davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
Epidemic of Suicide in Paris.

For some time past as many as twelve
to eighteen suicides have been regis.
tered daily at the Prefecture of Police.
Sunday the total was eleven. In the
Rue Berthe a woman suffering from q
nervous affection put an end to her
existence by swallowing tincture of
iodine. A diamond merchant named
Cohen in the Rue Maubeuge blew out
his brains for reasons that have not
been ascertaihed. An old man of 60 in
the Rue st. Martin committed suicide
in a similar fashion. In the Rue des
Boulets a man hanged himself, leaving
behind him q paper on which was
written; mo work, no bread. Ihave
not eaten anything for two days.
Enough of this. En- route for the tnr-
n~ip-field." Starvation also induced a
widow in the Rue de Palikao to snffo-
cate herself and daughter, aged IS,
With charcoal fumes. Two young
women drowned themselves in the
Seine, and an individual in the Rue des
Pyrenees poisoned himself with lauda-
The annual statistics show that
al endemic of suicides takes place
regularly at the commencement of
spring and autumn. Last April the
morgue was occasionally filled to over
flowing with the bodies of suicides.
Drowning in the Seine is most gener-
ally selected in the spring; in the
autumn preference is given to asphyxia-
tion by charcoal fumes.-Public Opin-
inn
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
has rendered an opinion on an interest
ing question never before raised in that
State. A brother and sister who had
lived together many years and were
advanced in age, joined in making a
will. Each had separate property, and
the will provided that it should 90 to
the survivor during his or her life, and
afterwards to be disposed Of in a speci-
fed way. The brother died first and
his property went to his sister. Before
her death she made a new will and the
question was raised whether she could
revoke the double will. The court said
she could, Here is its reasoning: The
will SO made must be regarded there
fore as the separate will of each Tesla
tor as fully as though the will of each
had been separately drawn up and
signed. There was nc joint property
or joint devise. It is not, therefore, a
joint will. It is not a contract between
the makers in form or effect. No con-
sideration passed from one to the
other, and none is suggested accept the
affectionate interest which this aged
brother and sister felt for each other.
This moved them to provide for each
others comfort by a life estate in the
survivor, but beyond that each gave
to the remainder what the other
owned. Such a will is properly exc
cuted as q double will. 1t must be con
strued and treated as the separate will
of each testator who signs it, in the
same manner us Thoughts separate copy
had been executed by each. Whether
a joint will disposing of a joint estate
may be revoked by either party is a
question on which the courts have not
agreed,
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

The fast new cruiser Philadelphia is
the second of the name. The first bore
a notable part in American naval his
tory. In the var against the pirates of
Tripoli (1s0l to 1909 the gallant wood
en- cruiserP Philadelphia was wrecked and
captured by the Tripolitans. They
turned her into a irst-class war ship of
their kind and placed her in the harbor
with a Turkish crew aboad. In the
dead of night, Feb. 16, 1903, Lieut.. De-
catur, with a force of eighty-three men,
on board The Intrepid, a captured and
%remodeled Turkish war vessel, stole
alongside the Philadelphia under pre-
tense of being a friendly vessel in dis
tress. They got near enough to the
Philadelphia to set fire to her and blow
her up, destroying her completely with
a large number of the piratical force
on board, and then sailed away safely.
This exploit helped to make the fame of
the American navy in those days.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

In the matter of rapid transit, New
York might learn much from a con-
eideration of the new underground line
that has just been put into oper-
alton in London. The line is only three
miles in length, but the best English
engineering authorities consider that
the system is destined to revolution
ize the whole plan of metropolitan rail
way construction" A shaft fifty or
sixty feet deep vas sunk, and from this
two tunnels we're dug out and lined
with circular iron plates. Inside these
tunnels the trains are run by an electric
motor. Electric lighting, elevators
from the street down to the level Of the
tunnel, a single rate of fare and other
arrangements very much after the man
ner of our elevated roads complete
the system. The cost of the work was
very heavy, but there is general belief
that the patronage will make it a pay
ing enterprise.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

The Iweters' Weekly notes that the
war on watch clubs is rapidly spread
ing to every part of the country. It
says the lottery laws of the United
States have little bearing on the sub
ject except as they deprive the promot-
ers of the benefits they might other
wise derive from newspaper advertis-
ing. The prosecution thus far conduct
ed have been based on the statutes of
the States wherein they have occurred.
Missouri, Ohio, and one or two other
States have already condemned it, and
New York, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey courts will soon be called on to
decide the question, the public prose-
cutors in each case saying that these
clubs are clearly within the provisions
of the penal statutes.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
The Phcnograph 81 Ciinios.

Among the many uses which have
been proposed for the photograph one
has been found that is likely to become
practical. A prominent London hos
pital surgeon has lately employed the
phonogrsph to record the characteristic
changes in voice sounds which mark q
variety Of diseases. The experiments
were entirely successful, for the ma
chine reproduced the characteristic
yocalizations Of some diseases with real
istic effect. The whoop Of the whoop-
ingcough and the intervening cries Of
the little patient, and also the hoarse
u~tterances Of those suffering from acute
or chronic diseases Of the throat or
lungs were wildly reproduced. This.
new application Of the photograph to
the purposes Of diagnostic and chemical
instruction will revolutionize chemical
teaching in medical colleges, vince it.
will be possible to place q ssries Of
cylinders in.eyery medical l~ecture-room,
which would give students q life-like;
reproduction Of the characteristic sounds
of persons suffering from the many
throat and lung diseases.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

Here and there in the fields and on the
hillsides along the road big piles of yell
low clay, looking like gigantic gopher
holes, marked the sites of deserted min
eral holes.
Seven miles east Of Dubuque a spark
ling little spring brook runs across the
road, and we know we are nearing Fair
play. 1t is Squire Bob Allison's famous
water-crcss brook. In 1t grows the
g%reenest, the sweetest, and the crispest
crosses of all the country round.
Presently we drive down over a hilltop
and an ancient signboard, swinging from
a tall post, looms up In the middle of the
road. The signboard is old and bat
tered, stained by the rains and faded by
the suns of thirty years. On it you can
still make out the mystic legend, blaz-
oned in broad, black letters on the
weather-beaten background:
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
HOTEL
BY
r. ALLISON.


Stretched out along the road for $50
feet on the left of the sign-board is
Squire Bob's establishment. The genius
of Squire Bob is many-sided. Squire
Bob is a farmer, a hotel-keeper, a lead
miner, and q dealer in blackjack and
dry bone. He is also a saloon-keeper
and a Justice of the Peace. For many
years he was postmaster, until recently
removed for offensive ~partisanship,"
whatever that there is" as Bob says.
For thirty years Bob has been agent for
the stage line between Dubuque and
Platteville, Wis. Twice a week the
stage COACH now greatly diminished in
glory, draws up in front of his Hospital
BILE door.
We dismounted and fastened our horse
to one of the many posts along the porch.
The place looked deserted. Save old
Squire Bob standing in solemn dignity
behind his bar not a soul was in sight.
We stepped inside the door, and in two
minutes the room was full. Fifteen or
twenty big, husky miners and farm
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

month. aida cestai, SIP ly of wa er.
The explorer will l-a@e Fra ice for
Spit bergen eat az and VII he ac-
companied BIZ two tpm ~ els. The
expense OF IN ~, eaI i,p is is 1000
franc p, def ed by tita and q
lew English ciTIEa Ia syrl he
the result, the ~ Alit o
the nation 10 Nlii.ap l,sers he.
lloag.
mas WHO tasescA il oath
lssapt to becolLe v Mise Old
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

be inflated with
pure hydrogen
gas and will be
OF great resist
ing power. It
will have an in
terror balloon or
air pocket pecu-
liar to itself and
whose capacity
will be 5000 GU
bic meters. It's
object is 10 keep
the exterior bal
loon alw a y s
completely in
tiated and I'M
der an eu u
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
AFTER THE NORTH POLE.

Two Frenchmen viii Make a Voyage OF
Discovery in q Balloon
Another effort and a most novel one
as regards the mean to be employed is
to be made to reach the north pole.
NJ. Besancon and NJ. Gustave Hermite,
two Frenchmen, are fitting up a bal
loon which they have called the Sivel
and in which they will endeavor to
solve the problem which so long has
agitated mems minds. The SiveI will
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
Saved by His Wife.


The story of Tewfk's escape from his
villa ear Alexandria, when Arab
Pasha was e~ndeavoring to get pos.
session of the person who stood be-
tween him and q thrown, is worth tell
ing. 1t was Emineh who, with her
faithful attendants, met at the villa
gate the horsemen of Arab, and throw
ing aside for q moment her womanly
reserve, forbade them to enter, saying
that Tewfk had already departed.
Her regal tone of commanding air over
came the persistence of the officer who
had been sent to arrest the Khedive,
under the pretense Of escort, and he
went bsck to Arab without having full
filled his mission. This gave Tewfk
the required time to take refuge with
his loyal fleet. Then Tewfk was C.
more in power at Cairo and Arab a
prisoner, Queen Emineh was an earnest
pleader that the life of the arch rebel
should be spared; and her plea had
probably as much influence in procur-
ing the penalty of exile instead Of death
as the interference of England. She
has always kept her single hold upon
Tewfk, and the household of the
Egyptian monarch is a model of domes-
tic bliss. He is wrapped up in her and
in Abbas, his son and heir.
The excellent domestic habits of
Tewfk are all the more singular in
view II the fact that his fatharlSsss--
Khedive Ismail, isa man Of very different
character. Among his numerous wives
Ismail counts not less than three of
European origin. Educated in Paris,
Ismail seemed to imbibe the vices while
he eluded the virtues of Western civil
i~zation, and if q woman impressed his
fancy she was offered the chance to
join his harem. When the harem be-
come too crowded Ismail divorced a
certain number, usually elderly ladies,
and had them married to his officers.
The honored official was expected to
receive this evidence of the royal bounty
with deep qualification. If he did not
he heard from Ismail later. One Of
these gentlemen, Mustapha Bey, who
was being rapidly advanced in the sun
shine of the royal favor had daring to
evince some repugsnce when his Sc
lected wife was presented to him. Mus
tapha himself was a young man and
presumably had an eye in another di-
rection. He vas soon afterwards
ordered to a command in the most
sickly part of the Soudan. Goaded to
desperation Mustapha attempted a re-
bellion against the Khedive, whose
forces, however, 500 put an end to the
uprising aud the young hey, one one
of the most promising and brilliant
officers in the Egyptian army, persisted
miserablv.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

H CAR OF II EsBALLooN.pressure. That
the balloon may remain at a
moderate d~istanc, f.om the ground
a guide rope will be attached to
the basket, which, as ci.cam tauces
may require, will trail over the ice, or,
replaced by a longer one, d ,ag in the
water. The ropes will b. made of wire.
The balloon will carry. besides the two
explorers and their thee as i tants,
eight dogs y sledg' . Il small insub-
mefsible canoe, pr,yi,iJn. for one
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

Or course nobody is justified in COM
hitting suicide, especially as it is not at
all likely that he betters matters any,
But if anybody could be excused for
thinking seriously of the matter it
would be J. L. Cody, of Florida, who
put himself out of the world q short
time since. At the coroner's inquest it
was shown that Cody had for some
years been staggering along under a
combined load of Incorporate habits,
domestic troubles and a fear of prose-
cution by the courts.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

/; A New JERSEY woman named Bless
ing, who was given charity and cared
for in Pittsburg, suddenly disappeared
without even thanking her b%enefactors.
Blessings brighten as they take their
fight" but the New Jersey Blessing
may not have but one of that kind.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

TIE form ofoath binding the Moham-
medan conscience is to make the Koran
rest on the head while the oath is ad-
ministered. But if the Koran is skill
fully held just above the head the form
! is not valid and the oath not binding.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

ED1soN's Photographic doll has now
got up to 1876 words in speech. The
year-old flesh and blood baby can say
. great many more understanding
to its fond mother-but the words all
apund alika.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

UNDERGROUND LONDON is far more
wonderful than underground Paris.
Take for example, its 5000 miles of
sewers, its "a, 200 miles of telegraph
wires, its $500 miles of water mains, its
5000 miles of gas pipes, all definitely
fixed. Yet not even these compare with
the vast c~ellarage area beneath the feet
of the pedestrian. In Oxford and Re-
gent streets alone the capacity is said
to exceed 40 acres.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

in my case,n and the Squire ventured q
smile at his own joke.
@Will it make any difference If we
don't get here until late to-night2s
aNo; Tve ra4. led people at Gil hours
in the day and nig.t I've married more
than one couple wlen .~sarties was pound
In the front door to getil But In most
cases there Amt no trouble. I tsst sim
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

! The real test Of the genuineness of
an inward affection as it appears in our
consciousness, is the course Of action
to which it leads. If it does not lead
one to act rightly, it is not Of much
value. What men practically do is a
very sure index to the character of their
feelings,
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
The fact that certain red stars have

The fact that certain red stars have
disappeared from the heavens has re-
Gently been noted by Mr.. Birmingham,
of Tuam, Ireland, who also mentions
that other stars Of the same color have
undergone extraordinary changes in
brilliancy. The cause of this varia-
bility in colored stars is unknown. It
is supposed, however, that red stars are
ordinarily in an ember-like condition,
and are occasionally heated to white
ness in some ANN not yet under
atOod.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

Mrs. EVA HAMILTON has announced
the intention of going on the stage to
make her living. Shades of Shakes
peare! To what extremity has the
stage at last arrived. Dramatic man
ayers seen to have their eyes upon
the court calendars, and the pot-boiler
playwrights appear to be ready to pro-
duce plays for everybody who may
achieve prominence in divorce and
criminal trials.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

of the country come in by train and
hasten by carriage to the shrine of Squire
Bob, where there is no tell-tale marriage
license to be secured.
Many prominent people in Dubuque
and elsewhere who are now trotting
along sedately in double harness and
bringing up children in the way they
should go were ajined" in holy wedlock
by Squire Bob, and "a Fairplay weddingo
is a standard proverb through all that
section. Many Of Squire Allison's we'd
dings have resulted happily, and the
burden Of. responsibility on his broad
shoulders is probably no heavier than
that of many. who are in the marrying
business in a less informal way.
Squire Allison's team is q historic out
fit. 1t consists of a little old white mule,
blind in both eyes, and an immense,
gaunt and bony sorrel horse, hitched to-
gether toa three-seated democrat ago
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

Company from the Panama Canal
Company sunk in the Gulf while on the
way to its new owners. It's name was
the Ferdinand De Lesseps. The ambi-
tious Frenchman is getting down Q a
the under side Of things, it would
aaarn
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
You Are Not to suppose

That a shoe-black would make q first
rate teacher Of etiquette, because he
adds a certain polish to all who patron
ize him.
Or that, when you receive a postal
order. it is absolutely necessary to
obey it.
Or that it is quite rightof . Aedge-
ling artilleryman to boast that he has
been accepted by the r. A."
Or that you could blow q powerful
and effective blast or an ink-horn or 4
shoe-horn.
Or that q man whose stature is 3 feet
9 inches can possibly reach height Of
8 feet by becoming long-headed in
business. -
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

; A RUSSIAN who married a girl-wife
ct the age Of IS has just died ct the
age of 12O, leaving his once girl
wife q widow past her prime. 1t can
not be said that the old man married
in haste to repent at leisure, but there
was leisure enough for the young
woman to repent.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
MAKING Fish DRUNK.
IniiSns isvs = Galque Way q Harvesting
fhS tttfhr Tfabe.

,In6iSnt A1v6 = Unlqu0 Way 81 harvssting
the t4tthy Trabs.
The ChpctKws and Ill the Indian
tribes Of the Southwest HAYES wsy OF
catching hSh without waiting for bites.
Their 1Sst great catch took place at
Antlers, i small town in the Indian
Territory.
This evening before the day set for
she sport fortS-fvA OF Fifty Indian men
went to the river Ut its most shallow
point and carried several great logs
Into fke water, which were laid
aeress the stream, making . strong and
high dam; Blocking the river from
bsnk To bsnk.
A chant or room ~xs then sung to i'd
sure good luck for the next dsy and the
company broke up. Early in the fore
noon OF the day following the entire
company proceeded to the river side.
There were seventy or eighty peoplein
all, including Indians and whites, men,
women and children, most of whom
travelled in wagons to the scene OF &C
ton, it being some distance from the
little town. The men all carried bows
and arrows.
Arrived ~ the dam, twenty Or thirty
of the men proceeded to cut up the
bait. This is strange, hard substance,
called by the Indians devils shoe
string" and which had to be Ont into
pieces with axes. This done, the
devils shosstring was thrown into the
water and the fish, hundreds Of which
had accumulated during the night,
came to the surface after it.
It was not long until it was plain that
the devil was in It sure enough. It was
not long until shoals of fish came to the
surface and foated l~istlessly about on
the water. They appeared to be en-
tirely unconscious. The Indians ex-
planned that the "devil's shoestring"
had nrrde them drunk, and that it was
time to begin the slaughter.
Shooting with bows and arrows be-
gan, and for o time the arrows flew so
thick that one was reminded of the
scene Of pioneer warfare. As fast as
the fish were shot and brought to
shore..they were carried to tile camp,
where the Indian women, and the white
women who had been invited, cleaned
end fried them. About / O'clock a
grand fish dinner was spread.
All the Afternoon, until 8 or z o'clock,
the sport continued. Sometimes there
would be twenty or thirty Choctaws in
the water at once. About 1000 fish
were caught. -Four or five of these
fries" occur at Antlers every year.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

A SCIENTIST announces that the size
of the head is no indication of the ex-
tent of b~rain-power. Brain surface is
the measure of intelligence, and the
surface is great Or small according to
the depth of the convolutions or creases.
A man with a small head may have a
brain SO folding upon itself that it will
be of vast extent, while one with q big
head by superficial measurement may
have the gray matter that enwraps his
mind of such shallow convolutions that
the mind will be of narrow scope.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
4lara 4iIIs Clinton.
RAPID I. 5.
lgNI0N Puni1sHtNu %.

To DEVOTE ones self to something
higher than ones self, this is the n
swer Of the ages to all who would find
perpetual interests, and live in that
energy which is immortal.
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

ply bitches 'em up shipshaps and thsx
60 along home, man and wife until
death or divorce do them part And
mebbe Their folks don't know they are
mStfied for six months afterwards
aWhat fee do you Charger
II ginHrally leave that to the bride:
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29
IN "A MINUTE.
ESQUIRE ALLIsoN's eKLKBRAT-
BID MARRIAGE FACTORY

His Patrons Generally Rdniwssy couples
nom Dubuque and Nearby Points In
.Wisconsin-Falrplay . Gretna Green for
Youths and Maidens Who Cannot Wait
inv pok>rno1 r~u.>r
The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-01-29

The recent improvement in type
setting has led many people not famil-
lar with composition to believe that
the days of the compositor and his stick
and case are numbered. If they are
numbered they are numbered a long
way ahead. It will be a long time be-
fore the busy brain of the inventor. will
evolve a steam compositor that will
take the place of the living one, even
though he is at times faulty and
cranky, and given to disappearing
mysteriously at the very time when
his presence is most needed.