasters and defeat in the Crimea. The present czar, Alexander H., is the sixteenth of the house of Romaneff. He has entered upon more arduous task than his father, the conquest of Constantinople at time when the rest of the great nations are even more averse to disturbing the balance Of power in Europe than when Sebastopol was attScked. The crown does net sit easily upon his head. Recent accounts say that Alexanders cheeks are sunken, his eyes are lusterless, his step has lost much of it's elasticity. and his carriage is less digniied than formerly. He is described as prematurely aged, which is not marvellous, since he works from eight in the morning until nine o'clock at night, laboring even harder than his ministers There is hot work in the east and the west already. For
 Down each deep and skirted valley,
 Where the crowded cannon play
 Where the Czu's fierce cohorts rally
 Cossaok, Kamuck, savage Kalli-
 Down each gorge they sweep away!
 Down each new Theumopyla.
 Flash ug swords and helmets see
 Underneath the iron shower,
 To tbe bragen csnuon's jaws,
 Eeedless of their deadly power,
 Press they without fear or ause,
 To the very cannon's jaws!
 If Alexander should fail, and the crescent should look down upon myriads of Russians sent to their death by his ambition to possess Constantinople, he will likely go the way of Nicholas, either by treason or broken-heartedness. It is believed in Russia that on the base of statue erected by the early chiefs there appeared a miraculously-written prophecy tbat the Russ would one day sit in the seat of the Greek emperor. Every czar has sanctioned the fsble, and hence each one who attacks Turkey fears the con- sequences of failure.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12

The centennial board of finance have paid the government all but about S50,- GOO of the million and half that the supreme court adjudged to be payable. Against this $50 GOO that yet remains to be paid, the board have entered a cross charge of S20. 900 paid by them to the custom house officers employed on the grounds and in the different buildings at time when the secretary of the treasury had no funds to pay them out of existing appropriations,
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12

A mansion now building in New York has Pompeiian room, the woodwork of which is of ebony, with ivory inlaid fig ures, and panels of amaranth wood painted by hand. The furniture is up- holstered with raw silk of reseda tints, bordered with crimson velvet,
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12

In England the avefafe iifeof annuitants in 1893 was twenty-six years, but in 179O it had increased to thirty-three. The average in this country is over thirty-fve, and is slowly increasing.
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12

Jacksonville, Fla, has just been forced by mandamus to raise money to pay the city bonds
The Russellville Democrat., 1877-07-12

George A. Blaney, of Wobuni, Mass !, annually refuses to pay his taxes, is locked in jail, pays the tax under pro. est, and Is then allowed to go free.
Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1877-04-12
THE HUM AN FACE.

The countcnance OF every nation defines
the characteristics Of its people. Every hui
man face indicates the moral training as
well as the temperament and the ruling
traits of its owner, just as much as every
human form Indicates the quality and
amount of its physical exercise. This is
proven by the variety of human faces ev-
eryWhere visible. Those whose lives have
been given to physical labor, unbrightened
by an education Of IDEAS. have always a stu
pid, stolid expression, even with their mus
,cles and limbs are splendidly developed.
The more savage a people, the uglier they
are in facial development. The very fea-
lures of their faces are distigured by violent
and ungoverned passions. People whose
employIuents are intellectual, have ~invaria-
bly, a large, clear gaze, Il bright outraying
expression, as if from an inward light Shin
ing through q vase. Where a fine organi-
cation and deep sensibility accompany the
practice of intellectual pursuits, often the
features take a transparent, luminous look.
Persons endowed with powerful sensibility.
however plain their features, always have
moments of absolute beauty.