davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-24

can't get the number you want and yet
| you know there is some one al
ways there-that's where the pinch
! is. It's this vice of teleph oning
that is making busy people gray
| haired and the air blue with blasphemy.
Sometimes Central is TO blame-very often,
in fact Yesterday she laid her chewing
! gum beside her, and two wires got crossed
| in it. l heard Jones scolding his wife over
! the phone, but l couldn't get an answer
from Central-not until she wanted to
chew that gum some more.
Recently a new modification of the teIe-
phone vice has developed | have noticed .
1t is shown in the man who lays for
/ crossed wires. That's all he wants. He
comes into the office to see me three times
day and each time rings up Central. Ii
the wire is crossed he is happy. You
ought to behold his face while he is lis
tening to a secret courtship over the wire.
He confded IN me- the other day ana asked
me if there was cure for his habit.
told him to read THE CALLS advertising
columns, but he said he had done that and
found cures for every other human vice
except that of telephoning.
Here's chance for bright young doc
tor, whose future Is more promising than
his immediate present.
In mis- nit of confidence the crossed wire
iend said he had twelve friends whom he
visited every day regularly, and whose
wires he used. Then, besides this he
spent a couple of the largest-sized white
metal coins every day in the nickel-in-the
slot telephones.
asked him how many crossed wires he
managed to find in day, for had an idea
at the time that all this would make a
readable Sunday story.
at varies he said. "Some days l
catch crossed wire every other time.
Some days 1 don't catch more than one or
| two all day long"
That's dreadful I said, feelingly.
YES" he said, ''those are my dark
days"
think the new telephone code will cure
him in time.
"There ought to be an extra tax of say five
cents for every meaningless or useless word
spoken by wirei' said man at the Stock Ex-
change who was waiting anxiously to tell his
broker to buy more mines.
Finally he grew impatient. Prices were
| going up fraction every hour, so he dashed
around the corner and sped up Montgomery
street, to give the order in person.
And what do you suppose found the mat
ter with the brokers' telephone p said the
Stock Exchange man when he came back fiji
teen minutes later, perspiring.
Lime out OF Order?''
mo, --- it; that wouldn't have been
so bad. There was the junior bookkeeper say
ing lot OF soft things over the wire, that I
couldn't get because Central turned "the-line-
ls-busy-call-again" machine on me. However
we bought the stock in time, and if it keeps
on going up till evening won't complain this
time about the bookkeeper to his boss. But
the next time-!" HG
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-24

The largest pure diamond, that belong
ing to the Rajah of NATHAN, weighs 367
carats The one OF the next greatest
weight, the Orloof, or Orloff, weighs 1913
carats.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
The Fish of Florida

When the dweller in the North wants
to go fishing in the winter or spring he
comes to Florida as the Mecca Of all
lovers of the sport, and he is never dis
appointed in his success in angling.
Fish Of every variety are ODE had for
the simple trouble Of dropping into the
water a hook and line provided with
the proper bait, and the man who can
not make a success Of fishing trip has
not sense enough to carry on any other
mission in life.
But the people Of Florida do not
seem to realize the importance of the
opportunity in this particular industry
that lies before them. In no waters
on earth can the pompano be secured
in such quantity and such perfecton
as on the Florida coast, and the same
may be said of the trout, and many
other varieties Of table fish that are
common food to our people, but rare
delicacies to other sections of the
country. With the growth Of refrig-
Grating facilities in transportation,
which proves itself day by day, Flori-
da fisheries must become institutions
of national MISUNDERSTANDING.
Times-Union.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
The Camera in Surveying.

An account was recently given of the
use Of the camera for surveying pur-
poses by the survey department of the
Canadian government. The method in
question was introduced in 1888 with
a view to reduce the cost of the or
binary methods of survey, which be-
came excessive in the Rocky noun
tain district. In that year 250 square
miles were surveyed by photography,
and this amount steadily increased un-
til in 1891 and 1892 double this guam
tity was dealt with, the cost of survey
being but 81 shillings per square mile.
The method depends upon tie fact
that a camera with a suitable lens
gives true perspective. Then having
a plan and elevation of any structure,
it is possible to construct geometrically
a perspective view, and conversely
from perspective views it is possible
to pass by geometrical construction to
the plan and elevation. Only a small
party, consisting of the topographer
his assistant and packer and laborer,
are required in the field, and the
amount of ground covered is very
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
yaunt and savage, crct,uched like a spi-

glunt and savage, crcu:hed like sp1-
der in a Eoisome web. se
If Suddenly he began an incantatio
The half -muttered words of the chant
Tesenlbled the mindless rawlings of a
hasheesh dream. With every sway of
his body forward, his gree-giees and
artlllets of dead mems bones sounding
like the angry warning of a rattle
t1ake II
Before he had finished the chant he
sprang to his feet, tall and bony and
with blazing eyes. Be had seen in the
gloom the white faces of Burnham
and Armstrong. There was no oppor-
tunity for seizure. The long, dusky
arm Of the AIatabele god described a
swift svoop toward the wall of the
cave. In doing this he half-turned his
back. Was it aSsegai. gun or spear?
Burnham did not know. He did not
stop to guess. His rifle pitched like
lightning to his shoulder and the dark
ness was lanced with f1ame.
s. Then M'limo, the Matabela god,
threw his arp, aloft and with never a
groan fell prone on his face dead.
Echoes which had slept for centuries
We're vakened from their hoary lairs
and went rioting and believing
abroad in the hills. Out of the cav
err, pell-mell, came the two men,
scralnbling wildly for the base Of the
hill where their horses were tied.
Armstrong. making a sudden de-
four. set fire to the big kraal. which
contained about 200 huts. In the
meintime Burnham had secured the
horses and had led them to Arm
Strong. The Matabele had been
aroused by the rifle shot, but as yet
they had been unable to locate it. The
smoke OF the burning village gave
then a rallying point. They came
sswarning out Ike bees from hive
The air was filled with the shouts of
men, the screams of women and the
Cracking of he dry and burning
grass.
e Siready the fueitivcs had been per-
ftceiyed by the Matabele. who were try
ing to cut then: off from the river.
Away went the horses like grey
| the scale of life or death. They round
led the f1ankers Of the enemy and
Stretched away for the river.
Some time afterward two cry tired
| horses and two more than tired men
staggered and splashed across the
l4'drift'' and turned their noses toward
Mangwe Away back to the north a
thick. black smoke was rolling over
the Matoppo hills like funeral pail.
The morning after the return Of the
! two men from their perilous eXDedj-
tion Capt. Van RooyeI, a noted hunter
| and trader, induced an indiana named
IfSanguluha | to visit the M'limo's cave
Sand let him know what was there.
Is This man returned few days later,
and said that he had entered the cave.
I; ; ibid you find a g',d?' asked Van
Rooyen. -1 :.....
fsssio'' replied Sanguluba. 81 found 4
dead man. One of his ears was eaten
away. He was not a god."-New
York Herald.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
First Sensation. In Battle.

First Sensations I'm Battle.
What are the first sensations of the
battlefield? Zola, Tolstoi and Stephen
Crane have imagined them, and COM
batants have written them. "Some-
thing whizzed past me like big blue
bottle on the wing" says Lieut.. "Her-
bert" of Plevna fame, "and the current
of air caused by its rapid passage
touched my ear. Another
All at once I realized that these were
the enemy's bullets, and, horrible dictu,
the discovery brought on a. sudden.
violent attack Of cholera-like disposi-
tion." The passage may be compared
with Zola's description. ''The now con-
slant Kissing of the bullets, with their
sharp ping or buzz whispering around,
and sometimes into us, gave me a.
sickening feeling and a cold perspira-
ton. felt weak around my knees, a.
sort Of faintness and lack Of strength
in the joints Of my legs, as if they
would sink from under me. These
symptoms did not decrease when sew
eral of my comrades were hit" says
Mr.. Lee Goss, former private in the
Army of the Potomac. No one quite
knows how he will behave. ''No man."
1 am quoting Wilkeson's stirring mar
rative, really enjoys a battle. One
has to string up his nerves and take
a firm grip Gu himself morally, and
hold himself in the battle-f1ames for a.
few moments until warmed to passion.
The impulse is to run out Of danger"
If the raw soldier is there and then
led forward against the enemy, the
trial to his nerves will be less severe
than if he has to wait under a heavy
shell and shrapnel fire to which he can
make no reply. In the one case he
will be moving and occupied, in the
other case he will only have his dan
ger to think of. This was, perhaps,
the reason why, in the war Of 1901,
the German soldier rushed impatiently
against the French positions. "The
beat Of the drum went before the thun-
der of our guns, and our power was.
shattered by the fire of the foes un-
shaken infantry" He was anxious to-,
end the period Of tension, and to come,
to hand-grips with his enemy. But he,
paid, and paid very dearly, for his inn
patience.-Formightly Review.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
A MODERN SINBAD.
rhe Sea Was Altogether Too Exciting
for Him.

fhe Sea Was Altogether Too Exciting
for Him.
Some imaginative writer tells the
.ale of sailor who was shipwrecked
three times, was in four collisions and
two fires at sea, suffered from sun
stroke and yellow fever, lost finger
Or two by frostbite, had one eye
gouged out in fight at San Francisco
came home, married a shopkeeping
widow, who henpecked him, got out of
his course one foggy day and walked
into the river, where he was found
next morning still chewing his over
night quid of tobacco, but without his
glass eye, says Macmillan's Magazine.
This is the novelist's type and is per-
haps somewhat highly colored; but it
may be compared with some actual
types.
One of the men we have in mind fell
from the mainyard and broke his left
arm before he had been at sea a month
on his first voyage as an apprentice.
On the return voyage from San Fran
cisco he fell from the same yard and
broke one of his legs The vessel was
wrecked in gale off the southwest
coast of Ireland, and this unhappy
youth, fato profugus, was saved, with
three others, out of a crew of twenty
six, only, however, to find that his
next ship, laden with coal, took fire
On the other side of Cape Horn and had
TO be abandoned by her men, who we're
six days in their boats before a home
ward-bound ship picked them up.
His third vessel ran ashore at the en-
trance to Hong Kong harbor in her
hurry to get inside before a Yankee.
with whom she was in company. When
sur friend found his fourth ship dis
masted in a cyclone in the Indian
ocean, he came to the conclusion that
sea life, which he had been quite pre-
pared to like, was too exciting for
him, and he decided forthwith, pro-:
yided he got safely out of that scrape,
to leave it to those with better luck.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24

Burnhann and Armstrong Adva1c-
ing on M'limo's Lines
the two men, rendered desperate and
somewhat reckless by accumula ting
dangers, wheeled into another path
and made, directly for the crest of the
kOpje, now about mile away.
It is little short of a miracle that the
god-hunters were not now discovered.
Good luck was still with them, how
ever. When they had arrived within
600 yards Of M'limos cave, they found
their way blocked by large party
of warriors sitting i'll tile shadow of
some rorkS.
Most men would have given up the
expedition at this point, but both
Burnham and Armstrong were made
Of sterner stuff. They knew that an
1ndaba OF council was in progress. and
that the Matabele was not likely to
stir for some time.
Once more they slowly retreated.
and, after making short circuit.
they wheeled and started again for
The summit. fully realizing that, unless
they could get at the cave at once the
opportunity would be lost forever. At
any tiD.e th. Wor .en might notify the
MataDe1e of the presence of the two
men.
Burnham and Arm strong NOW ap-
preached the three kopJes from the
east instead Of from the south, as they
had originally Intended. They saw
from the clump of bushes where they
had tied their horses that the face of
the center kopje was covered With
bushes and s1nall trees, which practi-
cally concealed its precipitous nature.
They also saw that at the foot of the
western kopje tl,at was a large kraal
Of conical hits. where the Impis were
"dcctored" before going to war This
complicated matters still further Be
tween them and the fout of the hill.
about 100 yards away: was an open
space of grass which they 7aust cross.
Nov for itv' said Burnham. Arm
strong smiled Grimly. Both meu
frightened their belts and prepared for
that last dash. Around then. at the
foot OF the kopjes, were probably q
thousand Of as cruel barbarians as
Africa can boast
According to the programme of the
two desperate men not a shot was to
be fired. It was 10 be seizure. If
not a seizure, the knife. If not the
knife, as a last resort. the rifle.
Pausing to take long breath. the
two men, crouching low, ran swiftly
out in the tall grass Of the open space,
stumbling here and there over the
hidden powders, but keeping ever in
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24

a direct line for the summit. Just be-
yond the ol,en glade they ca,ne upon a
steep path which somewhat resn;nbIed
a rude staircase It. was fortunately
Invisible from below, and Rurnham
and Armstrong passed rapidly and
noiselessly along the ascent
At the very su limit We're two huge
blocks upheayed by some prehistoric
earthquake. They leaned together in
the shape of an "a" tent. forming an
opening about four feet in height and
trehdiag downward. The mcn were
on their hands and knees now. They
crawled cautiously across the last in
teryening boWlder tight up to the dark
and foul-slnelling entrance to the
M'limo's cave.
Then together, like. two great cats,
they dropped softly into the darkness.
The rocky aisle, few PAGES in ad-
vance, turned sharply to the left. They
cautiously peerad around the s.neck.''
The killing OF the Black God.
There in the eemi-d -darfmess sat
N'dubi. the N limo OF the Matabele,
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24

AIMS, became incorporated into the
Matabele faith.
The priests who prophesied for
M'limo became respected factors in
tribal war. Whenever the Matabele
would see shooting star ''Lov' they
would say, ''the god is travelling. He
went in that direction
Asked where the god lives. one would
point to the east, another to the west,
and dozen others in as many different
directions One would say, Il have
seen him here On the mountain top"
Another would cry, Il have beheld him
at the setting of the sun, by the great
rock In the valley"
The priests of M'limo who were wont
to communicate with him in certain
localities were called Islosana, and
We're greater in power than the war
chlsef OF the tribe. In old times both
Moselekatze and Lo Bengula, his son,
used to send black oxen to M'limo to
procure rain in times Of drouth.
It was in 1898 that the power of
M'limo began to be felt in the hostile
actions Of Lo Bengula AT that time
the god was supposed to live in a cave
in the Matoppe HfHs, in Mangwe pass.
An attempt On the part of English
scouts to find him failed utterly.
After the death of Lo Bengula moth
ing more was heard of the M'limo for
almost two years. The god had gone
into temporary retirement, but would
eventually come forth and wreak a,
terrible revenge was the explanation
Of the high priest
The name of the high priest was
Nsdubi IT. was f7arOauph him -fhat tho
commands of M'linao were given. He
was at the head of an extensive priest
hood confined to his own family and
relatives. There was very little zeal
ousy or friction, therefore, in the car
rying out Of the mandates of the
Mlimo, and when at last it was stated
that the god would once more resume
sway there was great rejoicing among
the Matabele.
This was last February. The return
OF the god was to be signaled by
great dance in the Mangwe Hills. The
Matabele gathered from near and far,
all hastening to the big kraal at the
foot m the Matoppd Kopjes. Soon
after sunset the tom-toms began to
sound, and hundreds OF black and pow
erful looking warriors came pouring
down past the Taal gates In com
panies, dancing In grotesque fashion
and making the most unearthly and
aweinspiring noises s.
As they poured into the circle OF
hnts some OF them groWled like Wild
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
MAN-TRAILAAG DOGS.

Results Of Using Bloodhounds to CsssA
Criminals In the West.
4 The use of bloodhounds as an ad-
lunct OF the police department is be-
coming more and more common in
various sections of the union This is
particularly the case in the far west,
says the San Francisco Examiner.
During the days of slavery dogs wero
ased throughout the south to run Down
fugitive slaves, but for many years
after the war man-hunting with
hounds was almost unheard of. Now
and again it was tried, but lack of
raining in the dogs and perhaps want
Of patience in their owners brought
about so many failures that the prac-
tice was almost forgotten. Ten years
ago, when two desperate men held up
4 train on the Atlantic & Pacific, in
he southwest, and secured many thou
sands of dollars in booty, a ranchman
In Arizona offered to trace the high
waymen if a sufficient force for their
capture was furnished him and a re-
ward for his trouble offered. These
preliminaries being settled he ap-
peared on the scene twenty-four hours
after the crime had been committed
with a couple OF not very dangerous
looking dogs and rifle. He was rag
5ed in costume and apparently ragged
mentally, but, as the result proved,
knew what he was about. "Keep your
eye on them dogs and your hands on
your weepons-there's going to be
more or less fun,' was all he had to
say to his associates in starting Three
days later, after weary chase of
many miles over one of the toughest
trails in the world, the dogs came up
with and cornered the highwaymen.
The latter killed both of the dogs, but
before they could escape the pursuing
posse was upon them and they sur
rendered. They afterward confessed
their guilt, and told where the booty
was hidden. Nearly $4,000 was recov-
cred. The amount of money involved
and the satisfactory work of the blood
hounds revived the old practice Of
trailing man with dogs, and there are
now hundreds of the useful animals
in the possession of the peace officers
Of the west. They are carefully bred
and trained for the police duties.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
END OF THE MATA-
Bella GOD.
An American Scout and His Co
paniou Save MANY LiYeA

An American Scout and His Com
= panion Save Many Lives.
Almost every fine evening in Picca-
dilly or on the Row in London you may
see a tail, slight, middle-aged man with
gaunt, weather-beaten cheeks, sun
burned mustache, quiet eyes, as sharp
as a scimetar, and SLOUGH hat. An
American of course.
Promenaders stop to look at the
outre figure in the slouch hat Fash
ionable men tooling along the drive
way gaze at him with interest Pretty
women level upon him their lergnettes
and their languid glances.
It is Burnham, the American scout;
Burnham, the killer of N'dubi; the
M'limo of the Matabele
A murderer? No; an eXecutioner.
The saver of hundreds of lives through
the taking of one.
Burnham is coming to America. He
has shaken from his feet, for a time,
the sands Of the Zambesi, and the dust
of the wild aroos, and in the land Of
his birtA he will take his ease until
sent for again by Cecil Rhodes, the au-
tocrat Of South Africa
A Cruel Life, an Ignoble Death
This is the story of the life and death
of N'dubi, the M'limo of the Mara
bele-the story Of a cruel and merciless
life and Of an ignoble death. It is IA
miliar to residents of South Africa and
of England 1t is now told in this
country, in it's completeness, for the
first time.
When Moselegatze broke away from
the Zulus, long ago, and trekked north
ward into the unknown, he brought
with him into the land of the Makala-
kas all the old Zulu traditions and SUI
perstitions- He brought with him also
instincts as cruel as those of Hanno of
Carthage Blood was his benson. He
raided, slaughtered and killed. His
band of outcast Zulus became known
as the Matabele-the blood drinkers.
Tribe after tribe was conquered and
subjugated.
Among the tribes overridden were
the Makalakas.
Let him Alone" said they, "the
curse Of M'limo the god of the mount
aims, will come upon him"
Then MoselekatZe, the great chief,
fell ILL.,
1T is the M'limo," said the Makalaka.
ut is the Mlimo,' echoed the Mata-
belle.
Sacrifices were offered up in propiti-
alton, and thus the Makalaka supersti-
tiOn Of MEmo, the god of the mount
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
rived close under the shoulder of three

rived close under the shoulder of three
high kopjes, in the center one Of which
was located the cave Of the M'limo.
They almost deemed themselves se
cure from further interruption, know
ing the the hilltops were practically
deserted They were breathing their
horses and resting themselves when
suddenly they were confronted by the
very women they had come face to
face with a short time before. The
women halted with starting eyes. Be
fore they could scram Burnham cried
in Matabele, Don't be afraid; we have
lost our way while antelope hunting
Tell us which way to go and we will
depart" -
The frightened women complied, and
the two men rode off in the indicated
direction without paying any further
attention to the water carriers, who
probably departed as rapidly in an op-
posite direction. Once out of sight,
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
Let the Doctor. Do .Tt.

Should spoke bend or break and the
wheel "get out of true'' it is best ia
have competent repairer true. It up
again. It looks like an exceedingly
simple operation to true a wheel, but
an inexperienced person is apt to get
too great a strain on the spokes and
thus make future trouble for himself
American Cyclist.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
Riba1d Jesting,

1T all happened from a little joke I
tried to get off, - the bruised, battered
and tattered hobo explained to the cit
liens who picked him up. "Just fer
fun, you know, I proposed to the gang
that We organize party for the advo.
eating of the free coinage of soap. I
never dremp they'd take it serious..''-
indianapolis Journal. "
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
Hard to Explain.

Mr.. Smiley, what's a Gambia? %
"a cannibal? Why do you want t.
know, my boy?'' .z
" Cause last night, when you said
you favored rying out the old prin
ciple OF dog eat dog, pa whispered t.
me and said: Oh. what a cannibal!!'
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-10-24
Liberal.

Dealer-1 want you to understand
just what this parrot is; admit
that he will swear.
Customer-That's all right; I don't
want a parrot that is any better thanI
am.-New York Town Topics.