davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
How a Barber Develops.
Boston Courier

How long does it take man to learn the
barber business 2" asked reporter while un-
dergoing tonsorial operation at the hands
of a colored barber.
We'll, dat depends on how much talent he
has for business" was the quiet reply; gen
orally takes bout a year.
How do they begin?" asked the reporter
"Dey generally begin by blackin' boots
Den dey stan roun' an watch an ole barber
strop his razah, an watch him shave. Alter
awhile dey lets em put de lather on. Den
pretty soon he tries his ham at Shawn. Some
body comes dat's very good-natured, or meo.
by amt very particular how he's shaved, an
dey put dar new man on TO to try his han !;
but some ole barber always strops his razah
an keeps an eye ON him. Mebby Gle new
man does fust rate an mebby he don't 1t
all depends on his confidence. Confidence IS
de main thing in learning de barber busi-
ness" 81
DO BARRIERS shave themselves" queried
the reporter.
No, dey shave one anoder. When bar
Der wants shave he asks frien' to do it an
den he shaves de oder man. BARRIERS never
pay nothin for shaves, unless theys away
from home" aa .
Doesn't professional courtesy exist among
BARRIERS everywhere" :
Il reckon it does, but / never heard IL call
ed by dat name afor."
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
The Meanest Man.

Oakland Times: Perhaps the meanest
man in California resides in San Joaquin
county. He is worth 100000. Recently he
went down to Mono county to attend the
neral of his son. As the coffin, which was
ornamented with silver handles, was being
lowered into the last resting place, the miser-
ly father pulled large screw driver from
his pocket and yelled, Hold on" The as
tonished grave-digger looked around for an
explanation, and the man again shouted,
Hold on, there's no use wasting all that
money, and burying the handles in the
ground" He actually thereupon unscrewed
the handles and took them into town and
sold them to an undertaken for dollar each.
The Sam Joaquin specimen should be placed
ON exhibition
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
CROW AND CREE.
What Capt. IIses Says of these North
western Indians.

IChcago Times.
Maj. Guido Ilges, of the 9th United States
infantry whose station is Fort keogh, Mon
tana. arrived from that northern army post
Yesterday, and is staying for few days at
the Palmer house. in this city. This officer
has participated in very considerable
amount OF active campaigning in the north
ern country during the past seven years, and
commanded the small force of cavalry and
infantry which made during the winter OF
1901, probably the most memorable cam
paign in its nature within the annals OF the
army The season was an unprcedentedly
severe one, but for three months the small
force of regulars kept the field, traversing
the country north Of the Yellowstone and
along the Missouri participating in one fight
against body of savages, when the ther
mometer marked AZ degrees below Zero and
by their other operations succeeded in coerc-
ing and bringing in practically all the small
roaming bands of Sioux Indians which had
been intesting the northern country.
The officer was questioned by reporter
for the Times, yesterday, as to the probabili-
ty of possible future Indian troubles. He
did not share in the views expressed by some
that the Crows We're liable to break out, and
the only possibility, as far as he could Judge,
of tiouble with the savages grew out OF the
incursions which the Blackteet and Cree In
dians properly subjects of Canada, were max
ing periodically south Of the boundary line.
These Indians are very numerous, and roam
through the Canadian northwest territory.
Latterly they have followed the buffalo south
of the forty ninth parallel, and have raided
stock ranches which have grown to be num-
erous in what is known as the Judith Basin
and throughout the northwestern portion of
Montana The troops from Fort Assinaboine
have been sent out after marauding parties
several times, but the savages have invari-
ably made good their escape, and the Ameri-
can troops, have naturally, not followed
them into Canada. Latterly the farmers have
formed protective force, and there is apros-
pect of coming conflicts between these peO-
pie and the savages, which may result in
other complications.
Mai nges remarked that with the removal
of the Indians which had been kept under
military supervision at Forts Buford ano
Keogh to agencies on the lower portion of
the Missouri river, there were left in the
Northern country no hostile Indians known
as such Whether the Yanktonians or others
of the blanket tribes would cause trouble
was beyond the ken of the officer, and he did
not care to venture a surmise. !
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23

The origin Of plows and wheeled carriages
was the subject of a paper lately read by Mr
Taylor before the London Antropological In
stitute. He believed that the first agricul-
turial implement was pointed stick, which
at later stage of development was bent at
the end into the form of a hoe and had the
point hardened in the fire. After the lapse
of ages a large implement Of the same shape
came into use 1t was not employed like
the hoe or hack but drawn by men or
oxen. Among our own Indians, in the ira
ditional lore of Sweden, in Egypt's picture
pages of a remote past, there are more or less
distinct traces of the above transition. Greek
Egyptian, Chinese seyerally possessed the
germ, so to speak, of the modern plOw. The
spur was next shod with iron, the more eff
GENTLY to fulfill the purpose of the romer OF
share Virgil lived at a time when the plow
had reached a very high stage of perfection.
1t was then constructed with wheel and an
upright projecting handle, like the best form
of plow in use in Europe i'll the eighteenth
century, and, it might well be added, like
the plows still employed near Mantua and
Venice at the present day. DIR. Taylor is un-
willing to concede that the pillow was the
progenitor of the vehicle Of to-day; he
assigns that honor to the sled as is more
probable just 1t would soon be found that
the introduction of rollers beneath the sled
would facilitate its traction. But as it was
not necessary that every part of the roller
should rest on the ground, the diameter OF
the middle was reduced with obvious advan-
tage. Slowly in this way the wheel, solid
throughout and rigidly attached to the axle,
come into existence. The wheel and axle OF
Scythians revolved together. Even now some
of the picturesque carts of Italy and Portu-
gal have drum wheels fixed on axles which
revolve in bearings like forks open below.
From the rude Harvesting of the yoke at
tached to the horns or withers at first, the
advance to the present method was also grad
ual. But it is easy to follow this and the
other Improvements in the plow and wheeled
vehicles up to their existing condition
through the aid of recorded history.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
Some New Geography.
Detroit Free Press

'Of what is the surface of the earth COM
posed?'
"Of corner lots, mighty poor roads, railroad
tracks, base ball grounds, cricket fields and
skating Kinks"
What portion of the globe is water p
about three -forlrths. Sometimes they
add little gin and nutmeg to It,"
What is a town.
"a town is a considerable collection OF
houses and inhabitants with four or five
ner who run the party and lend money at
fifteen per cent. interest"
What is city,
"A city is an Incorporated town, with
Mayor, who believes that the whole world
shakes when he happens to fall flat on a
cross walk
"Name the different races"
Horse race, boat race, bicycle race, and
racing around to find man to endorse your
note"
Unto how many classes is mankind di-
vided?'
six; being enlightened, civilized, half
civilized. savage, too utter, not worth cent,
and Indian agents.
"What nations are called enlightened :"
"'rhose which have had the most wars and
the worst laws and produced the worst Grim
inals"
'How many motions has the earth?"
That's according to how you mix your
drinks and which way you 60 home"
What is the earths axis"
"The lines passing between New York and
Chicago"
"What causes day and night -
"Day is caused by night getting tired out.
Night is caused by everybody taking the
"What is a map?"
"a map is drawing to show the jury
where Smith stood when Jones gave him a
lift under the eye"
''What is mariners compass -
"a Jug holding four gallons"
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
The Growth Of Children.

Dr. Percy BoultOn, of the Samaritan Hos
pital, London has made interesting studies
of the health and growth of children. In
stead of taking the average of large num-
Der of children measured once, he has found
it more profitable to measure number OF
children of normal growth, brought up un-
der average circumstances, many times, thus
ascertaining their rate of increase. The an
nual rate of growth was found to vary be-
tween two and three inches for each child
per year DR.. Boulton believes that when a
child varies more than quarter OF an inch
annually, or when his weight does not cor
respond with his height within margin OF
safety, but at seven pounds, the danger sig
nal should be put out. Then it is safe to
conclude the childs diet is not good, or pos
sibly some disease is lurking in his system.
1t is a curious fact that loss of weight al
ways precedes the development of consump-
tiOn.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23

Geneva Correspondence London Times.
All the world has heard of the famous lime
tree of Morat under the wide-spreading
branches of which, according to one legend,
Charles the Bold said his paternOsters and
conferred with his generals before the battle
in which he was so utterly routed, and where,
according to another story, the Swiss leaders
met after the fight to congratulate each other
and thank Heaven for the great victory so
wonderfully vOuchsafed to them. A branch
of this tree, so runs the legend, was taken by
the messenger who carried the news of the
victory to Fribourg; he ran all the way, and
no sooner had he proclaimed the glad tidings
than he sank down and died, still holding
the branch which served as his credentials
in his hand. This branch, it is said, was
planted where the brave messenger fell, and
in course of time grew into tree, the trunk
of which, twenty feet in circumference, still
remains, and is shown to visitors to this day.
If this story be true, the Fribourg lime
tree is 4O6 years old (the battle of MOrat
having been fought in 1476), and that of
Villars- les Monies (Morat) still older. 1t
would seem, however, from a correspondence
that has lately been going on in the Bien
Public and the Gazette de Lausanne that the
legend, or at any rate that part Of which
concerns the planting of the tree, must
henceforth be relegated to the region of
myths, not because its years are fewer than
those heretofore ascribed to it, but because it
is actually older than the tree to which it is
supposed to owe its being There can be
little question that the Nillars-les-Monies
tree was far from being in its first youth
even ut the time of the battle. Duhamel
du Monceau, a member Of the French Aca-
DENY of Science, a great authority in his
time in arboriculture, who died in l7e2 IN
his eighty-second year, made a visit to Morat
probably about 1850, though he does not
mention the date-cxpressly to see the tree
1t was even then OF colossal dimensions, its
diameter being fifty inches, and, judg-
ing by the thickness of its concentric rings,
its age, in all probability, considerably ex-
ceeds five hundred years, and the appearance
of the Fribourg tree denotes still greater
antiquity. Another reason for deemng the
story of the messenger apocryphal is that a
twig carried from MOrat to FribOurg on
hot day in June would be so desicsted that.
it could not live Yet another historic lime
tree is that of Prily. a village near Lau-
same. Thirty years ago it measured at five
feet from the ground twenty-three feet in
circumference, and rose to height OF ninety
feet AS the proclamation of the retorma-
! ton was posted on its trunk in 1880, 1t
must have been notable tree $50 years ago.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
UNLUCkY HOUSES.
Some Of the Washington Legends.
Philadelphia Times. ]

Philadelphia Times
With regard to certain houses in Washing
ton, their history seems to indicate that 10
one, especially no one connected with the
administration, can escape misfortune who
lives therein. Mr.. MacVeagh was the second
Attorney General who occupied the house
built by eX-Attorney General Williams wife,
when she hoped her husband would succeed
to the place made vacant by the death of
Chief Justice Chase, and whose cruel disap-
pointment caused her 4 long illness there.
While its owners lived there they had q
most unhappy time, and Mr.. Williams was
living there when he perforce resigned his
position as Attorney General. Between that
time and the leasing of the house by Attor
ney General MacNcagh it was rented for a
year by the former Peruvian Minister, Col
Freyre, whose eldest daughter died there in
1873, within three months Of her father
This house seemed destined to rival in its
gloomy history the Seward house, formerly
the Club house, in which Barton Key died.
i'll which Secretary Stewards assassination
was attempted in which two members Of the
Cabinet, who were killed by the fatal eXplo-
sion on the Princeton in 1874, had been liv
ing, in which John c. Spencer was living
while Secretary of War, when his son was
hanged for alleged melting to mutiny at sea,
and which was the first house i'll which
Secretary Belknap lived in Washington after
being appointed Secretary of War.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23

nc!r Hal in American Agriculturst.
1t was my good fortune to pass my child
hood on a farm. and live in one of those
large. old-fashioned houses, better known for
The largeness of the great pillars to the
piazza or 'stoop" and the smallnes of the
window pancs, than the beauty of its archi-
lecture or the whitenesS of its once painted
surface 1t was a large house and had been
in the family for many years-or l should
have said the same family had been in it for
a long time As result of this there had
been Il largS accumulation of those old ma
chimes that in former years were used III the
making of the wool into clothing, and the
fbres of the flax plant into various Kinds OF
cloth There were hatchels and reels, SPIN
ming wheels and shuttles, and last but not
least the large loom upon which the carpets
and cloths were made. What fun 1t used to
he to get ont some of these old dust-covered
machines and set them to running! Boys
like wheels because they suggest something
that will 90, and if am not mistaken there
were not as many good wheels in that old
garret when | reached my teens as when the
neighbors heard one morning that there was
a little boy on the hill Aside from the ma
chimes there were old boxes, churns-and
churn is machine, l suppose, and many
other things that had served out their term
of usefulness, and were sent to the garret to
be out of the way. Any place that is used as
a store-room of old things is sure in the long
run to be stocked, and if it were not for the
children there would be no place for other
worn out things. Some of the smaller things
were put into the old chests and trunks, and
il was my delight to drag out from them the
candle sticks, that once held the lights OF
other days. and the molds in whlcn those
lights were run, served many good turn In
my boyish sports. 1t may be said with con-
tidence that the garret has been one of the
best rooms in the house to many :. child; a
room the dark winding stairway up to which
was early learned
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
GOOD NIGHT.

God keep YOU safe my little love,
All through the night;
Rest close in his encircling arms
Until the light.
Ny heart is with you as kneel to pray,
Good night, God keep you in his care alway.
Thick shadows creep like silent ghosts
About my head
| lose myself in tender dreams,
While overhead
The moon comes stealing through the window bars
4 silver sickle cleaning mid the stars
For J. though am far away,
Feel safe and strong
70 trust YOU thus, dear love-and yet
The night is long
| say with sobbing breath the old fond prayer
Good night Sweet Dreams God keep YOU every
where
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
Do Birds Bury Their Dead!

You are all familiar with the story of The
Babes in the Wood" and remember how the
robins, finding the babes lying dead, side by
side, covered their little forms with leaves,
wrapping them in winding-sheet OF ma
ture's own providing
Did you ever ask the question, DO birds
bury their own dead? ?'
Let me tell you of an incident that came
from an eye witness of what relate.
In tree near an old fashioned farm house
way up in Vermont, two robins built their
nest. A lady watched them day by day as
they brought straws, a bit of cotton thread
and weaved them deftly in. to form their
summer home. One morning she found three
blue speckled eggs in the nest, and, on an
other, three tiny little birds in their place.
How busy the father and mother birds were,
providing for their wants and how prettily
and tenderly they cared for them!
When thsy were large enough, they gave
them lessons in flying, and herein comes the
point of my story While they were trying
their wings one day, cat caught one, and
before the lady could rescue it, it was IN
jured beyond recovery. She put the poor
trembling little creature back in its nest,
and left it there for the mother bird to nurse
it back to life if possible.
1t was OF no use. The cats cruel claws
and sharp teeth had done their work, and
their victim died. A few days after, the
lady, seeing and hearing nothing OF the
other birds, went to the nest and found they
had built thatched roof over the poor little
bird ard there he lay on his back, with his
claws sticking up through the straws They
had buried their dead and deserted the nest.
When we ascend the golden clothes pole
and our place is filled by another virtuous,
sad-eyed philosopher who wears secondhand
clothing and manifests other signs of great
ness, let no bronze statue or Corinthian urn
be reared above our narrow roost A simple
soapstone slab with a neatly carved side
saddle and Two doves will suffice to tell a
weeping constituency the sad, sad story of
him who loved not wisely-hnt too promis-
cuously
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
TEIREESCORE AND TEN.

1'lircc,ccrc and ten. Welcome the goal,
Time cuts no nOtches on the soul,
Only the body feels his blade.
Man j. Of spiiit-iibrc made.
Thrcc~cOrc and ten! What blessings rare,
How deep, how rich, how sweet, how fair,
Are circlcd by that olden span
That notes the earthly life OF man.
ThrccScore and ten, No iron gate
j. shut and locked by cruel fate,
Hut golden gates are open set,
Leading to greener pastures yet.
Threcscore and ten. What though the eye
Grow dim 10 things that near us lie,
The lcugthening vision, looking far,
Sees light beyond the farthest star
Threescore and ten, What though the ear
Refuses every voice to hear.
'ris but to listen, calm and still,
70 voices OF his whispered will.
Thrcescore and ten. This Pisgah height
Brings the old promised land in sight
Whose clusters rich of love and truth
Yield nectar of immortal youth.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23

A Dallas grocery firm has acquired an I'M
mense custom by adopting the very simple
rule of ostentatiously ringing the bell and
delivering the groceries at the front door,
where the envious neighbors cannot help see
ing them, and in sending the collector to the
back gate, where nobody could see them, TO
collect the bills ON the first OF the montn.
By adopting this simple rule any grocery
firm can become very popular. But to de-
liver the groceries at the back gate ana nave
the collector pounding on the front door Win
q fist full of bills is commercial suicide.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
Why We Die Early.

Some of the reasons why men catch cold
and find premature graves:
Living nine-tenths of their days In the
house; breathing house air; bleaching In
the house, and getting thin and sallow IN
the house Sitting down to eat tired and
perspiring, and then wondering why nothing
touches the right spot" and ones food seems
to do no good.
Soaking and scrubbing oneself to death IN
daily hot baths. Taking health paper and
trying to live up to its directions. u.
Going to bed hungry Getting crazed with
an idea that it is unhealthy to eat at night
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
How CheapIy One Can Live.
[American Miller.

Bread, after all, is the cheapest diet one
can live on, and also the best. A story is
told that shows just how cheap a man can
live when he gets down to mush," fgura-
lively and literally speaking. Col. Fitzgib-
bon was, many years ago. Colonial Agent for
the Canadian government at London, and
was wholly dependent upon remittances
from Canada for his support. On one occa-
sion the remittances failed to arrive, and, as
there was no cable in those days, he was
compelled to write to his Canadian friends to
know the reason of the delay. Meanwhile
he had just one sovereign to live on. He found
that he could live upon sixpence per day, or
about twelve and half cents of our money
-four pennyworth of bread and one penny
worth of milk and one pennywOrth OF sugar.
He made pudding of some of the bread and
sugar which was served for breakfast, dinner
and supper, the milk being reserved for the
last meal When his remittance arrived,
about month afterward, he had five shil-
lings remaining of his sovereign, and he
liked his frugal diet so well that he kept it
up for over two years, possibly longer
Twelve cents day is certainly a small
amount to expend for food but man in
Minnesota, about three years ago, worried
through whole year on SO. He lived on
Johnny cake"
We know of theological student in an
Ohio college who, susta med by grace, rice
and cornbread, lived thirteen weeks on 81 ;
but there were several good apple orchards
near the college, and the farmers kept no
dogs 1t is not the necessities of life that
cost much, but the luxuries; and it is with
the major part of mankind as it was with
the Frenchman who said that if he had the
luxuries of life he could dispense with the
necessities Mere living is cheap, but as the
hymnologist says, 1T is not all of life to
live" t.t.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23

Poverty is uncomfortable, as l can testify;
but, nine times out of ten, the best thing
that can happen to a young man is to be
tossed overheard and compelled to sink or
swim for himself In all my acquaintance
never knew man to be drowned who was
worth the saving.-James A. Garfield.
Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-02-23
Triumphant Argument of the Wheels

Rufus Choate once made an argument of
three days to convince jury that the car
wheel sold by the defendant was radically
intrinsically, and indubitably different from
that patented by the plaintiff. Webster
arose to answer, and the jurors rustled un-
easily in their seats, settling themselves for
another three days. But he simply tilted
the two models ON the table in the Jurors
sight, fixed his great magnetic eyes upon the
entire twelve at once, and said: Gentle
men of the jury, there are the wheels; look
at 'em.7 Verdict for the plaintiff ON the
spot. .,s.-s ..i-sI,s tusffF fat