davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
A Strange Theft BY q Mouse.

A very amusing incident occurred one
night recently at the residence of H. A.
Bennett i'll New Preston. Mr. G. G.
Kenney and wife, of New York, were
staying there for a short time, and on
the night in question they retired to their
room at an early hour. Mr.. Kenney took
the precaution to place large roll OF
bills in the heel of his boot. The out
side bill happened to be q ten-dollar note.
Accordingly, after arranging his money
carefully in the boot, and thinking nc
burglar could find it, he retired for the
night. What was his astonishment in
the morning to find the ten-dollar bill
was gone Search was made throughout
the apartment, but no trace of the miss
ing money could be found. 1t was cer-
tainly very mysterious. Onlyone of the
roll of bills was gone. After spending
many hours i'll the search, Mrs. Kepney
removed a stand and noticed one corner
of the lost bill protruding from small
mouse hole. The little burglar had en-
tered the apartment and succeeded in
dragging the bill the whole length of the
room to its hole, where it luckily caught
on nail. The hole was so small that
the bill could only be extracted in small
pieces. The burglar is still at large, al
though the owner of the house offers a
large reward for his apprehension. -
LttchfSld Conn., Enquirer.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
HThe ChampiOn IdiOt,0

Most of these incurable idiots are
unable to speak-says writer in the
New York Herald, speaking of recent
visit paid by him to the asylum for idiot
children on Randalls Island, New York
incapable even of learning more than
n few words or, at most, sentences. The
champion among these is unques-
tionably Johnny Rouse. He is now
thirty-eight years old, and has been in
the Idiot asylum fifteen OF twenty years.
Johnny was born in the Sixth ward in
this city, and it may be said that he
never had an idea in his life. His only
sense seems to be that of sensation. He
has been blind for some years, but his
hearing is not impaired, and he possesses
q faculty which is something like memo
ry. "What time is it, Johnny ?" asked
Mr.. Osborne. He reached out for the
stewards watch chain, and, not finding
it, he seemed puzzled. When the watch
was put in his hand he placed it to his
ear and, after listening to it awhile, he
exclaimed "Two." With Johnny
Rouse it is always two o'clock, and
"two 3" is perhaps the only word he can
utter, except "boom," with which he
accompanies rifle practice in which he
is constantly indulging. ellis mother
was here to see him last week." said the
nurse, "and she said she wished he was
dead. But it's the way with all of them
It's seldom they come to see their chill
dren here, and when they do come they
say I wish the poor thing was dead. ="
A more remarkable curiosity than
Johnny Rouse cannot be found the
world over. He is diminutive in size,
being scarcely four feet nine inches in
height, with a face of corresponding
meagreness. His head and face are of
the true idiotic type, and both together
are not much larger than an ordinary
baseball. There is no brow and only an
excuse for forehead. The top of the
head measures less than two inches in
any direction, and the coal black hair,
which seems stuck on like wig on the
back part of the Uranium, only adds to
the absurdity of this pitiful freak of
nature. When the Herald reporter saw
johnny Rouse he was in high spirits and
seemed intent upon going somewhere on
n picnic. He frisiIed and capered like q
child, and "boomed away the happy
moments which to him make up the
span of an aimless existence. An emil
nent New York physician, the reporter
was told. has made Johnny's organiza-
tion and history the subject of learned
paper and has made plaster cast of that
wonderful head.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18

tablespoonful each of butter and flour
mixed together dry, this will prevent
settling; meantime fry some dice OF
stale bread, about two slices, cut half an
inch square, in hot fat, drain them on a
sieve, and put them in the bottom of the
soup tureen in which the pea soup is
served or cut some bits of very hard
stale bread, or dry toast, to use instead
of the fried bread. BY the time the
soup is done it will have boiled down to
two quarts, and will be very thick and
good.
STEwED LENTILs. pint of plain
boiled lentils into saucepan, cover
them with any kind of pot-liquor, add
one ounce of chopped onion, two ounces
of drippings, quarter of an ounce of
chopped parsley, and stew gently for
twenty minutes serve hot. This dish
costs about ten cents.
STEwED TRIPE, Gut in small pieces
one pound of tripe, half quart each of
potatoes and onions, and put them in
layers in a pot, seasoning them with one
tablespoonful of salt, and one level tea
spoonful of pepper mix quarter of a
pound of flour with water, gradually
using three pints of water, and pour it
over the stew /; put the pot over the fire
and boil it gently for an hour and n
half.
RICE PUDD1Ne.-Put in an earthen
pudding dish quarter of pound of well
washed rice, (cost three cents,) three
pints of milk, (cost twelve cents,) four
ounces of sugar, (cost three cents, and
a little spice, or favoring bake it in a
moderate oven about an hour and q
half. 1t costs about eighteen cents.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
Peeple of Weight,

The champion fat man of North Care
lima is Captain James f. Jones. He is
six feet one inch and kicks the beam at
647 pounds. Barnum has been after
him.
A pair of boot lasts have been made
for Leonard Wilcox, of Rome, N. Y,
who is seven feet in height and weighs
GOO pounds. The lasts are twenty-five
inches in length, seven in height and
eighteen around the instep.
Near Avon, No., is Miss Evans, who
is curiosity. She is only ten years old,
but is, probably, >the largest girl of her
age in the world. Her height is about
five feet, and she weighs 148 pounds.
Her features are even and pretty, and
her manner is lively. One would take
her to be about eighteen. She can dc
more work, notwithstanding her super
abundance of flesh, than most girls, ai
twice her age,
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
A Tarantula's Nest.

The nest of tarantula (spider) has
been found in California of the most
singular construction. 1t is about three
inches in length by two in diameter,
built in adobes, the wall being nearly
half an inch thick. Inside of this is a
projection, which nearly divides it into
two apartments, about an inch in diane
ter. The inside is lined with white
downy substance, not unlike velvet, and
presents one of the cleanest and most
tidy little households imaginable. But
the most curious part of it is a door,
which fits into an aperture, and closes it
Theoretically. The door is secured by a
hinge, formed of a like fibrous substance
rs the lining of the house, and upon
which it swings with freedom. The nest
is occupied by dozen little tarantulas,
which seem TO subsist on yellow secret
ed substance, that appears upon the
walls Of the front apartment. The ar
rangsment Of the door for the protection
of the little inmates indicates great in
stinctiye architectural knowledge,
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
Words of Wisdom.
Upright walking is sure walking.

OprlBnU walking lS sure walking.
Virtue and happiness are near kin.
Small faults indulged are little
thieves.
You never lose by doing good turn.
The boughs that bears most hang
lowest.
One hour to-day is worth two to-mor-
row.
Not to hear conscience is way to
silence it.
Zeal without knowledgei is fire without
light.
Proud looks make foul words in fair
faces.
Learning makes man fit company for
himself.
From the lowest depth there is path
to the loftiest height.
We often hate for one little reason,
when there are thousand why we
should love.
AS indiscreet person is like an un-
sealed letter, which every one may read,
but which is seldom worth reading.
Gold is but apoor legacy in compari-
son with immortal thought. The one is
human, worthless the other divine, in
valuable.
Lost, Yesterday, somewhere between
sunrise and sunset, two golden hours,
each set with sixty diamond minutes. No
reward is offered, for they are gone for
ever
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
"Cross and Crescent " in Back Yard.

Few persons suspect the interest which
the younger portion of our population
feel in the progress of the European
struggle, and the familiarity with its de-
tails which they evince in their daily
conversation and intercourse. An up
town gentleman ON reaching home the
other afternoon found his wife out and
the house all upside down. The beds
had been stripped of blankets and coun-
terpanes, the tables denuded of their
covers, table cutlery, broomsticks, and
various kinds of household hardware
were strewn over the stairs and floors;
ia short, it looked as if burglars had been
through the establishment and left in
hurry.
Just as he contemplated the devasta-
ton, Bridget, the cook, came rushing up
stairs with despair depicted on every
lineament of her face. "Och, Misther
B" she gasped out, "I'm SO glad
viz have come home. Shure thin boys
is murtherin' each other in the back
yarrud."
In an instant he threw oren the back
window, and the sight that met his eyes
showed the situation at glance. All
the boys in the neighborhood, from six
NNOh hoNhJ "SiC CiStSSu III ett-
fling the Eastern question in style that
would have made Won Moltke howl
with envy. For a moment the Turks,
led on by one boy in baggy trowsers
(Which proved to be his fathers red
flannel drawers) and armed with a cheese
knife i'll one hand and q dirty white
towel on stick (representing the banner
of the PropheD in the other, appeared
to have the advantage, and had cornered
the Russian army, composed of six boys
with rakes and pitchforks, between the
hen house and the back fence. Several
other boys with bloody noses and black
eyes sat on the grass-plot, personating
the Christian victims of the atrocities in
Bulgaria. The czar had already lost one
of his front teeth, and the Khedive of
Egypt was to be seen seeking safety by
ipglorious flight through back lot, car
rying of the parlor table cloth, rolled
up on his head as a turban. Just at
this moment England interfered in the
shape of ten boys, who had been con-
cealed in the back area, but who now
charged forth with rolling sticks, fiat
irons and pokers, simultaneously with a
grand onset of Cossacks and Mameiukes
who had lain in reserve behind the fence.
the maneuvering was superb, the con-
tending hosts described flank movements
around the clothes posts which would
have outwitted Sherman himself, and
there is no telling but that the Crescent
would have wave victorious over all Eu-
rope had not Mr.. B. suddenly ap-
peared on the scene, scattered the armies
like chaff, and ended the contest by
sending the Sultan off TO bed, and in-
terviewing the Duke OF Cambridge with
| the fiat side Of shingle,
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
NO. 35.
Strikes.

Strikes are quite proper, only strike right;
Strike to some purpose, but not for fight;
Strike for your manhood, for honor and fame
Strike right and left, till you win good name
Strike for your freedom, from all that is vile
Strike off companions who often beguile;
Strike with the hammer, the sledge and the ak
Strike off bad habits with burdensome tax
Strike out unaided, depend on no other;
Strike without gloves, and your foolishness
smother
Strike off the letters of fashion and pride;
Strike where It's best, but let Wisdom decide
Strike good blow while the iron is hot;
Strike, keep striking, till you hit the right spot
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
VOL. VII.
A Sudden Cure.


A melancholy woman lay
In sickness ON her bed,
And in faint and broken voice
To her sad husband said:
" Dear David, when my earthly form
Has turned to lifeless clay,
Oh wait and weep little while,
Nor throw yourself away.
81 know woman kind and true,
On whom you may depend,
Oh ! marry Aramilla Jones'
She is my dearest friend"
"Yes, Hannah, have wanted long
To speak of this before
For Aramilla Jones an
Have talked the matter o'er."
"Then you an Aramilla Jones
Have been too smart and sly;
tell you, David Wilkinson,
I'm not a-goin' to die ~
Her dark eyes flashed; her strength returned
She left her bed of pain;
A week had scarcely passed away
When she was well again.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
Items of Interest.
Japan has 80, 1000, 900 inhabitants.

Japan has 80, 100000 inhabitants.
A single county in Michigan has stand
ing pine equal to 2,311, 120, 900 feet of
lumber.
The new Gatling gun shoots 1000
rounds minute-faster than profess
sional gossip can talk.
If our country should become as
densely populated as Holland, it would
contain 1000, 900, 900 inhabitants.
Three are q mob according to law.
This is what young fellow thinks when
he and another chap are courting the
same girl.
Many men regard a newspaper as they
do a brick-bat they like to have one
handy when they are mad, but pay no
attention to it at any other time.
A Prohibitionist estimates that about
800, ,000,0 more is expended yearly in
this country for rum than the total gross
earnings of all our railroads amount to.
A blighted female in San Francisco,
65 years old, has brought n suit for
breach of promise of marriage against
gay deceiver of 70, the damages being
laid at $4,000.
Baron Rothschild, of Paris, and his
German cousin, Adele, who were recent
ly married, "begin housekeeping with
the snug little sum of twenty million
dollars.
Archibald Forbes, war correspondent
of the London Ne,Ds, receives salary
of $4,000 year, war or no war. There
fore we should infer that the voice of the
Neps is much louder for war than that
of Mr.. Forbes, says the Norristown
Herald.
GLORY,
What is glory? What is fame
The echo of o long-lost name
A breath, al idle hours brief talk
The shadow Of an arrant naught;
Afiower that blossoms for day.
Dying next morrow;
stream that hurries on its way,
Singing of sorrow.
Martha's Vineyard, Mass, has an &C.
centricity in Nancy Luce. Born, no.
body knows where OF when, she lives ea-
tirely alone with her hens, and when
they finally depart she has them decent
ly inferred III graveyard at the back OF
her house, and erects marble stones over
their graves. Her support is gained
from the sale of her "book," which, in
mixture of prose and verse, is about her
self and hens.
The corn husks are thin, indicating
mild winter the woods are full of masts;
there are myriads OF spiders, mild wiR-
ter ; acres of caterpillars, hard winter
the squirrels are idle and listless, mild
winter the squarels are noisy and busy,
hard winter the goose bone is white
and gray, mild and hard winter the
woodchuck has gone in, mild winter /;
the woodchuck stays out, hard winter.
1t is indeed, only question of time
when the system OF weather prognosti-
cation will become one of the exact
sciences.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
And here is the solution

Turkish general to Turkish colonel /:
Colonel, the dg after tomorrow is
payday. You will take care that 10.
morrow We have warm engagement, !"
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
3WAY, ELK COUNTY, PA, THURSDAY OCTOBER 1s, 1s77

home with the party. What need to tell
any more?
Royal had "Uberall Du," engraved
on Jennie's wedding ring, with the laud-
able intention of teaching her German
more effectively than it is taught in
boarding schools generally.
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-18
What He Sighed For.

A young gentleman hearing a young
lady sigh, asked her "What do you
sigh fors" She replied Nothing, u
upon which he wrote and handed her the
following:
Uoao but o thee;
90 no o, but o me;
o let not my o a o go,
But give o o / o so.
And here is the solution
You sigh for a cipher, but sigh for thee;
sigh for no cipher, but sigh for me
let not my sigh for a cipher go,
But give sigh for sigh, for sigh for you So
The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-07-26

A London dispatch says: at is
now known that an understanding
has been arrived at between Russia,
Germany and England, and that
each nation is to have its share of
the spoils of the Sick Man. France
cannot object, as she fears Germany,
and Austria is crippled, and she
dares not fight without Great Brit
ain at her back. 1t is understood
Russia will be satisfied with Ar
menia and the independence of the
principalities on the Danube. Eng
land is to receive Egypt and Cyp
rms. Crete is to be handed over to
Greece. Germany's share of the
spoils is supposed to be the Bale
provinces of Russia. Others appre
bend that Germany will be allowed
TO further dismember Austria, add
ing eight millions of Germans to the
rule of Kaiser Wilhelm. The open
revolt in the streets of CONSTANT
nople is due to the knowledge on
the part of the Turks that they have
been betrayed. 1 he Turks are es-
pecially angry against the English,
who. they say, deluded them into
war and then deserted them. The
prediction is made here that the
war will be over before a month 5
time, temporarily, at least until
Germany gets ready TO claim her
share by the agreement between the
three Powers.
The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-07-26
A Father Receivers EisssLittle Girl
After Years Of Search.

Last Monday, Tuesday and Wed
nesday, says the Tonawanda { n.
" Enterprise, our citizens had
their attention attracted by tho
sounds of hand-organ managed by
a representative of sunny Italy.
Accompanying him was bright, at
tractive little girl of eight summers,
whose shining black eyes and long
black curls were admired by all. Her
beauty and lady-like manners we're
so different from the ugly appear
ing, gruf old Italian that it was
commented upon, and penny after
penny dropped into her tambourine.
Last Wednesday forenoon. short
ly after 10 O'Clock the Italian was
grinding out the Last Rose OF
Summer" on South Canal Street,
when a man with a foreign air took
place among the little knot assem-
bled. By way of change from
grave to gay a lively Irish jig was
struck up, and the little girl began
to dance and drum savagely upon
her tambourine. This appeared TO
The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-07-26
A Sixteen Years Career.

1t is scarcely sixteen short years
since Capt Grant, an ex-West
Pointer, was earning a modest sala-
ry as "clerk" in a small establish
ment for tanning hides at Galena-
an unsavory employment, little cal
culated one who would think to fos-
ter a vaulting ambition, and not the
most promising startiDg-point for a
brilliant career. In their one story
brown cottage, with two main
rooms and "lean to-" on an un
fashionable street of that sleepy lit
tie town, the family lived in humble
but happy obscurity' Plain, moth
erly Mrs. Grant as she hung out
her weekly washing in the back
yard, cooked Ulysses dinner, tend
ed baby Nellie, and watched the
boyish pranks of tow-headed Mas
ter Fred, never dreaming of being
so soon installed first lady of the
land" of journeying TO Europe TO
be the guest of sovereigns, and of
all the marvellous changes to come.
Here is a true mother heart, un-
spoiled by splendor Since her on
ly daughter-our american prin-
cess" was married in the White
House, has dined in state with
Queen Victoria, and settled down
with her English husband to live
across the sea, and since her son
"a soldier by instinct and heritage
lis off to the Black Hills and on
other adventurous expeditions, |
wonder if in quiet moments she
does not sometimes sigh for the
peaceful privileges of obcurity, and
with the little brown home with the
"lean-to," as it was before ambition
invaded it and her babies were
about her.-IS. Louis Globe Democrat
The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-07-26
The Last of Table Rock at Niagra

A few days ago, the last of what
was known as Table Rock, at Mag
ra, broke off and fell into the river.
The mass weighed.nearly sixty tons,
and up to 1876 over four thousand
names of visitors had been carved
upon it. The part which fell on
the "A composed only half of the
original rock, the rest having fallen
in. On Saturday, Jan. lst, 1929, a
surface of the rock, supposed to be
the size of half an acre, forming the
bed of Maiden Walk, broke loose
and was precipitated to the inn
mense chasm below, the crash was
heard for distance of five miles,
and the effect in the immediate
neighhorhood resembled the shock
Of an earthquake.
The water running under the
banh is supposed to have caused
the final fail. The shock when the
rock struck the water was distinctly
felt three miles from the fall. Sew
eral trees that stood on the rock are
now seen standing in the river as
erect as when in their original places
on the rock.
The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-07-26

tHS OiSaOh pei S1l-lHS ldCSS Vi INC
darkies in their cheerful toll, bring
ing to memory Longfellow's beauti-
full, hope inspiring lines
''In the worlds broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life;
Be not like dumb driven cattle,
Be a hero in the strife"
There is something to be learned
every day, and sor etimes much in
formation can be gained at thresh
er, (as Jammy Hogg, the Scotch
poet, would say), ''if you will not
let the spirit wander from the car
cass."
l learned with great trepeda-
tion(? that there is to be another
civil war here in our midsti "De
Yankees am comiag in here with
der chenery nifty fast, and da am as
cunnin' an as mean as de Sarpent;
da am full of lies. When de war
was gwyne on da lubs us like de
brudder, links arms wild us, and
talks to US bout land an mules.
Now, ha! hal da want de land da
selves for aothin', an da gwyne to
hab it too, you hear me! Da wants
us to work, work like dat Injun and
feed US on lasses at ten cents day,
den juber US down cause we stop to
drink to five cents when da gwyne
to pay us. Dis 'chenery gwyne to
starve de niger, but l amt skerd
no! in loud voices in chorus we
amt skeerd bit. Let de war cum.
Let em tempt to take de land and
da see whar de nIgger, de cullud
brudder, gwyne to fght-wid de
Secesh.'' Then the song burst
forth, "Tramp, tramp" mingled
with the rush of the horses feet.
1t made the cold chills run over me-,
but of course their talk is all bosh.
"some murmur when their sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven OF blue"
The darkie is falling out with the
Yankee, because he gets the worth
of his money out of them when they
work for him. Be up and doing, or
"dock, dock" is the word.
But 1 am getting away from that
fly, and my letter is growing too
long to discuss (While you cuss its
usefulness, which you have mis-
taken for pertinacity and innocent
audacity. There is, believe me,
method in that fy's proceedings,
and a cause for it, and don't think
your ocra will have any effect now
upon its health. 1t is as persever-
ing as a woman in house cleaning,
and will stick like a vampire until
it finishes its job. Be kind to it; it
is accomplishing double work and
benefitting you in two ways.
Yours, in haste,
July 18th. EsTELLE VEHsE.