davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Cnshine,s Heroic Deed.

In 1861, at the very beginning of oul civil war, a young lad named William Barker Cushing entered the navy as 6 volunteer officer, though he had pre- viously been through the Naval Acad- emy at Annapolis. He was only IS years old, but braver or more reckless sailor never grasped a cutlass or stood by a gun. Never fight but he was in the thick of l., never battle but Oush- ings name was mentioned in orders. He dared do anything that man dared. One dark night, at Plymouth, N. O., he took boats crew and, stealing quiet ly away, he crept up beside the Con- federate ram "Albemarle" and, taking the chances of almost certain death, he sank her by torpedo fired from his steam launch. Then he fought at Fort Fisher with great bravery, and, what is ever rarer, he used sound judgment, se- curing for his command all the fruits of the yictory.-St Nicholas.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
How to Sleep Best.

The proper position of beds with re- gard to the point of the compass-that is, whether we should lie north and south, parallel to the earths axis, or east and west, across it-iS the puzzling problem propounded by Sir Benjamin Richardson in an English publicat ton. If the head is turned west there is a tendency, it is said, to send the blood rushing to that organ. If the head is east the feet are affected in a similar way.
 Sir Benjamin thinks that If we should lie in the line of the axis due north and south it would be most prob able that the rotation of the earth would produce no special effect on the blood in its course to or from the head" As for himself, he has tried all positions and sleeps best when his head is turn ed towards the United States. The only objection he has to it is that the sun wakes him up little earlier than he likes.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
BAGGAGE OF AMERICANS.
Luxurious but Compact, and Suited
 to Their Every Want.

While the Englishman travelling may have six or eight pieces of baggage, the American, who prefers to have his luggage in a compact form, may have but one. Instead of carrying his be- longings in a number of separate pack ages he puts them in a trunk in which there are separate compartments for all necessary articles. In this trunk there is a place for his dressing case and a place for his silk hat and a place for his shoes. There are compartments for a dress suit and for other suits, and for shirts, and for underwear, and places for ueckwear and other articles. Such trunks are made of sole leather, of rawhide, and of canvas, and of va rious sizes An American going on a journey of considerable extent and duration might get all he desired to carry into one such trunk.
 He would have a number of travel ing bags to meet different require ments, and he would have also small trunk for use upon occasion, perhaps upon a yachting trip; though he might carry aboard a yacht bag or larger trunk For trips of day or two, per haps, into the country, he has a dress suit case These cases are made now adays of various dimensions, some of them to hold number of suits. There is one deep dress suit case that has at one end a compartment for silk hat; the sale of these Is increasing somewhat, but still it Is small alto gether, such case being rather cum- bersome. The man going on short trip where a high hat would be re- quired, as, for instance, for coach ing party, would usually carry a hat case. Hat cases are made to carry, be- sides a silk hat, a derby hat and soft hat; and hat cases are made in which two hats may be carried-a silk hat and pearl hat, as we'll as a derby and a soft hot-and such cases are not very much higher than an ordinary hat case, the additional room required for the added hat being not so great as might seem necessary.
 If he goes into hunting and fishing he has a hunting trunk made cOnven- iently arranged to carry his shooting and fishing clothing and equipment, and with compartment suitably fit ted for his guns; his fishing rods are usually carried, however, in a sole leather case made especially for that purpose-New York Sun.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
coALINe SHIPS IN MIoocEAN.
Some of the Golfers Engaged in It
 Are Fleet and Trustworthy.

Some of the Golfers Engaged in It
 Are Fleet and Trustworthy.
 A few years ago, to the astonishment
 of many people, Admiral Sir Michael
 Culme-Seymour demonstrated the pos
 sibility, provided the conditions of
 weather and sea be not especially un- 1 favorable, of coaling battle ships in
 mid-Atlantic Trouble, anxiety and a
 certain amount of risk are involved, l but all these disadvantages might not 1 ably be lessened if, instead of employ i ing ordinary tramp colliers of small l tonnage, we built class of fleet "coal- CTS" specially designed for the service
 of the navy in war time, and if attach
 ed to them we maintained a corps of officers and men all specialists in the art and mystery of coaling ships.
 The features desirable in such a ves- sel are great coal carrying capacity,
 high speed, a wel-protected stern, a moderately heavy gun mounted as stern chaser, and all the latest and best appliances to facilitate rapid coal ing from her. No navy as yet possess es a vessel of this sort. Her value and usefulness would, nevertheless, be enormous. For in most seas a greater proportion of moderate than rough weather is encountered; in many seas there are islands or rocks, the lee af- forded by which might be utilized for coaling purposes if only colliers hap pened to be upon the spot, and if it were a standing rule in any squadron to which fleet colliers" were attached that ships should fill up with coal at every possible opportunity, even If at the moment they did not actually need it, the ability of our vessels to operate effectively at long distances from their regular bases would be enormously furthered. AS for the fleet collier herself, when cruising with a fleet she would have no difficulty in keeping up with 1t, and could therefore be protect ed by it, and when detached her speed, twenty-twO or twenty-three knots, would enable her to Outstrip all but the very fastest of the enemy's cruisers, her armored stern would shield her from the shells even of them, and her heavy stern chaser would enable her to return at least as good as might be sent after her by her foe. She might be built to carry 5000 or 10000 tons of coal in addition to supplies for herself; if opportunity offered she might dis charge her cargo at some temporary base and return home for more. She would be neither an impeachment nor anxiety to any fleet to which she might be attached, but rather a source of comfort and security, and in the event of fatal accident occurring to one of the other vessels in company she could receive the homeless crew, and even wait for a time without delaying her consortS for an instant. So many ad- vantages, indeed, would result, espe- cially in war time, from the employ ment of vessels of this nature that 1t ! Is astonishing that nothing of the kind has up to the present been construct | ed. It is not too much to say that the | most serious preoccupation of the mod ern admiral during active operations is the question of coal supplles.-Nine- teenth Century
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Marvellous Measnrement.

At the recent "conversazione" of the Royal Society in London a pendulum instrument was exhibited, intended to record the slightest tilts and pulsations of the crust of the earth. It was as- serted that this instrument would ren- der observable a tilt of less than one hree-hundredth of a second of arc. In other words, If plane surface were tipped up only so little that the rise would amount to a single inch in a thousand miles, the instrument would reveal the tiltingi
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
A Reach of Iron Sand.

On the western coast of the northern island of New Zealand immense de- posits of magnetic iron sand are found. The sand is brought down by many streams from the slopes of Mount Egmont. The cliffs consist of a mix ture of ordinary silica sand and iron sand, but the waves sweeping the beach carry the lighter silica sand away, leav- ing an almost pure deposit of iron sand fourteen feet in depth. Furnaces have been erected by which the sand is smelted and formed into pig iron.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Oueer Facts AbOut CoIors.

According to information given by German officer to the Horse Guards Gazette, an experiment was recently made in Europe to determine what color in a soldiers uniform is the least conspicuous to an enemy. Of ten men two were dressed in light gray uni form, two in dark gray, two. in green, two In dark blue and two in scarlet. All were then ordered to march off, while a group of officers remained watching them. The first to disappear in the landscape was the light gray, and next, surprising as it may seem, the scarletl Then followed the dark gray, while the dark blue and the green remained visi- ble long after all the others had dis appeared. Experiments in firing at
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
rfnnsoIeum in 8 Tree.

One of the most curious mausoleums in the world was discovered the other
 day in an orchard at the village of No-
 ebdenitz, in Saxe-Altenburg. A gigan-
 tic oak tree, which q storm had robbed
 of Its crown, was up for public auction.
 Among the bidders happened to be
 Baron Von Thummel, scion of a fam
 fly of ancient lineage that has given
 the world of literature one charming
 poet and the Fatherland many distin-
 guished statesmen. The Baron, who
 lives on neighboring estate, had rid
 den to the auction place quite acciden-
 tally. Finally the tree was knocked
 down to him for 200 marks. Upon his
 arrival at the castle he told an old ser
 want of his purchase, describing the
 tree and its situation. The old servant
 said he remembered attending the fu-
 neral of Bardon Thummel seventy or
 eighty years ago, and that the body oak, belonging to the parsonage. En- vestigation clearly proved that the or chard had once been the property of the village church, and that at one side of the old oak was an iron shutter, rusty and time-worn, that the people of the town had always supposed to have been placed there by some joker or mischievous boys. The iron shutter proved to be the gate to the mausole- um of Baron Hans Wilhelm Von Thum- mel, at one time Minister of the State of Saxe-Altenburg, who died in 1924, and wished to be buried lin the 1,OOO-year-old tree he loved so we'll" In the hollow of the tree Baron Hans caused to be built sepulchre of solid masonry, large enough to accommodate his coffin. The coffin was placed there, as the church records show, on March 5, 1924, and the opening was closed by an iron gate. In the course of time a wall of wood grew over the opening, which had been enlarged to admit the | workmen and the coffin, and for many years it has been completely shut, thus removing the last vestige of the odd use to which the old tree had been put. |
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
A Chinaman Sees a Piano.

A Chinaman, lately returned from a trip to Europe, treated his countrym n to the following description of the piano:
 ''The Europeans keep a four-legged beast, which they can make sing at will. A man, or more frequently a woman, or even a feeble girl, sits down in front of the animal and steps on it's tail, at the same time striking it's white teeth with his or her fingers, when the crea- ture begins to sing. The singing, though much louder than that of a bird, is pleasant to listen to. The beast does not bite, nor does 1t move, though it is not tied up."
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Stupidity of Armed Animals,

How much less wit have such animals animals like the porcupine, 'possum, skunk, turtle-that nature has armed against all foes, than the animals that have no such ready-made defenses, and are preyed upon by multitude of ene- mics. The price paid for being shield ed against all danger, for never feeling fear or anxiety, is stupidity. If the DOT cupine were as vulnerable to its enc mics as, say, the woodchuck, it would probably soon come to be as alert and swift of foot as that marmot-St. Nicholas.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Carniyorous Plants,

That such plants as "Venus' fy-trap" actually catch and squeeze to death flies and other insects alighting on their leaves has long been known, but the discovery is comparatively recent that the plants digest the softer parts of their prey by means of peptic fer ment secreted by the leaves. These, then, are real instances of plants feed ing upon animals.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
A GhOo<Iv Caf

An invention calculated to terrify mice and rats Is described in Popular Science News. It consists of metallic cat, which, being covered with lumin- ous paint, shines in dark room with a mysterious radiance which, the inven- tor thinks, will be more .effectual than traps, or even genuine cats, in ridding houses of rodent pests.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
San Francisco Is Grow,,e

San Francisco is putting on city airs. The street committee decided last week not to permit the laying of plank side walks in the suburbs of the city here after. The walks must henceforth be of concrete or bitumen and at lea st three feet wide.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

It was formerly believed that cast iron, when subjected to long-continued shocks and jarring, became crystal lized" and brittle; but MT. A. D. Outer bridge, Jr., of Philadelphia, has re- gently shown, by a series of expert ments, that instead of being weakened, cast iron is really strengthened by re- peated blows and concussions.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Never.

Agnes-It seems wicked to eat those dear little spring lambs that gambol on the green.
 Paul-Don't worry, dear; they are never eaten while they are able to gam- bol.-Detroit Free Press.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Not Harmful.

Doctor-Above all, you must not ex- ert your mental capacity too much.
 Poet-But want to finish a volume of poetry.
 Doctor-Oh, that will not hurt you in the least.-Judy.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
A Recognition.

MT. Bickers-The effectiveness of women is universally acknowledged.
 Mrs. Bickers-Oh, it is, is it?
 MT. BickerS-It is. The term mother tongue" is idiomatic in most languages. Detroit Free Press.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Flower Perfumes.

It is claimed that the perfume of flowers disappears as soon as the starch in the petal is exhausted, and 1t may, it is said, be restored by placing the flower in solution of sugar, when the forma- tion of starch and the emission of fra grance will be at once resumed.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

The orange orchard of Mir. Growth of Highlands is not dropping its fruit, like all the others, and he thinks the reason is that he fertilized it heavily with guano last winter, using twenty to twenty-four pounds to the tree.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

When man puts on another suit, the other men say: "New, or cleaned upY
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

There is nothing like mortgage to make man prompt in paying his debts.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

The nan who was in the war is as unreliable as the man who has been fishing.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
Speed at Which Blood Travels.

Human blood travels through the ar- teries from the heart at a speed of twelve feet per second.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

blue and red targets, according to the same authority, proved that blue could be more ens!ly seen at distance than red.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

Every man is more or less of a fool about some things.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

Every thoroughbred is able to make his own salad dressing.
The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08

red.
The herald., 1896-08-28
AII.Day Session of the Council
Finance Committee
THE RATE NOT YET FIXED
Much Difficulty Experienced In Keeping
Down Expenses
Reguisr Weekly nceting of the Board Of Park
comm ssioncrs - HoIlenbeck Park
BrIdgs-City Hall Notes

The finance committee of the council
was in session during the entire day
yesterday behind closed doors in the
city clerks office, figuring on the tax
levy for the coming year. The other
members of the council dropped in
from time to time to make recommended
tions and offer suggestions, and alto
gether considerable progress was made.
Chairman Stockwell stated, late yester
day afternoon, that nothing could be
given out for publication at this time,
as the committee had not yet been able
to get the various matters in such shape
as to give even an approximate esti-
mate. New matters were coming up
every moment, and UP to the present
moment the committee had not got down
to a working basis. They hoped how
ever to be able to present a report to
the council Monday, and if necessary
would work all night to accomplish
their object
Meanwhile there is much speculation
as to what the rate will be- In The Her
aid Sunday morning, when the footings
of the assessment roll were published,
with those of last year, for the purpose
of comparison, it was stated that the
rate would be from 10 tolls cents below
that of last year. which was S1.45, as
there was $4,000 less to raise and SO, 500,-
900 more on the assessment roll on which
to raise it. Later it was semi officially
given out that an effort would be made
to cut it down to $1.25. Now it is said
that 1t will not be less than 81 80 and
perhaps may so to $1.35.
AS one of the city officials said yester-
day, the committee have hard job on
their hands to keep the rate down to the
figures they would like This being
election year. and most of the council
men being candidates to succeed them
selves, they will do the best they can to
make record for economy to go before
the people of their respective wards
with. But the people want great many
things, all of which take money. There
is q very vigorous kick against any re-
duction in the estimates for the fire de-
partment, and the councilmen admit
that the new apparatus asked for must
be purchased, even If the department is
not put on a full paid basis for another
year. Then any suggestion that the
number of lights asked for can be re-
duced brings forth a vigorous protest
from the councilman interested. Thus,
while every councilman wants to have
as low rate as possible, he is not will
ing to have the cut made in his ward if
he can help it.
One member of the council stated that
if the rate was put at $1.40 it would be
none too high, as all of the money raised
could be spent advantageously, but ad-
mitted that it would be below this figure
by at least 10 cents.
The herald., 1896-08-28
PARK COMM. SlONERS
The Vernon Park Proposition Considered-De.
filming the Lines OF EIysian Park


At the meeting of the board of park
commissioners yesterday morning the
matter of the petition of residents of the
Vernon district that steps be taken to
secure public park for that section of
the city was taken up and informally
discussed at some length. There is a
tract of land known as Central park, on
Central avenue, comprising about eight
acres, which the people of Vernon think
is just about suited to their require
ments. The owner of this tract is will
ing to sell the same to the city for $4,000,
to be paid for at the rate of $500 annually
for twenty years. A communication was
sent to the board stating that petition
was being circulated and that very near
eight hundred names had been secured.
This petition will be sent to the council
In the meantime no action will be taken
until this petition is presented and the
council is asked to acquire the land
specified for park purposes, which will
probably be done at the next meeting
superintendent Geary reported that a
number of Mexican wood-chopperS were
engaged in timber cutting along the
north line of Elysian park and he be-
lieved encroaching on the park lands
lie could not state positively that the
men were over the line for the reason
that no monuments have ever been
placed designing the limits of the park.
1t was matter, he said, that needed i'm
mediate attention, especially as there
was danger from brush fires in the Vicin-
ity. On the superintendent's recon-
mendation the secretary was instructed
to communicate with the council and
ask that the city engineer be ordered to
define the lines of Elysian park as soon
as possible.
The contract for the construction of
foot bridge over the lake at Hollenbeck
park was let to Ledbetter & Mercereau.
at a cost of $575 The contractors will
commence work in few days. At a re-
cent meeting of the council the commits
sioners were empowered to contract for
this improvement, to cost not more than
$500
The herald., 1896-08-28
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The GaIlatin Trustees File Their Election
Returns
County Superintendent of Schools Goes on His
Vscation-A Fire Escape to Be Erected
on the Court House Building
~StYD

The certificate, exhibits and report of
the trustees of the Gallatin school dis
trict was filed and on motion the elec-
ton was declared to have been held.
The election, held August 1st, was for
the purpose of deciding by vote of the
school district electors the question of
raising by special tax 800 to pay off the
Indebtedness of the school house and
buy a bell There We're six votes cast.
BY the county assessment book of Gala
tin school district the total valuation Of
taxable property is placed at $15O,42O.
County Superintendent of Schools
Spurgeon V. Riley was permitted ten
days vacation from August oath.
The petition against the erection of
a tank house at the townsite of Broad
acres was taken under advisement.
With regard to the opening of Preuss
street, the matter was set for hearing
on September Sd, the board to visit and
investigate meantime.
The bid of the Express was accepted
for county advertising.
The clerk of the board was instructed
to advertise for bids for fire escape for
the county courthouse, the bids to be
opened on September 9Th at 2 p. IN. The
escape will consist of a ladder to be an
chored to the walls of the building, hav
ing four small balconies to be placed at
the third and fourth floors. The fire es-
cape will start on the Broadway side and
extend over the roof and descend on the
East New High street side.
On motion the resignation of H. d.
Parsons as poundmaSter at Wilmington
was accepted.
H. e. Purdy> sexton of the Artesia
cemetery, in his annual report showed
that five family lots had been sold at IS
each; seven single lots at 81 each and
that there had been thirty burials.
The claim of $921.6S, balance due for
grading the Los Angeles and Ventura
stage road at the Cahuenga pass, put in
by the contractor. u. l. Wall, was ex-
anined and allowed.
The deed from John w. Dodge to cer-
tain property needed for the extension
the land declared public highway The
same action was taken with regard to
deeds made by D. r. Brearley and e. NJ.
Rhodes and William Rudge.
The claim of James Darling for $37.62
balance due on the hospital sewer con-
tract, was examined and allowed.
The application of G. Courville and La
Fourd for restaurant license at Gar
dena, was Withdrawn
The application of Wm McDermott
for a saloon license at Tar Ais" half
a mile outside the city limits of Alham-
bra, was granted
The application of Peter Lallich for
a saloon license at Vermosa was set for
hearing September 23d.
The application of T. M. Mathews for
a saloon license for Garden canyon, on
Catalina island, was set for September
9th