davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

the females in her varangi and also over
the boys up to the age Of seven, when they
are qualified to enter a community Of men,
She can call together those under her
whenever public services require it.
The attiris conducted in much the
same manner, except that their work con-
sists of boat building, carpentry, fishing
and other male occupations. For eight
months of the year, however, their ranks
are very thin and feeble, for two-thirds of
the male population are absent during that
time, and those who remain are mostly
persons too old, too young, or in some other
way untitled for the perlOus and rugged
labor of the sea. But even when all are
at home the females are largely preponder-
ant outnumbering the males by fully
third.
One duty of the attri is to turn out at
the alarm of fire. This alarm is sounded
from conch shell with bit broken off
at the apex. Three shrill blasts is the fire
signal, and judging from the single one
given us as sample, the man must be ex-
ceedingly deaf or very far from town whose
ears failed to catch the sound.
The relation of the sexes in Minicoy are
peculiar to say the least In the first place
they are homogeneous, which for a people
OF their religion is strange to begin with.
Then the woman is the head of the house
and not the man; indeed, that individual
counts for very little. The house belongs
to the woman and all that is in it. Prac-
tically the men belong to the women, and
SO satisfactory proves the result of the ar
rangement that he is quite content in his
secondary position. The product of his la
Dor goes into the family stock and increases
the family substance.
But most startling discovery was that
when a man marries, instead Of giving his
name to his wife, as with US, he takes her
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

could not grasp the situation. The bear,
to all appearancesyfwas as savage as any
in the mountains, III and was covered with
blood. One of the; party finally broke the
ice by shouting at the top of his voice, and
attracted the attention Of both the man and
bear. The man signaled to the survey ors
to come to him. The party crossed the
stream and found that the man was Jacob
Berger, and that he was severely wounded
about the head and body. One arm was
broken and his back was badly sprained.
He could not RISE 1.-THE bear in the mean
time watched the strangers closely, but
offered no objection to their advances, af-
ter being cautioned by Berger. After the
surveyors had taken Berger to his home,
to which they were followed Dy the bear,
he told his story: v
Berger first explained that Davy, the
pear, was perfectly domesticated, and was
his wife's particular pet She had a pecu-
liar fondness for mountain animals, and in
stockade near the cabin she had sort of
domestic menagerie. Davy had long been
her favorlte, and also that of her daughters.
This Is accounted for by the fact that the
bear has acted as sentinel at the house
and stood guard in the absence of the
Woodsman. He has never been very famil-
lar with Berger himself, and how he hap
pened to accompany him that morn
ing could not be explained Berger left
home that morning to inspect some timber
woods, when he noticed that the bear was
Following him. The bear kept a respectful
distance in the rear and evinced no desire
to cultivate terms of intimacy. In this way
the pair pushed through the woods until the
Dank OF the creek was reached.
Berger stopped here for a moment part
ly to lind safe place to ford the stream
and partly to view the timber. He was so
engrossed that he did not notice a large
catamount creeping along the limb Of
tree above his head He was about to
move away when suddenly the catamount
leaped upon him. The animal struck Ber-
ger square between the shoulders and
knocked him violently to the ground The
teeth and claws of the catamount tore his
flesh: his arm was broken by the fall and
he was unable to offer resistance. Just
when he had made up his mind that he
was done for he heard a loud grunt, the
brush was swept aside and old Davy came
upon the scene. The bear leaped savagely
upon the catamoumt, and terrible battle
between the two beasts followed.
The cat was a large one and fought
viciously and tore bruin badly in his efforts
to release himself. 1t was without avail,
however, Davy had suffered several severe
scratches and he was greatly aroused. He
tore the cat into pieces and chewed the
carcass into fragments. He was still en-
gagged tearing at the remains of the cata-
mount when the surveyors came along.
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12
THE ISLAND OF WOMEN
An Odd Community Where Females Rule the Roost
Silk an Article Of Everyday Attire.
Husband Takes the Name Of His Wife and Her Family
Acquires All His Property-Hers Is a Pointer for
Female Suffragists.

tons end, and our fear Of being buried
alive is disspated. Inquiry into the mean
ing of it all introduces us to distinctly
Minicovite institution. Each deputation,
we learn from our interpreter, represents
a Varangi
1t appears that the ladies are organized
separately from the men and each organ
ization is termed varangi. There are 10
of these, each of which is presided over by
a head woman. The male organiZa lions
are in number only nine. In other words,
the township is divided into 10 parts. the
women holding the controlling balance and
!, running things generally.
Each varangi and attiri has its own
meeting house and thus in the town which
extends along the margin of the lagoon
for about mile there are no less than
nineteen public buildings, most of them
jauntily decorated in bright colors and fin
ished off with something of an elaborate
gable end. Here the members meet to
transact the business of their division and
to perform the work which brings 1t its
revenue.
AS we approach one of these neat little
structures we hear the rustic of slken
gowns as a flutter goes through the COM
pany of women and girls inside. The sight
of man at their meeting house is exceed
ingly unusual, for this is their sanctum
sanctorium. 1t is their equivalent for our
ladies club or sewing society.
ming coir fibre into yarn. The head woman
a buxom, good looking dame, comes for
ward to meet and kindly explains the
workings of the institution under her
charge.
At a. M, she informs US, the women
repair to the coir beating grounds which
lie at the back of the town. Here the
husks of the cocoanut are soaked in water
pits and then pounded on limestone slabs
into cOir fibre.
At $50 or a. m. sufficient fibre having
been beaten out for a days work, the
women gather up the product of their
mornings labor and return home to break
fast. Their meal finished, all save a few
upper class women, proceed to the meeting
house where they work I'm the raw materi-
al into marketable ropes and yarns. Their
work Is Sometimes varied by the plating
of cocoanut leaves into mats, by drawing
and carrying water and various other dut-
les, as need may arise or occasion require.
About o'clock the local fishing boats re-
turn and the women then swarm to the
shore to procure their share of the days
catch, after which they are at liberty to
pursue their pleasure or perform their
domestic duties.
Each head-woman is elected by the voice
Of her division and has authority over al
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

a single glimpse beyond the unbroken
Sheet of green that glimmers all around
them.
AS we are rowed ashore we pass three
large 700-tOn SchoOnerS. This is the fleet
of the island. 1t is August, and the S. W.
monsoon having lost it's terrors, the sail
ors on board are busily engaged in get
ting the vessels ready for their regular
eight months voyage. This annual setting
out and the annual return in April con-
Stitute the two great events of their island
life
Turning our eyes shoreward we see con-
gregated about the landing groups of
women and girls. Surely enough they are
all clad in silken gowns, striped silk most
of them, denoting that their wearers are
the common people.
Ihese gowns reach nearly to the ankles
and are made with a hole through which
to pass the head. The sleeves are short
and in many cases very beautifully en-
broidered. = cAnnla of inehas at white up-
dergarment shows beneath the bottom of
these gowns and the whole attire fits
Sungly and displays the wearers charms
to perfection. The women are bareheaded
end bafefooted, and although Mohamme-
9ans they go unveiled, which fact lends
color to the belief that these people were
II one time Christiaps.
On landing We find that the women are
there not merely out of idle curiosity, for
presently they come forward and lay be-
fore us gifts Of fruit, vegetables and eggs
Receiving our thanks through our interpret
er, they retire and we proceed towards the
government Office. But we are not to get
of so easily. Another deputation appears
and again we are made the recipients of
gifts of island produce. Then follows
third gift-laden deputation which is sue
ceeded by fourth. a fifth, a sixth, and so
on until we begin to fear that in the Law
lshness of their hospitality our kind hos
tesses will fairly blockade our pathway
with their presents.
With number ten. however. the deputa-
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12
A PET BEAR
Battles With CntamOunt md SnvAs
It's Master.

It's Master.
Jacob Berger is mountaineer who is
known to almost every man, woman and
child in Sullivan and Columbia counties
says the New York SIN. For Is wears he
has vacillated between Bloomsburg. tho
county seat Of Columbia, and Laporte. in
Sullivan county, and by his peculiar dress
and mountain habits has become a famil
lar figure in the different towns and viii
lagos He was known to have family ly-
ing somewhere near HelPs Kitchen, but
very little was heard of Mrs. Berger or
the young Bergers until a discovery made
a few days ago by an engineering party.
Inc surveying corps was in charge of
Charles Baker, of this place, and was To-
eating a line for a railroad across the
mountain. This brought the party near
Helfs Kitchen. Here one of the engineers
strayed away from his comrades While
picking his way through the brush h.
made a discovery which made his hair
stand on end. A short distance from him,
on the bank of a small stream he saw a
large black bear, smeared with blood and
chewing at something, while beside the
brute he could distinguish the body of a
man, to all appearances lifeless.
The engineer was unarmed and for a
moment he was at a loss low to act. He
could not cope with the bear single-hand-
ed, and so he ran back to where his COM
panions were at work. When he reached
element, but managed to inform the par
ty of what he had found. All the guns.
axes and other weapons available were So
cured, and the surveyors started off in
hot haste to kill the bear. After a run IN
the mountain side. the bank of the strea m
was again reached and the party an
preached cautiously. To their surprise the
man was sitting partly erect and endeav-
oring to support himself with one hand
while the bear, close beside him. was Still
busy tearing what seemed to be human
flesh.
The surveyors stood spellbound, They
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12
Blythe MOST REV. DR.. WALSH.

ment, but only for moment. After DART
ing sharp glance at the cabman he bow
ed, obeying orders, and entered the
vehicle.
The ride was a noisy one but brief.
Rattle-rattle-bump- batter-bump The
fare, glancing through the glass in the
front of the carriage, found his man sit
ting as erect as the FLO a week man of
Lady Churchill. AS the cab rolled into
School street the traveller sank into the
corner of the cushioned seat in the at
titude Of deepest meditation.
A moment more, seemingly, and the door
opened. The stouty built passenger felt
in his pocket for change.
IF it is not too great an intrusion, sir,
I should greatly prefer a ticket to your
lecture. If you have none of the printed
ones with you, your agent would doubtless
honor one Of your visiting cards, if pen
cilled by yourself
The passenger showed signs Of strong
inward emotion.
Come, come. / am not accustomed to be
beaten at my own tricks said he almost
gruff1y Tell me how you have ascertained
this and you shall have tickets for your
whole family and such cigars as you
smoke here in America, besides" breaking
at the end into a smile.
.Of course, we all knew that you were
coming on this train-that is, all Of the
members of the Cabmen's Literary Guild :"
IL
pens. am the only member on duty at this
station this morning and l had the adj
vantage. II you will excuse other personal
remarks your coat lapelS are badly twist
ed downward where they have been grasped
by the pertinacious New York reporters.
Your hair has the Quakerish cut of
Philadelphia barber, and your hat, bat
tered at the brim in 'front.' shows where
you have tightly grasped it in the struggle
to stand your ground at Chicago literary
luncheon. Your right overshoe has large
block of Buffalo mud just under the in
step. the odor Of a Utica cigar hangs
about your clothing, and the overcoat it.
self shows the sovenly brushing of the
porters on the through sleepers from AL
bany. The crumbs of doughnut on the top
of your bag-pardon me. your luggage
could only have come there in Springfield,
and stenciled upon the very end Of the
wellington in fairly plain lettering, is
the name Conan Doyle
Now 1 know where Sherlock Holmes
went when he died." Said this great writer
of detective stories after the cabman had
finished his third glass of brandy neat
..That leaves me free to write any more
adventures of his that / wish, except that
I must locate them in Boston
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12
A PUZZLED NOVELIST.
He Was Used to- Detectives, hut This
Boston CabmHn Amazed Him.

The express from the West was just in,
and a traveller stepped out of the side
door of the Albany station into the out
stretched arms of IA Boston cabmen and
hack drivers, says the Boston Record
The traveller a stoutly built man, be-
tween 80 and 40, with a good-humored face
and solid, dark moustache, selected one
whom he detected in partially putting away
into the side pocket of his overcoat dog
cared copy of Carlyle's French Revolu-
tion." The cabman touched his hat in mod
est appreciation of the favor shown by his
new fare. and after bundling large valise
upon the dashboard, opened the door and
stood waiting with keen twinkle of ex-
pectancy.
you may take me to Young's or-or
Parker's perhaps" said the traveller, with
distinct English accent and decided
interrogative infection in his voice. :
Pardon me-" was the immediate an
swer, ''but I think you'll find Mai. Pond
waiting for you at Parker's."
+ The travellers jaw quivered for a mo-
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

Far off in Oriental seas there is little
island where women have something like
their rights. If you have fairly sharp eyes
you may find it on the map, tiny speck
lying midway between the Maldive and
Laccadve groups off the southwest coast
of India. 1t is called Minicoy.
Tourists do not go there, for two hum
dred and fifty miles separate it from the
main land, and there is no regular cOmmu-
nication. 1t was only by chance that I
heard of the place and great good fortune
that l was enabled to pay it visit.
1t happened that while sojourning for a
short time at Calicut, l came across an
official report of the island which instant
~ aroused my curiosity. Every woman of
the island" it read, lis dressed in silk.
The upper classes wear red silk and ear
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

| ment, but only for a moment After dart
| ing a sharp glance at the cabman he bow
| ed as obeying orders, and entered the
The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-12

name and drops his own entirely Thus If
Benjamin Smith marries Angelina Brown.
he Becomes Benjamin Brown, or if we may
unsex him for a moment for illustration.
Mrs. Angelina Brown, and all his property
passes into the Brown family. So that
familys hopes for the perpetuation of their
name and fortunes are conferred in the
daughters, not the sons, and the dowry
business is also quite reversed. Here is a
hint for womeh's Fighters which, IL they
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02
TELEGRAPHIC.
Puget Sound country.

SEATTLE, May 29-The Pnger sound
region Is almost cut off from railway
comm unication with the east. The Ca
madam Pacific, Great Northern, Northern
Pacific and Union Pacific roads are all
blockaded on account of the floods. On
the first named road, the waters of the
Frazer river are higher than have been
known for 20 years and vast expsnse
of territory is under water. Much dam
age has been done to farmers and to the
property OF the railroad. The bridge
across the Columbia river at Reveistoke
has been washed away. The Great
Northern main line will not be In run
ming order for several days, but the
Sksgit river is falling rapidly and the
washouts on the coast lines will be re-
paired in day or two. No trains arrived
today from the esst over the Northern
Pacific, but passenger train left this
evening in the expectation th.t by the
time it reaches the scene of the trouble
the break will have been repaired. In
the Immediate vicinity of the city the
bigh waters are rapidly receding and no
further damage is anticipated.
TACOMA, May 2y-The malls for the
entire state are greatly delayed by the
floods. Todsy's overland train on the
Northern Pacific did not arrive, and is
reported to have been abandoned 10
Idaho, bridges having been washed away
where the road crosses Cisrk's Fork.
Railroad men say tonight that the Great
Northern and Canadian Pacific are both
in q similar condition. The Northern
Pacific reports all streams falling except
the Columbia, ana officials say trains be-
tween here and the east will run reg.
ularly within u day or two.
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02
The Matter In a Nutsheu.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 29-M. Joseph.
son. who recently came here from Grip
pie Creek, gave sucrinct account of the
origin of the trouble there. Cripple
Creek, it should be understood, Is a gold.
mining country. He said:
"When silver becamet demorreized, q
lot OF silver miners we're thrown sut of
employment, and they descended on
Cripple Creek looking for work. The
result was that the gold miners were
thrown out of employment, because the
silver miners would work for less money
than the gold miners would The ge,G
miners struck, but you heard very little
about it, because it was suppressed as
news. That was last January. The gold
miners soon saw they were not in it, and
they did not make much of fight. They
surrendered and went to other places.
Then the silver men had it all their own
way for a while, till some economical
mine owner thought of coal miners. He
got others to join him, and as result
lot of coal miners were imported to Grip
pie, Creek from Trinidad and other places
In Southern Colorado and New Mexico.
The coal miners would work for less
than the silver miners, and that is the KEY
to the whole fight. The silver miners
were notified they must accept coal min
ers' pay or lose their jobs, and they
struck"
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02

The Republican party has no new
theories of government to advocate
1t relies upon the practical demonstra-
tions that have been made for the past
thirty years of its ideas on finances
and economics. If judgment is to be
based on the results attained no one
can question the craftsmanship it dis
played in the administration of ma
tional affairs, or the success it achieved
in the establishment of American in
dustries. The country never was nor
mover will be more prosperous than
.when Republicans managed affairs. A
return to the old regime is only nee
essary to re establish prosperity, and
the wishes of the people have been
expressed at the ballot box on differ
ent occasions in this direction since
the Democratic "chanee" happened
Next Monday the electors of Oregon
will be called upon to render a deci-
sion on this question, and it may be
expected that all portions of this COM
monwealth will decide emphatically in
favor of protection by giving the Re
publican ticket the largest majority it
ever had,
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02

The prospects are favorable for an
unusually large Republican vote next
month in Eastern Oregon. Sheepmen
and farmers will emphasize their an.
tagonism to the Wilson bill, and others
will join these in giving unqualified
support to the doctrine of protection.
When wool is low in the market every
industry suffers, and in consequence
times become hard and people gener-
ally feel the consequences. ,lp ep-
owners will vote this year in the direc-
tion of their interests, for they be-
lieve that protection to their product
is protection to themselves. Mr.. Ell
lis they desire to see elected by a large
majority, for he voices the sentiment
Of the northwest in her struggle for
development, while Mr.. Raley is the
advocate of policy that will seal the
fate of every industry in this portion
ct the country.
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02
Nine Counts in the I.d,etment.


SPOKANE, Wash, May 29-B. A.
Knapp wasarrested in Seattle today un-
der nine indictments by the Spokane
grand jury. Knapp was formerly q
trusted employe In the county treasur-
er's Office. He grew dissipated. was dis
charged, and then eloped with Miss
Ollie Muson, the> woman who tried to
kill herself at Seattle recently. Some
weeks ago number of forged school
warrants turned up at the treasurer's Of
fee for payment. Investigation showed
that they had been sold late in 1898, and
that Knapp had identified an unknown
man as the person named in the war.
rants. So far, $4,000 Of these bogus war.
rants have turned up.
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02

With the powerful explosive, dyna-
mite, in the possession of the laboring
classes riots are dangerous affairs.
Armed with clubs mob may be easily
quelled by the police; but when it is
possible for one man to cause the death
of dozen by throwing bomb In their
midst, crowd of angry persons are
dangerous, even when opposed by
disciplined troops. Conflicts between
labor and capital are different now
from what they used to be, and greater
care should be taken to prevent them.
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02

Populism Is an affliction that the
people can i'll afford to suffer, and there
is not much likelihood that with other
ills that have been visited upon CON-
nuAities they will be called upon to
exercise patience under the operation
of this one. The legislation demanded
by these wild visionaries would
bankrupt the nation, destroy credit,
and place business on the most unsta-
BILE foundation. No government could
exist on such theories, and it is aston
ishing that any sensible man can seri-
eusly advocate them. With many
their advocacy is the most despicable
form of demagogism, and is only used
as means by which the public may
be conjoled into supporting them for
public Office. Such vagaries are gen.
orally of short duration, and soon sink
into dishonored grave.
The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1894-06-02

The Democrats are attempting to
create public. sentiment in favor of
Hon. J. 81. Raley by claiming that he
is in favor of an open river. This
may be true, but he did not appear
that way when he voted against the
portage bill in the Oregon legislature.
The people know that Hon. W. R.
Ellis is q friend to the free navigation
of the Columbia river, and during the
next two years he will be in a position
to do effective work. He is also the
friend to the wool raiser and product r,
and believes in the dignity of the
American laborer. For this reason
he will support tariff on foreign pro-
ductions, which will equalize condi-
tions and give the honest toiler the
highest possible wages