davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
A Clever Trick.

The Japan Mail describes a clever
trick which was being exhibited by a
native iuggler at Joshida-bashi. The
performance takes placein small room
about twenty-siX feet long by twelve
feet wide, half being allotted to the spec
tators, who are admitted on payment of
the moderate fee of two cents. The
properties consist of deal table and
a sword, etc. After the usual soul
stirring flourish on drum and samisen,
q man and woman appear from behind
a screen, the man binds the woman 5
head in a cloth and she then kneels
down close to the table and sideways to
the spectators. The man then draws
the sword, makes violent blow at the
woman's head, she falls forward, arms
extended and limbs twitchiEg. lie then,
having first wiped the sword on a CORY
looking piece of a rag, takes up (appa-
rentlv) the woman's head, wrapped in
the cloth and places it on the table. To
all appearance it is human head; the
evelids and features have a cOnvulslve
motion; presently the eyes open IN a
dreamy sort of way, and. to the accom-
naniment of the everlasting samisen,
the head sings a mournful song. a cur
tain is interposed between the audience
and the performers and when again
drawn back the woman is disclosed quiz
etlv seated alongside the man. When
it is recollected that this all takes place
within about three feet from the specta-
tor and that the properties are of the
simplest description, some idea may be
formed of the wonderful excellence OF
performance which has excited attcn-
tiDn
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
Blind Dogs Buff.


The Indian and Chinese boys have
discovered curious way TO utilize dogs
in their games. They frequently play
ball and make dog do the fielding.
Their last trick is to cover dogs head
with gunny sack, and make him play
the leading role in the game of blind
mans buff. The dog enjoys the sport
as much as anybody, and allows the
Youngsters to tie the sack over his head
without protest. They then scatter with
wild shout, and the dog, Singing out
one of the crowd, runs him down, fol-
lowing him by the scent alone. In one
instance the writer saw the dog pick his
way across a plank which bridged a
stream, and on one occasion, when a
boy took to water, the dog lost the scent
and declined to trust himself to the
stream. The dog viii sometimes chase
a boy five minutes before catching him.
The white boys have tried to utilize a
dog in this manner, but seem unable to
make the animal see where the fun
comes in, and all efforts to hoodwink
dogs with gunny-sacks have been fruit
less. Doubtless the reason of this Is
that dogs have learned to mistrust the
advances of the white boys, having in
their minds vivid recollections of tin
pans appended to their tails.-CGrS0n
men. ADDeGi.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
HELPLESS Girls.

Our most helpless girls belong not to
the highest or lowest but to the middle
class. Mulberry Street brings out girls
who can wash, cook, walk ten miles and
swim. Fifth Avenue produces girls
who can row, swim, ride, shoot with
bow or rifle and even cook. But be-
tween these two extremes is a vast army
of girls who, apart from dressing,
piano-plaving and making the most of
their good looks, can do nothing, or
next to it. Put them in boat, they are
helpless. Put them in the water. they
founder and sink. Put them on horse
they fall off Put them on their feet,
they can't walk mile unless 50 out
shopping" Put bow in their hands.
they are eowlike in awkwardness. Put
them on vessel, it is with difficulty
they tell whether the bow or stern goes
first. Apart from dancing or music, in
which they are proficient. they are pro-
foundly ignorant of all really good EN-
ployment or recreation. They pad,
they powder, they dye their hair, they
bisect themselves with corsets, they
grow up fat and fiabby; there is little
elasticity in their muscles and less in
their minds; their talk runs to common
place, or if excited to series of exple-
tives and interjections, deemed pretty
in a girl when the bloom is on her
cheek and ridiculous in an old maid
when the bloom is off. Turn them
adrift on the world, deprive them of
their natural supporters and they sink
at once. They have little physical or
moral strength, little independence, liz
tie real pride of character. They are
willing and anxious to be married and
supported. These are to be the moth
ers of the majority of the coming mer
N Y. GrGDhic.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
A Centipede in a Peach Seed.

G.. ID. Parham, messenger for the
Southern Express, is responsible for the
following story: While at Texarkana a
few days since in the discharge of his
duties, he purchased some peaches of a
boy who was vending them on the depot
platform. They were unusually large
and fine, being of the cling stone order,
and Mr.. Parham devoured the first one
with great relish. The second one was
even more toothsome, and, after remov-
ing all the meat that was possible from
the stone, he placed the latter liz his
mouth while he turned to attend to
some duty. Several times he felt some
thing tickle the roof of his mouth, and
when at leisure again he examined the
stone carefully. Protruding from one
edge of it he discovered something that
resembled SPIDERS leg, and when
touched with knife it gave evidence of
life Mr.. Parham called to his side Geo.
Stanton. an Iron Mountain engineer,
and j. r. Martin, agent for the South
ern Express at TeXarkana. The stone
was carefully opened with a knife and
there snugly embedded was cent?
pede 1t was in torpid state at first,
but the sunlight brought it into full
vigor in a very few seconds, and it be-
gan to look around for place of more
safety. 1t was placed under hat until
bottle could be procured. 1t was
forced into its new glass prison and Sc
curely corked with the intention of
; bringing it to st. Louis. On the trip to
/ this city the bottle was accidentally
| broken, and Mr.. Parham was compelled,
much against his will, to kill his dam
gerous prisoner. 1t measured a frac-
ton less than two inches in length
! st. Louis Globe Democrat. .-.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
Watermelon Seeds in China.

A Chinese gentleman is proud of his
long and pointed nails, which some
times are allowed to grow an inch bel
yond the tip of the finger. They mark
him as belonging to the aristoeracy.
who do no manual labor Besides this
distinguished mark. he finds them use
full in cracking watermelon seeds and
extracting their atom of kernel. In
this country these seeds are esteemed
by boys and girls, who use them as pei
lets in watermelon frolic. But the
Chinese consider them a delicacy. No
feast is without them. Every wayside
inn places them before its customers.
If two friends aeet to drink tea the cup
is accompanied by plate of melon
seeds. A child spends his one leash :"
for them as our boys do their penny for
YOUTHS Companion.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
The Myterious Kalirs.

1t was hoped that one of the results
of the Afghan war would be to open up
communication with a tribe of people
known to the Afghans as "Katirs "a
term of opprobrium, apparently, as the
English are also styled Kaiirs in Afghan
istan Very little is known about these
people. For centuries they have fought
against the attempts of their neighbors
to seize their women, who are white
and extremely beautiful. The only
means of communication with this
strange tribe has been through some
men living near the borders of Kafiris
tan, who are adroit enough to be AT
ohans on one side of the frontier and
Kafirs on the other. The account OF
their manners and customs given by the
Afghans represents them as people
whose wives are beautiful, whose land
produces q magic herb, the possessor of
which can command the love of whOmso-
ever he chooses; in whose corn fields
pure gold is found lying around loose
and who kill every Afghan they can
catch and drink his blood. The only
hypothesis on which the savants can
account for the presence of these white
people in the midst of darker races is
that they are descendants of one of the
colonies established by Alexander the
Great on his march to and from India.
The Katirs have many European char
acteristics. They drink wine, sit on
chairs and eat off tables and have no
superstitions as to their food, customs
or religion as prevail among their Mo-
hammedan neighbors. They are known
to claim European descent and are sup
posed to be friendly to the British. In
order to look into the matter an English
officer has started for Kaiiristan, but it
is to be feared that Ayoob Khan's sue
cess will disarrange his plans.-N z.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26

and fed plentifully with sugar-cane,
from which they suck the juice, or even
with coarse brown sugar moistened 3
little, they win live long time.
These varieties of beetles mentioned
are only q small handful among thou
sands, for there are more members OF
this great family than naturalists have
yet been able to count. There are
beetles that fly by night, and beetles
that fly by day; some that live in the
ground, others in the water, and yet
others on trees and among the leaves
and flowers. They are of all colors,
and of varied appetites, some living
solely on insects. others on fruits and
vegetables and leaves of different kinds.
-HdYper's Young People.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
A Swiss Forest Disappears.

An occurrence, which may be par
TALLY or wholly attributable to the rude
shakings which Switzerland has recently
undergone, is reported from Quarter,
in the Canton of st. Gall A short time
ago the, people in the neighborhood
noticed signs of uneasiness about the
Schnelbelberg. The summit of the
mountain appeared to be in precari-
Gus position, and it was feared that it
might slip down and overwhelm the
Schnebelwald, anextensive wood in the
valley below. In anticipation of pos
sible catastrophe, great efforts were
made to cut down and carry away as
many trees as possible, though the men
engaged in the work wrought at the
peril of their lives. A few days ago,
when fortunately there was nobody in
the wood, deafening report, like the
firing of heavy artillery, resounded
through the valley, and the mountain
was hidden from view by thick cloud
of dust. When it dispersed, the Schneb-
elberg was seen to be shorter by q few
metres. and the beautiful wood in the
Murgthal had diappeared beneath a
huge avalanche of stones and EARTH
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26

A RECENT census of New Zealand has
revealed the fact that the Maories are
rapidly decreasing, and it is quite pos
si6le that a generation or so may find
them exterminated altogether. The
causes given for this national decay are
love of drink, bad food and clothing,
unwholesome dwellings, neglect of
cleanliness and generally, low social
habits. In 1861 the ,Maories were esti-
mated to number 50, 1856, but since then
they have decreased to 40, 695, or about
20 per cent in seventeen. years. The
natives of Hawaii, however, are show
ing still more rapid destruction, for
they have decreased from 81, 125 in 1866
to "A, 088 in 1873. or at the rate of %
per cent. in twelve, or 32.4 per cent for
seventeen years. In their case the mis-
chief is hassened by the prevalence OF
leprosy.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26

THE crown of William PENIS hat,
which is TO adorn his thirty-six-foot
statue surnlounting the lofty. tower oil
the new Philadelphia public buildings,
viii be Just 535 feet from the pavement
The highest towers which have yet been
constructed are those of the Cologne
Cathedral. which have at present q
height of 524 feet IL inches.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
inches thick. 1t is Of Galcna

and inches thick. 1t is Of Galcna
limestone, quite friable, and variety
not founa within ten miles of that place.
On turning the stone over it was found
that there were upon the under side en-
cravings of what were probably intend
ed to represent the sun and moon, or per-
haps only the sun, the lines being cut in
to the depth of half an inch or more.
Near the centre is large circular figure,
covering about one third of the surface
OF the stone. Within this circle, PROB
ably to represent eyes, are two small! cir
Giles, and in the place of the mouth is q
diamond, the longer diameter running up
and down. Immediately over this large
GIRO e, Or face Of the sun, is small ore,
which may represent the moon, but more
likely that circle and the two on either
side OF 1t have q significance, if any,
similar to the three circles over the sun
Oh the Rockford Tablet" or those over
the face of the sun in the Mexican calen
dar stone. At the lower right hand
corner, on line with, what would rep.
resent the chin Of the suns face, is an
other figure, rudely representing the ear
drop or jewel So conspicuous in the fig
ure of the sun on the calendar-stone. At
the lower left hand corner there is not
any engraving now visible. .-
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
A Horses Revenge,

~The society for the protection of
animals against the cruelty of human
animals is not remarkable for it's activity
IN this country" writes the Paris cor
respondent of a London paper. "The
police appear to think it no business of
theirs when carriers or coachmen brut-
ally maltreat their horses in the streets,
or when boys amuse themselves by
torturing dogs and cats or whatever
other creatures have the i'll luck to fall
into their hands. The horse would
appear to be aware of the supineness OF
their supposed protectors, for they have
taken the matter into their own hands,
Or rather into their own teeth and feet.
A carter, by hard fogging at his three
horses, got them to drag sixteen tons
Of coal to the foot of the steep hill
which leads to the Boulevard Bessieres;
but his powers of stimulation utterly
failed to induce them to proceed any
further-a thick steam rose up from
their painting sides and nostrils.
"Budge!" said the iend; and straight
way the carter began to lash and swear.
A crowd gathered around the ferocious
beast, who abandoned the lash and be-
gan to bang his stick about their heads
aud to kick them with hob-nailed boots
in the sides. The leader of the team
took upon himself to protest against
this extreme measure. He turned
around, seized the carriers arm with his
teeth, tossed him to the ground and
trampled him with his hoofs; then
seized him again with his teeth and
tossed him about. The crowd and the
police, which had looked approvingly on
while he tortured the horses, interfered
for the protection of the human monster,
who was with great difficulty torn bleed
ing and mangled from the just equine
resentment.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
The Longevity OF Icebergs.

Karl Weyprecht, in his work on the
Polar sea, discusses the longevity of
icebergs. Icebergs are subjected to
disintegration after somewhat the same
manner as rocks. They are full of Gre
vases, into which the water formed by
melting penetrates. In winter this
water freezes, and by its expansion all
through the glacier rupture of the
mass ensues. ut is highly probable"
he says, "thatmost of the icebergs ahoat
in winter are in such condition that
very slight cause is sufficient to make
them burst because of their state of in
ternal tension. Every polar traveller
can tell how shot, the driving in of an
ice anchor, or any other sudden vibra-
ton has brought about the catastrophe;
cases have even occurred in which the
sound of the voice alone was sufficient.
An iceberg is always an unpleasant
neighbour" So many are the causes
which tend to destroy ioebergs that the
author concludes that mo berg exists
which could withstand them more than
ten years, and that commonly the life
of a berg is much shorter" However
this may be, doubtless the much larger
Antarctic bergs last very much longer,
as must necessarily occur, because of
the greater uniformity of the climate to
which they are exposed.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
Errors of Type and telegraph.

Lately some one attempted to say
that critics asserted Rubilstein was not
a correct player. The printers correct
ed the slur by making it that he was
mot cornet player"-which is prob
ably true. Another, essaying to des-
cribe a certain parsonage as 3the great
I am" of local matters, found that he
was instead the great 9 q. m. "a dread.
full charge, if somewhat vague. Accord
ing to Q veracious Western paper, one
editor was Mortified by finding aThe
Death of an Angle Worm" heading an
obituary, instead of the decorous
death of an Aged Woman" The
rascally Iruth-Seeker had its name set
up "Ia4rtle- Seeker" recently-which
was severe joke for the turtles Once
a paragraph beginning aMiss Dickin-
son" (meaning the eloquent Anna), ap-
peared with the suspicious start OF
3The disbursion," which naturally
made the subsequent remarks some
what confused. But the telegraph
makes as amusing blunders as the type.
A sentence of Lord Carnarvon's essay
on sermons at recent Anglican Do
cesar Conference was thus dispatched
"The worst-paid country curate is ex-
pected to preach twice on Sunday with
the persuasiveness of a journeyman
tailor, and the eloquence of a barrow
For @]ourneyman tailor" read .Jeremy
Taylor and initial BARROW" with q
capital letter, and all is right.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
Health Of Horses.

The health and comfort of horses have
of late years been greatly improved by
the better construction OF stables. They
are made more roomy and lofty, and
provided with means of thorough VEN
tilation. In many new stables lofts are
done away with, or the floor of the lofts
is kept well above the horses heads, and
ample shafts are introduced to convey
away foul air. By perforated bricks
and gratings under the managers and
elsewhere round the walls, and also by
bay windows and ventilators, abundance
of pure cir is secured for the horses;
while, being introduced in moderate
amount and from various directions, it
comes in without draught. Too much
draught is almost an unknown stable
luxury. To secure constant supply of
pure air, horses require more cubic
space than they generally enjoy. Even
when animals are stabbed only at night,
a minimum of 1900 cubic feet should
be allowed. In England, the newer
cavalry barracks give a minimum of
1900 feet, with ground area Of fully
ninety square feet per horse, and the
best hunting and carriage horses have
more room.-Joalr7aal of Chemistry.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
The Elephant.

One day, children, when the menag-
erie had been quiet for long time, the
hyena was looking so lonesome and
desolate that the elephant said he re-
minded him of the howl of the wilder
ness" every time he spoke. "You can't
prove it, said the hyena. "You pel-i-
cam" said the elephant, which was
neither good English, good grammar,
nor good fun, and nobody laughed but
the elephant, "don't you know it's no
consequence what you think in this
show?" The bison interfered here, and
SAID the 'possum might not be very
harte- beast, but he had right to speak
if" well, we'll, old buffaloafer,"
laughed the elephant, " I reckon you're
here as a bisonifcation of justice, are
you, you old bison of q gun? I'd like
to see anybody pull the wool over your
eyes" The bay mule down in the
corner remarked that he'd like to see
anybody pull the wool on the end of
his tail, but nobody let on they heard
him. Then, when the eagle tried to
say something, the elephant asked him
if he hadn't just got off a Sixth Ward
political transparency, ard then said he
thought he remembered seeing him on
BARRIERS pole. Then the bear spoke
and said they'd had enough of that
nonsense; and the elephant told him
ned better haul himself inside the hat
store before it rained, and asked if soft
felt would be much worn this winter.
And then he finally got the monkey to
crying by calling him Mr.. Darwin, and
telling him he looked enough like a
q man to run for Congress. And in a
little while he had the menagerie in
such an uproar that the lights had to
be put out and the people sent home.
Land, yes, children, the trouble they
used to have with the elephant no
tongue can tell. He was always such a
tease.-B0b Burdette.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
How Writ Found a Wife.

In his younger days he was victim
to the passion of Intoxicating drinks,
which has been the bane of so many
distinguished men in the legal pro-
fession. Afianced to beautiful and
accomplished young lady, he had made
and broken repeated pledges Of amend
ment, and she, after patiently and
kindly enduring his disgracefnl habit,
had at length dismissed him, deeming
him incorrigible. Their next meeting
after his dismissal was in a public street
in the city of Richmond. William Writ
lay drunk and asleep on the sidewalk,
on hot summer day, the rays Of the
sun pouring down on his uncovered
head, and flies crawling over hisswollen
features. AS the young lady approached
in her walk her attention was attracted
by the spectacle, strange to her eyes,
but, alas! so common to others who
knew che victim SO we'll as to excite lit
tie remark. She did not st first recog-
nize the sleeper, and was about to hasten
on, when she was led on by one of those
impulses which form the turning point
in life, to scrutinize his features. What
was her emotion when she recognized
in him her discarded lover! She drew
forth her handkerchief and spread it
over his face and hurried away. When
Writ came to himself he found the
handkerchief, and in one corner the
beloved name. With heart almost
breaking with grief and remorse he
made VOW of reformation. He kept
that vow, and eventually married the
owner of the handkerchief, and became
one of the most eminent jurists in the
United States.
The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-01-28
acknowledge Is Power"

Some time since lady asked us the
origin of the phrase knowledge is
power" and we replied by mail that it
was attributed to Lord Bacon. She
now replies by an extract from Bulwer's
my Novel," in which the expression is
quoted, accompanied by statement
that no such sentence is to be found in
all Lord Bacon's works. We saw Bull
wer's statement when the novel ap-
peared in Harpe,'s Magazine, and
smiled conplacently over our own su-
perior knowledge, as we had traced the
quotation to the treatise of Bacon on
scots and opinions tde H9resiis), where
it occurs in parenthesis, and reads,
mann etrosa scie,ato potest0s est" Bull
wer and others naturally looked for the
thought in Bacon's Advancement OF
Learning" and, not finding anything
like it there, gave up the search. In
the connection, Bacon is describing a
sect which held peculiar views on the
subject of predestination. He says that
they give wider limits to the knowledge
than to the power of God (implying
that He may foreknow acts without nee
essarily preordaining them), or, rather,
they restrict His power of doing more
than His power OF knowing, sfor knowl-
edge itself is power" This does not
mean thai knowledge confers power,
but that the capacity to know may be
termed power.-NeaU York journal
of Commerce.