davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16
IN BRIEF.

The society amateur who recently re-
turned from Paris with trunks full of good
clothes, has mastered an important step
toward becoming an actress. If at the
beginning of her career she has recited
"'0sler Joe" or had an escapade
she will be the distinguished Mrs. Some
body" although she may not possess the
genius of Mrs. Siddons nor the womanliness
OF Mary Anderson.
Advice to an ambitious amateur might
appropriately be given thus: Get an outfit
II you would put money in thy purse, and
win notoriety rather than fame.
Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

The counties in the true coal measures of
Texas in which workable seams
Of coal are or are apt to be found, are Mon
tague Jack, Young, Palo Pinto, Eastland
Stephens and Coleman, and parts of Brown,
Runnels, Callahan, Wise and Erath. In the
general strata there are nine seams of coal.
Only two of these, however, are thick
enough, where observed, to have any com
mercal value. These seams range in thick
ness from Two to thirty inches. The fact
that some of these seams aae very thin is
no reason to conclude that al some other
locality remote from the place first observed
they may not become of sufficient thickness
to be of commercial value. There may also
be other seams of coal in the strata than
those indicated, that will be discovered
upon further investigation, that were so
thin or are so entirely covered up as to
heretofore escape notice
Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

| distance. A more fallacious notion does
| not exist, nor one that is so self-evidently
| false. The only way by which the probable
| thickness of a seam of coal can be deter
mined and its relative position to other
seams in the series known is by under
standing and considering the entire forma-
| ton -
Another popular notion exists that is as
equally incorrect, and that is, that by fol-
lowing seam from the outcrop under some
hill near by, the coal will become much
thicker and of better quality 1t must be
remembered that the coal seams were made
long before the hills were formed by the
erosion of valleys between them, and that
the seam of coal formed single stratum
extending under considerable territory,
before the valleys We're cut through it.
The coal seam had nothing to do with the
making of the hill, and the forces making
the hills did not affect the thickness of the
seam in the hill. The hills have not been
made by Upheaval in this part of the state,
so there Is no reason to suppose the seam OF
coal will be thicker under the hill than at
the outcrop. There is always great persis-
tency in the thickness of coal seams that
are as nearly horizontal as they are here.
If there is slight parting of clay or slate
III the coal seam it will generally be found
in it throughout the entire extent of the
seam. 1t is often miles from the outcrop
of a seam before there will be any perman-
ent change in the thickness and then it is
just as liable to become thinner as it is to
get thicker. The coal at an outcrop, where
it has been exposed to atmospheric intiu-
ences, is, however, more liable to be i'm
pregnated than where it has been protected
from such influences.
Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

A certain female orator says of her fell
low-women; Some are eloquent and some
are loquacious.' True, Mrs. Speaker, and
some are neither
Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

fE kAdyss v sotsss. esaar.t
Iinssw seoothiqs 'sy e s he s-I gun.
8SsmsaS sSr diarrbeass~ . Cents bo'''S
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
A SAMARITAN PIG.
The Remarkable Reasoning Power Dis.
 played by Sow.

played by Sow.
 Like the goose the pig is a much maligned animal. It is taken for granted that they are both stupid to the core, and in consequence no one will make pets of them, and endeavor to find whether they really have any sense. Perhaps there is prejudice against swine because they are so homely, but that is no reason why they should be slandered. For instance, here is a story of a good Samaritan pig: A Penn sylvania farmer missed one of his hogs, and for three days was unable to find him. On the third day, the hired man, while feeding the pigs, saw sow take an ear of corn in her mouth, trot across the lot and disappear in the thick under brush She returned in about an hour, and the man told his employer of the occurrence, and the SOW was closely watched when the drove was fed again. She ate her dinner, and then took big ear of corn in her mouth and again started for the underbrush. She was followed quietly to little hollow in the wood, where the missing hog was dis covered. One of his hind legs was held fast by the stout and springy roots of a hickory tree, between two closely growing forks of which he had stepped, and which had spread under his weight and then closed on his leg like a wise. The ground about was covered with corncobs, showing how the sow, which had evidently been present when the accident had occurred, had cared for the prisoner. But for her he certainly would have perished, as he never could have escaped from the trap he was in.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
THE LONDON BOY.
He Is Accounted for on the Evolution
 Theory.


 Theory.
 What are these creatures shambling up the crescent? These arc two mes sage boys. And who is that troglodyte roasting on the railing? That is Drake's boy waiting on Pecl's boy and Smellie's boy. Why does he wait? Because he never travels alone; secondly, because he has infinite time. Do they shake hands when they meet? No, Drake's boy puts out his foot and trips up Peel's boy. What does Peel's boy do? He rises in haste and smitcs him with leg of mutton. Are they now enemies? No; these are proofs of attachment. After furnishing the leg of mutton they sit down to discuss the universe-i. e., the street, the pantomine and one Kidd, pirate.
 Why does Snellie's boy go off by himself and yell? If he did not do that he would burst. He does not know that he is yelling. Why does he lay down his basket and dance? Hush; do not betray him. All boys do that when they are alone. Does he look ashamed when you see him? No; boys never look anything. Will he come to if you leave him? Yes; he will whistle pres. ently and calm down. How much does he get for this? Four-and-sixpeuce a week.
 This boy is accounted for by the evo- lution theory. His father was primitive man. It is only being in a town and his mispronunciation that make you think he is not savage. What he rep resents is capacity; he is clay, dough, putty This boy cannot as yet walk straight, or dress better, or brush his hair. He is not good. He is not bad. He has no soul. He has not even soap. He is simply boy, pure, unwashed, un- repeneratpd boy.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
TURTLE SOUP.
How a Noted Caterer Got Left on HIS
 Reptile.

How a Noted Caterer Got Left on His
 Reptile.
 A celebrated English naturalist re- Iates comical story of his first intro duction to turtle, some forty years ago. There was to be a grand public dinner at a seaside hotel, and the cater ing being intrusted to noted cook and purveyor, in honor of the occasion he undertook to provide real turtle soup for the feast. Accordingly, a live turtle arrived at the hotel a few days before the date fixed for the banquet, and of course became the one theme of con- versation and aStonishment in the neighborhood. People from miles around flocked to see it, and if the tur- tie, as it lay on it's back in straw-car- peted shed, feebly moving its fippers to and fro, had been a griffin, it couldn't have attracted more attention. The turtle was not to be killed until the morning of the eventful day, but on the preceding afternoon some bright person suggested to the landlord that 1t was getting weak, and that 1t would be all the better and fresher, and reappear UO dIlf d1tc1S5O IAA SO-AAOAAO" S tureens, if it had sea bath. The idea was voted capital, a wheelbarrow was brought, the prospective soup hoisted upon it, with a long line fastened round it's shell, and tho procession forthwith started for the beach, with half the town in it's wake. The barrow was wheeled into the sea and tilted until its burden was launched. Off the turtle padded joyously, the rope being paid out to it's utmost length. After proper lapse of time the rope was hauled in, but the loop was empty. The grateful turtle doubtless steered for the West Indies, and ox-tail soup graced the ban quet. But it was not safe to mention turtle soup" to the landlord for many a. wear.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
QUEER WAYS OF OLD BOSTON.
The Difficulties Atten ling Travellers in
 Days Gone by.

The Difficulties Atten ling Travellers in
 Days Gone by.
 Visiting in Boston seems in old tines to have been attended with some diff culties, and if the infcrcnces which one would naturally draw from ccrtcil entries in the old records are correct the authorities of the town were not accustomed to be overgiven to the cl- couragement of hospitality, whatever may have been the case with iaai- viduals. For meeting of the sclcct- men of the town, held on Novem5er l9, l740, for instance, says the Boston Courier, the record begins as follows:
 "Mrs. Rebel1ah Young. Appearing Informs that She with One Child Is lately come into this Town, from liar wich to Visit her Sister, that she ir- tends to return in the Spring, ( that she hath brought with her to tho Vallc of Two Hundred Pounds in Money and Household Goods.
 ''Liberty is Granted her to tarry uGt;l the Spring and then to return to liar wieh with her Child, or give Security to Indemnify tho Town"
 The good folk of Boston were ia perpetual panic in those days lest t,cy should get upon their hands to t>--c care of paupers that really belonged to some other community, and it is very likely that they had good reason for their fear and their precautions, Che would suppose, however, that v-c-,!2-l who could bring with her a couple ,1 l,u-,dYnd yoOr,OlS ir, sroll .o-,d r~oar n; be of sufficient importance to be sHo-,J the forrnality of appearing bofore ,..c sclectmen of the town, 1t worlli be i-,- tcresting to know how small an GnlolaJ of belongings would have adInlJt2s! i-s~ to the privilege of passing t.e v.ntey with her sister,
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
A SENATOR'S FORTUNE.
The Miraculous Manner in Which It Was
 Made,

The Miraculous Manner in Which It Was
 Made.
 ''The late Senator Hearst once told me-" said newspaper man, ''he re- garded his possession of an immense fortune nothing less than a miracle. T was forty-nine years old, he said, when the row made over the discovery of the Comstocll silver mines set the whole coast wild. had been disappointed in the work I'd been at, and found myself pretty nearly broke. I had enough to buy horse and the outfit, and started over the mountains from California with the boys. That broke me, and I wasn't feeling happy, because I'd worked and struggled and speculated good many years, and it struck me as rather rough that a man of my age should have to start out, as did then, like young fellow. There were about ten or twelve of us in the party, and, as 1 was blue, they let me alone rather, and my mustang being worn down, I stopped on the trail, put my arm through the bridle and picked out rock to stt on.
 4hC 1SSC O1 Gl1C DOy IOIlS O1I; OuU l sat there. There wasn't any reason why I should particularly, only did. The whip had was willow switch I'd pulled from tree while I rode along. As sat there switched the dust of the trail, and thought shall go with them, or shall I go back? I switched and switched, and thought and thought. saw behind me all the hard work I'd done, all the chances I'd taken and lost on, and felt old and used up, and no good. My sense told me to turn back and make my fight where was known. There was safety in that anyway. But I'd been camping night after night with the boys ahead of me, and it made me lonesome to think of parting company with them. So after switching and switching the dust on the trail, and feel ing weak and human because yielded, I mounted my horse again and rode on after the party. got to the Comstock and in six months 1 made half mil lion dollars. This is the foundation of what I've done since. Now, why shouldn't I have turned back when I hesitated? It would have been sensi- ble, ''conservative" to do that. But didn't, and because didn't 1 won. If you're ever inclined to think there's no such thing as luck, just think of me-"
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
THE TIGERS PREY.
It Is Usually Dispatched with Biow O
 fhe Paw.

It Is Usually Dispatched with q Biow O
 the Paw.
 A correspondent who has seen great deal Of forest life in India writes to u Indian Forester on the subject of how. tigers secure their prey. As q Ccncr~ . rule he is inclined to doubt the tc-1t,l C. the commonly accepted theory Lat tl.? tiger after lurking in ambuch srri-l.,--i on the unsuspecting victim and tc;.T savagely at its throat eagerly Gria--s t blood. This method of attacl, Ecy so-2c- times be adopted but it is far moro often the exception than the rule. l1 approaching his prey the tiger r1a'7cG the best possible use of cover, but when further concealmcnt is impossible Ee will course a deer or other sw4f.-Iootod animal with extraordinary speed. 4 sudden dash of two hundred yarts in the open is nothing uncOmmcl, and the writer mentions the case Of enc L. gress. with whom he says he was at cae time intimately acquainted, who Used to catch hog or deer almost daily On . perfectly open and burned-up plain. Small animals for the most part are dis GelIcncQ Nlbil DION O1 lA1C lsihs Des- Al the case of the more bulky the expo rienced tiger. lcaping on the back CT his victim, grips the neck in front of the withcrs with his jaws, one forepaw clasping the shoulder of the animal and the other fully extended under tho throat. Should he be unable to crush the spine with his jaws he will t2en jerk the head back violently and there by break the neck. have examined hundreds of animals killed by tigers and have never yet detected injury to the blood-vessels of the throat but in variably marks attributable to the aforementioned method. In removing his prey the tiger frequently displays almost phenomenal strength ard activ- ity. In one case cited a young ii gTess leaped up perpendicular rock some SiS feet high with a man weighing nearly eleven stone in her jaws and On another occasion a male tiger dragged an cI- ceptionally large buffalo up a ban; ct least ten feet high.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
An Amusing Flea Story from the Court
 of Prussia.


 An-American lady visiting in Eng land one day rashly alluded to fieas by their common name, and it was only when her English listeners looked slightly mortified that she realized that she should have spoken of those OIfcn- sive insects as If sharps," or applied to them some equally cuphonious title. That unfamiliarity with them is con fined to their names rather than their persons, may be guessed from the following story, which is told about proposed entertainment of per forming fleas, a long while ago, before the king of Prussia,
 All the royal party had assembled about platform, on which the cXhibi- tion was to take place. The entertain ment was called Napoleon and his generals"
 The court sat in expectation, but the ''professor, who was manager of the affair, shook his bushy mane and rolled his eyes in anguish, while he wrung his long hands, and marched up and down his little cage. At last he gasped:
 "Napoleon is nissing."
 He paused, and cast his eagle eye over the distinguished company. He observed that the princess royal fdgcted little. Throwing his whole soul into eyes and voice, he approached that au- gust lady and the king.
 ''Sire, madam he cried, this cc;hi- bition is a poor mans all! Without Napoleon, his generals are valuclcss. There can be no entertainment without him. An unfortunate entreats. Allow me"
 The princess wore an old-fasAioncd fichu. In the fraction of a second the professor had turned back several of its white folds, made capture, and proud- ly returned to his troop. Arrived on the stage, he ventured to relax his hold, and examine the captive.
 ''Oh," he Sroaned, in despair, it is a wild onc.'
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
How Diamonds Are Cut,

To cut a diamond means to grind its surface so that it shall be covered with the little flat faces, or facets as they are called, which are seen in all dia- monds set in jewelry. The stone is fastened in a ball of cement, on the end of stick. and rubbed with another diamond set in the same way on the end of another stick. The workman rests the stick on the edge of little box, and the dust, called diamond pow der, which is rubbed off, falls through the fine holes in the bottom of the box and is saved to polish with. In this way each facet is worn down little by little. When all have been thus cut, and the stone is in the shape wanted, it is given to the polisher, who fastens it with soft solder into a copper cup at the end of stout wire, and holds it against a small steel wheel wet with oil mixed with diamond powder, which is made to turn round very fast. By this means the facets are polished one by one, the stone being set in new solder for grind ing each facet,
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
THE SYRIAN WAY.
A Bedouin Who ConlI Not Understand
 English Laws.

EnsSiis-a LaNS'
 It is very difficult for & man unlearncd and untraveled to un- derstand, in the slightest de- gree, the customs of foreign na- tions. George Mabbedy, Copt, born at Jerusalem, anl educated at an Eng fish school there, has for many years served as guide to travellers in the east. Yet, after all his acquaintance with Franks he fails to understand their customs. With the Bedouins'' con- tains the following illustrations of his conclusions ia regard to an English lawyer, and his node of life.
 He proposed going to England and helping ne in ny ofice.
 What would you do there, George?" I asked.
 'I stand at door with my sword. This man come in, let him come. That man go out, l put him out.
 His main idea i5 that l must be con- stantly engaged on murder cascs, and that those whom l am opposing must be always seeking my life He therefore wishes ne to be on my guard against avcnging knives.
 George has been much puzzled to un- derstand exactly what I do when l am at home, and how I earn my living by the law. After much pondering he proposes this question:
 "When one man kills another, and comes to see you, what you tell him?"
 "When one man kills another he does not come to me. He runs away. If he is caught he will be hanged.
 ''But if he bribe the julgc?"
 Judges in England do not accept bribes."
 "WeIl, it is different in Syria" says George, with q sign of parplcXity. Life in Syria is to him an open book, but England is too much for him.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
"JUST FOR LUCK"
That Is the Reason Why Some Drummers
 Co to Church.

That Is the Reason Why Some Drummers
 Go to Church.
 'I have known commercial travellers" says a hotel clerk, ito stay out until the early hours of Sunday morning, and yet they would get up and go to church Sunday no matter how severe the weather was. They said they were not particularly religious, but that they made it an invariable rule to go to church Sunday or they would have no success during the week. l remember a case of young fellow who came i'll from the train late one Saturday after noon. I never had worse week in my life he said. Why, haven't taken one decent order. And the req son is I neglected to go to church last Sunday. as is my usual custom, am going out tonight and may be out late, but I want to be called in time for church tomorrow forenoon He did not come in until four o'clock in the morning. but he insisted on being called at nine o'clock, and though it was rain- ing pitchforks went to church after 9 hearty breakfast jokcd him when he returned and declared that he had not been to church. But he told me the minister's text and several good points of the sermon. Well, he declared that he had good luck all that week, and booked several of the largest orders he had ever taken in this city"
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
Mormon Respect for Law.

sWe Mormons," said Mormon from Utah, ''have shown our respect for the law as no other body of people in the country have ever done. The govern ment has confiscated our church prop erty under the Edmunds act, and we have surrendered it accordingly; the government has declared the polygamic system to be illegal, and we have re- nounced polygamy: the government has curtailed our civil rights and subjected us to disabilities, but we have hardly even entered protest Several thou sand Mormons have left or are leaving Utah for Mexico, and if these pioneers get along well tens of thousands of other members of the church in Utah will follow in their wake. We will obey the laws of the United States while we live under the American flag, as we have obeyed them for the past half century"
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
THE COLOR OF LEAVES.
Varying Opinions as to the Manner of Its
 Change.

Varying Opinions as to the Manner of It's
 Change.
 The most unobservant have been struck with the remarkable change which takes place in the color of leaves in autumn The alteration is so Ob- vious as to have created general be- lief that it is duo to the frost or cold. While this is indirectly true, it is not strictly correct, because the change would occur, and as a matter of fact frequently does occur quite independent tissue of the leaf is composed of two colors-red and blue. When the sap ceases to flow in the autumn and the natural growth of the tree is suspend ed, oxidation of the tissues takes place. Under certain conditions the green of the leaf will turn red, and under others it assumes brown or yellow tint, the difference in color being due to varia- tion in the composition of the original constituents of the green tissue, as well as the varying conditions of cli- mate, exposure and soil. Foliage is al ways more brilliant with a cold cli- mate than with damp, warm one. Trees of the same age, and of the same kind, having the same exposure, may sometimes be seen growing side by side, of distinctly different colors, the leaves of one being a brilliant red and those of tho other dull tawny or yellow. For this phenomenon no ex- planation has been given beyond the suggestion that the difference is due to the roots finding their way into differ- ant
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
: DESTROYED BY SILENCE.
The Unique Ending of an Ancient City of
 Laconia.

Amycla, if the old legend of its fate Is to be relied upon, actually perished through silence. The legend concern ing the unique end of this ancient city is as follows: Amycl@ was town of Laconia, founded by the Lacedemonian king, Amyclae. It was an independent city for many years, but was finally conquered by the Spartans. The city had been so often alarmed by false rumors of projected Spartan invasion that at last, weary of living in a state of absolute terror, it was decreed that it should be made public offense to re- port the approach of an enemy. So, when the Spartans at last actually ap- peared before the city, no one dared to warn the officials of their approach, and thus they were able to take the town with scarce an effort. There is, it must be admitted, another silence" myth concerning Amycla. Servius says that the city was founded by Pythagoreans, forbidden by laws of their order to speak or to harm ser- pents. The result was that the snakes from the hills sought the precincts of the city, and, no one daring to speak of it to his neighbor or to harm the slimy creatures, one by one the inhabitants left until finally the city was complete ly turped into a snake den,
The St. Johns herald., 1891-10-22
English Bath Houses.

The ideal bath houses are in Birming- ham, England, and are from eighty to one hundred feet long, and from three to five feet deep. The poor bathe for a penny, or two of our cents, while the well-to-do get towels and a dressing room for twelve cents. These bath houses develop swimming cla sses, and from these expert swimmers are made,