davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
COntagiOn.

Contagion consists physically of minute
solid particles. The process of contagion
consists in the passage of these from the
bodies of the sick into the surrounding
atmosphere, and in the inhalation of one
or more of them by those in the imme-
diate neighborhood If contagion were
q gaseous or vapory emination, it
would be equally diffused through the
sick room, and all who entered it would,
if susceptible, suffer alike and in
evitably. But such is not the case;r for
many people are exposed for weeks and
months without suffering. Of two per-
sons situated in exactly the same circum-
stances, and exposed in exactly the same
degree to a given contagion, one may
suffer and the other escape. The explana-
ton of this is that the little particles of
contagion are irregularly scattered about
in the atmosphere, so that the inhalation
of one or more of them is purely mat
ter of chance, such chance bearing
direct relation to the number of particles
which exist in given cubic space. Sup
pose that hundred germs were floating
about in room containing two thousand
cubic feet of air. There is one germ for
every twenty cubic feet Naturally the
germs will be most numerous in the i'm
mediate neighborhood of their source,
the person of the sufferer; but, excepting
this one place, they may be pretty
equally distributed through the room; or
they may be very unequally distributed.
A draugh across the bed may carry
them now to one side, now to the other.
The mass of them may be near the cell
ing, or near the floor In given twenty
cubic feet there may be a dozen germs,
or there may be none at all. One who
enters the room may inhale germ be-
fore he has been in it ten minutes, or he
may remain there for an hour without
doing 80. Double the number of germs
and you double the danger. Diminish
the size of the room by one-haf, and you
do the same. Keep the windows shut,
and you keep the germs in; open them,
and they pass out with the changing air.
Hence the importance of free ventilation;
and hence one reason why fever should
be treated, if possible, in large, airy
rooms. Not only is free ventilation good
for the sufferer, but it diminishes the
risk to the attendants Cen
tuTy.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Use of Flowers,

It's trite and homely saying, "You
can't eat your cake and keep it too," and
we are obliged to square our actions with
it pretty closely; but there is one pecu-
liar satisfaction in the cultivation of flow
ers, for, in certain sense, they are an
exception to the practical operations of
the rules of addition and subtraction, as
embodied in the expression of them in
the old and popular axiom above quoted.
During the growing and blooming sea-
sons of many of the best bedding plants
and ANIMALS the flowers can be cut freely
and used and the oftener they are re-
moved the greater the amount of bloom.
When plants are allowed to perfect seeds,
they soon cease to produce more flowers,
as the whole strength of the plant is
necessary to mature the seeds. There
fore, if you want flowers, cut them and
use them; place them on your tables,
give them to your friends, and remember
those that are sick, and perhaps, too, you
may use them to help some one who is
disheartened, or even to Lift up a de-
graded one who needs, above all else,
your sympathy. It would be sad, in
deed, if objects 80 beautiful as flowers
should be the occasion of growing sell
fshness. Give them with liberal hand
and he who sends the sunshine and the
rain will bless you with increasing bios
SONS. A gift of flowers can seldom be
inappropriate, either to young or old,
and purity and goodness are painted on
every petal. With the gift
"Our hearts are lighter for its sake,
Our fancys age renews its youth,
And aforementioned fctions take
The guise Of present truth
-VieFs MaeGsine,
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Proof Against Snake Poison.

A Rio Janeiro letter says: There was
some excitement and much talk about
the scientific enthusiasm of DR.. Strad-
ling, surgeon on board the Royal Mail
Company's steamer Elbe, who had horrl-
fed the crew and passengers of that YES
sci by testing upon himself the efficacy
of an antidote for snake bite which he
had discovered. At Bahia he succeeded
in purchasing large rattlesnake, which
he conveyed on board surreptitiously, and,
locking himself up in his cabin, deliber-
ately made the snake bite him, with the
result that he was found, some twelve
hours later, in a state of coma, from
which, however, he was recovered with
out much difficulty, and declared that
for many hours the venom had been
without effect upon him. Being remon-
strated with by the captain, DR.. Strad
ling promised "not to do it again. !"
But it was too much for him, and at Rio
Janeiro he went ashore one evening,
leaving a letter to the effect that he "was
going ashore to try his antidote, so as
not to break his promise In the letter at
all events; that he felt confident of sue
cess, but that they would know what had
become of him in case he failed to re-
turn, &c. Of course this letter caused
his friends on board much anxiety till
next morning, when, just as they were
sending off the police, DIR. Stradling
himself appeared, radiant" showing a
fresh bite in his arm, and declaring the
experiment to have been perfectly sue
cessful, although he would not tell in
what consisted the specific so marvel
ously effective.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
The Game Of Boston,

The game at cards called "Boston,"
says late writer N the New York Times,
after the capital of Massachusetts,, and
much played by our forefathers, has
lately been revived, it is said, in New
England and in New York, especially
here, and is greatly enjoyed on account
of the skill required for proficiency.
Boston is played by four persons with
two packs of cards, which are never
shuff1ed. One of the packs is dealt and
the other cut alternately, to determine
the trump, the trump governing the
game. The dealer deals five cards to
each player twice, and deals six cards
the last time around. If the first player
can make, or thinks he can make five
tricks from his hand, he says: 81 go
Boston, and his fellow-players may over
bid him with the words: 81 go 6, Z, 8,
9, 10, II, 12 or 13," as the hand of each
may justify. Should any one fail to
make the number of tricks he bids for,
he must pay to each competitor forfeit,
regulated by scale of prices agreed
upon beforehand. The agreement is
imperative; without it the game is impos-
sible. It is accounted the most complex
and difficult of all games at cards, and
is therefore favorite with professional
gamblers. Boston has been played in
France and England, where it is often
spoken of as the American game. Ben
jamin Franklin has the reputation of
introducing it in Paris. He gave it the
name of his native city, and is said to
have been very clever player. The
philosophers of the eighteenth century,
who were his companions in France,
were very fond Of the game and delighted
in its novelty. Baron dHolbach is re-
ported to have said that only man of
genius could excel at Boston. The game
has always been played more or less in
the Southwest, where much money is
still lost and won by it.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Comhats Of the Ocean.

Among the extraordinary spectacles
sometimes witnessed by those who ego
down to the sea in ships" none are more
impressive than q combat for the su-
premacy between the monsters of the
deep. The battles of the sword-fish and
the whale are described as Homeric in
grandeur.
The sword-fish go in schools, like
whales, and the attacks are regular sea-
fights. When the two troops meet, as
soon as the sword-fsh have betrayed
their presence by a few bounds in the
air, the whales draw together and close
up their ranks. The sword-fish always
endeavors to take the whale in the
flank, either because its cruel instinct has
revealed to it the defect in the carcases-
for there exists near the brachial fins of
the whale spot where wounds are NOR
tal-or because the flank presents wider
surface to its blow.
The sword-fsh recoils to secure a
greaterimpetus. If Hthemovement escapes
the keen eye of his adversary, the whale
is lost, for it receives the blow of the
enemy and dies instantly. But, if the
whale perceives the sword-fish at the
instant of the rush, by a spontaneous
bound, it springs clear of the water its
entire length, and falls on its flank with
o crash that resounds for many leagues,
and whitens the sea with boiling foam.
The gigantic animal has only its tail
for its defence. It tries to strike its
enemy, and finishes him at single blow.
But, If the active sword-fsh avoid the
fatal tail, the battle becomes more ter
rible. The aggressor springs from the
water in his turn, falls upon the whale,
and attempts, not to pierce, but to saw
it with the teeth and garnish its weapon.
The sea Is stained with blood; the fury Of
the whale is boundless. The sword-fish
harnesses him, strikes him on every side,
kills him, and flies to other victories
Often the sword-fsh has not time to
avoid the fall of the whale, and contents
itself with presenting its sharp sawto the
flank of the gigantic animal which is
about to crush it. It then dies like Mac.
caeus, smothered beneath the weight oi
the elephant of the ocean. Finally the
whale give few last bounds into the air
dragging its assassin in its fight, an6
perishes as it kills the monster of which
1t was the victim.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
A Monster Lizard.

There is displayed in glass case in
Baltimore living specimen of guano
lizard, lately brought from the Navassa
Islands in the brig Romance. This hand
some crawler is three feet in length, two
thirds of which is tail, with the head of a
crocodile, an enormous mouth, furnished
with two dangerous rows Of sharp SER
rated teeth, two pouches or sacks at the
base of the jaw, a loose skin of dirty
brown color, and q curious nodosity near
the tip of its nose. 1t lis one of the largest
of the species ever seen, and, on account
of the size of the sacs and the nodosity,
is supposed to be forty or fifty years old
by people who are accustomed to them
in the guano islands. 1t stands its
change Of quarters remarkably well, and
is lively enough, but its vicious temper
is exhibited in its wicked-looking eye
and its attempt to snap at hand or
stick that is placed near it Its appetite
is excellent, and it manages to get along
comfortably on crackers, cabbage. &c.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Natural Gas Wells,

Moses Hasbrook, who has been for
some two months engaged at fishing
near the north end of Pyramid Lake, tells
of discovery recently made by himself
and two other fishermen which may yet
prove valuable. They had been out on
the lake fishing one evening and re-
manned until about o'clock, when it
began to blow heavily, and grow un-
comfortably cold. They ran their boat
to shore, and, having blankets and pro-
visions with them, sought shelter in the
lee of large hill. building a fire and
making camp in little valley or basin.
During the night their camp fire spread
into the grass and brush covering the
bottoms of the valley and burned streak
two or three yards in width to quite q
distance from the camp. They observed
the fire soon after it started, but knowing
it could do no harm did not take the
trouble to turn out of their blankets for
the purpose of extinguishing it.
Some time toward 2 o'clock in the
morning, Mr.. Hasbrook says he was
awakened by great outcry from his
companions, and, much to his astonish-
ment, found all about him as light as day.
In a moment he saw that the light came
from several Jets of flame from five to
twelve feet in height. All proceeded to
the spot, and found no less than nine of
these Jets within circle of about five
rods. The gas was found to proceed
from little blowholes from half an inch to
an inch in diameter, and seemed in no
way different from such holes as are u.s.
ually seen on the deserts. The gas jets
shot up with q good deal of force and
made sort of cracking noise. The up
per part of the flames presented a yellow
ish appearance, and were from one to
three feet IN width, while down toward
the ground, where the jets were narrow,
the flames passed from yellow to green
ish hue. They left the jets burning
when they broke up camp the next
morning. These natural gas springs are
on the opposite side of the lake from
that on which the fishermen have their
cabins.
Mr.. Hasbrook says that the day before
he left (Which was last Saturday. he and
several others crossed the lake and found
the wells still burning the same as they
had left them. On this last trip Piute
Indian went with them. The red man
exhibited no surprise at what he saw, but
lighting stick he went some rods fur
ther up the valley and touched off a
dozen or more jets that were fed from
holes upon and around little hillock.
Mr.. Hasbrook says though they searched
for an hour or two they could find no in
dications of petroleum, nor was there any
smell of petroleum about the burning gas.
- Virginia (NeU. Enterprise.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
An Editors Trials.

No words can tell how much Thack-
eray's generous soul suffered in his edi-
torial capacity. There is class of peo-
pie who look upon an editors office as
bureau of general relief: young widows
with numerous children send in manu-
scripts with frank avowal that they are
conscious of possessing no literary ability
whatever, but that they feel sure this or
that one will be accepted, as otherwise
they and their little ones must starve
there are farmer boys, who write diagon-
ally across brown wrapping paper, and
beg for favor as means of acquiring an
education there are thousands who
have failed at everything else, but are
sure they can write some are preten-
tious and impudent, others modest and
appealing, and with the latter it is par
ticularly hard to deal. A great many are
vituperative, and look upon the editor as
deposit installed to crush all rising
genius. More than once, when Thack-
cray paid out of his own purse for articles
which he could not use, the writers re-
preached him for suppressing matter
which surpassed his own. The work be-
came unendurable to him, and he gave it
ND,
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
COntented with His Lot.

A Sunday-school teacher said to little
Johnny:
"You must never envy those little
children who are rich and wear fine
Clothes"
81 don't, not the first dog-goned bit"
"Why don't you envy them, Johnny"
Because they have to wear clean
clothes, and they can't wade about IN
the mud, and they have to say please to
everybody, whoopee!"- Galveston Nea0s.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
The Wild Hog of India.

Those who have formed their concep-
tion of pig exclusively upon the tame pig
of the civilized sty, have no adequate
idea of the free wild pig of the Indian
Jungle. Like the North American In
dian, the pig is debased by contact with
civilization. He becomes cowardly,
weak, dirty, and prey to an inordinate
thirst for swill. The distance between
the tame Indian of Saratoga, who steals
chickens and wallows drunken in the
gutter, and the fierce warrior of the
Western plains, is not greater than that
which separates the despised pig of
civilization from the wild and fearless
quarry of the East Indian pig-sticker.
The latter pig, whose spirit has never
been broken with g-yokes, and whose
moral nature has never been poisoned
with sw1l1, is one of the bravest iuhabit-
ants OF the jungle, and has been known
to attack and put to rout the majestic
elephant and the ferocious tiger.
The full name OF the East Indian pig
is Sus isaddcns, though no one except a
punctilious scientific person ever calls
him by it. Among beginners in the art
of sticking he is sometimes magnilo-
quently described as wild boar-though
he is very often wild SOW; but pig
stickers of reputation uniformly call him
pig, or hog. Sus i1dicus often grows
to the lenghth of four feet and eight
or ten inches, and reaches the height of
three feet, or even forty inches, at the
shoulder. When full grown his strength
is enormous, and in speed he will some
times rival the fastest Arabian horse.
He enters upon existence in striped
state; subsequently he becomes brown;
when in the prime of life, he affects a
dingy black color; and when old, he is
gray and grizzled. At no period can he
be honestly called a handsome or grace
full animal, but his courage and tenacity
of life demand our respect.
In point o. teeth the. tame pig has
sadly deteriorated. The wild boar Of
India, which is the type of the barbaric
pig of all ages, is armed with long semi
circular tusks Those in the lower jaw
sometimes attain the length of eight OF
nine inches. They curve outward and
upward, and the edges are kept sharp by
the pigs constant habit of securing them
against the tusks of the upper jaw The
swiftness and power with which he uses
those tusks to carve an enemy are almost
incredible. A hunting dog is frequently
cut nearly in two by q single stroke oi
boar's tusks, and horses and men are
occasionally killed by boars which have
become tired of being hunted, and which
try to infuse little variety into the af.
fair by hunting their enemies. When
wounded he is an exceedingly dangerous
beast to face on foot, unless the hunter il
lawless ruffian who is capable of killing
him with rifle. One cttn scarcely i'm
agine an Englishman SO lost to all sense
of decency as to shoot fox, and next tc
that crime ranks, in Anglo-Indian estima
ton, the loathsome outrage of killing 9
pig by any process except that of pig
sticking.-W L. Alden, in Harper
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
AgnOSticiSIn.

A correspondent writes entreating US
to conceal his name, but to let him know
"what under the sun" the "agnosticism"
and the "agnostics, SO often mentioned
in the debates of the Pan-Presbyterian
Council in Philadelphia, really may be.
Our correspondent need not be ashamed
of his query. Prof. Huxley claims to
have been the first to apply these terms,
formerly used to designate branch of
the Donatists of early times, to the doc
trines and the doctrinaires" now so
designated. Agnostics are persons who
refuse either to affirm, or deny, or accept
upon authority the doctrine of the exist
ence of God, the immortality of the
soul, and, in general, anything in the
ology, psychology or metaphysics the ex-
istence of which cannot be scientifically
proved or disproved. They are literally
"know-nothings" in regard to such mat
ters, and, since they will neither affirm
nor deny, they are, or should be, indiffer-
ent to them. In practice, however, these
anh-believers and anti-infdels are apt to
be as hot as if they were baptized Chris
tians or rank heathen.
[Agnosticism and agnostic are defined
substantially as above in the supplement
to the latest edition of Webster's Die
tionary. ]-Nea0 York World.
GEORGE F. SLossoN, the billiardist,, is
a student of history and fond of literary
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Mexican Railroads.

Mexico was, until lately, considered an
unprogressive country, but the people
have been seized with railroad fever,
which will probably become epidemic.
In September the Mexican Congress
met, and there will come before that
body two proposals to build network
of narrow gauge railroads, one from
the City of Mexico to the Pacific Coast,
one from that city to the Atlantic Coast
and Rio Grande frontier. There are two
companies competing for the contracts.
Once an extensive system of railroads is
introduced into Mexico, she viii become
a factor in agriculture and commerce
which will make her strong and united.
The only fear is that when the United
States are ready to annex her, she will
be powerful enough to make serious
kick against it.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Thomas Carlyle's Last Work.

The great literary Titan, Thomas
Carlyle, has recovered sufficiently to
superintend the gathering and prepara-
ton of materials for his autobiography.
Mrs. Alexander Carlyle, his niece, and
the historian Froude, are jointly at work
on it. Carlyle himself is gradually sink
ing, and this recovery may be the last
flicker of the splendid old light. Parton
ascribes Carlyle's ailments to the life
%eh Ghg us ss i s sytem ee 4nd
yet, in the tobacco-raising States of this
country, incessant smokers live to a
patriarchal age.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
The Oldest Freemason Alive.

Mr.. Parkinson, of Brockway, st. Clair
County, Mich, and native of County
Down, Ireland, in letter to brother
Mason, writes: 81 am the Oldest Mason
in America. I was initiated on the 9th
of December, 1878, in Lodge 1,6O9,
which met in Clough, County Down, in
those days. The Lord has blessed me
with long life, good health, and comfort
IN my old age. We have five sons and
five daughters. I have seen them all
married, most of them very comfortably,
with thirty grandchildren living and five
or six dead
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
SUNSET.
BY HALLE @. YOUNG.

In the far west, as the day grows old,
I watch city of dazzling gold;
From the minarets that pierce the sky
listen to hear the muezzin's cry;
Affairs are maryland all aglow-
Their incense smoke is white as snow;
Banners of crimson are floating out
From arches of opal scattered about;
Steeples and spires in splendor vie,
And temples Of jasper touch the sky.
Hast thou, OF city above the trees,
An Abelard and Heloise?
My fancy is busy in peopling thee,
So high above our earth and sea;
Thy glory illumines the bending skies,
And dream thee a glimpse Of paradise,
And wonder, and worship from afar,
As angels swing the gates a1ar.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04

A CAT saw some sparrows In certain
garden and went for game supper. She
a few feet of them and made spring,
but instead Of catching bird she struck
her nose violently against the fence
Rochester Union.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04

GEORGE F. SnossoN, the billiardist. is
a student of history and fond of literary
research.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
The GOLDEN AGE.

Story of the Discovery of Gold in
California.
The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-11-04
Business card, of Ave lines or less 81 per aunum.

SsusiueS5 cAru5 OF uVb nne8 CT Ie5S % PIT Nuuufu.
Local notice, 10 ceuts per line each insertion.
Simple announcements Of marriages aud deaths
Sad church and beneyoient society no ices inserted
Any sddiiions to obituary notices vii be
charged i've cents per line.
Favors must be banaed in Is early as Tuesday
maruiDg to insure insertion the sime week.
Communicate ans upon subjects Of general OF locAs
mt collected
The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1880-09-02

carpet. Why Is Il thought 10 30 many
families that anything is good enough ior
The boysf Fred's 18Th birthday cane,
aud with Il q surprise. II was enc Of the
better rooms Of The house, medium sized,
summed and aired by two Windows Il
bad a brlgh, carpet, light painted cham
bef snli, few pictures, and set Of
shelves for books Who ear imas lee be
manIinoss end self respect ihat grew in
bin when he looked iuio lhe closet aud
bureau drawers given solely TO his cloth.
Ing, aud used with rclish the toilet arti-
eles which said to him az plainly as words
could, you are 70 wash aud tidy yourself
here now, my boy, instead ofintac kilch'
en-. The last one Of Fred's lines Of de-
Tense WAS down-his heaft was taken.
Thus, in mutual belpiulness the years
went lightly by. As The children Que by
ore drlhed out Of The sheltered hs,bor, 70
try their hand at managing their own llt.
tie boats, ibIs homo Of their early years
was 10 them picture that faded not even
with the fading out OF Iife.- Every body's
Paper.