davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
No Longer q Desert.

One more miracle, says the New
York Sun, has been wrought in the
orient. The whole length and breadth
of the great Algerian desert, arid and
almost without vegetable life for years,
is now mass of living green. Dry,
sandy Sahara is u luxuriant. grassy
garden, rich and refreshing rs Now
England orchard.
Notwithstanding tho elaborately
formulated scientific theories, which
arranged for continued dryness in AL
geria, until tho reluctant inhabitants
were forced to leave the country or
die of thirst, SO dismal an exodus is
not likely to take place at present.
Last winter tho rainfall was beyond
precedent, SO far as the memory of tho
"oldcst inhabitant" gocs, and copious
thundcrstorms continued all through
tho spring months and even into tho
summer. Such wet season thore
never was in Algeria before, and in
consequence this seasons crops will
constitute + ntiful abundance persona
fed. The one fear of the farmers is
that the rain may last throughout tho
summer and interfere with their
harvcsts.
Rain in winter is frequent enough in
this naturally dry climate, but it is
seldom excessive. The only harm it
hes done is to dissolve tho raw, sum
dried brick of which tho houses arc
built Scores of families have seen
their homes melt under their very
noses without any means of checking
the destruction. Even tho French
Sarrisons lost their barracks and were
compelled to accommodate themselves
| IN tnn ifn Va;
brick, called "attob,n corresponds cx-
actly with the adobe" of the Mexi-
cans and Spanish Americans. Phi
lologists in fact, pretend to trace both
to Il common Arabic origin.
In support of the theory or fallacv
that the desert is gradually creeping
toward the sca-coast is the fact that
countless ruins exist in Tripoli and
Tunis, marking the places where con-
siderable vegetation once was but now
is not. The truth is, however, that
their dcsertion is not duo to any nat
ural phenomena, but wholly and en-
tlrely to the depredative invasions of
nomadic Arabs, who finally killed off
and drove away all of the unfortunate
inhabitants of the present ruins. Tho
wells with which the latter sustained
vegetable growth in their region arc
now filled with dry sand. They could
easily be opened again and made just
rs scrviceablc as formerly. The taxes,
too were dreadful enough to discour-
ago any race or people and probably
had some influence upon the depopu-
lation.
The constant decrease of the wood
land is dangerous to every interest and
should be legislated against. BY pro-
serving the timber now standing, by
planting more, and by taking adVant-
age of the Same opportunities that havo
so wonderfully increased the rainfall
in western North America, tho great
desert of Sahara could be redeemed
from its supposed perpetual aridity
and become one of the grecncst, rich
est and grandest in all the oarth
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
Hair Dressing in the Soudan.

Inc Blshareen are fine, tall race
slender, but we'll proportioned. They
take especial care of their teeth, which
are regular and of lustrous whiteness.
winch Is in part duo to their simple
dlet' and in part duo to root (taki-
Wood) which they chew perpetually.
ihelr dress is scanty but graceful. 1t
consists OF piece of whito linen wound
around the waist and thrown oyer the
shoulder. Each man carries q lono.
straight sword and shield of small ri.
mcnslons' made of hippopotamus or
rhlnoceros hide. A spear is carried in
the right hand. The Bishareen> in
common with the rest of tho Arab
Crloes IN the eastern Soudan, take GREAT
personal pride in their hair. A conaiJ.
cradle portion of their lives is spont in
It's adornment L doubt Whether q pa.
risian coiffeur would caro- to take loo
sons in his meter from these childron
of the desert, but he would be puzzled
to initiate them: Tho hair is let black
coarse, wiry and abundant. 1t is part.
ed in horizontal line round the head.
the parting passing close to the ears:
the hair above this line is perpendicun
lar and looks like q mop. Below iti
plated and frizzcd, and sticks out over
the neck and shoulders like the roof of
pent-h house, doubtless affording great
protection TO the back Of the neck from
tho rays of the sun. Tho whole is stiff
ened with grease, and when the Bisha-
'reen has newly performed his toilet
and grease is plentiful, his sable locks
assume tho snowy whiteness of those of
oGames. The sun melts tho grease,
winch drips on to tho back and shoul-
uors. forming q deposit by no means
s9Vory OF tho conventional cp:cy odors
Oh SiAra6y the blest." A long skower
OF halrpin transfxes this Wonderful
G3lnenr, - our, and serves the double purpose
o.. OF a. comb and a weapon used in the
Gnasp OF the Jero tatatrae, which abound
Md9azine .. .... t....,' WI '''''''
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
How Commodore Garrison Fell in
Love.

GLOW did the aged commodore pet
his young wifcp" l asked Of an ac-
quaintancc.
'Sho whistlcd and he camo to hor,
my lad, was the reply, "but sho didn't
do it in tho spirit of tho girl in tho bal
lad. 1t happened six years ago this
summer, and in tho very hotel in which
we arc sitting. Garrison had been for
forty years widowcr lie was q TASTY
old fellow and had not been suspected
OF caring rap for women. Tho pos
session of somewhere from SO, 900. 600
to $15, 900, 900, much of it in compli-
Gated use for tho promotion Of railroad
and steamship schemes, had harassed
him all winter and spring, and he had
como down here for rest and quiet. Ho
took q suite of tho best rooms in tho
row of cottages which arc an annex of
the main establishment, calculating
that he would there be little removed
from tho hustle of apublic house, and
it was for u few days rs he had fondlv
anticipated. Then the family of John
NJ. Randall, Of St. Louis, took posscs
sion of adjoining apartments. They
numbered half dozen persons, includ-
ing whistler. Through the thin par
tition the commodore 6oard and was
annoyed by the whistA%g. He dislikcd
it exceedingly. He was driven by it to
cXaspcration. There was q boy in tho
Randall party, and to him tho veteran
attributed the noise. He would not at
that timo hear the soft melody of the
whistle. nor its clever fidelity to the
music which it interpreted, but simply
kept his ears open to it as torture.
Randall was an acquaintance of his,
and one day he said to him, as they sat
chatting on the vcranda: That boy of
yours will be the death of me, John.
Won't you plug his mouth, just to
please mc?'
"'Oh, it amt tho boy, replied Ran
dali, 'but my daughter. Here, Lett
tian
at was n lovely girl of 20 who re-
spondcd to the call, and was presented
to the commodore She whistled for
him that evening to apiano accompani-
mcnt, and it was no longer irritating
to him. They were married in the en-
suing October. His wedding gift was
q million dollars in sound securities.
In no season since that has any
belle at Long Branch been dressed or
diverted in u moro costly manner than
tho fair whistler. Baltimore A1neri-
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
Tho Origin OF the Turnpike.

An chronological crank has discover
ed that tho name Of turnpike comos
from having pike hung across q road
way SO that no one could pass without
turning it. Toll-rOads wcro instituted
about 500 years ago, the first one being
built in England by n monk whose self
appointed work was to guard the 81 10
of st. Anthony, on Highgatc Hill. not
having much to do he cartcd dirt from
the top of the hill and filled up q deep
hollow. In doing this he expended all
his fortune, but the King camo to the
rescue, and published decree address,
cd to our wcll-bcloved William Philip
pi, in which, after approving tho mo-
tives which induced him to benefit our
people passing through the highway
between Highgato and Smithiiold, in
many places notoriousiy miry and deep,
he authorized him to set up bar and
take toll, so that he might keep the
road in order and himself in comfort
and dignity.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
spread outside of tho sanitary Gordon
or ,befell but few persons in tho pro-

spread outside of tho sanitary Gordon
or ,befell but few persons in tho pro-
tcoted quarter.
We need, therefore, have in our coun-
try but little fear of visit by tho As
iatic cholera if we but use the common
precautions which modern sanitary
science has taught us. All vessels ar
riving at our shores should be carefully
inspected, all ships coming from in
fected ports should be forced to under
go strict quarantine, all omigrants
should bo rigidly examined, and tho
streets and alleys of our cities should
be kept as thoroughly clean as careful
and uninterrupted attention can make
them. Thus prepared we may have
reasonable hope of escaping tho
dread visit. The united exortions of
tho most enlightened nations may suf-
flee to prevent the disease from spread
ing beyond its original limits; still we
had better adopt the most efficient
means ourselves to keep the destroyer
from our boundaries. - Piladclphiu
Times.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
Irrigation.

West of the Missouri the majority of
the surface of the earth is moro or less
neglected by the celestial sprinkling
pot, and it behooves poor weak man to
lrrigatc artiilcially wherever he can.
Now you can go into California, Utah
and Colorado, and by irrigation raise
garden sass that will make your cvcs
bulge; but through Wyoming, especial
y on the Laramie plains, the growing
season is confined to the time between
July 81 and August /. SO that things
don't have time to mature. | will cX-
cept promissory notes paying two per
cent. per month, however.
Tho season is so abrupt, and when it
comes is gone again with that spon-
taneity and forthwith Immediate move
mcnt peculiar to the flea, that before
you can put ear mufls on your corn, tho
ears are frozen and the seasons work
is nothing but frost bitten chaos and
wiltcd wreck
Still with all this knowledge and in
the light of full experience we had
years ago man on the plains named
Hayford. who had been u fever and
ague doctor year or two in the South
till people told him that they preferred
the aguc to the style of knowledge he
had. Then he driftcd West, worked
on the night shift in Colorado mino
and practiccd law in quiet, shvstcr
kind of way till the vigilantcs rot all
his practice and threatened TO get him.
Then he came to Wyoming to grow ND
with the country, started paper and
printed it on one of those little ANA
teur card presses that sell for three
dollars. This paper he published overy
day, and in the old flush times durin o.
the building of the Union Pacific rail-
way, sold it at twenty-five cents a
week. He used it rs little pocket
blackmailer and worried himself into
Office by knowing things about promi-
nent men and threatening to publish
them.
Well, he was the champion of irri-
CATION in Wyoming, and he devoted q
suckful day to Wyoming agricultural
possibilities. He favored the organi-
zatlon of stock company for the pur-
pose OF constructing q canal thirty
miles long to irrigate dozen town
ships. He said we had heretofore
raised nothing but hemp and hell, and
he favored this great scheme. Finally
he got 1t TO going and the company
was organized, and civil engineer
from Missouri named Crout took a cast
iron plow and 4 "bull team" and con-
structcd the pioneer canal, rs it was
called. The canal worked we'll enouoh
where the cuts were, but along the ill
MIR. Crout found, when it was too late,
mat he had forgotten to put on any
SIDE boards, and therefore the wafer
stopped over and went down the oulch-
cs and buffalo wallOws and alkali flats
that didn't need any irrigation. Alto
gethcr the scheme was failure. There
is some water back q mile from tho
river whore it has run down durino tho
Juno frcshets when the snow meltts in
tho mountains, and there tho antelope
comes to drink and wrigglo his brief
tall but there arc no fields of wavcr-
ing grain. Not wave. Irrigation on
the Laramie plains is still confined to
that class of agriculture where two
men soak slices of pine apple in spirits
and greet each other with the Indian
toast, "How"-BiU Nye, IN Ne,o York
Merc2l)3I
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
oy Hear the Sirens for the. Second

.y%I - -ND. ~ &s|t2
The weary sails moment slept
Tho oars were silent for q space,
AS past Hesperian shores we swept
That were as a remembered face.
Seen after lapse of hopeless years.
In Hades, whom tho shadows meet
Dim through tho mist of many tears
And strange. and, though u shadow, sweet,
80 seemed tho half-remembered shore
That slumbered. mirrored in tho blue,
with heavens where we touched of yOre,
And ports that over-wel we knew
1hen broke tho calm before n breeze
That sought the secret OF, tho West;
And listless all we swept the seas
Towards the Islands of the blest.
Beside golden-sanded bay
We saw the Sirene, very fair; ...
inc howery hill whereon they lay,
The flowers set upon thcir hair.
Ihe1r old sweet song came down tho wind
Remembered music waxing strong
Ali now no need of cords to bind,
No need had we Of Orphic song.
1t onco had seemed u little thing
To lay our lives down at thoir feet,
That dying we might hear them sing,
And dying see their faces sweet
But now we glanced and, passing by,
. NO caro- hnd we to tNrry long;
Faint h0pe and rest ana memory
Wore moro than any Sircn's song.
Andrew Lang's Ballads.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
PhOSph Orcscencc OF Diamonds.

a curious point in diamond lore has
just been established to tho delight of
saVants in Paris, where the exhibition
OF the crown jewels at the Louvre has
made the subject very popular for the
moment. 1t has long been laid down
that the diamond has tho power of re-
tanning light and of afterward emittino.
it in the dark. The theory has been
we'll buttrcsscd by reasons; but tho
proof has not been easy of test. ALL,
or nearly all, of tho great diamonds
such as the Kohinoor, tho Regent, the
Grand Mogul--can not, for public
reasons, be made the subject of expc-
rimcnt, and stones of lesser size do
not always give satisfactory results.
Happily, private individual, the own
or OF gem of 90 carats, and estimated
at value Of 5000 francs, has lent
his diamond for scientific inyestioa-
tions. These have been most satisfac-
tor and tho "phosphorcscence" of the
stone may be regarded as proved. The
diamond was exposed for an hour to
The direct action of tho SUMS rays and
attorWard removed into q dark room.
FOR moro than twenty minutes after
ward 1T emitted q light, feeble, indeed.
out still sufficiently strong to mako n
sheet of white paper held near il anita
visible in tho dark. A similar rdsnIt
was arrived at by very different ex-
pertinent, and light was generated bv
RUBBING the stone with piece of hard
MaU Gdzctte.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
Rhymes in the Mails.

Some very curious and funny letters
arc received at tho Doad-Lettcr Office.
The outside of somo is moro unique
than tho inside. The following are the
addresses on the envelopes of several
which have found their way to the
Dead-Lcttcr Oilicc. They show tho
poctical bent of tho writers:
Fly little messenger, quick ant. r.raight,
10 humboldt County Of Iowa State:
Fly, Iittlc messenger, and seek with care
FOR Miss Miss Annic Fahcy, you'll find her
Unfortunately there was no stamp on
it, and tho matter -of-fact p. M. hustled
IL OIL to the Dcad-Lcttcr Ofire.
trusting parent writes on tho en-
vclopo Of his letter:
"Ploasc send this letter to nv son. who
drives Il team Of rcd oxen, and the railroad
runs through his place."
Another envelope has:
"Bummcr's letter, send it ahead,
Dead broke and nary Il red;
tostmnFtor put this letter through,
Ana when get paid FL pay you"
Another envelope has this address:
James Irwin. Try all over the State"
Still another brief address is:
"lI a. Kenyon, p. NJ, H."
would-Do housckccpcr puts on the
envelope:
"P. NJ. Please forward to tho physician
wno " T,, WIS looking for housckcepcr in st.
louis louis iast week; Is n widowcr with two chill
dren; don't know his name"
This is no doubt IN answer to an adj
Vortlscment. 1t is u pity the widow
did not get it.
Another envelope has:
"ro General w. Knowles this letter is sent.
10 the town OF brighton where tho other
one went
10 the state OF Now York hopo it will go"
But it went to the Dcad-Lettor Ollico
instead.
Another envelope has:
"Hcllol Uncle Sam; let me 20 in your mail.
As lVo taken II notion to ride Oh Il rail
10 ll!ln01s state, AMI thcro lot me stop
AND In McLcn Co. just please lot mo drop.
n Lcltoy Il. o. there let inc lay,
Until Reason *. Gay takes mo away"
But tho p. Ms reply just below
says
played out my dear boy
There is no use in talking,
II you can pay your way
1ou IL nave to try walking"
Ono who was careful TO pay postage
wrote
"Now haste with this letter as fast as you
can,
I've just paid your faro to good Uncle Sam: ::
Inc cnso is quito urgent, so don't stop to
Don't tarry for lunches or even a drink,
Lymnn street you will very soon find,
"hero ,ne people arc honest, good-naturod
Frank Taylor. tho man to whom you must
go,
Is 40 Lyman street, Cleveland, Ohio"
-lVaShington Capital.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
The Pecan Tree.

Tho pecan tree is found in q wild
state in the woods of tho various Sec
tons Of the South and West. 1t crows
to very large size, and bears Yearlv
man. bushels of Gnc-naVored nuts.
Though little or no attention has been
paid to these valuable trees, cultiva-
ton greatly improves them, the mt
growing much larger and improving in
flavor. Tho pecan trco lives to o. GREAT
age, and continues long in bearinW,
There is no good reason why it should
not be grown extensively in all parts Of
the United States. 1t is well adnnted
to almost any kind of soil, DOING well
even on rocky hills and waste land,
There is no nut or fruit tree moro
valuable and requiring so little atton0
ton. Every farmer, in my opinion.
should have his nut orchard, and cult.
Vato especially tho pecan for homo uso
or sale. The nuts always find ready
sale at fancy prices. In planting tho
trees the only object is to obtain good
fresh nuts, and of good carly variety,
OF large size, from which to grow tho
trees. If it is preferred to set out the
plants, get healthy trees OF good va
rlety TO 2 years old.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
Making Sorrows.

The process of making screws is u
very interesting one. The rough, largo
wire in big coils is, by drawing through
hole of less diameter than itself,
made the needed size Then it gocs
into machine that at one motion cuts
it proper length and makes head
on it. Then it is put into sawdust and
'rattlcd, and thus frightened. Then
the head is shaved down smoothly to
tho proper size and the nick prt in at
tho same time. ter.."rattlipg" again
i'll the sawdust, the thread Is cut by
another machine, and after another
'rattling" and thorough drying, the
screws are assorted by hand Ohc
fingers of those who do this movo al
most like lightning), crossed by weight
and packed for shipment. That which
renders it possible for machines to do
all this is little contrivanco that looks
and opens like goose III. which
picks up single screw at u time, ca
ries it whore needed, holds it until
graspcd by something else, and returns
for another This is ono of the most
wonderful pieces of automatic ma
chinery ever seen, and it does its dis
tinctiYc work at tho rate of thirty y-ono
screws minute, although this rate is
only experimental rs yet. Ninety
three gross q day, however, has been
tho regular work of ono machine
| PRikdQCkDkiH In0Uiycr
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

They sat side by side on the car,
says tho Detroit Free Press, talking
politics, and presently tho man in tho
white plug hat inquired: Colonel,
living orat0rp' Tho colonel coughed,
stroked his chin whiskcrs, and made
no reply. At the end OF the block ho
got off without word, and a passen-
ger on tho opposite scat loaned forward
ard said to the white hat man: That's
a pretty blunder you mado Why hos
the very man himsclfr' "Is that SOP"
gaspod the other. and no ran to tho
platform to watch him out of sight
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

Marriages in Germany are rapidly
diminishing in number. Increasin1
luxury in ways of living and increasing q
i'll health of women are said TO bo the
chief reasons.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

The old-timo ''pinking'' with notcbod
ana scalIoped edges is revived for the
nounces OF chameleon silks chat CHANGE
from one color to another.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16
The Buffet Car.


81 do declare, James," said the
farmers wife, as. shetwalked about the
waiting-room reading the railway adj
Vertlsoments, here's sometime
never heard toll on before. A Buffet
car. What do you suppose that is,
JamesP" "Oon't you know what n
buffet. car is, SarahP Guess yor
haven't been reading much of late.
have youP You ought to know that a
buffet car is car recently invented to
put on tho end of the train. It Is fixed
up with springs and things, and is de-
signed to act rs q sort of buffer for tho
rest of the train in case of collisions,
They're making such improvements in
railroading all tho while, Sarah, I
blioVc, if it worn't for me to tell you
what IS going on in the world, you
wouldn't know anything"
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

An mronautic detachment of engin.
GERS has been formed in Berlin, and is
hard at work learning the art and prac.
tice of military ballooning.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

A Shabuta, Miss, hen laid two eggs
q day three successive days.
The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1884-10-16

The first copper cent was coined III
New Haven in 1857.
The daily enterprise. [volume] (Livingston, Mont.) 1883-1884, 1884-07-22
Cattle for Montana.


The Glendale Leader reports the
arrival at that place last week OF an
immense stock train which is enumer-
ated as follows: There were 1000
head of young cattle and ffty-6ve
horses and mustangs, and Indian po-
MES. though there were two fine
blooded animals. costing $500 each,
one being Il yearling Kentucky colt.
They all belong to Strange Bros. were
shipped from Sioux City, Iowa. and
will he driven from here to Beaver
creek, Montana. AS this is but one
train of the many daily over the
roads, 1T conveys only
a brief glance of the immense interest
in stock growing now being built up
throughout that section.
The daily enterprise. [volume] (Livingston, Mont.) 1883-1884, 1884-07-22
Grow Horse Thieves.

Benton Press: Eight Grow Indians
driving about fifty head of horses
oasse.I along the old Martinsdale road
"A few days ago, moving toward the
Judith and making AL possible speed.
They PASSED Stcel's and lamott's s
places. keeping the pni,lIc road and
apparently had little fear Of being
mD,rstetl. This occurred just after
the horses on the Teton were stolen.
am, these horses are undoubtedly Il