davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
A Feat in Penmanship.

Mr.. Joseph English, who is in the en-
ploy of the Boston Button company, has
written upon postal card the entire ad-
dress of the Hon. II. B. Metcalf, of Paw
tuckct, R. l., delivered before the Gen.
cral Convention of universalists at their
session of 1885 in Brooklyn, N. Y. This
address contains, counting all compound
hyphenatcd words (such as self-salva-
ton, self -faithfulness, etc., as two, a
total of 4, 1862 words; but if these CON-
pound words are counted as one each, the
address (and card contains 4, 147 words.
To form some idea of the wonderful
character of this performance it may be
stated that this card contains 1855 lines of
writing, each line averaging a fraction
of over twenty five words. The number
of lines written within the space of the
last inch is thirty-fve, and to show the
possibilities Of even more unique perform
ance, the last thirty nine lines on the
card, written in the space of l $40
inches, contain 1913 words, and
leave half line to spare.
Mr.. English used no mlgnifying glass
or any auxiliary to his cyesight, did the
work by gaslight, used what is known as
a ''crow quill" steel pen, and at various
sittings took in all about 20 1-2 hours to
finish the card. The writing is regular
and legiblc and can be read by the naked
eye.-Boston J0u,nat
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
Monkey Friendship.

Albert Messner, captain of a Bremen
East -Indiaman, vouches for an incident
which, says DR.. Oswald, seems to prove
that the friendships of animals even OF
different species, can assume the form OF
uncomfortable passions. In Singapore
the captain had bought fine gibbonape,
which seemed rather slow in getting
over its shynes>, and would squeal at the
mere touch of human hand, but soon
became the fast friend of good-naturedi
Young Newfoundlander. They would
roll and romp together on the deck, run
races along the bulwarks, and often keep
in the slmc corner, unless the roughness
of the weather made it necessary to
transfer the gibbons couch to the cabin:
Near Su nbawa the schooner encountered
violent gale, which played havoc
with a portion of the rigging,
and in the midst of the confusion,
Omar, the Newfoundlander, was knocked
overheard by a swinging spar. The ship
was scudding along at twenty-knot
rate. and it would have been worse than
useless to lower boat, but the heart OF
every man on board was wrung when
they heard through the night and dark
ness the howling appeal of their poor dog,
who was making desperate efforts to
ovcrtake the fast rcceding chance of SAL
vation. While all hands were tugging
away at the recfing ropes several sailors
noticed the gibbon dashing in wild e2-
citement about the deck, and uttering
yells that sounded like answers to the
cries of his drowning friend. At last the
captain himself heard those ye|ls from
the stern of the ship, and, fastening
back, thought that he heard splash in
the water, but the darkness of the night
prevented him from recognizing the dim
object seeming to toss about in the wake
of the schooner. As soon as the storm
abated they searched and hallocd al over
the ship, but only the bowling Of an old
tom-cat answered their calls. The gib-
bon had ioined his friend.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
A THUNDERBOLTS WORK.

A Wisconsin Farmhouse Demolished
in a Moment During Storm.
The family of John Krieur, living near
Belgium, Wis, had a terrible experience the
other night. They retired at the usual hour,
about eleven o'clock. They were aroused
from sleep by a heavy thunder and
lightning storm, and before they had
time to apprehend any danger
the house was struck By thunderbolt, which
passed through it, completely shattering the
imbers and bringing it down in a wreck
about the now affrighted family. Mr.. Krieur,
with his wife and two children, had been
asleep on the lower floor. The electric
fluid set fire to the bed and burned one of the
children severely, if not fatally. The bed
was torn to pieces and the bedding, both
above and below the family, torn to shreds,
but, strange to say, none Of the other mem
bers of the family but the child mentioned
were injured.
After the first shock Mr. Krieur started to
dig his way out Of the timberS and wreckage
that covered himself and family. To add to
their discomfort sharp shower set in. This,
however, proved blessing, as it a1ayed
the thick dust that enveloped the place.
After much hard work the father was able
to rescue the family and give them shelter in
the barn adjoining until the storm had
abated, when they took refuge in the house
Of neighbor.
Everything considered the escape Of the
family with The one sad exception was mirac-
ulous.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
FACTS FOR THE CURIOUS.

The germs which give rise to malarial
fever have been found by two Italian
Psychologists.
In the arctic region there are 762 kinds
of flowers. Fifty Of these ale confined
to the arctic region.
Three remarkable prices have been
paid at public auction this year, $40. 500
for painting by Breton, $4,000 for
three year old filly, Dewdrop, and $751;
600 for porcelain vase.
A novel remedy for consumption has
been discovered By a victim of pulmon-
ary disease in Chicago, who boils down
the corpses of dead dogs and spreads the
extracted grease on bread, instead OF
butter.
In case young man in Burmah breaks
matrimonial engagement the law COM
pels him to give the Tilted girl bulldog
worth thirty rupees, pig three feet IN
girth, spear, fork: bag, a piece OF
Ornamental cloth and five pots of khoung.
A Frenchman, the Comptc de St.
Vallier, has recently died, who for twenty
wears had lived only on milk owing to
an incurable disease of the stomach.
Every other diet but milk was impossi-
BILE, vet with heroic fortitude he pro-
longed his existence, even giving excel
lent dinners to his friends, at which nc
would simply relieve the monotony OF
abstinence by moistening his lips with
glass of milk.
Signor FARM, an African explorer,
SAYS that in the region of the Kalaharl
desert every native. when he goes out
hunting, carries with him some dried
poison glands of snake. If he Is bit.
ten he Immediately introduces a small
portion of this stuff near the wound, and
goes to sleep. The limb swells, but after
two DAYS it regains its normal size, and
the patient recovers. Animals are treated
in the same way.
The founder or fiat fish, when first
hatched, has eyes placed like those OF
other fish. Soon one eye begins to move
down nearer the mouth and over to the
other side of the head, until finally both
ewes are on the same side, usually the
right. The founder lies on its side,
partly to escape its enemies, which 1t
does by burying itself in the sand, ana
partly because 1t has no airbladder and
its fins are imperfectly developed.
The peasant Indians of Central
America hold some curious superstitions,
of which the following are examples:
When child is i'll the mother takes
drake, singes its tail feathers, and, NUT
tering certain words, passes it over the
patient. A woman feeds parrott with
few pieces of tortilla and gives the
child he-crumbs which fall from the
beak, as they will make it talk! Collie is
due to the evil eye; in order to get rid OF
the disturbing influence the woman
breaks four ducks eggs into basin, and,
having mixed them with rue, places the
whole under the child's bed; if the
compound be curdled in the morning the
spirit has departed.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
Orange Culture in Florida.

The orange groves in Florida. says an
exchange, were few and far between
ffty-fve years ago, and they We're not at
that early day source of profit to their
owners. Some of the trees were very
aged. Mr.. Bowden, at Mandarin, owned
one in 1885 which was said to be seventy
five years DID,. That year 1000 oranges
were picked from it. Another tree in
St. Augustine was supposed to be a@hun-
dred years old. But these trees were
killed to the ground by the great freeze
of 1885. Mrs. Hall, on the St. Johns,
not far from Jacksonville, at that time
had seventy-two trees on three-fourths OF
an acre, in scattering form. The year
before her crop had sold for 5000.
They were killed root and branch by the
great frost. After this frost for few
years all orange culture was abandoned,
but in 1888, $50 and 40 widespread
orange ':craze" broke out all along the
lower St. Johns, and many groves
were set out. A Mr.. Robertson,
near Mandarin, out distanced his neigh
bors and imported his trees, and with
them he also imported the scale insect.
This small creature soon made itself at
home spread from point to point until it
completely killed the orange fever. Mr..
Robertson tried all manner of expert
ments to rid himself of the pest, and
finally killed his trees by the application
of aqua forts. Most of the groves started
at this time were given up to the insect
and abandoned in disgust. One of these
abandoned groves was purchased in 1856
by Colonel Hart, who came an invalid to
Florida to die, though he has not yet &C.
complished the object. In 1856 visitor
described the Hart grove as being desc.
late enough in appearance. 1t was un.
fenced, had long been deserted to the in:
sect and looked as if it had been burned
through by fire. The trees however,
were fine old stumps, just putting out
few sprouts, and it is to-day the most
noted of the st. Johns river groves.
From that day to the present there has
never been a frost sufficiently severe to
kill full grown trees or to have any ap-
preciable effect upon the insect.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.

An alleged "cowboy. pianist" from the
West has been playing in New York.
Mr.. LUDWIG, the new baritone imported
by. the American Opera company, will receive
cooper week $3.50 for his services.
JOSEPH Torso, the man who composed the
"Arkansaw Traveller" is still living at the
age of eighty-fve years in Cincinnati.
EDWIN BOOTH and Salvini, the Italian
tragedian, will give joint performance in
Philadelphia at the academy, on Mays.
HENRY IRv1NG's eldest son is to 60 upon
the professional stage. He has been very
successful in amateur dramatic performances
DAN RICE, the one-time famous Shakes
perian circus clown, is 1ecturing in Texas,
and is said to receive $500 q week for his
talk.
JOHN T. RAYMOND closed his season with
"The Magistrate, in St. Louis, a few days ago.
Mr. Raymondis health still continues in an
unsatisfactory condition.
MISS NETT1E HOOPER, the daughter of the
well-known Paris correspondent, Mrs. Lucy
Hooper, has been engaged for the Edwin
Booth company next season.
BARBARA ROBINSON, little uneducated
e-year-old colored girl OF West Point, Ca,
bids fair to rival Blind Tom as a pianist.
She plays any composition that she has once
heard.
NINE. CHRISTINE NILSSON has signed
contract with Mr.. Maurice Strakosch for
farewell operatic and concert tour in the
United States from October Is, 1886, to May
l, 1887.
GILBERT AND SULLIvAN's next effcrt in
comic opera will present as the heroine an
Egyptian girl who learns that she is de-
scendant Of an ancient princess, and under
takes to live up to her illustrious ancestry:
The fun is to be derived from the mixture Of
by-gone Egyptian and present English dress,
customs and usages.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
A Reminiscence of Chattanooga.

DR.. Henry NJ. Field in letter describ-
ing visit to the battlefield of Chatta
nooga in his paper, the Evangelist, says:
III had the good fortune to have in
the carriage with me two Confederate
officers Gndeed, to confess the truth, I
looked out for this in the first place. who
had been in the battle of Chattanooga,
and could speak of it as eye-witnesses.
So, as we stood on the top of the hill, I
said to one of them: "Now give me the
points of compass and the position of
the armies" "Wctl," he answered, "you
see across the river yonder ridge COW
cred with trees. That way the Federals
came. Though we knew that they were
approaching, yet at last they appeared
suddenly. remember the first shell
that fell in Chattanooga. 1t was on
Thanksgiving Day in 1868. The people
were in church. I am sorry to say
was differently employed. Henry Wat
terson-now of the Courier -Jowrnal, of
Louisville-:nd I were editing a little
paper ca'lcd the Chattanooga Rebel. In
stead of being in church, as we ought
to have been, we were playing cards,
when from the forest beyond the river
came the booming of a gun, and the shell
scenes, L burst over our heads. We did
not stop to finish the game" Whether
the unaccustomed sound gave lurid
turn to his editorials afterward he did
not say; though I believe the Rebel con-
tinucd to appear, whistling to keep its
courage up, until "thc Yankees" became
rather numerous and it concluded that
discretion was the better part Of valor,
and Chattanooga knew it no more.
''Did you see anything more OF the
war;"
eyes, indeed; here" pointing to an
ugly scar on his face, ':is the mark of a
shot which one of your boys gave me as
they charged up Missionary Ridge" I
must say that my companion spoke of
this little incident with perfect good ma
ture Gas a soldier is generally proud of
his wounds, looking upon it as kind of
'love tap'-a gentle touch which some
sharrshooter had given him ''just to re-
member him BY" 1t is very pleasant to
see how the men on both sides talk of
these things without particle of resent
ment. Like the brave fellows they were,
since they were in the war, they learned
to take it as it came-its ups and downs,
it's fortunes and misfortunes; its victories
and defeats; and now that it is all over,
ttey speak of it only with the interest
which they must feel in recounting the
most eventful period of their lives.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
NEWSY GLEANINGS.

THE colleges of this country contain 900
female students.
NEW census shows the population OF
Rome to be 345, ,035, of whom II, l0o are SOL
dierS.
Mrs. ELIZABETH SHIRLEY, who died at
Walnut, Iowa, few days ago, had lived loo
years.
SILVER has been discovered and mines
partially worked in twenty-one counties ID
Texas.
THE claims for damages during the recent
London riots amount to $4OO,OO With more
in sight.
SEAwEED has been the main dependence
of many fanine-stricken Irish Islanders al
Innisbottin.
THERE are in twenty-five States 3Os, ,4is
more women than men. Dakota has ~, 4lo
more men than women.
The total production OF copper IN t9s
country last year was It's, 825, 7G6 pounds,
against Ia, ,99446 99446 ,G53 pounds in 1884.
IT has Just been discovered that the green
sands which are very plentiful in Georgia
have valuable fertilizing qualities.
IT is stated that a citizen of Reading, Penn,
has invented winding clocks, one OF
which has been running for five years.
IT is estimated that fifteen cars day for
period Of four months WILL De TeIulreu ~
market the orange crop OF Southern Call
fornia-
AT Budapest, Hungary, the Austrian gov
ernment has a model ualry school, "heIe
from 10000 to 1900 quarts of milk are daily
manipulated.
ACCORDING to the report Of its State Dairy
association, Iowa has l,200, 900 COWS, pro
duces annually $50, 600, 900 of dairy products
and annually ships S.4 00O, 600.
A PLAN for rendering paper as tough
as wood or leather has been devised IN
Europe. It consists of mixing chloride, OF
zinc with the pulp in course OF manutac-
ture.
BLoND1N, the rope-walker, who is now
sixtv-two wears old and living in London,
contemplates another professional tour in
this country to recruit his unbalanced for
tunes.
MAKERS of brooms report an e1traor-
dina,y scarcity of broom corn, which now
brings an extremely high price in the whole
sale market, and they predict that the price
of brooms will soon be doubled.
The largest steel rifle ever made in this
country has just been finished at the Wash
ington navy yard. 1t is of eight-inch bore,
thirty feet long, and throws ball weighing
$50 pounds with 115 pounds of powder.
The largest land sale ever effected in Ar
kansas, or in the Southwest, perhaps, was the
recent sale of all the land belonging to the
Little Rock and Fort Smith railway COM
pany, G30, 900 acres It was sold at $l.25 per
acre.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
Two Girls and Farmer Killed
PrOOcrty DESTROYED.

Two Girls and n Farmer Killed
Property Destroyed.
One of the most severe and disastrous
thunder storms known fol- years occurred the
other morning, between l and 3 o'clock,
in Western Connecticut 1t ragged with un-
exampled severity in the Naugatuck Valley.
In Watertown the lightning struck house
occupied by William McGaffey and Clarence
Cook. The building was almost demolished,
and two young women, Sarah and Jane Nc
Gaffey, aged twenty and eighteen years re-
spectively, were instantly killed.
Along the line OF the New Haven and
Northampton road the storm was very
severe. Two depots on this road-at Ches-
hire and Farmington-were struck, the latter
structure being burned to ashes. The Ches-
hire depot was set on fire, but by strenuous
effortsth flames were eXtinguished. The tele-
graphic instruments were entirely destroyed.
The station at Bristol, on the New York
and New England railroad, was entirely de-
stroyed. 1t was new building, erected only
q year ago. and was undoubtedly fired ey the
electric fluid.
At about the same time that theabove dis
asters occurred q terrible thunder and
lightning storm passed over the central
portion of Ontario, Canada. Alfred AID
worth, q young farmer residing near Bow
manville, was killed by lightning. The fluid
struck the chimney, ran down the stovepipe
and few off, striking the bed in which he
and his wife and child were sleeping The
wife and child were not injured.
During heavy rain and thunder storm at
New Orleans, lightning struck the foremast
of the bark E. G. F., shivering the masthead
The fluid passed down the iron mast and set
fire to the cargo, consisting of l,5OO bales of
cotton Many bales wero damaged by fire
or water. The loss is estimated at $4,000;
fully insured.
There were also heavy thunderstorms
along the Hudson river. The house of ".
w. Smith, at Millbrook, N. Y, was struck
by lightning and with its contents burned.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
A DESPERADO'S FATE.
Killing Two Men and WoundinS
Others-ShOt In a Barn.

Killing Two Men and WoundinS
Others-Shot In Barn.
Au exciting tragedy which was begun in
Burt county, Neb., ON Saturday, the 10th,
was brought to q close on the 21st by the
killing of the desperate, Allen Wright,
who. after killing his employer, H. C.
StedInan, and Charles P. johnson, was
pursued and chased into barn
twelve miles from the scene Of the
first murder. Being armed with revolver
and Winchester rife, and having plenty
Of ammunition, he held crowd of over 300
armed men at bay from Saturday morning
until late hour Sunday afternoon. During
Sunday he fatally woaniei Edgar Everett,
and .riously woun led several others. AS
he had food and milk in the barn, it was i'm
possible to starve him out 1t was therefore
determined to burn him out, and this plan
was carried into execution.
When Wright saw that escape was impos-
sibae he fired twenty Or thirty shots at the
crowd, no one being wounded, however. the
crowd, which entirely surrounded the barn,
fired volley after voi!ey from Winchester
rifles from all sides ol the spot in the barn
where they supposed Wright to be. When
the fire was extingui: he'd it was found that
his head had been almost shot away, and his
body WAS full of bullets His arms and legs
we're burned off. He was buried near by.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
FALL RIVERS CITY HALL.
A Handsome Structure and q Bis
Library in Ashes.

A Handsome Structure and a Big
Library in Ashes.
Fire was discovered in the city hall at Fall
River, Mass, the other day. The flames were
seen issuing through the roof at the cast end
Of the building. Before the fire department
arrived the entire upper story was 81 mass OF
flames. Sparks and burning pieces of wood
dropped on neighborjng buildings, but they
were saved from destruction. The whole lire
department were soon at work.
fhree-quarters of an hour after the 1irs
was discovered, the tower, lG5 feet high, con
tanning clock and bell, fell to the street
with terrible crash, scattering burning tinl
bers in all directions. The upper floors and
parts of the walls fell about the same time
The firemen worked vigorously and in short
time had the fire in check.
The building, which contained all the city
Offices and library of $4,000 volumes, wa;
stately granite structure, four stories high
It was built in 1874, the year after the great
FIRE, at cost Of $75,000. It was remodelei
in 1872, at cost Of s1e5, ,00o The entire loss
is PLACED at s50o, 200, on which there was nc
insurance.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
Wasting their Shot.

Rivarolcs was an excellent il i.utcnant-
general, and died in 1104. lie was by
birth Piedmontese, and had Joined the
army in France, where he was greatly
esteemed. Long before that time he had
lost one of Ills legs by cannon ball. At
the battle of Ncerwindcn, another cannon
shot took off his wooden leg and threw
him fat on the ground. On being lifted
up he was found to be uninjurea, where
upon he burst out laughing. "The
fools" he said, 'wasting their shot in
that mannerl They little know thai I
have got two other legs in my port
manteau."
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
Early Morning in Partisan Markets.

Madame Greville, in lecture delivered
in New York on phases of Partisan life,
said: In the early morning the life of
Paris centres in the great markets. Ever
since midnight the great hogsheads OF
carrots and cabbages have been coming
in to feed Paris. All, you don't know
how much poetry there is to be found IN
a basketful of carrots, hiding their little
red noses in their leaves. But there is
something still more poetic than carrots
at the IN lrkets-there are flowers.
Flowers are passion among the Parish
ans. They can't get along without them.
But don't misunderstood; the flowers
to be found in these markets are not the
flowers for which you pay so dearly.
They are modest little flowers,
suitable only for penny bouquets,
but the poor girl who leaves one of
these penny bouquets with her sick
mother when she goes to her days work,
has given the lonely invalid q real COM
panion. After the housekeeper has
bought her days provisions at the market
and sent her children off to school, she
has few minutes to devote to her hus-
.band. The Offices don't open until ten
o'clock, and in France it is the wife's
duty to spoil her husband. I've been
told since have beek - America that
here it is the husbands who spoil their
wives. Happy wives! But be that as it
may, the wife in Paris after giving her
husband as good breakfast as her purse
and culinary skill can produce, sends him
off to work in the best possible humor.
At five o'clock she goes to meet him on his
return, and if they have a little time to
spare, they take walk along the boule.
ward like two old lovers.