davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
TIE BOYS SPRING GAME.

He win Soon BE Rolling Marbles and Here
Arc Two New Games-Points About
shooting-Evsrybody Plays for Keeps
Nowadays
WRITTEN FoR THE prsP8fcH.1
GLOW do you play marbles?" I asked .
small, ragged and happy boy the other day.
''For keeps," he replied with look Of
pity at my ignorance, and then he went on
with his game.
Marble playing il for keeps now, a. It
has been since our great-grandfathers were
boys, and the games have changed very lit
tie in character. Perhaps this may be &c
counted for by the fact that the marble sea-
son in this temperate zone is 50 short that
each spring the old gamee are taken up
with . zest which would be unknown were
marble playing an all year round affair, and
that this dulls the inventive faculty Of
youth. This year, however. marks an inno-
vation, and in telling boys how marbles are
played am able to describe two new games
just introduced from the Northwe
The first thing to know in playing mar
bles is how to shoot and what to shoot with
To shoot properly a boy must hold his mar
bles properly. Bend the fore6nger SO that
the tip nearly touches the lower edge Of
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
F0RTUNKs IN THE NOON,

An Old Superstition for which the Giant
Orb II Made Responsible.
Children, especially Of the South, have
many ways of telling fortunes by the moon;
the most popular one is this: When the
new moon is seen for the first time three
steps are taken backward, and these words
repeated:
New moon, true moon, true and bright,
If have q true love, let mo dream Of him
tonight.
II I'm to marry near, let me hear q bird oryJ
II I'm to marry far, let me hear q COW low.
And if I'm never to wed, lei mo hear ham
mer knock.
Then the fight of the turkey buzzard is
always noted, especially of flying alone, and
the bird is addressed thus:
Hail, hail, lone turkey buzzard,
Fly to the East, fly to the West
Fly to the one that love best!
Let me know by the flap of the wing
Whether he Tor she) loves me or not.
The birds direction Of the flight is noted;
also the motion of the wings. If they flap
it is considered true sign that the lover or
sweetheart is true.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

they saved their energy for this tremendous
speed. Their wings increased in stroke.
Their necks elongated. Their thin legs
stuck out further behind. They presented
the minimum resistance to the air. Their
eyes began to bulge. One could imagine
that their breath came short. But their ex-
preston of establishment was as ludicrous
as it was pathetic.
A hundred and ten miles-and only two
remained. The tutor jotted down notes,
while Jack Hardy shot the wild geese with
a "kodak. AT 12O one dropped back. He
futtered in dazed way, and then turned
deliberately with an injured air. The orig
inal leader of the flock remained to fight It
out. Resolution was in his eye. He seemed
to gain upon the airship. For fully ten
minutes longer nature pitted itself against
man in this novel duel.
Zone hundred and fifty milesw shouted
the tutor.
As he spoke the gallant bird, with a
mighty effort, spurted again. 1t approached
its mysterious leader. 1t came within 10
feet of the window where the men stood.
1t glared in and recognized man. Then it
uttered despairing 'Honkp' as if at last
1t understood its false situation. Uncon-
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

the palm of the hand Hold the tin of The
thumb under the second finger, which is
also bent. The marble rests between the
tip of the forefnger and the joint of the
thumb, as is shown in the accompanying
illustration. When you get ready to shoot
snap out the thumb smartly, and the mar
BILE will be shot out as from q popgun.
With practice it will 60 equally as true to
the mark.
Playing for Position.
The knuokle of the foreHnger should
touch the ground, where it should be held
in stationary position until the marble Is
shot Be careful in aiming. As . rule aim
an inch in front Of the marble you want to
hit You will strike 1t on the bound. Never
roll your marble along the ground. Let it
describe an arc Of circle. If you shoot so
as to hit the mark squarely your marble stops
short and the mark is set spinning away. In
some shots this is desirable. In others It is
better to give your marble twist in send
ing it out SO that you can carrom on the
mark as billiard players do. This often
times gives you good position for q second
shot. The twist is caused by placing the
back Of the hand upon the ground instead of
holding it upright, ss is done in making the
square shot. This position also gives greater
force and sureness Of aim. Pumping is
done by holding the hand above the ground.
In some games this is admissible, but not
in all. No showing is ever allowed. It is
as unsportsmanlike as shooting birds on the
ground or catching fish with q net.
1t is always well to be careful about the
marble you shoot with, which is called the
ftaw." It should be trifle larger than the
brownies and should be considerably
heavier. I never saw q glass alley that
amounted to anything a. q taw. The best
one ever had was an old china alley which
had not been glazed after it had been
painted and therefore was not perfectly
smooth.
Tho Common Kind OF Games.
Now as to games. The simplest is played
without q ring. Ono boy puts down
marble on q certain spot and his opponent
shoots at it from . fixed distance Ii he hits
the marble, it Is his; but if he misses it he
himself puts down marble and lets his op-
ponent have chance. This is kept up until
one of the boys loses his store or tires of
the sport.
Ring taw, or square, or half moon, as 1t Is
variously called according to the shape of
the inclosure, is played in q variety of
ways and it Is the commonest of all games
with marbles. Any number of boys may
play it, but three or four are the best num-
Der. Mark out q ring about three feet in
and draw line about six feet |
away from it From this line the bows
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

ring taw. The first player shoots his tsw
into the first hole if possible. If he sue
ceeds he shoots from the outer edge of that
hole into the next, and from that into the
last. He IL then the winner and the con-
tents of the bank belong to him. Then the
boys fill up the bank again and the second
player takes his turn.
A straight run il seldom accomplished,
however. When player misses hole he
lets his taw rest where it stops and gives
may either shoot at the first hole or at the
taw of number one, but he cannot kill him
by hitting the taw unless he has been in
one or more of the holes If, however, he
has made the hole and afterward hits num-
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
FIRST TELEaRAPH1c MESSAGE.
It Was Sent Over Three Miles Of Bonnet
Wire January 8, 1888.

It Was Sent Over Three Miles Of Bonnet
Wire January g, 1888.
Stephen Vail, the son of the Alfred Vail
so closely identified with early telegraphy,
says that on May 1, 1874, his father tele-
graphed from Baltimore the news that
Henry Clay had been nominated for the
next President. Mr.. Vail also says that the
first real message transmitted by telegraph
was sent over three miles of bonnet wire,
stretched around the walls of large room
on the second floor of the now historic fac
tory at the Speedwell Iron Works, Morris
town, N. j.
The date was January 6, 1888. On that
day q new set of instruments was put up
and tests were made in the presence OF dis
tihguished guests ALI persons were then
convinced that Mr. Morse and Mr.. Vail had
laid the foundations of a wonderful dis
covery. But it was not until five years
atterward that the bill appropriating $50, 900
for their invention passed the Senate and
was signed by the President
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
CHAPTER ~.
A MoMENToUS VOTE.

The party rose to their feet They looked
vaguely about them. They acted as if they
had forgotten where they were. II now oc-
Cured to Royal Sterne for the first time
that this was different from Pullman car
trip across the continent Jack Hardy
listened to the moaning and whistling of the
air through which they cut; at first he
could not account for the weird noises The
tutor, ever mindful of the scientific view of
the situation, sprang to read the register of
the thermometer.
'How many matches have you gentle
men got about you?" asked Sergeant
Will twig, walking unsteadily toward them.
He had not yet accustomed himself to the
motion of the aerial vessel Mechanically
each hand dived into its own series of
pockets and brought forth matches, each
after its kind. The Sergeant took them
carefully nd laid them in a row before him
on the table.
Now, gentlemen, search againl The
number we have decides whether we make
9 halt or not''
A subsequent exploration of the hooks
and crannies that every man carries about
his person brought forth six matches more.
The four sat about the table and solemnlv
counted them. There were exactly SO.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

legs and wings are attached Bees, wasps,
butterflies, moths and grasshoppers should
be pinned in this way. Beetles, however,
should be pinned through the right wing
cover, as shown at Fig. 4 ALI insects
should be mounted at the same height on
the pin, and so that the pin shall project
just half an inch above the specimen, as
also shown by Fig. 4.
Butterflies and moths should ALWAYS have
their wings spread before they are dry
where this is possible. They should be
pinned on the spreading board so that the
top of the body comes just to the surface of
the board. The wings should then be
spread out on the board with fine pins and
fastened fiat with strips of paper or bits of
glass, as shown by Fig s. In this position
they should be left for several days until
the body has become perfectly dry. Dragon
flies and a few other insects should also
have their wings spread in this wav.
Insects which are too small to pin should
be gummed to the points of little cardboard
triangles, and the triangle should be pinned
at the same height as if it were an insect.
This method of mounting is shown by Fig.
6. The insects should be gummed on the
left side (the triangle pointing to the left),
with the head forward and the back away
from the pin. Very small beetles, however,
should be gummed on the abdomen. The
aim in all cases should be to hide as little Of
the body as possible.
Every specimen should be labeled with
the date on which it was captured and the
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
CAN'T SUPPORT THEMsRLvEa

Indians Who Will Lose . Eat Thing II
They Make an Effort to Live.
The biggest appropriation made by the
Indian bill now under consideration in Con-
gress is for the Sioux-22, 900 of them-who
get 81, ,79S, 900 in cash annually. Besides,
each individual receives every day 8 pounds
of beef, half pound Of -four, half pound
Of corn; and to each 100 persons are given 8
pounds of beans. 4 pounds of coffee and 8
pounds of sugar. ALI this is according to .
treaty made in 1877, which stipulated that
the allowances in money and provisions
mentioned should be kept up until these
people "shall be able to support them
selves"
There doesn't seem to be any prospect
that this looked for period will ever arrive,
for, as Red Cloud once remarked to Carl
Schurz "We can't afford to support our
selves, under the circumstances, and we
aren't going to-"
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

quered, its heart burst Unwilling to turn
back alive, at the rate of over two miles a
second, it gave up its tired ghost LIKE .
projectile it hurled itself to the waters be-
Iowa black fssh-a Japanese frework-it
vanished from sight.
The passengers on the. Aeropole dis.
cussed this instant enthusiastically. Men
have risen before this, in balloons, 50 high
that the rarity Of the atmosphere precluded
BREATH but never before had man directed
his fight with such facility and such mar.
velous lateral velocity. With one accord
they went up to the distinguished inventor
and did what is only left to men in times
of silent emotion. They shook him by the
hand.
Royal Sterne, who for young man was
well travelled, acknowledged with an air of
harmless conceit, as if he had discovered
the fact, that there was NO more wonderful
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
MUNICH's PUPPET SHOW.

Papa schmid's Little Thsatef Tor Boys and
Girls-Comio Figures Manipulassd BY
Means Of Strings From Above the Stage
Tho Plays Put On.
WRITTEN FOR THE pIsrArcH.l
MUNICH, Aqril 4-Of all the enjoy
ments that the Bavarian capital can offer, I
would miss least of all the hourt spent with
Paps Schmid and his ideal little thestsr.
It is situated in a rather unfrequented part
of the city. On entering the hall tho
spectators find that the other end is oon-
cealed by curtains, in the midst Of which =
miniature stage is placed, elevated about
four feet from the ground and illumined by
tiny footlights In front ofthis stand are rows
of chairs that once . week are crowded with
gay children, who see 80 many Of the fairy
tales they have read realized on the stage.
But not the young folks only patronize
the place, also grown-up people, in particu-
lar the artist population are frequent visit
ors. Even Ludwig I. did not disdain see-
ing it and laughing heartily ut the merry
goings on of the smallest of all temples
consecrated to the muses. Although Papa
Schmid is more than SO years in his profess
sion, he is not one born and bred in 1t, for
he bought his stock in trade from the heirs
of the Bavarian General, Wilhelm V. Hay
deck, also known as a battle painter OF some
Importance, who had made large collec-
tion of figures and accessories in leisure
hours and gave private performances to
amuse himself and his friendA
Exquisite Down to Details.
Papa Schmid's company is very large,
consisting of more than 1000 figures, many
of whose heads are carved by well-known
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
ODD BELIEFS OF cH1LDR1u.
Splitting on the Under Side of . Stone 3
Bring Wishes and Cures.

Splitting on the Under Side Of Stone to
Bring Wishes and Cures.
The superstitions of children at the South
as used in their little games, "telling for
tunes" ETC., are very interesting. For
instance, in some parts of the South in the
game of ''tag," !" if the boy or girl giving the
'.tsg" is quick enough to say, "Ticky,
ticky, tag, my t4g's poison, you can't get
my tag till tomorrow after sundown," that
girl or boy is under "spel" and is exempt
from tags" until the time specified, after
which the "spell" is of.
In making wish which they are anxious
to have come true they pick up stone that
Is imbedded in the ground, spit on the un-
der side and replace It, being careful to fit it
IN just as it was; by SO doing they think
they will get their wish" The same
method is used for curing toothsche. but
hrst the gum around the tooth is pricked
until it bleeda Warts also are removed in
this way: They believe that tooth that is
e!trscted should always be buried; other
wise the coming one will be dogs tooth. \
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
RIVALS THE SKY OF DAWN.
or All the Poppies the shirleys Arc Most
SatisfacforH to Grow.

or All the Poppies the shirlsys Arc Most
Satisfactory to Grow.
The shirleys, crown Of all beauty among
the poppies! I hardly think the mortal
lives who would venture to try to describe
the beauty of the Shirley poppies They
are every shade from the purest white to
the deepest black red-through every shade
Of rose, pink, cherry, carmine, scarlet.
crimson-and their delicacy in every
blossom has something ethereal, spiritual,
divine about it The texture Of the petals
is thin as fine tissue paper, so that if you
put . red flower behind a white one it
fushes through the veil; the white is the
most delicate of all, but all have this
diaphanous quality. There is nothing
among flowers so like the sky Of dawn as is
the Shirley poppy bed.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
A BED OF PRETTY PANSIFA
You Can Get Two Hundred and Fifty Seeds
for HaIfa Dollar

You Can Get Two Hundred and Fifty Seeds
for Half q Dollar.
If you wish pretty little flower bed you
will find pansies the most responsive Of
flowers. My scotsman sells paper of 250
seeds for 30 cents These are mixed, and
would be enough for your garden. But if
you wish to select, there are, for instance,
Snow Queen, the most exquisite lustrcus
pure white with small golden eye; Lord
Beaconsfeld, delicious light purple melting
to silvery white at the edges; Emperor
William, nearly pure blue; the mahogany
colors, which word gives you no idea Of the
splendors of the old reds and black purples
Of these large velvety flowers; the fawn
colors in a Thousand hues of gold and bronze;
the Trimardeans, immense flowers and
superb in all colors. But there is simply
NO end to them-all are gorgeous
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

use. Insects dropped into the bottle will
die in few minutes and can then h. 70
moved to the pill boxes, or pinned and
stuck into the cork lined collecting box.
Inc umbrella sho uld be held upside down
under the branches of trees, which should
then be struck sharply with stick held in
the other hand. The insects upon the branch
VIII 1al into the umbrella, from VIII ch
tney can be removed to the cyanide bottle.
How to Pin an Insect,
=, All mature insects should be pinned II
tney are large enough. Nearly all should
pc pinned through the middle of the thorax.
Wnlcn Is the body segment to which the
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

Ter TO nave PAIR Oi PIN
ming foreeps, such as is shown By Fig. Z, as
with these the pins can be inserted into the
boxes without danger of bending.
All caterpillars and other early stages of
insects should either be kept in alcohol or
reared TO the mature butterfly or beetle
as the case may be. For this purpose they
should be kept within gsuze inclosurs
over food plant or in cloth-coyered jar,
with . supply Of food. More elaborate
breeding cages can be constructed if desir-
able.
Many moths fly only at night, and these
are collected either by attracting them to q
sweet bait or to light. A mixture of brown
sugar, or Of molasses with beer or rum,
smeared on the bark of trees or on fence
boards, may be visited at night with
lantern with tolerable certainty of finding
that 1t has attracted night-fying moths
G. V. RILEY,
Entomologist, Department Of Agriculture
u. 8 A
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

The frame should be about foot in diameter
and can be made of stout brass or iron wire.
The net itself, if it is be used for butterflies,
should be made of muslin, mosquito netting
or bobbinet 1t should be 1S inches deep
and taper to rounded point. After the
butterfly or moth is captured, twist of the
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
Hunting for n New Dresa

A very pretty custom is common among
the little girls Of the South. They search
under the leaves of the woods for the little
blue flower they call "innocence, which
comes in the early spring. and If they find
one they will surely have new dress be-
fore another week.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
HOW TO CATCH BUGS.
Prof Riley, Of Uncle Jerry Rusks
Department, Writes.
IMPLEMENT OF THE CAMPAIGN.
A Bottle, With Poison In the Bottom Of 1t,
Is the Death Chamber.
SCIENCE OF STICKING THE PINS
WRITTEN FOR THE prsPArcH.1
For collecting insects in q general way
one should have a butterfly net, a cyanide
IMPLEMENT OF THE CAMPAIGN.
CIENCE OF STICKING THE PINS

bottle, a vial or two
of alcohol, a number
ofpill boxes, or other
tiny boxes, and .
cork-lined box to be
sw ung over the
shoulder. An um-
brella IS one of the
most useful auxili-
aries.
The net can be
easily constructed by
the collector himself
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

make their first shots Before shooting,
each boy puts marble near the edge of the
ring, equi-distant one from the other. To
decide who shoots first the contestants shoot
at line. The one whose marble stops near
est to it wins the shot. The first shooter
puts an additional marble In the center of
the ring to make the game fair, because the
first shot carries considerable advantage
with it
The game is begun BY shooting in turn
from the line at the marbles in the ring. If
marble is knocked out of the ring the
marksman pockets it and has another shot
from the spot where his taw rests. He con-
tinues in like manner until all the marbles
are knocked out or until his taw stops with
in the ring. In that event he is 'dead"
and he puts back in the ring all the marbles
that he has won and one more by the way
of penalty.
Details Of the Game.
The only exception to this rule is when
he happens to be the last player to shoot
and his taw dies in the ring after the last
marble has been knocked out. In that
event the death amounts to nothing and the
marbles are his the same as though his taw
had not stopped within the ring. If the
player misses at any time he leaves his taw
where it rests and the next boy shoots. If
player hits his opponents taw he kills
him and takes from him all the marbles, if
any, which he has won during the game. If
a player kills his last opponent he takes all
the marbles that remain in the ring, as we'll
as all which have been won, and the game
is ended.
Sometimes q half-moon or . square are
used instead of ring, but this makes no
difference In playing the game. Sometimes
two rings are used, q small one inside of q
larger one, the circles being i've or six feet
apart. In this game, which is called double
taw, the players shoot from any point they
NAV chooses on the outer circle at the
marbles which are arranged in the inner
circle as in single ring-taw, and no one is
allowed to kill an opponent until the lsst
boy has had one shot In all varieties Of
the game this rule is observed: When .
boy has knocked all the marbles out Of the
ring, and does not remain in it himself, all
the players put up new marbles, and the
next boy in turn shoots, the winner Of the
first bout shooting last
Shooting for Bank.
The next game In popularity to ring-taw
is called "tbree-holes" Three holes, two
inches wide and half an inch deep, are dug,
with hard. rounding sides. They should be
in a line about three feet apart. Three feet
from the first hole q line is drawn to shoot
from. Each player puts into another hole,
which may be called the bank Of deposit,
three marbles e. forfeits or stakeA
The order OF shooting Is determined = In
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

Is shown in Fig. 8.
Take . wide-mouthed
glass bottle, a two
ounce bottle or one
somewhat larger, the
wide mouth being the
essential thing, and
place In it two or three
Jumps of cyanide of
potassium each half an
inch in diameter. Then
mix in a vessel a small
quantity of plaster of
paris with enough
water to make it semi
fluid and pour this
into the bottle until it
covers the Jumps of
cyanide for about a
quarter of an inch.
The bottle is left OPEN
for an hour or two un-
TIL the plaster Is thor
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17
BY HERBERT D. WARD.
AN IMAGINATIVE ROMANCE OF ARcT
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATCH
SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

SYNOPSIS PREVIOUS
in
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17

handle will throw the bottom of the net
scross the top, and the specimen is pinned
through the meshes of the net.
A very much stouter net of cheese cloth
with shorter bag Is used for beating bushes
or sweeping grass and low herbage for bee
ties, bugs and caterpillars.
The cyanide bottle is for the purpose Of
killing insects after they are captured. Ono
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-17


exact locality. If there
are any further facts
which are worthy Of
notice they should be
inscribed in a notebook
under q number corre-
spending to a number
label, which should also
be placed with the spec
linen. The specimen
illustrated by Fig. 8 is
properly labeled. In
usino fine pins il il bet