davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
THE COUNTRY DANCE.

People who once lived in the country bu, who now live in the city. should not think that the old time country dance has been abolished. So long as the corn row remains. so long as hands grasp the plow handles and the mule throws up his head at the sound of the dinner horn. will the old time dance finger in all of its early thrill. The country dance in Ar kansaw will ever be characteristic of the states social condition. It is close in re- la,ionship to uncultivated nature and has a distinctive groove which cannot be blocaded by the Instructions interposed by wars and reconstruction. The same programme is always enacted. In the evening. when the young man is through with his work. he diligently polishes his boots whose heels arc painfully high. His mother irons his necktie and his sister fixes v his shirt. He brushes his coat and trousers and smooths them out on the bed, and with no feigned air of satis- faction does he stand of and survey them. When he attains "iuil rig" he is painfully particular lest speck of dir, should settle on his vest, and he does no, hesitate to publicly brush fly from his coat sleeve. He holds his saddle at arm length when he goes out to " keteh " his horse and he walks al a safe distance from the trough lest he should soil hi. clothes; in short, the young man who 3 few moments ago wore a checked shir and dirty jeans brooches is now "rigged in overdress. His saddle creaks as he rides away and his father looks after him with an air of pride.
 At the dance, before the "sets" ar, formed, the young man and his compan
 ions tell old jokes and laugh. They speal in whispers of young ladies and call eacf particular favorite .' hummer" Shorsl; after the dance begins, a fiddle string breaks and itbeomes necessary to send tc the nearest store. four miles distant, ane get another string. The young man stimulated by the approving smile of hi. hummer takes upon himselfthe dutie.
 of the errand. While he is gone the com
 pany plays aOld Sister Phoebeo ana Weavelly Wheat The store-keepe
 is in bed, of course. When he is arouses
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
SAVED BY ELECTRICITY.

Old General Sablemore Was sery much annoyed by young man who persisted in visiting his daughter. Il want 10 tell you now." said the general. one evening ";hat you shal! no; marry my daughter. and that if yau ever come here again, III maui you numerically"
 General. you could not be so cruel as to bligh, my lite and to destroy the hap piness of your daughter, could you2'
 Rather than have you for soa-in- law. would willingly nail my daughter in box and send her to crcmatory. I give you fair warning. don, want you to come around here again. Light out or I'll dust your coai-tails with bird-shot, :,
 Who's that in the parlor with Jane = the general asked of his wife several nights later.
 Young Jagle
 What IS that scoundrei here again :. Hand me that cane: I'll go in and maui him out of shape.
 Do not molest him. general He Is so devoted to Jane that do not thiEk he can keep away. Better le, them marry for it seems ;ha, nothing but death can break his admiration
 The general sat and unused. I, was struggle for him Ia refrain from striking the persis,en, fellow, but he wavered. A rain-storm came ard beat against the house. and twisted the limbs of the great trees in the yard, bu, still the old general unused. A binding flash, and then re- port ,ha, shook the house brought the old man to his feet Rushing into the parlor he found the young man lying on the floor. The general raised him up. He opened his eyes, and said:
 "Ifyou won't hi, me sagain I'll leave here and never come back. can travel now. Gimme my hat and tearing him self loose. he ran away, and came nc more. Another evidence of saved by electricity"
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
THE PETITION.

The petition 6end is the next man who should be shot without the compliment of repentance. He is doing the state more harm than any other agency. and his sudden removal would be regarded as sign of returning prosperity. The other day while the governor sat in lis executive study after an exhaustive in- tcrview with a woman who wanted her son taken from the peni,entiary and ap- pointed justice of the peace, a man of rural appearance entered without eeTe- mony and said |:
 II don't wish to detain you but a mo- ment, sir. but would like to cali your attention to a petition here. There Is a man in my county who needs killing as bad as q hog ever needed corn. wanted to buy piece of land from him some time ago and he wouldn't sell it.. Wouldn't sell a piece of land te ar homes, man. Well. told him unless he left the country Id kill him. He hasn't gone. and I've got to keep my word. Never break my word. When tell a man I'll do anything Hi do il in spite of high water: so. now. 10 have the law on my side. have gotten up petition. signed by many of our leading citizens. asking the governor to pardon me. | haven't killed him yet. yoa know. for want the law on my side. If l can get ten CT fifteen more signatures, ~ill go home and shoot the scoundrel. Then in case am arrested and convicted. can send this petition to the governor
 "You are mistaken in your man., re- piled the states chief officer. ' am the governor, and let me say now will not recognize such petition.
 "You the governor" exclaimed the visitor. Blamed if haven't mae a mistake. thought you were sort of clerk around here. Couldn't pu, your fist on the paper anyway, could you: No. Why, don't se, mad. Of course I'll gc: out. Couldn't make notary public out of me, reckon: All right; no harm done. I'll knock on around town and before night Ill sc; up a petition ,hat'i! paralyze you.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

"Ior will please excuse me for not answering your letter" writes the queen of England to the editor of this paper. <" but the fact Is have been so busy with my skinned knee that l haven't had time for any other duty. l suppose you have heard of our dynamite troubles. It is simply awful. The other day, while we were sitting in the dining-room. dog. with something tied to his tail, came in. Albert. said l. will you please examine the stray pup, and see what's the matter with him. Mar he replied. while a dea,hly pallor settled upon his face, it's a can of dynamite. lust then there came an awful explosion The windows shook. and the dog went over and over. It was can of dynamited to ma,oes, and 1 wish you could see my clothes. Why, have been pick ing tomato seeds out of my hair ever since. l am having grea, deal of trouble with my Irish servant-girls. Ev- cry one of them wants to blow me up. l have been in danger ever since the death of my protector, John Brown. Ah. but he was noble fellow. with warm hand. and always bespoke the native onion John was man. was John: By the way, you had John Brown in you. country, once. and my little grand-ehil- dren sing about his body mouldering in the tomb. must close now. see a dog, with another can of tomatoes, com ing up the steps. Goodbye, and perhaps | forever
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

ting out" tobacco plants all the week, for the martial spirit encouraged, would cause him to straighten himself Statistics show that since the abolition of muster the number of stoop-shouldered men have increased ten fold. It is necessary to keep the population of this coun- try straight. Stocp-shouldered men understand the art of rowing boats and may consequently make marks of credit in the United States navy. but in the army they are doc ned to uncompromising failure. lou can find many man who hac not strengthened up since the las, muster. One prominent citizen well known to she entire state, got drunk las, muster day and hasn', been s,raigh, since.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
Very Mild Influence.
Washington Capital.

NaSntnStou Sdpitaf
 Colonel Thomas Porterhouse Ochiltree, of Texas, is prominent citizen. and his name is frequently in the papers. His political influence is doubtless large in some quarters. but am grieved that i, does not prevail in all the executive de partmen,s of the government. A recen, incident was very touching. Coienel Ochiltree had been appealed to by a per sonal friend to proven, the issue. of an order in certain department-I will no, say which one. The order had been pre- parei by a subordinate officer, when Colonel Ochil,ree appeared on the scene and demanded that it be withheld. "As you arc member of congress" said the officer. ''I will consent to consider the question again. and will submit it to the secretary" Colonel Ochiltree went away thinking that his friend was all right, and the department officer went to the secre- tary and told him about the matter When he heard the name of the congress man. he elaculated: What. Tom Ochiltree; Ochiitree, of Texas. is it: Issue that order at once" And the ordei was issued the same day.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
WHAT BECAME OF TT.

What. ,he paper gone again. ex- claimed Colonel Blacus. Its been three weeks since | had a chance to read ,ha, paper and unless there IS reform soon somebody going to feel uncomfortable :" Sarah. to ,he eolored cook. have you seen anything of the morning paper:'
 What paper, boss"
 The paper that's thrown on the gallery every morning
 Is dat de oie paper yer's maxim sich fuss about: l'se been kin'lin de fire wid da, paper fur doan know how long Why didn you tell me no, ter tech de trash lyn' roun' de house"
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
TARIFF TROUBLE.

Why did you str Ike this man :" asked a justice of the peace of prisone..
 Il had sufficient cause. your honor. He came to my house the other day on a visit. He criticised my children and laughed at my daughters singing. turned up his nose at fish had caught, and put my wife to great deal of trouble al dinner-time. and"
 But all this gave you no excuse to strike him with stick of stove wood"
 :" know. but let me get through. Afer dinner he took kird of @ll day seat, and began to talk on the tariff question Then nit him.
 Tariff, eh. fine you ten dollars fc, not shooting him.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
Not Needed in Arkansaw.
Rob Crockett. in De Witt Cleaner.

Hob Crockett. in De Witt Cleaner.
 h France, so an exchange tells us. a bill has been introduced in the chamber of deputies to increase population by a system of reduction in taxes and fixed rewards. For example, every head of a family, xho has more than four children. sLall be entitled to 2 reduction of fifteen per cent. in his annual taxes. and to an additional reduction of five per cent. for each child in excess of five. In case the head ofthe family pay no taxes, or if his taxes do not exceed one hundred francs a year, then he shall be entitled to a pie miuu of two hundred francs a year, for his fifth year, and another premium larger by one hundred francs for every succeed ing child after the fifth" We'll. a con- founded, builes-headed Frenchman may need the stimulus of reward to increase the production of children, but to a man of Aykansaw, in contract of that kind. wages are no object and an offer of reward would be an insult 10 his man. hood. He always does his level best. and only asks the blessing of providence upon his efforts
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
THE oLp-TIME MUSTER.

The question of reviving the old time' muster E meeting with favorable comment throughout the country. Thefe is no likelihood of war in the near future. bur it is no more than right tha, there should be muster of all able-bod- jed citizens. say once exery thiee months. In the memory of every old man there fingers pleasant "reminiscences of the
 muster days. The occurrence was a
 grand holiday event. when the young men put on their best clothes It was grand occasion for man who had been set
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
Terra-Cotta Lumber
Philadelphia Record.

4 comparatively new industry is ,ha, of the maufacture of terra-cofta lumber. now carried on near Perth Amboy. New Jersey. The lumber is made oftwo parts of sawdust to one of clay. The claws used are the dark-colored. rich and ,e nacious ones that overlie the white fire elays. They mus, be free from coarse sand or grit. but fine sand is not objec- tionable. Spruce sawdust is used. The constituents are thoroughly mixed in cir cular wheel-pits by means of wheels armed with rotating knives traversing the mass somewhat as in the common brick wheel-pit As little water as possible is put in. The prepared mass is earned by elevators from the grinding floor, where 1t is pressed by powerful s,eam-prezs into rectangular blocks convenient for sitting and cutting into the ordinary sires for tiles and blocks. The blocks come from the press on the second floor, are there dried by artificial heat, and are then burned in circular kiins with fla, domical tops and down draught. The flring is coal, but with an increased hea, the sawdust burns and carries the baking to an end. The time for burning varies from thirty-six to forty-five hours. Each kiln holds about thirty tons. The product. which is s;raw-colored, IS sl;, by circular saws into tiles or cut into shapes for floors, ceilings. walls. efc. The material is hre-prcof, light--weighing only fifty eight to sixty-two pounds per cubic foot. or about half the weight of brick-and so strong that cubes of two to five and quarter inches resist strains of iron, 1855 to I5.ooo pounds. It can be sawed and pianed like wood. and will hold a nail. lis thus valuable material for partitions. floors, ceilings, roof-sheathing. etc
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
BEGGED PARDON.

An Arkansaw man borrowed news paper and sa, on the end of cross tie reading. \ train came along but he wa. SO deaf that he did not hear the whistle The engineer slowed up" and gently showed the man aside
 HI be confound." he exclaimed. " i you amt the imperlightest .eller eve, seed,' and jus, then discovering that he had been removed by a locomotive, con. tinued, '' Beg pardon. Didn't know you was in the neighborhood'
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
EXPLANATION.

HE ARkANssN TRAvELEf need not be angry with Us, though at nrsi sigh, il seems that he has some cause for wrath bu, the fact IS that as was lniimated when Touch stones Talk v was first introduced in Grip all. CT nearly all, he anecdotes related in that column are gleanings from exchanges. The intmation to that effect was intended 10 be published in every number of the paper. hu, was inadvertently omitted after or two insertions. "rouehstone' Tail" further than the comments on the stories therein told. never professed 10 be anything but reprints and when the authorship of any article therein related could be obtained, il has invariably been given. The story which the TRAvELER asseris-and we now know that such was the case-io have originally appeared in it's spicy pages. was related to the writer of 't Touch stone " as bona fide incident. and was given as such. without any attempt at work over" We do not wish for q moment. to strut in borrowed p,umes. though some American papers do so at the expense 0; our feathers. and We must confess that they add greatly To the borrowers seadableaesi. -
 Toronto CdHa!st Gris.
 The TRAvELER was by no means angry. It merely called, by private com- municaiion. the attention of Grip to he ia, that some one of i's contributors had worked over n article. IL was done ii splri; of kindness. ard as such il was TO doubt ac- cepted. We could TO, see why one of the mos, prominent humorous papers in the world should appropriate ,he work of an acquaintance and pass il off a. origi- nal. The Touchstone article may not have been intended as original. but we were not aware tha; any such notification had ever been made. The following. kept standing al the head Of one of Crps departments. caused the misun- derstanding: We invariably give due credit to all selections and outside con- tributions appearing in G7t. Those no, So credited are our own productions. though we are sometimes half ashamed 10 own to the fact" So. you see. gentle men, VIC were right in notifying you that your excellent paper was being imposed upon by contributor. No paper. despite the closest proof-reading. is infallible To-day we may give credit to linn when il is due ;o Tom, and tomorrow we may give to Tom what is due to Jim. Grip is widely known for it's hones.y. as we'll as ability; hence these few lines, which we hope will find you enjoying yourselves in ,ha, exalted degree which nature in- tends shall bubble up from the trans parent spring of a clear conscience.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

IRE ELtsated Ra!f;cay .Ionnd has ecen,ly received subscription from Russia, and suspects ,ha, the paper Is in tended for the csar The ezar has for some .!me been a regular subscriber 10 THE ARYANsAw TRAVELLER. and ex- presses his appreciation in warm terms. declaring, in a recen, communica- ton: = would like to take two copies of your paper, for one is not as much as l can read: bu, the fact is. times are so deucedly tight. My cotton didn', gin ou, as well as II should have done. and the eross-,ies which recently sold to rail road haven't been paid for yet, so you see why do no, contribute more 10 the support of great agricultural and cot ton-.aising paper" We regret tha, the ear mistakes this paper for an agricu,tu- ral journal. We suppose. however. that his understanding of English is not sui iicient to acquaint him with the facts in the case
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

THE Arkansaw press association, al this writing, is in the act of starting on an excursion through Texas and into Mexico. The gentleman who sits in buclic grandeur on the tripod, as he is pleased 10 term cracker box, has pro- vided himself with linen dusser and is ready to view the fossilized remains of a mastodon's shank or to devour ham sandwich between tips of " tickler.' With a,atural disregard of historical grandeur, he will spit tobacco juice on the crumb- ling walls of Montezumian castle with as little restraint as he would deposit his feet in an Arkansaw governors chair and criticise the executive gentleman ad- minis.ration. The average Arkansaw editor may no, be man of polished edu- cation but he possesses a kind of saw mill fo,ce and ability which does no, hesitate 10 call contemporary liar or politician thief. In this he is nearly always correct, for his contemporary ofter straddles the truth and the politician is not always honest. Editorial excursion. are fruitful of literary production. Tho disc.p,ions which he writes for his paper are finished pieces of composition -wher they are done-and in after years are col. lected in book form and given to schoo children. Without these annual con. tributions, American literature would wither and crack open like the back of ] tsrrap;n.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

EX-SENAToR DORSEY has sued New
 York paper for Sso,ooo, alleging that the
 New York paper had slandered him. This was very wrong in the New York paper. NIT. Dorsey is well known political engineer. and should not be slan- dered. I, has been vaguely charged that he swindled the government in some kind of mail contract, and is has been hinsed that a trial. growing out of this accusation. has for some time been going on in Washington, but only very credu- lous people believe such reports, so Mir. Dorsey has nothing to fear. However, it may be proper for him to sue news papers and find fault with political gossip.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
A POETIC CANDIDATE.

Henfy Stanton, the poet, is candidate for office in his native state of Kentucky.
 When we speak of Stanton, as poet, we do no, mean that he is mere bard of local celebrity, whose verses will go down to pos,eri,y ;n the family line. but true poet who has gained from the critical world of measured letters a smile and graceful nod of recognition. His ~ Moneyless Man. which Of course was ,acitly dedicated to the editor of this paper. IS production of which America can feel proud. l. was received with a
 warmth of favor in England. and has been translated into many languages. and stolen by many magazines. We have forgotten the name of the office 10 which Mr. Stanton aspires. Ne know that |, is not lieu;ena st-governor. or clerk of 4 state treasurer investigating commit tee : neither do we think i; Is police judge or county examiner. but d: any rate il is ar office. We hope tina, he may be elected so that his officia! career may be held up before the public and aired like an old duster that has not been worn since the last editorial excursion Frankly we have a spite against that man. Regardless of his grand poetic diciion. and his beautiful linking together of sentiment, we have a grudge against him. Years ago, when the editor of this paper edited the Bowling Green Panfa- graph. Stanton arose in his might and sat upon the poor fool in dramatic way. The Pankigrafh man. or the poor fool if the application be better. and we think il is-in spirit of very humorous humiliation. drew d long breath. and wrote: One Of these days. some weary and dejected tramp may fall from the top of our monument and kill himself. stanton, who was on the Frankford leo man, copied the paragraph. and added !" Never mind. young man. you can make a dying reques; Of the sheriff h have the tree GU; down. That was blow. i crush ins eishty-one ton gun. Furry young men cane around ,o the office and to knox i the fool had seen the ieeasaa. Oh. ,es. he had seen l.
 'e,ot away with you bad. didn't he:,'
 Won't you have a seat" the fool would say. Here's some late eX- changes Il you would like to read them.
 Better not fool with stanton =
 Are yoa the editor another would say.
 Well. go, paper lust now. and thought that probably you hadn'; seen it. and he would unfold the shoe, and point to ihe sarcastic paragraph"
 For days there was no rest. Old wo- men chuckled and young ladies siggled. Al prayer meeting. and at Sunday school everywhere the poor foel saw iha; he was the centre of unenviable attraction. He found one man who did no, think that stanton was such an annihilator, bu; inves:is ,,ion proved tha, the sym pathi1er owed Stanton ten dollars so ihis sim source of consolation was de s,royed
 This is written in fair waning. If the Henry is elected, NC shall employ an entire system of detectives to watch him. and report his first misstcp.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

LEARNED men of China have for abou; two haa6rei years been working on a history of the Celestial empire. They have worked 50 diligently that events down IS far as the fourteenth century have been ehronieled. d.Zrhe wcrk, when eomq eted, aiil weigh about six million tons. aud Is we'll calculated te make Syl- vants Cobb. IT,, and Mrs Sou,hworth fee. ashamed of themselves.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

OH, do let me kiss that child" said a fashionably dressed young man, meet ing fond mother who proudly rolled her first born in buggy. "lou may kiss him." the mother replied. and the young man leaned over and smacked = the boy. Just before the mother reached home she discovered that the atfectiona,e young man had taken gold chain from around the boys neck.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

General Beauregard is the inventor os the endless cable system.-Grfa That being the case, why should he call for more rope in conducting the Louisiana lottery :-Bakon.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

Peck's book. the '' Bad Boy" is having an enormous sale. I, is the most popular work of the kind ever issued.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION:

Any part of the United States or Cana da. One Year, postage paid, s7oo Other Countries. One Year, postage paid, 800 Postnasters. or others, sending IS five or more yearly subscriptions to the ARkANsAw TRAVELLER, may retain g per cent. of sub scripton prGe as commission. Requests of subscribers to have their pa pers mailed 10 a new address, te secure a:ten- ton must mention former AS well present address.
 send money by P. O. order, O. registered ciier Address,
 READ 6 BENHAM,
 LITTLE ROCK ARh.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05

Dennis Kearney seems to be entirely lost sight of. and is IS feared he has de veloped into dude--OR Cir Blizzard.