davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
"Queer Ducks"

Newspaper men are queer ducks"
said q local politician, who was ore Of
the Committee of Arrangements for the
National Republican Convention in
1880, as we turned and walked out OF
the theater. They remember well
when they want to, and are close as
oysters when they don't want to re-
member. There is of them in town
who PLAYED q trick on our committee
in 1880 that upsets me whenever Think
of it. Tickets, you know, were very
scarce, and we were driven nearly crazy
by persistent applications from distin-
guished visitors.
.'Thc man l speak of made no appli-
cations for tickets. He went to a re-
gala store and purchased the most
striking and elaborate badge he could
find. He took this TO a printiBg-Oiiice
and prin' ed on it Grand Marshal of
the Convention and with that worn
conspicuOusly ~ his coat he sailed BY
the doOr-keepers without being chal-
lenged, and passed and repassed. re-
ceiving from ushers, detectives and
guards the most respectful considers
ton. He grew bolder the second day,
and passed in probably a dozen persons.
The next dav he took in twice as many,
and in the end passed in to the EXPOSE
ton Building probably Il hundred per-
sons. All this was done with the -four
ish of certainty, courage and convic-
ton. and The fun OF the thing was that
none OF the committee thought at the
time of inquiring into the matter"
The same man. said II night editor
Of n of the morning papers when he
heard the name, lis the fellow who is
mainly responsible for the Inauguration
OF the movement that drove DIR. Thomas
out of the Methodist Church. He was
present at the gathering of q fow friends
when the Doctor was called upon to
make = few remarks over the remains
of an actor who had died the day be-
fore. The Doctor, in the plentitude OF
his sympathy, had written out some
general observations suited to the Occa.
sion. but after looking them over decid-
ed to take up q slightly different line Of
thought.
.'He put the manuscript in his coat
pocket and proceeded to speak Off-hand
such words of comfort as came to his
mind. His newspaper friend. seeing
that the Doctor was absorbed in his
subject. extracted the manuscript from
his coat-tail pocket and took it to q
morning paper. in which it vas printed
as a verbatim report of what Thomas
said at an actors funeral. The Doctor
was embarrassed in his denial because
he knew that the alleged report was
what he had written but had not
Out of these circumstances
came the agitation that led to the
withdrawal of DIR. Thomas from the
Methodist Church. - Chicago Inter
Ocean.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
The Anvil.

Ordinary anvils are forged in six OIL
seven pieces and then put together.
Cast anvils are hardened in u float in
stead of being dipped, and larger-sized
ones are swung into a tank by means OF
q crane. These latter are also frequent
ly cast about Il core. which permits
them to cool more uniformly. Gold
beaters use for an anvil a steel block
having q surface three by four inches in
extent. Upon this the gold is reduced
to a plate One-siXteenth of an inch in
thickness, and afterwards beaten out
on an anvil of black marble. The forms
and uses Of the anvil are constantly eX-
tending in VARIETY, and, from the lili-
put;an one of the matchmaker to the
great ones used for making cannon,
they are daily growing more busy
throughout the world. Many of the
common blacksmith's anvils are pro-
vided with a second horn sOcketed upon
the beak and having grooves upon its
upper surface into which hOrse-shOes
are driven for the purpose of rebevelling
the inner surface. so as to prevent
''balling' when travelling in snow. The
various special forms of the anvil are
exceedingly numerous. The progress
OF machines and the intrOdus tiOn of
steam-hammers have brought into use
in late years enormous anvils. weighing.
in many cases, several hundred tons.
These are usually east in the form of n
.truncated quadrangnlar pyramid. and
placed with the smaller end upon sub
stantial foundations of masOnry.-In-
World.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
What the Standard Oil Company Is.

The Standard Oil Company, which is
so much talked about and so little I'M
derstOOd, has its headquarters in this
city, and its executive board is said to
hold Il meeting on every business day in
the year. The capital of the company is
not very large. perhaps three or four
million dollars, but the capital of the
Trust Company. which manages the
fiscal affairs of the Standard. is snid to
be as high as seventy millions. What
eve he the capital, it pays six per cent.
and the stocks sell in the neighborhood
of par. The men considered in the oil
regions to be the master spirits of this
company are both very young, Mr..
Rockefeller and Mr.. Archibald; the lat
ter is hardly thirty years of age. He is
the son of a Methodist preacher in the
oil regions, and developed a genius for
commerce and executive work when a
mere lad in a country bank. and his en-
plOyer gave him the capital to start an
oil refinery. He attends to the details
of this huge company, which has hardly
a parallel on the globe for breadth of
conception and intinitude of particulars.
If this were an English company it
would rank always with the East India
Company of the time of Warren Hast
inss. 1t is to be observed that the chief
operators against it are themselves
spectators. Mr.. James Keene was
one of the leading spirits in the rival
pipeline. The Standard pipe is a sep
arate corporation known as the Nation
al Transit Company. and its pipes lie
buried side by side, and are six
inches in diameter, and it is sail that
the right of way was acquired for about
$500 a mile. Their telegraph is an enOr
nous concern also. The Tow of oil is
about 10000 barrels q day, l under
stand, and this company keeps in its
tanks or pipes OF refinerfes from 30. OO0,-
600 to $1,000 600 barrels at a time.
Its profits are derived from storing and
forwarding the oil, which pays fifteen
cents a barrel per mi for storage
and twenty cents a barrel for transrOr-
tation to the seaboard. They are also
the greatest exporters in tie United
States, and often send put a slip full of
lamps to teach some heather people
how to burn American oil. 1t Is said,
that they are content with a profit
of half a cent q gallon on the oil. Sev-
eral of the young men in this company
are iree-hearted, generous men, and it
is well known in the oil regions that
Archibald provides for his former
employer, who was unfortunate in bust
ness.-Lounyer, in N. !. Tribune.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
Extent Of the Cars Estate.

One may form some idea of the eN.
tent OF the possessions belonging to the
russian Emperor, as property immedi-
ately attached to the crown. when we
heSx that the Altai estates alone v
an area of 10000, 900 desiatins, or over
10000 square miles. being about three
times the size of England and Wales.
The Nertchinsk estates, in Eastern
Siberia. are estimated ut about Is, o
600 desjatins. In the Altai estates arc
situated the gold and silver mines OF
Barnaul. Paulov, Smijov. and Loktiepp.
the copper foundry at Sasoum. and the
great ron works mt Gavrilov. in the
Salagirov district. The receipts from
these enormous estates are i'm a ridicu-
lousy pltlful ratio to their extent. Inthe
year 1857 they amounted to $50. 900
rubles, or a little more than f95. 900;
while for 1888 the revenue was esti-
mated at less than half this sum. or
about 100000 rubleS. The rents. etc.
gave a surplus over expense of admins
tratiOn of about LOO, OOG rubles. On
the other hand, the working of the
mines showed a deficiency of over
1,OOO.OO o rubles: hence the result lust
49,
indicated. A partial explanation of this
very unsatisfactory state of things is to
be found in the situation of the mines.
which are generally in places quite
destitute of wood, while the smelling
works were naturally situated in dis
tricts where wood abounds, sometimes
as much as six hundred or seven hun
dred kilOmeters distant from the mines.
The cost of transport of raw materials
became considerable in this way. Bv
degrees all the wood available in the
neighbOrhOOd of the smelling works
became used up. and it was necessary
to fetch wood from distances of even
over one hundred kilOmeters. Form
eriy the mines were really penal settle
ments. worked by convicts. who were
partly helped by immigrants whose sons
were exempted from military service
on the condition of working in the
mines. But since the abolition of
serfdom this system has been quite al
tered. and there is now a great deal of
free labor on the ordinary conditions
London Times.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
Testing the Vitality OF Seeds.

When it is such an easy matter to
test the seeds one proposes to plant, il
is generally best to take the time to do
it. This work may be done any time
now. and then the planter will be in
readiness with the advent OF spring. 1t
is always best TO procure seeds which
are to be purchased, o in any way
gotten from others. early in the season.
Upon their arrival let the first leisure
time lie employed in determining their
vitality.
On this subject Prof. G. E. Morrow,
of the Illinois Industrial University,
writes the Prairie Farmer as follows:
ut is probable there is even less good
seed cOrn in the great cOrn-producing
regions of the West than was to be
found last spring. 1t is especially i'm
pOrtant that farmers should be sure OF
the vitality of the seed to be used,
whether that grown by themselves or
that purchased. An experienced farmer
a form a pretty accurate opinion by
carefully examining the germ. Often a
look at the cob or kernels is sufficient
to enable one to decide against the
sample.
Duo nStu"h tCSts W SptoutiuS, IL w
far the safest method. This need not
be especially troublesome. 1t is desira-
BILE to select kernels from a considera-
BILE number of ears, and from near the
middle OF the ears, as sometimes !.er-
nels from tips or butts will terminate
when those near the middle will not.
''These kernels may be placed in earth
in any pan or dish, the earth being kept
moist and at moderate temperature, by
being kept in a warm ROOM. A still
more convenient method is to place the
kernels between layers of moist cotton
Or almost any kind of cloth. If the
cloth is kept moist and the temperature
somewhere near sixty degrees, two or
three days time will show whether the
corn a be depended on for seed. 1t
is safe to make some discount from the
percentage which terminates. as the
conditions in early planting may be less
favorable.
IF the ears are selected from bins or
cribs, care should be taken to try those
near the center. at least in part. Most
farmers will admit the desirability of
some mode of testing seed corn, and
yet a large majority fail to make any
sufficient test"
Acorrespondent of the Journal a. Agri-
culture Pra:iguc recommends a test
which he has used for many years with
complete success. 1t is that Of fire.
Take at random a number of seeds from
the bag, say. eight. Put some live Goals
on a shovel, and deposit each Of the
seeds successfully thereon. Blow the
coal, and watch how the seed behaves.
If the combustion is slow, merely giving
off some smoke, you may conclude that
the seed had a damaged germ; if, on
the other hand, the seed leaps and turns
about on the coal, producing a dry
sound (tac) proportional to the size, it
may be inferred to have good germina-
tive qualities. In this way the ropor
ton of good and lad seeds may be as
certained. As fer the larger seeds, such
as acorn and chestnuts. it is sufficient
to throw them into a fire. and Keep
them in view. If the quality is good,
this will be indicated ere long by the
defamation of the seed.-Prairis Farmer.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
HONE, FARM AND GARDEN.

Ducks should have separate house.
from other fowls. They should hav,
troughs, as they do not like to pick ant
hunt on the ground like chickens
Gncinnoti Times.
An old-fashioned pudding sauce
that can be made in an instant is simply
milk sweetened and favored with graf
ed nutmeg. This is really palatablt
with corn starch blanc-mange.-& i
Post.
1t is estimated that the value of the
garden products of Massachusetts,. ex'
elusive of potatoes and beans raised on
the farms, equaled $5, OOO. 900 last year
1t was ten times as great as that in
1860.
Horses feet need looking after
during the cold. muddy. spring wealth.
er. A daily cleaning of the exposed
parts is essential to their health as well
as the comfort of the animals. CAere-
land Leader.
An exchange says: Young chicks
that are subject to weakness in the legs
should receive a small allowance OF
fine bone-meal in the food. Weak legs
come from forced growth. high feeding
and close confinement. but it is not nec-
essarily dangerous.
Increase of bees early in the spring,
when judiciOusly conducted, is attended
with great good. The best stimulant in
the spring is salty water. placed in a
trough where the bees can have access
to it. Do not get the water too salty; q
teaspOonfult to q pail of water is enough.
-EJchange.
Possess a good wheel-bar1Ow. No
implement equals it in utility about the
garden, OF on the farm for that matter.
They are not expensive. Select one
with reference to lightness and strength,
as the boys are often delegated to use
them. The common dirt barrow is the
best. Prairie Farmer.
The Textile Record gives q formula
for a solution by which cloth can be
made waterproof, if immersed in it and
then thoroughly dried. 1t is composed
of gelatine i've parts. soap five. alum
v and water one hundred and sew
enty parts. 1t is said that this causes
the fberS of the cloth to repel drops of
water as do feathers.
s-HaTs Journal of Health recon-
mends common baking soda as the best
application for eruptions caused by
poison ivy and other poisonous plants,
as also for bites and stings of insects.
In cases of scalds and burns it may be
used on the surface of the burned places
either dry or wet. When applied
promptly the sense of the relief is mag
ical. 1t seems to withdraw the heat
and with it the pain and the healing
process soon commences.
Every farmer should possess a
stencil-plate with his nam and resi-
dence cut in it, so that he may plainly
mark all bags, blankets. robes and
boxes with it; also q brand with which
ae can burn his namo into the handles
of hoes, shOvels and other tools. Then
If he is blessed with a borrowing neigh
Dor the sight of tho name may remind
the borrower to return the tool before
he has worn it out. At least there will
be less danger of his thinking he owns
it because ne has had it SO long that he
has forgotten how he came by it,
NeW England Farn,er.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
Society IN Washington.

Leaving aside the question of politica
morality, few people who have passed
winter in Washington will deny the
charm of its society. Acknowledging
all its faults, its crudeness-narrOw
ness, perhaps-and its lack of form. il
must yet be acknowledged that it diff
fers from all other American society in
the fact that it is not founded on wealth.
1t is the only society which is really
republican, though it has little resem.
blance to the Republican Court oil
the first AdministratiOn-the only one
in America which has a w%ell-defined
basis. And that basis is public station,
temporarily conferred. whether directly
or indirectly, by the expressed wishes
of fellOwmen. The holding of such
public station necessarily implies intelli-
gence, and thus it is intelligence, as dis
tinguished from lineage or wealth.
which is the fundamental basis in
Washington society. Such a society
does not feel obliged to adopt certain
customs because it is reported at second
hand that they are good form in London.
Its opinions are rObustly Independent.
its Information is extensive, and its
subjects o. conversation are many and
varied. Il is not to be imagined that
such a society is we'll defined, or that
its rules age clearly established-though
it is true that the etiquette of Social
Life in Washington has been most elab-
orately formulated in a little pamphlet,
of which fresh edition is perennially
produced, and which is said to sell in
great numbers. 1t is undoubtedly open
to the criticism of being raw. to the
same extent-but nc mOre-that society
in London is subservient and snObbish.
and in New York illiterate and COM
mercial. Nothing can be more ridicu-
lous than the public levees of the Pres:-
deaf, where the doors are thrown Open
that every person in the street may en-
ter them In a crush, and stand in a
slowly-moving procession for two hours,
in order that during half a minute of
that time the President may be seen and
his arm may be wrenched. But this is
moi peculiar to Washington alone. Such
public receptions" are inflicted upon
Presidents in all cities which they
visit. Hardly less incongruOus are the
VSo1CSuny oAtCIIIOOu ICSCptiOuS vi tuC
wives of Cabinet officers; when their
doors are also thrown open and hundreds
of strangers tramp through their psrlors
Ito pay their respects" The wives of
Judges and Senators and Represent
atives have to endure the same thing on
other afternoons of the week. 1t has
come to be considered as part of the
price of public station But no matter
what Office a man may hold. no one may
come to his dinner table without IN in
vitatiOn. And it is in dinners that
Washington society excels. Diplomats
and travellers from every part of the
world; men distinguished in political
life, on the Bench, and in war; men of
science and men of letters; women of
intelligence and culture, with the native
grace and beauty for which American
are justly Observation-Disclosures is
no such wealth of choice in any other
American city, and there Ano other
dinner parties $50 entertaining a those
Of Westinghouse Century.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
EXPLORATION Of New tIuinea.

-" sin connection with the Waltham
Watch Company. it may be stated that
when the prOprietors of The Age desired
to present Mr.. 6. f. Morrison (the explor-
er of New G~uinea) with a reliable chro-
nometer. acting upon the advice of Mr..
R-L.J. Ellery, the Govern't Astronomer.
two Waltham watches were, however.
procured for Mr.. Morrison instead.
These were kept at the Melbourne OBJ
.servatory for a fortnight, and thorough
ly and carefully tested, and were pro-
nounced by Mr.. Eilery, at the end of
that time, to be better suited for Mr..
Morrison's requirements than any chro-
nometer."-EIt. from Melbourne AQe.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
Tanners record in fasting has be-

Tanners record in fasting has been
greatly surpassed by a Newburg spider
that lived two hundred and tOur daFs
without food or water. That specimen
ought to be stuffed and mounted for
permanent preservation with the record
of his extraordinary fast. California
spiders stuffed are in great demand for
collections at fifty cents apiece. This
Tanner spider ought to fetch a large
price for y museum.-N. y. Tribune.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
1t is doubtful if a team could be

1t is doubtful II q team could be
employed to better advantage at this
season than in hauling sand for putting
on the garden where tie soil is clayey
aud heavy. 1t will not only make it
much easier to work but will also put
the soil in condition to more readily
yield up its elements OF fertility Y.
Times.
The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-28
new street game in New Yor

The new street game in New York
is thus described: A young man insists
on talking to you until there appears
his confederate who il recognized as q
detective and to whom he denounces
you as a picHpocket- The bogus do.
tect;ve arrests you, but will let you of
for a consideration. Ii you refuse they
knock you down aud aslp Themselves
~. !. Star.
The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-08
A Proposed Monopoly Defeated.

PITTSBURGH, Pa, July 31.-In the United
States Court the applications for an injunc-
ton by the Atlantic Giant Powder Company
of California to restrain Marquis, Hulings,
Wilson, Barr, Howe, ct al. from infring-
ing upon letters patent for method of ex-
pioding nitro-glycerine, was dismissed by
Judge Acheson on the ground that the
method under which the parties had been
operating had been distinctly and unequivo-
cably disclaimed by Albert Mobiles, to whom
the original letters patent had been issued.
The case has been OF trial for a long tune
and excited good deal of interest, as de
cision in the plaintiffs favor would have
given them gigantic monopoly.
The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-08
Hendricks Notified.

SARATOGA, N. Y, July 31.-The Demo
cratic Mott fcatiOn Committee waited upon
Mr.. Hendricks at the Grand Union Hotel,
at two o'clock yesterday afternoon, to for
mally notify him of his nomination to the
Vice-Presidency. Chairman Villas delivered
the address, and the formal letter of Motif
was read by Mr. Bell, Secretary of the COM
mittee. Governor Hendricks responded
briefly, accepting the nomination and thank
ing the committee. At the close
of Mr.. Hendricks remarks, hearty
applause was given and he was in
trOduced to each member of the committee
and general hand shaking followed. after
which the people then paid their respects to
Mr.. Hendricks and quietly dispersed.
The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-08
THE LATEST.

Tia United States Hotel building, ct
WASHINGTON, collapsed in the rear the other
day. Several persons were buried in the
ruins, of whom five or six were reported
killed. ...- .... a.-..r-. ........ ...
VANDERBnr's mare, Maud s., lowered
the trotting record the day after Jay-Eye-
See brought it down to 2:10. Maud s. was
reported to have made the mile on a slow
track in BOOK.
gWEIMER Bros Bank, Suspension Bridge,
N. Y, has suspended. ..r.... ...r
INDICATIONS Of good-sizsd cotton crop
were reported. 't
A DISPATCH from Havana chronicles the
death of the GOVERNOR General of Porto
Rico from yellow fever. ..s. ..f.,
The main aqueduct supplying the City of
Mexico burst recently. Water is being
carried to the city and sold at fabulous
prices. t.ft. -.''s e. 4 ..il-i
Ex-SPEAEER KEIFER was badly beaten
a primary election held in the Springfield.
O., Congressional district A Captain
Bushnell was chosen.
The New York Board of Health has dis
patched meat inspector to Chicago to in
vestigate the Texas fever question and see
whether impure meat is being shipped east
ward
A CONFERENCE of Republicans and
Greenhackers of West Virginia was held
recently at Deerpark Hotel. Stephen B.
EIkins presided. A effort was to be made
to carry that State for Blaine.
FATHER ]. P. SMITH, of ST. Mary's
Church, Edwardsville, ILL.,, fell into his
well one night recently. His body was not
discovered Tor several days. Es'Es-
LOUISIANA defaulted in the payment of
its "baby" bends on the 1st.
The steamer Eagle from Newburg to
Albany was burned near Wilson, N. Y, re-
Gently. No lives lost.
THE extensive glass works of Kingston
s Co, Pittsburgh. were destroyed by fire
recently. ...-..
A DUEL took place in New Orleans the
other day between Ducoto and Lemaina.
The former was dangerously wounded.
., A MANUFAcToRY of explosive bombs was
discovered by the police of Paris, who ar
rested three persons fo&nd at work.
A SPECIAL from Bar Harbor, Me-, says
the Green Mountain HosSe, recently re-
built, was destroyed by fire. '.'. +'
The Chief Engineer of the Army has re-
ceived the annual reports Of all the engin-
eer officers in charge of the coast andshar-
Dor defenses. They assert that the Atlantic
coast and lake fronts are in an almost to-
tally defenseless condition. a.tls
CHOLERA was reported as having broken
put In several places in Italy. Curious
Incidents are related Of the persecution of
physicians by the ignorant population,
he physicians being charged with pro.
noting the disease.