davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
Dynamite.

The base of this extremely powerful
explosive is nitro-glycerine, sometimes
Known as nitroleum, which is an amber
like fluid, discovered by Sobrero, in
1917. Nitro-glycerine itself is made by
adding glycerine, in a manner not nee
essary here to particularize, to a COM
pound formed of one part of nitric acid
and two parts of sulphuric acid. This
terrible agent is known &S glOROin oil,
and is light yellow. oily liquid, of spe-
cltlc gravity ranging from 1925 to 10.
1t has pun@ent taste, and but one drop
placed on the tongue induces intense
pain of the spine. Sobrero, when he
discovered this fluid, was a student at
the famous Pelouze Laboratory, Paris.
lie did nothing to develop his discovery;
but Alfred Nobel, Swede, being in
want of a new blasting agent, expert
mented with the new liquid, known to
be highly explosive, and. by adding
other ingredients, obtained the now
well known dynamite. This. rs usually
manufactured, is composed of infusorial
earth, porcelain earth. coal dust, sill
cious ashes, etc, and all this base has
to be saturated in a certain proportion
with the nitro-glycerine. The process of
manufacture is dangerous. and the cost
about four times that of gunpowder,
while its power is, perhaps, ten times
greater. Besides dynamite. other ex-
plosive compounds have been made
from nitro-glycerine, such as dualIine,
combination of wood gunpowder
soaked with this terrible oil, while
lith0fracteur consists of fifty-two parts
of nitro-glycerine, thirty of slick,
twelve of coal dust, and two of sui
phur. Then there are varieties known
respectively as colonia powder, lignose,
sebastine, hera Line, and ILLUMINATING
Scientific Alnericn1.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

Of inventions are the result of much con-
sideration and self-reliant thought. In
ventors must not only possess full free
dom to exercise their powers, but there
must also be certain welcome and
protection to their ideas. Deprived as
woman is, of political power, she has
to face contempt of her sex, open and
covert scorn of wOmanhood, depre-
ciatOry illusions to her intellectual
powers-all tending to hamper the ex-
preston of her inventive genius
Nor is woman by law recognized as
possessing full right to the use and con-
troll of her own powers. In not a single
State of the Union is a married woman
held to possess a right to her earnings
within the family; and in lot one-half
of them has she u right to their control
in business entered upon outside of the
household. Should such a woman be
successful in obtaining a patent, what
then? Would she be free to do as she
pleased with it? Not at ALL She would
hold no right, title or power over this
work of her own brain. She would
possess no legal right to contract, or to
license any one to use her invention.
Neither, should her right be infringed,
could she sue the offender. Her hus-
band could take out the patent in his
own name, sell her invention for his
own sole benefit, give it away if he so
chose, or refrain from using it, and for
all this she would have no remedy.
1t is scarcely thirty years since the
first State protected a married woman
in the use of her own brain property
Under these conditions legally incapa-
bic of holding property, and trained, as
she has been to seclusion, dependence
and allegiance OF thought, that woman
has not been an inventor to an equal ex-
tent with man is not so much a subject
of surprise as that she should have in
vented at all.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
A Horses Queer Pedigree,

sit was" said Mr.. Campbell, ''in the
old days, when conductors were con-
ductOrS; when he was the captain of
the ship as it were; in those DAYS
conductors were nabobs-then it was
that Billy Mains pulled the bell cord of
"a glass window train on the Southern
Railroad. Billy was 4 nabob, and
Billy's diamonds flashed scarce less
brighter than the headlight of his
trains locomotive. When his train
pulled up at the end of the run, the
high stopper that trotted at the front
end of Billy's buggy champed his bit
restlessly till his tony master took the
ribbons from the 'culled pussen' who
held him, and drove rapidly away to
his hotel.
Chilly never walked anywhere (and
he always wore his diamonds, no matter
who was around), so when it came time
for him to 90 to the general offices to
make out his report, the horse and
buggy stood at the door, and he went
there at a 2:40 gait One day, after
having made his report, Billy came to
the office door and met the President of
the road Cthe horse and buggy and col
ored boy had waited for the conductor).
Good morning, Billy; nice horse you
have there, said the President.
Il should say so; regular goer,"
smiled Billy.
''Blooded stock?" asked Mr.. I.
Eyes, oh, YES. sir.
''What's his pedigree, Billy?" con-
tinued Mr. Tyler.
''He's out of Railroad by Con
ductor,'" replied William, and as he
took up the ribbons again he waited
just long enough to say, ''and, | think,
damned by stakeholder. y Cj71ci,a-
natl Journal
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
The Seminole Indians and their Happy
Condition.

They are small in stature, pure cop
per color, with more regularly formed
features than their sturdier brethren of
the North. The dress of brave is a
breech clOut and an ordinary calico or
check shirt. Their headgear is won
derfully picturesque. A brightly color
ed shawl is carefully folded and pressed
out flat, and then coiled into turban q
foot or more in diameter. Fancy feath-
ers and other ornaments are placed in
the turban, which is worn like Turks
Its bright colors and curious shade sug-
gest a coincidence in taste with Mexi-
can and Peruvian Indians. Thesquaws
are exceptionally pretty and petite.
They are lighter in color than the braves,
and are very coy and modest in the
presence of a white man, probably be-
cause they seldom see them. They wear
two garments, short calico skirt and
very contracted jacket.
They wear all sorts of ornaments, al
ligatOr teeth, curious bones, wild hogs
teeth, and cheap jewelry. which the
brave purchases IN the town before he
begins drinking. Like all Indian wom-
en- they do nearly all the drudgery, but
the braves are generally klnd 10 thenl.
The children are delicate looking little
things, but the pappoose8 are really
beautiful babies. These Indians 90
from place to place in cypress dug
out, which is wider than the regular In
dian canoe, and which they usually row
instead of pole, owing to the fact that
the water in this country is deep, They
are very expert in using the oar. They
do not do away with the pole entirely,
however. An Indian in the bow of the
boat rows one oar, and another sits in
the stern with the pole, with which he
rows and steers. The sharply cut dug
out glides quietly through the water,
the speed being quite wonderful. The
boats 90 800 miles into Lake ,Okeecho-
bee. and a Florida Indian is as happy
in one as he is on shore.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

Better to smell the violet cool, than sip the
glowing wine;
Better 70 bark a hidden brook, than watch a
diamond shine.
Better the love of gentle heart, than beauty
favOrs proud;
Better the rose's living seed, than roses in a
crowd.
Better to love in loneliness, than to bask in love
all day;
Better the fountain in the heart, than the
fountain by the way.
Better be fed by mothers hand, than eat alone
at will;
Better to trust in good and say, MY goods my
stOrehouse fill
Better to be a little wise, than in knowledge to
abound;
Better. to teach child, than toll to fill perfec-
tons round.
Better to sit at masters feet, than thrill list
enng state;
Better to suspect that thou art proud, than be
sure that thou art great.
Better to walk the real unseen, than watch the
hours event;
Better the well done.' at the last, than the
air with shouting rent.
Better to have quiet grief, than a burrowing
delight;
Better the twilight of the dawn, than the noon
day burning bright.
Better death when work is done, than earth's
most favored birth;
Better a child in Gods great house, than king
Of all the earth.
George Macdonald.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
Mexican Express Runners

AL through the interior Of the coun-
try at almost every town and village,
are to be found runners usually In
packages upon their shoulders from
place to place. Knowing all the noun
tain paths and short cuts, and possess
inc vast amount of strength and stay
inc power, these runners make long
Journeys in q prodigiously short time.
To cite a case that illustrates both the
custom of gift sending and the manner
of sending gifts: One of my friends
here in Monterey, being then on his way
home from the city of Mexico, stopped
for night with his carriage, horses and
servants at q hospitable rancho, where
he was admirably we'll entertained. On
the evening of the next day he came to
q town famous for its delicious fish and
as an acknowledgement of the hospital
itv rendered him he sent a runner
with Q basket of fish to his host of the
night before. The distance, allowing
for shortcuts, was forty miles across a
mountainous country; yet the runner
made it inside of ten housekeeping at
Z o'clock at night, and arriving at the
rancho Gas my friend subsequently was
informedD at o'clock the next morn
ING. Taking into consideration the time
lost between collection and shipment,
and between receipt at the terminal
point and actual delivery to conscience,
the best regulated express Company in
the world could not have made this ship
ment more expeditiously. Moreover,
as these runners are absolutely trust
worthy-there are cases on record OF
their dying in defense of their freight
the express facilities which they afford
in small way scarcely can be I'M
proved upon.-Monterey CorTesp0nd-
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
A Wonderful Fish Pond,

Travelling men tell an extraordinary
story of a fish pond on the land of Hon.
George W. Hurt, six miles from Albany.
Clinton county. Ky. The pond covers
three or four acres, and was not known
to contain fish until year or two ago,
when it was accidentally discovered to
be swarming with catfish from four to
eight inches long. They say that the
fish are SO numerous and so unsuspect-
ing that they may be taken without the
use of hook and line. You may tie a
piece Of mutton or chicken to q string.
lower it into the water, and draw it out
Immediately with several fish clinging
to it. This may be repeated as often
as desired, and a few minutes are suffi-
cient to secure as many fish as YOU
want. One man. prompted by curi0si-
ty, stuck his finger down into the water;
it was at once seized by a fish, which he
promptly drew up and took off, but the
bite drew blood from his finger, and he
does not recommend this method of tax
ing them. Mr.. Charles M. Phillips, of
Spurlington, having some doubt as to
the truth of these stories, wrote to Hon.
George w. Hurt with regard to them,
and received an answer to the effect
that they were substantially true. Mr..
Hurt does not allow strangers to fish in
the pond. The fish have been regularly
fed since their presence was discovered.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
An AUTOGRAPH of Lincoln.

An interesting incident, developing
further the peculiar characteristics of
the late President Abraham Lincoln.
was brought to light in the Adiutant
Generals office, War Department, sew
eral days ago. 1t appears that during
the late war a drummer-bov, who had
enlisted in an Illinois regiment, was
taken i'll during service, and had to be
sent home. Owing to various compli-
cations he could not secure q surgeon
discharge for disability. His case being
serious and his discharge necessary, his
mother applied by letter to President
Lincoln for the desired relief Mr..
Lincoln at once indorsed the letter.
discharge this boy; A. Lincoln =
and returned it to the mother, and her
son was shortly afterwards discharged.
Since the war the drummer has died,
and lately his mother applied for pen
sion. The papers were forwarded to
the. Adjutant Generals office, and there
was q mighty effort among clerks and
officials to secure the Endorsement in
Mr.. LincOln's own hand writing as 3
souvenir, the idea being to substitute it
with q ''true copy" The relic-Lunters
were baf1led, however, and the Papers,
according to law, will be rreaoT ,3ad in
tact W'dSbt>sQtO71 Post.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

Flowers are the sweetest things that
God ever made and forgot to put a soul
into. -Beecher.
A cheerful face is nearly as good
for an invalid as healthy weather.
Franklin.
Our youth we can have but to-day
We may always find time to grow old.
-LBishOp Berkeley.
Fate is the friend of the good, the
guide of the wise, the tyrant of the
foolish, the enemy of the badly. Il.
Alqer.
OF all thieves fools are the worst, they
rob you Of time and temper Goethe.
Envy is passion so full Of cowardice
and shame, that nobody ever had the
confidence to own it.-R0cbeSter.
The best education in the world is that
got by struggling to get living.-Wea1-
dell Phillips.
All other knowledge is hurtful to him
who has not the science of honesty and
good nature. -MOntdigue.
We seldom find people ungrateful SO
long as we are in a condition to render
them service. -ROcbetoucduld.
Dare to be true: Nothing can need a lie;
fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby
Herbert
The claims of habit are generally too
small to be felt till they are too strong to
be broken.-Ben JOnSOn.
A mind quite vacant is mind dis
tressed. C0Wper.
If Satan ever laughs, it must be at
hypocrites; they are the greatest dupes
he has.-COltOn.
False face must hide what the false
heart doth know-Shabspeare.
Early and proyident fear is the moth
er of safety.-Bur6e.
They who forgive most shall be most
forgiven.-Bailey.
The light Of friendships like the light
of phosphorus plainest when all
around is dark C4'O9CeU.
Look not mournfully into the past,
it cannot come back again; wisely i'm
prove the present, it is thine; go forth to
meet the shadowy future without fear
and with a manly heart.-L0nUeJlotc.
We sometimes meet an original gen
tleman, who, if manners had not ex-
listed, woald have invented them.-En1-
eTSOn.
If there be any truer measure of q
man than by what he does, it must be
by what he gives.
Tender-handed stroke a nettle
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like man of mettle,
and it soft as silk remains
-[Aaron Hill.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
Our youth we can have but to-day,
We may always find time to grow old.

when new railway is to be built in
America says an English paper, 1.-The
first thing they do IS to break ground,
which is done with great CEREMONY
The next thing is to break the share
holders, which is done without cere-
mony."
A gang of tramps found an unoccu-
pied house in Minnesota with comforta-
BILE beds, cooking utensils and stove.
They took lawless possession, and it was
not until the end of week that they
learned that they were in a smallpox
pest-house.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
He knew How it was Himself,

''Mother," said Binkley's boy as he
ran into the house yesterday, brother
said some bad words-the worst you
ever heard-worse than father said
when the calf kicked him. =
''Weu, I'll attend to him. I'll lock
him up in the dark closet where I put
you the other day when you sawed the
eats tail off -
Don't do that, mother. Don't put
him in that closet. There is jar of
preserves on the top shelf, and he can
reach it, and it viii make him sick if
he eats too much Of it, and don't YOU
forget i5.-Ieras ,SitIjngs.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

The Comte de Paris recently sent to a
nurseryman in this country for some
dogwood trees, to plant about his villa
at Cannes. One Of his most vivid recol-
lections of this country is of a battle
fought by the Army of the Potomac in
the'Virginia Swamps, when the woods
for miles around were white with dog
wood blossoms.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

TO UHG HgUTes lot IooU aTe 70 De aUUeO
the number of sheep on ranches OF
public lands, as computed by a special
agent, 100000, making the aggregate
of sheep, exclusive of Spring lambs,
AZ, 1872, 074,' 1t is added that the com
puted product of wool not included in
the above figures, and including 80, O0O,-
900 pounds, as estimated feeces of
slaughtered sheep, will bring the aggre-
gate wool clip of the year up to 24G,-
681. 751 pounds.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

Mamma had dressed Charley 6 years
old) to 90 to walk, and then took Susie
6 years old) in hand. Mamma was
..tired," and so was Susie. Mamma,
somewhat irritated, said: .'Do stand
still, for gracious saker' to which Susie
graYelv responded. Amen
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
The Influence of Signs.

''We will never take the horseshoe
from the door," sings the maiden fair
with rumpled hair, and we slap her on
the back with hearty, good-natured
| thumb, and encore the song, and cry
! BRAVO, braUjssinao. Not that the horse
| shoe, or the little hOrseshOetta, the little
shOelet OF a diminutive mule nailed up
under the transOm of the door of bou-
DOR has any real use, or does any good.
but there is a significance attached to it
which does do good, and that good is
the kind of crude faith believing,
which it inspires in the breasts of all.
| We know what we are talking about.
AS sure as fiatterv will overcome q king
or sOOthe a base, malignant knave, so
sure will SIGNS and omens affect all
! classes Of all societies beneath the rays
/ of the universal sun.
We call the above pretty fine writing,
but 1t cost us very little effort, and we
did not, as many people might suppose,
WreStle with that sentence for DAYS and
nights before entrusting it to the criti-
cism of a cold and heartless world. No.
we cot the grapevine lock and drowned
her the first time The true rhythmic
us as the true fiuidity Of-but we dioress.
Yes, we believe in signs and omens,
simply because of their effect on poor
human nature. We are all bundles of
| habits. AS the twi0 is bent SO will the
tree incline. AS the child is educated,
so will he live, believe, struggle with
doubts, accept some, reject much; yet
| Withal will he be involuntarilv impress
ed with that which he has been taught,
and that child who, born in New York,
is willing to scott at MOhammedanism
| will as surely accept it as the true faith
| if born in Constantinople of Turkish
| parents, as the sun is bound to rise to-
morrow morning.
| With this assumption which will bear
the test of truth, how impossible it is,
then, for q child to remain uninauenced
| by SIGNS and Omens. A belief of them
is ia the air, all around them; and
| though he may sheer at them aloud. he
will feel a trifie uneasy should he dis
cover the new moon over his left shout
| der, or upset the salt cellar, or break a
| loOkinG-0laSs. In secret he will hail q
good omen or sign with delight. and it
will make him more cheerful throughout
the day, and contented with his lot.
Thus far the omen which produces this
assuring result is a good one and we
would far rather encourage belief in
good signs, than TO shatter the consOl-
inc faith of innocence. For this reason
we still insist on the lines which COM
mence this creed, 1--WE will never take
the horseshoe from the door. Teuas
| Sittings.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

West Indians have a curious test for
determining whether a person has ne
gro blood in his veins. It is called the
nose test. The negro has no division
in the gristle OF cartlaginous substance
OF his nose. such as all Of pure white
blood can feel at its tip with the end of
the finger. Thisis the last thing to yield
to the white accession. Any negro
blood IS marked by a nose the gristle of
which is undivided, and the object of
putting this paragraph in Is, says the
Boston Journal, to prove thatno person
will read it through without touching
the finger to the nose. And few people
after they have done it can tell whether
they are white or black.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07

Texas following, but 20 percent behind,
and then but little farther down. Iowa
and Ohio, with 792, 322, and 736. 1888 re-
spectiyely, while Missouri and New York
are fifth and sixth. Mules and asses are
in growing numbers, advancing from
Lips, 415 in 1870 to 1,812,808 ten years
later. Here Missouri leads, followed
closely by Tenn ssee, with Texas,
Georgia and Mississippi next in rank,
and Illinois and Alabama as sixth and
seXenth.
In sheep we quote The aggregate num-
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
Wise Savings.
natl JOurn0

Flowers are the sweetest things that
God ever made and forgot to put a soul
into. -Beecher
A cheerful face is nearly as good
for an invalid as healthy weather.
Franklin
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-06-07
Better Things.

Better to smell the violet cool, than sip the
glowing wine;
Better 70 bark hidden brook, than watch a
diamond shine.
Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-09-30
FEMALE FREAKR.

A favorite fancy, especially among
young pirls, is for PanSy and cloTer rings
The very latest isshion in dinner plates
is square IN shape, beautifully hand paint
ed
Philadelphia ladies are lear: ing base ball.
One OF them has caught her hUs 'and out
several times slready.
In some parts Of Russia il is believed that
IL the bride tastes the cake on the eve of
the wedding her husband will not love
her.
An elderly female twiped her arms about
Henry Warl Bsecher in California recent
ly and painted one on his ruby lips before
he could get away.
Miss Clara Louise kellogg has been at
tracting general attention at the Milford,
Conn, races, and pstting fine cattle with
her operate hand at the fair.
A little girl fell from the bridge across
the YantiC River near Norwich, Conn last
Friday snd would inevitably haze
drowned 4 Mrs Mcmahon, a woman 20
years of sge had not sprung in after her.
They both sank after q struggle, but as
they rose sgaIn the heroic old woman sue
ceeded in gTaspiDg q rock With one hand
while with the other she still held the
child aud thus kept both their heads above
water until they were both rescued. The
child wss then unconscious, but she was
sOOn r, Suscitaied.