davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
UNCLE SAM Is PARTICULAR.

Three. fourths of the Men Who Try TO Gel
---=,--s- Into His Arms X elected.
Most people have an idea that it is the
easiest thing In the world to get into the
Regular Army as private. But the stand.
ard for admission to the army has been
raised so high that probably three-fourths Of
the men who apply for enlistment are turned
away. There are tbirty-one recruiting Sta.
tions. Captain Gibson, OF the Washing
station, In speaking of the class of men that
apply for enlistment said in the Washing
ton Herald:
"We have men of all grades, qualities,
enter the army. The only requirements are
that man shall be of sufficient age, must
meet certain physical requirements, must be
able to read and write and of good moral
character. You would be surprised to know
the number of men who fail to come up to
the physical standard. OF course there are
certain physical disqualiications which en-
phatically stamp the man as unfit, deformity
OF any kind. for instance. There are, how
ever, great many men who come here hav-
ing q defect in their vision or in their
organs of hearing. As for nationalities, we
enlist everything, I think, except a China
man. A Chinaman would be made fun of
by his fellow-soldlers. and the result would
be to unfit him entirely for the lite. They
say that in France man is disqualified for
extreme ugliness. The requirement of good
looks, however, does not obtain over here
"a man to enter the army must be over
16 years old and under 35. Between the
ages OF 16 and q he must have the consent
of his parents for his enlistment He must
weigh over 125 and less than 100; 160 toi
the cavalry. His height must be at least
feet inches; his chest measurement 80
inches, increasing inches upon expansion.
Last month (August) we had 80 applicants.
There were just IL who came up to the re-
quirements.
"At what particular season do you find
more men anxious to enlist"
During the months of July and August
there are more than any other. 1 do not
know any reason for this. Possibly they
get tired Of hard manual labor at their usual
trade during the hot season, and think it
would be much nicer at a military post In
the far West.
"It is against the regulations to recruit
man who is married. In the first place, il
would be impossible for a man to keep a
wife on the pay the soldier receives. This,
even in the case of o re-eulisted soldier, fire.
quently makes them miserable and unfit for
attention to duty. Again, it is very difficult
to keep married man at his post, and not
inirequently he becomes discouraged with
the seeming impossibility of being happy
as soldier with a vile and he deserts. This
would he much more the case with man
who had just enlisted, so we never take
them. We cannot refuse to take Q man re-
enlisting because he is married."
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

Everybody had gone to bed, forit was
almost 9 o'clock, very late hour in that
part OF the country, but we succeeded in
arousing the sturdy farmer, who pushed the
muzzle Of an old army musket out of the
window, and remarked that it was "a
blank of time to disturb the slumbers OF a
Christian" He consented, however, to
give US directions for finding the spring
down in the meadow, and the spring water
made very creditable coffee after we had
found our way back to the shore, walked up
Sam and rebuilt the fire, which had gone
out during our absence.
find that the delights of this excursion
into the heart of nature SO crowd upon me
that am using up all my space without
getting ahead any. I always thought that
l should like this roughing it. Mr.. Muir
ray and others had prepared me for the
pleasures of canoeing by their descriptions
OF the gently gliding birch, though I think
they didn't lay stress enough upon the
value of the exercise which can be got ont
Of such trip if a man is strong enough to
live through it.
AN EXPERT AT CARRYING.
The river is damned at OrlaEd. This
necessitates ''carry" Sam showed the
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

- EE those funny boilers, with
the crook in their back" Such
NN@A was the remark of pretty
out-of-town visitor to the Ex'
~ position as she stood at the
foot of Second avenue. And
the "boilers" she was looking at were moth
ing more nor less than the riveted 36-inch
pipe which is to bring the plenitude of
natural gas from Bellevernon to this city
this winter. The CROOKED backed" ones
are known to the men on the line as
"bends"
Doubtless a great many persons passing
Ritter & Conley's boiler works have seen
JOINTS OF this S6-inch pipe, straight and
crooked, and set them down, mentally. as
boilers of some kind. They are as big as
the old-fashioned two-fue boilers and good
bit stronger. Each joint of pipe comprises
three pieces of steel, boiler plate thickness,
riveted together with perfectly tight joints,
and riveted along the back in the most ap-
proved style of the boiler makers art. At
each end is cast-Iron hange attached with
an air-tight lead joint and perforated with
bolt holes in the same manner as union
joint for ordinary screw pipe. The bends
are made by setting a JOINT so the sheet at
one end is inclined from the line of the
other two at an angle of 21E degrees. Oc-
casionally bend is put IN the middle.
PROGRESS IN PIPE LAYING.
A few years ago the laying OF 36-inch
pipe was looked upon as doubtful venture
A few years earlier 20-inch pipe was consid-
cred very big and the memory of the writer
wanders in a misty way to the time when
the laving of the first long 6-iuch oil pipe
line was celebrated as an achievement of no
mean order. Still larger pipe may be laid
in the ;uuure, though its weight and the in
convenience of handling is against it. How
ever, the 36-inch cast-iron pipe laid last
year weighed about four times as much per
foot as the steel pipe laid this year, and
larger pipe could be handled if necessity
should require it.
BY the first OF October gas will be flowing
through this enormous pipe to this city. Ii
will then be great Iuel aqueduct supply
ing thousands Of homes and hundreds OF
stores and factories. The pipe has been
thoroughly tested as it has been laid and
when the big 36-ineh pipe is welded to the
two 16-inch lines at the top of Tepe farm
hill, which event will happen within a few
days, now, the volatile fluid can be turned
on at Bellevernon and rushed through to
this city. a good many are interested in
this result besides the company owning the
pipe line and the people who have laid it,
ior great dependence must be put in this
new main for the winters supply of fuel.
LAYING THE LINE.
The laying OF this big pipe line is quite
So +biDr in ifcalf
OF the interest attaching to it from other
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
DRESSING A LONDON BELLE.

-Four Hundred Dollars a Yenr Would be a
Very Scant Allowance.
Miss Mantilini in Pail Mall Budget.l
have had conversations with several
dressmakers about the cost of dressing.
Eighty pounds year. they told me, was the
lowest sum society girl could keep up ap-
pearances on. A hundred pounds is the av-
erage allowance. No extravagances would
be forthcoming out of that sum. In the
season the demand on clothes is excessive.
Expensive dresses for all sorts of occasions
have to be provided. Park gowns and
gowns for garden parties and races are every
bit as fine as those worn in the evening,
A girl wants four or five distinct sorts Of
dresses to be equal to all occasions. Half
dozen day dresses and half dozen evening
is a moderate stock to lay in for the summer.
l am afraid that girl with only ESQ year
to dress on would have to do with less frocks
than this. Older women with limited
dress allowance affect black good deal. 1t
Is mighty convenient and very becoming.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
|j|RjjlIf ||BjF|ERJlfF f.ct.c55;< :,;t!!: :; 81 <rS' :'@
NN G& IS

worst, sat in the back veranda and heard
the water roar from the caves and scratched
myself because was covered with the thing
called priekly heat. Tietjens came out with
me and put her head in my lap and was very
sorrowful, so gave her biscuits when tea was
ready, and 1 took tea in the back verands
on account of the little coolness I found
there. The rooms of the house were dark
behind me. could smell Strickland's sad
dlery and the oil on his guns, and had not
the least desire to sit among these things.
My own servant came to me in the twilight,
the muslin of his clothes clinging tightly to
his drenched body, and told me that gen.
tleman had called and wished to see
someone. Very much against my will, and
because of the darkness of the rooms, / went
into the naked drawing room, telling my
man to bring the lights. There might or
might not have been caller in the room
it seemed to me that saw figure By one Of
the windows, but when the lights came there
was nothing save the spikes OF the rain
without, and the smell OF the drinking earth
in my nostrils. 1 explained to my man
that he was no wiser than he ought to be,
and went back to the Veranda to talk to
TieGens. She had gone out into the wet
and l could hardly coax her back to me-
even with biscuits with sugar on top.
Strickland rode back, dripping wet, Just
before dinner, and the first thing he said
was:
"Has anyone called?"
I explained, with apologies, that my
servant had called me into the drawing
room on false alarm; or that some loafer
had tried to call on Strickland, and, think
ing better of it, had fed after giving his
name. Strickland ordered dinner, without
comment, and since it was real dinner,
with white tablecloth attached, we sat
down.
At o'clock Strickland wanted to 20 to
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
wound on the windlass until the pipe

wound on the windlass until the pipe
swings clear. It can then be lowered and
put in position, being held there until the
bolts are started and the whole joint secure
ly blocked up. Tine derrick is then moved
to the next place, while the Joint Just made
is packed and bolted up. In this way the
men may be working on three joints, in va
rioas stages, at the same time.
The Joints are packed with two asbestos
gaskets. The cast iron f1ange at one end
has bead on it and one gasket is just out
side of this, the other inside, workman
being always inside the pipe to attend to
this. The gaskets when put in have a
diameter OF over one inch. The bolts are
set up to compress them to thickness of
three-eighths of an inch. When the gas
pressure is on it congresses the gasket the
other way, so the higher the pressure the
tighter it makes the joint to resist it.
A BIG DITCH.
Most of the pipe will be under ground. A
trench averaging five feet deep by five feet
wide is dug, up hill, down hill and across
the level. There are a few exceptions to
this rule. A few ravines have been trestled
where the curve in the bottom was too sharp,
and where the pipe crosses the outcropping
of the big Pittsburg coal vein it has been
left on top of the ground. This has been
done to prevent the possibility of leakage
from the main into the coal of the highly
inf1ammable gas, the chemical composition
of which is SO nearly the same as the deadly
fire damp" of the mines.
In fact natural gas has been found In con-
siderable quantity in the Pittsburg coal.
Where the coal lies deep. as it does in the
southern part of Washington county, in
Greene county and in some parts of West
Virginia, flow Of gas from it is common to
nearly all the wells drilled for either oil or
gas And in one case, the Gibson &
Giles well at Old Hundred, Wetzel county,
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
THE QUEENS BET.
How Victorin's Name Helped the Census
Takers in Far OF Indin.

How Victorin's Name Helped the Census
Takers in Far OF Indn.
Apropos of the coming census, cotem-
porary is reminded of an old story which
went the round Of the last census period.
During the taking of the census in India in
1881, in district in the Central Provinces,
some of the tribes took fright and ran away.
The district officer finally induced their
head men to listen to explanations. Re-
lying on the fact that wagers of various
kinds figure extensively in Indian folklore,
he solemnly assured them that the Queen of
England and the Empress of Russia, having
quarreled as to which ruled over the most
subjects, had laid big bet on the point.
He went on to explain that the census was
being taken in order to settle the bet, and
he warned his hearers in spirited perora-
ton that fthey stayed in the jungle and re-
fused to be counted, the Queen would lose
her money, and they would be dIsgraced for
ever, as nimak-haram, or traitors to their
salt. The story served its purpose, and the
tribes came in.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

points of view. The DISPATCH man Wis
lted the scene of the work out near where
the 16-inch lines are to be Joined to the big
one. When he got off the train he saw a
large load OF the big tubes which had just
arrived the night before. By means OF a
derrick and crane they were raised, swung
out and landed on the wagons which were 10
haul them out where the gangs Of workmen
were putting the pipe together. One piece
o pipe was wagon load, aud that was
enough for good, strong team to struggle
up the hill with through the tough mud.
More could not have been taken.
The unloading was a novel process. When
the pipe had been hauled to the place where
it was needed the team was unhitched,
driven around to the side of the wagon and
attached to a chain, which was next thrown
around the joint of pipe. When the team
started over went the wagon, pipe and all,
upsetting the wagon, being the only prac-
tical way to unburden it. An insGantaue-
Gus photograph was taken of the wagon just
as it was going over, and it will give the
reader good idea of the procedure.
LAYING THE PIPE.
Some wonderful records have been made
bv the pipe gang, Mr.. E. c. Mayhem in
ch rye, as much as $50 feet OF pipe having
be n laid in day. The pipe is dragged
around in position bv good team of horses
and then rolled to the trench. A portable
derrick 10 placed over II, lines attached and
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
SIGNS OF 0LDEN TIMES,
They Were Necessary Then but Disappeared
With Educn tional Progress.

They Were Necessary Then but Disappeared
With Educational Progress.
Boston Advertiser
1t seems no risk to assert that in our State
there are not 10 men born within the Com
monwealth, of New England parents, who
cannot read and write. 1 haye heard it
suggested that the curious signs above the
doorways OF taverns and shops, which were
so common 200 years ago, were really aids
to those who were unable to read. The
Screen Dragon" the "Blue Lion" the
"White Horse" and the "Bunch of Grapes
over the doors of the colonial inns of Boston
rendered them easily identified, whereas a
sign-board would have been uninteliigible
to the mass OF the people. In like manner
shopkeepers were wont to mark their door
ways, doubtless for a similar reason.
A relic Of this custom is seen occasionally
even to-day, conspicuous examples being
q gilded ostrich above milliner's door, a
Kid above glover's, and spinning wheel
above the door of linen shop. But the
real significance of these signs has passed
away, and the signs themselves have disap-
peared before the advances of the school
master.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

Bellevernon to the top of Tepe hill. The
16-inch pipe was completed first, being
nearly done before the rainy weather set in,
which has caused delay in finishing the
line.
The work was begun in the first days of
May. and its completion before the first of
October breaks all previous records OF large
pIpe-layinc, the total time being less than
five months, including time lost on account
of bad weather. Some of the ditching was
difficult, blasting being frequently neces-
sary. On wet days "de Italia man" on ac-
count of his well-known fear of water. could
not be induced to go out doors. And in
these latter DAYS these sons of sunny Rome
have been deserving the work for good and
all rather than have wet feet.
A. r. CRUM.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
CANOEING In MAINE.
Howard Fielding Sends Ont a Wall
From the Pine Solitudes.
THEABJECT SLAVE OF A LAZY MAN
Joy in Rowing and Sweating by Day and
Hunting Water by Night
ONE TROUT LEFT ON A GREEN B0UGH
WRITTEN FOR THE D1srATcH.l ]


There is poetry in birch canoe. Every
body says so and it must be true. I know.
in fact, that five seconds after first stepped
into canoe the poetry aforesaid was all
that was left in it Probably poetry has
been associated with canoe so long that it
knows enough to sit down and keep still. l
didn't and that was the reason why I was
not Gin it." The man who told me to step
into the canoe had an instantaneous photo
graphic apparatus with him and he took a
beautiful view Of my feet, which present
to the reader. The picture represents me
in the act of looking for something solid in
two fathoms of water. I did not find it
because somebody ished me out, but did
find a large quantity OF caution which I
have since used whenever it has become
necessary for me to get into birch.
It was only my first lesson, and was de-
signed to prepare me for delightful excur-
sion into the interior OF the Pine Tree State.
This little pleasure trip was proposed to me
while was spending q few weeks at sum-
mer resort on the Maine coast. When my
friend asked me if 1 would not like to see
the Maine wilderness I said: whats the
matter with the place we're in now?" He
replied that this wasn't solitude; he could
show me place where they didn't have
even graveyard. But in my innocence l
accepted his invitation. partly because he
promised me some good fishing.
AHEAD OF JONAH.
Now, I am too unlucky to be of any account
as fisherman. 1t is right there that lead
Jonah about one lap, for he could make the
fish bite, and I can't. But my friend said it
didn't make any difference about that-he
would take me to streams where luck
couldn't shut man out. said that that
was the sort of stream had been waiting
for, and so we prepared to go.
There was to be three in the party. A
brother of my friend was the third. He was
callow youth, and we called him the Kid.
Ny friend is called Sam. He is man
have always looked up to, because he is dis
tinctly my superior in the very point
wherein I most excel. Before L met him
looked upon myself as the LATEST man alive,
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
riphery, but diverge v-shaped to the point

riphery, but diverge V-shaped to the point
where they are riveted to the pipe. Expan-
sion of the pipe shoves the danges toward
each other at the base, and contraction
draws them apart without affecting the air
tight joint at the rim.
MAGNITUDE OF THE WORK.
The contractors on this work, Mr.. Thomas
A. Gillespie, formerly superintendent for the
Philadelphia Company, and Mr.. R. G. Gil
lespie made the plans for the pipe, and have
had it made in this city by james Mcneil &
Bro. and Ritter & Conley. 1t has
taken 1900 tons of material for this
line alone and it has all been made in Pitts
burg. The ore was smelted here, the plates
rolled here and they have been turned into
pipe here, adding quite an item to the in
dustries of the city. Most Of the cost has
gone into labor, of course, an important
item being the rivetting of the seams and
joints. There is 81 900 ieet of the Sc inch
pipe. OF course there is a riveted seam the
entire length and the joints are equivalent
to seam over 10000 feet long.
The cast iron pipe was made at Cincin-
natl. 1t was very much heavier than the
steel pipe, and had to be handled in shorter
pieces. Including the cast iron fanges the
steel pipe averages about 140 pounds to the
foot. The cast iron pipe averages about
four times as much.
AT THE OTHER END.
Beside the 81, 900 feet of 36-inch pipe, the
Bellevernon line contains 100, 900 feet of 16.
inch pipe, part of the way single and part
OF the way double. The gas is conducted
from the wells to the 16-inch mains through
6-inch and S-inch wrought iron screw pipe.
The Messrs. Gillespie, beside laying this
line this summer, have taken up 20 miles of
16-inch pipe which had been used between
this city and Murraysville and Grapeville
OF this they relaid the 100, 900: feet from
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
NEW FIND IN P0MpEu.

MA gnincenr Five-story House Full of the
Finest OF Frescoes.
Pail Mall Budget.1
A house of five stories Cleaning against "a
rising ground) has just been excavated in
Pompeii, in which important frescoes are
still in good state of preservation. In the
principal room is representation oi
Bellerophon-a youth holding theI winged
Pegasus with one hand, while with the
other he receives the orders of Proetus, who
is seated on richly decorated throne. The
lower part OF the house is divided into bath
rooms. The paintings in the frigidarium
are specially we'll preserved--a nymph lid
ing on sea-horse, and a frieze with comic
scenes of pigmies fighting birds and croco-
diles in Egypt
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

W. Va, drilled in 1886, gas was found in
valuable quantity in the Pittsburg coal.
The well has since supplied fuel and light
for the few houses of the village, planning
mill and -four mill, and more has been
wasted than has been utilized.
ALMOST EQUALS RAILROAD BUILDING.
The ditching has been under the direction
of Cal Mccarthy, and is almost equal to the
grading of a railroad. OF course there have
been no very deep cuts or high fills, trestles
answering the purpose of the latter. One
of these crossing ravlne on the Scott farm
is shown in our illustration. The pipe lay
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
JUST A TRIFLE BRISK.

Scene In the Home of the Cyclone and
the Tornado Ouf In Kansas.
New York world.l
County Treasurer Ito tourist)-No, sirI
we DO not have cyclones in this part of
Kansas. Sometimes the wind is q trife
brisk, but
Rip! Slaml Crashl Smashl Thudl
treasurer emerging from the big safe.
ten miles away and ten minutes later)-Yes,
as was saying, sometimes the wind blows
pretty orisk. II Why, hellol Thar's
tnat stranger impaled on that broken syca-
more limb up thari That's too badi Kinder
reckoned ON selling him couple o. lots.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21

ing is almost equal to the rail laying of q
railroad, and requires many tons of ma
terial. Just before crossing the Scott farm
trestle the pipe comes over a very sharp,
steep, small hill. The curves are very short
In places. The two-and-a-half degree bends
OF the steel pipe do not meet the require
ments, and, as in all such cases, cast iron
bends are used. These are but two feet thick
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
SAM WAS TIRED.

SAM WAS TIRED.
"Well. boys" Sam said, 'the wind and
tide are both against us, and it's beginning
to get dark. Suppose we run ashore and
camp"
We did so, and Sam told the Kid and 1
how to pull the canoe up above high water
mark. Then he said if we would get some
wood, and the matches, he would light the
fire while we went to look ior water. Look
ing tor water in an unknown land after
dark is one OF the funniest things in the
world. It is especially funny in Maine
where no piece of land is smooth and there
is always u rock with corners on it ready to
meet you if you TALL. The Kid and 1 started
off across field, and almost Immediately
fell into the dry bed Of a stream. Then we
crawied up the opposite bank, and got into
thieket On the other side of it was a
rock fence which was very hard, on the op-
posite side, where we struck. We took a
fresh start which, after much tribulation,
brought rs to farm house.