davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
Poor Old Arkansas.

Half century ago, while the first
Legislature elected in Arkansas after
she was admitted into the Union was
in session, an afiray occurred on the floor
of the House of Representatives be-
tween Col. John Wilson. the Speaker
of the House, and member named
Anthony, in which the latter was killed.
The weapon used by Speaker Wilson
on that occasion was bowie-knife, and
from that day to this Arkansas has
borne a hard name in the North, and
by MANY has been called the "Bowie
Knife State" But Notwithstanding the
handicapping under which she has
been compelled to move in the race OF
progress, she bids fair to outstrip near
~ all the Southern States before an
other decade. George Russ Brown,
of the Little Rock Gazette, at q press
banquet in Memphis the other day,
responded to the toast Arkansas,
and in the course of his remarks told
some things and gave some statistics
touching his State which may prove of
interest, if not of value, to people who
may be contemplating the seeking of
homes farther south:
1--WE have a State 200 miles across
from north to south, and we raise every
product known to the temperate zone
and supply semi-tropical fruits in
abundance. OF Strawberries and mel
ons we run special train loads to the
markets of the North. Prior to 1872
We were practically without railroads,
and now the State is gridironed with
them, and we have more miles of nav
igable river than any other State, 900
miles. The resources are greater than
any other section of territory OF equal
area on the face of the globe. Can you
find another State where fifty-eight
out of seventy-five counties bear man
featuring minerals? Can you find an
other State whose long staple cotton
wins the big premium wherever shown
and whose fruits are awarded first
prizes In such rapid succession?
Nv here IS there mother state show
ing eighty different varieties of timber
and 1900 square miles of heavily tim
bered land? And we are erecting one
new Woodworking establishment every
ten days. And, by the way, Arkansas
produces more cotton per acre than
any other Southern State. Poor old
AThduSHS
ave have pine trees enough to make
10000, 600, 000, feet of lumber, and last
year the output of our mills brought
us 500, coo, 600 and furnished our al
ready over-taxed railroad lines with
100, 900 carloads of product, and be-
sides we also made heavy shipments of
logs to European countries via river to
New Orleans. Unknown, idle, ira
duced Arkansas
word about our free schools, for
often we are referred to as illiterate.
We had last year 2,102 free school
houses and 374, 767 pupils. We ex-
pended on our free schools 1897, 6.3.
The increase in schools is 233, in pu-
pills 16,76l, and in funds expended
olp,7 0. Arkansas is becoming en-
lightened!"
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

ter-troughs are erected at intervals.
small packages of hay, oats and meal
are sold at the shops along the way
side, and the ishvoshtnik gets his coffee
and his meat at the same places, feed
ing, as he lives, with his horse. Both
horses and masters seem never to tire,
both are always on the alert, the dri-
vers are always cheerful and good-na-
tured, and the horses always ready to
start off like whirlwind as soon as
they get the word. Neither seems to
care for the cold or rain, and the one is
about as much an animal as the other.
The harness of the horse Is as light
as leather can be made, none of the
straps being more than half an inch in
width. and most of them are round,
not larger than lead pencil. There
Is no breechen, because there are no
grades in Petersburg, the country is
perfectly level. There are no binders
on the bride, for the horse fears moth
ing; he will walk up to q locomotive
with as much indifference as his mas
ter He never SHES, never gets rat
tied, never runs away, but is perfectly
obedient TO the voice of his master.
There are no traces, as the vehicle is
drawn by the thIlls. which are made
faSt to the heavy collar with high
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

steering; two others are fastened to
the axle or the whiffietrees, and their
heads are kept together by straps.
Very seldom do they trot, but COM
monty go at gallop mile after mile.
In the winter months travelling is
much more agreeable, notwithstanding
the cold. The sledges are much more
comfortable than the wheeled vehicles,
and one can sleep in nest of furs that
is provided for him. Passengers are
often frost bitten, but a Russian thinks
no more of such an accident than of
mosquito bite. The latter would prob
ably annoy him the more. He does not
60 to fire to warm when frost-bitten
but rubs the part with snow until the
friction thaws it out, and no discomfort
follows.
But the natives of all classes arc cap
able of enduring an almost incredible
amount of heat and cold. They dress
warmly in furs and fannels, but even
such garments would not reconcile an
ordinary man or woman to tempera-
ture which sends the mercury down to
thirty or forty degrees below zero, day
after day and week after week, almost
continuously from November till April.
The Russian peasant Is frequently al
! luded to as first cousin to the polar
bear, and his habits and endurance
seem to establish the relationship. He
will drive a sledge across the bleak
plains, with the wind bowling at the
rate of thirty miles an hour and tue
thermometer frozen, without the slight
est apparent discomfort. and he will
sit on the box of coach or q sledge be-
fore the theater, or a house in which
there is a reception, hour after hour,
and chat socially with his fellows, when
the mercury is down to forty below
ZarO
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

and is said to be effective. The upper
classes have baths in their homes as we
do, and have physicians of great skill
to treat them when they are sick, but
in the rural districts there are few doc
tors of medicine, and diseases are treat
ed-sometimes cured-and wounds are
dressed, either by what is known as o
"Feldsher," or "Znakharka.
The former is usually some old SOL
der, retired from the army, crippled
or disabled by disease, and has some
knowledge of surgery which he has
learned in the barracks or the hos
pitfalls. He can set limb with some
skill, is familiar with the standard
remedies for fevers and other common
ailments, and understands the uses of
ordinary physic.
The "Znakharka" is midwife, a
fortune-teller, village gossip, dealer
in herbs, an interpreter of dreams and
signs and omens, manipulation of
charms and amuiets, sorceress, who
exercises the evil spirits, and witch,
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
The Genuine Russian Bath.

The Russian bath, as we know it,
cannot be had in the country from
which it gets its name. In New York
or Chicago it is common. The subject
is placed in chest, with his head
sticking out through the top, and steam
is turned on his body for awhile, then
he plunges into pool of cold water,
and is thoroughly rubbed by an at
tendant. Such baths may be had in
Russia, but 1 could not learn where.
The real Russian bath, that which the
mu TX takes, and from which ours gets
its name. is considerably different.
The muiik crawls into his oven, which
is built large enough to accommodate
him, lies there till he is afloat in his
own perspiration, aud then runs out
naked into the open air and rolls in the
snow.
This extraordinary procedure is
adopted as a cure for disease, as we'll
as for the publication OF the person.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

Russian institutions. and you won't find
their like elsewhere.
One can find poor horses in Russia, /
suppose, but very few in Petersburg or
the other large cities. They are tall,
long-legged animals, with slender bod
les and limbs, long silken names and
tails, the latter nearly always reach
ing to the ground, small heads, small
feet, large, intelligent eyes, and
necks arched like the chargers one
sees in pictures Of the Bedouins of
the desert. l always thought such
horses were the creation of the artists,
but Russia is full of them. There is a
familiar picture of wild horses fleeing
from fire on the prairies, with long
names and tails floating in the breeze,
with eyes flashing fire and fury, and
flecks of foam floating in the air from
their lips and nostrils. and another of
similar animals ridden by Bedouins
with sheets wrapped around their
heads and scimetars in their hands.
1 have always admired these pictures
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
Georgia Girls Stamp eded.

A farmer walked up to the station
leading young steer by rope attached
to his horns, which steer was drawing q
two-wheel cart, and in the cart sat an
old lady and two buxom young girls.
They, the girls, had never before seen
a railroad, and had come down on this
quiet Sabbath morn to see the monster
for the first time.
After driving the steer and cart over
the road the old man drove up by the side
of the track few feet and halted. Just
then the whistle of the engine was heard
as it approached the station, and the
rumbling sound was heard for the first
time by the two girls. The both jumped
up as the steaming, shrieking engine
came rushing into view, while Buck
threw up his head and began to back.
The old man yelled whoa, Buck! |"
while the old woman said, "Sot still,
Victoria Elizabeth, you an Josephine
Boarnergus, it amt er gwain ter hurt
yer. Me an yer pap has rid on keers,"
and she caught hold of the dress OF
each one, but the engine gave another
shrek and seemed to be dashing
straight on them. Both girls jumped
out, one on either side OF the wagon,
while Buck gave snort and started off
at full tilt. Pap held on to the rope,
and was lerked slong at the rate Of
twenty miles an hour, hollering." Whoa,
Buck yer dern fool, it won't hurt yer,"
while the old woman was spilled in
terribly mixed up state with her cloth
ing, calling first to one girl and then to
the other: Victoria Elizabeth, yo'
Their thing can't run off the track,
But her entreaty was in vain; the
girls heard her, but believed their SAL
walton was in flight, and they ran about
as fast as Buck, while the old woman
picked herself up and started after
Victory" Josephine was going at
lightning speed, and approaching
fence, leaped over it Like deer, but
her dress caught on stake, and there
was tearing sound, but no stop-she
went flying over the field like racer,
while her skirts flew to the breeze like
a banner of defiance. The old wonfan,,
with some help, caught Victoria Eliza
beth, while the old man rau Buck into
the corner of fence and soon had him
securely tied; but Josephine had O
good half-mile start when the old man
went in pursuit, saying: "Goshl how
that leetle creetur can hop. I'll halter
be mighty spry to cotch her in ten
miles O. here!" And he put out like a
quarter horse. The old woman and
two other parties were holding Victoria
Elizabeth when the train moved off,
but we have not heard whether the old
man ever caught up with Josephine
Boarnergus" or not.-Americus Re-
4l7IbIicdgl
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
The DROSKY AND ITS DRIVER
3hc Hanson Cab Of the City
Founded by Peter the
Great
Cheap and Rapid Transportation
The lshvoshtnik and His
Habits.
Drosky- Riding, and Why 1t Is Popu-
lar with Young Men and
Women.
The Russian Horse-The Imperial Postal
The Russian Horse-The Imperial Postal
Service The Genuine Russian
Bath.

tvMLIAM ELERoY CURTIS, IN CHICAGO
NEWS.
Instead of Washington, Petersburg
should be called the city of magnifi-
cent distances. 1t is ride of three
quarters of an hour from the railway
station to the hotels in the center of
the town, and it is so far to almost
every place the stranger wants to visit
that he has neither the time nor the
strength for walking. But he has the
drosky, that curious vehicle that is
found nowhere else, and street cars
that take him anywhere and every
where. Only the peasants use the
street cars. however, and we were
warned against using them because of
the vermin.
The fares are very cheap-as cheap
as the ferries in New York. One can
ride from one end of the city to the
other for 10 copecks, and the usual fare
is 5-,about cents. But the droskies
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02


Among the inventors who had sacri-
flee enough for their brain children to
be called indeed martyrs" is Charles
Goodyear, the man to whom we are in
debted for India-rubber. 1t was Ia
1920 that pair of rubber shoes was
seen for the first time in the United
States, and then they were merely
handed about as a curiosity. Good
year found, in 1884 that for all practical
purposes, rubber was a failure. Articles
made from it melted in summer,
and emitted such an offensive odor that
it became necessary to bury them. At
the time when his attention was turned
to the subject, he was a bankrupt, and
his first experiments with rubber were
made in Jail.
Like all persevering inventors, he
thereafter sacrificed not only his time
and money, for the sake of his project,
but all the funds which he could bor-
row or beg from his friends.
His wife's jewels and family relics
speedily found their way to the pawn
brokers' and Goodyear moved into the
country in order that he might live as
economically as possible. At length
his invention was patented, and
wealthy partner joined him; but COM
mercial crisis soon swept away every
cent of their joint capital.
Then Goodyear found that he had
not even enough money TO buy food for
his family, and the pawnbroker became
his only resource.
BE had become an object OF general
ridicule, and one of his New York
friends, having. been asked how he was
to be recognized in the street, said OF
him. "If you see a man wearing an
India-rubber coat. India-rubber shoes,
an India-rubber cap, and in his pocket
an India-rubber purse, with not a cent
In il, that is he"
For he constantly wore the material
about, with the twofold oh; ect of test
ing and advertising it.
Sometimes he seemed to be on the
road to prosperity. The Government
once gave him an order for one hun
dred and fifty rubber mail-bags, but
when they were made, the handles
dropped off and the rubber fermented.
But Goodyear was not disheartened,
he baked India-rubber in his wife's
oven, boiled it in her saucepans. steam
ed it at the nose of the teakettle, roast
ed it in ashes, and toasted it before fires
quick and slow And all this time he
was regarded by most people as q
harmless but very wearisome
lunatic.
His children were often sick, hungry
and cold, and it is said that he once
sold their schoolbooks for five dollars,
with which he laid in new stock of
gum and sulphur for his experiments.
His darkest hour came when he had
in the house a dead child, with no
means of burying it, and five living
members of the family. with no food
for their next meal. His immediate
want was relieved, and his brothers adj
vanced money for carrying on his ex-
periments. In 1874, he was able to
produce vulcanized India-rubber, with
absolute economy and success.
But, having attained one object, he
adopted another, no less dear, that of
perfecting life-saving apparatus, and,
after twenty-seven years of labor, hav-
ing actually founded new industry,
he died insolvent, leaving his family an
inheritance of debt.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

are quite as cheap when comfort is
taken into consideration. / was about
to take street car one day to go to a
shop a mile or so distant from the
hotel, when the guide demonstrated
and insisted upon drosky.
But what's the use of taking dros-
Ky" 1 said, when the cars go right to
the placer"
at is about as cheap for the two of
us" he replied and so it was, for the
cost of the journey, for two passengers,
about mile, was 9 cents, and we were
hauled by horse that would sell In
New York for $500.
In no country in the world are there
such cheap, comfortable, and rapid ia
cilities for city transportation as in Pc
tersburg, and nowhere can one find
such splendid horses.
The drosky is an institution that
ought to be introduced into the States.
There is one in Washington, owned and
used by Mr.. Alex. Greger, the Secre-
tary of the Russian Legation, and it is
a great curiosity, but they would be
very useful and popular in all our
cities, particularly if they could be
drawn by Russian horses. There is as
much fascination in riding in a drosky
as in gondola in Venice, and 1T is the
first thing traveller wants to do when
he arrives In Petersburg. He will
send his bags by the omnibus and go
to the hotel in a drosky. 1t is a low
vehicle, the floor being scarcely more
than a foot from the ground, on four
wheels not much larger than those
@f Of min
ture victoria. The ishvoshtnik, or
driver, sits upon a high perch far
above the heads of the passengers,
who have low, narrow, backless seat
over the hird wheels. 1t is not I'M
comfortable. but the sensation at first
is alarming, particularly when you are
whizzing around a corner, for the
drivers always go like mad, and you
wish there was something to hold on
to. You fasten your hand on the seat
with good grip. and cling to your
your fellow-passenger, If you have
one.
/ should remark, by way of paren-
thesis, that when gentleman is riding
with lady in Russia, in the daytime
as well as after dark, in the principal
thoroughfares as well as in the Sc
cluded portions Of the parks, he always
puts his arm around her waist. 1t is
the custom of the country, and makes
drosky-riding popular with young peo-
pleas popular as dancing-and causes
no more remark than the attitude of a
waltz in ball-room-every one ex-
poets it. A little experience causes
the alarm to wear off, and you become
accustomed to let your body sway with
the motions of the vehicle. / inquired
IL any one was ever thrown out of o
drosky, and was told that such thing
never happened, and l think it is true,
for have seen men riding in them so
drunk that 1 thought they would top.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

as expressive of all that horses should
be, but never saw such animals alive
till went to Russia. There you can
see thousand that look just as if they
had stepped out of that picture, on any
street of the city, every day, many of
them harnessed to droskies that you
can hire for As cents an hour. The
ishvoshtnik is always prond of his
horse, if he has good one, and treats
him much better than he does his wife.
Nearly all the time he is disengaged
the ishvoshtnik is either petting or
rubbing his horse, and at intervals he
brings out little nose-bag from under
the seat, to feed him oats or meal.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

who practices all forms of demonomy.
She usually treats the women and chill
dren, while the "Feldsher" treats the
men. In addition to the exercise of
sorcery, and the practice of the heal
ing arts. she is also useful in negotiat-
ing marriages among the peasants. In
her capacity of confidential friend and
gossip she knows what hearts are loose
and may be tied together. If a maiden
loves young mujik, she confides in
the @Znakharka," who endeavors to
bring them together, and the young
mujiks often seek her mediation when
the maidens of the village are indiffer-
ent to their attentions.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
their sledges are noiseless and the ordi-
nary speed is great.
A Whip Is Never Used.

did not see one during my entire
stay in Petersburg, but the ishvoshtnik
keeps up a continual one-sided CONVEX
sation with his fleet footed partner,
now encouraging him with tender, ca
ressing epithets; now singing him
with sarcasm and taunts of scorn, and
again hurting at the horse profane ex-
pletives. The effect of the drivers
voice is peculiar and powerful, and an
observant rider will be interested in
studying this odd relationship. Now
the stallion, and only stations are
used, lis precious to the soul" of the
ishvoshtnik, or is his tender dove;' a
few moments later he is accused of be-
ing something entirely different in
terms that cannot be printed here, and
the horse seems to understand every
word.
Come, pretty pigeon, let go thy
legs"
Got Go! pass the brute beside thee,
my sweetheart; let not that worthless
wretch kick dirt in thy eyes"
$50 swiftly, my beauty, and thou
shalt have more oats than thy eyes have
seen for a month.
ihOu az IaNg 'O-u"J' ViiOu oNA VI
my heart; wilt thou freeze in thy tracks
here, starveling?"
Look out for that stone there, little
father; carefully, carefully; this road
was not made for the Gar"
what dost thou with thine eyes, ac-
cursed thing? Thy mothers colt ought
not to run in holes like that one"
"Now speed thee, oh, kitten for the
passenger has promised me a ruble if
thou makest haste!'
This sort of taunts and pet phrases
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02

takes the best care of himself he can.
People seldom cross the street at q
walk, unless it is deserted. They give
look in one direction, then in the
other, and, gathering their skirts around
them, run for their lives. Vehicles
always have the right of way, and it is
q popular tradition that the hospitals
are established solely for the treatment
of unfortunates who have been run
over.
Tha costume of the ishvoshtnik is
novel and peculiar. He wears either a
cap of blue cloth, made in the Tam-o'-
Shanter style with wide front-piece
of stiff leather, or a stiff silk hat about
half the height of the ordinary plug"
a long blue surtout that reaches to his
heels, and covers his high-top boots.
Under that surtout or dressing gown,
which is bound around his waist by a
belt, are supposed to be concealed all
his worldly treasures, among which one
can imagine are several feather beds,
from the dropsical appearance of the
subject. His circumference is enor-
nous; he fills up an ordinary doorway
and when perched upon his drosky he
laps over the seat many inches on all
sides. When you attempt to attract
the drivers attention by poking him in
the back with your cane or umbrella,
you must use considerable violence, for
the point will sink into his wrappings
several inches before it reaches the
sensible part of his frame.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
The Imperial Post Service.

Travellers in the country where
there are no railways usually prefer to
make use of the imperial post service,
which exists upon the principal lines
of communication, and will furnish re-
lays of horses at intervals of twenty or
thirty miles. In order to obtain them,
one must secure from the postal tu-
thorities "podorozhnaya"-a formid-
able-looking document, which directs
whom it may concern to assist the
bearer on his way, to furnish him
promptly with a certain number of
horses, from certain points to certain
points, for certain price named, and
must be paid in advance at the respec-
tive road station. The "podorozhnaya"
costs a considerable sum itself, which
is devoted to the repair of the roads.
Armed with these credentials the trav-
eler applies to the nearest post station
for position, horses, and a vehicle
known as "tarantas, sort of over
grown drosky, heavily and strongly
made, with exceedingly stiff springs,
and general condition of discomfort.
Sometimes the horses are very fine
and fast; sometimes they are only or
binary, but their appearance is no
test of their speed, for 1 have seen the
most "ornary"-looking brutes gallop
over a distance of twenty miles in two
hours andl q half without turning a
hair. Usually they are driven three
abreast, but often when the passenger
is in hurry, or the roads are bad, or the
distance is great, four or even five are
harnessed abreast. There is no tongue,
or pole, but only pair of thills, no
matter how many horses. One is
hitched in the thills and does the
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-05-02
Habits of the IshvoshtniIx.

Not one in ten of these charioteers
has home, and not one in ten of these
splendid horses knows the inside of a
stable. They live in the harness, in
the open air summer and winter, being
always on duty, eating when oppor-
tuuity offers, ana sleeping in their
droskies between drives. Every hour
or two the driver takes nose-bag full
of oats from under his seat to feed his