davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22

more, so, with aching hearts-for il
was their first theft-they tucked their
heads under their wings and went to
sleep.
Early the next morning they were
awake and ready for work. The
marble, as they called it, did not look
so handsome as it did the night before,
but they had gone too far to back out,
so they lifted 1T up to the nest and
placed it around the outside. Mrs. Cat
bird held it in place while Mr.. Catbird
took long dried grasses and bound il
on. BY the time the jewellers in Bird
Grove were stirring the work was done,
and Mr.. and Mrs. Catbird started out in
search of breakfast. When they re-
turned they saw that there was some
unusual excitement in the trees near
their home. On coming nearer they
saw a strange crowd. Several mem
beers of the Warbler family, Mr.. and
Mrs. Blue Jay, the despised Orioles,
Miss Pewee with her admirer tagging
close to her heels, the Buntings, and
many others were talking in an excited
manner. A noisy English Sparrow
was there making himself conspicuous
as a newspaper reporter. A little apart
from the rest, not perching, but con-
tinually on the wing, was a Mr.. Hum
mingbird, who, though small, was a
well-known architect. While the rest
were talking he seemed to be making
a minute study of the curious dwelling.
When Mr.. and Mrs. Catbird appeared
they were greeted with flood of ques-
tons. They were SO pulled up with
pride that they disdained to answer, Sc
the crowd soon broke up and went &c
their work.
The very day after this new display
of pride, gentleman and lady came
walking along near the bush where
this wonderful nest was built. The
lady, glancing up, said: ''Why, what is
that curious thing up there?" They
stopped, and after looking a minute
the gentleman burst out laughing and
replied: ''Why, that is my collar
There is the name, James McNab, on
the outside. That is an ingenious piece
of work. All! my bird, we shall have te
make this our contribution to the Natur
al History museum. If l can afford Il
lose the collar, you can afford to give
up the nest, and you will be punished
for stealing besides" At this Mrs
| Catbird few off the nest. Her terrified
mate Joined her piercing cries. but the
man coolly tore down the nest ani
walked off with it. Here they were
| just at the time when Mrs. Orioles
babies were peepirg out of the shell
left without even home. They fell
very sad, but they knew it was JUS
punishment for their pride and theft
They resolved to begin life anew, and
ever afterward to be contented will
their quietocolors and homely nest
Antoinette B. Hervcy, in Chris.isl
| Q9ion,
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
p, ,-o,oreo Alliance Indorse Single

,w Der of the New Earth
inc laSs ..,1lo wing important news
prinss sne ed. (" 1t is important pc
c cans, II true, il brings wl.n,m os
ranks Of the single takers 2 're,ne ahs.d
force for pushing the no'e
Here is the item: rsrrars, Al
1.-THE Colored National ',..r ssbas =
lance" said Col Hump ~. and az.
million and q half of memb& ',,th,-est
tends all over the south and - ,s;rss.
II does an immense exchange b s,on
in the commercial centers OF Ho@
New Orleans, Mobile, Norfolk,
and Charleston, s. c.; besides havine
many subordinate exchanges and eo,
operative stores all over the country
1t has its official newspapcr-the Ma
tioual Alliance, of Houston itas built
upwards of four thousand alliances
school-houses and two thousand al
lance churches, has awakened hope.
encouraged industry and thrift, intro-
duced order and cleanliness, and addeoi
| another room or two to thousands ana
thousands of little homes 1t en-'
courages the colored people to keep
away from the whites. and to rely upon
themselves for their welfare and amuse-
ments. supplying separate societies.
separate schools and separate churches
This separation of blacks from whites
stops race troubl.k / do not know OF
any difficulty that has occurred letween
our colored people and whites within
eighteen months. I have lived nifty
wears among them, dad say these cole
ored people are as quick as white peo-
pie to learn. This is shown in their
rise from slavery twenty-five or thirty
years ago to their present intelligent
and Independent position
"what about the single tax idea?
asked.
81 am single tax man, heart aud hand
and so is the whole colored alliance.
In the official paper keep the single tax
idea before the eye. The present land
and taxation system Is premium
worthlessness."
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22

love and toll. Nothing nappeneu W
disturb their Joy till Mr.. and Mrs. ORR
ole came to live in an elm tree near by.
They selected long, graceful branch,
and in fork far out from the trunk OF
the tree began to build most artistic
and elegant home.
Mr. Catbird, going out for soar one
morning, caught sight of the new
corners as they were busily working on
the new house. Their bright colored
garments, as they flashed in the sun,
sent thrill--not of pleasure, am sorry
to say-of jealousy to his heart He
hurried home, and found modest little
Miss Pewee chatting with his wife. He
could not conceal his vexation till the
guest was gone, but burst forth: "Who,
should like to know, are those fowls
who have just moved into the neighbor-
hood and are setting themselves up
above their neighbors?"
81 believe" said Miss Pewee, that
they belong to the Blackbird family;
j met Sphinx Bobolink the other day
and he said that some of his relatives
were going to move to Bird Grove
soon"
'.H'mr' broke out Mrs. Catbird,
''they have no reason to be stuck up on
account of family. The Grackles be-
long to that family, and of all the
noisy, gossipy birds know they are the
worst. Why, they are as common as
the vulgar crows If You are going to
look to family to decide social stand
ing, think zee shall have as good a
name as any. suppose you know that
the mocking- birds, who are the musical
prodigies of the age, are closely con-
nected with us by family ties" Mrs.
Catbird was so eloquent on this sub
ject that she could have chartered on
for an hour, had not Miss Pewee ven
tured to remark:
For my part, like these new neigh
bors. Their home promises to be a
marvel of architecture. AS for fine
clothes, if they can afford to wear
them, / am glad for it gives me pleasure
to look at them; and their singing is Sc
fine, l am sure they are great addi-
ton to this neighborhood." These re-
marks SO nettled Mr.. and Mrs. Catbird
tudt buCy COulu nOt COuCcdi Llcir Ill
feeling, and, as young friend who had
been paying marked attention to Miss
Pewee happened along at that moment,
she sailed away with him.
While they were standing sulkily, with
tails dropping, wings hanging down,
and feathers not preened, thinking
what they could do to outshine those
oriole upstairs, trim robin who had
been working earnestly for two hours
saw them, and, as they both looked as
though they were sick, he stopped to
see if he could be of service to them.
''Oh, no." said Mr.. Catbird, there's
nothing the matter with us; but what
do you think of these new folks who
are Haunting out their wealth IN this
quiet placer"
'Why," said Mr.. Robin, IS called
on them yesterday and found them very
pleasant, unassuming people"
''You dared to call, did you?" Mrs.
Catbird cried out. 81 have felt that our
clothes were not good enough, and
they would only look down on us"
Here Mr.. Catbird remarked: ''Oul
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22

picion of the trouble they were caus-
ing, worked away as happy as birds
could be, until one morning when Mr.
Oriole poured forth an unusually tri-
umphant song. Mr.. Catbird could en-.
dure it no longer. His Mockingbird
blood grew hotter and hotter and he
resolved to put that ''squawking neigh
Dor" to everlasting shame. So he
sneakingly perched himself where he
could be heard but not seen, and imi-
tated exactly the notes which Mr.
Oriole had just sung, only at the end OF
every strain he burst forth into the
most contemptuous, catlike meow,
meow and then, to make the Oriole's
song seem more insignificant, he
poured forth such magnificent strains
that all Bird grove came out to listen.
The Oriole family were in dismay.
They could not imagine what they had
done to merit such abuse, but they re-
solved to go right on with their house
as though nothing had happened.
Mr.. and Mrs. Catbird made their home
in the usual way, of course, dead
twigs, dry leaves and grass without
and fibrous roots within; but all the
while they were making it they were
dissatisfied and were trying to find
some way to give finish to it which
would fill Bird Grove with astonish
ment. When the house was nearly
completed, Mr.. Catbird came home one
day with feathers ruffled and so ex.
cited he could scarcely speak. That
morning he was flying near a house
when he saw a freshly ironed liner
collar lying on the ground under a
window. Not being posted in sucf
things, he supposed it was a piece OF
marble. The black characters on the
outside near the bottom only added te
its beauty. He -esolNrd to capture il
for stone front to his house. He
knew it would be stealing, but the
love of show had drowned the little
voice which tells brides what is right
and what is wrong. He told Mrs. Cat
bird the plan, and she agreed to helT
him. After dark that night they went
quietly to the place. They botl
trembled, and their hearts beat 81
loudly that they were afraid of awak
ening the persons in the house. Mrs.
Catbird could scarcely keep from cry
ing, but her husband Whispered: ''Jus
think how those Orioles will feel when
they see our house with a marble
facade" This gave them courage, ant
they each took one end of the COLA
and started home. 1t was heavy ant
they could scarcely lift it, but, by rest
ing often, they at last carried it to thu
| spot. 1t was then too late to work an,
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
TO TEST MUSHROOMS.
Hew to Avoid the Poisonous Growtho
Which Resemble Them.

Hew to Avoid the Poisonous Growths
Which Resemble Them.
Poisoning by mushrooms is generally
caused by the disregard of very simple
points of observation. In the first
place, no one should undertake to
gather these excellent foods without
being fully informed as to their shape,
color, odor and taste. There are many
books giving all these in detail Here
it need only be said that any mushroom
which looks clean and fresh, is not
worm-eaten, has pink gills under buff
colored cap, that turns dark when
bruised or matured, has nutty taste
and pleasant odor, may be presumed
to he good. Mushroom gatherers avoid
fungi growing from what is called a
vulva or hollow cup at the base of the
stem. The writer's test, after noting
the above characteristics, is to taste a
small portion of the cap without swal-
lowing it. If the flavor is sweet and nut
ty, and does not sting or burn the throat,
the specimen. even if unknown, is
placed among the candidates for cook
ing. Some salt is always carried, and
little is held in the mouth for a mo-
ment; still little more is swallowed,
care being taken not to swallow a par.
ticle of the mushroom. When the
mushrooms are gathered, they should
all be carefully washed in water con-
tanning salt and vinegar, and then
cooked with salt. These precautions
usually insure safety. In fact, when
poisoning by any kind of fungi has oc-
CURED, some carelessness of choice OF
preparation has been noted. Old fash
toned cooks usually relied upon using a
silver spoon in cooking suspicious fungi;
but the test has not been proven infal-
lible. In case of actual poisoning use
the same treatment as for narcotics, ie.,
emetics, stimulating restoratives, and
the earliest possible attention of COM
petent physician. 1t may be said in
passing that mushrooms are far more
Important as an article of food than il
generally understood They rank next
to meat in SAVIOR and s1utriment, having
largely replaced it in the south during
our civil war.-Harper's Bazaar.
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
PuNcENT PARAGRAPHS.


The Arrival of the Bore. = Tom =
"Here comes Harry" Dick-"And here
goes a pleasant evening" = Yankee
Blade.
Did your audience appear to be
moved?" asked the young actors friend.
EYES," was the reply. "Clear out of
the theater before the first act was
over. Washington Post.
-Bobbie = ''Look-a here, Uncle
George! English amt no dead lam
guage, be it?" Uncle George = 'No.
yet, Bobbie, but if you had the exclusive
handling of it it soon would be."-Bos-
ton Courier.
--vaulting Ambition.-visitor lat the
museum)-''What is the cause of this
terrible smell?" Attendant-"Thef fire.
eater was taken i'll this afternoon, and
the India rubber man was just fool
enough to undertake his tricks IN. Y.
Sun.
Modern Legislation. = Questioner
Injecting lawyer with two books Of
equal size, one under each arm) -"What
have you there?" Laws passed winter
before last" And in the other hand?''
"Repeals of the same laws passed last
winter. '-Fliegende Batter.
-Jayway-"I ran across white dom
key down near Willow Grove, and
Hayway-"When was this?" Jayway-
"Let's see-oh. yes-the day met you
down there" And to this day Jayway
can't understand Hayway's coolness.-
N. Y. Telegram.
Malicious. Aunt =" Your rafting
of those papers is unbearable. Niece
10, auntie, you are always looking
for paragraphs on How to be Beauti.
ful;' here is one" Aunt-''Well, what
is it? Read i'll" Niece = sit reads:
Give up fault-finding. "-Demorests
Monthly.
-sWhy," asked the lady of the house
of Bootless Bob, the tramp. do you
stick out the middle finger of your left
hand so straight when you eat? Was il
ever broken?' mo, madam; but during
my halcyon days wore diamond ring
on that finger, and it has become
second nature with me."-Recorder.
An Unsettled Question. Its a lit
tie girl baby, isn't it?" asked the ad
miring visitor, 81 am not entirely GER
TAIN" responded the Boston two-year
old standing by the cradle, shade Of
perplexity crossing her thoughtful face
whether / should speak of my infant
sister as girl baby or baby GIRL
Chicago Tribune.
-s'See here, my friend, that dog Of
yours killed three sheep of mine last
night, and l want to know what you
propose to do about it?" "h-e you sure
it was my dog?" Eyes" "Ter,
hardly know what to do 1 guess
had better sell him. You don't want to
buy good dog, do you?"-Rochestel
Talisman.
-Prompter crushing in excitedly)-
''Wingley, the supe you stood off fol
his salary has eloped this minute with
all the unparalleled Blue Hussar
Jewels, the costly set of Cleopatra dia
monds and King Solomon's' best
CROWN Manager (sternly)-'It was
your place to guard the jewel chest
Antonio. l shall have to dock You S4.--
N. Y. Telegram.
Too Thin. Just tell you what il
is" remarked a fat, jolly old soul to hel
companion as the street car rumblet
along, ''the doctors kin say what they
please, but know it's just flying in the
face O. natur' to bring baby up on .
bottle. You know Sally Ann Unison
what lives next door to us?" Eyes,
assented the other. swell, she tried Il
bring her baby up on milkman's milk
and it died of water on the BRAIN
| PHILADELPHIA Record.
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
THE BOSTON GLOBE FOR THE
SINGLE TAX.

In an editorial article on "Tax Re
form in Maine," the Boston Globe
makes an admirable criticism on q re-
cent article by Judge Emery in the
Lewiston Journal, which, after admit
ting that taxes ON personal property
should be abolished unless every dollar
of such property can be reached, mere
" goes on to recommend more drastic
methods for compelling people to dis
close to the tax collector the character
and extent of their possessions The
Globe says that such inquisitorial meth
DDS invade personal liberty; that man
has right to his own and right to
keep its amount secret if he chooses;
that people feel this to be so, and,
though they submit to some invasion OF
their personal liberty, they still feel 1t
to be an invasion and resent it 1t
points out, as curious inconsistency in
Judge Emery's argument for the taxa
ton of every thing, his declaration that
it is an axiom in the science of taxa
ton that tools and the products of la
Dor should be exempted, since the very
purpose of the kind of tax reform the
Judge is advocating is to compel the
payment of taxes on stools and the pro-
ducts of labor" 1t further predicts
that if Maine adopts such measures her
people viii find that few new enter
prises will be started and that many ex-
isting establishments will be moved to
states less disposed to put q fine on in
dustry. The Globe thus concludes its
article:
When will Legislators learn that CAPT
tai is easily movable, and will not stay
where it is severely taxed? The tools
of labor" include machinery. Tax ma
chinery heavily and you drive manu-
featuring industry out of the state. Tax
the products of labor and you discour-
age the employment of labor. And
where in the state of Maine or else
where in the wide world will Judge
Emery and the tax commissioners find
any thing to tax that was not produced
by labor. There is only one taxable
thing that labor did not produce and
taxation can not drive away. That Il
land. If Judge Emery is sincere in
wishing to exempt the products of la
Dor from taxation there would seem tc
be no recourse but to favor raising the
revenues mainly or wholly by q land tax
With such q tax in operation there
would be as much land in Maine as be
fore, and it would be as fertile. Bu
| the houses, barns, cattle and crops o.
| the farmer would be exempted; *
would the machinery of the manufac
turer, the tools of the laborer, the saw
ings Of verybody. Capital would fiov
in instead of out. Many wise men hav,
advocated such a change in the ia,
laws, and If Maine should try the ex
| pertinent it would be watched with tn,
greatest interest in every part of thu
country.
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
The Humors Of BathInx.

Some of the experiences that have
overtalzen maidens ambitious of be,
coming water sprites are very funny.
One young lady went down to the
waters edge with never a thought Of
going in. She did not own bathing
suit, but, becoming infatuated with the
looks of the sport, she determined to
hire a suit and sally forth. She picked
out a costume which she thought would
suit her size, and, bearing it off in haste
to compartment proceeded to get into
it. What was her dismay when con-
fronted with the fact that it had no
stockings! To walk down the beach
barefooted was not to be thought of.
She had a bright idea She would wear
her own black hose, garter them firmly
about the knee and plunge in. This she
did with fine effect, and then after re-
suming the rest of her street costume
she hung her stocking on the rail while
she, with her feet thrust into her shoes,
sat like Turk in the sunburnt sand
until her dusky hose were dry! Another
girl in her hurry to get dressed and re-
join her party forgot to take off her wet
stockings and fastened away from the
bath room leaving her dry ones there
by mistake. That she did not catch her
death of cold must have been owing to
the virtues of the salt water more than
to her good sense. -vSan Francisco News
Letter.
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22
Night Gown sachets.

Night gown sachets are easily made
and are dainty device of the toilet.
They may be in the shape of a fan made
of succession of creamy lace ruffies
and delicate lavender ribbons, and
padded with soft wool with layer. OF
lavender flowers and lined with laveh-
der silk. In this case, which should be
of ample size, several well-folded fresh
gowns may be kept. A fat, square
sachet made of tufted lavender silk may
be more convenient; though not as fluffy
and as daintily pretty as fan of lace
frills, it is eesier to make. Chicago In
ter Ocean.
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22

n a grove near
a small village
lived "a catbird
and his mate.
For sew eral
years they had
lived there and
had raised their
little ones in a
modest no m 6
built in some
low bushes near
a stone wall.
They were con-
tented to do the
work God had
given them and
every day was
made happy by
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22

So far from the effect of placing all
taxes upon tina value of land being to
the advantage Of the towns at the ex-
pense Of the agricultural districts, the
very reverse OF this is obviously true
The great increase Of land values is in
the cities, and with the present tenden-
cies Of growth thjq pust continue 70 b
~ go:
The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-08-22


EDWARD II. BAILEY, of Bloomington.
Ill, writes: As an evidence of the vnl-
ne and Importance to the cause in plac-
ing Mr.. Georges works in public libra
ries, have to relate that to-day 1 called
at the beautiful public library in this
city, where / learned that Progress
and Poverty was loaned When / en-
tered asked the attendant. a ladv
whom found to be very intelligent. il
she could give me printed list of the
books in the library on political econo-
my. She said she had no such list and
inquired If 1 wanted Georges works
Have you Progress and Poverty?'~
I asked 1T belongs to our
collection, but it is out now.n
lis it read much?" 20, YES: there
are many applications for it. We verv
seldom have calls for any other political
economies" The lady went away and
returning presently dumped four or five
books before me- these are all the
books we have on political economy.
she saic, land they are seldom called
for. Lawyers, preachers, teachers and
students generally ask for Progress
and Poverty" The books she brought
me were by Walker, Perry, Sumner and
one or two others