davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
Two Great Post Offices.

Very few persons understand the
actual relation which the New York
post office bears to the postal service
of the country. As many as do. how
ever. hav" heard with great satiSfac-
ton the result of the conference held
between Postmaster Dayton and Post
ma$tcrA;rncral BiSSell in Washington.
whercat assurances We're given that
the bill providing for an increase of
pay for the letter carriers. and the
Sn.Om appropriation for the improve
ment of the New York post office,
would pass the Senate.
For several years the Post Office
Department has been protesting
against the inferior accommodations
Of the New York and Chicrgo offices,
which are Governments chief money
makers. Both buildings are owned
by the Federal Government. and both
are conducted not from their liberal
postal revenues. but by appropriation
made by Congress.
The New York | It office. in Use
since 1879: is on land ccdrl by New
York to the Federal Government The
receipts of the New York office in Il
Guiding $1,000 to the Postmaster and
tailed items. are S2..IHHW. leaving Il
net profit to the Government from its
operation of S4.50O.uo0. The receipts
of the Chicago office are S4.nOO.0o0 Il
year. and the expenses Cnclud:ng ST.
600 for PoStmas ster Wash IIrSing, are
81 .lW0OO. leaving IL nrt profit to the
Government of S2.IO.ODO: so that
New York and Chicago together net
S7.OOOOOO
Just what this means is best I'M lrr-
stood when 1t is known that r,le ac-
tunl deficiency in the postal revenues.
exclusive of the business of these two
cities. is S14WD0.00o a year. and that
very large majority of the 70H:n
post offices in the United States lah'nt
96 per cent of the whol" numbcr' are
run at Il loss. withStandn- this.
New York and Chicago have until now
been unable to obtain fair treatment
from Congress- and though a> Il re-
suit of Mr.. Dayton's mission. ana th"
efforts of several of New York :
Democratic Congressman. some relief
seems to be at hand for the metropolis.
Chicago ii appears. is to be less for
tunatr. and is complainin" II great
deal in conscqucnce.-Ncw York Sun.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
>hakeSpeare's Wild Animals

Shakespeare makes use of no fewer
than twenty species Of British wild
animals. OF these. the badger. the
otter. and the water rat are once each
employed by name merely as terms of
abuse: the polccat and hedgehog are
also terms of abuse. but are SO far
''dcScribcd" as to be called rcSpcc-
lively "stinking' and "thorny' the
dormousc and ferret are each used
once as adiectiveS for sleepy" and
''fcrcc;" the shrew gives its name to
a play. but is never mentioned as an
animal; the mole is mentioned twice
as being blind" the wildcat once as
sleeping by day." the coney as
''Struggling in the net" and dwelling
where she is kindlcd:" the squirrel as
''rhc fairies coachmakcr;" and as hav-
ing already boarded that years nuts
ON May Day.
The rat and the mouse (being only
the NJ. domcSticus). required no "oln
srrvation' by the poet. So that the
above represents the total of Shakes
pcarr'> natural history with regard
to all but six of his British quadru-
pedS. The poets only "originaI' re-
frrcnccS to the weasel are hlSunders.
The bat is mentions1sa- thEee times as
an actual anma1-once wrongly. as
Il migrant, like the swallow. pursuing
summer: once. fancifully. as the ''rcre-
mouse" out of whose ''leathcrn'' wings
Titania'S elves made their coats: and
once finely. ''ere the bat hath flown
his cloiStcrcd flight" as fixing the hour
of Duncan's murder.
The fox. of course. affords ,.llcSs
opportunities for metaphor and Simile,
and Shakespcarc'S description of it.
as the fox of fable and tradition could
not be surpassed Not being beast
of the chase. it meets with no SYM
pathy from the poet. Though inno-
cent. "lct him die. in that he is Il fox,
by nature proved an enemy to the
flock" and again. "a fox. when one
has caught her. should sure to the
Slaughtcr:;" while his natural history
of the animal is confined to folklore.
saws and proverbs. such as ''The fox
barkS not when he would steal"
when the fox hath once got in his
head. he'll soon find means to make
his body follow. '''ro wake a wolf
is as bad as to smell Il fox" There
is not even single epithet in ell his
references to the fox that assures us
that Shakespeare ever noticed one at
largc.-The Quarterly Review.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
The IL nlurk;ble Action of II Crater in the
Island of Sumatra.


There are many MUD volcanoes scat
tered throughout the world. but there
are few whose action is So regular and
so characteristic as that of ID, -npo. i'll
the island of Sumatra. This marvel
nuS volcano. about 10000 feet III
height was visited recently by Il cor
respondent who thus describes it: A!l
was quiet and placid and | sat down
awhile to take in the details of Il seen,
50 novel; a vast circular basin half ::
mile in diameter, with rocky sides OF
sheer prccipiccS. displayin" AT pL!rrS
horizontal strata. and al The b. ttum
of this another smaller basin. some 300
feet in diameter. filled to VII lin ab MT
thirty or forty feet of its RIM with Il
smoking substance. like b,lrniShcd sill
ver reflected the blue sky AMI every
passing cloud.
We had sat thus for perhaps ten or
twelve minutes VIII lat
the centre of the white basin had be-
come intensely black. and was scored
with dark strelks. This area grldu-
ally increased. BY steady scrutiny
with my glass. for it wa% difficult To
make out what was silently and slow
ly taking place. | at last discovered
that the blacknesS marked the sides of
a chasm that had formed in-what
now perceived the white FURNISHED
mirror to be-a lage of Scrthng mad.
The blackncSS increased. The lake
was being engulfcd. 4 few minutes
later dull. sullen roar was heard
and l had just time to conjecture
within myself whence it proceeded
when the whole lake hcavcd and roSc
in the air for some hundreds of feet.
not as If violently elected. but with Il
calm, ma jcStic uphcaval. and then fell
back on itself with an awrSomc roar
which rcvcrbcrated round and round
the vast caldron and echoed from
rocky wall to rocky wall like the surge
of an angry sea: and the immrnS"
volume of steam let loose from its
prison house diSsipated itself into the
air.
The wave circles died away on the
margin of the lake. which resumed it's
FURNISHED face and again reflected the
blue sky: and silence rrigncd again
until the geySer had gathered force
for another expiration.
Thus all day long the lake was
swallowed up and vomitrd forth once
IN every fifteen or twenty minutes.
That it was not always SO quiet even
as now the stones on the Sawah and
the Scoriae on the sides of the cone
bore witness. Once in about every
three years. The natives told me. rhe
crops of coffee. bananas and rice We're
quite destroyed by sulphur rain"
which covered everything for miles
round the cratcr.-Chicago Daily Tri-
bunc.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

The Paris police are shrcwd fellows
psychologists in their own small
way. They know the precise moment
of stupOr which follows the surprises
If sudden arrest. They never sum
mon Il man to yield. They begin with
the running cord. Practical mechan-
cS make them willing to give as much
freedom rs there may be to the pris-
nner'S limbs. If he is bound in one
limb. he is as securely their prisoner
rs though they had tied him hand and
foot.
So far has this knowledge been put
n practice. says one of the Paris
lailicS. that when an arrest has to be
mad" rytempore, and the policemen
,re without their usual Instruments.
they calmly cut all the buttons from
The mans trousers. and. graspin% him
Nv each arm start him briSkly toward
The station house. His hands. mean
while. are too fully occupied with
keeping his trousers from falling
about his legs and tripping him to
the ground to allow of his attempting
TO escape.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
A Fish browns an Eagle.

At the mouth of Octoraro creek,
four miles above Fort Deposit. is il
bed of gravel, where Shad. rock and
herring go to spawn. In the spring
and early summer large schools of fish
go to this locality, and bald and gray
eagles flock to the vicinity for the pur
pose of preying upon them. The water
ON the Cecil county side is about ten
feet deep. and being clear the fish are
readily seen by their winged enemies.
A gray eagle saw a rock fish in the
water and pounced upon him. sinking
his talons deep into the sides of the
fish. When the bird attempted to rise
he found the load more than he could
carry. He could not release his hold,
either. Finally, he was dragged under
the water and drowned. The current
carried the eagle and the fish into a
fish pot. where the bodies We're found,
with the hold of the eagle unrelaXcd
The fish weighed sixteen pounds and
the bird measured six feet from tip
to tip of the wing.-Baltimore Sun.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
An Aquatic Cat.

A Portland woman boasts of Il c:s
with propensity for playing in the
water and tells how it buthrrS her
when she is washing dishes. by trying
to get into rhc pan. The other day.
after repeatedly driving the animal
from the sink, it climbed up and bal
anccd itself on the two faucets. close
together. and amused itself by bat
ting with its paw the rapidly issuing
stream. 1t frequently drinks direct
from the faucet. plungng its nose into
the current regardless of its force. and
has often jumped into the bathtub
when it was half full of water. SO
far from fearing the contact of water,
rs cats universally do, this unique
Portland pussy fairly revcls in it,
Lewiston Evening Journal.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

II met an interesting man out in
Chicago II couple of months ago" said
Henry Fry, travelling man. Ills
name was Cameron and he had just
returned from the South African gold
and diamond fields. He said there
were enough diamonds in that coun-
try to stock four or five worlds with
buttons almost, but that the mines
are in control of great syndicate. of
which Sir Cecil Rhodes is the head.
Cameron said that when he was
shown through the company's eStab-
lishmcnt he saw thousands of buckets
filled with diamonds, but the combn-
alton controlling them keeps track of
the market and when prices are good
Il certain quantity of the gems are
taken to London. care being always
taken not to send enough to glut the
market. Any man caught trying to
smuggle a diamond out of the country
is given seven years at hard labor. so
it is Il dangerous business"
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
The WRONG BAIT.
How Judge Bibb Tried to Catch a Mess
of Fish.


Years ago Judge Bibb was one of
Washington's best-known celebrities
and "a gentleman of the old school.
lie was Il famous fisherman. aud so
much devoted to angling that he was
regarded by our Juvenile fishermen as
a perfect walking tor boatingI edition
of Izaak Walton.
ION fine spring morning. about
TWO years since. | started. in com
pany with Il party of friends. for the
Little Falls of the Potomac. We We're
prospecting the chances of rock-iiSh.
better known in your latitude as
striped bass 1t was quite early in
the season, but not too early for Judge
Bibb. He had arrived Ion" before us,
and sat upon Il ledge of rock. rod in
lrand-thc very picture of sentinel pa
ticnce unrelieved Hailing him from
a distance. | asked. with the natural
instinct of tiShcrman:
"What luck, judge?
Luck. sir? worst luck in the world,
sir: been fishing here for four hours,
and haven't had nibblc!'
"'What bait are you uSing:'
"'Captal bait; live frog. sir
81 vcntured to suggest. mildly, that
capital bait whercupon the judge
burst forth:
"'Don't tell me. sir. you cant teach
me anything. sir. Don't know: Best
bait in the world. sir: only the luck;
awful luck! four hours without Il nib
blcr
by this time we had reached the
judges position. and while preparing
- Ia hf hfh I.l
observed Il frog sitting on the bank.
within a few feet of the judge. Said
he:
Judge. let me catch a fresh bait
for you. | see frog on the bank
close beside YOU
''Thank you. sir: | wish you would
catch rhat frog. sir. It's been staring
me in the face all the morning. | be-
lirvc it knows that | have one Of its
family on my hook. IIa. ha. ha!
Catch it. sir; by all means. catch it,
Mr.. D. shortened his rod. and,
cautiously striking with the sharp
end. pinned the frog through one Of
its hinder legs. Just then. as Mr..
D. waS lifting aloft his prize tho
judge began winding up his reel, and
uttered Il joyous cry:
"'Hold still. sir! Keep quiet. I've
got Il bite"
'Rapdly wound the reel. rapidly
came in the Slackcning line. till the
last few yards of it tioatrd upon the
surface of the stream; and then. with
Il face that BODIED thunder, the judge
turned TO Mr.. D.
"'Why, sir. you've caught my frog"
'And so it was. The frog. with the
impulse of all amphibious animals
when wounded. had made for the
shore: and there it had crouchcd. for
four hours. directly under the judges
nose. and holding his hook out Of
water.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
l-innarms Tells of Il Rebuke Administered
to Lutheran PrpIates.

In letter to EloiuS. Linnaeus tells
>: the rcbukc given to science by one
OF the great Lutheran prclatcS of
Sweden. Bishop Svcdbcrg. From vari-
cuS parts of Europe detailed state
EirniS had been sent to the Royal Ac-
al"lny "f Science that water had been
turned into blood, and wcll-mcaning
CUrirSiaSticS had seen in this an in
d!cati"n of the wrath of God certain
~ against the regions in which these
miracles had occurred and possibly
against thr whole world. A miracle
If this sort appearing in Sweden. Lin
naru$ looked into it carefully and
.ound riIat the rctldcning of the water
WAS caused by dense MASSES of min
nc insects. News of this cXplana ton
having reached the bishop. he took
III" :i"ld against it; he denounced this
scientific discovery as "a Satanic
abyss labySsum SatanocI. and de-
'''arrd "Thc rcddening of the water
is not natural" and "whrn God al
lows such Il miracle to take place
Satan cndcavorS. and so do his I'M
2"dlT. Sclfrcliant. Sclf-Sutticirnt and
worldly tools. to make il signify no
thing" In face of this onslaught Lin
nIruS rctrcatcd; he tells his CORES
i''iIuNh' 1t Is NlllllCult W sly ihN-
thin" in this matter" and shields
himself under the statement 1T is Ger
tanly Il miracle that so many millions
of creatures can be so suddenly pro
pagAtcd.' and ''t shows undoubtedly
til" al[wisc power of the Infinite"
The great naturalist. now grown old
and worn with laborS for science.
could no longer resist the c"ntempor-
AIRY theology: he settled into obrdicncc
|" il. and continued to adhere 10 the
doctrine that all existing species had
been created by the Almighty ''in the
br=innng." and that since "lhe be-
ginning" no new species had appear
rl.-pOpular Science Monthly.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

indians do not take scalps through
cruelty" said Col. f.. X. GrimShaw. a
retired army officer, to Il st. Louis re-
porter. but just as civilized soldiers
fight for and preserve the captured
battlc-tiags of the enemy as trophies
and proofs of prowesS in war. Dur
ing the years l spent on the frontier
was forced to witness many such
Sickening scenes. The scalp is taken
by making a rough circle of slashcs
around the skull, and then tearing off
the broad patch of skin and hair by
main force. 1t Is dreadful opera
tion, who have once seen it. The
scalp is supposed to contain many
magical powers, and is cured with the
greatest care by him who takes it."
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
BURIAL AT SEA.
u >o'bcrS Crew and Passengers and Is
Oppressively SOLEMN.

Oppressively Solemn.
Il can't imagine more oppressive.
" SpItmn ceremony than Il burial ut
Sca. sad Capt. J. A. Denny. to Il st.
Louis reporter. ''It is solemn enough
on land. except when the remains ol
Ac late lamcntcil are being carried
irum Washington in charge of Il Con-
srrSSionLl committee: hut Il burial ut
S"i surpaSScS the ceremony on land
N point of Solcmnity as much as the
awful grandeur of mid-occan SurpaSScS
the mild. soft beauty of Il tranquil
lake. Men OF the sea are not given To
sentimental musings.
The constant mcEacc to life makes
Them reckless and ribald. But when Il
death occurs on board ship the meek
and humble picty which charictcrizrS
both crew and passengers would do
credit to a Quaker congregation. The
great. dcSolatc stretch of water. with
lis III punlainous pillows and its howl
IN" gales seems to invest the presence
If the grim reaper with Il more mcrci-
less character and brings to the minds
of the living Il more realizing ScnS'
of the tcrrorS of death than is frli
on land. with it's houses and rushing
trains and carOlling birds trilling Il
trenoly from every bough along the
line of march from church to grave
yard. You can depend upon it. that
no matter how rough and hardened
the sailor, he takes off his hat and
barcS his head TO the pitilrSS sky
whenever he passes the corpse.
THE feeling of oppression which
extends all over the ship when Il death
occurs is so Overpowcring that for this
very reason. if tor no other. it is ne
rrsSary to get rid of the corpse with
all possible speed. And the getting
rid of it is Il climax to the tragedy
more shocking than anything the man
who has never experienced 1t can inn
aSinc The idea of dropping the cold.
insonSatc mass Of mortal clay into the
limitlcsS. bottomlcSS ocean, to be
"nawed at and nibbled by the greedy
monsters of the deep is horrifying
to the StoutcSt heart. And yet there
is ever present to the captain that hor-
rble realization that it must be done.
and. as everybody shrinks from doing
it, it devolves upon him to do it with
his own hands.
"'rhe body is strapped to bare
board. face up TO the foot of the
board are attached heavy weights.
usually cannon balls. Then this board
is showed out over the bow of the ship
by SomH of the crew. who. after doing
thiS. make haste to Scurry back out
Of sight of the final proceedings. leav-
ing no one there but the captain.
whose duty it is to tip up the board
and let it drop into the sea. feet fore
most. Maybe you think You can sleep
after doing that. If You do. just vol
untecr to perform this service for the
first captain on whose boat you are a
passenger. when death occurs.
| assure you that he will turn the task
over to you: and | also assure you
that you won't get any more sleep for
4 good many nights afterwards
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
Making Capital for Himself.

The New Reporter going to the
telephone and Ostentatiously starting
the neutrality-suspicious.. Central. Let
me have pa. please. "a pauSe.) You
Siddy little thing. No; said twenty
seven. Twenty-sev-h Is that
274? Is Mr. SawgerteeS Dewey in the
office? Will you tell him that Mr.
jefferson McAddster would like to
speak with him? Yes. that's the name,
McAddister. journalist.
The other reporters listen in awe
struck silence.
The New Reporter-Is this really
Mr. Dewey? My name is-ah. you re-
cognize my voice? You remember
perhaps that ! interviewed you yes
tcrday. What's that? Best report?
oh. thank you. You're very kind.
tried to make 1t so. Has anything
turned up in regard to that ease since
noon? Well. sorry TO trouble you. Eh?
Dinner? You're extremely kind. Ar
the Metropole? What! and Il bottle?
(Surging interest in the entire staff
It's awfully kind of you. Well. say
Tuesday. at six. But really. /
City Editor lin everyday vn:ccl-I
have some work here. McAddistcr.
when you are quite through talking to
yourself. That telephone has been
disconnected since the morning.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

The very names of many Of our
fruits at once suggest their rforcign
origin. Corinth was the sponsor of
"currants," and Damascus of dam
sons:" we have borrowed. the word
"gooseberry" from the French "gros-
seille," apricot is derived. from
Arabic, "peach" from thc French or
the Italian, and tomato" from the
Mexican Azctec "tomotel;' while the
word "cauliflower" is almost comical
ly cloce in its derivation from the
Spanish "col-y-fior," cabbage and
6ower.-London Telegraph.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
4 Democratic Princess.

The Radicals need not worry if
Lord Rosehcry marrics Princess
Maud She has always been the most
democratic of princcSScs. A good
many people have heard the story of
her serene announcement that if it
We're not for her grandmother she
should propose to young Rostonian
who used to visit at Marlborough
house. And children in England al
ways delighted in the story of her
running away from her sisters and
their govcrneSs in Hyde park when
She was a child for the avowed pur-
pose of buying oranges and eating
them sitting on a park chair like
other little girls" AS Lady Rose
berry and wife Of the premier of Eng
land. Princess Maud would doubtless
be sufficiently digntied for her posi-
ton. The BritonS who will say they
cant understand what Wales is
thinking of. letting his girl marry the
Scotchman." will at least confess that
here is good deal of Independence
pf foreigners among his children. Like
their aunt. the Princess Louise OF
l.orne. Prince George and Princrsscs
Louise and Maud appear to think
that Il noble BritOn is better mate
than any royal continental. for whom
none OF them carc.-Ncw York Adver
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

\ number OF men Sprang from be-
hind the bushes at Rivcl'hoHd L. l..
ana with drawn revolvcrS demanded
That Farmer Tanning surrender his
vallElhlCS. One man grabbed the team
while IT," others demanded money un-
der penalty of death. Tanning at once
consented. but instead of drawing his
porkmbook he whipped ont a big re-
volver and fired. The highwaymcn
boiled. a little personal bravery goes
IL great ways if combined with pres
cncc Of mind.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

OF the 4,20O kind of flowers growing
in Europe, only 420 are odorifrrouS
Less than one-fifrh of the white kinds
which number 1,194-are fragrant
II of the 951 yellow kinds. 81 of the
S23 red kinds, 81 of the 5oi blue kinds
IL of the 30S violet-blue kinds. and Is
of the 24O kinds with combined colors
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30

Mrs. Jackson Parke-What in the
world is keeping you up so late?
Mr.. Jackson Parke-I am writing an
article for the papers on "How | Kill
ed My First Hog" These literary
chaps with their stories of how they
wrote first books are not going to
have the field all to themselves, not
by jugful." l."-Indianapolis Journal.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
A Little Mixed.

Mrs. Wickwirc-O by -theway. dear,
when does Lillian Russell get back her
throne?
Mr.. Wickwire-You mean Liliuo-
kalani. don't you? - =.
Mrs. Observation-Disclosures l do | have
seen both of their rialhcs In the tja'pers
so much that | get all mixed up.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
Amending "a Quotation.

"It is easier the culatc read, "for
Il needle to 20 through the eye of the
camel He saw the Wears stony
stare fixed on him. and realized that
he was making Il mistake. He hluSl-
ed. coughcd slightly and corrected HIM
self: "It is easier for camel to go
through the knee of anridol.". Then he
went on quite happily.
Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-06-30
Precisely.

Bingo-I tell you, dear, | had to
work hard last night.
Mrs. Bingo-SO | Judged by what
saw in your pocket this morning.
Bingo-What do you mean?
Mrs. BingO-A workman is known
by his chips, isn't he?