davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
Meant Him.

When railroad passenger hears the
whistle sounding an alarm it is his first
impulse to look out of the window, but
this impulse is often restrained by second
thought, except in the case of green
travellers. A few days ago an old man
and his wife were passengers on a Lake
Shore train, and as the section men We're
making repairs on the line in various
places the whistle was sounded pretty
often. The old couple were fully alive
to every "toot, and each time the old
man would stick his head out of the
window.
"Does it mean anything, Samuel?"
asked the wife every time his head came
back, but he could give her no satisfac-
tory explanations. A traveller behind
them finally warned the old man that he
ran risk 10y sticking his head ont, b. t
at the very next toot lie was at it agar.
He wore a plug hat which looked fully
twenty years old, ard its l. IS would be
nothing great Preparations were
quietly made hehind him, and every
thing was all ready when next the whistle
sounded.
81 wonder what's on the track now?'
queried the wife, as she mo,ed around
uneasily,
81 dunno "he replied, 81 believe we've
run over as many as u dozen men since
we left Toledo"
'Do ,ok )ut and see what it means"
she continued.
Out went his head, his face towards
the engine, and n smart rap with cane
from he next window FnC ,ked his hat
off and sert it flying into swamp He
pulled back with such n rush IL t he al
most went over his wife into the aisle.
'Land stars! but did it mean any
thing?' she cried as she grasped him.
81 should think it did" he yelled. at
meant that was durne old fool, and
have got to go bare-headed all the rest of
this SUMMER"
The hard-hearted conductor refused
to stop the train and recover the hat,
and at the .fniS of n hot discussion the
bare-headed victim brought his fist down
with shivering force and exclaimed:
"Waal, now, want you to understand
that if there is any law in this land this
ere railroad has got to move its fence
corners back 'Sposen' them rails had
given me wipe on the iaw2"
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
No Pension Wanted.

He didn't look bit like a patriot, as he
stood rubbing his back on corner wall,
} but it isn't everybody who can tell Il
patriot at frst-sight They were talking
about pensions, and all ut once he woke
up and said
"Was | in the army? You bet | was
Didn't | have charge of one Of the bip
guns in the trenches Of Yorktown
Didn't l stand in the mud all day and
sleep in a pond all night, and wasn't il
that which twisted my legs out of shape
with the rheumatics And yet have
applied for a pension? Has any one seen
me insidiously stretching forth hand
to grab at the vitals of this distressed
country? Not stretch--not grab ~
No one had anything to say, and
presently he went on;
:" In the army-humph Who saved
the day at Malvern Hill ? Who killed
seventeen of the enemy with his own
hand? Who was decorated with sixteen
medals and cross by Gen. McClcllen =?
And yet does any assassin charge me with
making midnight visits to pension agents
to swear that the hardships of the tented
field have left me with only one lung and
no liver at all? Hang a soldier who
wouldn't sacrifice his liver for his glorious
country
He burned up five or six matches in n
vain effort to light the stump of cigar
and then growled out
81 may look seedy now, but who led
the second corps at Fair Oaks? Who
captured three flags from the enemy with
his own hand? Who was shot in four
places and left for dead? And vet do
go whining around after the financial
vitals of this glorious Republic Not "A
whine When reach out my hand and ask
Uncle Samuel to come down, it will he
when l have forgotten the teachings of Il
patriotic mother and the bravery Of a
veteran father !"
"Were you wounded?' inquired one
of the group.
"Was 1? oh! no! | didn't get hit
seventeen different times i'll three years
| am not carrying half IN acre Of sears
down to my grave to attest my devotion
to my country And yet, what man
dares charge me with a desire to skuli
into the barn and rob the treasury COW OF
her feed-the feed she needs for her daily
existence?"
"Won't you show us some of your
scars ?" inquired two or three at once.
"No sir ! Inever show 'em except at
reunions There is no reunion here.
This is simply n gathering of two bum
mers, politician, n lame man, niger,
and soldier who has been in forty-six
different battles, received seventeen
wounds and doesn't want pension. You
wouldn't know the scar of cannon ball
from that of an old wood-saw, and you'd
go off and say | got run through thrash
ing machine | am now going inside to
drink alone to the prosperity Of this great
and glorious Union, and it wont do any
of you any good to stand around the
door r'-DetrOH Free Press.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
Shark Stories From the Pacific Coast.

DIR. Swan, the surgeon of the Pacific
Mail Steamship Celima, which arrived
at this port few days ago from the
isthmus, reports an incident on the trip
worthy of mention. He says that while
the Celima was lying at Acapulco, on the
trip up, she anchored one day close to
the Steamship China. Some of the hands
on the latter baited the hook and caught
q shark OF the man-eater variety, about
fifteen feet long. The shark was pulled
up, cut open, and in the belly was found
human arm entire just as if it had
been torn 10y the monster from the Shout
der. There were also found in the mawof
the shark the heel and toes of human
foot The remains had evidently been
swallowed but Il short time The arm
was the left, and upon it We're plainly
visible the initials tattoed in India ink,
"a. II. G." About ten days previous to
the taking Of the shark sailor from
British brig, then lying in the harbor,
while under the influence Of liquor, fell
overheard and was lost. 1t is supposed
that the shark had been feeding upon
the body short time before his capture.
San jose Joe, the monster shark Of San
Jose de Guatemala, was recently seen by
the Captain of the China. This shark
has for many years been the terror of
the coast from San Jose de Guatemala
to Punta Arena. He has been SO
frequently seen that he is as familiar to
the mariners of that coast as its most per-
ilous headlands He is said to be forty
feet i'll length, andis extremely ferocious,
humankind being his favorite prey. Capt
Scabury, of the China, is ready to swear
to forty-two feet and over, having once
seen Joe passing behind his vessel,
which is forty-two feet in the beam, and
the head and tail of the shark extended
past either side of the vessel. The Cap
tain of the South Carolina and Captain
Witbcmy bear testimony also to the
sharks being forty feet long. In thelast
few years "Joe, as he is known all along
the coast, has devoured half dozen
men, and some years ago the Guotemal-
ian Government offered a reward of $500
to any one who would kill the devourer.
He has been shot a couple of times and
hurpooned thrice, but survived these
assaults and still roams his old haunts
looking for his favorite morccau
Speaking of sharks, report has just
come to hand setting forth the informa-
ton that one of his family, evidently a
first cousin to Joe, as he was thirty feet
long and probably weighing five tons,
was caught at Sequel Beach on Friday,
the largest ever caught on that coast 1t
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
Remarkable and Valuable Discovery.

1t has always been easy for housewives
who are troubled with rats to poison
them, but the problem has been to induce
them to die upon the field of honor, so to
speak-to wit, the kitchen floor. They
have usually preferred to retire to their
inaccessible retreats i'll the wall as soon
MS they have felt the symptoms of nrsen-
ical poisoning, and the low state of sani-
tary science prevailing in their COM
munities is such that poisoned rats are
never properly buried or incinerated by
their associates. The problem has been
how to kill the rats without bringing I'M
pleasant odors into the house.
Mrs. Benedict has solved the difficulty
and is entitled to the honor we give to an
inventor and benefactor. She was en-
gagged, it appears, in the domestic manu-
facture OF plaster casts of various kinds
Complaint having been made of the
fragility of these wares, Mrs. Benedict
began course of experiments with the
hope of giving greater durability to her
casts. One Of her devices was to mix
wheaton flour with her pulverized plaster
of Paris, so that the gluten of the flour
might make the past less brittle. One
evening she had visitors, who rang the
door-bell just as she was sitting the mix
ed plaster and flour for the third time by
way of mixing them intimately, as the
chemists would say. She had already
set dish of water at hand, intending to
make cast at once, and when the door
bell rang she hastily removed her apron
and went to welcome her guests, leaving
her materials upon the kitchen floor.
The guests stayed until late bed time,
and when they bid her adieu Mrs. Bcnc-
dict went to bed without returning to the
kitchen.
What happened in the night was this.
A rat, shifting the odor of flour, made up
the legs of the table to the top, where he
was speedily joined by other foragcrs--
his bretheren. The dish of flour and
plaster was easily reached, and the rats
ate freely and hastily of it, as it is their
custom to do. 1t was rathera dry supper,
and, water being at hand, each rat turned
from the sayory dish of flour and plaster
to Stake his thirst with water. Every
body who has had to do with plaster of
Paris Will guess ut once what happened.
The water drank first wettcd the plaster
in the rats stomachs, and then, in tech
meal phrase, "set' it that is to say, the
plaster thus made into paste instantly
grew hard in each rats stomach, making
Il cast of its convolutions. The event
proved that, with such a cast in existence,
it is impossible for Il rat to retreat even
across kitchen
The next morning thirteen of them lay
dead in circle ABOUND the water dish.
Mrs. Benedict, like II wise woman, kept
her secret and made profit of it. She
undertook, for consideration, to clear
the premises of her neighbors of the
pests, and succeeded. 1t was not long
before the town was as free of this sort
of ycrmin as if the pied piper of Hamelin
had Travelled that way. Then Mrs. Bene-
dict advertised for agents to work up the
business throughout the country, selling
each the secret for fair price. -NcW
IOrh EUeRit0 POST
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
JaCauemlnOt Roses for Blondes.

The old theory which allowed blonde
to wear only blue flowers and ribbons,
and consequently made her look insipid,
has been very nearly extinguished during
the last half-dozen years, and the fancy
for Jacqueminot roses may utterly de-
stroy it. These sumptuous blossoms
are beautiful when worn by the brunette
who knows how to make them contrast
with black lace, but they are at their
best when they adorn the blonde who
chooses to array herself in robe of
creamy Grape. draped with antique grace,
and to relieve it with great clusters of
'Jacqueminot buds and half-opened bios
SONS placed at the belt and high on the
side of the square opening at the throat,
and gathered at the belt. The single
rose that nestles among the pufTs on the
top of her head brings ont the gold of her
hair, intensifies the GOODNESS of her eyes,
and makes her one of the prettiest
pictures ever seen at dinner party
POtter's american MOnthly.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

AT Hampton, s. G., Judge Presley
sentenced A. j. Gill to be hanged Mt
Hampton Courthouse on January q,
1881, for the murder of NJ. r. Conelly,
Mt that place on the Doth of last
February. The murder was committed
with knife, by which one of the large
arteries in the neck was severed. Gill
was tried last week, and after an able
defense was found guilty of murder,
with recommendation to mercy
Judge Presley fixed the time for his
execution in January to accommodate
his counsel, who made motion in arrest
OF Judgment and for a new trial.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
Power of n Growing Tree.

The force exertcd by n growing tree is
well known to he very great. This fact,
however, is worked to death by morallsts,
who are ever on the watch for little
fact upon which they can hang moral.
A worm-out example of this kind recently
appeared, we regret to say, Ill the
columns of respected contemporary,
with new embellishments and additions.
which only served to make the story the
more ridiculous. A milestone five and
half feet in diameter and seven inches
thick-the size is extraordinary, but that
only adds to the zest of the story-and
having u central hOle-why is 1T not
called the "cye?" eleven inches In
diameter, was laid in IN orchard and
then forgotten. A filbert-formerly it
was q little acorn, from which great
oak may grow; but now little filbert.
from which only poor, weak, dwarf
shrub could grow--was dropped by ac-
cidcnt in the eye of the milestone. This
was in 1872. As the trunk grew within
the hole, many persons came and saw
and pondered wisely as to the probability
that the stone would he carried up in the
air by the growing filbert, or would the
Gilbert tree" die i'll the attempt. And
actually i'll 1868, we are told, the tree
lifted the pondcrous stone and raised it in
the air. This exemplities the power OF
perseverance, patience, pertinacity,
modesty and close attention to ones
business, with single eye to attain some
great end. That is very good moral.
Never mind about the truth Of the story
or that it includes errors of fact. A i'll
bert is shrub and never attains the
thickness of eleven inches. Moreover,
the growth of the trunk of tree is in
thickness and not upwards, and the hit
ing of the stone in the way mentioned Is
an impossibility for giant oak, mucn
less for poor, weak hazel bush. --h"r@
Nom YnrEor
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

ONE Of those romantic Nevada pa
pers tells boarder. who having made a
preparation of glue, tenexine, and other
tenacious substances, applied it TO the
outside key-hole of his door. Then,
after locking himself in and waiting, he
made a rush for the other door, only to
find his landlady running down the hall
with one ear gone, which remained
sticking to the key hole She evidently
had "pryer" engagement, or she would
not have left so abruptly.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The Canadians are worried to observe
that while tens of thousands of European
immigrants are pouring into this country
none are going to the Dominion, which
badly needs an accession of population
The remedy is simple enough. If Canada
had an independent government, i'm
mence areas of its territory, now com
paratively worthless, would double in
value within five years by attracting a
large population.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

JEFFERSON DAVIS has been making
an argument in New Orleans. He made
it as a witness in will case in which he
is interes ed. Among the facts which
had been adduced to show that the will
maker, Mrs. Dorsey, was of unsound
mind, was her belief that the Confed-
eracy still existed, and that its truths
were eternal. In answer Davis said that
he believed this too, and if that was in
sanity both he and Mrs. Dorsey were
crazy
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
Charcoal and Its Uses.

Charcoal, laid flat while cold on burn,
causes the pain to abate Immediately; by
leaving it on for an hour the burn seems
almost healed when the. burn is super
fetal. And charcoal is valuable for
many other purposes. Tainted meat,
surrounded with it, is sweetened; strewn
over heaps Of decomposed pelts, or over
dead animals, it prevents any unpleasant
odor. Foul water is purified by it. 1t
is great disinfectant, and sweetens
offensive air if placed in shallow trays
around apartments. 1t is SO very porous
in its "minute interior, " it absorbs and
condenses gas most rapidly. One cubic
inch of fresh charcoal will absorb nearly
one hundred inches of gaseous ammonia.
Charcoal forms an unrivaled poultice for
malignant wounds and sores, often cor
roding away dead flesh, reducing it to
one-quarter in six hours. In cases of
what we call proud flesh it is invaluable.
1t gives no disagreeable odor, corrodes
no metal, hurts no texture, Injuries no
color, is simple and safe sweetener and
disinfectant A teaspoonful of charcoal
in half glass of water, often relieves a
sick headache; it absorbs the gases and
relieves the distended stomach pressing
against the nerves, which extend from
the stomach to the head. 1t often re-
lieves constipation, pain, or heartburn.
Scientific american.
A GENTLEMAN, finding his whisky
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The Austrian press, with great una
nimity, urge the deposition of the Sui
tan, and the partition of his dominions
among the neighboring European Pow
ers. In case this recommendation should
be carried out, Austria would probably
come in for small slice of the territory
in question, which probably accounts
for the press recommendation.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

Mr.. STURGEON has received from a
daughter of DIR. Livingstone one of his
sermons, which was found among her
fathers possessions, bearing upon it
some words of commentator in the
handwriting of the great explorer.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The Municipal Council of Paris has
appropriated 100000 francs for the cele
bration of the National Fete Day, the an
niversary, for the storming of the Bas
tile Oath of july, on condition that
the General Government appropriates
SOC, 900 francs.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

SETH GREEN has discovered that the
planting of fish is a trivial matter com
pared to the task of protecting them.
1t is easy to get suitable laws enacted on
the subject, but they are not always
properly enforced. Public opinion
should assist in the matter.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The curious name estate" for rooms
on a steamboat is said to have originated
in this way: A certain Western steam
boat Captain called the rooms in his
boat after the States of the Union.
Maine, Massachusetts,, New Hampshire,
etc. The name Texas, which fell to the
lot of the pilot-house, remains in com.
mon use on our Western waters to-day
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

THE experiment of growing ginger is
likely to be tried in the s Iuth. 1t is a
tropical plant, is cultivated at present to
large extent only in the Indies and in
China and Japan, but could be easily
raised in most of the Southern States,
the soil and climate being admirably
suited to its culture.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

THE Church people can not absorb all
the glory. Waite, President of the
Brattleboro. (Vt) First n ational Bank,
was one of the unregenerate neither
belonged to a Church nor Sabbath
school, and yet his stealings beat all the
rest.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The Brassey family in England are
next to Mr.. Vanderbilt the largest hold
ers of securities, other than real estate,
in the world. Their father left them
over s3O,O0O,OOO in personal property,
and they do not own more than $4,000
q wear real estate.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The pine tree which adorns the new
seal of the State of Maine is engraved
from the drawing of Miss Caroline Tai
bot, of Portland. The identical tree
stands on the side of Dennys River, in
Washington County, of that State.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

IT is announced that worlds fair of
sheep, wool and wool products, under
the auspices of the Pennsylvania Argr-
cultural Society, is to be opened in.
Philadelphia, September 81, Immediately
after the State Fair.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

PLANTS must be allowed air; even
those that will not bear the outer air
must have the air of the room frequently
freshened by ventilation, to preserve them
in health. Care should be taken not to
let plants stand in draught, for when
so situated one strong gust of cold wind
will often prove sufficient to destroy
them.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

THE last report of the Attorney Gen
eral of Texas, shows that there are in
the State six thousand fugitives from
justice, of whom one thousand are
charged with murder.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15
mi'shed around among the New England
meadows as early as 1913.

THE Council of State at Madrid has
adopted the bill regulating the condi-
tons of service of negroes in Cuba, re-
ducing the number of working hour,
and prohibiting Corporal punishment.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The WatertOwn Times: Millions
of Seth Green's shad, or alewives, that
were introduced or found their way
into our waters, are reported dead or in
a dying condition over large extent of
Lake Onterio"
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

Mr.. MAX MARIA Won WEBER and
Mr.. Bohnstedt, have been sent to this
country by the Prussian Government to
study the American railroad system and
the regulation of rivers.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

The Milwaukee Sun: The members
of the Ohio State Board of Charities are
investigating the insane asylum at
Columbus, and they have found either
a very badly managed institution or
some of the best single handed liars
this side of Louisiana. In comparison
to this Ohio Insane Asylum, Milwaukee
House of Correction hash is new mown
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

RECENT remark by Walt Whitman:
" l do not know where | stand My
wholeorganization isunsettled, andma
Of my idols are cast down in the dust. |
hardly know if have any politics left
worthy of the name"
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

CowLLY has made fourteen different
appeals to be pafdoned out, and he is
now hslf.convinced that he must have
been guilty of something or other to be
treated as he is.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

ASK any boy who lives where cherry
trees grow, about this tine, and he will
tell you that cherries are considered
common property to anybody who can
,limh a trcc
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

THE Court before whom the case of
Sara Bernhardt was tried has ordered
her to pay the Comedie Franchise l00,-
600 francs, or $4,000, for damages for
breach of contract.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

LEADvILLE people don't go in for
picnics. Even frst-class lemonade has
no attraction for Leadvilleians, and the
picnic article acts as an emetic on them.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

THE dreadful sequence to famine
the fever--is breaking out in Ireland
This proves more conclusively than sta
tistics the intensity of the misery.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

So it seems that Cleveland, and not
Buffalo, is now the second city on the
Lakes. Thus do censuses play havoc
with the things of this world.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

A JOLLY, bluff-mannered priest, on
being introduced to physician, called
him "dear brother" "Dear brother p
echoed the doctor, in surprise. "Why
not" asked the priest. "Do we not
both aid the sick to die ?"
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

DELAWARE is expected to yield l,OOO,-
600 more baskets of peaches this year
than she did last, as the season has been
unusually favorable, though the quality
is not SO good.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

AN agricultural paper tells us that
the skunk will extermina'e the potato
bug. After this announcement we have
no little respect for the potato bug.
The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-07-15

IT is said that the threa DIS of Colorado
spiders are strong enough to sew on but
tons, and the spiders are no bigger than
blackbirds at that.