davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
MAKING CLAY PIPES.
How and Where They Are Manufactured
 An Interesting Process.

All interesting EEOceSSs
 Charles W. Maxwell of Strawbridge, Miss, in conversation with a St. Louis Star-Sayings reporter said:
 ''It is popularly believed that all clay pipes are either made in Europe or from clay brought from the other hemisphere, but such is not the case, as a very large share of the clay pipes made in America arc from clay found at and near Wood bridge, N. J. The clay comes by the carload and the first step toward pre- pairing it for holding is to sufficiently dampen it with water to make it plia- ble. This is done by placing it in 8 tank, where it soaks for about twenty four hours. It is then hammered witf iron bars, thus ridding it of any lumpH or dry chunks. Then the molding be, gins. The workman takes a lump or clay in each hand and by squeezing and rolling it molds the pieces into a rough stem about three times as large as the finished pipe stem, having a rough ball at it's end. These rolls, as they ere called, are piled on wooden trays, six teen to each tray, after which they are dried, either by the sun or by artificial means, according to the weather. After having been dried, not to hardness but sufficiently to dispose of all superfuous dampness, the rolls are ready to have the stem drilled and the bowl formed. To drill the stem the workman holds small iron rod the size of the stem holes, and with his left hand pulls the clay roll over the rod instead of showing the rod through the stem. To do this the workman is guided solely by the sense of touch in his finger tips, and that sense is so accurate that the hole is in- variably made correctly. The ball at the end of the roll is turned up, and then roll and rod are placed in an iron matrix which presses the pliable clay into the desired outside pattern. The matriX and it's contents are placed in hand press, and the workman, by pull ing a lever, forms the hole of the pipe bowl. The nodded pipe, still soft and pliable, then passes to the hands of the trimmer girls, who scrape off the super fuous clay, making the joints of the matrix. Then the pipes are placed in fre-proof clay sagger and the loaded saggers are placed in large furnace. This furnace has eight fues at the bot tom, and the six sheets of flame at the bottom concentrate at the top, thus making the heat even throughout. Until the pipes go into the furnace they are blue in color, but when they come out they are pure white"
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
A BAvARIAN coTILLON.
The Figures of the Dance Represented
 the Ascent of Mountain.

The Figures of the Dance Represented
 the Ascent of a Mountain.
 A writer in the National Review gives the following account of Bavarian cotillon:
 It was intended to represent the as- cent of the great mountain of the neigh borhood, the Zagspitz, which is, in fact, the highest mountain in Germany, be- ing 9,6OO feet high.
 In the first figure the guides were chosen, the names of the different we'll known guides being written on cards and drawn by so many ladies and gen tlemen, who danced accordingly.
 After the question of guides had been settled, in the next figure they were supposed to have reached the Knorr Hutte, the little hut in which night has to be passed in order to go over the snow near the summit before the sun has had time to soften the surface. Here a Schuhplattl is supposed to be danced This Schuhplattl is the somewhat singular dance of the country, and is supposed to have its origin in the antics of the black cock when wooing his mate. The woman for the most part waltzes quietly and gracefully around, followed by the men cutting all sorts of capers to attract her attention and in- gratiate himself in her favor, keeping time with resounding claps of his hands on his short leathern brooches and with his feet.
 With the third fioure the summit of the mountain is supposed to be reached, and luncheon has to be partaken of. A basket containing what is usually taken on such occasions, was handed round, and the contents given to an equal num- Der of ladies and gentlemen, who danced accordingly. Ham danced with bread, pepper with salt, sausage with wine, each carrying the articles sup posed to be represented in the hand, one young lady having to carry round in the waltz large bottle of wine.
 In the next figure they were supposed to have reached a certain glacier, where there is often great deal of snow. For this snow-shoes were produced. and all who know what they are will appreciate Che difficulty of trying to waltz with the large, flat surface strapped to the sole of the foot. >-.~;
 Finally they were supposed to reach village where a shooting fete is taking place, and the last figure consisted in the ladies all trying their skill in shoot ing with a rifle at target, flags being given for prizes
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
TREES HELD TO BE SACRED.
The Date, the Oak, the Ash and the
 Legends Concerning Them.

The Date. the Oak, the Ash and the
 Legends Concerning Them.
 The palm, the oak and the ash are, according to timely and interesting article in the June number of the which, since time immemorial, were held to be sacred trees. The first among them which figures on the oldest monu- ments and pictures of the Egyptians and Assyrians is the date palm home tan. Tradition of later period says that when Adam left Paradise he was allowed to take with him three things a myrtle, because it was the most love- ly and most scented flower on earth; a wheat ear, because it had the most nourishment, and date, because it was the most glorious fruit of the earth. The date from Paradise was in some marvellous way brought to the Dejaz. From it have come all the date palms in the world, and Allah destined it to be the food of all true believers, who shall conquer every country where the date palm grows.
 The oak was always considered holy tree by our ancestors and, above all, by the nations of the north of Europe. When Winnifred, of Devon shire (6SO-754 A. D., went forth on his wanderings through Germany to preach the Gospel one of his first actions was to cut down the giant oak in Saxony, which was dedicated to Thor and worshiped by the people from far and near. But when he had nearly felled the oak and while the people were curs- ing and threatening the saint super natural storm swept over it, seized the summit, broke every branch and dashed it, quasi superni, motus, solaris, with a tremendous crash to the ground. The heathens acknowledged the marvel and many of them were converted there and then. But the saint built chapel of the wood of this very oak and dedicated it to St. Peter.
 The Celts and Germans and Scandi- navians, again, worshiped the mount ain ash, and it is especially in the re- ligious myths of the latter that the "Askr Yggdrasil" plays a prominent part. To them it was the holiest among trees, the ''world tree," which, eternal lyyoung and dewy, represented Heaven, earth and hell. According to the Edda the ash yggdrasil was an evergreen tree. A specimen of it (says Adam, of Bremen,) grew at Upsala, in front of the great temple, and another in Dith- marschen, carefully guarded by a rail ing, for it was, in mythical way, con- nected with the fate of the country. When Dithmarschen lost its liberty the tree withered, but magpie, one of the best prophesying birds of the North, came and built its nest on the withered tree and matched five little ones, all perfectly white. as a sign that at some future time the country would regain its former liberty.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
JAPANESE PIPES.
Smoking Has Been Reduced to Fine
 Art in the Island Empire.

Smoking Has Been Reduced to a Fine
 Art in the Island Empire.
 To be quite Japanese, says a writer in Scribner's Magazine, we will begin by taking from our girdle the little brass pipes and silken tobacco bags, filling the kiseru and inhaling one or two fragrant whiffs of the delicate Japanese tobacco. In their use of the nicotian herb, as in many other things, the Japanese display supreme refine ment.
 The rudcst coolie, the coarseSt farm laborer, equally with the lady of rank, the pretty geisha and the minister of state, are content with this tiny pipe, which docs not hold enough to make even Queen Nab snceze.
 They stuff little rolled pill of the fine-cut leaf into a bowl smaller than the smallest acorn cup, thrust it in the glowing charcoal and inhale deep into the lungs just one fragrant whif of the blue smoke, which they expel by mouth and nostrils-
 Then they shake out the little burning plug into the bamboo receptacle and load up again for a second ID uku, valuing only the first sweet purity of the lighted luxury and always wonder ing how we can smoke great pipeful to the ''bitter end" or suck for half an hour at huge Havana pnro. ''Kiseru no shita nj foku arinasI'' they say-''at the bottom of pipe there lives poison"
 Much fancy and fashion are displayed in the appurtenances of the pipe. Ladies carry them in little, long, embroidered silk cases, with silken pouches attached, fastened by an ivory, bronze, silver or jeweled clasp. Men wear stuck in their girdles a pipe-sheath of carved ivory, bone or bamboo, and the pipe itself may be a small, commonplace article of reed and brass or an exquisite object in bronze, silver or gold, worked up with lovely ornament in lacquer or enamel
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
BRAIN WORK AT NIGHT.
Unless It Is Imperative It Should Be
 Avoided.

To the imaginative young writer there is fascination about the quietude of uninterrupted night work until much of it's mischief has been done. If he has fixed daily occupation, or is pop ular among his friends, the night offers the best chance for continued applica- tion by it's quietness and peace. This very cessation of life's turmoil and the resulting feeling of ease should be ac- cepted as natures preparation for rest. Unless it is imperative night work should be avoided, says writer in the Herald of Health. It must be impera- tive to the staff of morning papers, and the question thus assumes importance of accomplishing the work with the least possible expenditure of vital force. While by working during the day per sistently and deliberately an enormous amount of copy can be thrown off, that produced after midnight absorbs the best part of the writer's vitality.
 When he should be in the prime of his faculties he is nervous, suffers from in- somnia, and his overtaxed nervous sys- tenn cannot rest, even in artificial Slum- Der. The natural temptation is to ap- ply the whip of stimulation to the jaded brain; but this is dangerous, and at the best only transient and uncertain remedy. The imagination answers fit fully to this kind of forcing, the next days critical judgment of the results almost certainly will be unfavorable, and the mental excitement thus induced will probably be extravagant. Try to sustain the brain under such stress rather than to excite it.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
Small Change.

Small change, says the London Graphic, is evidently much appreciated in southwestern France. A farmer in the Dauphiny Alps recently sold some sucking pigs for one hundred and ff- teen francs, and stipulated that he should be paid in centimes. The buyer assented, treating the demand as a joke. When, later, he offered to pay the money in ordinary cash, however, the farmer held to his bargain, and sum- moned the other before magistrate, who decided that the exact terms of the agreement must be observed. The purchaser, therefore, had to count out eleven thousand five hundred single ;entime pieces for his debt of one hun dred and fifteen francs.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
< APOLLO IN DISGUISE.
The Man Who Delights in Posing Before
 Passengers in Horse Cars.

''Do you see that man standing in the center of the car?" said conductor or the Columbus avenue line to a Boston Herald reporter the other day while on a downtown trip about ten o'clock in the morning.
 'Yes; anything usual about him?"
 ''Only that he is stuck on himself"
 ''How does he show it?"
 "By declining to take a seat when a passenger leaves. I have been watch ing him now for three or four weeks If there are a number of ladies in the car when he enters he insists on standing, notwithstanding the amount of vacant space at his disposal From his actions one would believe he did not see it, and frequently it happens that some kind hearted old gentleman who never loses an opportunity to be of service to his fellow man will poke MT. Vanity in the back with his cane and direct his atten- tion to seat. He always meets a solici- tation of this nature with No, thank you; prefer standing, as intend get ting out shortly
 "If there is a pretty girl in the car he manages to get as near her as possible, so that when the car sways in taking a curve he can jostle against her and go through the street-car etiquette of lift ing his hat and begging her pardon. "If he enters car that is sparsely occupied, and no ladies are present, he takes seat as close to the door as he can, in order to be the first one to rise when a lady does come in. The thank you he receives for his disguised cour- tesy he interprets as a recognition of his personal attractiveness, and his actions during the remainder of the trip are based on this presumption. If the lady should by chance happen to look toward him it adds strength to his false supposition and additional height to his mountain of conceit. When she leaves the car he follows her with his eyes until she is out of sight, with the hope that she will turn and give him some sign of recognition.
 ''It makes little difference to men of this character how often they are made to feel the sting of their own conceit, as it is without apparent effect
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
SOMETHING ABOUT BLONDES.

An Observing Gotham Conductor Says
 They Are Careless About Their Hair.
 She was big, tall blonde, with square shoulders, narrow waist, pat ent leather shoes and swagger air that would have taken the train along by it. self. She got in the car at Twenty eighth street, got off at Fourteenth street, and between the two stations she picked up four hairpins from the cross seats of the car and hid them in her taffy-colored back hair. The big brakeman in charge of the car said to New York Telegram Reporter while he stood near the platform: ''Did you see the big blonde pick up the hairpins: We'll, there are a great many woIaen who do that same thing every day, and there are some of them that we know simply because they seem to find pleas ure in taking odd hairpinS and using them"
 Are there so many hairpins to be found on the elevated cars?" asked the reporter.
 ''Why, their name is legion," said Ned, land most of them are to be found either early in the morning or late in the afternoon It is peculiar how manJ of these same hairpins, which are found all over the car seats, are the gilt ones used by blondes. It is generally sup posed that there are three brunetteS to one blonde. yet it is peculiar fact that we pick up more hairpins for the use Of blondes in the elevated cars than we do black ones and that is the reason that the lady who just got out of the car found 80 many hairpins that she could use"
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
The Difference in Woods.

It may not be generally known, says the American Exporter, that very large quantities of axe, spade and shovel handles are shipped to England and South America, and the business tc Brazil is rapidly increasing. Those countries do not have the wood of which handles are made. The wood in the United States has long, whalebone fiber; in tropical countries the woods have a short grain, hard, and therefore capable of a high polish, but brittle, and will not spring. An exception is found in lance wood, and that has its special uses in the United States.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
A Disproyed Theory,

It has been thought that lightning could not strike a train. The theory has received complete contradiction.
 At Dischau, Prussia, an express train running at the rate of sixty kilometers per hour into the station broke down the bufing apparatus, ran into the in- terior facade of the station, and broke up against neighboring house. An in- vestigation established that the acci- dent is to be attributed to the effect of lightning, which fell upon the train AA
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
Good Old Times.

It is not generally known that Henry VIII, of England, hanged no fewer than seventy-two thousand robbers, thieves and vagabonds and that Good Queen Bess" was, in the latter part of her reign, responsible for the slaughter of three or four hundred criminals yearly. Turning to the year 1896 for example, we find that in the county of Somerset alone forty persons were exc cuted, thirty-fve burned in the hand and thirty-seVen severely whipped. .
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
Indian Treachery.

The Indian of colonial times did not hesitate to resort to treachery to entrap lis foes He would profess friendship in order to disSrm an enemy. He glOricd in ingenious tricks, such as the wearing of snow-shoes with the hind part bcs fore. so as to make an enemy. believe that he had gone in an opposite dircc- ton. He would sometimes initiate the cry of the wild turkey, and So tempt q white hunter into the woods, that he mlght destroy him. An Indian scout would dress himself up with twigs, SC as to look like bush. Many of these things the white people learned to prac- tice also.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
Insects and Cold.

EntomologiSts have determined that the severity of winters is not destructive to insect life. Larva may be frozen stiff and yet they will revive with the return of warmth. Bumblebees and butterflies are often met with in the Arctic regions. Disease microbes are even more tenacious of life. Wachtmuth and Verne found that they could be subjected to cold forty degrees below zero. be powdered with a mortar, and yet be capable of transmitting diseases.
The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
Without q Publ.

The village of Little City, in the town Ship of Haddam, Conn.,, has fire schoolhouse which has been without pupil for two years. Time was when Little City had a prosperous school with thirty children, but now there is not Ehild in the small hamlet to educate The cause is general abandonment of the town by all young men. who seek better chance in the larger town, while he women remain unmarried
The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-11
A SAD SCENE.

Yesterday morning Judge Reed gave his
opinion in the habeas corpus case pending
in his court in which Mr. Boughton of
Cherokee, Iowa, sought TO recover the Gus
tody of his child from Mrs. Lily May
Boughton his divorced wife. He had been
considering the case for the past two days
and Investigated the authorities diligently
so that he may proceed with fairness and
justice under the law.
When he commenced giving his opinion
preparatory to deciding the case the spa
cious room was almost deserted; no one
interested in the case. The mother of the
child was in tears while the child himself
was hugging and kissing her and cl1nging
to her neck in a way that appealed to the
hearts of everyone present. When the
Judge had proceeded to about half way in
his explanation of the law it could easily
be seen that something had a choking
effect on him and at the last he broke
down saying 81 can go no further. You
can keep your child madam" He then
fairly burst into tears himself and left his
seat and went weeping into his private
room 1t was very affecting scene to see
a powerfully built man like Judge Reed so
overcome with sympathy. 1t demonstrated
the tenderness of his great big manly heart
and it had such visible effect on those
present that there was scarcely a dry eye
in the room.
The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-11
GOING TO PIECES RAPIDLY.
Organizer Covel Thinks the Alliance VIII Not
Poll /, 500 Votes this Fall

Thomas G. Covel of Payne township
was in the city yesterday and brought
with him some very discouraging Alliance
news. He is a very close observer and be-
ing intimately acquainted with the work
ings of the Alliance organization his opin-
ion concerning that party is worth consid
cradle. He thinks that in this county, at
least, the days of the Alliance, as po-
litical factor, are over and that the party
cannot possibly cast more than l 500 votes
this fall. This means LOO less than the
vote cast last year. He assigns many rea-
sons for the decrease, chief among which
is the organization of the Peoples party,
which, he says, has driven many members
of the old party back to their old afhlia-
tions Mr. Covel. when the Alliance was
started as social organization, was the
organizer of this county AID organized
almost all if not quite all the lodges in the
county. It was distinctly understood at
that time that the organization would not
interfere with the politics or religion of its
members. So long as that principle ex-
tended the members of the Alliance were
sincere but when it was converted into
political party those who joined it
with the understanding that it
should be non partisan or
organization began TO withdraw and
have been Withdrawing ever since. In
the east part of the county he organized
eight lodges, with good membership
each, which started out with considerable
enthusiasm, but today only three of these
eight lodges hold meetings and it Is even a
hard matter for these three to secure !
enough attendance on meeting nights to
constitute quorum. He referred to an
other instance in Payne township where |
Mr.. Burtholf tried to organized an Alli- |
ance lodge short time ago. The meeting |
was well advertised and yet when the |
organizer went TO the school house he was
met there by only three men, and sur
prising as it may appear two of these were
Democrats while the third was Repub-
lican. There is no doubt in Mr.. Covels /
mind that the Alliance days in this .
county are past and gone and that it is
not within the range of possibility for
them to elect single candidate on their
tioLat
The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-11
A VALUABLE TEAM STOLEN.

Ed Taylor, the South Market street liy-
eryman, is mourning the loss Of a fine team
of horses and one of his best buggies.
Thursday night man named Wilson
came into his livery stable and stated that
he desired to hire one of his best teams to
take two ladies about eight miles in the
country to visit sick friends. He also
stated that he would be back about u
o'clock Mr.. Taylor hiJched up team Of
horses valued at about $500 and turned
them over to him. Twelve o'clock came,
but Mr.. Wilson nor the team did not and
have not returned yet.
Yesterday Mr.. Taylor concluded that
Wilson had stolen the horses, and immedi-
ately sent out notices TO the officers of all
the surrounding counties Offering 500 re-
ward for the arrest of Wilson.
Mr. Taylor has known Wilson by sight
for two or three years and did not suspect
him of being rascal until every circum-
stance demonstrated that he was. Wilson
had been in Oklahoma for several months
past and only returned to Wichita a few
DAYS ago. He is described as a man about
81 years of age, ; feet S inches high, weight
about 155 pounds, and had on a brown
overcoat ard a soft hat.