davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16

The Ashiret Assyrians are wild and I'M
tntored in their habits and customs.
Their Christianity consists in little more
than n passionate clinging to a faith they
do not comprehend, and which from this
very fact is powerless to influence their
morals. Not only are there no schools
among them, but their clergy are incapa-
BILE of %instructing their flocks in the rudi-
ments of religion; some of them are quite
unable to conduct a service, others can
repeat the important parts by heart,
while a few can read the ancient manu-
scripts, which are still in daily use
throughout the country because there are
no printed books.
1t is comparatively rare to find a priest
who can both read and write with facil-
ity; all other learning is absolutely want
ing. Only during the winter months,
when the now blocks the entrances to
the mountains, when all agriculture is at
Il standstill and Kurdish attacks become
impossible, could these Aslirets give
their minds to education.
The Rev. w. II. Browne, of the Arch
bishop of Cantcrbury's mission, has been
able to make a very small beginning in
this direction. During the rest of the
year the people till their ground and
pasture their tlocks armed to the teeth.
ready to repel the attacks of which they
live in constant dread. Indeed, the Ash
iret Assyrians are in tho position of a
beleaguered garrison in n siege which is
never raised; an unending succession of
assaults and sortics leaves them neither
time nor inclination to think of more
peaceful matters.
Their whole conversation is limited to
three subjects-guns, the Kurds and tho
harvest. On one occasion during my
journey through the Ashiret valleys in
1886, after vainly trying to interest a
chief in conversation, it occurred to me
that a description of the Maxim III
might arouse him. The mans face bright
ened at the relation of the marvellous
powers of the weapon, and when l had
finished he said: "Ah, if we only had a
gun like that we should not fear the
kurds! No mar could make such a gun;
it must have eninyented by the angels"
The Contemporary Review.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
a Scented Pararrnph.

Most people take it for granted that be-
cause musk is sold in what is called a
pod, therefore, it is a vegetable product.
But the truth is that it is entirely an an
imal product, being a substance found
in a two or three inch sac in tho body of
a little musk deer of Asia. This sac,
when tied up and dried, goes by the
name of a pod among the hunters who
bring it into market. Probably there
are few things subject to such adultera-
ton, as n part of pure musk will scent
thousands of parts of some other powder
mingled with it, and, as the pods sell for
from SIS to $50 apiece, the ad%ulteration
has its profit. 1t is indeed so pungent
that when just fresh it has been known
to produce violent bleeding at the nose,
and many people are so susceptible to
it as to have sad headaches, brought
about by contact with tho pure article;
and while a suspicion of it is very agree
able to many persons, one atom too
much becomes offensive, as the case is
with patchouli. 1t was formerly largely
used in therapeutics, especially in the
Orient, having become disused as
much from the difficulty of obtaining 1t
in a pure state, as from anything else,
and it is now seldom given, except in
hysteria or ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bazaar.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
The Snow Plant.

One thing that eve fails to interest
all who see it, when it is found on the
mountain heights of the Sierras, is the
snow plant, known to botanists as the
Sarcodes sanguipea, meaning blooded
flesh. No flesh OF blood could be as ex-
quisiteIy beautiful; imagine a rosy and
snow tinted, crowded hyacinth, from
eight to twenty inches in height, every
miniature bell wound about by a rosy
and frosted silver ribbon, all topped by
a huge head of asparagus in hoar frost
and silver. The frosted papilla is very
marked on every scpal and bract.
Though the whole translucent spike is
flushed with rose and carmine, the petals
are the deepest and most brilliantly COL
ored parts of the flower, which is five
parted, and each open one showing
slightly the stamens and pistils.
There have been seen specimens bear
ing eighty perfect flowers and a pseudo
bulbtwenty-two inches in circumference,
brittle almost as spun glass, and although
solid as a pineapple when first dug up,
dried away to the size of the stem. All
attempts at cultivation have thus far
failed, the bulbs refusing to stand trans.
planting and the seeds to sprout. 1t was
once said that they would not survive
below the level of the summer snow line,
but they have been since seen almost
covering the ground far below. The
snow banks seem, however, to protect
them from the winds sweeping among
the mountains, and they make their
early growth and development beneath
the driven SHOWS, and when the approach
of summer leaves the surface of the
ground exposed it is covered in a few
days with the red crowns of tho snow
plants. American Garden.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
The Two Waya

Of the memories that are the legacy
Of the summers holiday, to a very large
class of worthy workers. there is
which holds a sting, and which has no
good raison d'etre. 1t is the remem-
brance of the unwillingness which char
acterized the granting of the we'll earned
holiday. 1t is the memory of the grudg-
ingness which accompanied the permit
to leave the trcadmill of fifty weeks for
the needed r%estfulness of fourteen days.
The trait which finds manifestation in
this sort of thing is not confined to the
counting room or the Office, but pcrvadcs
the home circle, yet in the former it is
mos frequently met with. Rare, in
deed, is the employer that, when the
day of emancipation for a faithful clerk
draws near, sends that s%crvitor forth
with a lighter heart because of the kindly
expressions which formed a part of the
'good-by.'
On the contrary, the average employer
regards the taking of Il holiday by the
man or woman in his service with a dis
favor that tinges his parting words and
invests his permission with Il throw-a-
d%og-a-bone attribute. The fact that the
toiler at the desk may be sadly in need
of a holiday; that his close attention to
his duties has impaired the excellence of
his work, is ignored by tho man whose
consent must be gained ere the holiday
is possible. This man bears only in his
narrow mind that he will lose, for u
fortnight, the services of a valuable as
sistant; that the substitute is not SO
familiar with the ways of til, office or
the store, and that, thereby, he, tho en-
ployer, is a sufferer, and the wheels and
cogs of his office machinery may not
operate 81 smoothly. So he invests his
parting words with more than Il trace of
his feeling of resentment, and the dawn
of his clerks vacation is bcreft of sun
shine. And it would be SO easy to add
this missing quality! To say, heartily
and sincerely, "IIaye Il good time, Mr..
Toyler; you deserve it, and hope you'll
come back refreshed in mind and body"
At the home this narrow spirit of
grudgingness prevails to too great an
extent. The wife needs a rest from
household cares, and she gets it. But
with it she gets a reminder of her licgc
lords unwillingncss to make the sacri-
fees needed, from his own comforts.
She, too, misses the kindly words which
would swceten all her holiday at the sea
side or at the mountain resort: Ger
tainly, dear, so and have a good time.
You need it and must have it," The
milk Of human kindness is too often
absent from the parting words that put
Il period to work and usher in the brief
season of rest for those that need and
merit such q rest.-Pittsburg Bulletin.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
What Are the Thoughts of the Dyinge

Ii Arc the Thoughts of the Dying?
In the ociete de Biologie, Fere affirmed
that a dying person in his last moments
thinks of the chief events of his life.
Persons rcsuscitated from drowning,
epileptics with grave attacks, persons
dying and already unconscious, but mo-
mentarily brought back to conscious
ness by ether injections TO utter their
last thoughts, all acknowledge that their
lastthoughts revert to momentous events
of their life. Such an ether injection
rcvivcs once more the normal DISPOSE
ton of cerebral activity, already nearly
extinguishcd, and it might be possible at
this moment to learn of certain import
ant events of the past life. Brown-Se-
guard mentions the remarkable fact that
persons who, in consequence of grave
cerebral affections, have been paralyzed
for years, get back at once when dying
their sensibility. mobility and intelli-
gence. All such facts clearly show that
at the moment of dissolution important
changes take place, reacting upon the
composition of the blood and the func-
tons of tho organs.-Medical Zeitung.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Blue Lined Envelopes,

"Why are these envelopes blue on the
inside?" was the query put to a stationcr
the other day.
"For a very simple reason" was the
reply. Zone of the great results to be
attained in making envelopes is to pre-
vent transparency. Many white papers
are so transparent that by careful scru-
tiny the contents of such envelopes may
be determined. For instance, let us put
a sheet of paper with writing on it into
this envelope. Let us also insert a bank
check. We will now seal it and hold it
to the light thus. There you can not
only see the bank check, but you can
also read many of the words on the sheet
of paper. This can be prevented either
by getting a very thick and high priced
envelope which is not transparent, nor
scarcely translucent, Dr. by taking a
cheaper grade of paper which is blue on
one side. Now we sell quite a number
of blue envelopes, that is, envelopes
which are blue on the outside; but most
people do not like them for their color.
So. to get over the difficulty and still
not make a high priced article, we use
paper which is blue on one side and
white on the other.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
A Narr0w Escane

sit was a terribly narrow escape" said
the mild faced man, and his voice trem-
bled as ho recalled the awful experience.
sit came about in this way. l had
washed my hands, but on looking around
there was no towel to wipe them on.
However, l knew there was a towel in
the next room; but, horror! my hands
were SO wet and soapy that l couldn't
turn the door knob. 1t was a irving
moment. Why, l might have starvedt to
death, shut up there as l vas had not
Bill been with me. Bill saved INV life
and I shall never forget it. How did it
happen? Why, you see, Bill hadn't
washed-he never does-and lie took
hold of the handle and turned it without
difficulty. Bill is moro than ever o II
WINGED that washing is an unnecessary
luXury.'-Boston Transcript.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Tic Old Story.

During Patrick Sarsfield Gilmorc's jubi-
Ice concert recently a young woman who
was in the crowd that was politely bat
Ting for a chance to get tickets for re-
served seats gave a scream. Somebody,
she said to the officer who came up, had
stolen her purse. Pickpockets don'tusu-
ally get past the vigilant eyes of the de-
t%ectives employed to guard Manhattan
beach, and the officer was i%ncredulous.
"Perhaps you lost it, madam" he said.
"No, indeed" replied the woman;
"some onein that crowd took it from my
pocket"
"What sort of a purse was it,"
ut was a long, gray silk purse, with
cut silver rings" replied the M
"and it contained $50 in bills and some
silver. Luckily, I've got my return
ticket"
She stuck her hand in her pocket, and
q look of blank amazement stole over
her face. The ticket was gone, too. The
woman did not burst into tears, as might
have been expected, but she was very in
dignant, and threatened to sue the hotel.
A critical examination of tho faces in the
crowd convinced the officer that there
was no thief there.
"Now we will investigate" he said.
The woman followed him into the east
end of the piazza, where the railroad
ticket office is. On the south outer wall
of this was a bulletin board with the leg
end "Lost and Found" The last entry
was:
Found-A silk purse with a roll of bills aud a
railroad ticket. Apply chief Of police
1t was speedily recovered, the sOircad
ticket in it, along with the money. II
had been picked up by a waiter from tho
table at which the woman had dined ar
hour before.-New York Sun.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
4 Forced Tax.

The Cinnamon in California, although
aliens, are obliged to payapoll tax OF So,
if under sixty years of age. AS they are
a thrifty people, inclined to save, and
not at all in sympathy with American
institutions, they do all they cantoavoid
this tax. Mr.. Frank, an assessor in one
of the mountain districts, had Il good
deal of trouble one spring in finding u
certain Chinaman, "Sam Lee" who was
on his list.
He went to Sans shanty twice; he
looked for him at the placer mines where
he "panned out" his daily wages, but all
in vain, Sam managed to avoid the as
SCISSOR. One morning, however, Mr..
Frank happened to meet him OH the
mountain road.
"Hello, Sam Lee!" said he, stopping
his horse, 1--WE been looking for you.
You must pay your poll tax-S3."
"Me no payee; me k%lixty-nine old"
said Sam.
Nonsense, you're not forty, and you
know it. Come. You must pay that
tax. Out with it."
AC hAAN.y -SASHG, ulSco odili'
Nonsense, l tell you. I know better"
"Me klixty-seven," pleaded the China
man; and as the assessor still shook his
head and looked commanding, hcran be-
sceclingly down the years from "klixty-
Xix" to "klixty." But the majesty of
the law, as %personified by Mr.. Franks
unbending decision, at last awed him.
Reluctantly he drew from his blouse a
leather bag, took out of it three silver
dollars, and handed them to the assessor
with this parting shot:
"Melican mar heap s%tealee. Whatfor
you no catch-um pistol-gun%
Mr.. Frank says that he has never since
approached a Chinaman for his poll tax
without remembering the time he was
made to feel like a highway robber by
Sam Lees demand, "NWhat for you nc
catch-um pistol-gun:"- Youths Com.
panion.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16


a gentleman now in Tallahassee who
has Travelled all over the world says lie
saw II little trick the Japanese had
which he wasvery anxiousto understand.
He saw a gardener who had a plot of
ground some twenty yards square which
was laid out after the plans of a farm of
hundreds of acres. There were trees of
all kinds, but by some secret process they
were dwarfed to tho height of a few
inches and kept at that any length of
time. People bought the trees as novel
ties, but they Immediately commenced
t ogrow. The gardener refused to divulge
his secret, saying if he did so he would
be bcheaded. Stratagem also failed to
discover it, and the Japanese are yet the
only people who can make trees mature
III miniature. -Floridian.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Effect. of Wheel. III, no.d..

The character of the vehicles which
are used upon q roadway has a great in
f1uence upon its endurance to the beat of
the wheels. With the same burden a two
wheeled cart does far more damage to
tho road than one of four wheels, and
this because of the suddenness in the
motion of the wheels and their irregular,
twisting movement in the trackway,
Where the aXles are short and the wheels
close together the damage to all, save
turnpike ways, is greatly increased, for
the reason that there isno chance for the
growth of grass between the treadway of
the wheels and the footway of tie
horses. This principle appears to have
beer recognized in some parts of the
country. Thus in the neighborhood of
Boston, where the ways are made solid
by macadam or other rubble, the distance
between the wheels is generally about
five and one-half feet, while in the
sandy road district of Cape Cod the
length of the axle is usually half n foot
greater.
The greatest defect of our American
carriages is that for a given weight of
carriage and burden the tires of the
wheels are extremely narrow. 1t istrue
that on ill conditioned and muddy roads
q narrow wheel tread is advantageous,
for the reason that the thick mud has
a less extended hold when it wraps
around the fellocs and spokes; but with
this arrangement the interests of the
roadway are sacrificed to the convent
ence of the individual who drives upon
it. These narrow wheels. with tires
often not more than an inch in diameter,
cut like knives into tho road bed and so
deepen the ruts. If we could require
that no vehicle should have a tire less
than an inch and a half in diameter, and
that all sprinsless carriages should have
tires at least two inches in diameter, in.
%crcasing in width with the burden, we
would secure u ways against a consid-
cradle part of the evils from which they
suffer.-Professor N. S. Shaler in Scrib-
uer.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Couldn't See u Tree.

A Pittsburger, who recently returned
from a trip to Europe, was relating some
of his experiences to a group of relatives
and intimate friends the other night, and
the recital proved interesting enough to
all present, but particularly to an aunt
of the voyager, an old lady of 70 odd,
who had never been at sea. CO
81 think that nothing impressed me SO
much" said the traveller, las a burial at
sea which l witnessed on the voyage
home. The poor fellow who died was a
sailor-he fell from a yard and crushed
his skull upon the deck. The funeral
service took place in the afternoon of a
warm Juno day. 1t was inexpressibly
solemn. The sea was as calm as the
Ohio is today-hardly a ripple on the
waves, hardly a cloud in the sky.
ga clergyman, who happened to be on
board, read the Episcopal service for the
burial of the dead at sea, and very beau
tiful it was. The coffin lay in the middle
of the group of his fellow seamen, with
the passengers in a greater circle beyond
them. A gangway had been opened in
the bulwarks to allow the launching of
the coffin into the sea.
"There the coffin lay, with the union
jack wrapped around it. The sea seemed
to have grown more calm than ever. 1t
was like polished glass. Not a sign of
life over it; not a ship in sight; not even
a gull or flying fish to break the barren
ness of that great watery desert, only
the great steamer clearing her way"-
"But, John" broke in the aged aunt,
couldn't you see a tree-not even a
tree!"
The Eruption of laughter at this point
knocked a pathetic situation into a
cooked hat. The story of the burial at
sea has never been misunderstanding
Dispatch.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Ice Cream Eaters

Philadelphia and its e%nvirons form the
greatest ice cream eating district in the
world. The English do not use ices like
Americans. The latter are a great people
for sweets, and especially iced sweets.
The English are great sweet eaters, too,
but they want heavy sweets such aspud-
dings. The Anglican stomach, for in
stance, can stand and enjoy a sweet
pudding, mado entirely of grease, which
the American stomach would revolt at.
A good liver in England manages to
throw off the effects of his heavy plum
buildings by plenty of outdoor exercise.
Americans, rich and poor, in immense
numbers, and especially in the cities, in
dulgc in ices after dinner.-San Fran
cisco Argonaut,
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16

You never hear of a man dying in
France while under the influence of
chloroform. Several years ago a patient
in a Paris hospital was undergoing an
operation, when the c%hloroform seemed
to be having too great an influence over
his heart. An old nurse from the coun-
try who was present raised his feet and
lowered his head. In a few seconds the
pulsation became normal, and this simple
remedy or precaution has been adopted
in hundreds of cases since, and ALWAYS
with success.-Interview in st. Louis
Globe Democrat.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
The Giant aIadrona.

Tho genus really belongs to the Old
World. Asia has its species, and Mexico
claims one or two representatives, but
the pride of the family and delight of ar
boriculturists is the strong, healthy and
handsome child of the west coast. 1t is
often eighty to one hundred feet high,
three feet in diameter, and a famous
specimen i'll Marin county has Il measured
girth of twenty-tnree feet at the branch
ing point of the tremendous STEM. with
many of the branches three feet through.
The foliage is light and airy, the leaves
oblons, pale beneath, bright green above.
The bloom is in dense racemes of cream
white flowers; the fruit, q dry orange
colored berry, rough and undressing.
But the charm of the madrona, outside
of its general appearance, is in its bark
no, it is not a bark, it is n skin, deli
cate in texture, smooth and as soft to the
touch as the shoulders of an infant.
In the strong sunlight of the summer
these trees glisten with the rich color of
polished cinnamon, and in the moist
shadow of the spring time they are vel
vety i'll combination colors of old gold
and sage green. There is a human pose
to the trunk. Seen through the tangle
of the thicket, it looks like the brown
1.-the body of an Indian, and in the
moonlight the graceful upsweep of its
branches is like the careless lifting of a
dusky maiden's arms. Every feature of
the madrona is feminine. They grow i in
groves OF neighborhoods, and seldom
stand in isolation, courtesy to the winds,
mock at the dignified evergreens and
oaks, and with every favorable breeze
and opportunity flirt desperately with
the mountain lilacs that toss high their
purple plumes on the head waters of Los
Gatos creek.-Fred NJ. Somers in Hair
per's Magazine.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
Natural Covered Rivers

An apparent disappearance is a phc-
nomenon that seems to have taken place
with some rivers. Capt. John Page. of
the Argentine navy, mentions that the
upper Paraguay, as if absolutely lost for
many miles, has been known to flow be.
meath a matted covering of living and
dead vegetation several feet in depth.
In the year 1858 one of these growths,
under the influence of an extraordinary
inundation, broke loose and drifted 1000
miles, bringing up at Buenos Ayres with
many animals and reptiles that had
taken refuge upon it.-New York Tele.
gram.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
The New Discovery.

You have heard your friends and
neighbors talking about it. You NAV
yourself be one of the many who know
from personal experience just how good
a thing it is. If you have ever tried it.
you are one of its staunch friends, be.
cause the wonderful thing about it is.
that when once given a trial, DR.. Kings
New Discovery ever after holds a place
in the house. If you have never used il
and should be afflicted with a cough,
cold or any Throat, Lung or Chest
trouble, secure a bottle at once and give
it a fair trial. 1t is guaranteed every
time, or money refunded. Trial Bottles
free at j. j. Freeman's Drug Store.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16

p. cambridge Munday, Esq, County
Atty, Clay county, Tex, says: "Have
used Electric Bitters with most happy
results: Ny brother also was very low
with Malarial Fever and Jaundice, but
was cured by timely use Of this medicine.
Am satisfied Electric Bitters saved his
life."
Mr.. D: l. Wilcoxson, of Horse Cave,
KY. adds q like testimony, saying: He
positively believes he would have died.
had it not been for Electric Bitters.
This great remedy will ward of, as
well as r all Malarial Diseases, and
for all Kidney, Liver and Stomach
Disorders stands unequaled. Price SIC.
and 81, at j. j. Freeman's.
The Dickinson press., 1889-11-16
ODD VERMONT EpITApMS.
SOME OF THE QUEER ONES FOUND
BY A PARTY OF VISITORS.

The Favorite Style of Inscription Was
verse-Gramm mar Sacrificed to Rhyme.
Some of the Couplets Provoke a Smile,
Notwithstanding the Surroundings.
A party summering here has made a
search of n%eighboring g%raveyards for odd
epitaphs, and report many interesting
finds.
An ancient little cemetery at Vernon
proved a perfect bonanza, at Grafton
was found another, and at Londonderry,
Dummerstown and other places, as well
as at this place, there were several good
finds. Most of the older stones arc of
slate. Within a few miles, sometimes
within a stones throw, were stores of
granite that We're ~ineNhaustible, yet the
old time Vermonters ignored that time
defying stone and put thcirtrust in slate.
IN GRAFTON CEMETERY.
Here is ono we found at Grafton: