davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-01-12
I.ANn EOR SAVE

SMALL FARM FOR SALE.
L'oR sALE-A No. PLACE, con- -
L taInIpg 20 acres. good HOUSE. Fen al
cling. Sc Jour or five miles south OF Mu
Lexington, Cheap for Cash. Inquire HA
Of A. W. HUJCHINS,
ROBT. TAYLOR,
drcs.}m TupS. Il.
Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-01-12

J. {, Harris in the Atl,uta C~onst,.tion.
Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-01-12

STATE OF MISSOURI
LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
In the circuit court OF said county, in vacation
January Sd, 1878.
.Jnlius T. A.rah.l
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
POISON IN SEWING.SILK.

A startling paragraph is going the
rounds of the newspapers, respecting
poison by the use of sewing-silk. The
victims were women employed in large
establishments where much hand-sew-
ing was required. The poison was in
troduced into the human system by the
mouth, the women being in the habit of
biting the thread, and of twirling it be-
tween their lips when threading needle.
The symptoms of the sufferers indicated
lead poisoning; painters collie being
frequently occasioned. This story comes
from France, and has recently taken
definite shape in a communication to
the Moniteur PHigiene. It has no ap-
plication to the sewing-silk used in this
country, as our manufacturers of that
article pride themselves upon the purity
of its dyes The French silk-makers
have not been SO fastidious, and by
weighing their goods have hurt their
sales. 1t is to be said, however, that the
weighting of silk in European dyeing is
usually done with the salts of iron, but
the Asiatics, both Chinese and Japanese,
have trick of weighting raw silks with
salts of lead. A dinginess is impaired
to finished goods if the lead remains in
them, and the American manufacturer
is obliged to extract that metal if he has
been so unfortunate as to buy raw silk
containing it. Sewing silks that are in
ferior in any respect have their weak
ness exposed in this market by an in
genious system of testing, which is nov
in general use in wholesale business.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
The Homes of Our FOrefathers.

The history of domestic architecture,
says a writer in Cassell's Popular Ed,S-
Gator, in our own country illustrates in
very striking manner the rise of civil
ization and the extinction of barbarism.
We have not to travel back more than a
few hundred years to find domestic COM
fort thing entirely unknown, and the
abodes of princes entirely destitute of
conveniences which are now considered
necessary in the house of every peasant.
Our Saxon forefathers lived in the
rudest possible style. The homes even
of kings and lords consisted simply of
one large apartmento or "hall," in which
all the details of domestic life were car
ried on by themselves and their immedi-
ate attendants. Privacy was thing en-
tirely unknown. After the pursuits of
the day-the chase or fght-they as
sembled round one common board,
taking place according to their rank in
the household; and in the self same
apartment all members of the house
hold afterward disposed themselves for
sleep. 1t was only occasionally that one
end of the common hall was separated
from the rest by screen, affording..a
rude retiring chamber for the lord apd
lady of the house, with few privileged
| attendants. Almost the only out-offices
attached to the hall were the sheds Oh
pens for cattle or swine. The dogs
more cherished, were allowed place in
a corner of the hall itself; and another
corner was frequently occupied by the
store Of provisions. Sometimes, how
ever, the latter would be placed in re
ceptacles or cellars dug out under tn,
hall. Its flooring was of earth, its walls
of wood and clay, and its roof of thatch
For the admission of light opening
were left in the sides and closed b,
wickerwork when night came on; fo
warmth, log fire was lighted in tn
center of the apartment, and the smok
escaped by holes in the roof.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

THE Eastern journals, more particu-
larly those in the interest of the boot
and shoe manufacturers, are strenuously
advocating three reforms in the method
of doing business the coming season: :
First, a shortening of terms of
credit; second, that the practice of
dating bills ahead be discontinued !;
third, that drummers should not be sent
West so early'and in such large num-
bers." We are told, with regard to the
first of these, as summarized by the Bos-
ton journal of Commerce, the feeling in
its favor is 30 strong and SO widespread
that it will undoubtedly culminate in a
trade meeting at the exchange, in which
some concerted action will be taken. As
to the practice of dating ahead, the
Journal goes on to say: "Some large
houses avow their intention of refusing
to submit to it the coming season, even
if their refusal necessitates giving up
business. Some of the largest losses
during the past two or three months
have been incurred on account of bills
dated ahead, which have enabled some
Western and Southern jobbers to be in
debt at one time for goods of two sea
sons"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
Three Negroes Hung for Murder in
Franklin, La.

Jackson Edwards, Wesley Turner, and
Alexander Brown, all colored men, have
suffered the extreme penalty of the law, at
Franklin, La. At II 10 a. M, April %, the
solemn procession, led by the priest and
Sheriff, moved from the Jail and assembled
the scaffold. The Sheriff then addressed a
few words to the bystanders, who were
very numerous, requesting them to behave
in an orderly manner. Then the three con-
demned men with the priest, kneIt. The
priest offered up prayer, to which the n
demned listened attentively. After this, the
prisoners were each given ten minutes
time to address the mu titude.
Edwards spoke first, acknowledging that
| whisky was the cause of his CRIME, and ad.
| vised his hearers to avoid whisky. He ex-
pressed his willingness to die and his hope
| of heaven.
Brown spoke next. He said that he had
killed the man for his money, that he was
about to die for his crime, and he believed
God would forgive him.
| Turner spoke last. He said that he was
| as innocent as the man that never saw Mr.
Ehrhardt, or as the child unborn; thai
Basil Smith killed Mr.. Ehrhardt; that beine
innocent, he was willing to die, to meet hi
God, where angels would carry him in tri
umph to heaven.
The nooses were adjusted, the black capl
drawn over the faces, and at twenty-iv,
minutes after eleven O'Clock the rope wa
cut and the drop fell. Edwards ant
Turner hung dangling in the air, bu
Browns knot became united, ant
his body fell to the ground. Th
Deputy sheriff carried the body bacl
into the. Jail and refxed the scaffold, and a
fifteen minutes to twelve, Brown, assiste,
by the sheriff's Deputies, reascended tn
scaffOld and was swung off second time
After the bedies had hung about forty mir
utes they were taken down and placed i
coffins. Edwards's body was claimed by re
atives. Nobohy claimed the bodies of Tul
ner and Brown. The throng of people i
town was immense, but good order pr,
vailed throughout. It is feared the negrot
will lynch Basil Smith, whom Turner n
cused of killing Ehrhardt The negroes b.
lieve Turner was innocent.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
How a Hole Can Hurt.
ATLANTA constitutional

A negro was convicted in our Superior
Court the other day for hitting another
negro with an ak. A party OF colored
savans were discussing the case in SIS
presence.
"What wants te kno," said one OF
them, "is jiss diss: How ken man hit
anudder man wild de eye OBJ an axY'
"Why kant he-tell me datl" said
old ST.
"Kase hit stands ter reezen, don't yer
see, for de eye oh er ak is whar de handle
goes in, an how is er man gwine ter
sault anudder man wild er contempt to
murder by hittin' him on de he'd wild er
holeF"
This was a clincher the other darkies
thought; but old 81 remarked:
"Fore de wah me an you used to
work in de same cotton yard, didn't wer
Yes, we did"
"Well, s'pose you members when
Masse Threlikill, down dar at Griffin,
used ter lam yer bout fohty wild dat
paddle dat he hadf"
"Oh, you 60 wayp
"Well, dis are de pint: When he used
for ter paddle yer, an yer used fer to
grone round an complain oh de blisters
what he raised on yer, wuz hit de paodle
or de holes in de paddle what raised de
skin an made de sore? Now whar's
your scientiffy argymentT
The case was settled-nobody IN the
negative.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

General in the army of the Union during
our civil war, and who was killed in the
Franco-German war, has brought action
against her husband to recover an an
nuity settled upon her by Mr.. Heneage
before their marriage in September,
1876. The plaintiff and her husband
lived together for several months after
the marriage and then separated, and
from the time of the separation the plain
tiff alleged that no portion of the an
nuity had been paid to her. The de-
fendant alleged that the plaintiff, before
her marriage with him, had falsely rep
resented that she was in receipt of con-
siderable pension during widowhood,
and he therefore claimed that the an
nuity was frauduleutly obtained. The
Court held that, as the defendant at the
time of marriage held such position at
the British Embassy at Berlin that he
could have found out every particular
in relation to his intended wife, it was
his own fault if he did not discover the
fact which he now alleged. The defense
was therefore unsustainable.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

Democratic Senators as opposed, in favor,
and 9 non-committal; 25 Republican Sen
ators opposed, non-committal; the un-
classified Senator Davis, non-committal.
Total Senators opposed, 40 in favor, 1;
pon.committal, II; absent, 9. Democratic
Representatives opposed, a. in favor, 13;
non-committal, 43; Republicans opposed,
115; in favor, 1 non-committal, z. Total
Representatives opposed, 207 in favor, IA;
non-committal, so; absent, 81. Total of
Congress opposed, 256; in favor, Is; nom
committal, 67 absent, 80. No Senator from
Southern State is in favor.
A TERRIBLE tornado crossed the State of
Iowa on Sunday afternoon, the 21st, entering
the State above the Missouri Valley juno
ton, and passing nrrtheasterly across to
Storm Lake, Pomeroy and Fonda, in Monona
County. Trees were torn up by the roots
along the rivers. The house of J. R. Thurs
ton at Sioux City, was wrecked completely.
The wing of the house of Mrs. Reilly was
struck and torn to pieces, and P. Reilly,
standing in the wing, was picked up and
carried over the main building and over
some trees near by, and set down uninjured.
We learn that near Onawa a man was
driving double team. The horses, wagon,
harness and driver were taken up bodily,
carried several yards and set down ul.in-
jured. On the Illineis Central Railroad,
the damage was more serious, accompanied
by loss of life. A whirlwind or tornado
passed over Storm Lake from the south
west. Three-quarters of mile east of the
town, the residence of Alfred King was
struck, lifted from it's foundation, and
| dashed into a thousand pieces. Mr.. Kings
mother was instantly killed. She was
found some distance from where the house
stood. Other members of the household
escaped unhurt. Lighter timbers of the
house were pounded into kindling wood.
Trees in orchards were torn up and carried
away. The house of Mr.. DeGraff, half a
mile from Kings, was unroofed. Some
hogs and cattle were killed: Farm wagons
and buggy were broken up. His loss is
about $1,000. The buggy was carried a
| quarter of a mile through the air. The
water in the lake rose to a height of many
feet. One witness says million barrels
were lifted up. Reports of similar char.
acter come from all parts of that country.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

AN Iowa deaf-mute has invented a
novel FIRE escape. 1t is a cap or turban
to be placed on the head and fastened
securely under the chin. 1t contains
enough material to form small balloon,
and when inflated looks like a balloon.
1t is so arranged that when placed on
the head in its collapsed state, the air
can enter it underneath and expand it.
In case of danger it is adjusted firmly
on the head, and the wearer jumps
boldly from the window of the burning
building, the air instantly rushes into
the turban, swells it into a balloon, and,
buoyed by it, the wearer comes down SO
gently as to strike the ground with little
force. The great danger of the useful
invention in seaboard cities would be
that in case of gale the jumper might
be carried out to sea and lost WASH
ington Post.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

DIR. J. LAWRENCE HAMILTON writes
10 the London Times that he saw boy
remove small spider and place it in
the center Of big. spiders web which
was hung among foliage, and distant
some four feet from the ground. The
larger animal soon rushed from its hid
ing place under leaf to attack the in
truder, who ran up one of the ascending
lines by which the web was secured.
The big insect gained rapidly upon its
desired prey, the smaller creature
(spiders are cannibals, notably the larger
females, who are given to devour their
smaller male lovers.) When the little
spider was barely an inch in advance OF
its pursuer, it cut with one of its pos.
terror legs the line behind itself, SO that
the stronger insect fell to the ground
thus affording time and opportunity fol
the diminutive spider to escape along tn,
ascending rope of the web. This is no
the only fact which seems to indicat
that a spiders instinct may also equa
reason.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
FOREIGN SUMMARY.

THE Bulgarians have attacked eight Mus
sulman villages, and committed great out
RACES.
A RUsTCHUK correspondent telegraphs:
"Out of six thousand Russians here, forty
or fifty die daily of ordinary and spotted
typhus. At Adrianople, Sistova and
Tirnova, it is reported hundred die daily"
A SPECIAL from Belgrade says: "Dis-
turbances have broken out at Nisch and
Pirot between the inhabitants and the Ser
vian authorities in consequence of the Rus
sian summons for recruits. famine is
raging at Vranja, caused by military requi-
sition."
INTELLIGENCE has been received in Con-
stantinop1e that the Mussulman insurgents
surprised the Russian encampment, near
Philippopolis, taking one thousand prison
ers and four guns. At last accounts they
were marching toward Samakof. Monoce
has suggested that the Porte should offer
the. insurgents amnesty in the event of
their laying down their arms.
A SPECIAL from Constantinople, via Syra,
| says it is believed plot exists to restore
| the ex-Sultan Murad to the throne. 1t is
stated that the new Ministers favor it, as
well as Vefyk Effendi. The views of Osman
and Mukhtar Pashas, who hold the key to
the situation, however, are unknown, but it
| is believed they would remain faithful to
| the present Sultan. 1t is said that apart.
ments are being prepared at Broussa for the
Sultan, for use in event of Russian occu.
patton of Stamboul.
PERA correspondence of a late date speaks
of a formidable insurrection among the
Mussulmans. 1t engages three thousand
Russian troops, and extends over an area Of
ten thousand square miles, from between
Tartar Bazardjik and Fhilippopolis te
Gumuldschira and Tcheremen. The insur
rection was caused by the intolerable op
preston of the Russo Bulgarian regime, ant
brought to ahead by the abduction of Turk
ish women by Bulgarians. Cannon ant
musketry firing is heard daily near Tchere
men. A sanguinary and indecisive engage
ment was fought near Demotica on the 18tl
instant, in which the Russian loss was fiv
hundred, including eight officers killed
The commander of Demotica has asked fo
re-enforcements, and two thousand infantr
and two sotnias of Cossacks have been sen
+ from Adrianople. The demand for re-eI
forcements greatly reduces the garrisons g
! Adrianople and Philippopolis. Russian a
= tempts to raise volunteers in Adrianopl
i met with little success in consequence
lack of money. The Russians are maxim
requisitions for houses in Adrianople fc
+ hospitals.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

THE well-known English medical
paper, the Lancet, speaks thus nnkindly
of the domestic cat: Apart from the
mischief that these creatures must do by
lying upon your young children for
warmth and suhocating them, they are
by no means to be depised as enemies.
When excited or stirred to anger, it il
more easy to defend the body from the
direct attack of a dog than to repel the
sly and sudden onslaught Of a cat. 1t is
also, n mistake to suppose that there il
no danger in the bite or scratch of one
of the animals. There have been abund
ant and melancholy proofs of the peri
of contracting hydrophobia from cats
This should be borne in mind.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
THE ALLIANCES OF THE FRENCH
EMPIRE

Prince Napoleon has appeared as a
writer in the last number of the Revue
dcs Deur Mondes with an article entitled
"The Alliances of the Empire in 1869
and 1870" his aim apparently being to
prove that France would not have lost
Alsace-Lorraine had it not been for the
clerical party. He relates that in 1869
there was an interchange of correspon-
dence between the Emperors of France
and Austria and the King of Italy, on
the subject of defensive and offensive
treaty against Germany. Austria de-
sired that Italy should be included in
this alliance, and the latter power was
willing to sign the treaty only on the
condition of obtaining Rome, a conces-
sion Napoleon III was loath to make.
When The Spanish affair cropped out,
the French Emperor perceived the
necessity for promptly concluding the
triple alliance, and in July, 1870, pro-
posed to sign treaty stipulating the
armed action of the three Powers
Italy, however, thinking she had now an
advantage, and encouraged thereto by
Austria, demanded that France should
engage herself to wiring from the Pope
certain important concessions. 1t wa
desired to keep this part of the treaty /,
secret, and Italy declared that withou
the agreement of France to it she woult
not move. The French Emperor, how
ever, confident in his own strength, de
clined to accept this condition and de
clared that he would do nothing as re
garded Rome. AS Austria would sig
4 nothing without Italy, and Italy re
quired the promise of Rome, Franc
went into the war alone. Strong press
ure was brought to bear upon the Frenc
Emperor by his Ministers to agree t
y the demands of Austria and Italy, bu
: the clerical party as strongly oppose
u any concessions regarding Rome, ant
u with the view of pleasing the latter,
's broke off the negotiations. After th
II first French defeats, Napoleon W.
e hastily dispatched to Italy to gain tt
C armed assistance of the two Powers b
IL any and all concessions, but each needle
several months to prepare itself for wa
and it was too late to expect any help
,e that quarter. So, according to Prin'
a Napoleon, the Empire fell.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02
Slade and the Astronomer.
London Daily Telegraph

F. Zollner, the Professor of Physical
Astronomy at Leipzig, describes some
experiments which he made in that city
in December, 1877 with Mr.. Henry
Slade, the American. Herr Zollner OBJ
serves that " if a single cord has its ends
tied together and sealed, an intelligent
being, having the power voluntarily to
produce on this cord four dimensional
bendings and movements, must be able,
without loosening the seal, to tie one or
more knots in this endless cord" And
he proceeds to say that "this expert
ment has been successfully made within
the space of few minutes at Leipzig,
on December II, 1877, at eleven o'clock
a. M, in the presence of Mr.. Henry
Slade, the American. myself selected
one of the four sealed cords, and, in
order never to lose sight of it, hung it
| around my neck-the seal in front al
ways within my sight. During the
seance l constantly kept the seaa-re-
manning unaltered-before me on the
table. Mr. Slade's hands remained all
the time in sight; with the left he often
touched his forehead, complaining of
painful sensations. The portion of the
string hanging down rested on my lip
out of my sight, it is true-but Mr..
Slade's hands always remained visible to
me. l particularly noticed that Mr..
Slade's hands were not Withdrawn or
changed in position. He himself ap-
peared to be perfectly passive, SO that
we can not advance the assertion of his
having tied those knots by his conscious
will, but only that they, under these
detailed circumstances, were formed in
his presence without visible contact
and in a room illuminated by bright
daylight" There were four knots in
the cord, and the Professor describe.
very minutely how they are sealed
Several other scientific men were pres
ent. He concludes thus: "The foul
knots in the aforementioned cord, will
the seal unbroken, this day still lie be
fore me. / can send this cord to an,
man for examination. / might send i
by turn to all the learned societies of tn
world, so as to convince them that no
subjective phantasma is here in ques
tion, but an objective and lasting effec
produced in the material world, whicl
, no human intelligence with the con
ceptions of space 80 far current is abb
|, to explain.
,, "Only one other kind of explanation
would remain. This explanation woul
consist in the presumption that my
self and the honorable men and citizen
!, of Leipzig, in whose presence sewers
of these cords were sealed, were eithe
common impostors or were not in POI
session of our sound senses sufficient t
= perceive if Mr.. Slade himself, before th
) cords were sealed, had tied them i
Q knots. The discussion, however, of sue
s hy pothesis, would no longer belong t
|. the dominion of science, but would ia
. under the category of social decency.
y The German Professor comes to I'll
" opinion that Mr.. Slade was " innocentl
g condemned in London victim of h
o accusers and his Judges limited know
edge"
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

In the United States Court, Cincin-
natl, on April II, a jury brought in a
verdict of $500 damages in favor of
Henrietta Woods, plaintiff, to be paid
by Zeb Ward. Ward was charged with
abducting Henrietta Woods, free negro
woman, into slavery in 1858. She sued
for $4,000 damages. Certified copies
Of her manumission papers were pro-
duced in Court. Her case was tried
proceeding in equity-in Lexington in
1853, and the petition was dismissed
The damages awarded by the jury dc
not m tisfy the plaintiff, and she has
moved for a new trial.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

The Earl of Beaconsfield is one of the
best dressers in England, he has on an
average a plug hat a month, his trousers
are usually of a light lavender, and his
coat perfection in fl. His valet is
scrupulous about the arrangement of
his curls, which are numbered; in gor-
geous dressing-gown his wardrobe is not
to be surpassed; one of them is worth
three thousand dollars. He walks with
his eyes cast on the ground, and takes no
heed of the little ragamufIins who cry
"There goes Dizzyp
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-05-02

The Eddystone Lighthouse will prob
ably be rebuilt. The engineers have re-
ported TO the Board of Trade that to OBJ
tain the safe minimum depth of seven
fathoms, which would be expedient in
the unmarked approaches to such a
naval station as Plymouth, it would be
necessary to remove about 100, 900 yards
of rock, or 1,750,000 tons; to which
would have to be added the blasting OF
the Hand Deeps, computed at another
100000 tons, making in all 100000
tons Of rock, at cost which cannot be
estimsted approximately atless than 81,
100000. The conclusion reached is
that it will be wiser to rebuild the light
house than TO attempt to remove the
rocks.