davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
An Arsenic Mine,

n man, armed with Il long iron hook,
pulls open an iron door, and YOU gaze with
awe into the Dantesquc heart of huge fur
mace, the Whitc-hot contents slowly turning
round and ever falling in cascades of yell
low fire. II is found that at the works on
Devon, sulphur in the pyritcs is enough to
keep the furnace, when once heated, burn
ing without other fuel. The products ?
Here it is, white heap Of several tons Of
it lying in an open shed, where everybody
passes by. 1t is something like fine flour.
One of tho men dips his thumb and finger
loosely into the white powder, puts quan-
tlty into the palm Of his other hand, and
brings it to be looked at precisely as a mil
ier shows sample Of flour, smoothing it
with his forotnger. One expects every
moment TO see him tcs, it with his tongue :;
a child probably would, but tho miner
knows better. All this white heap is nr-
sonic More than 1000 tons year are
sent out from this one mine, to be used
mainly in those brilliant modern dyes by
which our women and children can dazzle
the sunshine at Il cheap expense Are they
safe to wcarl My chemistry books do not
plainly say yes or no. But in one hook |
chanccd to open, find The following re-
marks: "Arscnicus acid--whitc oxide Of
arsenic, Or white arsenic. This substance
is OF the highest importance as being The
frequent agent of criminal or accidental
poisoning. There are few substances so
much to he feared, il being ulmos, tastclcss
1t can be mixed with articles of food and
swallowed without discovery, and there is
no practically efficient anti,lotc" This in
noccnt looking white powder this potent
and fatal substance # which your chemist
must not sell you a lose without entering
your address in a hook, of which three
grains weight will kill a man, was lying
ny one of the ordinary roads of the mine,
in the open shed, in heaps breast high
was assured that no kind of harm ever
comes of all this, save skin cruptons to the
work people, and these rarely, but it gave
ono shivcr to see those white mounds
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
A COniCnl Scene.

There was n comlcaI sccnc at railway
station in Birmingham fortnight ago. A
young English couple had been In the habit
of meeting together on one Of the platforms,
in order to exchange words. of tender i'm
port. They met, as some young ladies and
gentlemen have way Of dong, without
the knowledge of their parents Or guardians,
and an rascible aunt of tho dansel, hearing
of the clandcstine courtship, went down to
the station in a towering rage, determined
to ferret out the whole matter, and chastisc
the offenders In a manner that thoy would
not forget. The fond lovers came together
as usual and promcnadcd over the we'll
known and to them almost sacred ground.
But just when the young. man was appar-
emily breathing his tendercst sentiments into
the willing car of tho blushing maid, whack
came a gingham umbrella on the top of his
head, and the ardent swain had narrow
escape from measuring his length upon the
pavement. The old lady, not content with
assaultng the lover, turned upor her niece,
and served her in q similar manner, the
gingham being flourished vigorously for
several minutes, to the. intense amusement
of crowd Of spectators. 1, .
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20

to turn around-I discovered the mystery.
1t was Il gang of some sort was sure,
and was resolved to capture them. A
few weeks after | joined the gang, by
means known only to mysclf--a profcssio-
nal secret There were cOunterfeters,
burglars, and everything among them.
will not weary the readers with descrp-
ton Of the numerous burglarics they com
mttcd, or OF the various ways in which
they manufactured and "shovcd' their
queer money"
After staying with them for about a
year, | resolved to break up the gang, for
had now ample evidence to convict them.
accordingly, obtained the posse of
police, and aidcd the house. After Il
slight resistance they were captured
When they found out who their caDtorc
was they threatened me with vengeance
dire, il they ever escaped; but they never
dld, Tor there was not enc Of them but had
committed enough crimes TO condemn
them for life
y few weeks after the gang were sent to
prison | took opportunity to show some
visitors the house, and explain the secret of
the ghost. In the room where the apDuri-
tlons appeared showed them secret
door, and behind it was an nlcovc. This
was the place where the robbers had hid
den themselves every night, and, when the
curious came to see the ghosts, they fright
enrd them away by means of a magic lnn-
tern. My tale is done
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
An Ingeniout lsnt-Trap.


How is the cunning little creature to be
caught' The answer is simple; mans
brain is bigger than rats; set your cum
ming against his and you will win. Here
is one plan adopted by gentleman who
had tried the usual traps in vain. In a
stOrc-room was Il barrel of maize flour, of
which the rats were enormously fond, and
their habit was to climb up to shelf, run
along il, leap down Oh the head and feast
Good. Our friend took another barrel, and
of the head he made trap. lie took il
out, and treating it as II globe, he made Al
wire North and South pole, which, when
placed in corresponding holes in the cask,
allowed the lid to spin round easily on its
pi\o OTIS, and return directly to it's natural
horizontal position. When ready this cask
was placed in the. stead Of the flour cask,
its head fixed firmly, and covered thickly
with the sweet Indian meal. The rats came
lcnping down as usual, toasted, and went
away. This was kept up for couple of
nights fresh flour being placed on the head,
and duly eaten. Then came the Nemesis.
The next night that barrel was half-fillc,l
with water, the head glued and thickly
sprinlilcd with flour, and then left loose
swinging SO easily that ON the first leapiny
down there was slip and scramble, fol-
lowed by hollow splash, but the lid re-
sumcd its position, covering the drowning
enemy, and placing itself ready to cntrap
the next. For months that trick succeeded
well, four or five. rats being taken each
night, and the place was Mt last cleared.
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
Custer's Death.

The Indians say that, af.ertthe general
stampede, Custer tired to rally his men
around him. He waved his pistol in the
air and shot 1t of, twice to attract his men.
Two or three gathered around him, but as
the Indians still continued to advance, one
of tho soldiers tried to rim away Custer
fired at him and killed him, and then seeing
the. case quite hopeless, the Indians gather
ing around from oil parts, turned his re-
volvcr on himself, prefcrting toF die by his
own hand, The Indians say that they
think this person was Custer as he was a
chief; but they are no. certain Of the fact.
Rain-in- Face took a. colder prisoner,
but )ie was not allowed to live long, as he
was killed at q dance that followed the
fight The Indsansl here all agree on one
thing that the number OF dhdians killed IL
1.-The yAsht Yves thirty they give their l'sR
IN ss 81 M III gss2i ~
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
Ten Terrible Seconds.

Literally, the life of young Archibald
Fergus, was hanging, for ten terrible sec
onds by single thread. He was shep-
herd lad dwelling in Il valley near Dun
bar, and familiar with every mountain path
and towering cliff of that picturesque loca-
lity. In one of his hillside ramblcs his
keen eye discovered signs of an eagles
eyric upon narrow edge that juttcd out
from the face of steep. prccipicc. Flo
summoned four or five of his young
companions and, having provided them
selves with strong rope, they proceeded
to climb the mountain with the purpose to
capture the caglcts. 10 scale the prccipice
was impossible, but they, by circuitous
route, succeeded in reaching the top Of it,
and from the overhanging brink they could
look down upon the ledge below, where the
eagle had built its nest. The only way to
reach this ledge was for one of the party to
be let down till its level was reached; for
tho edge of the rock fairly ovcrhung its
base, and there was not 80 much as a shrub
or crcvcc to which to cling. Archibald, rs
the leader Of the expedition, assumed the
pcrilous task of the descent; and looping
one end Of the rope so as to afford himself
seat, lie secured the other end around an
immense boulder and permitted himself to
be let down by the strong hands of his com
panions, who had performed that service
for him on many similar expedition. In
that way he had descended to within few
feet of the ledge, when he heard the whirr
of wings and the rush of heavy bodies
through the air, and hc knew that the par
cnt birds were fastening to the rescue of
their young. An eagle, male or female,
knows no fear when its eyric Is attacked,
but enters at once into combat with the in.
trudcr. Archibald knew this well enough,
and lie had taken the prccaution to thrust
his dirk into his glfdlc, with which he fell
quite able I'd defend himsclf against the fu.
rioHs onslaught Of the feathcred foo
Drawing the trusty weapon, he awaited tho
attack and had not long to wait; witt
screams of rage the eagles pornocd upor
him. Protecting his. eyes as best he c6ult
with tho sleeve OF his coarse shirt, he struck
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
Shooting IA'ga IN Nevada.

chute is laid from the rivers brink up
the steep mountain to the railroad, and,
while we are telling it, the monster logs
arc rushing, laundering, flying down the
dccliyity. They come with the speed of Il
thnndcrbolt and somewhat of its roar a
track Of fire and smoke follows them-fre
struck Ivy their friction with the chute logs
They descend the LOO feet Of the chute
in fourteen seconds. In doing SO they drop
700 feet pcrpcndicularly. They strike the
deep water Of tho pond with a report that
can be heard mile distant. Logs fired
from cannon could scarcely have greater
velocity than they have at the foot of the
chute. Their average velocity is over one
hundred feet in a second, throughout tho
entire distance, and Mt the instant they leap
from the mouth their speed must be fully
200 feet per second. A sugar pino log
sometimes weighs ten tons. What n mis-
silc! How the water is dashed into the
air! Like grand plume of diamonds and
rainbows, the (cathcry spray is hurled into
the mir to the height of a hundred feet Ii
forms the grandcst fountain over bchcld.
How the waters Of the pond foam and
sccthc and lash against the shore! One log,
having spent its force by it's mad plunge in
to the deep waters, has iloatcd 80 as to be at
right angles with the path Of the descend
ing monsters. The mouth of the chute is,
perhaps, fifteen feet above the surface OF
the water. a huge log hurled from the
chute clcavcs the air and alights on tho
floating log. Youknow how bullet glanccs,
but can you imagine saw-log glanciAg
The end strikes with heavy shock, but
glidcs qnickly past for q short distance,
then crash like the rcvcrbcration of artil.
lcry, the falling log springs 80 feet vcrti,
cally into the air, and, with curve like q
rocket, falls into the pond seventy yards
from the log 1t struck.
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
Long and Short Slcepel'S.

et"iuon and podicrs, from habit can
sleep when they will and wake when they
VIII. Captain barclay, when performing
his wonderful feat of walking 900 miles
III as many consecutive hours, obtained
such mastery over himself that he fell
asleep the minute he lay down. The fa-
cnlty OF remaining asleep for lcngth of
Such was the case with QTin, the ihtl;.ib;'tt cclcbTa'tt
ell player, who would slunbtr for twenty
four hours successfully; with Elizabeth
Orvin, who slept three fourths Of her life; ;
with Elizabeth Perkins, who slept for n
week or fortnight at time; with Mary
Lycll, who did the same for successive
weeks; and with many others, more or less
remarkable. a phcnomcon of an opposite
, character is sometimes observed, for there
arc other individuals who can subsist on Il
surprisingly small portion. of sleep. The
celebrated General Elliot was an instance
, of this kind; he never slept more than four
hour out of the twcnty-four In all other
food consisting wholly Of bread, water and
vegetables. In letter communicated to
! Sir John Sinclair by John Gordon, Esq, of
Swine, mention is made Of Il person named
John Mackey, of Skcrry, who died in
Strathnavc, in the year 1897, aged ninety
one; he only slept on an average of four
hours in the twcnty-four, and was re-
markablc robust and healthy man. Frcdc-
rick the Great, of Prussia, and the ill,lstri-
hus surgeon, John Hunter, only slept five
hours during the same period. The celc-
! bratcd French general, Pichcgro, Informed
| Sir Gilbert Blaine that during Il whole
years campaign, he had not allowed him
self above one hours SlceD in the twnnty-
| four.
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
All about Chewing Gum.

Among the quiet little manufactures of
the country is that of chewing gum. Only
one factory exists in Phila., Pa, and the few
others are in New England, New York, Ohio
Illinois and Tennessee. The gum is sold
by druggists, groccrs and confectioncrs in
cities, and any country grocery that hasn't
IL Is considered incomplete. Gum from
spruce trees was exclusively used until re-
Gently, when It found rival i'm gum mast ic
Il white and attractive article made from
paraflinc, which is swccicned The con
sumption of this chewing gum in the United
States is about thirty tons yearly; that of
spruce gum somewhat less, and that Of gum
made in Tennessee from basam tolu, and
sold in the Southern States, about twenty
tons. Lately material has been used STYLED
''r'lbbrr gum 1t is from the SAP of the
sapot;r tree of South and Central America.
The sap like That Of the India rubber tree,
has milky look. The gum was first i'm
ported into the United States with view
OF melting it with india rubber, in order to
produce cheaper article than the latter.
IL was found to he nnpliablc, and therefore
useless for that purpose. 1t had long been
chcwcd by South and Central American IN
dlans, and found to he useful in nllaying
thirst Experiments were therefore made
here in purifying ii for chewing, and with
final success. Ii is tastclcss, and has the
"""'t Of 'i""t;"s l""t-"" 'L... ".,.. e-."..c
which more quickly dissolve and crumblc
in tho mouth. So great is its d'lctility that
. Il piece half IN inch, after being heated IN
the mouth, can he stretched into thread Il
hundred feet long. It's consumption isahout
fifty tons year. Chewing gum docs not,
like tobncco require that the saliva shall he
cXpcCOratcd; il does not, IKE smoking cN-
-. IiKc sllporabuntlnncc
OF food, or drink, brtfully overload the
stomach.
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
Given I'm by Doctors.

els 1t possible that Mr.. Godfrey is up
and at work, and cured by 80 simple u
.remedyP" Hrs aa
IL assure you that IL Is true that no is
entirely cured, and with nothing but
Hop Bitters; and only ten days ago his
doctors gave him up and said he must
,die!"'> ,,s,y,4rA,, ,sa.ur.,-
"Well.a dayi That ID remarkable
! will 70 this day and get some Tor my
poor George. know hops are good"
FOR prosperity :--Lock in the diction.
ary
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20
TRI-WE WEEKLY EDITION
THE INCH BEFORE THE SAW,

Only from day to day
The life Of wise man runs:
What matter il seasons far away
Have gloom or havo d. ublc suns ?
TO climb tho unreal path
We stray from tho oadway here,
We swim tho rivers wra Ii
And tunnel tho hills Of fear.
Our feet on the torrents brink,
Our eyes on tho cloud afur,
Wo fear the thing we think
Instead Of tho things th,t arc.
Like tide our work should r;se,
Each later waYo the best;
10 day is a kng In sguiso,
To-day is the special test.
Like II sawyers work. in l,fe
Tho present makes the flaw,
And tho only field for strife
Is tho inch before tho saw.
The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-20

!. A PmYsrcIAN's little daughter, called
upon for u toast, gave, The health OF
papa and mamma and all the world" !"
But she suddenly corrected the senti-
ment. Not all the world, for then
papa would have no patients" sf$t
St. Landry democrat., 1879-10-25
Southern Cotton Factories.
New York Star.

An important gueStlon-in no way re-
lated to pollticS-is just now under dis
cus>lon at the South. The answer which
, shall be made to it concerns the North
almost as much as it concerns those with
whom it rests to give that answer.
The Question is: Shall the South have
Its own cotton factories!
An experiment to test Che Possible adj
vantages OF spinning cuttrn in the local
ity where it is raised ilas already been
made. \ mill is row in iull operation at
cstmln>ter, South tarlina, and thus
far the results prodl.cedAppear to have
outStrlprtd tho expectations of those,
who started the enterprise,
The capacity OF this factory is said to
he between three AMI four hundred
pounds OF seed Gotten per day, and the
yarn manufactured finds ready sale in
New, York al all average OF 16t cents
According to the Atlanta Constitution,
the cotton IS taken from the gin and
brush Oh = card and comes out in rols
and dealers assert that the threads made
by this process rate u great deal higher
than threads made from compressed
cotton.
If the foregoing be true. ana we take
into consideration the money saved on
bacGlng, ties, packing, weighing storing
and transportation, what is to prevent
the Southern cotton belt iron declaring
lis commercial! independence of New
tn@ land manufacturers, and furnishing
the market with It better article ut q
cheaper rate than the latter now supply.
The ouly obstacle is the lack Of capital
fer the construction ana equipment OF
the mills, but If the facts support The
accounts given Of the work done at tlo
Westminster factory there will be no
trouble il obtaining the necessary
!unNA.
The carbonate fields Of Colorado and
the mines uf California and Arizona
present 10 attractions 10 the prudent
capitalist comparable witt, those which
the manufacture Of cotton mt the Sonth
with such results as We have referred to
Offers.
We are glad, therefore, to learn OF the
interest excited by this question
throughout the gulf States, and trust
that Il discussion with such important
consequence 10 the industrial intcrets OF
that section may lead To some practical
measures at an early day.
St. Landry democrat., 1879-10-25
Cctcsy ayO.
ARRIVAL OF THE CAPTURED KING AT
CAFE ToWN--HIs OPINION OF 4
POWER THAT WOULD SHOOT
THEM TO MAKE THEM
CHRISTIANS.
Now York Iterald.l

CAPE TowN, Sept. IS, via London
had been anxously expected, and the
English Colony turned out in force to
see the monarch pass. He is an excep-
tionally fine specimen of the noble
savage: big black. about fifty years
of age and standing nearly six feet
high. lie is well proportioncd, has q
fully developed frame, and good
natured, broad. open face OF the Zulu
type, quite unlike the portraits that
have appeared in the pictorial papers.
He dresses now in q suit Of European
clothes, in which he does not seem at
all Uncomfortable. He Was accompa-
MED to Cape Town BY four OF his wives,
four followers and Il little girl. who is
said to have looked with strange Won
der at everything around her.
Major Poole speaks most fav0rabiy
Of the Kings general ami;lbicncss, and
says he gave very little trouble OH the
way down, except on ono or two occa-
sions. when he became sulky and de-
manded to have an entire OK roasted
for his daily meals. In Sinon's Bay he
was: taken OH beard the Hodicea.
There he saw soldiers at drill, and ex-
pressed wonder snd admiration, re-
marking. II waa only born yesterday.
| am a mere baby. never should have
fought against such men rs the English,
who intended to take away my country
and govern il so much better than
could. They shot us to make us Chris
tians. ! ask pardon for shooting back
at them" In al interview between the
! Premier of the Cape government and
King Cctewavo, the latter said: g
was Il child Of the British government
Ny father, the English, came to chas-
j tisc me for NronSdoing. caught the
stick with which he wished to beat me
and broke it. did wrong to fight him
and am punished. am no longer Il
! King. The English are d great people
. They will not Kill those who Tough,
with them hope the great Queen
will pardon me and allow me to return
| to my country, and give me place and
permit me to build 1t kraal.'
When informed that the governmcn'
would treat him with consideration, il
view of his valor and previous distiuc-
ton, and that the English officials
desired to supply him with everything
necessary for his comfort, Cepwayt
asked that ten more Of his wives bs
-cut for at once, giving the names OF
his favoritcs. 1t is not probable, hoH
ever, that this request will be granted
St. Landry democrat., 1879-10-25
Noble Qualities.

You know more Of the world than /
Aueustus,' said she to the local OF the
Greenbush Democrat TELL me, are
there many people in the world -
"No! many said he.
Where do the people in tho world
livcs" she asked contidingly.
I" Ill " inter on Fifth avenue, in sum-
mer at Newport; Long Branch, Sarato-
"a. and f. few in Europe said he.
And are those all 81 said she.
:: AL" said he softly.
Tell me,' said she, in her silver
tones, how much must one be worth
to he q gentleman or lady,
4 present not less than Sl,0o0,000.
In old times one might go in society for
S5N,0oo, but prices rule higher now.
In fact, mere millionaires are but just
tolerated in good society" said he.
lie slipped on he: finger a $1,000 Gia-
mond ring. Remember, am but q
poor man. said he.
=" care not" said she. %You are
better than wealth.