davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03
OLD WAR MACHINES.
APPARATUS USED BY WARRIORS
IN ANCIENT TIMES.
Quaint and Rude Instruments of War
~-Besieging Towns with Rams, Cata-
quilts and Ballistc-HOw the Rude
Machines We're Used.
EN- plOycd in the Past.

For some years past such skill and
deadly ingenuity has been displayed in
the invention of war engines and new
explosives as to make the war in the
future more terrible than it has ever
been before. II is curious to consider,
in light of these facts. the quaint and
rude machines which have been en-
ployed for military purposes in the
past. War as waged by the Romans
was something very different and very
much more interesting as q trial of
Skill than it is nowadays, and 1t must
have been very much more exciting.
There was a chance for life and a
chance for the display of personal
prowess which the soldier Of this era
scarcely knows.
1t was at the siegeS OF towns that the
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

enemy could be kept out of the city.
the besieged felt safe. In consequence
the siege was really a series of attacks
by the enemy and OF defensive war
fare on the part of those in the town.
The ordinary arms. spears. daggers and
swords. were. of course. wholly made
quate when il came To attacking stone
walls and hence there We're invented a
number of engines to aid in the conflict.
Gathering Ram.
The first step in a siege was for the
enemy o fill up the trench. This was
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

Signs in the desert. indicating the
trails and giving directions as To the
nearest springs and wells of fresh wa
ter are TO be erected 10y Arizona and
California in The dcSolatc regions on
either side of The Colorado River.
where so many tragedies have occur
red through miners and others losing
their way or dying from thirst. The
signs are high poles of gas pipe, with
big squares Of sheet iron AZ the top,
and are painted red, as that is the col
or that can be een the greatest dis
lance III that region. The lettering Viii
tell the distance from point TO point
and the location Of The nearest water
holes.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

A Brooklyn motorman whose car re-
Gently ran over and killed a IA te>ti-
fed at the %coroner's inquest that he had
had but two hours sleep in the preced-
ing twenty-four, and was working un-
der protest when the accident occur
red. There should be no trouble in fix
ing the responsibility for this criminal
NEGLIGENCE
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

Last March 200 cotton State negroes
sailed from Savannah for Liberia. They
departed for the land of their fore
fathers full of hope. 1t was assumed
thai others would follow them speedily
for the purpose of escaping white OPP
preston at the South and of r~egenerat-
ing Africa. When they paid for their
TRANSPORTATION il was agreed by the
emigration company that ii would {
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

The latest discovery announced by
the perniciously active psychologists
is that even the hitherto unsupported
egg of the hen is frequently full Of
deadly microbes. The |triunphs Of
science are so great that men refuse to
beware of microbes, it having been
demonstrated that no matter what is
eaten a full meal Of bacteria is assured.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

The Marion, Ohio, Star speaks "aS
one having authority and not a. the
ScribeS,' when it says, concerning The
death of a prominent citizen: dying
about 3 p. m, his spirit took its flight
in good time to attend the evening ser
vice in heaven" Well. we'll. well.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

Mrs. Booth says that if the Salvation
army took hold of the new oma it
would take her certain garments and
give them to the sex to whom they he
long. This will make Mrs. Booth solid
with the husbands whose wives are
constantly giving away their last sum
mer's pantaloonS.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

The account of the havoc created by
q lot of long-horned Montana steers Ter
loose in Chicago the other day Will con
firm the belief of the B%ostOnianS that
steers and wild buffalo run III" streets
of the Western metropolis.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

greatest military skill was displayed by
the ancient warrior. The town was sur
rounded by a lofty wall, which, in turn.
was rendered doubly secure by a deep
trench. SO long as the wall could be
kept intact, or rather so long as the
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

tenders. BY means OF bridges ~.
my could ver to the walls e"~
selves and engage in hand-to-hand ss em'
ing. e"'
The besieged often defended the c;,,
for months and only c~apitulated uhse
stormed out. One historian tells
siege which was brought to an end on,a
when the course Of a river WAS hronns
against the city walls, and they wor'
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

The best way for those managers who
ave formed a Theatrical trust to
make money is to stop abusing the the
atrical trust Of the public.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03
An Adventurous Fellow.

\ young MAJ named Bennett haH P"'
his bicycle 10 profitable use in the aus
tralian gold fields BY ESTABLISHING VIZ"
it a postal route between Coolsdr"",
the center of the mining distrlci. a',
Dundos. which is two hundred anu
eighty miles away. Strapped Oh ~
wheel is a small letter-boX, III WIN"
he carries letters between the W.
towns for q shilling a piece ana 81
grams for five shillings, making o"e
round trip a week. A revolver d
sharp knife. and a water botue gum
prise the rest of the outfit.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

himself in our midst.-New York Com
mercial Advertiser. You must have
eaten something which didn't agree
with him.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

If Mr.. Holmes is correct in his storie.
about Hatch" We suspect that Mr.
Hatch will get himself diSliked one Of
these days if he keeps on.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

this way undermined. But in almoyt
all cases capitulation was only a oue<.
ton Of time and was sure to result >oon
az or later.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

II with earth and rubbish. Then eff
forts We're made 10 destroy the lower
part of the walls and form a breach.
For this the battering ram was employ.
ed. This engine consisted of n long
beam to one end of which a mass of iron
was fastened which sometimes weighed
Il ton. 1t was so arranged that it could
be swung backward and forward by the
aid of machinery.
To destroy the towers often built on
the walls ana 10 break down the ram.
parts engines called ballistae we're used.
TheSe We're like huge bows which dis
charged immense masses of rock and
stone, hurting them high into the air.
Quite a complicated mechanism was
employed to ecure force necessary to
discharge the ballistae.
Should soldiers or the inhabitants of
the city appear on the walls the cata-
putt vas brought into Use. BY means
of this machine flights of were
discharged. \ system of cranks and
levers vas employed To make the cata-
putt work and it required, moreover. the
pryicpS of several men.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

In order to get directly at the defend
ers on the walls besieging towers were
constructed. On the different stories
Of these towers soldiers We're placed
who directly attacked the towns de-
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

4 TOWER.
Each story bore soldiers and AT the to, ~ u.
wall a bridge was let down. by means Of Wbimnhp
the besiegers could engage in tsnd-tohmannaa
conflict with the besieged. Below i s n"n
batterlng ram with which breaches were m ="
in walls. '"''e
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

4. versatile genius is really a Jack
of-&ll-tradeS. and master of none.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

Some people who pass in their cne'A
do not lind much 10 their credit
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

1t was at the sieges of towns that the
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

Will Not
Berlin
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Solialistit
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Louisiana
troduced bi
of the Unite
ufacturel ir
for in the NJ
Ill sugars pi
t had not be
he repeal o.
The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1895-10-03

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The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Cold Stones from the Sky.

The prodigious speed with which aero
lites are travelling at the time when they
come in contact with that portion of our
atmosphere heavy enough to give friction
to the flying body is beyond human COM
prehension and the power of the mathema-
tioian to calculate. 1t only takes them
few seconds to pass through the thicker
portion (say, the last 80 miles) of the air
stratum which surrounds our globe, but
even that short space of time Is sufficient
In most instances to fuse the surface of the
stone and leave we'll defined waves of the
melted mineral distributed over the aero
lite, besides many pits and holes where
softer constituents have burned out entire
ly or been torn away by the resisting
medium.
There are instances on record, however
which appear to set all laws of the effect of
resistance and friction at defiance-oases
where the stone seems to have instantly
passed from the cold outer regions Of space
to the warm surface of this earth. This
was the case with the celebrated "cold
aerolite" which fell at Dhrumsala, India,
July IA, 1860, which had a temperature
lower than any known degree of artificial
cold, and which was three or four days
warming up sufficient to admit of being
touched with bare hands. Another Of this
GLASS is reported by priest as having
fallen In Mexico In 1909, and third, Of
the same cold variety, fell at Ulgald,
Sweden, In 1S52.-St. Louis Republic.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Facts About Heat and Light,

The rays of heat and light ara quite in
dependent of each other in their ability to
penetrate different substances For illus
tration, glass allows the sun s. heat to pass
through as readily as 1t does the rays of
light, and that without heating the glass
too. If the glass be coated with lamp
black, however, the rays of light are ar
rested, but the heat passes through as be-
fore, not q single degree S difference in the
latter phenomenon being noticeable. Then,
again, both heat and light pass through
water, providing it is clear. One of the
oddities In this connection is this Although
the heat and light pass through water in
Its normal state, the addition of o little
powdered alum, which readily dssolves
without leaving the least murkiness, will
arrest the rays of heat to such an extent
as to almost Immediately raise the tenn
perature of the water to perceptible de-
gree, yet the light continues to pass
through as before.
Ice, like glass, also transmits both heat
and light. DIR. Sutherland, in "Observa-
lions Upon the Ioebergs Of Baff1n's Bay"
says: Several pieces of granite were found
deeply imbedded in ice without any COM
munications with outside air. These were
all surrounded with what might be termed
an atmosphere of water" The explana.
ton of such an oddity is this: The heat
passing through the ice had been absorbed
by the stones until their temperature had
been raised to degree sufficient to melt
the ice around them.-St Louis Republic.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
James Anthony FrOude.

James Anthony Froudc came on the
stage of life at the period of transition,
and being unable to adjust himself to eli
Their OF the cUntending currents of thought
at Oxford he went Oft on his own lines, or
rather upon lines that Carlyle suggested
to him, and never got his attitude very
clearly adjusted to the end of his long life
This was the cause of his limitations as
a historian. He was quite off with the
old methods and not quite on with the
new. The older historian was avowcdly
partisan. The modern historian means to
be scientific and impartial. Froude was
not scientific nor careful for exactness Of
statement but while he prufcssed indiffor
entism his beat was really polemical, and
though it was never quite certain what
point of view he would assume he genur-
ally assumed it first and wrote to sustain it,
But he was a modern historian in this
that he wrote with literary charm and
made history interesting, In this respect
at least he was a leader. And he had one
extraordinary talent-he was a brilliant
biographer. His portraits may not always
be true, but they are always strong and
vivid and full of life, the work of great
literary Philadelphia Times.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Influence of Holmes.

Among the titles of Dr. Holmes to graf
itude and enduring remembrance which
recall themselves to us there Is one which
1 hope no one will soon lose sight of, and
which perhaps ought to be called his in
luence as civilizcr. He not only showed
us, it seems to me-and / am thinking Of
some of his more didactic poems, of the
opening chapters of Elsie Venner" of
countless passages in the "Autocrat" and
the Professor what fine foundation
we Americans have to build upon but he
was the means of melting directly null
titude of readers TO work toward ideals Of
real and sincere culture, not the sham ar
ticle, which have never in our literature
been put into such sane and comprehen-
sive form.
/ should like TO see muster, and l am
sure it should be large one of the men
now in middle age whose mental tone has
been, consciously or unconsciously, con-
siderably influenced by the kindly castiga-
ton until they seemed intolerable OF
shams and half baked pretenses that 9TH
erwise they might have gone on tolerat-
Ing; by the flashes of unmalignant wit In
which even small boorishnesses and mean
nesses were suddenly shown up In so I'M
mistakable a light that 1t seemed impossi-
bic ever to commit them again; by the
numberless cumulative touches by which
an ideal of the gentleman was built up,
wholesome, sensible, unpriggish, attaina-
BILE by every sincere, sham hating man,
yet also full of quiet high things, charity,
consideration for others-a imam Of gentle
will. "-Scribner's Magazine.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
MISCELLANY.
The Disconnected Maiden.
ny NJ. X. HAzKN.

" I'm tired to DEATH" said a maiden fair,
" For trials are mine, and great is my care
Thick clouds are above no sunshine for me-
Then why will they say You should Joyous be 2
" I've turned to my harp. but theret one to hear
Save mother, or Kate, or grandmother dear.
o. had part in some grand matinee,
The encores and applause would stimulate me.
The last novel I've read till I've learned It by
heart;
And in serions books, I'll neer have part.
The painting hate. the worsted work. too.
I'm tired to DEATH o. what shall do2
" I'm tired of fashion, I'm tired of beaux;
care not for friends. acquaintance or foes.
o, would that some sweet little fairy would come
And watt me away to her bright, sunny home"
rustling of wings the fair maiden heard;
And her tresses soft by the breeze were stirred.
" Art thou tired of living9" low voice said
would'st thou Join the ranks Of the silent dead7
" Mid luxury and ease, all thy days have passed.
No real shadow DER thy horizon is cast.
Thy thoughts are al conferred on self alone
Shake Off thy dull sloth, bid trihing begone.
: Arise from thy couch at the dawn of day,
For the smiles of heaven. thou must humbly pray.
Look well to that chart, which to mortas is given,
Thy prayers must arise like incense to heaven.
In the precincts of home, be thou like the dove;
In thy words, ever blending innocence, love.
BE a dutful girl, sister so mild
Then thou'lt hear the glad words, God bless thee,
my child'"
Years hastily sped; the maiden had grown
woman to be; her childhood had flown.
But the lesson she learned remained with her
long,
And Pm tired TO death never more was her
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Catching the Dragon Fly.

lone of tha greatest amusements for
the children of Japan is catching the
dragon fly, said DIR. w i. Taylor of
Boston, who has spent several years in
Japan Japan is land of children, and
thousands of them literally put In several
weeks every autumn in capturing dragon
flies and tying kites to them for the fun
of seeing them fly, Soon after the turn of
the sun in the afternoon hundreds and
thousands of huge dragon flies busy them
selves flying over the ricc1elds and gar
dens catching insects and gnats.
The japanese boys carefully saturate
the end of bamboo with tar and start
out for the fun. They first hold the BAN
boo up to attract the unsuspecting drag
ons to take rest, In moment the boy
gives the bamboo a twist and puts the tar
end into so many motions that it is almost
impossible for the creature to avoid it,
The boys are so expert at the business that
have seen them chase n fly that had got
much ahead of them and succeed in stick
Ing the dragon fly to the reed. When once
on the tar end of the pole there is mis-
cradle future for the oaptiyes They are
tied together and carried around in the
chase Then string is tied to each one
and small piece of paper, serving as a
kite, which the poor flies are required to
sail. They fly away, but of course soon
get caught into tree or brush and die of
starvation. st. Louis Globe Democrat
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Progress of Paris.

Although some cities in Italy Pre- IFS
moro vivid and fascinating periods g. OK.
amplss, there is perhaps 10 other cir, i'm
Europe where the continuity of mo IN
civilization for at least seven cCnitri,s
can be traced so fully in its visible reco,d
From the tine Of Louis .the Stout, A y
HOS, Paris has been the rich and power
full metropolis of rich and charging state
and from that day to this there is hardly
single decade which has not left some
fragment or other of its work for curcycs
The history of each of its great lOuuda
tions, civil and ecclesiastical, would fill a
volume, and indeed almost every one of
them has had many volumes devoted to its
gradual development or final disappear
anoe and transformation to modern uses.
The history Of the Cathedral 1f Notrc
Dame from the laying of the first stone
by Pope Alexander III in the age rf our
Henry III and Beckett down to the final
restoration" by NJ Violet lo DucGad tho
history of all its anuCXcs and Ccpvut,u,
Archeveche Hotel Dilu, tugc her wi ia ,.u
exact account Of all its curyuas. GLASS,
reliefs, etc, would b3 Il h,to:y 81 att
itself. Tho same would bo uue II eng
followed on; ,lcIi stcJ e. def mCIiom
of ST. Gcuuu ,,s Pres, ct II. Victor Of
st. Martin dos Champs uf the Tcmplc
and Of IT. C.tRiltu.
Two ur t.i.r If tlc.c enormous do
mains would together occupy space
cquHl TO- lGo Nyh, De ui.o of the urie mai
site. They ,onmucd magnificent
churches hai!- libraries rcfoctorcs and
other buildint5 and down to the last cen
fury we're moro or less in IA state of fair
preservation or active existence. OF them
all 1t seems that St. Victor, on the site of
the Halle aux Wins, and the Temple, on
the site of the square of that name, have
entirely disappeared. But of the others
interesting parts still remain, OF the II
great abbey and 20 minor converts which
Paris still had at the revolution, mono re-
mains complete, and the great majority
have left nothing but names to the now
streets. -Fortnightly Review.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Character i'm the Face.

Below the nose runs furrow parting
the upper lip In the faces of babies and
children this furrow is very noticeable
From the evClutionist's point of view it
is one of the most remarkable characters
of the face. 1t tends to become obsolete
in old age, and it is not seen among the
Catarhine monkeys Among the Platy-
rhinos it is hut feebly developed, but in
Lelnurs it is in more pronounced state
There is depressed septum, to which the
two side pieces are joined. The upper
lip, in fact is nearly split in two, but
held together in a depressed piece of flesh
In the Marsupialia and Rodentia the lip
is practically in two pieces, and each piece
is capable of being moved separately. This
is the 'harelip,' and its method of use
may well be noticed in hare or a rabbit
when eating.
The furrow, therefore, in the child's lip
points to this--that our ancestors possess.
ed not single upper lip, as we do now,
but two upper lips, one beneath each nos
tril, both capable of independent move
ment. In the course of time these two lips
have, owing to the nonrequirement of in
dependent movement, grown together to
form the single lip we now possess, but
the line of junction is not perfect, and so
the furrow results, and sometimes there is
distinct scar down the middle of the
furrow.
The possession of the furrowed upper
lip by children is one of the strongest
pieces of evidence against the DIES, t. Of
man from any Catarhne and in favor Of
his descent from Platyrhines, or from Lo-
murs through the Intervention of Platy-
rhinelikc ancestors, of which there are 10
exact living representatives Nineteonth
Century.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
Minute Description in Old Deeds.

Those who read old deeds are impressed
with the habit our ancestors had of de-
scribing man not only by his name and
residence as we moderns do, but by his
trade, calling or profession. Go back in
any of the Maine records SO years or
more, and we find these things stated
with great particularly. So far as men
owned real estate under recorded deed
prior to 1880 or thereabout, the historian
does not lack for information about the
business they were engaged in Often
when party to deed had moro than
one kind of business the painstaking
scrivenor wrote them all in, as if the idon-
tlty of the person would be doubtful with
out such description. Almost any man
can learn curious facts regarding his an
cestors and family connections by follow
Ing back the old land titles in the regis
tries.-Lewiston (Me.) Journal.