davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
The United States Mail.

When DR.. Franklin was the Post
master-General of the American
Colonies the entire accounts of his
office were kept in one book-and
not very large book either. The
Postmaster-General now has lar
ger force of men under him than
there are in the combined army and
navy of the United States. The
Postofice is not, never was, and is
not intended to be, source of prof
liable revenue to the government.
Whenever the receipts exceed the
expenses, the postage will be re.
duced in the interests of the public.
The reduction from 3 to 2 cents
caused loss to the government OF
50, ,848, ,839.60 in one year, but the
immense increase in correspond.
ence will make up that immediate
loss, and we may expect at no dis
tant day to have 1-cent letter
postage.-E. L. Didier, in the Chau.
tauQuan.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Treating the Mustache.

When one goes to buy pomatum
for his mustache he is usually given
hard stick of highly favored sub.
stance which is thoroughly inef
fective and unsatisfactory cosmetic
In my opinion no man should ever
be so scented as to his hair and
beard that people will suspect him
of having just come from the bar.
ber's shop. BARRIERS tell me that
those of their customers who know
best what is what will never permit
anything to be administered to them
in the shape of tonic or otherwise.
that has smell. A soft pomade
without perceptible fragrance is the
only thing to use, but for the pur'
pose ordinary vaseline serves admi'
rably. Rub it into the mustache
every time you shave, afterward
washing it out with warm water
and you will find that the hair on
your upper lip is always in tracta'
BILE condition.-A Dealer in BARRIERS
Supplies in Globe Democrat.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Came to a Cash Basis at Last.

"Once a Goose" writes as follows
to the New York Sun: "Four years
ago | was merchant tailor, owned
three houses and q good business.
A Murray Hill dude got in my rebt
$3.50; could not get him to pay me.
| advertised the bill for sale. he
then sued me for $4,000 damages.
l then put the bill up in my shop
with a note on it-bad debt for sale
he sued me again for $1,000. The
Judge at Court said it was libel,
and an outrageous libel. My law
yer and his lawyer now own two OF
the houses l once owned. After |
settled the cases met the dude with
a suit of my clothes on. | then
licked him. Sued me for this, and
for this I now have a mortgage on
the other house. The only thing
ever got from this one of the 400 was
his measure. l have it yet. 1t il
not for sale: My experience is this
/ would sooner have bad debt thar
good lawyer i now sell for cash. :
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
The Richest European Sovereign.

The Gear of Russia is the richest
sovereign in Europe and one of the
richest men in the world. The in
come of the imperial family OF
Russia is derived from the crown
lands which are regarded as the
Cars private estate and treated as
such. They comprise over 1000,
600 square miles, about one-thlrd
of the area of the United States,
and include farms, pasture or graz
ing land and forests, while hundreds
of villages are built on them, the
inhabitants of which pay their rent
to the Car. Many gold, silver and
other mines are included in the
crown property, and the output OF
these is believed to be very large.
There are no means of ascertainlng
the exact income of the Car, since
the imperial accounts are not more
open to the public than the books
of private individual, but ii is es-
timated by Russians in official po-
sition at 92,45O,0OO a year, about
$12,25O,OOO. Of this enormous sum
a portion is devoted to the mainten-
ance of hospitals, asylums, church.
es and theatres, but the larger part
is swallowed up by the personal
and official expenses of the imperial
family.-St. Louis Globe-Democrat
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
A Very Costly Comma.

There is scarcely ever a session
Of Congress in which bills are not
found to contain mistakes in orthog-
raphy or punctuation, says the Phil
adelphia Press. The only wonder is
that many more do not occur, when
it is remembered that all such work
near adjournment is performed un-
der extra ordinary circumstances.
All is haste, noise and confusion.
Rest or sleep is unknown, often
times for two or three days and
nights in succession. The clerks
become nervous, wearied and some
times wholly exhaused by the in
tense strain and prolonged physical
labor.
Probably the smallest, and ap-
apparently the most insignificant,
of all such blunders was the most
expensive one of the kind ever
made. It occurred in tariff bill
more than 20 years ago. There was
section enumerating what articles
should be admitted free of duty.
Among the many articles specified
were "all foreign fruit-plants," etc.
meaning plants imported for trans
planting, propagation or expert
ment. The enrolling clerk, in copy.
ing the bill, accidentally changed
the hyphen in the compound word
"fruit-plants' to comma, making
it read call foreign fruit, plants,
etc. The consequence was that fol
year-until Congress could rem
edy the blunder-all the oranges
lemons, bananas, grapes and othe'
foreign fruit were admitted free o
duty. This little mistake, which
the most careful man might easil,
have made, cost the government
about 100000.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
A Dangerous Calling.

The public has but an inadequate
idea of the danger to which the or
dinary trainmen are exposed. Ac-
cidents to them are occurring every
day in the year, and it is only when
the results are made know that the
real condition of things is seen.
The Brotherhood of Railway
Trainmen, according to statements
made at the recent convention In
Los Angeles, now numbers 14,O57
members, an increase of 600 during
the past year. 1t was stated, how
ever, that the organization has
branches not only in the United
States but also in Canada, Ireland
and Sweden, so that the actual
membership in this country does
not appear from the figures above.
Sad and impressive evidence of the
dangerous nature of the trainmen's e
occupation is given in the state
ment that during the year 275 dis
ability and death claims to the
amount Of nearly $275, 600 had been
paid. and that of the total number
Of claims over 200 resulted from
railway accidents, and of these 130
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
He Has q Record.

w. S. Parkerson, the leader OF
the vigilance committee of New
Orleans, was once the central figure
of a smaller difficulty in Duchess
county, N. Y. About 1878 ne was
a student at St. Stephens, at An
nandale. He was very genial, but
at times excitable and ready to take
up the cause of others in trouble.
Young Parkerson's time came after
a ride to Rhinebeck one night, on
which a party of students had .
lively time. One of the party q
few DAYS afterward went to the war
den Of the college and reported the
whole affair. :,
The culprits and their friends
were 1ncensed at the conscience
stricken student, whom they called
q traitor. This feeling was voiced
one day in speech at dinner, the
orator being w. S. Patterson. Ihe
effect of this speech was that the
enemies of the fellow who had toio
seized him and carried him bodily
from the table. and rolling him un,
der the pump in the college yard
pumred water on him until he was
thoroughly drenched. This hap
nened on . cold winter day.
The event created great excite
ment in the college and resulted IL
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Witty Toasts.
paniOn.

Good after dinner speakers are
among the most popular of men
among people who cultivate the art
of dining. The flashes of wit which
draw forth roars of laughter and
applause are sometimes unpremed-
itated, but probably they are more
frequently thought out and re-
hearsed in advance. Impromptu
or not, we all like witty speech
and a witty toast. Chambers Jour-
nal has collected some witty and
amusing toasts given at banquets,
and, in reading them, one can only
sigh, "Would l had been there r
A rather cynical toast ran thus
"Woman-she requires no eulogy
she speaks for herself"
A gallant young man, under the
same festal circumstances, referred
to one member of the sex he eulo-
cized as "a delectable dear, so sweet
that honey would blush in her pres
ence, and treacle stand appalled,"
At the marriage supper of deaf
and dumb couple, ono guest, in the
speech Of the evening, wished them
"unspeakable bliss.
A writer of comedies was given
banquet in honor ofhis latest wutk
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
He Meant Well.

Some weeks ago, writes Wiscon'
sin correspondent of The Compan.
ion, a young temperance lecturer,
in his travels from town to town
fell in with an Indian, who made
signs for ride. He was allowed to
get into the buggy, and pretty soon
it appeared that he was intoxicated.
The lecturer, who believed in be-
ing instant in season and out OF
season, began forthwith to labor
with his passenger. He dwelt upon
the disgrace and death which fol-
low the use Of liquors, and wound
up by entreating him to forsake
his cups.
The Indian did not understand a
word of the exhortation, but judg.
ing the lecturer by himself, thought
from his pleading eyes and earnest
manner that he wanted a drink
Accordingly he drew large, black
bottle from under his blanket and
offered it to the white man.
The lecturer was elated. He had
made a convert, he thought. HI
took the bottle and dashed it to the
ground, where it few into thous
and pieces.
The Indian could not have been
angrier if his scalp had been threat
ened. He sprang from his seat with
tremendous war-whoop, seized the
white man by the arms, dragged
him to the ground, beat him in the
face, and was reaching for his knife
when the lecturer managed to break
away, and ran at his best speed fol
the next town, where his wounds
were dressed.
According to his own version Of
the affair, he meant we'll, but showed
lack of judgment.-Youth's Com
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Lion VS.. Tiger.

1t is popularity supposed that the
lion is the most courageous and
powerful Of the carnivora, or at
least of the felide; but on the few
recorded occasions of battle royal
between the lion and the Bengal IT,
ger, the lion has come off second
best. One such combat occurred
recently at the Calcutta Zoo between
an African lioness and tigress.
They were exhibited in adjoining
compartments of the same cage,
and the doors having been careless
ly opened between the two compart-
ments, the tigress rushed in and
disposed Of her rival in fight
which lasted about ten minutes
Forest and Stream.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
The Bride Comes to the Husband.

An American engineer has charge
of the famous bridge or double weir,
the eastern part spanning the Da-
mietta and the western the Rosetta
branch of the river Nile. 1t WAS
from the balcony of his house, look
ing out on the beautiful, blooming
country. the green fields, the lovely,
mysterious river, that We saw cav
alcade approaching, and heard the
sound of the lutte and pipe. ut is
a fantasia" exclaimed our host; a
fantasia meaning any fete or fiesta.
Down the long. white road they
came, procession Of horsemen on
white Arabian steeds, the last man
dressed in handsomest raiment and
bearing himself with the proud air of
one upon whom all eyes are fixed.
Next to him strobe groomed and
caparisoned camel, with a rich
blanket and an embroidered saddle,
and after this another camel with
even more gorgeous trappings, who
bore rich palanquin, curtained on
every side with gold and crimson
hangings. Within sat the bride.
Following the bride were three other
camels, on which were seated yelled
women, and then came train car
rying household furniture, bedding,
stuffs, chests, pots and pans, and all
the various appurtenances essential
to housekeeping and furnishing in
an Oriental country.
1t was the brides coming to the
husbands house, the last day of
the wedding, and the conclusion of
the seven days. feasting. In few
hours he would for the first time
lift the veil and see whether, indeed,
what his mother has told him is
true; whether she is almond-eyed
and rosy-cheeked and supple OF
limb and graceful of form; whether
she has a voice like the cooling of
a dove, and is learned in the max
ing Of bread and dakkah, for not
one glimpse of her face, nor word
from her lips has ever been vouch-
safed him.-Letter from Egypt, in
Hartford Courant.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
How They Lived Fifty Years Ago.

1t is not yet fifty years since the
people of our country villages lived
by farming, the men making their
own sleds, shingles, axe-handles,
scythes, brooms, ox-bows, bread
troughs and mortars, the women
carding, spinning, braiding, bind
ing and dyeing. They sat round
great fireplaces with swinging crane,
fire-dogs, and a spit turned by hand
or by clockwork they made their
own tallow candles, and used, even
on festive occasions, wooden blocks
or raw potatoes for candlesticks ;
they ate from pewter kept bright by
the wild scouring-rush Equisetum)
they doctored their own diseases
by fifty different wild herbs, all
gathered near home, and all put up
in bags for the winter, or hung in
rows of dried punches. They spun
by hour-glasses; they used dials,
or had noon marks at different
points on the farm; in many cases
they did not sit down to regular
meals, but each took a bowl of milk,
and helped himself from the kettle
of mashed potatoes or Indian pud-
ding. Soap was made at home I;
cheese, pearlash, birch vinegar, ci-
der, beer, baskets, straw hats. Each
farm was a factory of odds and
ends-a village store in itself, a
laboratory of applied mechanics.
Now all that period of sturdy indi-
vidualism is as utterly passed by as
the government of the Pharaohs ;
the society of Miss Murfree's Ten
nessee mountaineers is artificial
and sophisticated by comparison
with it. The railroads have killed
it all. Every process on the farm
has been revolutionized by science
or mechanical invention; every ar
ticle can now be bought more cheap
ly than it can be made. The very
mending of clothes now hardly
marks the good housewife; you are
told that it is cheaper for the elder
daughter to go to work in the fac
tory, and buy with her wages new
suits of ready-made clothing for
the boys. The difference between
city and country life is no longer a
difference in kind, but only Of de.
gree.-Harper's Weekly.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
LIVED BY her WITS.
How q Shopllfter Utilized an I'm.
aglnary Rat.

"There have been many extraor-
binary stories told of the ingenuity
of thieves in the pursuit of their
nefarious calling, but case which
occurred while | was at Chatham
recently beats anything l ever
heard" remarked a newly arrived
Englishman yesterday. "a girl was
brought before the Police Court on
the charge of robbing milliners'
shops. She was only IA years of
age and of very innocent appear
ance. What puzzled the magistrate
was that none of the witnesses ever
saw her take anything, at least they
would not swear to it, although af-
ter she had left shop where she
had been making purchase articles
Of value were missed. When ar
rested nothing was found upon her.
The magistrate said he could not
convict the girl on mere suspicion,
and then began to cross-examine
her himself in kind, fatherly way,
which touched her heart and she
broke down and confessed that she
was guilty and explained her meth
DDS to the astonishment and amuse-
ment of the court and spectators.
1t seems that she had tame white
rat, which she carried about with her
in muff. She would enter shop
full of girls and women and ask the
price of some article, and, while
looking at it, contrive to drop the
rodent on the floor. Any one can
imagine the result. Those near the
door dashed into the street, while
the employees jumped on the coun.
ters and chairs, wrapping their pet
ticoats tight round their ankles, and
screamed like mad, as the prisoner
expressed it, amid the laughter Of
the court, in spite of her assurances
that the rat was quite tame. In the
scrimmage she would quietly help
herself to what she wanted, catch
the rat, put it in her muff, apologize
and walk off. The magistrate sale
that on account of her youth, anc
as she had voluntarily confessed tt
the thefts, he would give her on'
more chance and bound her over il
the sum of e5O-$25O of your mo
ney-to come up for judgmen
when called upon. Of course, he
friends soon entered the required
bonds, and Mary Barton will hav'
to find some other place to practic
on the weakness of her sex. Tn
tame rat dodge won't work in Chat
ham any more.-Philadelphia In
| uuirer.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
LIFE ON the STARS,
A Texan Relates His Wonderful
Discovery.

"You may talk about your dis
coveries," said a bustling little old
gentleman with a bald head and
bushy gray whiskers in the Audito-
rum Hotel this winter, 'but one
which I made down on my ranch
in Texas two weeks ago lays them
all out and will rank as the most
important made in centuries.
"Allen is my name, John Allen
of San Antonia, Tex. / have lived
there for the past ten years and am
proud of it. In my leisure hours l
study astronomy. Great study, as
tronomy. Many night have l
spent lying on my back looking at
the stars and wondering if they,
like our earth, were peopled with
human beings such as we. Since
recorded time the question has been
asked and in all the books that l
have read upon the subject nothing
nearer the truth than speculation is
to be found. Many claim that the
stars are peopled and seek to sup
port their claims by cogent reason
ings. Others, however, by argu-
ments equally as powerful, take the
negative side of the theory.
II am proud to say, sir, that /
have always believed the stars to
be inhabited, and more than proud
to say that I am able to prove it,
Don't smile till you hear the story
of my discovery, which, let me say,
has never yet been told.
"You know that last month was q
notable one, astronomically speak.
ing, because of the unusual number
of meteors that pierced the sky
Had it been November or August
it would have excited no comment
For in those months the eartl
usually passes through a meteorit
belt. Meteors fell in many places
my ranch being one of them.
"The one that fell on my place
was about two feet in diameter
The outside was crusted by the fire
but microscopic examination of th'
interior showed it to be composed
of lava and coral. Upon learning
this 1 was about to lay the reli
aside when curiosity prompted m
to break it again. l did so, whel
10 in it l found petrified fish
the perch tribe, which proves tina
the plant where the meteor cam
from was habitable.-Chicago Post
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
A Curious Apache Belief.

The Apache Indians religious
belief prevents them from commit
ting murder in the dark. Ifa dozen
Apaches should discover a man
sleeping by his camp fire at night
no amount of money would hire
them to attack him until the sun
came up. They believe that if they
kill man at night their own souls
will walk in eternal darkness for
ever. Knowing this curious super
stition, hunters, scouts, trappers
and others travelling through the
Apache Nation move about during
the night and lay by in some safe
retreat during the day.-Exchange.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Interesting Information.

To tell woman's age is one of
the easiest things imaginable, de-
spite the fact that many brilliant
ladies knock off a few stories of
their years without detection.
Observe we'll her hair!
Her bangs? No, her back hair |!
Now, don't say it is false. False
or real, you can count her years by
the threads time weave. Every year
adds hair or two, and, no doubt,
if woman lived long enough she
would become a female Esau.
At twenty-five woman's back
hair begins to fall over her collar
as pumpkin vine over a picket
fence. Note we'll the direction of
her hair. Hair slants, and at thirty
it takes an angle of so, at thirty
five 60, and so on.
Of course, you can't get near
enough to apply mathematic tape
measure. But your practiced eye
will be near enough.
Next note the quality. Hair at
twenty-five is moire, at thirty it is
sateen, at thirty-tive it is passe sat
inette, at forty it is rope fit to hang
any man that gets noosed in its
meshes.
Anybody can tell false or store
hair; no matter who the previous
owner was, it has a doesn't belong
there look, and all the pomades in
the universe cannot give it per-
manent tenure of Office.
So you may reasonably conclude
if a person has false back hair her
age is beyond the interesting point
Never believe her to be under forty
eight, unless Bill Jones or some
equally reliable person can prove 1t.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Two Excellent Reasons.

Fred Taylor, a New York broker,
one afternoon met Bob Ingersoll
and invited him to go to the Hoff-
man House to quench his thirst.
Ingersoll said, "No, | don't believe
| want to drink )" and they asked
him why not. swell" said Inger-
soil, "you have heard of the man
who had two reasons, and the first
reason is this: When my poor old
mother was on her dying bed she
begged me with tears in her eyes
to swear off, and I promised her
would never take another drop,
And the other reason is this: | have
just had one drink, and | don't
want another right away"
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09

at which a jovial guest gave the
toast: "The authors very good
health May he live to be as old
as his jokes"
At another gathering were toasted
"The bench and the bar; If it were
not for the bar, there would be lit
tie use for the bench"
AS pithy as was the following
toast, proposed at ehoemaker's
dinner: "May we have all the wo-
men in the country to shoe, and all
the men to boot"
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09

A GREAT many people mistake
weight for warmth in clothing.
Heavy clothing is not always warm,
and it is possible to have clothing
of light weight that is much warmer
than heavy garments and less bur-
densome. It is important to get
good non-conducting material, and
wool is the best of all substances.
Loose, spongy goods have more
warmth in proportion to weight
than closely woven fabrics.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09

deaths were caused in coupling cars.
1t is distressing to think of the
suffering and death daily occurring
as the result largely of the great
variety of couplings in use, and it
must be admitted that there is a
crying need of a rapid improvement
in this matter by the adoption of
some uniform style of coupling
which will be both efficient in serv-
ice and safe in handling.-Kansas
City Sun.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09
Planning for a woman's Orchestra.

Mrs. Laura C. Langford, who used
to be Laura C. Holloway, and whose
pet child, the Seidl society, has
grown to be strong and lusty or
eeanization, 3 says of it that, while she
GETS the best music obtainable from
the best men, she looks to building
up in future the best women's or
chestra in the world and having the
best women leaders. A big opera
house is one Of her plans.-N. Y.
Commercial Advertiser.
The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-05-09

The KEYSTONE has long been acknow
edged to be the sole representative of the
Great Upper Wood River and Sawtooth
mining regions, and, located as it is in the
very heart of the most promising mining
country on the face of the earth, and leav-
ing nothing undone to present its readers q
complete synopsis of all mining news and
developments, as well as matters of local
importance in the growth of Ketchum, the
future metropolis OF Idaho, it is aninvalua-
BILE guide for capital and informant to the
settler of every craft and position. Sub
scribe for it, read it, and let your friends
read what may benefit them.