davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
POVERTY In EUROPE.
THE TENEMENT EVIL m ITS
MOST FORBlDDlNG FORM.
rcnements I'm London and New York-The
History OF the Poverty Stricken Districts
OF Naples-A Spot that Constitutes Peril
20 the World.
squaIid Quarters.

To the Four Hundred, whose chief
aim is to kill time as pleasantly as pos
sible, and whose only trouble about
money is that of going to the bank to
get 1t. the problem Of existence for the
great mass of mankind has little inter-
est, says the New York Herald. Even
many who are not of the charmed cir
Gle that constitutes society" but who
live in comparative comfort, pass their
lives in ignorance Of the fierce and I'M
ceasing struggle waged among that
class Of breadwinners who are forced
to rely on strength without skill for
their daily sustenance.
Even at it's best, tenement life has
few attractions and many features
that render 1t disagreeable, IL not re-
pulsive. A room in a great tenement
building is in no sense of the word a
substitute for home. The jewellers in
tenements have a shelter, but no home.
That magic word arouses no sentiment
among the inhabitants of tenement.
To them the word home means a crowd
ed room in which all necessary work
Of the household is carried on, where
the cooking and eating and sleeping
and housework are all done; a room
where the smell of stale food and OF
soapsuds is ever present; where In viii
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

worse, for the engineering was bad
the fall insufficient, and every high
tide carried back into the sewers the
refuse that could not find an exit.
Cholera became more frequent and
deadly. Naples became plague spot
for Italy and center Of interest to all
Europe as being the place whence dis
ease was scattered broadcast. The
neglected pauper Of the city on the
beautiful bay was having his revenge.
Society had ignored him, but the dis
eases he bred could work destruction
to society. In despair, the Italian Gov
eminent finally determined to clear
out the heart of Naples, to pull down
the tenements and replace them with
healthy houses.
With more zeal than discretion the
work was begun, but it succeeded only
in shifting the evil, for the wretched
population had to be evicted in order
to tear down the buildings in which
they lived. All sorts of refugees were
taken advantage of by the poor Great
ures thus unceremoniouly thrust out.
Grottoes which had formerly been
used as wine cellars, catacombs, caves,
any and every place where human
being could find shelter, were utilized.
In one cave two hundred people took
refuge and paid rent. The cholera
broke out among them and carried off
nearly every inmate. In the cata-
combs 500 or GOO found room with the
dead of 1900 years ago, and most were
soon numbered with them. The pesti-
lence at last claimed those who slept in
the cellars, along the quays.
A worse state of things ensued. The
houses erected proved too expensive;
the people for whom they were intend
ed could not pay the rents demanded,
the buildings were taken up by people
of more means, and the hordes of the
tenements were driven to lower
depths. Thus the matter now stands,
the Government having done all it can,
and the condition of the tenement pop
ulatiOn not being in the least improved
These are the people from whom the
lowest orders of tenement dwellers in
this country are recruited. They are
uOL CIluluiiS, ultuOuSH CIilulliiS arc
sometimes of their number; they are
simply unfortunates whom ages of
misery have removed almost beyond
the reach of a helping hand. They are
to be pitied rather than blamed, for in
their native land the conditions are all
against them. 1t is stated that nearly
one-half the population Of Naples is
without regular means Of subsistence,
and no mortal can ever conjecture
how much often Intellectual striving
against starvation is expressed in that
statement
That tenement life should be found
in this country is not strange, when
the promiscuous immigration from the
south and east central districts of Eu-
rope is remembered, but that it will
ever assume the repulsive phases that
characterize 1t in Naples and other
Mediterranean cities is not easy to be-
lieve. The nature of our institutions
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
THE TENEMENT DISTRICT OF NAPLES.

middle classes, while rapid transit in
the way and to the extent known in
this country does not exist. The la
borer is compelled to live within walk
ing distance Of his employment, and
hence the tenements of London and
other large cities Of Great Britain are
full, and must remain so for long
time to come.
1t Is not, however, in Great Britain,
nor yet in France or Germany, where
one must look for the worst features Of
the tenement. The tenement districts
of New York, London or Paris are so
far superior to those of the Italian cit
les as to be quite endurable by compar-
ison, and of all the cities of Italy not
one is so bad in this respect as Naples.
For a whole generation Naples has
been regarded as the home of the typi-
cal tenement Until few years ago
the tenement districts of Naples were
believed to contain more poverty and
| misery to the acre than any other Sec
| ton of the earth's surface. The tene-
ments were all built on low ground,
only q few feet above the level Of the
| sea, and a southeast wind often
brought the waters of the bay into the
! streets and cellars. Most of the land
was made ground" that is, it was
composed Of the refuse of ages upon
ages, the filth of centuries being grad
ually accumulated and with each gen.
| GRAFTON pushed little further into the
bay, so that underneath the founda-
/ tons of the houses lay a solid mass of
disease. The houses that were built
| in the district were worthy of the soil.
When they were put up even tradition
does not state, but not few were
known to date. from the fifteenth cent
ury, at a time when sanitary building
was no more understood than the fu-
ture Of electricity. Scores, and in
some cases hundreds, of years of con-
slant habitation rendered them indie
scribably foul, while the determina-
ton of their owners to get the last
| possible penny out Of them with no
expenditure for repairs left them in q
| condition unfit for the use Of domestic
| animals. Rooms, passages, porches,
cellars, all were crowded to excess,
L III,
which, during the summer season,
found no inconvenience from an OPEN
air residence. Nothing could exceed
the squalor of these Neapolitan tene-
ments. At one time five thousand per-
sons were known to inhabit district
hardly equal in size to one of our city
blocks. In such dense masses of popu-
lation disease and vice ran riot The
yards and streets were filed with chill
dren knowing no parental ties, having
no home. The water used for drinking
and for household purposes was OBJ
tanned from cisterns which were filed
from roof and street or from wells
into which the sewage of whole
neighborhood slowly but surely fl
tered. Time after time did cholera
ravage the whole tenement district
carrying of its victims by thousands,
while typhoid. typhus and other malig-
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
Difficulties of Cooking.

In African encampments the ques.
ton of food Is burning one. How to
obtain provisions, how to cook them
when procured-these are problems Of
absorbing interest in a pioneer camp.
The author of Adventures in Mashon-
aland" says that it is curious and inter-
esting to watch the process of victual-
ling new country. The trader throws
the most eccentric provisions on the
market. AT one time, the author says,
nothing but timed lobster could be
purchased at their settlement; and at
another time the whole Of Manica
breakfasted, dined and supped on foie-
gras.
Our cooking utensils consisted of a
three-legged pot and frying pan.
How were we to create dinner? We
boiled the Ox-fiesh In the three-leggcd
pot, whence 1t issued in the condition
Of shoe-leather. Mixing the meal with
water, we made the most horrible half
cooked flat-cakes by heating the dough
on hot stones. There was neither bak-
ing powder nor yeast in the country.
One day we received a present of ven-
ison, shot by Mr.. Teal. Now had
from time TO time saved up small
quantity of sardine oil, believing my
self to be famous housekeeper. In a
moment Of vain self-confidence / un-
dertook the dinner that night, and we
invited Mr.. Campion to come and eit
venison steaks.
l fried those steaks in my sardine
oil, and served them proudly. They
positively looked like real steaks. such
as people would eat Mt home But,
alas! scarcely had two mouthfuls been
eaten when every one fed from the
table, and my wonderful dinner was
abandoned to the little native who
waited on us. He certainly enjoyed it
immensely, so that even that i'll wind
blew somebody good; but it was unan-
imousiy decided that henceforth was
never to be trusted with the prepare.
ton of meals.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

In the earliest times Of purchase, q
woman was bartered for useful goods,
or for services rendered to her father.
In this latter way Jacob purchased
Rachel and her sister Leah. The price
of bride in British Columbia and Van
couver Island varies from twenty to
fifty pounds worth Of articles. In
Oregon, an Indian gives for her. horses,
or buffalo robes; in California, she'll
money or horses; in Africa, cattle.
A poor Damara will sell a daughter
for COW; a richer Kaffir expects from
three to thirty. With the Banyai, II
nothing be given, her family claim her
children. In Uganda, where no mar
riage recently existed, she may be OBJ
tanned for half dozen needles, or a
coat, or pair of shoes. An ordinary
price is box of percussion caps. In
other parts, goat or couple of buck
skins will buy girl.
Passing to Asia, we find her price Is
sometimes five to fifteen roubles, or ut
others a carload of wood or hay. A
princess may be purchased for three
thousand roubles. In Tartary, wom-
an can be purchased for a few pounds
of butter, or where a rich man
gives twenty small oxen, poor man
may succeed with n pig. In Fiji her
equivalent is whales tooth or a mus
ket.
These, and similar prices elsewhere,
are eloquent testimony to the little
value savage sets on his wife. Her
charms vanish with her girlhood. She
is usually married while a child, and
through her cruel slavery and bitter
life, she often becomes old and repul-
sive at twenty-five.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

don 0f the ROW; 3 cnooD .co(ln Il a.
ried out, and he troubles of oto teno-
ment ,dWeller are q an end.
Much has been written Qf the tene-
ments OF New York. but q 'ehould be
fully UNDERWOOD that the tepement
there. - elsewhere on the Western
continent IL the home OF the poorest
class OF non English forefgnefx. who
have impaired to this county the man.
ner and habits Of life with which they
are most familiar In their native
lands. Germans are seldom found In
these quarters. There Is q strong love
of the home imbued In the Teutonic
character, and no sooner does Ger
man come to this country than he ut
once strains every nerve to pay for
house. How he lives he does not seem
to care until the house Is paid for; that
Is the main point, and until that has
been accomplished he never feels easy.
The tenement Is no place for him. Bnt
to the lowest classes OF Russian, Po-
lish, Bohemian and Italian laborers the
tenement is a natural place Of abode.
1t represents as much comfort as most
of them have been accustomed to all
their lives; its squalor and dirt and
noise have no terrors for them, for In
some respects the tenement of this
country is a marked Improvement over
the tenement Of Europe.
The Investigations made by commit
tees of Parliament have resulted, Ill
rectly or indirectly, In a very decided
Improvement In the condition of the
tenement districts Of London. better
houses being provided ut rentals not
much in excess of what were formerly
demanded, but there Is still room for
Improvement 1t may seem strange
to many that East London should be
so congested, but 1t should not be for
gotten that in countries like England
there is absolutely no opportunity for
the poor to purchase home. In most
American cities property in the sub
urbs is comparatively cheap, and rapid
transit enables a man to live miles
from his work, but not so in England.
The cheapest suburban property is far
above the means Of even many of the
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
GA Soldiers in Califo mia.

California is becoming favorite
abiding place for many whose names
are coupled with the war history Of
the country; that IS, those who were
once on the active list of the army.
San Diego has military colony, and
the family OF the late General Grant
have recently purchased houses there.
Among the residents are General Ell
H. Murray, Ex-Governor of Utah:
General Ducat, who was chief OF
staff to General Rosecrans, and Major
Moylan, retired officer OF the Sew
enth Cavalry. Among other retired
officers living there are Colonel Hor-
ton, Captains Henry Sweeney and w.
II. Maine. Among the active OH
GERS who have family homes there
are Lieutenant Colonies f. II. Kel
logg and j. w. Barlow, Captain w.
Il. Duggan and Lieutenants Shallen-
berger, Gaillard and Settle. Red
lands, at the foothills of the San
Bcrpardino Mountains, is becoming
another favorite locality for army
officers.
THE worlds h rocs are sometimes
- III lxs.. a.. 81.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
Some Brief Items About Animals

Some Brief Items About Animals.
An Anderson woman has a curiosity.
Her pet cat has adopted nine little
The chicks follow the feline around
and will have nothing to do with the
old hen
Samuel Ansing, of Lower Alloway
Greek, N. J., finding his mich cows
striking mysteriously in their milk,
set a watch on them and soon found
that two Of his shoats that had access
to the cattle yard were taking on fat
rapidly by sucking the cows.
A woodcock with a broken wing
fluttered into the house of Farmer
Isaac Bolger, near Cape May, N. J.,
and hid In cupboard. Its pinion was
set by the village doctor, and Mr.. Doc
die Bird has become so tame that he
will let the young Bolgers stroke his
plumage.
In Jacksonville n saurian, said to
have been eighteen feet long" made
his appearance at the stern of the
steamship Iroquois and attracted con-
siderable attention. He was a monster.
While some one hurried away for a
gun one Of the longshoremen began
chunking the gator. This seemed to
anger the gator, and the result was a
portion of the rudder was bitten off.
For ten summers land tortoise has
lived In Robert Nj. Doolittle's garden.
near Jamaica, L. I. In winter he sleeps
in the cellar. He is singularly fearful
Of rain. The moment the drops begin
to fall he waddles as fast as he can to
the shelter Of the porch, where he stops
till the shower Is over. If little water
Is dropped on his cover the tortoise
scuttles away to cover. Though often
tricked In this fashion, he never grows
wiser.
For some time the steamer Elliott.
running between Boston and Char
lottestown, Prince Edward Island, has
been leaking considerably, and exam
nation disclosed what appeared to be
a bolt projecting from the Elliott's side
just below the water line. A further
examination showed that swordfish
had imbedded its sword nine inches
into the ships side. The force Of the
stab had driven the sword through five
inches of solid spruce and three Of solid
birch. The Elliott was built only last
year, and her timbers are very solid.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

cause he was bound to have ''pneu-
matics," anyway. The cranks are in
two pieces. The backbone is as thick
as an arm. 1t was hewn out of a
small tree. The entire machine is Of
wood, fastened together with nails and
screws, with the exception of two
hinges that hold the backbone to the
front frame and handle-post. AL
though unreliable, the builder managed
to start the thing at the top of hill
and get to the bottom, pushing it up
and repeating the performance.
1t was while indulging in this amuse-
ment that the cycler was seen by e. J..
Day, of New York. He made the negro
happy by purchasing it for sum suffi-
cient to buy good wheel, and took his
find to New York, where he placed it
among his curios.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
JERSEY NEGROES BIKE.

1t Has All Modern improvements. Includ-
ing Pneumatic Tires.
The man who made this wheel was
an ingenious darkey who lives at Ell
boron, N. J. He got the bicycle craze
and got 1t so bad that the lack Of
money to buy one only whetted his
ambition. He had jack-knife, a
draw-knife and a Ratchet, and there
were plenty Of trees, boards and bar.
relheads around Elberon. With these
primitive materials he constructed this
queer vehicle, says the New York Re-
corder. The wheels are made from
heads of a barrel, the larger front
driver being two inches thick. Both
have rubber tires, he having taken old
hose and nailed it on the edges, be-,
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

ter the atmosphere is close and steamy;
where in summer, whatever the tenn
perature outside, that within is always
8 to 10 degrees higher from the added
heat of the stove on which cooking and
washing are done. 1t means an APP
proach through dark hall, where chill
dren in all stages of squalor tumble
over each other on the floor; 1t means
narrow and rickety stairs, porches fes-
TONED with clothes-lines and orna-
mented with garments Tapping in the
wind. 1t means 100 and perhaps 1000
human beings under one roof. 1t
quarels that have an origin no one
knows how and that never end. Too
often 1t means drunkenness and vice.
Sometimes it means deadly assaults
and murder, and the police and the
court and the jail.
Tenement life in America, and par
ticularly in the West, is, however, an
exotic. There are tenements in st.
Louis, but they are not, as a general
thing, inhabited by Americans, nor do
the better classes OF foreign people
find an abode in the quarters where
many families live under the same
roof. AS general thing, these hives
of humanity are given up to foreign
ers whose lack of education and ig-
norance Of the language prevent them
from obtaining any but the most Sc
we're description of manual labor. They
are not criminals, though it is unfor-
tunately true that a very narrow line
of demarkation sometimes separates
the tenement population from that of
the slums. They are Woodworking
men and women, but lack the faculty
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

bNuVtSs uHu, bcclIIE
that the evidence against him was over
whelmingly strong, he confessed. 1t
may well be asked, If those in RESPONSE
BILE positions engage In slave trading,
who can be depended on to suppress
or endeavor to suppress the horrid traf-
fic In human lives?
The man who ran Cherif's villainy to
earth is Col. Schaefer. director gen.
eral Of the Slave Trade Bureau. Since
1882 he has been at the head Of this
department and maintains a force Of
400 mounted men, whose object is to
intercept slave caravans coming from
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

The ten largest cities in the world
are London, Paris, New York, Ber-
lin, Chicago, Vienna, Philadelphia,
ST. Petersburg, Brooklyn and Con-
stantinople. The ten largest In this
country are New York, Chicago, Phil
adelphia, Brooklyn, st. Louis, Bos.
ton, Baltimore, San Francisco, Gin.
cinnati and Cleveland.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
Sufficient Excuse.

An exchange remarks of John Quincy
Adams, recently deceased, that he was
very fond of fishing, and not especially
fond of his legal profession.
One day case in which he was coun-
sci was down for trial in Boston
court. Mr.. Adams did not make his ap-
pearance, but sent a letter to the judge.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
How lie Felt.

w. S. Gilbert was lunching, not
long ago, at country hotel, when he
found himself In company with three
cycling clcrgymen, by whom he was
drawn into conversation. When they
discovered who he was. one of the
party asked Mr. Gilbert show he fell
in such grave and reverend com
pany." 81 feel" said Mr.. Gilbert,
like lion In den of Daniels
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

toward the Red ALI PAsHA CHERIr
Sea the Slave Trade Bureau has pa
trolls, but watchful as are the mounted
men the willy Arab slave dealers often
elude them and land thousands Of cap
tives yearly to be disposed Of in the
markets.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

That worthy gentleman read it. and
then postponed the case with the an
nouncement:
"Mr. Adams is detained on important
business"
The note read as follows:
Dear Judge: For the sake Of old
Isaak Walton, please continue my case
until Friday. The smelts are biting,
and can't leave"
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

the length Of the circuit, which took an
hour to traverse, was over a mile and
a half. The labyrinth of St Owen was
formed of blue and yellow tiles and
measured three-quarters Of a mile.
That of Saint Quentin was taken away
in 1892, because children playing the
game Of "Who can get into it the quick
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

the interior Of the
coast. During his
Office he has lib
Grated $1,000
slaves from ha-
rsms beside large
rHm bers who
were in the hands
Of dealers await
ing a ready mar
ket. All through
the interior and
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

est?" disturbed the worshipers. Why
the children were not taken away in
stead Of the labyrinth history doth not
say. The labyrinth of Bayeux is Of
black squares bearing yellow griffins,
roses and armorial bearings, which
make it a great rarity.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29


horrible traffic. A
case has just been
tried In Cairo
which reveals a
melancholy state OF
affairs. The presi-
dent Of the Egyp-
,tian Legislative
Council, Ali Pasha
Cherif, was accus-
ed of purchasing
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

A New York syndicate has been
formed for the purpose of buying an
island of the coast of Maine. stock
ing 1t with black foxes and engaging
in the fur trade.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

of getting along" and no matter how
steadily and arduously they toll, they
find themselves always co,Aonted
with the same problem-that of pro-
viding food and clothing and of paying
the rent. Never for an hour does the
battle cease until some day the under
takers wagon backs mp at the front
entrance amid the assembled popula-
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

A large whale washed ashore on
the coast of Labrador on Aug. IL had
a long anchor chain wrapped three
times around his body. The anchor,
which was still attached to the chain,
weighed nearly half ton.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29
why Il Goes zigzag.

Lightning travels in zigzag course
because 1t passes through different
strata OF air, and, being restrained In
Its passage, turns FROM side to side to
lind the easiest path.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

maze upon their knees in memory Of
the journey Of Christ from Jerusalem
to Calvary. Accompanying are illustra-
lions of four Of these curious pieces Of
work. That Of the Cathedral Of Sens
is Of circular form and incased in lead.
1t measured sixty-six feet across, and
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

Hersibls Trane IN HunAn Lives Carried
On II Egypt.
Slave trading IL still being carried
on In Egypt despite the endeavors of
the British authorities to suppress the
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

A. sonnsnlsaaisns ~ NJ papse sho~11 - ssonn
panisd b IL nAns q We an<hof; ~ noo.nz1g -
publiostion but - svdsaos a 90 iah q ~ ~
- ~ writsr Write only On uds q ~ pspse y
paskoulax ear~u. n giving names and datss. = havs
Ne isstsn and ngurss plain and diatinot
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-29

care Of health boards, the danger that
any city Of this continent will ever be-
come an American Naples must be
considered very slight.