davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
FROM MIKE TO Mr.. MICHAEL.
An IrishmAn Who Got n Million Dollars
and Knew what to do With It.

The story of Monte Cristo is general
" regarded as a highly improbable
piece of fiction" said a Montana man
recently, but l have in mind a Ease of
a miner in our state who comes very
lear furnishing a parallel character.
About ten years ago / had in my en-
ploy an lrishman, n clever but totally
uneducated fellow. who did odd jobs
about my place in Helena. You re-
member what a ~feverish state that
country was In about that time over
the rich finds in gold in the country
adjacent. My lrishman caught the
fever, and one day astonished me by
asking me 10 loau him $500, with
which he wanted to buy a prospector's
outfit. Well, the fellow begged SO
hard, and money was easy anyhow, so
/ let him have it. He bought him a
mule and some tools and lit out for
the mountains alone.
In about a month he came back TO
Helena with that mule fairly stagger-
ing under a load of the richest of ore.
He hired three men. bought three
more mules, went back TO the hills,
and struck town shortly afterward
with four more mules loaded as the
first one had been. A representative
of an English syndicate happened TO
be in Helena about this time on the
lookout for mining Investments. He
saw the Irishman's little pack train,
took a sample Of the ore, had it as
saved, went out and examined the
claim, and then made the Irishman a
proposition that mighty nearly scared
him to death. i was sitting in my Of
iice at the time, when in burst Mike in
q state of terrible excitement.
What do you think. sor, I'm offered
for me claim?' he gasped. One mill
ion dollars and twinty-foive per cent
of the net profits
"Of course / told him 10 sell, which
he did. 1t proved a good investment
for all concerned, as the Englishmen
have taken millions of dollars out of
the mine.
But now comes my point. Instead
of committing the usual follies that
poor men indulge in when they be-
come suddenly very rich. Mike set
about 10 get the highest benefits of his
wealth. There lived in Helena an
English lady, widow Of an English of
ficer. who was possessed of a high de-
gree of culture and refinement, though
in very needy circumstances. Well,
sir, the first thing Mike did was
to 20 to this lady aud bargain for an
education. He placed himself abso-
lutely under her dictation; lived in the
same house, and she taught him how
to hold a knife and fork, how to enter
and leave q room. Then followed the
rudiments Of a literary education and
q year or so of travel. :,
Il met my Irish laborer in the par
lor Of a London hotel about six months
ago. You never saw a more perfect
gentleman in your life. He has ac-
quired a classical education, is as easy
and graceful in as a courtier,
and above all has the true instincts Of
a man and a gentleman in his heart.
And could q man be anything but a
gentleman who had evidently made it
the dream of his life to be one at his
first opportunity?-SL Louis Republic
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
MICE ON A JAMBoREE.
Champagne Was Their Triple, and They
Took IL Like Politicians.

Matt Miltroyich, q restaVrauteur
here. says the Fresno (Cal.) Republican,
has made an important discoveryin nat
ural history. He has found hat mice
drink champagne. 1t cost him only
about sli4, the wholesale price of forty
bottles OF champagne, 10 make a dis
coyery which shall send the name of
s~Ii,-nvich sneezing down the centuries
long after AgassiZ and Button shall
have been forgotten. 1t happened this
way: The choice champagne CON-
sumed by the athletic bloods of Fresno
is stored in the cellar, the bottles lying
on the racks with the corks against the
wall. Mitrovich does not like mice,
but dearly loves cats. He has six fe-
lines TO guard his treasure house, but
n Fresno mouse can live where a cat
would s~tarye, and while the bantam
tigers were feeding out of the swill
barrel the mice were drinking his
champagne. Having received an un-l
usually large order of fine quart bot
ties from a lawyer who had succeeded
a few hours before in hoodwinking a
jury, Mitrovich went into the cellar,
and, TO his surprise, found that two Of
the fine quart bottles were In the same
condition as the lawyer-half full. An
examination revealed the startling
fact that the mice had nibbled at the
corks until the wine began to flow and
had swallowed by suction all the liquid
until 1t got below the level of the hole
In the cork. AS the bottle lay upon
their sides this occurred when half the
champagne had been distracted, and
then a fresh bottle was chosen. Nitro
vich concealed himself and watched
the mice for an hour. The first one
sucked his fill. reeled away. danced
about glibly for a while, and fell down
asleep with an ecstatic smile upon his
Yhiskered mug. His place was taken.
by O second. until the whole 100 mice
had joined in the general jamboree.
Cats are of no use in such a case, as
they cannot get between the bottles
and the wall, and Mitrovich has
changed his racks and placed the cork
end Of the bottles outward, where the
mice cannot reach them. Whenever
he thinks of those forty spoiled bot
ties he feels forty different kinds Of
pains in his bones. That's why he
doesn't like mice.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08

~Ou the advice of an eminent physi-
clan, l have tested pure cold water as
q 'bracer' and found it is the greatest
thing in the world" said an old round
er at the LindelI. Il heartily com
mend il to every man who steps out
with the boys late o. nights and dallies
with the rosy until mis- head whirls
around, his legs get weak, and his
s. mach revolts. When you wake up
tie next morning with a throbbing
head and excited nerves l advise you
to touch the button and have the boy
bring you q lemonade glass full OF
the water slowly-an hour is not too
long to devote to it-and You will be
astonished at the wonderful bracing
effect il has upon you. The doctor ex-
planned to me that the cold water sip
ped slowly. tends to contract the
arteries and force q rush Of blood TO
the head. A vigorous circulation ID
thereby sst up. and in a little while
the last .smLant of the nights Jag
is driven out of the system. am also
told that the brain and stimu-
lating effect of pure, cold water has
for centuries been demonstrated in
India That semLheathen country.
you know. Is the mother If chess The
natives of East India are to-day the
greatest chessplayers In the world.
When they start into . game they
squat fiat on the earth around tho
board and hover rise until the game 10
finished Somatimea they piav forty.
eight hours on q stretch without sleep
or food, and the only stimulant they
use is pure, cold water. which they
continually sips'-SkLe GioteDem
anrak
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
S~EkSICkNESS.
Sundry Theories, Wise and Otherwise,
Regarding Its Prevention.

For the prevention of seasickness q
curious notion seems to be common
that the stomach should be kept as
full as possible, says the Lancet. Thus
have We seen stout old men and women
take with praiseworthy persistence
had the result been satisfactory-bis-
cults. brandy and soda, apples, a pint
Of porter. a red herring and various
other edibles and potables with an en-
tire want of success in retaining them,
a course of procedure peculiarly try
ing to those who happen to be stand
ing, or rather lying. on the verge of
the act of vomiting. Were we to coun-
sci those who are liable tn this affec-
ton we should recommend as follows:
Take a moderate meal two hours be-
fore going on board. Remain on deck
amidships, well protected against cold,
as long rs possible. AS soon as the
premonitory symptoms appear retire
to the berth, undress as quickly as
possible and lie fat or the back for the
first twelve or even twenty-four hours
without food. Then take a small por-
ton of dry breaI and roast beef with
out fluid; this the stomach will proba-
bly, retain. If there is much move
ment of the vessel lie quiet again or
even go upon deck, and in the course
of thirty-six or forty-eight hours the
system will have recovered itself and
no further trouble will be experienced.
1t is a mistake to introduce a quantity
of fluid, even Of strong coffee, into the
tlaocid stomach. but if sickness persist
u glass of champagne will probably
prove serviceable. In some few per-
ons q%uinine or antipyrin. choral or
potassium bromide may act well. but
as a rule medicine of all kinds should
be eschewed by those who do not wish
to aggravate what is already hard to
bear.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08

snd patriotic reasons, and says that
The subject OF such a canal is the most
-s4-Lluec.e1 with the welfare,
CROWN aud prosperity of tine UnIteI
States. II declares that the only
feasible route for such n canal is by
way OF Nicaragua, and points ont that
the conventions of the two great po-
litical parties have endorsed the pro-
Iect.
Il appears that ali the engineer RS
have agreed in expressing a decided
preference FOR the Nicaragua route,
because among other reasons, only
gG miles OF the entire distance of
1885, miles from the Atlantic to the
PaciEc ocean through Nicaragua will
have TO be excavated. The other 1423l
miles consists OF Lake Nicaragua, the
san Juan aver and depressions in the
svrfoaa 1.-THE earth. Lake Nicaragua
near " q harbor sufficient to
scribe the navies and commerce
md II IS 10 miles long,
vide and is $50 feet at its
deepest points Vessels entering the
canal from the Atlantic ocean will
-4U on q level with the ocean for l2&.
miles, a. the end of which they will be
raised by three locks TO the level of the
Jake. They will sail along the san
Juan river and the lake on the lake
.ere. TO C. point within three and one
half miles of the Pacific ocean Here
they will be lowered by the locks to
the level Of the Pacific ocean.
me committee says the cost, includ'
ing the payment OF interest during The
rggre or the work, viii be less than
500. o 1900, aad the time required for
the completion Of the work is within
nve years. The climate of Nicaragua
is healthy, and odt Of 1000 northern
men employed in constructing a rail-
road through a swamp only two died
during q period OF four months OF
200 northern engineers and skilled me.
chanics who have worked for the canal
company for three years not n has
died from a disease incident 10 the
country. by the Nicaragua canal the
distance saved is shown by this table:
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08

The tonnage tributary now TO the
Nicaragua canal, and which would
pass through after its opening. is over
6. 000, 900 o n a year. At SO per ton,
the charge made by the Suez canal
this would be SIC, 600. 900 in tolls The
cost of operation and maintenance is
placed at less than $1,000, 900. and
6. 600, 900 o n would show q net income
of ell, 600, 900 per annum- Tho COM
mittee Is confident that within five
years the income will be over $50, O00,-
600.
The committee says it is no longer Q
question whether the canal win be
built or not The only question Is rs
to who shall build 1t. and who shall
control it when built? Ii says IL has
been informed that European syndi-
Gates have already made ovsrtures to
the canal company, but the committee
believes the United States cannot AZ
ford by carelessness. hesitation OF ne.
glect TO permit an enterprise Of such
magnitude and Of such far reaching
advantage to pass under the control
of any foreign company. cit there
fore behoovos u.s." the address conI
cludes. las q nation conscious of the
power we WELD and Of the greater in
fluence we may exert upon the dss-
TIMES Of this continent. to perform the
duties without delay which we deny
other nations the privilege of as
Stunning. and to adopt now the best
means of occurring the early compile
ton Of this work. whose advantages
we are willing TO share with the
world but whose control should never
b sllowed 70 pass ont Of our hands"
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
John Browns Whistle.

OF the many personal relics of John
Brown, a collection of which will be
made for exhibition at the Worlds
Fair, is N that has as yet escaped the
vigilance of the collectors. 1t is the
battered old silver whistle with which
Brown used to summon his followers
to his secret meetings in the stormy
days just before the war. 1t was
formerly held by Col Lewis Washing.
ton. the proprietor of the Dumbarton
estate in Old Georgetown, who was
present with Lee when old Brown, with
his little handful of followers, was
captured. All that search revealed
upon his person was q bunch of keys, .
very little money. and his old whistle.
He gave up the money and keys with.
out protest, but pleaded for the whistle,
which of course insured his not getting
1t. 1t was carelessly tossed into Col.
Washington's desk. where it lay for
years until its present owner, q cousin
Of the Colonel, happened to see it, and
asked for IL as o curiosity. The result
was readily granted. Take it il you
want it; / only wonder why l have kept
the - thing as long as / have" Thus
the relic came to its present resting
place. Its form is best described by
likening it to q long-tailed tadpole that
had grown a dorssl fin the length Of
its body. What corresponds to the tail
Ia q slender pipe, through which curl
rent of air is blown flutewise along the
hollow bulb at the end. giving a thin
yet mellow sound OF peculiar timber
that is very penetrating. The residents
of the ferry said. after the capture, that
for weeks before they had heard that
whistle sound at night without know
ing its meaning. But the negroes
knew 1t, and for them it was a sfgnal
for the underground railway to the
northward, to freedom.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
Proverbial Philosophy.

Be careful OF the pennies and the pounds
you'll neer regret;
Go supperless to bed IL that means rising out
ofdebt:
Deserve success and rest assured that you'll
command It. too.
For GOD helps those who help themselves"
toward what they be and DO.
The deeds lone In the future are by far the
most sublime;
Procrsstination is the thief Of treasureladen
Time.
W never miss the water till the well is run
ming dry"
Nor ever prize the roses till they fade away
and die.
However thick the clouds may lie the sun is
just behind:
No lane so long but somewhere there's a turn
that you will find
Dame Fortune comes a-knocking once ut
e~yerybody's gate,
But only for a moment will the hckle lady
wait.
tbs better far 10 grind our meal while still tire
chances last.
For well never turn the mill-wheel with the
npples that have Passed"
wait not for chence 10 bring you what your
Empty spindle lacks;
Prepare IL and the distaf, and then God will
send the flax"
-Gpa1 HnnsaEaepfup
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
FOR TIE NICARAGUA CANAL.
The Committee Appointed for the
Purpose Reports,
An Address Issued to the People of the
country Showing tho General Adj
santagcs - Follow the
building Of the Canal.

The committee appointed by the ma
tional Nicaragua canal convention at
It's meeting in St Louis, June . and 3.
TO prepare an address TO the American
people giving information as to the
Feasibility of the Nicaragua canal and
ITS commercial and other advantages to
tho nited States, has just finished the
preparation OF such address. The
committee Is composed Of John s.
Jones OF Arkansas; eX-Congressmau
Converse, Of Ohio; K w. Mulsap, the
prominent banker of Mississippi: Cap
tain j. f. Merry, of Manchester. la:
= IL. Hawkins the railroad president.
OF Georgia; Captain Ambrose Snow,
president OF the New York board of
trade aud transportation. and ex-Gov-
u John = Piilsbury, OF Minnesota.
Inc address is supplementary to the
resolution adopted by the ST Louis
convention. which pointed ont The adj
vantages Of the canal and urged its
construction, ownership and control
by the American people rather than
the Engli-h. French or any other ma
ton II takes the position tina a
canal, Joining the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans should be constructed for the
most important commercial, strategic
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
THE TOURISTS FOE.
Tow the Baggage smasher Gets IN His
yandal Work.

what will become of my baggage?"
That is the question uppermost
when, with the advance of summer,
migratory humanity is up and away
in quiet and cool spots at the seaside,
among the mountains, or, best of all,
on the shores of our northern lakes.
Everybody who can spare the time or
afford the cost takes an outing during
the summer, and the trip is always an
ticipated with delight, except for one
depressing thought, and that is:
What will become of my baggage?"
For verify the vandal baggage smasher
is the nightmare of the American trav-
eler's sleeping hours and the terror Of
his waking moments.
The new trunk cometh forth i'm the
morning bright, beautiful and smart"
Its lock is of chilled steel, its hinges Of
the toughest wrought-iron. and its
corners, edges, and all vulnerable
parts armored like a modern cruiser.
Ii shines with varnish. CLEANS with
polished metal, and its back swells up
as il with honest pride at being made
the guardian of the mysteries of my
lady's wardrobe. Duly checked, the
trunk is hoisted into the baggage-car
without great damage. for the smash
er's opportunities are few at that stage
Of the game. But he smiles with fiend-
ish expectancy after the train has
started, and at once begins making
mathematical estimates Of the powers
of resistance of that aud every other
piece of baggage intrusted to his care.
He lifts n corner of your new trunk
and makes = rapid mental calculation
of the force with which a body weigh
ing 200 pounds will strike a solid plat
form il caused to describe a parabola
whose directrix is eight feet. He finds
that the force of impact will be about
eighty tons. II he can cause that
trunk to alight Ipon one corner he
reasons that the eighty tons strain
will be sufficient to burst it. And 50
at the first change of cars your hand
some new trunk goes sailing through
the air impelled by a mysterious twist
Of the smasher's wrist only acquired
by long practice. 1t lands on one cor
ner of the Y and its sacred CON
tents are instantly exposed to the vul-
gar gaze of trainmen and station loaf
e:S--AinReapols Tribune.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL.
Thcn on the Bench He Liked to Join ia
Small Boys sport.

A gentleman, a long resident of this
capital, says a Washington correspon-,
lent Of the Louisville Courter-Journal,
ased to relate that his father, a prac-'
~.itioner at the bar Of the Supreme,
court, once sent him when n small boy;
10 the house of the chief justice forl
tome legal papers. He appeared be-
ore Marshall with something like that
ceiling of reverence with which the
lbo prostrates himself before his fetch
with something of that W with
which the barbarian Gaul approached
.he Roman senate sitting among the
ruins Of the Forum. He presented the
note, and the chief justice was not
slow to detect the bashfulness of the
lad. He read the note, selected tho
papers, tied them up in a bundle, and
then said: "Billy, / believe l can beat
you playing marbles; come into the
yard and we will have a game" The
boy assented, and soon he was en-
gagged in that childish play with the
foremost intellect of the western hemi-
sphere. All his embarrassment was
gone, and the game proved to be ex-
Citing and closely contested, both be-
ing skillful players.
When chief justice Of the United
States Marshall used to spend much
Of his time at home in Richmond. The,
court had comparatively a small
docket then and the vacations were
more frequent and longerin DURATION
He would bundle up submitted cases..
go to Richmond for the vacation, and
write his decisions there. He had q
spacious mansion on the outskiit Is Of
the city, aud in his grounds was q
noted spring of pure water, surround
ed by splendid elms and giant oaks,
and i'm pleasant weather the great
jurist would retire to the spring to
read and ponder the legal records up
on which he was to adjudicate. Near
by was a school house. the pupils at
tending which got water at his spring.
No boy or girl ever went there for
water that the old man did not have q
kindly greeting for him or her and
words of advice or encouragement.
He often engaged in their games at
playtime. and it was a common sight
to see the boys chasing him after he
had hurled ut them that greatest OF
all ~affronts to the schoolboy of fifty or
eighty years ago-"school butter
something the old fellow was almost
certain to do every day when it was
about time for the boys to return to
their studies. And yet, boyish as this
man was, full Of animal spirits
as he was. 1t was said Of him by
William Writ that had a flower OF
fancy sprung up in the train of hio
thought he would have crushed 1t as
he would an adder. On the bench he
was human reason incarnate; in pri-
vate station he was the kindliest and
most playful Of men. As chief justice
he was y Hamiltonian federalist; rs
John Marshall he was more than :
Je~ffersonian democrat.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08

ceives it to be the patriotic and polit-
zeal privilege OF the United States 10
com~lete the canal The commercial
anu HHVGn DuP----y "a 49, --s--
which might secure control of the ca
nal demands imperatively hat its con-
troll should 0 pass away from the
people of the United States Il is
made plain that two fleets would be
required to block an American fleet in
Nicaragua where one would be neces-
sary elsewhere As a foothold from
which TO attack or defend, 10 threaten
or protect all the coasts, islands and
adjacent seas, 1t is a more command
ing power than Gibraltar.
All surveys aud examination of
strata requiring removal have been
completed. The jetty has been CON
structed and the harbor Of Greytown
has been restored so that vessels o..
fourteen feet draft have an easy en-
trance. Extensive wharVes, landing
places and permanent buildings have
been constructed, temporary camps
erected, a telegraph line made. the
canal cleared OF timber for twenty
miles, and a railroad twelve miles In
le- IN constructed and equipped. The
biggest dredging plant in America,
that formerly used at Panama, has
been purchased and over a mile of the
canal has been dredgei. The exclusive
franchise for the steam navigation of
the San Juan river and Lake Mica
ragua and on extensive plant for the
navigation company have been
acquired The government of Mica
ragua has acknowledged that
the company has complied with
the canal grant, which provided that
90, 900, 600 must be expended the first
year. 1t is shown that the amount of
money expended to date on the enter
prise is over SO, 700, 900. The enter
prise is Endorsed by the leading bust
ness men OF the country, and that il
will be judiciously and economically
managed is assured By the character Of
the board of directors, who, by the
charter of the company, are accounta-
BILE to the government of the United
states. The secretary of the interior
has the power to make public all the
details of the corporate management,
thus protecting the investor against
misuse OF his money. :
The Suez canal, IL is shown, saves
only 1900 miles around the Cape of
Good Hope, as againstover 10. 900 miles
saved by the Nicaragua canal; and the
following table shows the number Of
ships passing through, the net tonnage
and the gross receipts OF the Suez
canal for six separate years.
Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-10-08
A scythe as Old as Mose..

An Egyptian scythe, dug up on the
banks OF the Nile in 1890, Is exhibited
among the antiquities in the private
museum of Flinders Petrie, London.
The shaft Of the instrument Is OF wood
set with a row Of fine flint saws, which
are securely cemented in a groove.
This discovery answers the oft-askcd
question: How did the stone age mxu
harvest his cropsp