davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
Abvssinia's Powerful New King.

King Menelik H., with a vast retlnue,.
is advancing north to Adua, where all
Kings of Abyssinia are crowned. Within
a few weeks the ceremony of coronation
will be performed. The new ruler OF
Abyssinia will be the most powerful ruler
Abyssinia has had for generations, for his
kingdom includes not only the domain
of the late King John, but also shoa,
Menelik's own country, in the Southern
part of the Abyssinian highlands, where
Menelik has longhad an army of lou, 0Oo
men, about one-fourth of whom carry i'm
proved firearms.
Menelik's father, King Haelou, heard
one day that q woman of striking beauty
was seeking aims at the doors of the
palace. He sent for her, and was so
greatly impressed by her charms that he
introduced her among the women of his
establishment. When a little boy was
born the King said he would not recog-
nize him as his son unless in the course
of years be showed a striking resemblance
to his Majesty. AS the boy grew up he
came to look very much like his royal
father, and the King named him as his
heil, though he had other sons who
thought they had a better right to the
throne. The most powerful native ruler
in Africa to-day is, therefore, the son OF
a beggar woman, and his mether recently
was still alive, enjoying high honor in
| Shea,
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

There are several kinds of coffee. The
nCaracas washed is the best, and ITS
superiorityis due to the fact that it IS
treated with so much care while being
cured. All the pulp and %extraneous sub
stances are carefully washed by hand
from the berry, and therefore there IS
nothing to impair its flavor. When ripe
the color of the fruit is scarlet and it re-
yembles a cherry in size and shape, but 1t
tastes very differently, being excessively
bitter and rasping. A persimmon is
mild in comparison. When the fruit IS
picked it is run through a crusher, when
breaks the skin and separates the pulp
from the seeds. Next it is put through
a sort of separator and then stirred NO
lently around in a whirling basin Of water
to wash it clean; for it is essential to re-
move all the pulp from the kernel. Inc
Caracas washed coffee is then all passed
through the hands of women and girls,
who rub it and separate the large from
the small kernels, and take out all that
! are defective. Then it is spread out on
cement floors to dry, placed in sacks, and
| sent to market. Coffee should be at
least three years old to taste its best, tor
when it is green there is a rank flavor
| about it which disappears with age.
From three to five years old it is at its
best.
Cocoa, the chocolate bean, is an even
more profitable crop than coffee, and Its
price is fixed-almost as fixed as that OF
gold. In some portions Of the country
cocoa beans are still used as legal tender,
and in many of the smaller towns custom
ers at market have to take them IN lieu
of small change, as they use rolls Of bread
in Ecuador. Coffee was introduced into
i the country from Arabia by the Francis
can monks, but cocoa was indigenous to
the soil and was used in large quantities
by the Indians for food at the time of the
discovery, It was not liked by the
Spaniards at first, but was introduced In
France by the Franciscans, who were al
ways very enterprising fellows, and the
French cooks at once adopted 1t into
great favor. Cardinal Richelieu is said
to have been the first chocolate drinker
of any fame and to have set the fashion
Of using it.
There are two kinds, the native cocoa,
called Eel Criollo, and an imported plant,
called Ell Trinitario, that was brought ia
the country from Trinidad and other Of
the West India islands. The former is OF
greatly superior quality and is scarce
Not more than five or six thousands bags
are raised annually, and it is worth from
s32 to $S5 gold a bag of 10 pounds. Oh
the Trinidad variety about a hundred
thousand bags are raised, and it sells fol-
SIS or $50 a bag. The native plant re.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
A Meteorological Mystery.

a remarkable " has attracted
much attention from meteorologists, who
are still unable to explain the phenome-
non. At several stations in Central Eu-
rope the barometer recorded a sudden
dip Of about four-hundredths of an inch,
followed BIZ a corresponding rise a few
minutes later. DR.. e. Hermann has
traced the disturbance from Pola to Kei-
tan, separated by about five degrees of
latitude, the rate of translation between
these places having been about seventy
n miles IN hour. In an easterly and
westerly direction the disturbance was
confined to narrow limits. There was
no earthquake in Europe.-ArEunsaao
Tr0uekY.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

ouires peculiar soil and care and grows
best in the hottest and r"nos uphealthful
regions, SO that thereissnot much COM
fort in its cultivation. The cocoa plan
tations arc found all along the coast OF
Venezuela and are more profitable than
coffee on account of theif requiring less
attention, as well as because OF the greater
value of the crop.
A cocoa plantation isset in quite the
same manner as a coffee orchard, except
that the young stocks may be trans
planted from the nursery after two
months growth. No preparation Of the
soil is deemed necessary and no manures
ase applied. The young trees are
planted about fifteen feet equidistant,
which will accommodate 100 trees to the
acre. Between the rows and at like
spaces are planted rows of the bucuara
tree, taat serves to shade the soil as well
as to shield the young trees from the
torrid sun. Small permanent trenches
must be maintained from tree to tree
throughout the entire length of the rows,
SO that, at least once in each week, the
| stream, descending from the mountains,
ma be turned into these little channels
and bear needful moisture to trees and
soil. At the age of five years the plan
tation begins to bear fruit, and annually
yields two crops, that ripening in June
being termed the crop of San Juan, and
that maturing at Christmas being known
as the crop of La Nayidad. The aver
age age to which the tree a%ttains, under
proper care, may be estimated at forty
years, during which period it will give
fair to full crops of fruit; but, of course,
it must be understood that, as in our
fruit orchards, q new tree must be set
from time to time to replace one that
may be decayed or blighted. After
careful inquiry it may be safely stated
that the average crop of the cocoa plan
tation at ten years of age, and under a
proper state Of cultivation, will. amount
to five or six hundred pounds an acre.
The fruit or seed of the cocoa in form,
size and color is quite similar to the al
mond. These seeds, to the number of
sixty or eighty, are incased in a pod,
that, except in color, is the counterpart
Of a young muskmelon, being elongated
and ribbed in the same amer Its color,
when green, is like that of the eggplant,
but on ripening it assumes 0 reddish hue.
a popularity Of the cocoa is that it bears
fruit ssfrom the ground up the trunk
! of the tree yielding fruit as well as the
branches. Upon ripening the pods are
gathered from the trees and heaped in
piles on the ground, where they are left
for some days to ferment, after which
they burst open, when the seed must be
shelled out. After a light exposure to
the sun, during which time great care
must be taken to protect them from the
rain, they are packed and ready for the
market.-Ghicag Neaes.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

PLANTATION WOMAN I'll mas suleSed.
Ons cannot buy cofe: plantations in
Venezuela except for more than their full
value, for they have gradually passed into
the possession Of men of means, who
regard them as one of the safest and
most profitable of investments. A good
plantation yielding 1000 ~quintals of coffee
they don't go by acres, but by the
number of trees and their average yield,
and a quintal is 125 pounds-is worth,
OF the lowest estimate, $500 and
could not be bought any where near
Caracas for much less than that. But it
would pay a net income Of $12, 600 a
year at present prices, and from SS0o0t to
$40, 900 at ordinary prices. Coffee has
sold in years back as low as $3.50 a hun
dred. Now it is worth S21.50 in the
Caracas market. But even as the lowest
price such a plantation would pay a rev.
enue of $4,000 a year or ten per cent. net
upon the value I have named.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
4 Crazy Horse,

A farmer In LaPorte County, Ind. has
q horse that is crazy. The animal is not
vicious or ugly, but is simply insane.
When given hay it will grab a mouthful
and hold it in his mouth forhalf an hour,
and in the mean time swing around IN a
circle, throw one foot out, as if dancing,
and cut up all sorts of silly capers. When
let out of the barn it will walk off a short
distance and then gallon back at a ter
rife rate Of speed. If the door is open
it will go III, but if shut the animal will
dash against it without knowing that an
obstruction is in its way. If hitched up
it will start and run straight ahead, and
can neither be turned nor stopped until
It becomes completely exhausted. The.
insanity has only lately appeared. The
case is q very strange n and the first of
the kind ger heard Of il that locality
Nutioaat Horss Breeder.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

This picture of Menelik II. is from q
photograph taken four years ago. Physi-
cally the King is not an impressive per-
son. He is almost coal black, short, and
dumpy. Unlike his uncle, Ras Darghe,
and others among the chief advisers, he
is very friendly to Europeans, and wants
to introduce their arts into his country.
He has a remarkable fondness for ma
chinery and implements of all sorts, and
his greatest delight is to examine their
mechanism. Explorers say he ruined
about a dozen watches and alarm clocks,
taking them apart and trying to put them
together again. He became at last, how
ever, quite a proficient watch tinkerer.
Several years ago Mr.. Chefneux took
the King as a present from the French
Government a mitrailleuse. For con-
venience of carrying it had been taken to
pieces and compactly packed. The weapon
reached the King several days before the
traveller did, aud very much to Mr.. Chef
neux's establishment he found the weapon
properly put together and mounted. The
King had made a careful study of the
mechanism of firearms, and with the aid
of a picture of a mitrailleuse he had pre-
pared this little surprise for the white
man..
The King is gentle and amiable to
to those who have his friendship, but he
has been guilty of acts of gross cruelty
and injustice to conquered enemies. He
has largely widened the boundaries of
shoa by c~onquering the fierce Gala tribes
around him. He has some men of ability
among his generals and councillors, and
to them much of his prestige is attributed.
Personally he is not conspicuous as a
warrior, and in most things he has shown
himself easily Influenced by his advisers.
But-h is distinguished above them all
! for his faith in the advantage of drawing
useful lessons from civilized countries.
He does not like missionaries, however.
In 1885 he kept two Swedish missionaries
practically prisoners in his chief town for
ten months, and then sent them back to
the coast. Since then he has expelled
all the French Catholic and German mis-
sionaries from his country.
The King was very angry at the de-
cision Of the great powers to forbid the
importation of firearms and gunpowder
into the interior of Africa. He is, how
ever, in a measure independent, as he
makes his W gunpowder and has a
great number of improved firearms.
When King John was killed a few
months ago it was known to be his wish
that his nephew should succeed him.
Menelik, however, proclaimed himself
King of Abyssinia, and all the provinces
of the country except Tigre have recog.
nized him as the new ruler.
The Shoans are of the same race and
speak the same language as the Abyssin.
ians. Their country is simply a part Of
Abyssinia whose chief became powerful
enough to be practically independent o.
the ruler further north.-New York Sun.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
ROAST TURKEY.

Select a turkey with thin skim bright,
clear flesh and white fat OF a moderate
AMOUNT. Dress carefully so as to remove
the gall bladder whole. Save both e giz7
1ari and liver. Let a stream of cold
water run through, wipe dry inside ana
out, and SINCE any hairs with a white
nap flame. Break the leg bones anu
draw out the tendons from thighs. FL
the breast and body with a dressing OF
bread CENTRE wheat is best, using only
butter of the best quality, with pepper
and salt for seasoning. Sew close with
Irvine. Firmly truss, putting the liver
under ono wing and the gizzard under
the other. Dredgs with -four, salt and
pepper. Roast in quick oven. Put a
large piece of butter in blasting ladle;
Basic last frequently until we'll Drowned
and frothed. Serve with stewed cram
berry sauce.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

The London docks, the scene of the
recent strike, are one Of the greatest
systems of docking to be seen in the
world. Upward Of 500, coo, 900 have
been expended in their construction, and
hundreds of acres are covered by them.
rhey are built Of stone and concrete,
and are as substantial as such work can
be made. Many of them date back to
The beginning of the century. The
amount Of traffic upon them is enormous.
lt Is estimated that in the warehouses Of
! single dock company there is at all
Smes at least $25, ooo, 600 worth of
Foods.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.
YEAST CAKES.

Two quarts of water, two cups AND d
balf of boiled mashed potatoes, one cup
of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of fine -four
and half a ~teacupful of salt. Take tea
cupful of hops and boil in a pint OF wa
ter; strain off and pour boiling not over
the mixtures of potatoes n -four; tnen
add the warm water, sugar and salt and
have a cupful of yeast to raise it. When
1t begins to ferment stir in inc corn,
meal, enough to make a stiff dough, roll
o,,+ thin and cut in small cakes as large
as a teacup; spread them out on plates
and dry quickly, taking care not to let
them scald; dissolve one IN "a teacup
Of warm water; n cake viii RAISE lour
t~wo-quart loaves of bread Keep the
cakes in a box where they will not inoio.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
Women who make their complexion!

Women who make their compilations
clearer by the use of arsenic, should study
medicine if they wish to keep themselves
from the danger of being poisoned by the
drug. A Miss Chg.ncy, a noted beauty
of Columbus, Ohio, whose fine complexion
came from taking a mixture of arsenic
and nitrate Of silver turned herself al
most black by going to the sulphur
springs and taking baths. The sulphur
decomposed the silver salts in her skin
and now she has retired for q year to re-
cover her lost looks.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
counterfsiters who "Raise. Bills.

A great deal of counterfeitlng is done
by ssraising." Genuine bills are used
for this purpose. By erasing the figures
in a two or a five and substituting the de-
nomination desired the work is rendered
very simple, although readily detected
by any close observer. Revenue stamps
of every description have been counter
feited, but postage stamps have never
been initiated.
Some very good counterfeit paper was
shown, for the crime of manufacturing
which the offender has fifteen years at
hard labor.
Foreign notes are frequently counter
feited in this country. Bank of England
notes are easily counterfeited, as they are
very simple and printed on plain white
paper Washington Star.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

Rice planters in the South are accus-
toned to burn their rice straw to get it
out of the way. We understand that
recent practical tests have demonstrated
that this straw makes excellent paper
material. One paper company has gone
30 far as to order some 5000 or 1900
tons of this straw to further experiment.
Rice straw may yet prove to be a cotton
seed in miniature. The results of these
experiments will be watched with in
terest.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

the entire history OF
the country. Not only
has the coffee csop
been unpreceden
ed in quantity and
quality, but the price
has been higher than
for a years, owing
to the drought and
epidemics in Brazil.
They say sit is an i'll
wind that blows no.
body good" and Ven
ezuela aud other cof-
f~ee-growsng countries
have prospered as Bra
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

MDonst Drag and strut 20 much,
Chicago, + facetiously remarks the De
troit Tree Press. 4 You are getting TO
be . big, overgrown town, but there
ire dozens Of cities to which you would
not make d respectable suburb. Your
little million could be added to the five
and i half millions Of London without
Increasing the streaming city's central
roar to any appreciable extent. The city
1t the base 81 the Eifel Tower il twice
and 4 half your size. The suburbs of
New York contain as large . population
Is you have on all your hills, valleys and
prairies. Even Monaghan Canton
could swallow you twice III rapid sue
cession. Soochow, Hanehow, King
tshehing and Changehow 81 lap over
you, and towns that are Jour equal IN
size and superiors ii virtue swarm alls
I'VE the Middle kingdom from the
Amoor 70 the Brahmapootra snd from
ths mountains Of Tlibet 10 the Yellow
Ossan. 60 ID. uhipaaO.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

I 1t is significant of the present state OF
our knowledge of the interior Of Africa
that the makers Of the big globe model
now on exhibition at Paris had during
the progress of their work twice to alter
their representation of that continent in
order to indicate the results of the most
recent geographical discoveries.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

There is every reason to expect that
the great Exhibition at New York in
1892 will far surpass the Paris Expo
sition in the matter of attendance, as it
should also do in respect of grandeur and
attractiveness. There will then be over
20, 000, 900 of u own people, and
within a radius of fifty miles from New
York the population will be nearly
1000. 600.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

The deep-sea researches made by the
United States Fish Commission with a
view to discovering the temperature of
the fishing grounds and thus learn the
causes that lead to the fish migrations are
attracting great interest, not only among
scientific men but among those interested
practically in trade.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

Official statistics show that $4,000
people are killed annually by wild beasts
and reptiles in India. OF these about
20, 900 are slain by snakes. The Gov
ernment offers rewards and makes other
efforts to reduce the danger, but the peo-
pie are indifferent.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
DPELoUsAs, LOUISIANA.

Cordele, one of Georgia's newest Cities
is a place with a population of 5000. A
year and a half ago the site on which it
il built was a cornfeld. 1t is already as
piring to have a street railway aud cleo
trio lights.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

India has Of late years been regarded
as our most powerful competitor in the
European wheat market. Advices from
the East this year, the New York Com
mercsaE 4dpiytiser considers. indicate that
we have little to fear from midas COM
petition, the official estimate being that
this seasons output win be three-quarters
81 d million tons short OF last years Az
showing that no large marketable stock
can be on hand, the official figures of
India's wheat export for the second
quarter Of this year are Of interest. Il
appears from this statement that India
sent out in the three months S,646, $50
hundred-weights Of wheat, q decrease Of
S,1ss, o46 hundred-weights from the
sans quarter ii 1888, and 1880, 7b2
hundred-weights less than in 1887.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
C. D, STEWART

CONTRACTOR, CARPENTER AND
Win contract for the erection q VIA gss
Of all kinds, furnishing all waterway II
Work done promptly and at + as9al 81
Orders through the posaotn5e sls4 agssH Ill
attention. Estimates and pl2ns s.
Having special facilities for qbaal9ls eys
BER At REDUCED RATES, ! VIZ
patrons the benefit OF the same.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
Nova Scotia is remarkable for the nu,

Nova Scotia is remarkable for the num-
Der of its old people. 1t has a larger
number of centenarians than any other
country, there being one to every $4,000
inhabitants. They are chiefly Of the
farming class, in comfortable circum-
stances, accustomed to exercise in the
open air, plain food and plenty of it,
with good inherited constitutions.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
DRoPERTY EoR GALE
1OWNI ROPERTY = OR OALE

A CENTRALLY 10 atsd and desirable
business stand on Main street, Opelcusas,
consisting of building suitable tSr residence
and small store, bei9g the PROPERTY next to
the postoffiee. This property will be sold
very cheap for cash, or half cash AMI balance
On terms to suit purchaser. Apply to Mrs
Edmund O. Dupre.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
NEW SHAVING SALOON

HAVING recently built and refurnished
u throughout, my Barber Shop, ! am
now prepared, with increased facilities, to
serye the public in first-class style in my
oew quarters between Brand AMI Moriarity's.
Shaving, Hair Cutting, S~hanpooing, &C.,
1ono in the highest style of the art. Give
me a call. T. A BODEMULLER.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
a.. ?. MCNEIL
RcHlTEcT AND BU!LpEa,

UPELUUSAS. LUUIo ANA'
Plans, Specifications and Z iHialss
nished for all manner OF buildings q
most reasonable ter S. Contracts 49,
all kiuds of work, in trick, IRON, s. We
wood. M aterial furnished for fel1aas
construction if desired. Piantsloa &
country work attended to wish disaaisss
work first class and sat sfaction gl5aIsas
Orders directed to P. o. Box o. VIII aS
prompt attention.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

California, it is said, now manufac-
lures nearly all the iron she needs, though
only q few years ago she depended on the
Eastfor her supply.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

ssIhaye,n cried the rampaging campaign
orator, Tin my tongue a rapier with which
to kill all FOOLS"
take it away from himl' yelled a man
in the crowd. aHe's going to commit sui
cidels
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
L. A. BLACK. j. l., MoRRI
BLACK g. MoRRls,

General Fire Insurance and Real Estsii
Agents,
Office: Cor. Market a3d Llnlry SITS.
0PELoUSAS, %
The following old anil rsliaA'e coapanls:!
represented: Liyerpo | snd Lona.n az
Globe Insurance Company, ct I1nglal5
Home and Niagara Insurance CJu1Ettllassa e
New York; Fire Association, OF pkliadelpss
aud Home, Hops and Mechanics and fraass
Insura nee Companies, OF New Ofleana
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
VENEZUELA.
A PROSPEROUS SECTION OF
SOUTH AMERICA.
Wealth in Coffee and Cocon-Story OF
How the Two Popular Berries
arr Planted, Gathered and
Sent to Market.

The good people Of Venezuela are just
now feeling very rich, for the last two
years have been the most prosperous in
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
ST. nARY'S ACADEMY,
Opelousas, La

OPOAO ON~Ue7
The course OF instruc ion in this institution
embraces Engli sh, French, Latin, Greek,
Inc. Natural Science, History, Geography,
~Penmanship, and great care is bestowed onl
Christian Instruct on.
T~ERMs-Board and tuition, per mon b, slsI
Day scholars, per month, 81, 50 or "a, a-corai
ing to class. Cha ses are resumed on WedS
nesday, September i, 1859.
REV. j. T. RAYMOND Z
HENRyG. LEWIS,
Aur % 1850 JOHN J.. WILL02.
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
CARMELCONVEN

Washington, La.
Board hns5lishios per mon h. S 1870
Washing per month, 2M
Music and singing rer month. 4M
Drawing and painting per mpnt|', 2W
For further Information AL ross
THE MOTHER SUPERIOR
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23
OPELOUSAS
Female Institute
oPELoUsAs, ST. LANDRY PARISH, La.

This Institution is undenominatianal, prac.
teal and progressive. Discipline firm and
based on sound pr nciplas ennoiI3jng and de
veloping character. Homer and self respect
promoted. Methods of training and culture
thorough. L e curriculum prepares the
pupil for University CT practical life. Ger.
~tificates and Diplomas cent. FRED. Ruildinga
comfortable AMI CONN oil .ps. Patronage
solicitsd. For further parhl, lars apply 90
MRS. NJ. NJ. HAYES, Principal.
Or Rev. F. W. LEWIS: First Assistant.
Feb .9-tf
The Opelousas courier., 1889-11-23

Physician and s,nFgeo.
Office at Ljttell's Drug Sire, 8aif I,
OPEIsOE@A~.