davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

one of the most difficult tasks which
the superintendent Of buildings and
grounds has to perform. It is painted
every year or two, but, though Wash
ington is cleaner than almost any other
city in the country, and is almost free
from coal smoke, the white paint soon
takes on a. soiled appearance, and the
hooks and corners, especially about the
columns Of the great portico, over the
main entrance are favorite resorts for
insects, which adorn them with nests,
webs and cocoons, in spite of all that
can be done by the attaches of the house
to brush them down. Occasionally a
pair of sparrows begin the construction
of nest at the top of one of the COL
umns, but they never get much further
that beginning, for the foundations OF
their home are destroyed as fast as they
can lay them, and they soon become dis
couraged, and seek another site for
their house.
AS the result of the labors of corps
of painters the entire outside of the
house is now white as white paint can
make it, and will remain fairly clean
until the dust and insects of next sum-
mer make their annual attack upon it..
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
8 rather the worse for wear, ana the

Is rather the worse for wear, ana the
carpet is beginning to look rather
shabby in places, especially near the
door, where it is daily trodden by hun
dreds of excursionists and sightseers.
This room, as we'll as many others in
the house, was carpeted during Presi-
dent Harrison's administration, Mrs.
Harrison giving her personal attention
to the selection Of the carpets, as she
did to the superintendent of the elab-
crate decorative work which was done
in the entrance corridor and some Of
the parlors during her husbands term
of office.
The official part Of the house has
been made thoroughly clean for the
occupancy of the president and his cler-
lcal force during the winter, but in
spite of all the fresh varnish, which
mas been literally applied to the wood
work, 1t has shabby appearance. 1t
mad been proposed to re-carpet both
the cabinet room and the presidents
othce, but Mr.. Cleveland would not ap-
prove the expenditure Of the money,
and the old carpets will have to remain
although that in the Office shows very
clearly the effect of the tread of the
thousands of ofice-seekers who have
entered that room during the past two
administrations with high, hopes des-
tined in many instances to- be blasted.
The appearance Of the outside of the
house has been greatly improved. The
new asphalt pavements, which have
replaced the uneven flagstone side
walks leading up to the mansion from
the street, give much more tidy ap-
pearance to the grounds, and the fresh
coat OF white paint with which the en-
tire outside of the building has been
covered makes it glisten in the: sunlight
like structure Of snow.
Keeping the White House white is
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
GREAT THOUGHTS.

The essence Of lying is in deception,
not in words. A lie may be told by
silence.-Ruskin.
Let it make ne, difference to- thee
whether thou art cold or warm,
whether thou art i'll spoken of or
praised, if thou art doing thy duty
Marcus Aurelius.
Hypocrisy is folly; for it; is rnuch
easier, safer and pleasanter to- be the
thing which man seems to appear.
than to- keep up the appearance Of
being what he is not.-Lord Bur1eigr. s.
Scriptura1 repentance is that deep
and radical change whereby a sinner
turns from the idols of sim and self
unto God, and devotes every movement
of the inner and outer man to the cap
tivity of his Observation-Disclosures
A man might empty a church to-
night il he preached on Justification by
faith, or any of the grand, living, juicy
doctrines of the old orthodoxy. One
day we shall get tired Of the new paste.
then we shall ask for the old diamond
Joseph Parker -
No wave on the great ocean of time
when once it has f1oated past us, can
be recalled. All We can do it to watch
the new form and motion of the nert
and launch upon it to try, in the man
ner our best Judgment may suggest. our.
strength and skfll.-Gladstone.
A devout thought, a pious desire )
holy purpose, is better than great es.
tate or an earthly kingdom. In eternity
1t will amount to more to have given
a cup Of cold water, with rixht motives
!: 70 a humble servant of God. than Ia
nave been battered by whole genera,
itton.-Dg. Cumming. : sse4s ~ -
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
DELICIOUS REED BIRDS,
Only Philade1phians Know How to Cook
and Eat Them.

and Eat Them.
Philadelphia is the only city in the
world where the reed bird can be found
in state of overrunning obesity, and
the only place where it can be cooked
to perfection. In New York the French
cooks conceal it's delicate toothsome-
ness in rich dressing. There they know
as little about reed birds as they do
about terrapin, scrapple and pepper
pot. Recently there was given in this
city a dinner in which reed birds were
served in thirteen different forms.
Among the courses we're soup made
from reed birds, birds stuffed with blue
point oysters, reed birds placed in
side a hollow potato and roasted, reed
birds stuffed with herb filling and
baked, reed birds stewed with fresh
mushrooms, reed birds split and broiled
an abominable practice, by the way
reed birds saute and seeming pie,
from which, when the crust was lifted,
two dozen reed birds flew forth and
around the room. But, after all, there
is only one way to cook and eat the
succulent reedies-saute! Select birds
which have little clumps of yellow fat
on both sides of the part last over the
fence. Place them in saucepan-or,
better still, a chatting dish-with
plenty of the best butter, salt, black
pepper and plentiful sprinkling of pap
rika-the sweet ungarian pepper which
nowadays can be found in any first
class grocery. They must not be split
and their heads must not be removed.
Cook them for five to six minutes, &C.
cording to the size of the bird and the
heat of the fire, but do not allow the
yellow fat to become Drowned Moth
ing could be simpler, and yet, very few.
cooks can prepare reed bird without
destroying it's toothsomeness There
is an art also in the eating of his ds;;1
tiness, but it can only be applied &c
birds of the character and prepared in
the manner described above. Wrine
off the head and sink your teeth into
and absorb the brains. Then hold the
little darling aloft by the protruding
bones of both legs, and, slipping him
into watering mouth, crunch your way
through his carcass until not bit OF
him remains but the leg bones. Then
cast your eyes above and say grace
That's eating reed birds, that is.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

M. Wilson, the superintendent of pub
lie buildings and grounds, made care
full examination of the entire White
House to ascertain whether or not any
repairs were necessary to make it safe,
In view Of the great crowds that con-
gregate in it on state occasions. He
found that there we're evidences OF
weakness in the beams which supported
the main floor of the corridor running
along in front of the Red, Blue and
Green rooms. 1t is in this corridor that
the greatest crush occurs at public re-
ceptions, as there is constant stream
of people through it on their way to
the receiving party, while there Is often
a counter stream going toward the con-
servatory.
The condition of the beams was such
as to give considerable ground for fear
that the floor might give way and pre-
cipitate the crowd in the corridor into
the cellar. In order to guard effect
ually against any such catastrophe
Colonel Wilson had all the weakened
beams taken out and replaced by SOUND
ones, and had additional supports put
in, so as to make the floor strong
enough to safely hold all the persons
who could possibly be crowded together
upon it.
Numerous alterations were made in
the conservatory, so as to make 1t more
commodious and better fit to accom-
modate some of the crowds which over
flow from the parlors and the east
room on state occasions. New boilers
have put in for the steam heating plant,
and new asphalt pavements have been
put down on both driveways leading up
to the front entrance to the mansion.
No new furniture for any Of the prln-
cipal rooms of the mansion has been
bought during the summer, but that In
two of the rooms has been freshened up
by being re-upholstered. The furniture
in the Blue room, in which the receiving
party is always stationed, on the occa-
sion of state receptions and where the
president usually receives foreign am
bassadors and ministers when they
make visits of ceremony to the White
House, has been re-upholstered in blue
and silver, to correspond with the dec
orations of the room. The Green room,
through which callers at the state re-
ceptions pass into the east room, after
having paid their respects to the re-
ceiving party, has been redressed in
fresh upholstering of green and gold.
In the great east room-the sho"
room of the mansion-there has been
no change in either the furniture or
the decorations. The furniture, carpets
and pictures in this room have been
thoroughly cleaned, as they have been
all over the house, but there is nothing
new, although some of the furniture
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
To. Wash Machinery.

A. satisfactory method of removing
sticky deposits of grease and dirt from
parts of machinery by means of soda
I've is reported as being employed to- a
considerable extent in England. To
1000 parts by weight of water, about
ten or fifteen parts caustic soda and 100
parts! ordinary soda is the rule. This
mixture is boiled, and the parts of the
machinery that are to be cleaned are
placed in it,. this treatment having the
effect of quickly loosening all grease,
oil and dirt. after which the metal is
thoroughly washed and dried. The
action of the I've is, Of course, to- form.
with the grease soap soluble in water:
and to prevent the lubricating OIL. etc..
hardening upon the parts of the ma
chinery when in use;. a third. part Of
Kerosene is added.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

cleaning. There have been some minor
alterations and repairs, however, of
which the most important was the cut
ting of an entrance directly into the
Blue room from the portico on the south
front of the mansion. This is intended
to be used as a private entrance for
members of the cabinet and their ladies,
members of the diplomatic corps and
ladies who are specially invited to as
sist the president and his wife at state
receptions, so as to enable them to en-
ter the White House without being
compelled to pass through the crowded
front entrance and corridors, where
these specially favored persons have
sometimes in the past been compelled
to struggle with the crowd for half
an hour before being able to reach the
receiving party.
Early in the summer Colonel John
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

maturer wisdom, can see that !
should have declined that job on the
grounds that it was unaesthetic. But
Il didn't. On the contrary, accepted
it effusively. There was touch Of
romance about it that appealed to me-
the day itself began to appeal to me for
the first time. I began to feel some
thing of the enthusiasm for feast days
that had taken my men out before day.
break. I would not be so hard on them
again, I thought. Truly it was a very
pretty custom, and began to sympa-
thize with it and to understand 1t bet
ter. If San Guadalupe had not been so
long. inferred, in the gladness OF my
heart I would have sent him a bouquet
All this tried to contide to Lucia. 1t
touched her; it sounded, she said, llEe
stories she had read in the convent.
Her name was poem in itself, Lucia
Eulalia Garcia y Valdez. And mine?
After that poem it seemed common to
say that was plain Jack Biggs." But
she anticipated me; she pointed to one
of my business cards that had escaped
my vest pocket when I threw it on the
sand. ''Meester Beegs, que MOP" she
lisped, and it did not sound at all badly
from her lips.
It was pleasant to know that she did
not dislike my name; this was one way
of saying, as everybody knows, that it's
owner was not disagreeable to her.
AS we talked, we washed; and long
before noon the gentleman's shirts
were all floating in the breeze from the
low chaparral along the river bank.
Lucia Eulalia glanced gratefully and
alternately at the snowy linen and at
me. My natural thoughtfulness led me
to suggest that we might as well do
the family washing while we were
about it. Her brother, Antonio, the
sheepherder, whom she had mentioned
with sisterly affection-did not his
things have need of water? "There was
no time like the present." I said; 1T
might set in tomorrow and rain tor
months-who knows?" r..
Lucia Eulalia looked at the contract
ing blue of the skies, and laughed at
my weather prophesies, but she ran TO
her adobe dwelling a few rods away
and brought from it bundle of An
tonio's things" They had apparently
been waiting for me for years. His
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
What Those Americans Eat.

Many a country hostess is racking
her brains for new ideas for shooting
luncheons. Oysters are in season, and
would certainly tickle the palate of
the shooters if they were served as q
friend of mine, lately returned from
New York, advises. Across the herring
pond, you know, oysters are always
served on crushed ice and with the
most delicious sauces, which we never
dream Of over here. A very piquant
celery sauce, highly favored with red
pepper; chopped onion, called Mig
nonette sauce" and then Tabasco sauce,
which is described to me as Liquid
pepper"
In America they send to table, at the
beginning of dinner, delicate little
sticks of celery, two inches or so in
length, very crisp, served on ice; and
the diners eat their celery as they 20
on, from dish to dish, just as we eat
bread. Very delicious and appetizing,
too.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

some minutes and watched them Curl
ously. The goose-pluckers would grasp
a bird by the legs and in surprisingly
short time completely strip it of feath-
ers. So expert was the woman that it
took less than two minutes to clean a
large bird perfectly. She would throw
the carcass in corner, where scores
were already heaped, and grasp an
other. Goose-plucking is one Of the
many curious occupations of the big
east side. establishments such as this
are numerous. The goose-pluckers buy
the birds in wholesale lots, pluck them
and sell the carcasses to marketmen at
the same figure sometimes even at
slight loss under the spur of competi--
ton. The profit is in the sale of the
feathers. There are goose-pluckers in
Hester street who own tenement
houses.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
coosE-PLuckIHc IN HESTER
The Profit Is IN the Sale 81 the Feathers
of This Fowl.

Ths Profit Is IN the Sale OF the Feathers
of This Fowl
Passing through Hester street a Few
evenings ago paused before a steep
flight of steps leading down into cell
lar room beneath a tall, overcroWded
tenement, says the New York Herald.
The door was partly open, and through
the crack I saw peculiar fog dimly
lighted up by an oil lamp: that stood on
a table. 1t was this fog that attracted
my attention, for at first glance 1t ap-
peared to be smoke and thought the.
place afire. That it was not afire, how
ever, at once perceived. for the atmos-=
phere seemed full of feathery, floating
particles, and there was no odor OF
smoke. I determined to learn what tire
mysterious appearance was, however,
and quietly descended the steps, pushed
the door further open and looked in.
A very curious spectacle greeted me-.
It was small, square room, with an
apartment partitioned off in the rear,
into which opened a window, some six
feet or more above the floor. The
only furniture was the rough, pine table
by the door, on which stood the lamp.
There were four occupants, man,
woman, girl and boy, all Russian. He
brews, and scantily dressed. The
woman and! children were seated upsn
the floor, amid a mass Of geese, which
they were husily engaged in plucking.
The man was gathering up the feath-
ers, and, with the assistance of a.
wooden box to stand upon pushing
them through high window into the
rear apartment: The atmosphere was
so choked with floating particles Of
feathers that: it was astonishing they
breathed at all. They did not notice my
appearance and stood at the door for
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21
RAMS HORNS.
Faultless people have few frien

Faultless people have few friends.
The bearer Of good news always has
sweet voice.
One of the best helps toward heaven
is a good mother.
Wherever Gods will is law, nothing
but purity can exist.
Many supposed giant has turned
ing, but God never has.
Everything good lost in this world
will be found in heaven.
Love never has to be watched to see
that it does honest work.
Let flowers bloom all the year round,
and the bees will quit work
When our hearts refuse to pray as
Christ teaches, he is no longer our
Lord.
Do right yourself, and you will help
some other man to behave himself.
The poorest people in the world are
those who try to keep all they get.
The devil fears no mans profession
when it is higher than his practice.
Make home like heaven, and you will
make the children want to go there
Every trial God permits us to have, is
to teach us something new about Christ
The man whose heart is set on things
perishable, loses all when ley perish.
AS soon as we begin to have peace
with God, we begin to have war with
self.
Prove that there is no devil, and
every man in the world will be your
friend.
AS long as love has drop of blood
left, it has something it is willing to
give up.
The better man is pleased with him
self. the better the devil is pleased with
him.
The devil will get hard blow in the
face, on the day women is given the
ballot. -"
If some people would think twice be-
fore they speak, they would keep still
most of the time.
There would be more REVEALS, if
more of the preaching were done to the
sinners in the church:-Ram's Horn.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

wardrobe ranged from dingier overalls.
AS l warmed up to the ambitious task
OF cleansing them, under Lucia Eula-
las approving smiles, all nature
seemed to smile; the sun shone warm
and warmer; the river ran blue and
bluer-for Lucia had "blued" it. She
had also "allowed" the root of whole
soap-tree to Antonio's garments. She
was right in doing this, but, somehow,
in my struggle with the strengthening
stains OF six months, I had distributed
good deal Of lather over my person.
When this unaccustomed fatigue began
to show on me. Lucia Eulalia asked
softly if had tire
ooh! mop was declaring, II have no
tire" when some approaching Amer
lean voices were heard. Lucia clapped
her hands tragically, and, running to
the chaparral, began hastily to gather
the linen therefrom. caught from her
manner that the owner of the shirts
had tired of waiting and was coming
for them. had OWNED Alright, but I
had not OWNED far enough. AS they
emerged from the alameda to the west
of the river, could see they were
lady and gentleman. I had almost
managed look of industry and inno-
cence, as they approached us, and
raised my eyes to impress them with
it, when-gracious saints! Guadalupe
| and great Jehosaphat! Was that Max
yell! The man I had robbed Of the
valedictory in 81 at Ann Arbor? True,
had no grudge against him on that
| account, but my dream of meeting him
again and making it right" had not
been like this. Maxwell it was, with
his stylish bride. He threw me care
less glance at first; then I began to
dawn on him, slowly but surely. He
quizzed Lucia in miserable Spanish, in
a cowardly way, thought.
"Quien esq" he said, indicating me.
| Smilingly, as If pleased so to honor
me, Lucia presented me to Maxwell and
his wife as mi amigo, Senior Beegs.'
I could feel that the blueing, and the
soap root, and the river water were all
mingling in one grand river of per-
SEPARATION toward the collar of my negli-
gee shirt. could feel that all the con-
stellations in the heavens and all the
mundane landscape around me were
Waiting giddily together. An intense
longing for home and mother came over
me that mere words cannot depict. For
one wild moment I thought would rush
] into my old chum's arms and tell him
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

Mexico, 1Ve years ago.
had been sent to Mexico, as chief of
surveying corps, to establish the
boundaries of the Santa Anita grant,
which lay along the Rio Clara just out
side the city Of Chihuahua. 1t was a
responsible position for young man
and I held my head high.
It was the day Of La Fiesta de Guada-
Mpe. The saint himself had been dead.
/ understood, several hundred years.
but in Mexico that doesn't make any
Adherence; the longer folks are dead
here, the more they seem to be thought
VI, and the bigger birthday party they
nave. Almost every other week con-
:ains the feast day" of some dead saint
or saintess, and trade and commerce
are suspended to do the occasion JUS
tice. The natives of Mexico are the
most perennially pious people on earth.
Why, | have known them-men in my
employ-to be so enthused over the
posthumous birthday of some long
lead saint that they would get up IN
the gray dawn to go about celebrating
It. This morning-the morning of
1uadalupe's feast day-the whole force
Of poems under me had struck. No
Cinnamon no fagmen, no axmen,
were left me. Only Sims and Bailey,
my two American assistants, stayed be-
hind. When I began abusing them for
the customs of Mexico, they said while
they did not care even remotely for the
saint to whom 1t was dedicated, still
they were glad it was holiday, and
they thought they would go upstream
and fish awhile. They were only in
different laymen, without any religious
feeling.
When I was left alone in camp,
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21

spent short time on my feld-nOtes,
when it came over me that was vast
ing the day. Just outside the chaparral
the river was laughing and murmuring
in the open. It seemed to ask me to
walk beside it. The adobe huts along
its bank were tenantless; their inmates
had gone to the feast.
But, strange sight, there at the end
of the river where the waters were the
merriest, was solitary worker, and
whatever it was she was doing, she
was doing it with vim. A dark-eyed,
,dark-haired, dark-shawled daughter Of
Spain she seemed to be, and yet she
was working-and working hard-on a
''feast day." A fit of curiosity seized
me to know what she was doing, and
why she was doing it. approached her
with the question on my lips; at what
did she work, and por-kay? Il spell it
as said it, Softly she raised a pair
of melting orbs,, and sweetly and elo-
uuently she answered me. From her
reply, in the most musical language in
the world, I gathered that she would
be at the feast, but that she must
cleanse the soiled linen that lay around
her on the sand, for the owner of it, a
gentlemen who was staying at the
United States hotel, wanted it by noon,
and tomorrow would not do (she said
this plaintively). If it were not done by
noon, she finished most pathetically,
she would get no dinero, and that she
needed in the superlative degree.
Dinero! All, the most potent thing in
Mexico to saints days is money!
AS her red lips told me this, her
great black eyes wandered from the
.soiled clothes at her feet to the spires
of the cathedral in the distance and
the waving foliage of the plaza where
the feasting and merry making were
going on. There was look of sadness
and longing in them as she gaZed. Be-
ing a tender-hearted man, asked her
if there was aught could do for her.
In wonderful mixture Of Anglo
Spanish, which I invented while in
Mexico, and which no one could ever
master but myself, assured her I was
at her service if she so desired, and
asked how could assist her.
The black eyes flashed gratitude ere
the scarlet mouth said, in silvery sweet
tones: would I sit on a rock beside
her and rub the shirts of the gentle
man on large rock with very small
szock?"
Looking back now in the light OF