davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19

Iuseo to give him the support of their
usual firm grip. Half way down his
feeble strength completely failed him,
ana ne 5ell moro than twenty feet to
the stone sidewalk. Insensible, and
with broken leg poor Bill lay there,
while knot of idlers and passers-by
gathered about him.
bill the Lineman-taken a tumble
at last" exclaimed the groceryman
from the corner, while Bills friend,
the policeman, telephoned fer the hos
pital ambulance.
Dill the Lineman did not die, but he
was confined in the hospital for many
weeks. The pain of his bruises and
MS fractured limb did not hurt him
nearly as much as did his grief when
he thought of the little child at the
tenement house window, and of the
small white coffin which he had seen.
de could not forget Mile and the kiss
with which she had thanked him.
One day, when he was getting along
pretty well. Bills nurse said to him:
There's young woman would like
to see you. She says she's Miles
aunt and that you will know her by
that"
"MiHie's good aunt" murmured
Bill to himself. '.Yes," he added
aloud, II should like to see her.
nurse"
When. moment later, ''Millie's
aunt" stood beside the sick mans
bedside. Bill could scarcely believe his
eyes Indeed, he was so doubtful of
his own vision that he was afraid to
speak his thoughts. But the woman.
who was still young and quite good
looking threw her arms about his neck
and sobbed as she kissed his rough,
unshaven face again and again.
''Oh, Bill" she said, Twill you for
give me. can you? am Miles aunt
l took the child. a little crippled wait.
to. care for. in memory of our own
baby that Lob, Bill. forgive me for
that!
II wanted to come back to you and
the baby many times, only was
ashamed. But have lived an honest
life, Bill, and am truly sorry for all
the badness and wickedness of years
ago. And now, dear Bill. for our
baby's sake-for little Miles sake,
too-will you let me show you how
good a wife can make you?'
And Bill the Lineman. whose tears
were by this time mingling with those
of his wife. threw his big arm around
her and fOrgave her-the easier. l
think that she was Miles ''good
aunt
= .
Well, Bill the Lineman, is no more
But in a neat telegraph cabin on a
railroad in the Berkshire Hills there
is big-bearded operator whom his
wife calls Bill, and whenever you see
Bill. the operator, you may be sure
that not very far away is his two
year-Old daughter Millie.-William
H. S. Atkinson, in Philadelphia Times.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19
ARSENICAL POISONING.
How to Discover 1t During tho Life Of tn,
Victim.

How to Discover 1t During tho Life Of the
Victim.
DR.. Brouardel, the dean of the Paris
faculty, read before the Academy OF
Medicine, Paris, paper on arsenical
poisoning particularly worthy the at
tention of all practitioners. An inn
portant part of this paper touched upon
the discovery of the fact of arsenical
poisoning during the life of the victim.
Occasionally physician is called to
attend some patient really
makes out what is the matter, gives a
certificate of death based upon the
most prominent symptom he saw, and
subsequently is informed by the police
that his patient was poisoned with ar
senic. The Somerville cases in Massa-
chusetts passed in that way. Some
times the doctor suspects the evil, but
can not be sure by ordinary observa-
ton. What is he to do then? Examine
the venal excretion. DR.. Brouardel
says arsenic will be found there in a
few minutes after it has been given
and if much has been given it may be
found for many days after the dosing
has stopped (forty days in a
case watched by DR.. Gail
lard). But the physician must
take. the excretion himself to be sure
against substitution. In addition the
poison can in a cronic case be found in
the hair-a lock of which can usually
be had without difficulty. DR.. Brou-
ardel Classics very exactly for in
stance in these obscure cases the So
quence of symptoms-making four
groups. First, come troubles with the
digestive organs; next catateous erup-
tons and laryngo bronchial ca
tarrh; third. are troubles of sensibili-
ty. and. fourth, paralysis. II death
follows rapidly it is because paral-
ysis stops the heart But death may
not follow rapidly. 1t may not be due
70 direct action of the arsenic, but to
organic changes which the arsenic has
produced, changes in the hepatic and
renal cells and in the muscles SO that
the death resembles one due to chronic
alcoholism. In such case If the ar
senic has been eliminated from all Or
binary tissues it will yet be
found in the bones. Accord
ing to the researches of NJ
Pouchet, included in DR.. Brouarders
paper, arsenic accumulated very rap
idly in the spongy tissue of the bones,
no matter by what method it is given.
and can be found there when it is no
longer possible to find it in the Wis
cera--N. Y. Herald.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19
RULES FOR SWEEPING.
How to Use Broom without Exhaustina
All Your Strength.

Hew to Use Broom without Exhausting
All Your Strength.
The first requisite to easy sweeping
is q good broom. When buying select
one with light, slender handle and
long, plant strawa A thick handle
adds unnecessary weight is clumsy to
handle and tiresome to the hands.
Coarse, heavy straws are too
brittle. they break of easily. and the
broom soon wears out To determine
the quality of the straws it is neces-
sary to examine them carefully. push
ing the outer ones aside with the fin
gers. so that the inside may be seen,
for frequently layer Of longer. slen-
der straws on the outside is used to set
of very inferior article.
Having obtained good broom, my
first injunction is do not grasp the
handle too tightly with the upper
hand. Let the hold be light enough to
allow the handle to slide up and down
through the hand with each forward
and backward swing of the broom. This
will prevent your putting too much
weight on the broom, which is an i'm
pOrtant matter. and, what is still more
important, save much unnecessary
twisting of the body and working Of
the arms. Care should be taken, how
ever, that the hold be not too loose, as
that will render the broom unsteady.
Again, always work with the upper
arm, never the lower towards the d.
rectiOn in which you are sweeping,
changing your hold upon the handle.
the upper hand for the lower and the
lower for the upper, as frequently as
you turn about to go in an opposite d.
rection. This keeps the broom in its
proper position, which is as nearly
perpendicular as possible, and. since
it is the lower arm that supplies the
power that operates the broom, this
change is restful to the arms and
shoulders by dividing the labor be-
tween the right arm and the left,
and frequently changing the po-
sition of the body. If you have
not been accustomed to doing this.
you will find it a little awkwa ard
at first, but it will soon become quite
natural to make the change, and you
will be surprised at the ease and thor
oughness with which you can do your
sweeping, as compared with the old
method of retaining the same hold up
on the handle throughout.
Lastly. do not make too long stroke
with the broom. Nothing is gained;
while, on the other hand. much labor
is wasted by throwing the broom so
far back that only the sides of the
straws are at first applied to the floor.
and by extending the stroke so far to
the front that the broom rises into the
air, sending the dust flying in clouds
through the room. Use the broom
lightly and briskly. keeping it close to
the floor. and making stroke of but
from two to two and half feet in
length; and if, while observing all the
foregoing rules, you will in addition
sweep crosswise of the strip of carpet,
you will find the result to be great
saving in brOoms, a saving in carpet
and saving in much valuable strength
to the weeper.-Philadelphia Press.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19
TEACHING PARROTS.

Different Varieties Of the Bird, and whore
They Come From.
As reporter entered bird fancier's
establishments . few days ago he was
greeted with = series Of yells and
screeches, q diseordant welcome from
the parrots of all sizes and colors
which were ranged round the room.
and appeared to vie with each other in
making the greatest racket. :
I'VE have just received fresh im-
portation of parrots" said the bird
man, appearing from the menagerie.
room in the rear of the store. land
from all prospects there are good
many fine takers among them"
What varieties have your" asked
the reporter. J
cat the present we have but three
varieties-the double-yellow head. the
Cuban and the African gray"
(Which variety leads in intelli-
gence?" asked the reporter.
II prefer the African gray parrot"
replied the bird man, "yet the Cuban
and yellow heads make excellent talk
ers." )
where does the gray parrot ,come
from?"
He comes from the west coast Of
Africa. The colored men take the
young birds from their nests and sell
them to captains or sailors of trading
vessels. The best birds come from
vessels plying between Africa and BOs-
ton"
"How does the trip across the ocean
agree with them?" /
Very well. They seem to get ac-
climated in their voyage and gener-
ally know how to talk some when they
arrive"
How do you teach parrots to talk
and how long does it take one to
learn?"
That's hard question to answer.
Different birds vary in intelligence.
A bird will get accustomed to a place
in about two months, and if given a
lesson every day can talk fairly well in
that time"
''How do you give lesson?"
1.-The morning hours are the best
for teaching. Cover the cage with a
cloth, and then in a clear voice say q
word or short sentence until the bird
repeats it. Then commence with an
other, and so on. When once it be-
gins to talk it is only matter of time
and patience before it improves. OBJ
ject teaching is a good plan." con-
tinued the bird man. .AparrOt needs
only to see and hear barking dog, &
growing rooster or mewing cat a few
times before an exact imitation is
given"
Suppose you have a bird that can
talk and won't talk, is there any way
to make it talk?"
There is no method that l am ac-
quainted with, unless it be that of
starvation, but that's cruel. and should
not be resorted to."-Washington
Critic.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19
CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS.

An Art Quite Within the Grasp Of Every
Intelligent Engineer.
Most of the dams constructed for
four thousand years have been in all
essential particulars, like that at Cone
maugh. Where, then, was the
trouble? In the construction of the
dam there was a total neglect to con-
slider the first and fundamental prob
lem-the duty the dam was required
to perform. The works were not
properly related to the natural condi-
lions, and so lake was made at Cone
maugh which was for a long time a
menace to the people below, and at
last swept them to destruction. When
the construction of such dam is pro-
posed. the first thing to be done is to
determine the amount of water to be
controlled and the rate at which it will
be delivered to the reservoir under
maximum conditions of rainfall or
snow-melting. The prop method of
procedure is to determine, first, the
area of the drainage basin supplying
the reservoir; second, the declivities
of the supplying basin. The very first
thing, then, is topographic survey.
The second need is a photographic
survey. The precipitation in rain and
snow over the basin must be de-
termined as an average from
year to year, and also the max
imum precipitation at the times
of great food. This must be
supplemented by the gauging of
streams to determine their average
volumes and maximum volumes. All
OF these factors are necessary and pre-
limi1ary to the construction of safe
and efficient reservoir system by max
ing mountain lakes. Before a reser-
voir dam is constructed, it is of prime
importance to determine what will be
required of it. With these facts ascer-
tanned. the engineer can easily plan
works adequate to control the forces
involved; he can readily determine how
much water he can store and what
waste-way will be necessary to dis
charge the surplus The art of dam
construction is quite within the grasp
of every intelligent engineer IN the
case of solid masonry dams, the waste
way is over the whole surface of the
dam. as at the Great Falls of the Po-
tcmac, where dam has been con-
structed to divert the water into reser-
voirs that supply Washington. But
masonry dams are few; earth dams
and those related to them, are many,
and with these special waste-ways
must be provided, adequate to meet
all possible emergencies The rules
for their construction are we'll known,
and have been known for tens of CEN
turtles. In American engineering that
which has been most neglected is q
precise determination of the duty of
the dam-the conditions which it must
fplfill or else be destroyed. Major j.
W. Powell, in North American Re
view.
-Evorurocus Of all Kinds are in.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19
THE PRECIOUS RUBY.
Interesting Facts About the Most vsluH-
BILE Of Stones.

Interesting Facts About the Most valua-
BILE OF stones.
To the question: (Which is the
most valuable precious stOne?" prob
ably nine out of every ten. at least,
would without the slightest hesitation
reply: 1.-The diamond" but the value
of good-sized diamond can not ap-
proach that of a ruby OF correct color
and similar dimensions. The worth
of small rubies-stones, that is, of less
than a carat-is, if any thing, rather
less than that of diamonds of like
description; but the rare occurrence Of
large specimens of that dark carmine
tint which is looked upon as the sine
qua non of q good ruby causes the
value of these gems to increase in a
far greater proportion than in the case
of diamonds. Rubies weighing more
than four carats are so ex-
ceptional that when perfect
one of five carats is brought to the
market it will command ten times as
high a sum as a diamond of the same
weight; while a ruby of six carats
without a crack or a flaw, and of the
proper color. would. in all probability.
bring as high price as FL, OOO pounds
per carat, or fifteen times is much "a
q diamond of like size and faultless-
ness. All over the East rubies are re-
garded with the greatest possible
favor, and so it has been from the ear
Hest times of which we have any rec
ord.
The largest ruby known WIS brought
from China, and forms part Of the i'm
perial-crown jewels of Russia 1t is
the size Of pigeons egg. and was
presented by Gustavus I'LL of Sweden
to the Empress of Russis on his visit
to St Petersburg. The finest ruby that
has ever been brought ~ this country
was one which reached our shores in
1875. It was blunt stone, drop shape.
and weighed slightly more than AZ
carats. No one in England could be
induced to give the price that its
owner placed upon it, and it was,
we believe, finally disposed of on the
continent for a sum between EGO. 900
and ESQ, 900. The ruby is the hardest
of all minerals except the diamond,
and by its hardness ruby may be told
from a spinel. which Is considerably
softer. II. as is often the case. it is
not advisable to scratch OR otherwise
abrade the surface of stone which it
is wished to test, the greater specific
gravity Of the ruby will show whether
it is entitled to rank as one of those
gems or not Curiously enough, the
ruby and the sapT hire are absolutely
identical in every respect except that
Of color. They ar, varieties of crystal
lied alumina, which is usually known
under the name of corundum. As q
general rule the crystals of this sub
stance are dull in hue and lack trans
parency. but when they chance to be
clear and bright-colored they give
some of our most valuable gem&-Lon.
don Standard.
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19

Prof. Flower exhibited at Lambeth
recently the shell of tortoise which
had lived $50 years. outstaying eight
Archbishops. At Peterborough there
are the remains Of another tortoise
which when it died, was $50 years old
Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-19

-Evergreens of all kinds are in-
vigorated by an application Of ashea
Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-06-20

they found eleven otner diamonds
which somehow had gotInto the sweep
ings and had not been missed. They
we're small diamonds, it is true, but
they were diamonds.
once in a while boss does try to
establish a check system. A story is
told Of one boss who suspected his
melter and stood by to see the coins put
into the melting pot. 1t turned out
that the meltei cheated the boss while
tine boss was looking at him by the
simple process of stirring the melting
coins with brass rod. OF course some
Of the brass melted of, and at his
leisure the meter clipped enough Of
the molten gold to make the weight
come out right, and pocketed the
difference between the value of the
brass aud the gold. But these in
stances are rare. The journeymen
jewellers are generally honest, and it is
seldom any considerable sum is missed
olt OF the shop, though the wages OF
jewellers are by no means large.
Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-06-20

little niche IA the han OF eacn moor as
she climbed the stairs, and Mrs Finne-
gan opened the door.
ITS the good young ladyi' she
cried. can Pat is better, only Jamesy
bruk his little leg slidin' down the
balusters, but it'll be all right Oh,
sure The blessin' Of God is on We!
Where would we be this night but for
you?"
81 came TO see if a little money
would not help you to get out of your
trouble said Belle, somewhat embar-
raised, "aud brought il. I'm glad
Mr.. Finnegan is better, and / am sorry
about the ,.,,ie boy
THE Holy Mary sent We, surer'
cried Mrs. Finnegan. ITS not natral
like. Oh, III be thankful, and I'll
pray for ye livery night! And there s
another friend | have-the doctor
that charged me nothin' for meudiu'
Jamseys leg, and him not dispinsery
aither.'
At this moment the door Of the bed
room opened aud a gentleman came
ont.
Jimmy will be all right, Mrs. Fin
negau," he said. land he won't be
lame. IE-Ah, Miss Braden"
IL was DR.. St. Claire.
'.Lor bless YOU oothl' cried Mrs.
Finnegan, edo you know aitche other2
And a foine couple you would make;
and the blessiu' Of God
They went downstairs together:
you are not at the Blacks, then?"
said Belle, 10 cover her confusion.
"NO, said the doctor; 81 heard you
had sent a regret
yes, something happened that
obliged me 10 do" said Bele--"and /
wanted to 60; it is always So pleasant
there.
yes, they are charming people. And
the young ladies are very beautiful. "
"And so stylish and elegant added
Belle, determined not to be jealous,
There was pause.
"Will you take my arm?' said DR..
St. Claire.
They were now in the street, Belle
/ took it, They walked rapidly through
/ the dingy ghborhood, but in the
wide aud pleasant thoroughfares their
! steps grew slower.
NOW delghliul TINS lS, sald the
doctor, would you mind walking a
I little farther than we need? Such
moments do not come often"
al like walking" said Belle
"Where on earth have you beenv
I'm frightened out Of my senses" said
/ Mrs Braden, as she opened the doc
/ for Belle. ats eleven o'clock
I've been sitting on the Blacks
steps crying because | couldn't 60 t..
the party, mamma" said Belle. ooh,
am so sorry YOU were frightened; but
am SO happy
Then she told her mother all the
reader knows, and added:
"Aud, mamma. when we had reach
ed Madison-square, he took my hand
/ in his, and told me that he loved me,
and asked me 90 be his wife. Mamma,
/ please don't be angry; | said yes
/ love him so dearly, mother.
Angry cried the mother. why
l am perfectly delighted. Such .
splendid match!'
Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-06-20
Ditto

There were three or four unOccupied
seats in the car, but he stood for mo-
ment, grip in hand, near the door and
then walked to a seat in whicha young
lady sat alone and sat down beside her
with an impudence that astounded all
other passengers. The girl looked up
at him and around the car and evil
IDENTIFY realized the situation, for she
took pencil and tablet from her reti-
Guile and made ready for him. After
about five minutes the man turned to
her and observed:
Beg pardon if am mistaken, but
don't YOU live at Utca?'
She looked up in a furtive way and
then wrote on the tablet and handed
him:
Il am deaf and dumb"
"Ah, by Georger he sighed, as he
read ii; chats too, too bad. Deuced
pretty girl to have such a misfortune.
Well, I'm left, after all my smartness.
Saw her at the window before | got
on, and carried out the plan to a dot
Deaf and dumb, ELI? First one ever
struck
He nodded his head to her to signify
that he understood, and he would have
been glad to change seats if he could
have done so without loss of dignity.
As the train Numbered on he perused
the contents of couple of newspapers,
yawned awhile, and then bought and
finished a novel; and finally, after a
ride Of four mortal hours, the whistle
blew, and he reached for his grip with
the remark:
I'm be hanged If amt glad this
stupid ride has come to an end at last.'
Ditto quietly replied the girl, as
she turned on him.
"You-you-r lie gasped, as he
stood there looking down upon her
with twelve kinds Of emotion galop-
ing over his eouutenauce.
"Good-bve,N she said, aud be backed
out and dropped to the platform like
a man retreatiug from a mules hind
legs.-N L. sun.
Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-06-20
Honest Journeymcu Jewellers.

Inthe largest jewellers shops in New
York there is no attempt made to
guard against theft 10y measuring out
the gold used by the workmen. The
rule is for the gold TO he melted and the
..stock" prepared, and for each work
man to help himself says the New
York sun. There are shops where as
much AS $4,000 worth Of gold is used
every day and made up into jeweiry,
and there is nothing TO prevent steal
inc but the honesty Of the workmen.
II would seem to be n simple thing
to weigh out so much gold to work
man and hold him to account to re-
turn the same weight with due allow
ance for loss in working. But in
practice this takes so much time and
bookkeeping and causes SO much delay
that the biggest shops long since de-
cided to abandon it and to rely upon
the honesty of their workmen. 1t IS
curious that in these very shops where
rold lies around by the pound every
man will lock up his tobacco, and not
a few will think it good joke to tIch
an ear Of corn or o potato from the
corner grocery and cook it in a melt
ing pot
Men long used to them become care
less even with diamonds. 1t is a
common thing for the diamond-setter
10 nave haudfulof uncouuted jewels
ON his bench, with no attempt on the
part Of the boss to keep track of the
number or value of stones given out.
An illustration OF loose habits in this
respect occurred in New York shop
NOT long ago. The boss was setting a
valuable diamond. He had occasion
to force the Jewel into the setting,
which was very tight fit, SO tight
that suddenly the gem popped
ont and flew 10 some unknown COR
ner of the shop All hands turned
to look for 1t. They looked in the
corners of benches, they explored all
the omen drawers. the delved in the
dirt Of the floor. they held matches g
cracks. they swept the whole saoI
over and over again; all was OF ue
avail. There was a barrel OF shop
sweepiugs awaiting The coming ot the
assayrr ID stood 10 a remote part oi
the shop. and some one suggested that
ii would Be- wel % slft the barre, q
sweeping. Inc lost gem was worth
looking after. and the boss finally con.
cluded to sos Two hands carefully e
work Sitting the dirt in the barrel
They ala not ind the diamond, bui