davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18

tt town of Kecker, La, was visited by
terrific cyclone the past week. The town has
about two thousand people, and some five hun
dred buildings. Nearly all of tho latter are in
ruins. The stoEm came unexpectedly and with
out warning. The College building was almost
totally destroyed. Professor Reynolds was
killed instantly by a falling beam, and also two
assistant teachers. One man was killed while
ae was sitting at his supper-table, and none of
ais family escaped without serious injury. The
nouses of Joseph McWilliams, S. E. Hall, w L..
Peyton, G. Bogman and Mrs. Hugh were de-
stroyed and the inmates of some killed and
others seriously wounded. Among the sixty
lady pupils of the College, some are reported
dead and others dangerously wounded. Rev.
J. Tucker and his son are reported in a dying
condition. The number of dead is fifteen or
twenty. The loss of property will o tfall short
If $40. 600.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Work For the Coming Congress.

When the House of Representatives reassenf.
bles on the 9Th of next month, the members
will find on their desks a calendar which con-
tains the titles of 1884 bills and resolutions
which await action. OF course it is not ex-
pected that more than 5 or 10 per cent. of these
bills will become laws in the course of the ses-
sion, which, exclusive of the holiday recess,
will probably not comprise more than sixty
working days. On the long calendar mentioned
there are 965 personal bills, more than one-half
Of which are individual pension bills. Several
very important measures will come before the
House earlyin the session, under special orders
already made. Senator Morgan's resolution,
which establishes a joint rule to govern the
counting of the Electoral votes, is on the
Speakers table, and is a special order for the
first Monday in December. Representative Bick-
nells bill, to regulate the counting of the Elec-
toral votes, is also a special order on the House
calendar. Under the head of unfinished bust
ness there are four measures, but none of them
are important, unless the resolution ssreafirm-
ing the Monroe doctrine may be SO considered.
Whenever the House goes into Committee of
the Wholea and takes up the calendar the bill to
facilitate the refunding of the national debt
will take precedence, to the exclusion of all 9TH
er business except appropriation bills. With
the exception of Mr.. Fernando Woods and Mr..
Frye's speeches, the important measure has re-
ceived very little attention or discussion in the
House. Next to the refunding bill, on the cal
endar of the Committee of the Whole as a spec
ial order, stands Mr.. Hooker's bill to settle the
long standing Choctaw claim, which will elicit
considerable discussion before it is passed.
Among the other special orders are the follow
ing bills: Hr. Hostetter's famous bill to ''pro.
hibit Federal officers, claimants, and contract
ors from making contributions for political pur-
poses;" a bill to regulate ''the manner of in
c~reasing the service and expediting schedules
on mail ~routes;'' a bill concerning m
and navigation, and the regulation of steam
~vessels;" a bill "for the relief of Fitz John
Porter" and so forth; and a bill 'to establish
q Board of Commissioners of Interstate Com
merce, and for other purposes" 1t will be
seen from the above brief review that the House
already has more work cut out than it can hope
to finish at the coming session.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
An Electric Fire

A report of a strange phenomenon comes
from the Lone Star State, Texas. At San An
tonia, Fred Balder, aged eleven years, son of
Constable Balder, went home from school, and
finding his parents gone, went to the cupboard
and sliced off a piece Of bread, buttered It, and
then went to the front of the house and sat
down on the gate-post and began eating. In a
few seconds he was enveloped in a lame which
passed around the house to an irrigation ditch,
and was then lost. Freddie's sister, near by,
saw the flame, and describes it as a ball Of fire.
Freddie's hat was burned, also his shirt-bosom,
and his eyebrows were singed of, and the hair
where not protected by the hat. He is unable
o see, and can scarcely hear. His face is
swollen, and ridged as if by a sharp instrument.
The boy is in great pain, and may lose both
sight and hearing. There was no one near ex-
cept his little nine-year-old sister at the time.
burning is said by physicians to have been
produced by an electric fire. It is the occasion
of universal wonder and comment there, being
an extraordinary case.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
General sheridan. Report.

General Sheridan's annual report to the Cen
eral of the Army sets forth that there are in the
Department of Dakota, 1850 officers and men;
in the Department of the Platte, 2,S4O; in the
Department of Missouri, 4, 720, and in the De-
partment Of Texas, 3,640. He wishes again to
put himself on record as considering the forces
entirely inadequate to the great territory and
the numerous demands upon the army from
the northern and southern borders. Thu ratio
is about one man to every seventy-fve square
miles, and in Texas one man to every 125 square
miles,. The result is the troops are frequently
overworked, aud often compelled TO take the
field against greatly superior numbers. The
officers and men are equal in intelligence,
activity and devotion to duty to any army in
the world, and no army of its size accomplishes
one-third as much hard work from one years
end to another. He refers to the rapidity with
which emigrants are taking up land in the Far
West, and calls attention to the recommended
ton of General Pope, that permanent posts be
established in lieu of the present costly and in
sufficient small posts. He says the railroad
companies are the strongest allies of the mill
tary in the West, and shows what wonders of
enterprise are being accomplished by these Wig
orous corporations in the unsettled regions of
the Territories.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Literary Revolution.

aulay's Life of Frederick the Great. IL Carlyle's Life OF
Robert Burns. III. Lamartine's Life Of Mary Queen Of
Scots. ". Thos. Hughes Manliness Of Christ. 5 CTS.
each, formerly 81 so each: /. Arnold's Light Of Asia. II.
G~oldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. III. Baron Munchaus.
ems Travels and Surprising Adventures. For SIX
CENTS: Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress. illustrated cata-
logue sent free. AMERICAN BOOK XCHANGE John
B. Alden, Manager, Tribune Building, New York.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
b Prison Sold.

A Richmond, Va, dispatch announces the
sale at auction of Libby Prison. Only a small
crowd gathered around to witness the sale of
the historic military prison of the Southern
Confederacy. 1t was sold under a deed of trust,
and the auctioneer stated that IS, 100 in cash
must, according to the terms of sale, be paid.
The property was started at s5,5 O0. and run up
to $4,000. The auctioneer stated that it cost
5000 to drive the piles upon which the build
ing was erected, and said that such was the
value of the historical associations connected
with this prison that it could be pulled down
and the bricks sold at 81 a piece at the North,
and, asthere were two hundred and forty thou
sand bricks, the building would bring $40, 900.
The property was finally knocked down to Mr..
James T. Gray, at s6, 725. Mr.. Gray is a young
tobacconist of Richmond. The building is now
used as a tobacco factory. A part of the wall
has been carried away, one brickAt 3 time, by
Northern tourists. The building and ground
originally cost $1S, 600.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18

Near Batesville, in Noble County, Ohio, oc-
CURED the past week one of the most horrible
tragedies it has been our misfortune to be
called upon to chronicle for some time. Some
three years ago a young German named Frank
M Biedenbaugh, married a young and lovely
girl who was the daughter of a neighboring
farmer, and the fruit of this union was one
child, a boy. Late at night Biedenbaugh re-
turned from owl under the influence of liquor,
but entered the house quietly, and without
waxing the occupants. Besides his wife and
child, there were in the house a hired girl and a
nelghbor named Mrs. Stephens and child, who
were staying over night with Mrs. Biedenbaugh.
Mrs. b. and babe were in one room, and her
guests and the hired girl were i'll an adjoining
room. The fend, it is supposed, entered tho
room where his wife and child slept first, taking
with him anax, with which he began his inhu-
man work. With one blow the skull of his wife
was crushed, and then the little boy received q
blow across the throat from the ak welded by
his unnatural father. This was done by the
sharp edge of the instrument, and almost sew
cred the head from the body. This did not
satisfy the monster, but blow after blow was
administered to both mother and child
until their heads were beaten into an al
most unacceptable mass of quivering flesh.
The murderer then passed into the room oc-
cupied by the guests and the hired girl, where
ne continued his bloody work. Mrs. Stephens
and her child bore appearances of having re-
ceiyed but one blow each, but they were deadly.
The awakening Of the servant girl at this time
no doubt prevented the victims from being "a
horribly mutilated as the first two victims Of
the murderer, who lay weltering in their life
blood In the adjoining room. Upon awakening,
the servant girl sprang from her bed and ran
toward the door, but was knocked s~enseless and
left for dead by the murderer. She lay upon
the floor some time in this condition, when she
recovered and gave the alarm. As soon as
notified by the girl, several neighbors ran to
the scene of the tragedy, and were almost
paralyzed with terror at the sight which met
their gaze. In one room upon. the bed Law
Mrs. Biedenbaugh, with her head pounded to a
jelly and almost beyond recognition, and by
her side the lifeless body of her child, with the
head almost severed from the trunks. Mrs.
Stephens and child were found in bed in an
adjoining room with their skulls crushed in.
b blood of the four victims had dripped
from the bed-clothing and had settled in pools
upon the floor. Search was at once made for
the fend incarnate, but it was not until the
next day he was found He was discovered in
the tobacco house with his throat cut, but not
sufficiently deep as to prove fatal. He was
taken into custody and the ugly gap in his
throat sewed up, after which he was taken to
CALDWELL and placed in the County Jail.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
A "Revitch,dp, Murd.-.r.

Sister Gertrude Verena, of st. John Baptist
Home, New York, a charitable institution of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, IN East Seven
tenth street, was shot and seriously wounded
by Thomas Stanton, an insane man. She had
been to visit a poor family, and was about en-
tering the home on her return, when Stanton,
who had been noticed hanging about the place,
approached and fired at her several times.
Sister Gertrude was wounded twice in the right
thigh, once in the ankle and once in the left
hand. She fell unconscious into the arms Of
the other sisters just as they opened the door,
and but for their timely appearance Stanton
Eould probably nave killed her on the spot.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
GubernaforlaI.

The following shows the result Of the Guber-
Material elections in eighteen States:
Colorado-Governor, F. W. Pitkin, Republi-
can.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, H. B. Bigelow. Re
publican.
Florida-Governor, W. G. BIoxham, Demo
crat.
minois-Governor, 8. M. Cullom, Republic
can.
Iowa-secretary of State, ]. A. 7. Hull, Re.
publican.
Eansas-Governor, J. P. st. John, Republic
can.
Observation-Disclosures, John D. Long,
Republican.
Michigan-Governor, D. H. Jerome, Repub-
ican.
Acknowledgement, 7. 7. Crittenden, DEM
ocrat.
acknowledgements, Albinus Nance, Repub-
hcan.
New Hampshire-Governor, L. R. Bell, Re-
publican.
New Jersey-Governor, J. C. Ludlow, Demo-
crat.
New York-Chief Judge, c. J. Folger, Repub-
lican.
North Carolina-Governor, T. J. Jarvis,
Democrat.
Pennsylvania-supreme Judge, Henry Green,
Republican.
South Carolina-Governor, ]. Hagood, DEM
ocrat.
Tennessee-Governor, Hawkins, Republican.
Te1as-Goyernor, o. NJ. Roberts, Democrat.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
The winter Palace at St. Petersburg.

About 1000 persons live in the Winter
Palace at st. Petersburg /; some of them
have been born, baptized, confirmed,
and married within its walls. There
are families which have even had the
honor of dying out in it; and in st.
Petersburg, a contemporary states, the
story finds common acceptance that
there is q meadow somewhere on its roof
where COWS are put out to grass. Ger
tain it is that there are huge cisterns on
the roof which in winter have to be kept
from freezing by heating furnaces in the
lofts below. 1t is said that before the
Russian architectural mind thought of
these furnaces the water in the cisterns
was kept in a liquid state during winter
by red-hot cannon-balls, which after
being heated on the roof were dropped
into the water. When one of these
forced its way through the lead into a
lady's apartment, nearly setting fire to
the palace, the sytem of heating was
changed.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18

Merrill Nolt, who resided near Green Springs,
Loudon County, Va, . few days ago, had a
QUARREL with his wife's sister, who lived in the
house with them. Thoroughly Infatuated, he
went out and got q large knife used for cutting
corn, and, coming back, assaulted.her with the
murderous weapon. He pursued the unfortun-
ate woman into the yard and stabbed and
hacked her until no thought she was
dead. After this he went into the house,
and taking his gun discharged it in the air. He
then reloaded the weapon, and proceeding to
within a few feet of where his victim lay well
tering in her blood, he placed the muzzleo of the
gun under his own chin and fired, the load
passing through his mouth, tearing off the
emit ona .nd Jodo;ro :, AZ ,o,. ~.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18

Andrew Gillen is a d~issapated lawyer In New
York. Mary sigerson is & .espectable young lady
Of the same city, and a sister Of Assistant Cor
poration Attorney Sigerson. Gillen recently
made oyertures of marriageto Mary, but was re-
pulsed and forbidden the house. The other day
he called at the house Of the girl and requested
an interview with her, which was grantedin the
presence Of the girls mother. Being again re-
iected, Gillen threw his left arm about the
girls neck and placing a revolver to her head,
dischargedit 1t. The girl fell dead at her mothers
feet. Gillen escaped into the street, but was
shortly after captured and lodged in the
Tombs.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Coal Mine Disaster.

A Halifax dispatch announces the occurrence
II a terribly fatal coal mine explosion in Nova
Scotia, on the south side of Fort Pit to Stellar
ton. All the miners were at work in the diff
terent levels. The explosion was so terrible as
20 sweep across the other side Of the pit, killing
the men and horses within reach. Almost all
The men on the north side will be saved, while
all at work on the south side have been lost.
Five men have been brought up, and are likely
TO recover. Probably forty are shut up within
the fallen coal in the south side. The accident
was presumably caused by some miner firing a
shot In a forbidden part of the workings. A
dispatch says: ''Stellarton is q mining town in
the county of Pictou. The inhabitants are
mostly Scotch H~ighlanders given to iron and
coal mining. The county is the most populous
In the province, and contains rich mines of
coal and iron ore, the coal deposits comprising
ten strata; the main coal bank being thirty
three feet In thickness, with twenty-four feet
OF good coal. Messrs. Hudson, Greener, Simp-
son, and Poole, with other volunteers, have
been down In the pit at Stellarton, in which the
explosion occurred. They found it impossible
70 explore the south side for any distance, on
account Of the after damp, there being no air
through that side, as all the doors have been
blown by the blast. They found some bodies,
but could not indemnity them. All the horses
in the pit, twe~nty-nine, are dead. The number
OF men still in the pit is said to be forty-four.
Work is totally suspended at all collieries in the
country, and miners have come to the scene of
the accident in great numbers, but are alto
gether powerless to render assistance on &C
count OF the precarious condition of the pit.
1t Is not known how the fire originated, as none
OF the miners from the side where the accident
occurred are alive to tell the tale. Thirty-three
OF the missing men are married, and most have
large families"
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18

A FRENCH physician of note has been
studying the question of fatigue of the
eyes" SO familiar .to literary men. He
believes that it is due to a permanent
tension of accommodation, the muscles
becoming fatigued in their efforts to keep
the lens to the curve adapted to the TO
Gus, or, in other words, the distance of
the printed matter. AS to the maxi
mum of legibility, he finds that, other
things being equal, it does not depend
on the height of the letters, but on their
breadth.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Profitable Patients.

The most wonderful and marvellous
success in cases where persons are sick
or wasting away from a condition of mis-
erableness, that no one knows what ails
them, profitable patients for doctors, } is
obtained by the use of Hop Bitters.
They begin to cur from the first dose
and keep it up until perfect health and
strength is restored. Whoever is af-
dicted in this way need not suffer, when
they can get Hop Bitters.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Rem.rkable Bank Robbery.

A Dallas, Texas, dispatch says an explosion
aroused the city at early morn, when it became
known that burglars had entered Adams &
Leonard's banking house, and, being assisted by
Q pal, who had secreted himself inside the vault
the day before, had removed $4,000 in silver,
81, 200 in postoffce fund, %, 500 In jewelry be-
longing to private parties, and possibly sixty
thousand dollars. Besides, they attempted to
blow up the safe by charging an anvil with
dynamite and laying the safe Town on ii. Tho
explosion turned the safe over three times,
which rocked and wrecked the building and
reused the town. The safe contained $500,
600, which is supposed to be intact.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
ma Loui,aaua Cyclone.

Total .s67s,s 1853
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Pardoned AFTER Five Yearr.

In 1s76 Oscar Snow, q white boy aged ff-
teen, WAS tried with others in the Western Dis
trict Court Of AEkansas for murder. Snow was
sentenced to be hanged September IS of that
year. Application for pardon was made, and
the sentence was committed to life imprison-
ment, April ., 1877. Application for pardon
was renewed, and it was decided that if at the
end Of five years he had behaved well the ap-
plication would be fayorably considered. Five
years have elapsed, and the Warden of the
Joliet Penitentiary having reported the pris-
oner's conduct good, and the Judge who SEN
fenced him having recommended it, the Presi-
dent granted his pardon. When his sentence
was commuted, Snow begged to be hanged,
saying be would rather suffer death than re-
main . prisoner for life,
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
..Buckwheat Cake. and The Measles"

DucAWheat cakes ana Inc Measles"
When a young husband had gone from
home, and with fond solicitude tele-
graphed his little wife,-"what have you
for breakfast, and how's the bady?"-he
received the brief suggestive reply
"Buckwheat Cakes and the Measles"
We have the report of a case in our midst,
not where measles was in the bill of fare.
but where Sciatic rheumatism confined
MI. j. Dawson, the wen-known druggist,
to his room for a long period. It was
stated to our reporter in the following
words: The senior of this firm was at
tackled with Sciatic Rheumatism, Deem
Der last, and for four weeks could scarcely
leave his room. He used st. Jacobs Oil,
and is now able to be at his place of bust
ness, feeling no worse for his recent af-
Fiction. The inference is convincing
Rochester Sentinel.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
4 Bur.ted Cannon.

The Republicans of the Village of Safe Har-
Dor, twelve miles south of Lancaster, Pa, were
jollifying over the late election. A small three.
FOUNDER Griffin cannon was used for firing
salutes. This piece was presented to the
citizens of the place many years ago, but had
not been in use for some time, it being con-
sidered unsafe, and as a consequence had be-
come rusty, and it was not thought it would be
brought into requisition. In their enthusiasm,
however, the boys brought the cannon into
use, and it was taken charge of by Elins funk.
He, in company with others, had fired four
rounds, and had loaded it for a fifth, but the
charge failed to go off. Some of the bystanders
suggested removing the charge, but Funk would
not permit it, and rammed in a second cart
ridge. He was demonstrated with as to the
danger, but paid no attention, and touched of
the load. A terrific explosion followed scatter
ing death and desolation among the crowd.
Joseph Taylor was almost instantly killed.
George Aumen fingered a few hours in great
agony before he died. Funk was thrown a con-
siderable distance, and had his right leg torn
off and the other badly hurt. He will hardly
recover. Mrs. Thomas Grow, who was stsnd-
ing some forty yards from the cannon, was
struck by the same piece of iron that killed
Taylor, and had her leg broken. Mrs. Mary
Elmire, another spectator, was severely hurt by
a flying piece of iron. Much il-feeling exists
against Funk for his carelessness.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
rrtna NJ

Alady, while shopping in.New York, entered
the dry goods store Of Arnold, Constable & Co.,
and by an inadvertence, left her pin money
$40, 0O0llying carelessly on b ecounter. When,
sftsrward, she missed it, she returned, but it
seemed that no one had seen it. Many q
woman's husband would raise . row about the
matter.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
Dsnnis Kearuey Ret,rc.

At . sand lot meeting, in San Francisco q few
days ago, Dennis Kearney gave notice in the
following language of his Intentional withdrawal
from'the political arena: when the venomous
tongue Of hydraheaded Islander is hushed; when
HISTORY and justice are inseparably welded,
then VIII my name be pointed to with pride. /
am now compelled to seek q livelihood for my
family. Friends and business are now lost be-
cause I defended the cause of the people, who
turred and stoned me to death. I will return
to the quiet walks of life, but my spare moments
will be ut the disposal of the ~people."
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-18
s.x.n Mon Cremated.

At Bordel City, twelve miles south Of Brad
ford, Pa, anumber of men at a clearinghouse
were sitting about q stove in which the fire had
become very low. Four of the men finally re-
tired to bed up stairs, and of the five remaining
one of them dipped a tin in a bucket OF oil and
threw it in the stove to rekindle the ire. The
oil remaining in the cup caught fire, and the
person holding it threw the blazing mass away,
and it fell into the bucket. An explosion i'm
mediately followed, and the burning fluid scat
tered all around the room, deluging the cloth
ing of the men with oil. TIL men rushed out,
enveloped in q sheet of fire, and writhed on the
ground in agony. Meanwhile the house burned
rapidly, and in the embers were found the
charred bodies of the four who were upstairs.
Their names are Elliott, Brown, Staley and
Hyde. OF those down stairs, Joe Dannock,
Henry Monroe, Frank Welsh and another man,
name unknown, are dead, and the fifth one is
not expected to recover.