davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
The SiIkwornn's Job Gone.

If Moussa Effendi Khouri is right,
the value of silkworms will soon be very
much deprecated. This gentleman is
a Syrian and native of Beyrout. For
years he has been trying to manufac-
ture silk without the aid of silkworms,
and now he claims that he has succeed
ed. He has patented his invention in
the east and in all the countries of Eu-
rope. In this country he has also filed
an application for patent.
After studying for a long time the
manner in which silkworms do their
work Moussa Effendi Khouri came to
the conclusion that quite as fine silk
could be made out of the twigs and
bark of the mulberry tree as is made
at present from the leaves. He there
fore experimental with the bark and
twigs, discarding the services of the
worms altogether, and after years Of
labor he succeeded in producing a
silk which has been pronounced by
European experts TO be no whit infer
ior to the article manufactured by silk
worms.
In appreciation of MOussa Effendi
Khouri's devotion to science the Turk
ish government has granted him GER
tain rights over all the mulberry trees
in the Sultan's dominions. 80 long
as | have enough mulberry trees" says
Khouri, II can produce silk at less
than half what it costs when produced
by the SilkWorms. -Ne1O York Herald.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Negro Maxins.

Wakkin' on mother mans farm at
night is er short cut ter jail.
Waitin' fer good times is like tryin'
ter scratch matches in de well-buckit.
Red Ticker mighty quiet in de jug,
but mighty noisy in de niger.
Desc truss OATS gwine roun' de
country dom trus' de pc man much.
Some womin like umbrellers; yo'
can keep 'em at home no how.
Mighty hard ter manage seegyar an
gribbin' hoe at de same time.
No use ter ak how de man is wen
you see his galluses wrapped roun' de
muels him laigs.
Preachers coat-tails gwine be mighty
pop'ler on de jedgmint day.
Some folks seem ter think de Lord
dom want nothin' bigger'n copper
cents.
Forks in de road don bother de wiz
goose.
Mighty lucky turky dat aim got
much appetite TO thanksgivin'.
When you glts er chace ter vote fer
honis' man, take it.
De deafes' niger kin always hyear
de dinner horn.
Crabgrass an barcer wurrums dom
wait fer nobody.
Pullin' suckers in de barcer lot pays
better'n ketchin' suckers in de creek.
De bull CAT wonder wat de milk
pals fer.
Silver creampot don sweeten sour
milk William q. EqqLestOn
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
SUBSTANTIAL HANDSHAKINCS,
A Preachers Practitioners Play an Enjoy.
able Little Joke on Him.

1t was years since, in the Ozark
region, where | was riding a circuit
tlat | saw minister enjoy a most
substantial handshaking, SAYS a writer
in the GLobe-Denp0crdt Shaking hands
was his popularity. He believed in the
potency of cordial grasp to win men
to the church, and though successful in
winning souls he was very unfortunate
in the matter of getting dollars. In
fact poverty continually stared him in
the face. He owned little farm and
mortgaged it as long as it would Weld
a dollar, The mortgages were falling
due, but there was no prospect of pay
ing them. But it did not bother him a
bit. He shook hands more heartily
than ever
Il have unbounded faith in hand
shaking to bring everything out right,
he often said, until his penchant came
to be the talk of the town. At last
came the day when the mortgages must
be foreclosed that would deprive him
of the little home that sheltered his
family.
On the eve of that day a knock at the
door of his house, which was a little
way from town, called him. When he
opened the door whole crowd rushed
in, and, without saying a word, COM
menced shaking hands. He felt some
thing cold in the palm of the first man,
and when the hand was withdrawn it
stuck to his own. That is the most
substantial shake l ever experienced, -
he said, as he held up s. gold piece.
But the next man stepped up and a
silver dollar was left in the preachers
palm. No one would say a word in
explanation, but pressed in on him as
fast as he could stick the metal and
bills into his pockets. The house was
not large enough for the visitors, each
one of whom deposited from 81 to $40
in the outstretched hand. Each left
the moment his little errand was ac-
complished, and not word could be
had in explanation, except the last one.
who, as he turned to go, remarked:
1--WE wanted to play a little joke on
you, and we have" The several
Jokes Melted just 1871. His home
was saved and a neat balance was left
besides. The minister maintained that
he had contracted habit that night
that for year afterward when he
shook hand, prompted him to look
into his own palm, half expecting to
see a piece of metal there.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Window Gardening.

Do not have but one window given
up to plants, but make that attractive
for your family, your visitor, and
every passer-by. If you cannot afford
costly plants, have cheap ones. Per-
haps you have no place for plants out
of the reach of little fingers, and very
little time to attend to their wants, and
vet you would like to see some stgreen
things growing" You can have some
swinging brackets put up each side of
the window, with places for one or more
plants, a hanging pot for the center OF
your window. You can have pot of
r0deScG71tiG on bracket in the corner,
or under picture, or on your mantel,
where it will grow all winter without a
bit of sun, if you don't forget to water
it. 1t is the most patient plant I am
acquainted with and | have tried it in
many ways.
If you are intending to keep plants
this winter the first thing to be done is
to provide them home. Where are
you going to keep them? Which win
dow can you spareP Next to con-
servatory, large bay window facing
the south is the very best place for
plants, because they have light from
either side as well as front. If you can
have glass doors between it and the
room so much the better. Then you
will have a ''little summer all shut in. y
The door should be- left open at night
to let in the warm air. You will need
only plain shades at the windows to let
down at night to keep out the cold but
roll them high in the daytime so as to
get all the sun possible. The outside
blinds should be closed at night, and if
you live in a cold climate, where the
thermometer drops from zero to 80 de-
grees below, slip some newspapers in
behind the curtains when cold nights
threaten. Plants like air, but not
drafts. 1t comes in between the sashes
and should be kept out by placing some
narrow cotton bags filled with sand upon
them. 1t is advisable to have a hard
wood floor or oil-cloth put down, then
few drops of water won't hurt if
spilled on it.
How will you arrange your plantsP
Many people have sets of shelves ar
ranged the hight of the indow sill,
and another set half way up the sash.
In this way one can accommodate many
plants, but they will not look as well as
they might some other way. You want
your window to look well from the in
side for yourself and family to enjoy,
and you wish your window to look well
from the outside for the benefit of the
passer-by; you can do both.-Go0d
HOuseEeepj7lq.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
ICE $4,000 YEARS OLD.
A Mine in California in Which There Is
Perpetual Frost.

The altitude of the Stevens mine on
Mount Mcclellan California; is $500
feet. At the depth of from go to 200
feet the crevice matter, consisting of
silica, calcite. and ore, together with
the surrounding wall rock. is a solid
frozen mass. says an exchange. Me
Clellan is one of the highest eastern
spurs of the snowy range. 1t has the
form of horseshoe with a bold es-
carpment of feldsparic rock nearly
1000 feet high, which, in some places,
is nearly perpendicular
In descending into the mine nothi ne
unusual occurs until depth of eighty
or ninety feet is reached, when the
frozen territory begins and continues
for over 200 feet. There are no indi-
cations of thaw summer or winter.
The whole of the 200 feet of frozen
walls is surrounded by massive rocks.
The miners, being unable to excavate
the frozen material with pick and drill
IN the usual way, found that the only
way to mine in this peculiar lode was
to kindle huge fire against the face
of the tunnel and in the morning take
out the ore that had been thawed loose
during the night.
In fact, this was the only mode OF
mining used while going through the
frozen belt some ten or fifteen years
since. The tunnel is now many hun
dred feet deep, and still there is no
diminution of the frost. There is, so
for as can be seen, no opening or chan
mel through which the frost could pos
sibly have reached such a depth from
the surface. Besides this there are
many other mines in the same vicinity
in like frozen state.
The theory is that the rock was de-
posted in glacial times, when there
was cold enough TO freeze the very
earth's heart. In that case the mine is
an ice-house whose stores have remain
ed unthawed for at least $4,000 years.
The phenomenon is not uncommon
or inexplicable when openings can be
found through which current of all
can pass; but cases which, like the
Stevens mine, show no opening fo1
air-currents must be referred to i'm
bedded icebergs of the glacial period.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
COOKING IN BRAZIL.
The Coffee Is DeIicious-The Hotels Are
Wretched Places.

The domestic cooking of urban Bra
zilians, as a rule, is exquisite says the
New York Times. There is a very
large French population in Rio, and
French customs, styles, and cuisine are
in vogue. The wines are superb and
cheap. The OportO claret, which
comes from old estates in Portugal to
relatives in Rio de Janeiro, is deli
ciously mellow, and unrivaled in flavor.
Sherry and Madeira are likewise fine,
but of course Oporto is a speciality.
The red wines are always good, even
vim ordinaire. Fruits form a principal
part of the dessert, and such fruits!
Fruit of Condo, Pernambuco pineap-
Piles, Bahia oranges, grapes of Petro-
polis-ah! the memory thereof will last
always, and tantalize one in dreams!
And the coffee! 1t is elixir-fit for the
godsi
But when one leaves the cities one
bids farewell to palatable cooking.
Black beans, charqui, and farinha form
the staple of edibles, unless, indeed, one
is given 'toncinho," greasy pork, with
black beans and farinha. The mandioca
root supplies the ''staff of life'' to the
Brazilians of the interior Farinha is
the coarse meal-the grated juice-ex-
pressed, oven-dried mandioca. The
raw mandioca is poisonous, but the
poison, being very volatile, is driven
off by heat. Occasionally one finds a
fair bottle of claret or some rare old
port, but usually the wine is sour
villainous stuff. The coffee is always
good. [ speak now of the vendas-the
common, the only country inns. If
one is thrown upon the hospitality of
priests, as often happens, or the doors
of coffee planters 'bazenda" is open
by letters of introduction, the traveller
fairs sumptuously. But hospitality is
always the rule, and not the exception.
Everywhere one is made welcome.
even by the poorest. Even the vendas
not often clean or comfortable-have
a hespitable air until one comes to pay
the reckoning.
The hotels throughout Brazil, even
in Rio de Janeiro, are wretched affairs.
The Hotel Estrangeiro is the best, the
rooms being large and airy and the
beds clean and comfortable. The
restaurants, as rule, are poor, even
in Rio. The GIobo is fairly good
Butter comes in from the United States
and Sweden and is to be avoided.
Milk, save for cafe au lait in the morn
ing, is not in demand. Families are
served directly from the cow driven,
with calf at heels, to the door, and the
modicum MIXED while the black SER
want waits and gossips with the milk
man.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
How to See the Wind.

Take polished metal surface of two
feet or more, with straight edge; a
large handsaw will answer the pur-
pose. Take a windy day for the ex-
pertinent, whether hot or cold, clear or
cloudy; only let it not be in murky.
rainy weather. Hold your metallic
surface at right angles to the direction of
the wind. e., if the wind is north hold
your surface east and west, but instead
of holding it vertical incline it about AZ
degrees to the horizon, so that the
wind, striking, glances and flows over
the edge, as the water flows over a
dam. Now sight carefully along the
edge some minutes at sharply defined
object, and you will see the wind pour
ing over the edge in graceful curves.
Make your observations carefully and
you will hardly ever fail in the expert
ment; the results are even better if
the sun is obscured.-St. Louis Repub-
Tic.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Speed and Power ef Birds.

The vulture is said to fly, at times.
at the rate of about 100 miles an hour:
the wild goose and the swallow, in
their migrations, make 80 miles an
hour, and the carrier pigeon has GER
tainly flown long distances at rates of
speed ranging from go to so miles an
hour, and for many hours together.
The common crow ordinarily lounges
across country at the rate of twenty
five miles an hour, the speed of rail-
way train. Professor Langley finds
that the power exerted by the eagle in
full flight is but fraction of one
horsepower. Mr.. Chanute computes
the power exerted by pigeon flying
1920 feet per minute, twenty-five miles
per hour nearly, at 1920 of a horse
power per pound, or nine and one-third
horsepower for a fying-machine of
equally good form, weighing one ton,
at twenty-five miles an hour, or about
fifty horsepower per ton weight at
fifty miles. Mr.. Wenham, member
of the British Aeronautical Society,
finds, in the pelican, an expenditure of
one-eleventh horsepower by twenty
one pounds of bird, and this is one
horsepower to PSI pounds, or about a
horsepower for the weight of man,
allowing ample margin for surplus
power. The birds are found to have a
surplus lifting power of about one-half.
Professor Langley has purchased re-
Gently for the Smithsonian Institution
the prize steam engine of the Aeronau-
teal Society of 1868, which, with car
and screws, weighs only sixteen
pounds. and but thirteen without these
essentials. To the engineer these acts
certainly look encouraging. Forum.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
STORIES TOLD ABOUT SHEEP,
What Came of Two Bands That Persisted
i'm s.Following the Leader

Several 'ssheep men, from the Inland
Empire were gathered around the
stove at one of the hotels recently dis
cussing the prospects for mutton this
winter and at last they got to telling
stories about sheep, says the Portland
OregOnian.
One told about the captain of a
schooner who had band of sheep on
the deck of his vessel As he was turn
ing and twisting the wheel to keep the
schooner on her course, the old ram
who headed the flock, taking umbrage
at his motions. came up behind him
and at one full swoop butted him over
the wheel. The enraged captain seized
his woolly assailant and threw him over
board, when, presto! away went the
whole flock, popping over the rail, one
after another. into the sea- Boats
were lowered, and with much labor a
portion of the flock was saved.
Another told a story which illus
trated the same follow-my-leader trait
in the character of sheep. At port on
the sound one evening just after the
deck hands had got all the freight
slowed away there came down 500
Sue0p W NC put Ou UOdIu. ali naDuS
were vexed because of the delay and
trouble connected with shipping them,
but finally pen was made of hurdles
between decks and a gangway rugged,
and in the dusk all was ready to take
the sheep on board and they were
started down the gangway. The first
one, as he struck the deck, saw an
opening in the other side of the boat
across which hurdle had been placed.
Instead of going along to the corral
prepared this sheep made a running
jump, cleared the hurdle and landed in
the salt chuck alongside. Every one
of the band followed suit and in a short
time 500 sheep were struggling in the
water. The captain, having seen the
last one 60 down the plank, yelled out,
'All right down there?" An answer
came back, ''All right, sir; send 'em
down. Send EN- down." roared the
captain; haven't you the sheep down
there?" Not sheep, SIR" was the
reply, and investigation showed that
there was not sheep on the boat The
captain could not delay any longer
and so steamed away, and only a
small number of the sheep ever got
ashore.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
An Ideal Home.

My idea of good housekeeping is
where a woman keeps her home sweet
and orderly; provides simple, we'll
cooked food; makes her home so rest
full and cheerful that all who come into
it shall be better for breathing the at
mosphere of kindness and cheerfulness
that pervades the place; and where the
household machinery always runs
smoothly because of the constant
thoughtfulness of the mistress of the
house. A place like this is truly a
home, and the woman who makes such
a home deserves the respect and adj
miration of everybody. | have seen
such homes among the rich and among
the poor, for neither wealth nor power
ty prevents the right person from fill
ing with the atmosphere of comfort
and happiness the house of which she
is the mistress. Good Housekeeping.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
The Fatal Autograph.

'Will you write In my autograph-book?' said
she;
And he dared not answer nay,
Though his heart beat quick, and his breath
came thick,
And he trembled in dismay;
For he loved the maid and was sore afraid
And he dared not answer nay.
And long for a thought did pray,
And long did he look in the dictionary DOCK,
And the cy-clo-pe-di-a.
Il will write verse, said he, that is terse,
And bang-up, and 0. K.
And he searched thro' the Library of Song"
And he searched many day.
Il will show the maid that the poetry trade"
Said he, lis just my lay;
will find a verse that is sweet and terse,
If hunt forever and aye!
And he searched long, and he found verse
At the end of the fortieth day.
''She will think every line he chuckled, rs
mine;
And he laughed full loud and gay.
''I'm a genius, and make no fuss
To write good verse. HOO-rayP'
Then he turned the page, and his rivals name
Was writ with much display
Meath the very same verse, and it made him
curse,
And his raven locks turned gray,
And he fell on his side and quickly died
OF hy-pO-chOn-dri-a.
S. W. Foss in Puck.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Soap Bubbles.

All boys and girls like to make soap
bubbles, but few know how to make
those that will last for an hour if left
undisturbed. To make them, take
palm-0il soap and shave finely, then
put the shavings in large bottle of
distilled water, and shake until dis
solved. Filter this through piece of
gray filtering paper, fold the paper in
crimps so that it will fit into a funnel.
When the solution is filtered add about
one-third as much glycerine as you
have solution. Always shake well be-
fore using. These bubbles must be
blown through rubber tube fitted on
the tube of a small glass funnel with a
rim two inches in diameter. To have
the bubbles last long time blow them
into iron rings laid on piece of carpet
and wet with the solution Good
HoatseIeepi1ag.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Why Vinegar Is Sharp.

The question has been propounded,
What makes vinegar sharp? Now, if
it had been asked, Why is vinegar not
sharp? the answer would be, The want
of pure apple or grape juice. George
Adams in 1747 said that some people
have imagined that the sharpness of
vinegar is occasioned by the little eeis
which inhabit it striking their tails
against the tongue and palate. But
the Scientific Anaertcan says that it is
very certain that the very sourest vine
gar has none of the little eels so COM
mon in vinegar of lower grade, and
that its pungency is entirely due to the
pointed figure of salts which floats
therein.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Chinese Ideas of He'll.

The sixth court of the Chinese hell is
situated at the bottom of the great
ocean, north of Wuchio Rock, says
writer in the ST. Louis GLO6e-DenaOcrdt.
1t is vast, noisy gahenna, many
leagues in extent around it are sixteen
wards or ante-hells. In the first ward
the sinful soul is made to kneel for
long periods on hot iron shots; in the
second they are placed up to their
necks in filth; in the third they are
pounded till the blood runs out; in the
fourth their mouths are opened with
red-hot pincers and filled with needles;
in the fifth they are inclosed in net
of thorns and nipped by poisonous To-
Gusts; in the seventh all the flesh and
bones are crushed to a jelly, all except
the head; in the eighth the head is de-
nuded of skin, and the flesh beaten
on the raw; in the ninth the mouth is
filled with fire; in the tenth the
pounded flesh of the body is licked and
roasted by sui phurous flames; in the
eleventh the nostrils are subjected to
all loathesome smells known to their
tormentors; in the twelfth they are to
be butted by rams, oxen, and buffalos,
and at last subjected to crushing pres
sure by being trampled by horses; in
the thirteenth the heart will be taken
out and skinned; in the fourteenth the
skull will be rubbed with sandstone
until it has been entirely worn from
the jelly-like mass which was once the
body; in the fifteenth the body will be
separated in the middle and carried,
with the bare, bleeding ends sitting on
red-hot plates, to the sixteenth ward,
where the skin will be removed, dried,
and rolled up, after having written on
it all the sinful deeds done by the soul
while an inhabitant of the fieshy body;
after that the body will be consigned
to the flames.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
The Art of Sharpening a Knife.

'Do you know how to sharpen a
carving-knife?" The question was ask.
ed by big butcher in Fulton street.
VERY few people do" said he. The
carver ought to be held at an angle of
twenty to twenty-five degrees on the
steel. When the other side of the blade
is turned you must be careful to pre-
serve the same angle. Then draw the
steel from heel to point against the
edge, using only a slight pressure. y
n. T. Herald.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
Postal Wagons in Berlin.

Berlin now has a system of large
postal wagons-with sorting tables,
stamping arrangements, and every
thing else used in preparing mail for
transportation-which operate on all
the city mail routes. About two hours
is thus saved in preparing the city
mails for the teams, as the clerks do all
the sorting, stamping. and bundling
while the wagons roll swiftly along.
This would not be practicable in
America until most of the cities are re-
paved.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
The Chinese Minister'S Ring.

The Chinese minister wears an enor-
nous diamond ring on his thumb. This
stone is of immense size and very
brilliant. The setting. instead of be-
ing gold. is of dark wood. The wood
from which the ring was made is very
old-said to be 1000 years-and its
rarity makes it more costly than gold.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
The Lost Euclids Found Again.

An interesting discovery is said to
have been made in India. This is
nothing less than the lost books of
Euclid, of which Sanskrit translation
is said to have been found at Jeypore.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13

Mexico is to have magnificent con-
gressional palace, the architect to be
Piacentini, who built the Palace of Fine
Arts in Rome.