davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The morning call., 1892-05-22
INDIGO BLUE CALlC0S.
CORDED ZEPHYRS.

Fancy stripes, one Of the neateSt.
dura BILE fabrics the market has ever
produced, usual price zoe, a special
value here at
i2Kc a Yard.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
FIREARMS OF, The EARLY SETTLERS.
The Clumsy Weapon with Which the New
Englanders Defended Themselves.

The precise population of New En-
gland, either Indian or white. at the
time of Philips war cannot be stated;
but, for the purpose of war, it may be
said that the forces on one side and on
the other were almost equal. At that
time the Indians were as well used to
firearms as the whites, but the fire.
lock of those days was but an ineffi-
cient weapon compared with the musket
of later times or with the rifle of to-
day.
It seems certain that in Europe flint
locks had been introduced before this
time; but, on the whole, the concur
renee of evidence shows that such
locks were not used in the civil war
in England, and that both the Kings
party and the Puritans still relied on
the matchbox. The form of this can
be readily explained to any person
who has seen the old flintlock of the
present century. A hammer-a good
deal larger than the hammer which
afterward held the flint, but quite like
it-had screw which tightened or
loosened the hold which two pieces of
iron had upon the match.
Each soldier was obliged to carry
and when the battle began he lighted
the piece of this match which was
fixed in the hammer of the gun. A
pan which held powder, exactly as the
pan of a f1intlock afterward did. was
in front of the hammer, with a cover
projecting, from which a sort of horn
ran up nearly vertical, to be opened
by the hammer when the soldier pulled
the trigger. The fire of the match
then communicated with the powder
and the gun went off.
This was a sufficiently complicated
way in which men should 90 into
battle, perhaps in wilderness, where
even the procuring of fire at that time
was attended with some difficulty.
The accounts of skirmishes of those
times are full of occasions when a sud-
den shower put a stop to the whole
battle. This is because the fire of the
matches was extinguished by the rain.
To change this rather clumsy lock
into f1intlock simply required that a
flint of sufficient size should be screwed
into the hammer in the place made for
the match. The flint then striking
upon the cover of the pan, made a
spark which fell at the moment the
pan opened into the powder. Event
ually these locks were made with great
precision, and so that the gun missed
fire very seldom.
l have no doubt that one and an
other soldier in Philips war found for
himself that flint arrowhead screwed
in the place of his match could be
made to answer the purpose of firing
the powder much more readily than
the match itself could do. A similar
invention, however, as 1 have said,
had already been made in Europe. SO
that it is thought that tlintlock guns
have been found in France as early as
1910. In 1872, however, just before
the war with Philip began, the law ol
Massachusetts and the provision made
for her soldiers still required the use
of the matchlock.-Ihe CbaaltauqsAaas.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
Ozone as an Antidote.

Travelling from New York lately we
entered into conversation with man
who gave us a very interesting account
of life in a roadside inn forty years
ago. When l was a boy" he said.
my father kept tavern on high road
between Canton. and Cleveland, O.
Our principal business was the enter
tainment of teamsters, number of
whom would arrive each evening and
put up over night. At that time good
corn whisky could be bought for six
teen cents a gallon. and it was the
custom for the landlord to treat his
guests to it before going to supper and
breakfast. Corn whisky was not the
only thing that was cheap at the time;
| oats cost but twelve cents a bushel.
and the usual charge for keeping a
teamster over night, supper, breakfast,
whisky, hay, stablihg bushel of oats
to his horses, all cost but fifty cents.
My father, however, who kept place
a little above the common always
charged sixty-two cents. Since then l
have often asked him how he ever
managed to rear so large a family.
There were eight of us, boys and girls
on the profit, or rather loss of keep
ing tavern when such prices prevailed.
Well he would say. everything was
cheap in proportion, and somehow or
other | was always able to keep you
all well shod and at SCHOOL,
Whisky almost as free as water, men
using it with moderation. Whisky
four dollars gallon, men dying daily
from taking it in gluttonous quantities.
1t must be that the more general out
door life of our fathers strengthened
their nerves, and they consequently
did not hunger after it as their sons
do. And even when they took it in
heroic doses they mixed so much air
with tiff they did leave out the
water-that they seldom suffered from
it as we do.
By the way. it is curious what an
antidotal effect air and exercise have
on poisons; people who would die
otherwise from the effect of larger
dose of morphia, let them be but gal
loped up and down energetically
enough. and their chances of recovery
is considerable. We really believe
some of our enterprising capitalists
should at once start a new institution
for the cure of drunkenness. 1t might
be arranged in this manner: The
building to be on an island so the pa
tients could not get away till thor
oughly cured, as of course, there
would be no fear of their taking to
the water. Then a large maze to be
laid out, in the center of this maze to
be placed small glass of whisky.
Now as they would feel an ungovern-
able desire to get this whisky, and as
it would take them hours of healthy
exertion to reach it through the many
artfully arranged labyrinthine pas
sages, they would have to be but a
comparatively short time at such an
institution before they would be thor
oughly braced up from their meander-
ings through the maze. The dose of
whisky to be daily decreased. There
is fortune in this cure for somebody.
-JdDleSt0aU1 IN W AU.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
Cat and Rat Puzzle.

The mathematical smart Alexis are
always proposing some new and puz-
zling question with which to confound
those whose bump of calculation is not
well developed. but the most exaspera-
ting effort in this direction was sprung
on small company the other evening,
when one of those human calculating
machines inquired: IF five cats catch
five rats in five days, how many cats
will it take to catch 100 rats in 100
days?n Every answer was given from
100 cats to 100. 900 cats, until it hap
pened to occur to some one that it five
cats caught rat day there was
nothing to prevent their continuing to
do so till the end of time if their
patience and the rats held out. But
before this conclusion was reached
over $40 had changed hands in bets on
the subject and three quarrels were
started which have not yet been
settled. Unfortunately, however, none
of them involved the originator of the
problem, who escaped before matters
had gone so far.-St. Louis Globe
| Dp7llOcT1f
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
NATURES BEAUTY.
The Mountain Picnics are CharaeterIs-
tically American.

In spite of the alleged materialism
of our people, it is plain that the love
of beauty is stronger in the more ig-
-norant classes than is common in the
European nations.
1t is rare in Scotland, in Switzer-
land, in the Tyrol, to see the natives
of the region on the mountains except
for what may be called business pur-
pCses-that is, as hunters or as guides.
They do not take their families and
go up for picnic simply for the
pleasure of the thing, whereas the city
visitor can hardly ascend an American
mountain without finding party of
simple country people there before
him.
Grant that their demeanor is not
wholly esthetic-that they may carry
hammer and chisel to carve initials
on the rocks, that they leave sardine
boxes about that they even play a
game of cards on the very summit
10 matter; they are there.
The chances are that the expedition
was proposed by the wife or daughter
of the farmer or mechanic who NOM
inally heads it. suggests L. w. Higgin-
on in Ha4per'S Bazaar.
from some earlier trip. that the top of
the mountain is "a slightly place." and
she is ready enough to contribute her
best doughnuts and mince pies for the
collation..
know a farmers daughter, living
at the base of mountain 8, 600 feet
high, who would think the summer
wasted unless she went up several
times for amusement. She knows
every nook of it; her little parlor is
full of dried butterflies and bird skins
and odd tree mushrooms brought
home by herself.
She could go up or down the steep
path by night as well as by day, with
no more sense of fear than when she
drives herself five miles, one evening
in every week; through the loneliest
woods, to attend the Society of Chris
tian Endeavor.
II should think you would be
afraid" said an anxious city visitor.
"Oh, no." she said carelesslv, 'there
is very good road"
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
JoHNNY's COMPOSITION.
He Has Some Peculiar Ideas Concerning
Cats and Their Origin.

The cat is very interesting animal.
He is small fur dog that meows, and
has whiskers and several things. He
has four paws-two fore paws and two
behind ones-and tail. He has been
know for many years, two of them
having been said to be on the Ark,
where he must have been tied up, or
what would have become of the rats?
Cats don't get to be cats until they are
a year old, when they stop being
kittens, which they are born as. 1t
takes a kitten several weeks to get his
eyes open, if he doesn't get drownded
before that time, and he scratches
when he is mad. My father says
camels used to be cats, but got their
backs up one day and couldn't get them
down again, and so became camels.
l never heard camel meow but l
suppose they can, because they can do
most anything, having seven stomachs
and going many days without water.
The dictionary says a cat is a car
nivorous quadruped, but that docs not
sound like cat. The old Egyptians
used to be very fond of the cat, treat
ing him like a member of their own
family, and making mummies out of
him when he died. Some of these
mummies still live. They used to hang
people for killing cats in Egypt be-
cause the cat was supposed to be a
sacred animal, being sign of the
moon, probably because they are gen.
orally out at night. We have a cat
named Tom, and he has six kittens,
which he washes their face every day
just like me.
Cats never fall out of anything with
out landing on their feet, which is
why their feet are so soft, and they
have to be killed nine times before
they die, and sometimes they don't
even then. They eat milk when tame,
and when wild they cry like a baby
until somebody comes to see what is
the matter, and then they eat him,
which is fatal, and teaches people tc
mind their own business, and not sc
seeing what other peoples children are
crying for.
A cats eye is a very queer thing,
looking like a slot machine all day and
an agate at night, seeing better IN the
dark than in the light. like witches
Therefore they are said to be friend;
of witches, and some people don't like
them on that account, but do.
The two best cats that ever lived be-
longed to Dick Wilmington, Mayor ot
| London, who went out west and killed
a lot of rats at a dollar head, anc
took the money home to his master
to get to be Mayor with, and Puss il
Boots, who stole his masters clothes
and ate giant, thereby making hi!
master owner of the farm and husband
of rich girl. whose father died and lef
it all to her.
My cat can't do anything like this.
but he gets there just the same, and il
very gentle to my little brother, VIII,
pulls his tail and doesn't have to wis
he hadn't.
Altogether 1 don't know what W,
should do without cats, especial.
those that like to have them lyin;
around just as we do.
Yours truly, Johnny.
| -JnTDPT'S YOzL7s0 PeODLe
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
Then Mr.. Charrington's

Gomez"
ITO the minute, sir; must have miss
ed you somehow, and say, SIR" low
ering his voice, Il never see Mr.. John
the least bit SO afore, but my opinion
is he's been drinking pretty free. His
clothes was all dusty and his face like
sheet"
A murmur from the church an
nounced them; cut them came. Byles
was right. John Charrington did not
look himself. There was dust on his
coat, his hair was disarranged. He
seemed to have been in some row, for
there was black mark above the eve
brow. He was deathly pale. But his
pallor was not greater than that of the
bride, who might have been carved in
ivory = dress, vail, orange blossoms
and all.
As they passed out the ringers stop
ped-there were six of themSand then,
on the ears expecting the CAV wedding
peal, came the slow tolling of the pass
ing bell.
A thrill of horror at so foolish Jest
from the ringers passed through us all.
But the ringers themselves dropped the
ropes and fled like rabbits down the
and grey shadows came about her
mouth. but the bridegroom led her on
down the path where the people stood
with the handfuls of rice; but the hand
fuls were never thrown, and the we'd
ding bells never rang.
Then the tongues were loosed. A
babel of anger, wonder, conjecture
from the guests and the spectators
IF I'd seen his condition, sir,n said
old Forster to me as we drove off, Il
would have stretched him on the floor
of the church, sir, by heaven l would,
before I'd have let him marry my
daughterr'
Then he put his head out of the win
dow.
Drive like fury" he cried to the
coachman; don't spare the horses"
We stood in the hall doorway. in the
blazing afternoon sun, and in about
half minute we heard wheels crunch
ing the gravel. When the carriage
stopped in front of the steps old For.
ster and ran down.
'Great heavens, the carriage is
empty! And yet"
had the door open in a minute, and
this is what I saw:
No sign of John Charrington; and o.
May, his wife. only huddled heap o.
white satin lying half on the floor Of
the carriage and half on the seat.
81 drove straight here, sir, said the
coachman, as the brides father lifted
her out, land I'll swear no one got out
of the carriage"
We carried her into the house. As
we stood, her father and I, half mad
with horror and the mystery of it, a
boy came up the avenuc-a telegraph
boy. They brought the orange en-.
velope to me. tore it open.
Mr.. Charrington was thrown from
his horse on his way 10 the station al
1870. Killed on the spot!"
And he was married to May Forster
in our parish church at $3.50, in pres.
ence of half the parish.
Il shall be married, dead or aliver
Before sweek was over they laic
her beside her husband in our little
churchyard on the thyme-covered hill
the churchyard where they had KEEP
their love trysts. Temple Bar.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
A REMlNlscENcE.
How Prohibited Article of Diet Was
Admitted to the Table.

An atlantic Monthly of twenty years
ago gives an experience belonging to
a time when enthusiastic dreamers
made wild experiments of Giving near
nature" and tried to gain sweetness
and serenity through earning their
own own bread by manual labor.
In one such community, each person
did a certain amount of house or farm
work. and all confined themselves
rigidly to vegetable food.
One of the number, however. a
somewhat irreverent and skeptical lad,
not approving of the prohibition of
salt, kept small box of it on his
knee during meal times and slyly dip
ped his vegetables therein.
His next neighbor discovered the
secret and quietly shared the concealed
treasure until certain day when. by
some luckless chance the box fell to
the floor.
I'VE hoped" he says that the incl
lent might pass unnoticed. but Abel,
the most rampant of our philosophers,
stretched his long neck across the
corner of the table and caught a
glimpse of what was going on.
What's that?" he asked.
"Oh, it's only-only chloride of
sodium gasped l, recklessly, giving
the chemical name of common salt.
Chloride of sodium? What do you
do with it?'
'"Eat it with onions l answered
boldly. ''It's a chemical substance.
but | believe it's found in some plants
Here one member of the party, who
knew something about chemistry, grew
red with suppressed laughter, but the
others were as ignorant as Abel him
self.
"'Let me taste it, said he.
II handed him the box-lid. which
still contained portion of the con-
tents. He dipped an onion in it. bit
off piece, and chewed it gravely.
"'Why.' said he, turning to me, it's
very much like salt!'
perkins. the boy. burst into splut-
tering yell, and the others. catching
the joke, hilariously joined him.
But while we were laughing Abel
| finished his onion, and the result was
that salt was added to the True Food.
and thereafter appeared regularly on
| the table,
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
GREAT VICTORIA FALLS.
Much Higher Than Niagara and Nearly
as Great a Volume of Water.

When we come to the Victoria Falls
on the Zambesi we arrive at one of the
most remarkable sights which any
river in the world haste show, says H.
M. Johnstone in African Explora-
tions.;' The broad Zambesi, flowing
nearly due south and 1, 900 yards wide,
is cleft by chasm-a crack in it's bed
running athwart its course. The
whole river plunges precipitously down
this chasm about $50 feet, or, counting
the depth of the water, say 400 feet.
The entire volume of water rolls clear
over quite unbroken, but after a
descent of 400 feet the CLASSY cascade
becomes a seething, bubbling, boiling
froth, from which spring upward high
into the air immense columns of steam
like spray.
On the extreme edge, on the very
lip of the chasm, there are four or five
raised Jumps of rock which have be-
come islands densely covered with
there is first fall of thirty-six yards
in breadth and of couEsa-nniform in
depth of descent to the rest of the riv-
er. The Boaruka, small island, in
tervenes, and there is only thin veil
VI WdLOA NOoOOANAnS OfOA AAO AONh III
front of it.
Next comes a great fall with a
breadth of 573 yards; projecting rock
separates this from second great fall
of 325 yards broad, further east stands
Garden Island; then comes a good deal
of the bare rock of the river-bed, uncov-
cred by descent of water, and beyond
that score of narrow falls, which at
the time of flood constitute one enor-
nous cascade of nearly half mile in
breadth. Those falls, however, which
are between the islands are the finest
and there is little apparent difference
in their volume at any period in the
year.
After the Zambesi has descended in
to the gulf. which is. nearly twice the
depth of Niagara, its wonder does not
cease. Garden Island. almost in the
center OF the falls. divides the cascade
into two main branches at the bottom
of the gulf, which flow round vapor-
hidden mass of rock. and reuniting in
a boiling whirlpool find an outlet
nearly at right angles to the fssure of
the falls. This outlet is nearer to the
eastern end of the chasm than to its
western extremity, and is no more
than thirty yards wide.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
The Missing Link.

Anatomists classify animals by their
teeth more accurately than in any
other way. and the jaws of the small
lemur, which connects the anthropoid
apes, like the chimpanzee and gorilla,
with beasts not so high in the scale of
creation. are provided with dentition
so astonishingly human-like that one
might well imagine the teeth to be act
ually those of miniature man. Molars
and incisors are shaped and placed in
exactly,the same way, and the CANNES,
two in the upper jaw and two in the
lower, correspond perfectly with the
human type. Right here it is worth
mentioning that there has recently
come from Patagonia announcement
of the discovery of monkey of the
tertiary, which was the geological
period before the present. or quater-
nary which is the last needed link be-
tween the lemur just described and
the man-like apes. 1t only remains
now, in order that the chain shall be
complete. to find the link between the
anthropoid apes and man.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
A Born Financier.

When the great Calumet copper
mine was first opened in the wilder
ness of Michigan the miners struck for
higher wages and the company
promptly granted the increase de-
manded. One of the eastern stock
holders of the company who was in
Michigan at the time the strike occur
red hurried to the mine in consider
able trepidation and was very much
disturbed when he learned that the
mine-boss had conceded the justice of
the demands of the men and granted
their own scale of wages.
''But will not such wages ruin the
company?" he asked. with some
warmth.
"Oh. no. 1 guess not" replied the
superintendent, as he slowly closed
one eye. Il guess it doesn't make
much difference how much we pay the
miners, SO long as we own the grocery
store.n
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
A Wonderful Mariana Man.

Mariana, Fla, is talking about a
wonderful man in their midst. His
name is Ebenezer Long, and he was
born black, sixty years ago. He is
now perfectly fair, except a few dark
spots that may be discovered by look
ing at him closely. His children are
as dark as he was in his youth, while
his now seems to be one of the whitest
of white skin. When he was about
twenty-eight years old the change be-
gan to appear at one place on his arm,
and thence spread over the body.
Ebenezer is quite healthy and looks
ten years younger than he is" But
Georgia enters claim on him on the
ground that it is his birthplace
Philadelphia Ledger.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
Nature BIeaches Their Hair.

Ladies who want white hair should
go to and live awhile in New Mexico
and Colorado. Why a residence in
either should bleach the hair is mys-
terry. but it does. and many black
haired man who has gone out there to
settle comes back in three or four
years with a poll as white as snow.
Some say it is the altitude. though
what an altitude of 5000 or 5000 feet
has to do with mans hair was mys-
terry. A more reasonable explanation
is the alkali. The alkali dust gets in
to the hair and must be washed out
with the alkali water. and the hair is
thus speedily bleached. Whatever is
the cause, Colorado bleached hair is
the prettiest white that ever grew on
the human head.-T. Louis Globe
Democrat
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
A Notwithstanding Insect.

For the last year mandatory at
Springfield, o., has been seriously en-
dangered by the burrowing of a small
insect into the woodwork. the floors.
joists, frames, and posts. All the
woodwork is full of holes. and the
supporting posts rendered thereby very
weak. The matter has grown so
serious that member of the company
obtained a number of the insects and
sent them to the state etomologist to
be named and to ascertain whether
there is any way of getting rid of them.
Unless this can be done soon the en-
tire woodwork of the manufactory will
have to be torn down and replaced by
new material.
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
roof of Superiority.

1t costs more to make Royal Baking Powder
than any other, because its ingredients are more
highly refined and expensive. But the Royal is
correspondlngly purer and higher in leavening
strength, and OF greater money value to the
consumer Attempts may be made to substitute
other powders for the Royal by the grocer,
because OF the greater profit in them to him
If so send them back
1he chemist OF the Department
the various powders said The Royal superior baking
win regard 10 eaVenlng
The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-02-17
The Figures on Clock DiaIs.

1t has been demonstrated that all
persons ordinarily read clock dial by
the position of the figures and disre-
gard the figures themselves. One of
the best known public dials in Boston
has no mark save straight line at
each of the places usually occupied by
the Roman numerals, and the maker
of the great clock of the London par
lament houses made another great dial
upon which he indicated each hour by
a single straight line