davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31
A story OF Steel Pens.

Few persons who use steel pens on
which is stamped "Gilliot" have any
idea of the story of suffering, of indom-
table pluck and persistence which be-
long to the placing of that name on that
article.
A long depression in trade in England
threw thousands of Sheffield mechanics
out of work. among them Joseph Gilliot,
then twenty-one years of age.
He left the city with shilling in his
pocket. Reaching Birmingham, ne
went to an old inn and sat down upon q
wooden settle in the tap room. His last
penny was spent for roll. He was
weak, hungry, and i'll. He had not
friend in Birmingham; and there was
little chance that he would find. work.
In his dependency he was tempted to
give up and turn tramp or beggar. Then
sudden fiery energy sliced him. He
brought his fist down on the table, de-
claring to himself that he would try and
trust in God, come what would. He
found work that day in making belt
buckles which were then fashionable.
AS soon as he had made a pound or
two he hired garnet in Bread street and
there carried on work for himself, bring
ing his knowledge of tools into constant
use, even when working at hand made
goods. This was the secret of Gillot's
success. Other workmen trudged on In
the old ruts. He was wide awake to i'm
prove his work or shorten the way OF
working.
He fell in love with pretty and sensi-
BILE girl named Mitchell, who with her
brothers were making steel pens. Each
pen was clipped, punched and polished
by hand, and pens we're sold, conse-
auently, at enormously high prices.
Gillot at once brought his skill in tools
to bear upon the matter, and soon inven-
ted machine which turned out the
points by thousands in the time that .
man would require to make one. He
married Miss Mitchell, and they carried
on the manufacture together for many
years.
On the morning Of the marriage the
industrious workmen made q gross of
pens and sold them for $36 to pay the
wedding fees. In his old age, having
reaped an immense fortune by his
shrewdness, honesty and industry, Mr..
elliot went again to the old INN, bought
the settle and had the square on which
he sat that night sawed out and made
into chair, which he left a. an heir loon
10 his family, 10 remind them Of the -
cret Of his success.
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31

izing an actual robbery and making it
felony for the only one who can do so
to expose it. There are many cases
where the government gets the worst of
a settlement, but this is no excuse, or at
least it does not appear to be good one,
for the government to hold back that
which does not belong to them. as they
do when balances are not applied for.
War and Interior department contrac
tors Though have little sympathy for
them, for they make it rich when it comes
their way,) are in the same fix. Should
any little balance be due them they are
very liable to get it, as they or their
agents generally have the run of the
book-but the government does not
openly give it to them as it should
Hartford Post.
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31
A Chicago Drumlner's Tale VI Teeth.

The press throughout a portion of the
South has been calling the Louisville
and Nashville Rail- DAD to account for
the horrible condition of its roadbed,
aud we were informed yesterday that the
want of sufficient ballasting and level
ing was the cause of a very strange ac
cident.
A Chicago drummer, in reversible
overcoat, scarf pin to indicate the trade
in which he dealt, and the remainder Of
the fashy clothes which these CONNER
cial prosecutors generally wear, took
passage at New Orleans, few days ago,
with Montgomery as his destination.
Such an act on the part of such men is
of very common occurrence, and so far
our readers cannot find anything very
strange, but as the train reached the
neighborhood OF Lake Catherine, Con-
ductor Blank, one of the most gentle
manly and efficient on the road, who was
in the baggage car, was suddenly called
by the porter who informed him that he
was Immediately wanted in the sleeper.
Thinking that it was one of those accidents
which occasionally occur on a train, in
which the services of doctor or an old
married man are more apt to be required
he rushed back to ascertain the reason of
this sudden call. To his surprise he
found our drummer apparently very
much perplexed and looking as if had
lost all hopes of ever selling another bot
tie of patent lubricator.
Conductor Conductor! I've just
dropped valuable package"
How far from here?" Train going it
the rate of twenty miles an hour.)
Bout mile I should think"
"Well, VERY coolly) what was in it?
(Train still rushing onward.
"Ohl Well! Something invaluable to
me-"
"But what?" (Rigolets in sight.)
"Confound it, sir, if you want to know
Must 1 tell him, John?" to a whisky
drummer wrapped up in travelling
shawl
Eyes, if you want to-
''Well, goll dong it! 1 had my head
out of the window here, and your con-
founded jolting on this road knocked my
false teeth out, and we've gone four
miles since we've been talking here"
That's all right, sir. But 1 can't
back this train to hunt for false teeth.
You see, we must make time; we run on
time. I'll telegraph from the next sta
ton, and see what can be done for you"
At the next station Conductor Blank
telegraphed to the operator at the last
stopping place: Hunt for false teeth
dropped out of window" At the next
station an answer came, Which side of
the track?" Conductor Blauk answers,
Go up on one side and down on the
other"
To cut long story short, the false
teeth were found, they were received in
Mobile, and shipped yesterday to the
drummer at Chicago. He must have had
hard time chewing that veal which is
dished up at the L. and Ms eating
houses without the necessary molars to
grind it. Mobile Register.
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31
MISCELLANEOUS.

The rule which works both ways is no
rule at all.
Whenever poor Judge steps down
the bench is elevated.
The obelisk, having finally got settled
down on its base, will now begin the
work of Willing away another two thou
sand years.
Down East folks are paying fifty cents
per dozen for eggs which have lost their
hold. Westward the prolific Leghorn
takes her way.
Chicago has sentenced pawnbroker
to four years Imprisonment. It is to be
hoped it won't compel him to wear three
balls and a chain.
One of the greatest astronomers of
this country lost a barrel of pork by not
knowing how much salt it required to
keep it. He was great but fresh.
Nevada men are very precise. It was
an Austin man who said to a citizen:
BLAST your eyes, sir! That is, blast the
one which is not glass"
Statistics show that only one man out
of twenty pays bill on sight. Even if
they have the cash in their pockets,
Call again" is national watchword.
If young man only works his cards
right he can hire livery to take his girl
riding and have at least the hold-back
straps left when he comes to settle the
bill at sundown.
It takes justice with an awful sight
of cheek to tell merchant that jury OF
his peers has decided so and so when the
said peers consist of four old buns and
two corner loafers.
When the telephone companies charge
by message instead of renting the instru-
ments by the year, thousands of women
will return to the old-fashioned solace of
gossiping over the gate.
Ali the men in an entire county in
Minnesota turned out on a wolf hunt the
other day. The result was thirty-six dog
fights and the capture of fellow who
had run away from his wife.
Halls Journal of Health says that
person can catch the diphtheria by hold
ing his head over drain for fifteen min
utes. You now know as much about it
as Mr.. Hall, and if you don't catch it
don't blame him.
Anthony Trollope, in his latest novel,
observes that one man is much fiattered
if it be given to understand OF him that
he falls in love with every pretty woman
he sees, wherein another will think that
he has been made subject to foul ca
lumny by such insinuation.
That's the racket. Let's number the
hours of midnight up to "a o'clock. 1t
will sound odd to say ID o'clock, but no
more SO than the present figures sounded
at first. We will lead off by remarking
that the counting room of this paper is
open for business from to Is o'clock.
The Milky Way.-In honest old Eng
land the miikman who puts only pint
of water to quart of milk is considered
highly conscientious.
An Alabama doctor says that man
about to be hung can brace his courage
with milk much better than with whisky.
A Michigan tramp entered stable for
the purpose OF milking COW, and was
found in a corner, with a broken nose,
and consciousness departed. Bossy had
kicked him for his mother.
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31
Midnight In the Sanctum.

1t was past midnight and the lights in
the Hawkeye sanctum shone brightly on
the brave men of the staff there assem-
bled. The news editor reached over for
the brush to fasten a paragraph down
over Its credit.
"It always paste to be honest" he
murmured.
Especially when you are ACCESSORY to
the act" said the city editor.
"But this" said the editor, lifting the
old stove-polish cut from pile of loose
manuscript, sis what gives the paper
weight"
"And this" said the associate, holding
an original poem on winter in the gas
Jet, "lends it an airy lightness."
mary lightness it is" said the news
editor, for there's pounds and pounds
of it in the drawer"
Take care of the pounds" said the
city editor, land the pencil take care of
itself"
Il should remark said the proof
reader, as he called for revise.
And l should dollar said the bust
ness manager, coming in with hatful of
manuscript.
Nov you're shoutin' sang the chorus
''say your piece"
Il have come to cooperate with you, !"
said the business manager. See? these
are new ADJ"
Put plea head on him. said the
foreman.
And longer had they sung, but with
frown the funny man impatient rose
and remarking that this was a moose
paper, joked off all further debate and
the forms went down Burlington
Hawkeye.
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31

He WAS witty man who, being detained
by a snow blockade, penned a dispatch
which run thus. my dear sir, have
every motive for visiting you except a
locomotive" SO was the other who, in
. similar circumstances, telegrsphed TO
his arm in New York: II shall not be in
the olRce. - have not got home yes
terday yet"
The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-03-31

II takes . brass band to all the air
with broken silence.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26
THE n wOoING.

l8Oh! listen, love, l come tonight to prospect
- some and see
AZ that rich mine, thy own pure heart, is all
II so I'M seek in cupid's court to be the pat
& entee."
#kn TACT, / want ~"title," love, from litigation
sohl say you'll with a miner rove a bonanza"
~ III be so rich with thee.
Then come. my love. and be my pard, all 'nn-
DER the mountain side of life, in compny
81 we will roam:
wen ,he asu .1ocaies '" onr ' hnm sesAe ~ ~
&And then We'll build a cabin there to NIL with
81 ''tons" of love;
TtAnd a three-legged stool and chair Wen nave,
N 81 TOh! sissure-vein!' Oh! human love!
Is Yes, come, my love, and cook my grub" I've
fE patched so long, you see,
i've contracted dyspepsia, some; and want a
That VIII pure mineral prove to you and pan
N out we'll for me-
~ I'll pick and. shovel for you, dear; III WORK both
N night and day;
If you'll but say you'll engineer. III know that
II III be a1raonied king for aye.
I know, my love, tha1I have been a bad ''hard-
II Nv .stond the drinks in beer saloons and gam
I bled, some there. too;
I've swore and broke Gods day of rest, as care
ny 1853 liIIl "
III But I've resolved to run a chain 'twiXt future
II and my past
u To climb a Trail toward timber Inc where con-
~ tracts good will last.
n If bygones Ger the pump you'll east.
I'Tis so. my love. I've borne the stamp of a
~ tough, wild ''cuss." they say;
But with your help from "shafts" OF sin l hope
to "drif'' away.
IN With '.sand; and love as wstchwords then, I'll
strive for better 'pay;'
I'll Timber up my "caved in" past and then
ia begin anew
n To leave behind a life that's fast and live only
u y"earbonate' good ana true,
Remember, love, I've been without twhile
II have gone astray)
Two expert hands to hold me back, a voice
A loving heart to point tonne the smooth
est, sunniest way.
I've given,
Don't "sitdown' on my dearest plan but make
my earth a heaven.
My dough the lightest leayen.
And some day. love when we have passed The
last term of our lease
THAT summit of the Range OF life, where thrCb-
q hing hearts shall cease,
Nav we be fitted then 10 strike that .crevice' of
rich peace
Thai lies twixt walls ofralient light, up there
in camps on nigh,
Where tempterS cast no sickeHing blight. not a
buuko-steerer nigh,
Il My love, hey ond the sky.
Then, my love. if we DO gain that district
I bright up thoie.
If VIZ SHOULD reach the pearly gates and find
them lett ajar-
Ajar, for you and miner Joe, what a plaguey
lucky pair.
We'd be on high among the fold that We have
] read about
{ Who walked with joy the streets OF gold. t oiive,
Oh! glorious thought.
Where titles wont play out.
colorado Miner. .
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26

According to the Annuiare of Brussels OBJ
.ervatory for 1881, there are at present lis
pablo astronomical observatories in full activ-
l1y, viz 81 in Europe. 2 in Asia, 2 in Afri-
ca, ; in Oceanica and II in the two Americas.
The United States alone have 10. Mexico has
?, Brazil, Chill, Columbia, Ecuador, the
Argentine Republic and New Britain l each.
In Europe, Prussia is the state which has the
most pubic observatories it has 29 next
come ENGLAND and Russia, which have re-
spectively Is and II then Italy, which has
8, Austria 6, France 6, Switzerland 4, Swe-
den 3, Holland, Norway and Portugal , each;
lastly, Belgium, Greece and Denmark. The
oldest observatory IN operation at present is
that OF Leyden, founded in 1852. In Ameri-
Ca since 1870, six observatores of the best
construction and most perfect equipment
have been established.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26
The Poet Poe and Horace Greeley.

They occasionally net, and the latter often
befriended the former, for lie saw how lily
adapted such a man was to contend with pow
erty. Greeley was born poor, and could live
on Il crust. He was a typesetier by trade,
and ii he failed as an editor he could TALL
back on labor. Poe, on the other hand, was
a bred gentleman, and had the hish-toned
pride cultivated in the first famllies"f Virgin
ia. He scorned his Bohemian associates, and
only poverty kept him from hurting reproach
on his employers. The only one on whom he
could rely for aid in any time of distress was
Greeley. who freely shared with him his very
scanty earnings. After Poe's death there was
a demand for his autographs, and, among 9TH
ers, applications were made to Greeley. u
have a lumber was Greeiey's dry reply to
All applicant, (which YOU can have at first
cost" They were Poe's due bills for loans
varying from ten to twenty five dollars. Gree
ley afterwards destroyed them, in preference
to exposing The mistoltunes of a friend.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26
sPECK Of WAR.
Mexican Jealousy Of American Rail
roads Likely TO Lead TO Trouble.

WASHINGTON, April 15.-On the bank Of
the Rio Grande, in southwestern Texas, is
the town of Franklin. On he opposite side
of ME river, in Old Mexico, is the town OF
Ell Paso. The Southern Pacific railroad is
now within six miles of Franklin, and the
Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe railroad has
formed ID junction with this road some fifty
miles west Of this point, and has also graded
its line down the river to Franklin. For the
first time in the history of the twin republics
our railroad system touches the border OF
Mexico. This conjunction has raised a wal
cloud much larger than a mans hand. Ell
Paso is in the state of Chihuahua, and the
Mexican government has granted the right or
made a concession to the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe road to cross into Mexico at Ell
Paso and continue the line to the city of Chi
huahua, and thence to the City of Mexico.
Right here the trouble begins, for the gov
erument had heretofore granted the right to
the state of chihuahua to build a line of rail
road from Ell Paso to chihuahua over the
same route. The state of Chihuahua will by
lOICt prevent tFe ALCiltSbl pSpplC uuilu
ing this road, and the governor OF Chihuahua
as has already been indicated by press dis
patches, has ordered 500 state troops % Ell
Paso, ostensibly to keep the peace between
the railroad hands and the Mexican popula-
ton of FL Paso. This veil is altogether too
thin. The town of FL Paso contains at least
5000 Inhabitants, and is very we'll policed,
being a border town with a custom house
There is a mounted force abundantly sutii-
cent to keep order; besides, she has, tor a
Mexican town, exceptionally good guard
houses, and a firm local government. The
troops ordered here, it is thought, mean bust
ness.
The keen-eyed Blaine has seen all this, and
Brigadier- General John Pope, commanding
the department of the Missouri, has been in
vited to Washington for consultation. He ar
rived here day before yesterday and went at
once to the White House, and has since sew
eral times been closely closeted with the
president. Blows are impending, and it would
not surprise anyone here to learn that Grant
has swiftly left for the north. The railroad
company will not negotiate Or abate a jot of
theil rights, As in the event of a war these
western lines will be overcrOwded with bus
mess. Give the boys hal a chance and the
states of chihuahua and Sonora and desirable
ports on the Gulf of California will speedily
become part of our union. While war is al
ways to be deprecated, the unsettled and
semi-barbarous condition of Northern Mexico
invites interference, and would justify even
war, if it led to permanent peace.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26
Past and Future Hf the C~OlustSck

During the past 20 years, says the Enter-
prise, Jh" C0mstock vein has given l6 bOnan-
zas, from which $500, 900 tons of ore have
been extracted. The average assay of this
large mass was $50 per ton it yielded in the
mill S4l.SO; and from the treatment Of
sluices So total, $46.S0 per ton. The total
value ot'the ore extracted was S3G3, Ct sos.
The average proportion of precious meta's in
value is IL per cent. gold and SO per cent
silver. Let it not be supposed that there is
nothing more down toward where all this
came from. We have the same old vein-
wider and stronger than overland the pres
ent barren belt cannot last %forever~ As we
cannot alW avs remain in "bonanza," so it is
not likely that We shall always remain in
'borrasca." From three mines, which we do
not consider that they are doing anything
more than picking up what comes in their
way, we last everine shipped the sung little
sum of SlO9.5 35. IL.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26

Colorado Ike, the individual who blew into
town on a high wind, was contiden'ialiy in-
terviewed as TO how he made his living. Tax
ing the questioner to one side LIE said in a
stage whisper: 81 have got a good thing and
l don't want 1t given away. | am a chlori-
dizer; l go into such mills as do dry crushing
for instance the Northern Belle mills-and
stand around All hour or two, or sleep in the
corners If | get a chance. When / come out
| have the chloride that sticks to me assayed
aud make a good thing out of it, you bet! Do
YOU see that ha ?" said he, showing an old
battered, whit;y brow hat; swell, there is
more than three dollars worth of chloride in
that hat. 1t had more in it, but Billy Farrell
thrashed the dog yesterday aud knocked a
dollar ana a half out of it. Can you throw
I'D for the beerP"
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26

scientists are again discussing the onnec
ton alleged to exist between the operations
Of railways and the amount of rainfall. 1t is
regarded as a remarkable fact that before all
ways We're extended TO the Pacific, the coun-
try lying between the Sierra Nevada and
Rocky mountains was subject to almost con-
tinual drouth. Since then, however, the re-
gion has been visited with frequent falls of
rain. What has produced the change is the
question. Some suggest that it Is due to an
electrical state of the atmosphere, produced
by the conduction of the subtle fluid into the
region by the iron rails. Others assert that it
is caused by the atmospheric disturbances
arising from the passing and repassing of
trains. 1t is shown that up TO 1854 the United
States had been periodically visited by great
md general drouths, but since that year there
has been no such visitation; or, in other
words, that the building of such a vast net
work of railways as has been constructed in
the last quarter Of a century has had the eff
feet of promoting the fall of rain. Since the
general Introduction of railw avs in Europe,
also, there has been nc drouth such as previ-
ously at short intervals caused widespread dis
tress. In the case OF England it is remarked
that although the climate has always been
humid, there has been a growing excess OF
rainfall during the period of railway build
ing, until now she gets far more than is bene-
fcisl to the crops. This has been noticeable
to an alarming degree in the past few years.
We give these conclusions for what they may
be worth, and merely as showing the drift Of
current discussion on this point.
The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-26
Locations BY Minors.

Not long ago it was decided hat a
could take up a mining claim if she chose to
do so. And now it is decided that a minor
can do so. For the benefit of the boys and
girls we give the decision in full, taxing it
from Cops Lind Osoner tor the purpose:
Department Of the Interior, General Land
office, WashingtOn, ID. c., jan. 20, 1880.
Francis Cunningham, Esq, Vlsalia, Cal:
SIR You ale informed that, in my opin-
ion, the fact that the locator OF a mining
claim is under the age of p years does not
render the location invalid.
J. Nj. ARMSTRONG,
Acting Commissioner.
A GOOD many claims have been taken up
by minors in this state, which were after
wards worked by elders, but we do not recol-
lect of the question having come up in con-
nection with the question of patenting the
claim. Under the ruling, however, a good
sized Mormon family with two or three dozen
children might take up a whole district, and
nobody could prevent them. 1t would be no
worse, though, than the case of the "chronic
locator WIG takes up everything in sight,
and does no work on any.
We are glad 10 see the land office officially
give the boys a chance. There are many OF
them in various mining camps who will be
stimulated TO try their hands at prospecting.
Mining dnd Scientific Press.