davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
A Terrible Liar.

He was the orfulcst liar ever seen,
said Cooley OLeary, as we returned
from his friends funeral. Why, he
told me once that he lived Oh small is
land in the Pacific ocean, on which there
was volcano. And he said that there
was an active demand out in that region
for watermelons, so he went into the
business of raising them And he said
one year his whole crop failed except
one melon, and that kept on growing at
such fearful rate that it crowded him
off the low land and up on the side of
the volcano, which generated steam and
caused an explosion which blew up the
whole concern to atoms, and shot HIM
400 miles out to sea, where he was pick
ed up by whaler He used to tell that
the one great mistake of his life was
that he didn't drive a plug in the crater
of the volcano so as to make it water
tight, and then slice open the watermel
on and come sailing home on the half
she'll
He would lie. He said that once he
was cast on an iceberg, with no baggage
but pair Of skates and hshing-pole,
But he skated around until he came
across a dead whale, frozen into the ice.
SO he took off his shirt-it was night
for six months that year up therefore
it into strips for wick, run the strips
through the Bamboo fishing rod, stuck
the rod into the fat of the whale, and
lit the other end. He said it burned
splendidly, and the iceberg reflected the
light so strong ly that it was bright as
day for forty miles around, and one yes
sci ran into the iceberg, thinking it was
lighthouse He said he sold the ice
berg to the Captain for $4,000, and the
Captain split it up and took it home and
made 200 per cent. profit disposing OF 1t
to ice companies.
"Lie? well, sir, he beat any man /
ever came across Told me that once,
out in Nevada, mountain lion attacked
him, with his mouth wide open. He had
presence of mind enough to grab it by
the tongue and pull. The lion roared
with pain, but he did his level best pull
ing, and pretty soon the tongue began
to give and the tail to shorten, and di-
rectly out they came, the tongue and
the tail in one continuous string. He
said he had 'em at home and he showed
EN- to me, but my belief is they were
only three or four cow-hides and bull
tail dove tailed together.
He was astonishing as truth crush
cr. Said he served on a gunboat during
the war which was very small and light,
while the mortar on the deck was very
large and heavy, and he said the first
time they tried to fire a fifteen-inch
shell the shell remained stationary,
while the recoil was so great it fired the
gunboat four miles up stream and land
ed it in tree. He was liar, but now
he's dead I reckon he'll ketch it,
There was no doubt about it; MIR.
O'Learys friend was very successful as
a constructor OF energetic works OF fic-
! tinn
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
How to be Agreeable.

We have shown to our own satisfac
ton that it is possible for everybody to
be agreeable if they will h5 e the will.
But how are they to be agreeable :?
Well, there are many ways Of making
yourself agreeable, which will be easily
discovered when you have had sufficient
practice in the ways of society and OF
man.
Some one has well said that the true
art of being agreeable is to appear well
pleased with all the company, and rath-
er to seem well entertained with them
than to bring entertainment to them.
This is a good plan for one who has
no great confidence in his conversation
al powers.
A man thus disposed may not have
much learning nor any wit but it he
has common sense and something friend
ly in his behavior, it conciliates mems
minds more than the brightest parts
without this disposition and, when a
man of this turn comes to old age, he
is sure to be treated with respect.
1t is true, indeed, that we should not
dissemble or fatter in company but
one may be very agreeable, strictly con-
sistent with truth and sincerity, by a
prudent silence where he cannot concur
and pleasing assent where he can.
Now and then you meet with a per-
son so exactly formed to please that he
will gain upon every one that hears OF
beholds him, This disposition is moi
merely the gift Of nature, but frequent
ly the effect Of much knowledge Of the
world and command over the passions
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
The Railroad Pool.
Register.

A number of people have worked
themselves into adeplorable mental con-
dition from attempts to comprehend
the arrangements of the pool of three
Iowa railroads. The most lucid state
ment yet made is by the Massachusetts
Railway Commissioners, as follows
'This is combination Of three lines,
the Chicago, Burlington 4 Quincy, the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the
Chicago and Northwestern, which run
nearly parallel with each other between
Chicago and Council Bluffs. 1t went
into effect in the year 1870, and was
based upon the principle of division so
as to secure to each road an equal share
of the profits on the traffic, both freight
and passenger, between the two points
named. The business was left to seek
it's own channels-or, in other words,
shippers consigned their goods and trav
elers purchased their tickets over which
ever one of the lines they saw fit. From
the gross amounts received, the rail
roads deducted fixed percentage, which
was retained as representing the eX-
pense of doing the business, while the
remainder was credited to the pooling
account which account was at regular
periods adjusted by the equal division
among the three lines. 1t was at first
assumed that the cost of doing the bu-
siness was 45 per cent. for passengers
and 80 per cent, for freight. Deducting
this from the gross earnings, the re
mainder, that is 50 per cent. of the
passenger earnings and one half OF the
freight earnings, was divided equally.
Subsequently this arrangement had been
modified from time to time, and in 1874
it was agreed that the gross earnings,
instead of the net 50 per cent. from all
passenger traffic eastward, and from so
much of that westward as originated
in Chicago, should be divided yearly.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
The Origin OF Consumption.
PoDular-Sciencp Monthly.


In 1853, when Hanover and other
parts of Northern Germany were visit
ed by very malignant kind of small
pox, the great anatomist Langcnbech
tried to discover the peculiarity of or
ganic structure which disposes one man
to catch the disease while his neighbor
escapes. l have cut up more
human bodies than the Old Man of the
Mountain with all his accomplices, =
he writes from Gottcngen in his semi
annual report, and, speaking only of
my primary object, | must confess that
| am no wiser than before But, though
the mystery of smallpox has eluded my
search, my labors have not been in vain;
they have revealed to me something
else-t the origin of consumption. | am
sure now of what | suspected long ago,
viz. that pulmonary diseases have very
little to do with intemperance or with
erotic excesses, and much less with cold
weather, but are nearl Y exclusively Gf
we except tuberculous tendencies in
herited from both parents, say quite
exclusively produced by the breathing
of foul air The lungs Of all persons,
minors included, who had worked for
some years in close workshops and dus-
ty factories, showed the germ of the ia
tai disease, while confirmed inebriates,
who had passed their days in open air,
had preserved their respiratory organs
intact, whatever inroads their excess
had made on the rest of their system.
If | should 90 into practice and under
take the cure of a consumptive, | should
begin by driving him out into the Deis-
ter Ga densel ly-woodcd mountain range
of Hanovcr), and prevent him from en-
tering a house for year or two.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
A Remarkable Man.


Many years ago Col. Lehmanousky,
who had been twenty three years in the
army of Napoleon Bonaparte, arose in
a temperance meeting, tall, vigorous,
and with the glow of health on his face
and made the following remarkable
speech
You see before you man seven
ty years old. | have fought tco ham
dred battles: have fourteen wounds on
my body ; have lived thirty days on
horse flesh, with the bark of trees for
my bread, snow and ice for my drink,
the canopy of heaven for my covering,
without stockings or shoes on my feet,
and only a few rags for clothing. In
the desert of Egypt | have marched Tor
days with a burning sun upon my naked
head; feet blistered in the scorching
sand, and with eyes. nostrils and mouth
filled with dust, and with thirst so
tormenting that | have opened the veins
on my arms and sucked my own blood.
Do you ask how | survived all these
horrors? | answer that, under the
providence of God, | owe my preserva-
ton, my health and vigor, to this fact,
that l nerer drank drop Of sptritaous
liquor IN my life; and" continued he,
Baron Larry, chief surgeon OF the
French army, has stated as fact, that
the six thousand survivors, who safely
returned from Egypt, were all of them
men who abstained from ardent drinks"
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
The Joint Worm.

This destructive insect, which some
times succeeds in cutting off half and
sometimes nearly the whole OF crop Of
wheat, oats or barley, belongs to the
very family of parasitic chalcid flies
which are as rule beneficial to agricul-
ture A few of them make gals in the
stems of plants, and the maggots, in
stead Of feeding off the juices Of living
insects which serve as their hosts, prey
on the juice of plants. Such is the ia
nous joint worm, or Eurytoma hordei.
This is native insect 1t is little,
shining, black, four winged fly, little
over a line in length, with the knees and
feet pale yellow The hind body is at
tached by a slender pedical to the thor
ak, and the male antenn9 are provided
with tufts or verticils of fine hairs
When the wheat or barley is about eight
or ten inches high, their growth is often
checked, the leaves turn yellow and IL
regular, gall-like swellings arise between
the second and third joints of the stalk,
or in the Joint itself. In November, in
New England, the worms transform in
to the pupa state, living through the
winter unchanged in the straw, or re-
manning in the stubble in the field. In
Virginia, where the joint worm has been
fearfully destructive, the maggot does
not transform until late in February or
early i'll March From early in May I'M
til the first week in July the flies issue
from the gals in the dry stubble and
are supposed to Immediately lay their
eggs in the stalks of the young wheat or
barley plants.
From knowledge of the habits of
this insect it is evident that the prudent
farmer by cooperating with his neigh
bors can successfully cope with the in
sect if he and they are careful to burn
the stubble in the autumn and spring,
and carry on the process for several
successive years over large tract OF
country. Flowing in the stubble in this
case does not injure the insects, as with
their hard bodies they can work their
way out of the earth. The joint worm
has several parasites, members of its
own family, and 1t must be pleasant
sight to the agriculturist, however it
may strike the moralist, to see the mem
bers of this large family falling upon
and destroying one another, and in such
an atrocious way, too. Indeed, our sole
dependence for protection against noX-
ious insects is the literally intestinal
wars by which their numbers are kept
down to moderate figure-N. 7. Her.
aid
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
A Queer Millionaire.
San Francisco Call. Paris Letter.

san ffiIlclScO Cuil iaflS LcttcI
Baron Seller was wealthy Orleano-
Bonapartist banker; he purchased the
famous Partisan Palace Of the wealthy
1inancier, Hope The Baron left his
fortune to his sons; the youngest con
tinues the banking business, and the
eldest, Roger, enjoys himself. The only
daughter is the Princess de Saigno, a
well known leader of the fashionable
world, and separated from her husband.
Roger had fortune of 100000 francs Il
year, in adition to S,O0O,0OO francs left
him by his father; he chose to live in
very humble lodgings, and did not at all
fare sumptuously every day His friends
have demanded that his fortune be plac-
ed under the control Of conseH judi
claire, that is, to declare him minor,
though aged thirty-two years Among
some of Rogers sccentricities he has a
weakness for buying up all horses beat
en- at the races, hoping that, sooner or
later, the last would be first; he had a
steam vessel for killing seals by mach
inery; he invented perpetual motion,
like many of his predecessors. and an
Electric regulator" for locomotives,
that no one could comprehend nor he
himself explain. At the club, whoever
won his money he instantly set to work
to have them assassinated.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
Why Popes Change their Names.

1t is fact generally known that
monks and nuns on assuming their vows,
and popes on ascending the pontitical
throne, usually change their name. The
reason of this change in the case Of the
popes is superstitious belief that un-
less this is done the new pontitf will not
live long. The custom has prevailed
since it was inaugurated in $50 by Octa-
Wan Cont, who assumed the name and
title of John XII. Julius Medici would
have made breach had he been per-
mitted, but his friends prevailed upon
him to take the name of Clement, he
being the seventh pope to bear that
name. Thirty-two years later, in l775,
Marcellus Servius was elected, and in
sisted upon retaining his own name. AS
Marcellus III, therefore, he ascended the
throne on the 9th Of April. He was a
young man and in robust health, yet he
lived but twenty-one days after his ele-
vation Since that day no pope has VEN
tured to offend against that tradition.
1t is little singular that while the
name of John has been favorite one,
no less than twenty-one popes have chO-
sen it, none have chosen it since the
death of John XXI, in 1416. The first
pope bearing the name OF Plus took the
position in 142, and the name did not re-
appear after his death till 146S. The
change of name is also based on the fact
that Simon Barjona's name was changed
to Peter
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
A Romance OF the Dead.Letter Office.

Washington Cor Cleveland Herald.
Until recently there has come to the
dead-letter division of the Postoflice
Department with the regularity OF the
daily mall letter bearing the post
mark of an Eastern City, and addressed
simply, "Philip Gregory, Esq" on the
envelope, but without any direction to
indicate where it was to be sent
These letters were dated with the day
of the month and year, beginning, My
own darling Philip" and ending, Your
faithful and affectionate Mary" They
were strangely tender, always trustful,
never upbraiding They ever bore the
assurance of her faith in his love, and
in the belief that he would some day
come back to her. They were in the
handwriting and language of a fine and
cultured lady. As the years went by the
lines grew tremulous with age, but the
love they uttered was young, and strong,
and constant. At last they came no
more, and loss was felt in the musty
dimness of the dead-lettcr files by the
toilers there, as if some old friend had
been stricken by the hand Of death.
There being nothing to Indicate the res
idence of the writer they were destroy
ed, being of mo value" Thus every
day in the year, from the morning Of
maidenhood to the evening of old age,
did this daughter of tears" send forth
a letter to her lost lover, hoping one
might chance to reach him but he new
er came. and she went down into the
shadows of the unknown, trusting him
still. IF it was form of insanity,
would there were more of it in the
world.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
The Education Of Women.
From the Chicago Post,

Co-education of men and women goes
forward more rapidly in conservative
Britain than in the United States. The
Cambridge examinations for women were
the model of the Harvard examinations
and another university-that of London
has just made the most radical inno-
vation yet attempted by any of the lead
ing schools of the world in this direc-
ton. The University of London has
thrown open all it's degrees to women
equally with men. The standard of
this University is higher than that of
Cambridge or Oxford; it's degrees can
only be obtained by success in examina-
tions conducted in very severe manner
by specialists with whom cram counts
for nothing, and are consequently val
ued higher by workers than those of the
more aristocratic colleges The impor-
tance to women of this action by the
University is very great, for the Uni
versity is chartered by Parliament, and
It's graduates have right to practice
the professions for which they obtain
degrees. A woman who obtains from
the University of'London the degree
of NJ. D, can at once begin to practice,
and her possession of such diploma
will 60 far towards securing her sup
port. The admission of women to all
the examinations of the University is
the result Of struggle that has been
in action for many years. The eminent
Grote, who once presided over the Sen
ate, or Board Of Trustees, sought to
obtain for women the privileges Of the
University; but his plea that the Uni
versity should be open to the sex of
Mrs. Somerville as well as to the sex of
LA Place was unsuccessful, though un-
answerable. More than a year ago the
governing body of the University
voted in favor Of admitting women to
the medical course. The graduate doe
tors Of the institution at once rose in
opposition, and frankly admitted they
were afraid of the competition of wom-
en-. They insisted it was not fair to
single out the medical profession for
such damaging rivalry. The Senate re-
sponded by resolution that women be
admitted to examinations for all the de-
grees. Although their decision was final
according to the charter, they agreed to
submit the matter to vote Of the grad
yates, by whom, notwithstanding the
most desperate opposition of the doc
tors, it was ratified by 242 to 132.-
Women are now free to pursue any pro-
fession in England for which they can
obtain a diploma from the University of
London, and they may enter the Uni
versity irrespective of their nationality
or their previous place of study.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
Peter, Plus. the Jew and the Christian.
\ Recent Interview.
From the New York Times


His Holiness Pope Pic Mono was re-
ceived by his illustrious predecessor, St.
Peter, with smile of cordial welcome.
You haye had long and tranquil
reign" said the Saint : | trust you
have left the affairs of our holy church
in fourishing condition on earth?'
His Holiness assured ST. Peter that
the Catholic faith was never more firm
ly rooted and grounded, and the infu-
ence Of the church never more firmly
established than when he left Rome; in
fact, that Macauley was right when he
said that she would yet exist in undi-
minished vigor when that New Zealand
er was making his celebrated sketch of
the ruins of ST. Pauls.
The Saint looked pleased, and said to
His Holiness, L am glad to hear so
favorable an account of your spiritual
reign; was your temporal reign equally
successful"
Not in all respects" replied His
Holiness; still | left behind me about
twenty-four millions of money"
Indeed, said St. Peter, we touched
no such sum as that in my day. To
WHOM ulu YOU cHtIuSC sucH NdoC
hoard?"
To the Rothschild's, said His Holi-
ness, hesitatingly.
Something like frown overspread
the countenance Of the Saint. The
Rothschilds,' said he with deliberation,
" are they not Jews?"
Il believe-that is to say think
yes-they are said his Holiness, with
still greater hesitation.
And do you mean to tell me, said
the Saint, sternly, that you, the Vicar
of Jesus Christ on earth. deposited the
contributions of our holy Church with
the descendants of those men who re-
viled and spat upon and cruelty put him
to DEATH"
well -ah!-yes, did"
Why did you?" said the Saint, stern
ly. You should have had some power
full reason"
Il did have a very powerful one" re-
piled his Holiness. The truth is, St.
Peter, did not know any Christians
whom | was willing to trust with so
much money.
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08

ion that excision followed by an appli-
cation of lunar caustic was the best and
surest preventative, and where this was
not practicable, the employment of the
actual cautery From the detail of cas-
es presented, the popular idea that it
was an affection coincidcnt with the
hottest days of summer the dog days,
as they are often called, was altogether
exploded, and in fact it seems now to
be chiefly prevalent in winter The
same is probably true of the United
States. Since Christmas five cases have
been recorded in the different newspa-
pers of the country, the last being that
of little girl, who died of hydraphobia
the other day in Lehigh, Pa, from the
effects of bite received from pet
Maltese kitten. According to the ex-
perience Of Mr.. Youatt, cats are almost
as liable to the malady as dogs
Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-03-08
GAMBETTA,S EVIL EYE.
What Caused the Death of Victor E,
manuel and Thiers-And Pho Mono?

What Caused the Death of Victor EN-
manuel and Thiers-And Pho Mono?
Paris Correspondence World, Feb. s.
The journals have sung their dirge
or said their word over the king OF It.
ally. The Moderate Republicans praise
him for his respect for the Constitution;
the Radicals hint that Humbert may be
his only successor the Clericals are
disposed to praise the Pope for outliv-
ing him, as if that were not virtue he
would have been glad to initiate, and
the Universe notes with gloomy JOY
that his dying wish was to make his
peace with the Church he had despoiled.
All this, however, may be taken as
matter of course. The one absolutely
new thing on the subject has not yet
found it's way into the papers, but is
said in society, and it is that the King
died of his interview with Gambetta-to
be quite plain, that Gambetta has the
evil eye" This most original ''certifi-
cate as to the causes of death is now
going the rounds, and there are many
people who think that it affords the on
ly rational explanation of the sudden
ness Of the event Gambetta, as you
know, has something the matter with
one eye that gives him most sinister
cast OF countenance, and it is easy
enough for superstition and malevolence
combined to take his for an expression
of pure diablerie. The eye has done
the business" | heard an old gentle
man saying in a salon last night. 'Lis-
ten Victor Emmuel is well, nor very
old, and more than robust in constitu-
ton. Everything seems to promise
him long life. Gambetta goes to It.
ally. visits him, returns to France, and
then, on sudden, we have news of the
King s illness, side by side with the tel
egrams giving an account Of the inter
view. In day or two he is dead
man, What has killed him That eye!
Do you want another instance of it's
power Well here it is :: A few months
ago, Theirs, too, though very old, was
in good health. He rose one morning
at the usual time, walked and worked
in the usual way, and then sat down to
breakfast before taking the train for
Paris to meet a certain man from whom
he had been long estranged, but with
whom he had been lately forced to form
a kind of friendship of political interest
They had met once or twice; they were
to meet again on that very morning for
a discussion of serious import. At
about the same hour Theirs was to set
out from St. Germain the man was to
set out from his house in Paris for the
hotel in the Place St. Georges, wherein
the interview was to take place. Theirs
fails to keep the appointment, for, al
most at the moment of starting. he is
held back by a sudden seizure the man
alone is true to the dismal trust. He
waits at the Place st. Georges until a
messenger brings him news Of the death
of Thiers, when he goes quietly home.
Now who is the man ?-Gambetta. Do
you want anything more than that p
we all assured him that we did mott
more earnestly than the rest.