davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
A BARsARIc FASHION.

Crusade Against the Pagan Costume of
Wearing Mourning Garments.
A number of English women of high
standing in society have begun a cru
SADIE against the mourning garments
which the customs of times COM
pei them to wear. They are not pio-
neers in this undertaking. Several
times before assaults have been made
upon the pagan and barbaric fashion
of loading women down with crepe and
sombre robes of black when death
overtakes any one near or dear to
them. Their predecessors in the adj
vocacy of this reform have had little
success.
Why should woman make herself
hideous and miserable by means OF
overwhelming wells and funeral trap
pings? 0, say the defenders of this
relic of barbarism, women wear mourn
ing because in them the emotions of
sorrow are stronger and deeper than
in men, and the outward garb of woe
IS the symbol of grief they feel within,
Here and there a woman of historical
bent may persuade herself that she is
grieving more because she has on a
four-ply crepe veil and bonnet the
shape, color and weight of coal scut-
tie. but if the rule of society that
woman must indicate her grief by the
immensely and inkiness of her clothes
were abolished, we believe the great
majority of women would gladly fly to
healthier and less hideous attire.
1t is fashion, that silly and cruel
tyrant, that DEGREES the weaker sex
shall be tormented with reminders of
their bereavements in their dress. No
matter how ugly, how harmful, or how
ridiculous thing may be, if fashion
says it is to be done it is done without
question or complaint by nine-tenths
OF the women in the civilized world.
SO mourning will continue to be worn
In its exaggerated form in spite of all
the crusades the minority of sensible
women may wage against it. If men
had to share the pains and inconven-
fences of mourning there would be
radical reform at once. Men escape
almost scot free, however, and women
alone must harvest the aftermath OF
death. Pittsburgh Dispatch.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
Buffalo cnats---How 10 KIN

The So, lthern Livestock journal ~.
AN ips4ruea, We letter from a Louisisn.
planter fft Frierson, Friersos,.
Milf, Lay, teilh. g how to DESTROY
buffalo gnats and save mules and
horses at work iu the held Or else.
where. In the spring o. 1885 tho
gnats were first very trouble 'ome On
this plantation. when fifteen 4. ules
were lost in one week. Tho muley
had all the symptoms of collie, and
were treated accordingly. Mr.. Frier~
son says; 1--WE afterwards learned that
they all died from the effects Of the
poisonous bite of the gnat, and could
have been saved but for our Ignorance
of the fact that train oil applied with
feather or a small mop is an abso.
lutte specific. Since then we buy this
fish oil by the barrel, and furnish
every plowman with small tin can Of
convenient form, which is taken tathe
field to be applied when needed.
Fish oil is very pungent, and very
likely will kill the wolf in cows
back, and perhaps drive botgrub out
of horses stomach
The writer happens to know, from
long experience, that tanners oil Is
an excellent remedy for lice on pigs.
calves, colts and other stock, and he
suggests that this oil may be first
class remedy for hog cholera and
plague, taken with wood-ashes. salt.
and sulpher. AS farmers we need
something that will kill the germ OF
every form of swine plague. Sixty
and seventy years ago man and his pig.
rarely had kidney disease or plague.
These parasites have come to stay like
the Colorado potato bug and the cur
culio on peach and plum. We should
not be disheartened. but learn TO CO.
operate TO distroy our enemies when
they are most vulnerable. Watch the
enemy and strike him when practica.
bic. We need more knowledge of living
parasites, their ways, habits and meth
DDS of propagation. 1t may pay every
farmer to keep few gallons of oil to
fight insects with, ID. Lee, in Dixie
Farmer.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
A Table Made from corpses


In the Patti Palace at Florence is a
table which, for originality in the mat
ter of conception and construction. is
probably without rival. 1t was made
by Giuseppe Sagatti, who passed sew.
eral years of his life in it's manufac.
ture. To the casual obserY or it gives
the impression of curious mosaic OF
marbles OF different shades and colors.
for it looks like polished stone. In real.
ity tits composed of human muscles and
viscera. No less than one hundred bu.
man bodies were used in its construction.
The table is round and about a ward in
diameter, with a pedestal and four
clawed feet. the whole being formed OF
petrifed human remains. The orna.
ments of the pedestal are made from
the intestines; the claws, from hearts.
hvers and lungs. the natural colors of
which are preserved. The table top is
constructed OF muscles artistically ar
ranged, and it Is bordered with upward
OF one hundred human eyes, the effect
OF which is said to be startling. The
bodies we're obtained from hospitals and
petri6ed with mineral salts. St. Louis
Republican.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
CASH FoR cArs SKINS.
How Poor Pussy Assumes the Role OF
Fur-Bearing Animal.

y
Fur Hearing Animal.
Cash paid for cats SKINS" the sign
read in the window of Washington
furrier, who astonished the newspaper
man by telling him that there was al
ways good market for pussies' pelts.
'Five cents apiece. he said, sis what
we pay for common skins, ten cents
for maltese pure, and twenty-five cents
for black. OF course they must be in
good condition. Some male cats are so
given to back-fence warfare that their
hides become considerably damaged.
The fur of the sleek and well-fed do
nestle pussy is what we find most
available for our purposes. Street
cats are usually too ragged and coarse
haired to be useful"
"And what are the purposes of whic b
you speak?n
1.-The imitation of more expensive
furs, chiefly. The French dye them
very skillfully, and in that way trans
form the humble tabby after death into
The regal ernine or other beast of rare
and costly skin. The pure black and
maltese and the tortoise shell are not
dyed, but made to serve in the natural
colors. Rugs of selected tortoise-shell
and maltese are already becoming quite
fashionable, and the best ones are far
from cheap. The only use made OF
cats pelts in this country is in the
manufacture of carriage robes. but
vast numbers of them are sent from
the United States to Europe, where
they are made into coats, hats, rugs.
dressing gown Innings and other gar
ments.
''Taxidermists, too, in other parts of
the country are advertising for kittens
by the thousand for stufing. In the
process they employ the skin is first
removed, leavingonly the scraped topof
the skull within it. Both head and body
are then built up with pipe clay and
tow, piece of wire being so adjusted
that one end comes out through the
forehead and the other at the tip of the
tail. 70 this four other wires running
down the legs are fixed. The skin is
then sewn up and the animal formed
into a desired position. The final
operation is putting in the eyes. Fast
ened upon scrap OF red flannel in this
manner, small black kitten makes a
very pretty pen-wiper."
But where do all the skins come
from?"
MANY are brought in the city es-
adjustments that advertise for them
by small boys who are glad to earn
pocket money by the comparatively
easy method of assassinating a few I'M
fortunate cats; but the main supply is
contributed by professional fur col
lectors in different parts of the coun
try, who shoot them. The ravine
woods of New England are full of them
running wild. They breed wonderfully
fast under such seemingly adverse CON
ditions and can be popped off the fences
and walls with ease by an expert
marksman. This is an idle season lust
now, and we are advertising for them
as carriage-robe material to make up
for the fall trade. A frst-rate lap-robe
OF catskin is worth forty or fifty dol
lars. Yes, indeed, pussy is beginning
to be recognized as fur bearing ami
NAL, and instead of drowning the kit
tens, people will before long be propa.
eating them for their pelts. Wash.
ington Star.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
The cHlvALRous KNIGHTS.
They We're without Question the Worst
Pills in the Box.

They We're without Question the Worst
Pills in the Box.
The ehivalrous knights who came
over with the Conqueror, the mobiles
who fought at Neville's Cross, and
Crecy, and Agincourt, were, for the
most part, the merciless tyrants OF
their serfs and dependents. Sordid
rapacity kept pace with reckless pro-
fusion, and in the arbitrary exercise of
their feudal rights they shrank from
no form of oppressive cruelty. Their
brutalities would have disgraced
Jonathan Wild, and their crimes would
seem scandalous in the Newgate calen-
dar. To do them justice. they were as
hard on their equals as on their in
feriors, though, from a point of
perhaps egotistical punctillo, they
spared their equals the dishonor of
actual torture. The captive had
neither comfort nor mercy to expect
till he paid his ransom or was rescued
by his friends. What stories of slow
misery IN the very shadow of death
might be told by the dungeons that may
still be seen beneath the foundations of
such castles as Warkworth or Kenil-
worth! There the well-nurtured knight.
like Damian dc Lacy in .sThe Be-
trothed, shackled and ironed, al
though there was no possibility Of es-
cape, was doomed to solitary seclusion
on the coarsest and scantiest food.
Fettered in the damp and the darkness
among loathsome creeping things, he
drew breath with difficulty in the foul
est air. and it was fortunate for him
that, like the cold-blooded toads, which
were his fellow-prisoners, undeveloped
sensibilities saved him from insanity.
The only access to those ioathsone
ouollettes was, as at Warkworth,
through the trap-door opening in the
roof What must have been the tone
OF mind of the chivalrous lord of the
castle who could feast and caronse IN
the banquet hall above stairs with sucb
horrors and such suffering beneath his
feet! But what between hard lighting
Tree feasting. and deep drinking. the
mobiles of the middle ages seem to have
kept conscience at arms length, as
they had become absolutely indifferent
TO the suiferings of their fellow-crea.
lures. There were rare exceptions to
prove the rule Some princes and
wealthy mobiles were piously inclined
and munificent. They gave literally
IN their life-times and made magnif-
cent ecclesiastical foundations. Black.
woods Magazine.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKES.
Something About the Principles Govern
Ing It's Application.

Something About the Principles Govern
Ing It's Application.
Under the middle of the car the or
binary pull rod OF the old hand brake
is cut and two levers are inserted. One
lever is connected with the brake cylin-
der and the other with the piston,
which slides in that cylinder. When
air is admitted to the cylinder the
piston is driven out, and the brakes
are applied exactly as they would be
were the chains wound up by turning
the hand wheels. Air is supplied to
the brake cylinder from the reservoir
to it, in which the pressure is MAIN
tanned by the action of an air COM
pressing pump, placed on one side of
the locomotive. The pump fills the
main reservoir on the engine, and also
the car reservoirs, by means of the
train pipe, which extends under all the
cars. When the brakes are off there is
tull pressure OF air in all OF the car
reservoirs and train pipes. 1t is a re-
duction of the pressure in the train
pipes which causes the brakes to be
applied. This fact must be borne in
mind, for it is on this principle that
the automatic action of the brakes de-
ponds. Ii train parts, or if the air
leaks out of the train pipe, the brake
goes on. This automatic principle is a
vital one in most safety appliances, and
it is secured in the case of the air
brake by one of the most ingenious
little devices that man ever contriyed
that is, the triple valve-which is
placed in the piping system between
the brake cylinder and the car reser-
volr. This triple valve has passages
to the brake cylinder, to the car reser-
volr, to the train pipe and to the at
mosphere. Which of these passages
are open and which are closed depends
upon the position of piston inside of
the triple valve, and the position of
that piston is determined by the differ
cnce in air pressure on either side of
it. Thus, when the pressure in the
train pipe is greater than that in the
car reservoir, the triple valve piston
IS forced over, say to the left, com
munication is opened from the train
pipe to the car reservoir. and the air
pressure in the latter is restored from
the main reservoir on the locomotive.
AT the same time a passage is opened
from the brake cylinder to the atmos-
phere, the compressed air escapes, the
brake piston is driven back by spring
and the brakes are released. H. G.
Prout, in Scribner's Magazine.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
GERMAN cAvE.0wELLERs.
Dwellings Hewn in tho Rocks of the Hart,
Mountains.

ASWoAAAN % AAGAH ga AfAd AtOSEH OF the HArfZ
Mountains.
Cave-dwellers in civilized Europe?
1t seems incredible; and yet, just above
the thriving village of Langenstein, in
the Hartz Mountains, and forming a
part of it, are about ten dwellings,
hewn in the rocks. They are called
the Burg" or 'castle,' and here
some forty persons have their home.
In the face of the solid rock is to be
seen row of regular-shaped doors and
windows, one door and one window
belonging to each dwelling. The most
ancient of these dwellings is the work
OF young married couple whose ex-
treme poverty gave them no other
choice than to seek a home in the
rugged mountain-side. Their work
must be held deserving of respect. for
it was no light task to pick away the
rock bit by bit, as one workman must.
with no tool but his pick-axe. Through
the doorway one enters narrow.
straight hallway, at the right of which
another doorway leads into a good
sized room with window, the only
one in the dwelling Opposite this
doorway, at the left of the entry. is a
shell-shaped hollow which serves as a
sleeping-room, in which, however,
straw supplies the place of bed. Back
OF this, at the left, is a storeroom: on
posite it, adjoining the living or sit
ting room. is the kitchen, with fire.
place and chimney; and back of the
kitchen is another sleeping-room. The
latter has no opening for light, vet. as
the house-door is usually open the
greater part of the year, there is light
to see by. The walls are of the
rock. and the apartments are
dry, and not badly ventilated
with the door, window and chimney.
which create slight draft through
the dwelling at all times. The place
IS warm in winter and cool in summer.
and the inmates are rosy and healthy.
Some of the cave-dwelIers have white
their houses. and made little
gardens outside, so that the exterior :
1oes not display forbidding appear
anee. At any rate, these cave-dwellings
are quite as comfortable (and certainly
more sanitary habitations than the ceI-
airs OF our cities. which are leased to
sretched inmates, and are only caves
= masonry. -Demorest's Monthly.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
View York,s Woman Gamma.


The only woman cobbler in the Uni
ted States is Mrs. Gill, who has III.
tie shop at No. 275 Mulberry street
New York, a locality that is far from
being fashionable. A reporter who
visited It says that it did not differ
from other cobbler stalls. except that
i was extremely tidy. She was born
beside the last. her father having been
shoemaker Of Northampton. England.
and when she was only fourteen years
OF age she made pair OF shoes for her
mother, and when her father came ia
this country she worked in New En-
gland factories. She. however, 60,
tised Of the slaving OF the factory, and
when she had saved up little money.
opened Up little shop. OsIa.s wears
she has not made. but mo aea shoes
and fouud that It could be los aiticker
and paid better Chicago Saoe ana
Leather Record.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
ON ANOTHER ERRANp
LudIcrous Incident of Vermont
Pastors Early Lif,.

A LgdIcrous Incident of n Vermont
Pastors Early Lif..
A Vermont Baptist minister who is
not too grave and digniiied to enjoy a
good joke, even when it is on himself,
narrates a ludierous incident of his
early life. Soon after being settled
over new congregation, he one day
received note asking him to be at
home that evening at eight o'clock.
The writer added that he was intend
ing to be married at that hour, and
would call at the parsonage with his
bride.
It was but few minutes before
eight o'clock when the door-bell rang,
and a moment later the servant an
nounced that young couple awaited
the minister in the parlor.
Going down into the par;or, accom-
panied by his wife, the pastor found
neatly-dressed, intelligent appearing
young man and bright-looking young
woman, who rose to receive him.
81 am Mr.. Homer" said the young
man. ''and this is Miss Cross"
Having another engagement for the
evening, the minister said. Immediate
": II received your note this morning,
and we will proceed@gith the ceremony
at once. Please join your right hands,"
In great bewilderment, which the
minister mistook for natural embar-
rassment. the young couple timidly
clasped hands, and the ceremony was
about to begin when the young man
said:
''I-we-what ceremony is it?''
'.Why, the ceremony of marriage. o.
course"
"O-o-o-hr' shrieked the young lady,
Withdrawing her hand. and covering
her face with handkerchief.
Il don't understand this at all, ;, said
the young man, sharply. 1--WE came
here simply as committee from the
Young Peoples Society of the Metho
dist church to ask you and your wife
to be present at a public entertainment
we are about to give. and"
1t was now the minister's turn to say
"O-o-o-h!" and he said it in genuine
establishment at the very moment that
the maid ushered in the young couple
who had matrimonial Intentions
The mistake evidently started the
first young couple into new lines OF
thought for, a year later, their own
pastor being i'll, they called upon the
Baptist pastor, and did not protest that
he was going too far when he asked
them to join hands. Youths Compan.
ion.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
Things to Ponder.

Judge John W. Brown, of Epson
Conntv, Gu recently addressed the
Farmers Acadep41.v Alliance IN when
he gave them the fo.. owing advice;
There are things ben uone IN our
midst that are wrong, &Ba 'n9 nion
who do this wrong are religion, ~ -, "uu
morally as good men as we have. l. 10y
certainly do not think they are d0ihA
wrong. By the force OF custom or
common consent they are drifting along
in their department., controlled by the
one idea of making money, without
stopping to consider whether they are
doing right or wrong so the Gus
tom of trade sanctions what they do.
A wagon that cost them &51, they
sell to poor man for $75, take q
mortgage on the same and a mule to
secure the payment. Twenty-four
dollars profit on an investment of SOL.
Extortion is said to be d great wrong.
If this is not eXtortion I would like to
see the word defined. And as if to
make the wrong worse, they will sell
the same wagon to man who is always
prompt Id payment for $40 less, thus
making light the burdens of him who
is going easily along. and adding to
the same of him who is already stag
gering under his load. If the first
come up and pay as the last, nothing
is given him back. ] want to beg the
merchants of our town who are so
clever and kind socially, to stop
and look at this from the stand
point of right and justice. We take it
for granted that the wagon is no ex-
ception, but answers for rule that
runs through the whole business. It
is wrong to sell to the landlord cheaper
than to his tenant. and it is wrong for
the landlord to be a party to such a
transaction.
chow much sunshine would SO bring
around many POOR mans hearthstone
on a Christmas morning if one good
Christian hefeabout even thought of
the struggle that thousands of poor
farmers make to meet their Cbliga-
tons due October and November next
Their children-girls, as well as boys
and oftentimes the wife and mother
herself. toiling in the dews of morning
and hot sun of evening, bringing on
disease and premature death by ex-
posure, doing all in their power to help
the father and husband pay the debt
he owes. stinted in food and clothing,
while the members of his (the mer-
chant's) household can indulge every
luxury and grow tired for want of
something 10 do.
81 hope the Alliance will soon be able
to arrange SO that they can buy at the
same price. / expect great benefit on
this line from our exchange. 1t will
be a grand pricing department, by
which we will be able to know the
price of every article we want to pur-
chase where it is made Then if our
merchants can sell to us at the same
prices we will buy from them. Other
wise we can buy through the ex-
change. And through that depart
ment we hope some time in the future
to price some things we have to sell. "
Southern Cultivator.
The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-12-19
HERE AND THERE.

The carrot is the root crop pre-
ferred by horses. The mode of feeding
carrots to horses is to chop them fine
and give each horse half peck three
times a week.
Plant trees along the roadside
now, and do not delay it until spring
Drains along the road should be kept
open, the roads leveled and put in the
best condition for winter.
Try the experiment of packing
few sweet potatoes in layers. with dry
dirt between the layers. and keep.
them in some place where the temper
allure will not get below the freezing
point.
Satisfy Called oyster plant) Isl
very hardy and may remain in the
ground in the rows through the winter
without injury. 1t is not cultivated as
extensively as it should be, although it
is one of the best and hardest vega
tables known.
Bulls are dangerous animals, and
a majority of the injuries received oe-
cur from placing too much confidence
in gentle bulls, which suddenly and
unexpectedly attack the attendant, a
bull will usually prove obedient when
young, but it is seldom that fully
matured bull is safe.
Plaster is an excellent material for
sprinkling over manure that is being
mixed with urine, in order to absorb
the liquids, and also serves admirably
for deodorizing the stalls to certain
extent It is not caustic, like lime,
and consequently does not cause sore
feet as is sometimes the case when
other deodorizers are used.
System in storage and place for
every thing is as necessary in the
barns and stables as in the dwelling
house. The loss of time in hunting
for an article is much more than the
time spared tosput it in a proper place. :
Every thing should be where it can Be
found easily when wanted. and every
animal in the stables should have its
appropriate STALL
The Mirror and Farmer calls atten-
tion to the fact that geese can do good
work on any location overrun with
weeds, when the weeds are young.
Many kinds of young weeds are pre-.
ferred to grass by geese. and especial
~ plantain and purslane. Geese go
right down to the roots for the plants,
and effectually keep them down if the
flock is a large one
-Stockmen who have made obser-
vations in feeding swine are claiming
that some of the breeds have lost vigor
by long-continued feeding OF corn as
an exclusive food. Corn is deficient
in mineral matter especially OF lime,
and the use of corn leads to degener-
acy Only by varied diet can the vigor
be maintained Injudicious feeding
leads to disease and loss
What is usually termed chicken
cholera is caused by the fowls partak-
ing of impure food or drink, generally
the former, A fowl that dies from ae-
cident or other cause, and is thrown
into the weeds or bushes. Is 2 sure
forerunner of cholera The lock y
sure to find the remains. and. by pesKs
ing and scratching about it becoas
contaminated and develop cholera