davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

souri River, and il was not known whether
they were heading for the rebel army or were
simply on a plundering expedition after the
usual style Of those partisan fighters.
As the assailants approached the village 1t
was evident that the guerrillas had been
alarmed and were preparing 10 decamp, bnt
they did not know they were TO be attacked IN
two directions at once. Their horses were tied
around the houses and the men were lettering
about when Capt. Pratt first caught sight OF
them, as he advanced cautiously on foot
through the trees by the roadside.
While he was watching them and waiting for
the time agreed upon for the attack, he saw
them hastily spring into their saddles and get
their weapons in readiness for fighting Their
gaze was fixed in the opposite direction, and
Il was plain that they had seen Capt. Fosters
company or knew Of their coming.
BY their movements he could see that they
were quite unaware OF his presence, and so he
Immediately made his plans for conducting his
side Of the battle lie would wait develop
ments, and If they stood their ground and
fought where they we're, he would dash IN at a
charge while their attention was drawn TO
Capt. Foster, and after their rifles had been
emptied in engaging with him. If they re-
treated they would come straight toward him,
and placed where he was he could ambush them
nicely.
They exchanged few shots with the enemy
on the other side and then started toward the
spot where the Kansas men were waiting foI
them. Capt. Pratt had previously dismounted
half his men, one man holding four horses and
leaving the others free 10 fight as infantry.
The dismonnted men were depl0yed close 10 the
roadside about 50 yards from the other half OF
the company, which was drawn up across the
road where bend concealed them from view
Of the village. The mounted section of the
company was ready with carbine and saber tc
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
PERSONS AND THINGS.

The Supreme Court Of Indiana is now Repub-
lican, for the second time since the State ad-
mitted.
"A private letter from the poet Tennyson has
been published in this country, showing his belief
IN spiritualism. This spirituasm IS not the vulgar
table tapping and rocking Of the public exhibitions
and private seances but belief that the spirit is
capable of transferring Itself to another existence
where il will be paipabIe in this and its life
Will be eternal in duration. Lord Iennyson says
that he has had, ever since bOyhood, what he calls
waking frances, and the experiences while in this
prove to him that consciousness may pass from the
body and hold communication with the dead.
For generations certain apanese family had
box into which they put percentages. Said one
OF them: " II ! want TO buy garment that costs
81 buy t for so cents; or give feast that would
cost s., give for 81 or to build house for Sl00
build it for $50, and put the balances IN the box.
At the end of the year we meet, open the boxes,
and give the contents to the poor. It costs US some
selEdenial, bat we are always prosperous and
happy They call this worshipiug The Great
Bright God Of Self Restraint"
- Rudolph LimburgeT, of Newark. Y. J., is dissat-
isdcd with his il stands, and has applied to
the Court to op the Linn of and permit him to sign
himself Burger.
- The New York papers mention item of
unusual interest that there has actually come to ths
country an English nObleman " who IS neither a
blackguard, wife beater, or foOl.n He IS the
Earl OF Ranfurly, who Is gentleman Of high char
acter.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
SCIENTIFIC CHAT.


The Medico-Legal Society of New York, at It's
annual meeting, approved the following method Of
executing criminals by electricity: stout table,
covered with rubber cloth, and having holes along
its borders for binding a strong chair. should be
procured. The prisoner lying on his back, or sit
ting, should be firmly bound upon this table or in
the chair. One electrode should be so inserted into
the table into the back of the chair, that il will
Impinge upon the spine between the shoulders.
The head should be secured by means of a sort Of
helmet fastened to the table or back of the chair,
and to this helmet the other pole should be join
ed as TO press firmly with its end upon the top Of
tile head. We think chair is preferable to a
table. The rheOphOres can be led off to the dynamo
through the floor or to another room, and the in
srument for closing the circuit be attached to
the wall. The electrodes should be of metal, be-
tween one and four inches in diameter covered
with thick layer of sponge or ChamOi5 skin. The
poles and the skin and hair at the points of contact
should be thoroughly wet with warm aqueous
solution Of common salt. The hair should be cut
short. Provision should be made for preventing
any moisture reaching from one eectrode to the
other. A dynamo capable of generating an electro
motive force of at least 5000 volts should be en-
ployed, and current used with a potential be-
tween 600 and 1500 volts according to the resist
auce of the criminal The alternating current
should be made use Of, with alienation not fewer
than 800 per second. Such a current allowed to
pass for from 10 to 30 seconds viii insure death.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

shall never forget the last hours of my trip
to the Korean Capital. Seoul has great wall of
stone % feet high and nine miles long, run
ming entirely around it. It has three great
gates, and these gates are closed at sundown.
The soldiers start out from the palace to close
them, and nothing less than an order from the
King will open them before the wee small hours
of the morning. The traveller who gets to the
city after the gates are closed, stays out till
they open again. This means the sleeping amid
the dirt and filth of Korean hut. 1t means
the freezing on Korean kang, or, what would
be perhaps better, the spending of the night in
the open air. We had % miles to make in
about seven hours. This was over a mountain
pass, up hill and down. and our coolies had to
rest an hour at noon, and luach, as I have said,
at every town. We had to ford one river aud
be ferried across another, and when we were yet
within three miles Of the Capital the sun seem
ed just about TO set. | had learned one word
Of Korean, and that was the word ka," which
means TO 60 on or hurry. I used this till my
throat was hOaTse in pushing our coolies to
their utmost speed just outside of the walls
there IS a great village OF thatched huts, and
when we were still mile away we could see
the great round hole Of light which formed the
opening of the gate. The sun was now down
and dusk was fast coming on. We watched this
hole, fearing every moment to see it closed by
the heavy iron barred doors. We pushed the
coolies and went on. Every now and then we
were stopped in the narrow streets by some
great man, who, with his retinue, was coming
toward US, and time and again we thought there
was no hope of making the gates in time. AS it
was we got to the walls just as the soldiers,
with their bag-pipe music, were coming to close
them. They saw us, and holding the doors
back for moment we got through, as it were,
by the skin of our teeth. 1t IS very cold now
in Korea, and we were quite chilled when we
arrived at the Legation. We found here, how
ever, great base burner blazing with heat, and
for the time that parlor of Mr. Dinsmore was
to US the most comfortable spot on this big,
round earth, FRANK G. CARPENTER
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
One Of sherman,s Notions
Lst. Louis Globe Democrat. ]

Gen. Sherman is right in declaring that one
Of the worst features of Cleveland's administra-
tion is its studied preference for Confederates
in the Diplomatic service. The Government is
to-day represented at all the important foreign
Capitals by men who either openly supported OF
secretly favored the rebel cause; and Gen. Har-
rison should take prompt steps to clean them
out. IL is particularly desirable, as Sherman
says that we should keep the people over
there educated up to the fact that we crushed
the rebellion"
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
Special Correspondence NATIONAL TRIBUNE
SEOUL, KOREA, December 20, 1888.

, AN writing this letter
in the guest house of
the American Minister
TO Korea. 1t is one of
the better-class Korean
houses, and my wife
and / have it all to our
selves. Minister Dins-
more's Chinese pony,
. tied to a stake, is graz
ling in our front yard,
and on the hill behind
Us, from the tallest staff
in Seoul, floats the dear
old American flag. Our
house is a long, narrow,
one-story cottage with
a roof of thick tiles
iutfiuU nut and Hnvar-
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

give the advancing rebels q warm reception as
soon as they appeared. They had orders to fire
when the enemy came around the bend, where
be would halt and endeavor to turn aside as
soon as the blue-c0ats were visible
- Wait till they stop" said the Captain TO the
dismountcd men. land then give them vol
lev while they are mOmentarily dis0rganized
and uncertain which way to turn. I'll give
YOU the word when TO ire; as soon as you ve
fred 60 Cor your horses and be ready to charge
the rascals"
The scheme worked to perfection. The guer-
rillss stopped when they saw the cavalry in
the road and, as they had been going at good
pace, they were thrown into confusion. The
FOlley from the dismOunted men emptied a
dozen saddles; then the mounted section of
the Kansas horsemen fired a v0iley and imme-
diately dashed in with saber and pistol, and
close behind them came the other section.
which had got into the saddle with an aiacrity
not often seen. The horses seemed to enjoy the
affair as much as did the men; In fact, some of
them grew so excited over it that their riders
found their attention largely occupied with the
management Of their steeds.
One OF the guerrilias was mounted on a large
blaCE horse. and both horse and rider were un-
injured by the yolleys that were poured upon
ahem from the roadside and in front Finding
escape cut OF in 'front.' and seeing the enemy
advancing from the other direction be dashed
through the trees and managed to reach a
plowed Geld In the rear Of the village. A
dozen-yes, 50-shots were fired after him, but
with such unsteady aim that none of them
reached its mark. Eight or 10 horsemen went
IN pursuit, but he easily outran them, aud they
soon returned, empty-handed.
Others Of the party got away, but the result
Of the fight was the killing Of four guerrillas,
the wognding Of y more, and the capture Of
IS. On the Union side only two men were
hurt, and these but slightly.
Who was that man on the black horse2 u
Capt Pratt demanded Of one Of the prisoners
That was Quantrell," ;" was the laconic reply
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
TIE BERMIT KINGDOM
Our Correspondent and his Camera in
the Land of the Koreans.

The Trip from Japan and the GOto IsIands-KOrean
Hats and What they Mean-Interior Travel and
Country Scenes-Korean GOrging-HOgs Roasted
Whole and Fish Eaten RaW~-1he Scrfd0m Of the
People and the National Habit of Squeezing
Tie Great Wall of the Capital and Narrow Es-
cape from a Night 0utside-Korean Land and
Korean Farming-HOW the People Live, and Other
Matters About the Last of the Unknown CiEiliza-
tiOnS of the World.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
..AREINEI
SSs Is better than

~
b any soap; handler, finer,
more effective, more for the
money and in the form of a
powder for your convenience.
Takes, as it were, the fabric in
one hand, the dirt in the other,
and lays them apart-compara-
lively speaking, washing with
little work.
As it saves the worst Of the
work, so it saves the worst of
the wear. 1t isn't the use Of
clothes that makes them old
before their time; it is rubbing
and straining. getting the dirt
out by main strength.
For scrubbing, house-clean-
ing, washing dishes,windowsand
glassware Pearlinehasnoeq
Beware of limitations, prize
packages and Peddlers.
Pearline is sold everywhere.
Manufactured only by
JAMES PYLE, New York,
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
Heirs Of Frank Cloyd,

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: am informed
that some time last Winter Capt Frame, of the
37th H., advertised in THE NATIONAL TRIB-
UNE for the heirs of Frank Cloyd. Can you
tell me where to address Capt. Frame-some-
where in Texas, Isuppose2 The heirs are here
j. w. FOREST Co. d, 18th VT, Thayer, Kan.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
CATARRH CuREn.

A cergyman@after years of suffering from that
loathsome disease, Catarrh, and vanIy trying
every known remedy, at last found a recipe
winch completely cured and saved him from
death. Any sufferer from this dreadful disease
sending "a self-addressed stamped envelope 10
Prof j. A. Lawrence, 50 Warren street, New
York City, will reeeive the recipe free of
charge.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

l will not stop to describe our visit to Pusan,
a little walled town of thatched huts, to which
we were carried in Korean chairs; nor will
tell you how the women there surrounded the
lady of our party and nearly tore her to pieces
in their desire TO find out how her underclothes
were made and in their admiration at her Won
derful white skin. We LETT the next day for
Chemulpo, one of the two other open ports of
Korea. Korea has now three open ports at
which foreigners are allowed to settle and do
business. These are on the three sides of the
peninsula, Chemulpoon the west, toward China !;
Fusan on the south, near Japan, and GenSan
on the east, facing the Pacific Ocean. Che
mulpo is the port of the Capital, and it is %
miles from where | am now writing 1t is q
fast-growing settlement, and it has had real
estate boom like those of some of our Western
towns. 1t has its japanese and native settle
ments, and you have to be sculled from the
ship to it in sampans. Seoul is near the river
Han, and there is a steam-lanch which semi
occasionally runs from Chemulpo to the Capt.
tai. 1t never goes, however, at the appointed
time; and though we were positively assured
by the Captain that he would start at the
next morning, we found upon coming to it that
the fires were out, that there was no coal on
board, aud the Captain thought we had better
wait till the next day, and then perhaps he
would go up.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

The only other methods of conveyance were
by chairs or on horseback. We, found that a
party from the United States Steamship Essex
had taken all the available ponies, and it was
10 o'clock before, through the kindness of Mr..
Shoenicke, the Chinese Commissioner OF Gus
toms, and Mr.. Townsend, the only American
doing business in Korea, we got one chair, the
loan of the Japanese Consul, and pony. The
pony was the property of Mr.. Shoenicke. He
was a fine dapple-gray of the Chinese variety,
who had a few days before carried the Grand
Duke, Prince Alexandria of Russia to the
Capital. The same lazy groom, with a big
round hat and with an Unsuitable stomach,
who accompanied the Duke, took charge of me,
and outside of letting the pony go several
times and having to run many miles to catch
him whenever / got OF to walk, he did very
we'll My wife took the chair, and she had
eight coolies to carry her. Your ordinary fat
Korean gets along very we'll with two or four
coolies, but when an American woman is to be
carried, no matter whether her weight be less
or over 100 pounds, it requires eight. Four
men will sometimes carry an American man,
but never woman, and this arises from % fool
American who came here when the country
was first opened, and in order to put on style
and impress the people always rode with eight
coolies The result was the little square box
with seat inside of it, aud suspended between
two poles, each 10 feet long, had two men in
front and two behind carrying the madame.
The other four coolies walked along and re-
lieved these at intervals, They went wonder
fully fast, however, and we made from four to
five miles an hour.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

just back of the crowd which received us at
Fusan, the Japanese settlement began. The
Japanese have little town here on the shore
of Korea, and there are about 1000 Japanese
in the country. The town of Fusan is of Japan
ese architecture, and the Korean town of Pusan
lies about four miles away over the hills The
Japanese town was, however, filed with Korean
sightseers and workers. and a little way from
the wharf we found many a group of Korean
squatters. Parties of half dozen men sat in
long gowns of white, blue or pink, fiat upon
the ground, with their heels in front of them,
and in the most approved style of the Korean
squat. Each had his hat on his head, and each
had a long stemmed pipe, at the end of which
was little silver bowl, in his mouth They
were the LATEST looking mortals l have ever
seen. The ends of their pipes rested, in most
cases, upon the ground, aud they let the end of
the stem rest against their teeth as they gaped
at us while we passed by. They looked wonder
fully clean, but | could not help feeling that
they were remarkably dirty. The Korean
knows not of the daily bath of the Japan
ese, and these snow-white gowns must often
hide very dirty skins.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

Another curious hat is that of the bull-driver,
and we saw not few Of these here at Fusan.
If you will take a mat about three feet wide
and FIVE feet long and twist it around in the
shape of a cone you will get this style of hat. 1t
is made of rough splints, aud it covers the
head like half unfured umbrella, with the
handle left out. 1t comes down over the
shoulders and hides the face, and rear view of
this hat makes it look as though it was walk
ing off With the man. The hat of the Korean
mourner is of the same shape as that of the
bull-driver, and mourning is one of the great
businesses of Korea. When mans father or
mother dies he puts away his rich and gaudy
suits of cotton or silk, lays aside his SIC hat,
and clothes himself in sackcloth. He puts on
hat of the bull-driver shape, clothes his feet
in sandals of braided straw, and takes a little
piece of gray cotton and fastens it between two
sticks, each about foot long. He then goes
about the country or his home holding this
little curtain up before his face, and for three
years he thus mourns the dead. If during
these years others of his family die, he adds
another three years to the close of these, and
thus mourns on. His grief is respected, and no
one tries to peep behind the screen to see how he
is taking it. The Jesuits got quite hold upon
Korea by entering the country in this guise,
and moving about with these hats upon them.
The Korean never takes off his hat except
when he goes to sleep He keeps it on when
he eats and when he squats and rests, in house
or out.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

In this trip to Seoul we went over the road
between the Capital Of the country and its
leading seaport town. 1t was in some places
but little more than bridle.p path; was rough
and but little used, and there was no traffic to
speak of along it. We met few men travel
ing upon donkeys aud upon horseback few
coolies carrying packs upon their backs, and
not a few mobiles lazily walking along with
their pipes in their mouths and their hats upon
their topknots. A country road in Massachu-
setts or Ohio shows more signs of life than this
the busiest road in Korea. A few villages of
thatched huts are met with at intervals, and
the sign of extreme poverty is everywhere.
The average house in the Korean country is
not over nine feet high. 1t is made of mud
mixed with stone, aud its roof is of rudely-
made thatoh. Its front door is just high
enough TO get in without STOPPING, and it has
windows of rough lattice covered with oiled
paper The street in front of it is dirty, and it
looks moro like a sod house of thu Western
prairies, for the housing of cattle, than human
habitation 1t is warmed by means of the kang,
and its chimney comes out at the front about
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

three feet from the ground. The sewer is usu-
ally at the front of the house. and the slop and
filth of the household permeates the atmos-
phere of the Korean country home. On the
roofs of many of the huts I saw bushels of red
peppers drying, and 1 am told that the Koreans
use peppers in all kinds of food.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

The most surprising thing was in the carry
ing of our baggage. We had a trunk of sole
leather, half of the contents of which was made
up of books and Photographic plates 1t
weighed at least 250 pounds, and this was car
ried these % miles, over mountains and val
leys, on the back Of a single coolie. The Ko-
rean coolies are among the strongest men in
the world, and Mr.. Townsend has one in his
employ who has again and again shown him-
self able to carry 800 pounds for over a mile.
At Fusan l saw scores ofithese men carrying
from six to eight raw ballock hides on their
backs, and in the moving of some lumber saw
a corps of these mea each of whom was bearing
on his back half dozen green boards from IL
to IA feet long. Men form the pack horses oi
Korea, and human muscle is the cheapest oil
labor. The man who carried our trunk ar
rived at the Capital II hours later than we did
He had to go back 60 hisahome at Chemulpo, a
walk of 28 miles, and his charge for the whole
trip was about dollar.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

But all Korea is strange, and even the
journey to it is like discovering new lands
l wrote my last letter from Kobe, Japan It
required two days of sea voyage to bring me to
Nagasaki, and here I took steamship for Korea.
Nagasaki is the last port at the west of Japan,
and it was two days more before we saw the hills
Of Korea. The whole trip was winding in and
out among islands, and we stopped for few
hours at Goto. These islands have never before
been visited by an American woman. The
people are Japanese, who have not been
changed by contact with foreigners, and the
advent of my wife to the village brought the
whole population out to the streets They
crowded about us, overhowed the stores in
which We entered, and there were a full thou
sand in the crowd that ran after us as we left
the town and walked down to the shore. We
stopped also at the Islands of Tushima, where
you buy very pretty pearls for So piece,
and where the people are also of japanese
origin.
The National tribune., 1888-12-27
Etymelogy.

The origin of the expression training cats
and dogs" is probably the same as Hailing
omnibuses."
The National tribune., 1888-12-27

They cost from $40 to SIS apiece, and the own
ers are usually mobiles
They are not unlike the old Quaker hat and
their shape is the same as is that of the hats of
the coolies The latter are made of felt or straw,
and the Korean is very particular to keep his hat
dry. He spends most of his money on his hat,
and though he carries neither umbrella nor
waterproof he has a little piece of oiled paper,
which he pulls over his hat when it rains. The
court officials of the country have special hats
of their own, and at an audience which I had
with the King l was received by his Majesty
with a horse-hair hat on his head. His hat
was of blue, and it had no brim. The euuuchs
who stood with the King at this time wore
horse-hair caps with gsuze wings, and these
gauze ears are part of the court dress of the
highest officials, 1t is said that the wings sig
Nifty the readiness of the wearer to obey the
King, and that when they are not in active
service they can fold them up at the back of
the head or let them hang down, to show that
their owner is taking rest.