davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Ida Lewis.

A Newport correspondent says: Some
years ago we used to hear great deal
of Ida Lewis, the keeper of the Lime
Rock Lighthouse in Newport harbOr.
BY her bravery and daring she had res
cued many persons from drowning, and
had received Il medal from the govern
ment, an appointment as keeper of the
light, II beautiful boat from the Nara
gansett Steamship Company. and COM
mendation from various humane sOcie-
ties. Stepping into trim little yacht
with Mr.. Porter Morse and Frank Rich
ardsoD. of Washington, we sailed away
over the beautiful harbor to the Lime
Rock light to see the heroine of so many
rescues. She saw us coming, and
chained up two ferocious-looking dogs
that had been barking furiously from
the little wharf that projected from the
rock. Once landed, we were introduced
by our skipper to Miss Lewis. She is a
woman of medium height. slender, with
dark hair and eyes, bright and quick in
her movements, and very neat withal.
Her little parlor was a picture of neat
ness, as was Miss Lewis herself. She
has been keeper of the light for twenty
years, and will continue to the end.
She receives from the government $3.50
a year and supplies. She certainly did
not look, with her slender frame, as II
she could WELD an oar in the pillows or
pull half-drowned man into a boat;
but she has rescued thirteen men, not
withstanding her looks, and can do it
again, if necessary. She was but a girl
Of 16 when she jumped into a boat and
rescued man who had been capsized
in squall. She lives alone in the light
house with her mother, who was quite
talkative, and seemed anxious to let us
know how old. her daughter was. At
last it came QUITO. "YOu are quite
correct, mother" said Ida very de-
murely.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Insufficieney of Electric Light.

ut can be no longer disguised" says
the London journal Money, ''that the
electric light in its present form, does
not answer commercially. The last re-
port of the city surveyor proves con-
clusively that the cost of street-lighting
is at least four to ten times the cost of
gas. while the system does not give so
satisfactory a light, because wanting in
the necessary equal distribution OF it.
This report was effective in bringing the
commissioners of sewers to decision
not to proceed further with the process
for the present. Moreover, it is recOg-
nized that, apart from the question OF
litigation. existing patents are likely to
be eclipsed by new inventions. The day,
therefore, for selling concessions has
gone by. and the profits of these Oper-
ations. such as they were. have already
L-~- reaped.n
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
The Man Of the Gresnback Signature Wit.
nesses Novel Combat.

Gen. Spinner, the hero that used to
sign the Treasury notes, sends the fol-
lowing descriptive letter of a fight
among sea monsters on the coast OF
Florida, on South Beach, below May
port: early yesterday morning, as |
went for my usual surf bath, accompa-
MED by my daughter, Mrs. Schumacher.
we witnessed what has probably seldom
been seen. The ocean was unusually
placid, but a strange cOmmotiOn in the
surf was noticed. On nearing the shore
1t was seen that a fierce battle was rag
ing between two schools of fishes, one of
sharks and the other of sawfish. 1t was
high tide, and the water was quite shall
low, so that the caudal and dOrsal fins
of both these kinds of sea monsters were
constantly seen above the water. The
onslaught of each of the combatants of
which from sixteen to twenty were in
view, was fierce and terrific. A disabled
sawfish was stranded. | waded into
him and with the edge of piece of
floor board gave him the coup de grace.
He measured nearly fifteen feet and car
ried sword saw three and half feet
long. with over fifty teeth on its margin.
1t was found that one of the sharks had
bitten piece out of his side equal to a
foot square, through which his bowels
protruded.
'.At one time it looked as if another
pair of cOmbatants would be stranded,
for in their struggle they came so near
the shore that they touched bottom all
the time, but they finally managed to
join their companions in deep water,
and after fifteen minutes all the bellig-
erents disappeared, to the great relief of
those who cared more for bathing
than for seeing the terrific fights of sea
monsters. My daughter will carry the
saw of the captured fish to her home as
memento and trophy of the great con-
flict and for an addition to her cabinet
Of ocean curiosities. -Florida Dispatch.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Studying a Spider

ANY one who has the time to look
closely at animated nature can find much
in apparently ugly objects toamuse him.
A writer in the GenticHliIiS Magazine
has something to say of his pet spider
"Esau," whose dietetic preferences at
least he seems to have learned very well.
ESau was not male; he was lady.
One day. while feeding the beast. no
ticed that the den in the corner had been
extended into passage with two open
ings, and in the passage wall was a spot
thicker and more Opaque than the rest
of the building. This surmised was a
deposit of eggs. and l afterward found
that was right.
Still, l had named the animal, and on
the principle of the parson VIII, insisted
on christening the little girl John, | ad-
hercd to the original appellaiion. Hith-
erto the spider had discOver1 none of
the attributes proverbial 10 her sex, and
did not feel justified in 'sGp.ing her
, Lucy or Maria.
There were warm days that year, when
the air smclled of clover and the flies
came out plentifully, and Esau was fed
on all available insects that Rad wings.
, The house fly was her staple food, al
though she regarded small moths as
delicacies, and thought midges and small
gnats were tOothsOme articles Of diet,
but her soul lOathed bluebottles.
They were to her what caviare and
absinthe are to the uncducated. If q
bluebottle was put into her net, she
bound it down with many strands of
cobweb and killed it. and before the ami
NAL had ceased to culver, cast it from
her web with evident repugnance.
Beetles she did not care for, rs they
broke her web. but mOney-spinners she
tolerated. Daddy-longlegs fell al easy
prey to her. although she did not relish
them. That know, because she never
took their carcasses to her cave.
BY way of treat once offered her q
small earth worm. 1t wriggled and
writhed. heightened itself and shortened
itself. assumed itself up into a corkscrew
and tied itself up into knots. Esau sought
refuge in her house, and stuck her head
out to watch these strange manoeuvres.
At first she was still as possible; then
there was an oscillatory movement of
the palpi. She generally did that when
she was getting up her pluck. Then she
made q rapid rush to within an inch of
the worm, and reconnoitered again. She
was not satisfied, and retired second
time to think the matter out.
The worm, in the meantime, either
got tired Of struggling, or else philoso-
phically arrived ut the conclusion that
he could make himself as comfortable in
a cobweb as in any other place.
The parind IF raSf wQc fatal ESan
darted on her prey and stuck her man
dibles into him. Vainly did the worm
try to charm the enemy by tickling her
with the end of his tail. Esau held on
like wise. The worm tried to encircle
her body with furtive gyrations. Esau
, had no inclination to play at LAGOON,
and eluded the strategy of her prey.
The worm gave in.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
The Newport Beauty.

by far the most beautiful girl in all
Newport (wriies lady correspondent
OF the Cincinnati Enquirer) is a Boston
hair-dresSer. About all the male admi-
ration in the entire Casino yesterday
was bestowed upon her, and she re-
ceiFtd il with the unconscious grace and
dignity of an ideal duchess. Her father
WAS bricklayer, am told. her mother
u washerwoman, and she herself ended
her schi'6l-days ut the age OF thirteen to
earn her own living. And here she is,
Il bright-skinned brunette. with big,
melting black eyes, abundant jetty hair,
regular features, II tall, shapely, we'll
carried figure, and perfectly lady-like
manners. She works busily and quite
prolitably at home, but is now out for
holiday, and when woman loftily sent
for her TO come and dress her hair. mean
ing an Insult. she wrote back: II regret
to say that it is impossible. l did not
leave my shop rs long ago as you did
your slaughter-house. but l am for the
time being quite as far away from it."
The fact was that the woman had, more
than twenty years ago, been practical
worker in the Boston pork-packing
house in which her husband founded his
fortune! While on this beautiful hair
dresser, let me describe her toilet, be-
cause it illustrates a prevailing elabo-
rate style of afternoon costume at New
port. The material was ivory-white
surah shirred for quarter of a yard
from the waist downward in close gath
crs, SO that it showed every action Of the
III HI,a .,ns H.
was arranged in plaits, which extended
to the edge of the skirt, where they were
met by Il fall Of white lace put ON in Co
DULLES. The bodice and panniers were
white nuns yelling, trimmed with lace.
A small cape, made of row upon row of
Oriental lace, reached just below the
shoulders. Her hat was completely
covered with the same lace garnituro,
to the exclusion of any other trimming,
and her white satin parasOl had several
lace ruflles as bordering. Not touch
of color was seen, and the effect was
that of just such simple elegance as
most of the fashionable Newport girls
strive after. The desire pervading all
female hearts here is to appear chaste.
artistic-in short, aristocratic. The
model on which their eyes are fixed is
the excessively long-legged maiden,
with very small hands and feet, who is
so often seen in English water-cOlors and
prints; but such impediments as legs
too brief and handy, and No. hands
and feet interfere with the realization.
/ have in mind certain New York lam
lily, descended straight from an original
Dutch settler. and who are convinced
that their blood is loftily pure. Well,
their hands are like the hands of Provi-
dence for breadth, and their feet would
crowd each other if they undertook to
pursue the narrow way. But here Is
that Boston hair-dresser, hardly out Of
parental mortar and suds, with the slim,
taper fingers and arched insteps Of a
Lady Genevieve MontmOrency. Her
hair, by the way, fell low in the neck in
a coil, and over the forehead in Loose
curls. That is the predominating style
of Embarrassing, though braids may be
substituted for the coils and fiat rings
for the curls.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Light and the Ewes.

Prof. Pickering, of Harvard Observa-
tory, points out in Nature that the color
of gas-light has nothing to do with its
painful effect upon the eyes of students
and others. To test this question he had
a tin lamp shade constructed, consisting
of Il tube six inches in diameter by eight
in length. One end was closed by re-
f,ector, and the other by piece of very
light blue glass. Two holes were made
in the sides through which passed the
glass chimney of an argand gas-burner.
BY experimenting with shadow photo
meter, position was found where the
light received ON book was of the same
intensity and very similar color to that
from window in the day time at dis
lance of about six feet. A few minutes
reading, however, was sufficient to cOn-
vince him that the new light was far
more trying to the eyes than an ordi-
nary gas flame would be, the i'll effects
being due to the intense heat thrown
down by the reflector. And this he
thinks is the source of the whole trouble
in the ordinary gas-burner. The heat
radiated by the flame, the heated Chin
ney and shade. and reflected from the
printed page and all other white paper
lying on the table, dries the eyes, the
lids, the forehead and temples. Tempo
rary relief may be found by bathing the
face and eyes in water, but it is only
temporary. The hot, dry air from the
lamp is also harmful. and no doubt con-
tributes its share of its injury to the Wis
ion. These evils may both in part be
remedied by placing pane of glass so
as to intercept the rays about the lamp
before they strike on the book or the
face. But it must be placed Mt such a
distance from the lamp as not itself to
become heated.
The hotter the flame the whittier it is
and the more light is thrown off in pro-
recommending such lights as the stu
dents and Moderator lamps, which burn
with small, hot, and very brilliant
flame, as compared with that furnished
by the argand and fish-tsil burners.
Statistics, said Prof. Pickering, show
how alarmingly prevalent near-sighted-
ness has become Of late among students.
Hence, anything which will tend in the
future to prevent this widespread defect
will be q boon to mankind. He had
great hopes of the electric light in this
respect. In it there was the maximum
of light with minimum of heat. The
ever-varying intensity was an objection.
but he thought we might look forward
to the success of the light from the III
candescent carbon strip. in the near flu
ture, as remedy for ''the most wide
spread evil that afflicts the human WIS.,
ion."
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Millions Given Away.

Millions of Bottles of DIR. Kings New
Discovery for Consumption, Coughs and
Colds, have been given away as Trial
Bottles OF the large size. This enorm-
GUS outlay would be disastrous to the
prOprietors, were it not for the rare
merits possessed by the wonderful
medicine. Call at John A. Samborn's
Drug Store and get Trial Bottle free,
and try for yourself. 1t never fails to
cure,
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
Recopnized the 0dor.

"John, what is that peculiar smellp"
asked mans wife rs he was trying to
steal in bed without waking her. about
2 o'clock a. m.
THAT is the incense we use in the
lodge room, my dear; it exales-it ex-
ales-"
..Yes, l know now" she interrupted;
IL recognize the od6r-XX alesr'
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
How to Stop q Dog Fight.

Every appliance which fertile imag-
ination could suggest has been employed
in the uncongenial task of separating
fighting dogs whose blood was up. A
few years ago there was q man who
went about declaring that q sudden del
uge of cold water would invariably pro-
duce the desired result, until one day he
saw two dogs which, in the heat of bat
tie, were unconscious Of all about them
fall off bridge into a river forty feet
below and, still clinched, sink and rise.
sink and rise until one Of them doated
down the stream dead and the other
crawlcd out upon the hank. Oliver
Wendell Holmes has put it on record
that
The mongrers hold will slip,
But only crowbars loose the bulldogs grip.
In the face of this decision of the auto
crat, Massachusetts man boldly de-
clares that no dog, however brutal by
nature or inflamed by passion, can keep
on fighting after a handful of yellow
snuff has been thrown into his face. The
logic of the situation, he would prob
ably say, is that after the APPLICATION of
snuff the dog must either sneeze or burst;
no dog can sneeze and fight at the same
time, and it is certain that no dog can
burst and fight at the same time. The
Massachusetts man speaks with conf
dence, and it would be pleasure to see
him administer the snuff.-NeW York
Tribune.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
The mongrers hold will clip,
Mr., Penbeckers Effort.

''Why, my dear" said poor little
Penhecker, with CHASTITY smile," why
would the world without woman. love.
ly woman. be like blank sheet Of pa
per?' Mrs. p, who had just been Civ
ing the little man ''apiece of her mind,"
smiled. and couldn't think" why,
because. don't you see, love-" said the
long-suffering one, lit wouldn't even be
ruled. Anon.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06
How A. T. Stewart was Captured.


Hon. j. Proctor Knott is delightful
racontear. He has world of good stO.
ries, and he spins them in way that
betters them. Seated among party OF
friends yesterday, he related one which
isn't among the worst:
A number of years ago q party OF
Kentuckians swOoped down upon New
York city ''a-seein' of the sights" Sew
eral Of them were from the interior OF
the state and were never as far east be-
fore, while the leader, shrewd city cit.
izen, glib of tongue, piloted the party
through ways that were queer and tricks
that were equally SO. They happened
upon MIR. Knott at one of the hotels, and
claimed him for their own. He was the
very man they were looking for. Every
sight of the great city had been seen ex-
cept A. L. Stewart, the merchant prince.
Would he introduce them?" The hero
Of Duluth protested that Stewart knew
nothing and cared less for country
Congressman like himself, and he had
to decline. He finally convinced the
delegation that he couldn't accompany
them, and they filed slowly out of his
room, after expressing determination
to seek out and see the elephant on their
own hook.
Later on in the evening Mr.. Knott sat
in parquette seat in Niblo's Garden,
intently watching the show. While
glazing around at the strange faces that
lined the seats and peered from the gal
leries he was startled by bow from the
most elegant box in the tier. Another
head. dimly outlined against the rich
interior, courtesied, and his embarrass-
ment and curiosity became painful in its
intensity. A third person nodded and
smiled, and then only did he recognize
his Kentucky friends lolling around in
the luxurious quarters perfectly at ease.
At'the head of the delegation was A. T..
Stewart himself, patronizing and atten-
tive.
"How did you manage itp" asked the
Congressman of the leader next day.
Easy enough. We deliberately walk
ed into his private office after leaving
you and introduced ourselves. We went
on to say that we were from Kentucky,
and had arrived in New York on an ex-
tensive pleasure trip, during which we
expected to see majority Of the great
men America had produced. We elab-
Grated with glowing phrases and round
ed periods, and all that, how we had
seen Grant and other big dogs at Wash
ington, but it was the unanimous YER
dict Of the party that we shouldn't re-
turn until we had seen the Napoleon of
commerce, A. 7. Stewart. The old
gentleman was carried away by the lib
eral supply of tatfy, and when we left it
was only on condition that we should
return later in the afternoon. We did
SO, and found an elegant supper in the
private office. after eating which we
were whirled away in carriage toNiblo's
Garden, and led into the private box
where you saw ."-LouisUille Courier
Journal.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06

destination was reached. She staggered
~ she left the carriage. lAt by power
full effort of will she dragged herself
along the platform of tlnnlttle station.
No one recognized her.
A half-hOur later, she stood outside
the little cottage she had come all thi.
way to see. Within werqssArthur and
his wife. i&
WHAT did she mean 70 do? She
thought she wanted him OILY, To know
that she had been true on Tto tell him
this. then to GO back and married. t.
Lord Erlesmere. rs though eanncon
scious that her wedding-d khou,
had passed.
wondered. rs she turned VI Sndle OF
the door. which opened ut her Touch
A man sat there, his arms folded
She hcsitated but an Instant. then
moved quickly forward, AID laid hel
little trembling hand on his &c.
arthur" she cried. ar fell in 3
dead faint ut his feet.
Later in the day II telegram reached
Mrs. Fame rs to where Nora might bt
found. and bidding her hasten if she
would see her alive. Something of the
harshness and hardness left that moth
er's face rs she read the message. Nc
one knew what this terrible time Of sus
pense had been to her, nor the agony o..
her remOrse.
Twenty-four hours after. she was by
Nora's side; but the child was all un
conscious of her presence, as she hat
been unconscious since that one utter
ance Of her lovers name; but to hin
her delirious rawlings had revealed all.
But although the cruel plot had beer
revealed 70 him, he had allowed NJ
word to escape his lips to tell the facl
to his darling's mother.
II did It for the bestr murmuret
Mrs. Fame, on Bonded knees. 'Oh
Heaven! give me back my child! Live
my darling, live! and I will bury my
pride and ambition in your happinessm
Did the promise penetrate oven the
mistS of delirium? So it seemed, for
their clearing quickly followed, and
Nora, opening her brown eyes. smiled
into her lovers and her mothers faces,
and learned that both at last were true
to her and to their own hearts; but
Lord Erlesmere could never fully COM
prehend the strange within which had
lost him his bride. He, however, con-
soled himself in the firm belief that he
had escaped a marriage with u lunatic.
The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-10-06

Tom Mast, the famous caricaturist,
accompanied Garibaldi during the cam
paign that united the two Sicilies to the
crown of Italy.
The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-10-17
DEATH OF MIR. A, FRASER.

Since the announcement that Mr.. Alex.
Fraser was stricken with paralysis Satur.
day about noon, his condition and the sad
affection Of his family have been the sub.
jet of conversation and regret by nearly
the entire community, and the announce
ment of his death about half-past twelve
o'clock yesterday was received with general
expressions of sympathy.
Mr.. Fraser lay IN a state OF semi-con-
seriousness from the time he was stricken
unit the last moment. For several hours
after he had been taken home he could
answer questions asked, but gradually he
lost the power Of speech and could neither
eatnor move any portion of the left side OF
his entire body, He seemed to be in con-
slant agony. He would strike out violent
ly with his right limbs and deep groans
proved that he was in great pain. II was
with difficulty that several doses of medl.
cine were administered to him. He would
still occasionally give signs of recognition
to members of his family and friends who
were constantly gathered around him; but
the fatal termination Of his affection
seemed certain from beginning.
In the death of Mr., Frazier, his family
loses kind husband and father and the
community an exemplary, industrious citi-
zen, and mechanic of unusual ability. Mr.
Fraser has been citizen of Cairo almost
since the war, coming here from Mound
city aud going into the sheet iron and cop
persmilh business with Caption j. B. Full.
ton, his brother-in.law, who recently came
to a tragic death at the Anna Insane Asy.
um The firm erected the brick building
AZ the corner Of Twelfth street and Ohio
lsyee AMI did business for several years.
A. the end Of this time, Mr.. Frazier en-
gagged in the sheet iron ard copper business
for himself 90 Commercial avenue, and has
/ been there ever since. He understood his
trade thoroughly aud was probably the
hardest worker in the city. I; WAS over.
work AMI everlasting which contributed
principally To his sudden attack and de-
mise. He was lifting heavy piece Of metal
which he was bronzing at the forge; he
had lifted i,twice, and at the third attempt
he fell, stricken with paralysis.
Mr.. Frazier was in the ifty-fourth year
ofhi3 age, having been born in Michigan, on
the 10Th day Of January 1920.
He was married at Madison, Indiana, to
Mrss Elizabeth L. Morris, sister Of Will
liam J. Morris, of Stonefort, Illinois His
wife and four children, Llewellyn, George,
William and Alexander survive him, and
one son, Charlie, was drowned here few
| years ago.
He was member Of the Odd Fellows,
Knights Of the Golden Rule and of the
new organization, American Legion of
Honor. In the last two organizations he
held policies on his lite. His remains
will be taken charge of by the Odd Fellows
and will be inferred tomorrow.