davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

| acters, with 4 hand that does not trem-
BILE: Charles Carroll" \ whisper
passes among his associates. II the new
confederacy is crushed by the mother
country, the trainers of this treasona-
bic document would have to suffer for
their action. There were a number of
Charles CAROLS then living in the colo
MES, and this particular Charles Carroll
had a chance to escape, which none OF
his colleagues could hope for.
The murmur reached his ear as he
o from the table. He instantly
turned back, picked up the pen again,
and completed his signature in n man
ner that left no doubt as to which
Charles Carroll was accountable.
Doubtless many were wondering why
that one signature, Charles Carroll. of
Carrollton." stands out different from
the rest. 1t is for the reason that the
signer did not intend his identity as a
patriot to be doubtful or misleading.
When he subscribed to that record of
glory. Charles Carroll. of Carrollton.
was in his 10th year. and owner of the
largest fortune in America.
There go a few Millions" said the
wealthy Nirginian planter, Benjamin
Harrison father and great-grandfather
OF future presidentS), as the rich planter
traced his name on the parchment.
Millions would indeed have gone-for
his possessions were princely-had not
success crowned the American arms in
the long and bloody struggle.
He was the grandson of an Irish gen
tlcman who c~Ini%ratcd TO Maryland in
1859. and took up Il vast estate-one of
the last of the old immortal grants. The
manor house that he built still stands
near Annapolis huge. roomy old
structure, with It's wings and outhouses,
covering an acre of ground.
In this grand old mansion house OF
Carrollton the future signer was born
on September 20. 1877. Graded in af-
fucnce. the oldest of his fathers sons,
and heir to the immortal property,
young Carroll knew nothing of the
hardshipS OF life. He was brought up
like Il young prince, had his horses and
hounds. and all the spending money he
liked. Nobody could have seen in the
slim, delicate, carefully-nurtured young
scion of the CAROLS, of Carrollton, one
Of the s]ternest and ruest of patriots.
At the age of eight years, Charles Car
roll was sent TO France for the purpose
of obtaining an education. He spent
six years at the College of st. Omers,
and subsequently he was at Rheims and
Bourges.
In the year 1871 he went to England,
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

was but one bridge of any consequence
between Cherokee and C~herryyale, and
| intended Stacking up for it. The fire
man worked like n beaver to keep up
the steam. as the rain cooled the boiler,
making it more difficult to keep the
proper pressure. Alongw sped through
the darkness, the flashes OF lightning
lighting up the surrounding country
as bright as day, and making it almost
impossible to see at all by the sudden
return to darkness.
As we neared the Neosho river slack
ened the speed, intending to u slowly
over the bridge, when distinctly above
the rear of the train. and the storm
sounded the report of a single torpedo.
Instantly l shut her off, reversed the
lever and applied the brakes. She
slowed down quickly and stopped with
the pilot of the engine projecting ever
Il chasm-for Ncosho bridge was gone!
The conductor came running forward
to see what caused US to stop, and When
he saw nov, nearly had came to r.ulling
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
cuLrIvATING PERSONALITY.
It L. W ell Enough to Avoid the Common

C%ultivating a personality is all right,
girls. provided you go about it in the
right way. Don't, for instance. acquire
it at TIE expense of s~elf-repose.
You can all to easily become known
as the CIR! who rumples her forehead.
uses her hands like n deaf mute. punctu-
ates her conversation with s~pasnrodic
little head jerks, and otherwise i'm
presses her audience with the idea hat
she is indulging in a mild form of social
athletics.
There is, of course, such a thing as a
perfume personality, and, what is more,
il doesn't, as some people contend, come
from the exclusive use of soap and
water. 1. comes from a liberal employ
ment of sachet powder among your be-
longings, and, of course, it takes money
to crafty the within. 1t is a notion, by
the way, hat must be very fastidiously
manipulated or your friends will dub
your tastes vulgar. Any sachet or scent
suggestive of musk is distinctly bad
fern.
Priestesses of hygiene strive for a
well-groomed personality. This is more
pleasant to the disciples of body culture
than the hall-marks of beauty or bril-
liancy.
Some young women attain a CORE
sponaence personality. Their writing
table is their vantage ground, and the
white-wirged messengers they dispatch
by mail carry with them certain details
of good breeding that invest the author
with a charming atmosphere of good
taste.
Dress individuality comes from many
sources. Sometimes you can get it in
one wa; sometimes in another. 4
lamsel with Il neck that is perfection
secures her dress individuality by ig-
noring high collars when universally
n favor, and always wearing waists
that are finished around the throat
witha soft fluff of lace or rufies.
Some little jewelry caprice, such as
the exclusive wearing of cat's-eyes or
t%urquoises, will stamp its %patroness as
one Just a trifie removed from the COM
utonplace.
Oh. it's a harmless trick of woman
hood. this effort to dodge the owen
;ional, and it is sure to please until
il takes the form of unreposeful man
uerisms III speech or person.
Then the misguided one becomes Il
target for Observation-Disclosures In,
Juirer.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

the passenger train into the NeoshS
river, he trembled like n aspen, and wa
utterly powerless TO owe.
But about the torpedo signal?
When / told the conductor how l hap
pened TO stop. in answer to his question.
he laughed at me-. How could anyone
put 4 torpedo on the track at that place
and no station within ten miles? L did
not know, but l heard it distinctly. AMI
so did my fireman, who could no more
explain its being there than l could.
One thing vas certain-thc bridge was
gone, and there was nothing for us to
do but to back to Cherokee and get
orders. and L jumped into the cab, feel
ing a little more queer than l ever felt
before in all my railroad experience.
"Oh, Ned, DOL here" said my fire.
man, as we stopped at the sidetrack at
Cherokee.
He was holding open his seat-boN. I
looked, and the whole thing dawned
upon me.
There. in the bottom of the seat-boX,
was a mass of torn, blackened brown
paper, and the fireman's dinner-bucket
and his pipe, which he threw lighted
into the box when getting down from
his seat TO put in a fire." and which
had ignited the firecracker fuse.
We were saved a horrible death indi-
rectly by my little hoy, and | never al
lowed a'Fourth"topassa after that with
out buying him a large supply of fire
works.
When we told the story in Fort Scott.
the railroad fellows would not bclieva
it; but. after they found it was the
truth. they took up = collection, and 10Y
Larry Doolen, the fireman, is the owner
Of the finest meerschaum pipe west of
the Mississippi.-Evert l.. Paul, IL
Golden Days.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
Saluting the Flag.

Coffee is now served out, and for -
minutes the sailors sit and sip it before
beginning the morning work of scrub
bling decks and cleaning ship. This
work should be finished by five minutes
to eight, when the bugle sounds the first
call for colors. Upon which the quar.
termaster bends OF the flag 30 the hall
yards of the flagstaff at the stern, and
a signa!-boy does the same with thu
Jack at the bow, and both stand ready
to hoist them at eight o'clock. A little
period of waiting follows, and hen
eight o'clock is reported by an orderly
to the officer of the deck, who sends the
orderly to report it to the captain.
Presently the orderly returns and re.
ports:
"The captain says: Make it, sir"
Thereupon the officer of the deck or,
ders:
Sound off,"
Then ring out the clear. majestic noteA
of the salute to the flag, while all men
about the deck face it as it scars with
dignity aloft and floats out to the MORN
ing breeze, officers and men touching
their caps in reverential salute as it
comes to rest and the music dies away
in long, full ~notes.-Lieut. John NJ. FL
licott, in st. Nicholas.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
A CANNON
A Railroad Engineers Story of Il Narrow
Escape.


| am an old railroad man, having
| spent the best years of my life at the
throttle, and have had Il great many
hairbreadth escapes and thrilling adj
ventures on the rail. But one dark
stormy night, nearly ten years ago, l
went through an experience that came
near ending my life, although was not
injured physically in the least.
In those days the railroad companies
used what is called the torpedo system
of signaling much more than at the
present time. The torpedo is simply "
little tin cup filled with powder, 10
which is attached a cap, so that the
pressure of the locomotive in passing
over it will cause it to explode. There
was u regular code of torpedo signals
and when an engineer heard the report
of a single torpedo, which meant stop
he lost no time in reversing his engine
and whistling for brakes.
was pulling a passenger train. at the
time the event occurred, on what is
called the ~CheTryvale division of the h.
c., Fl. s. d NJ. Il. r., which runs from
Fort Scott, Kan, to Cherryvale. The
road had Just been widened from narrow
gauge to standard, and as il had been
raining for the past week. the streams
were all swollen. and the roadbed was
soft, making travelling at any very great
rate of speed very unsafe. We made the
trip from Chcrryvale to Fort Scott and
l,,I- -, 49,, l,,- ,rnl oil I hn Et.aNH- +hprn-
fore. made their homes in Chcrryvalc.
On the morning Of the Sd of July |
left home for the roundhoUse. prom
Using my little boy to bring him somC
fireworks for the Fourth. ! made the
purchases at Fort Scott. and among
the fireworks was Il large cannon
cracker. which l tossed in the fireman;
Seat-boX.
We pulled out of Fort Scott III time,
and in such a rainstorIn Us | have nevr:
since witnessed. BY the time we arrived
at Pittsburgh we were 20 minutes late
on account of the storm. At the next
station we got orders to run to ChCrO-
kee and 60 in the hole" rs we railroad
men call side-tracking. as a train had
been wrecked west of that place.
We were due out of Cherokee at 5:1j:
but before the two cars that had jumped
the track could he got back on the rails
it was eight O'Clock, and raining as only
it can rain in southeastern Kansas.
After leaving Cherokee | opened the
throttle. and we shot along through the
rain at Il speed that was trightful, o II
sidering the softress of the roadbed
and the danger of washoutS. But an
he is behind time.
The headlight burned with Il dim, yell
low light. and only pierced the darkness
to the distance of u few yards. There
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
INDIANS AND TORNADOES.
Red Men Selected Chicago Site Because
Cyclones Never Touched 1t.

Red Men Selected Chicago Site Because
Cyclones Never Touched 1t.
"In the speculation about cyclones in
Chicago" said Amos Kersey, a residen!
of Elmhurst, who has known Chicago
for almost so years, lone most i'm
portant thing is usually overlooked. In
the ordinary course of nature there will
never be a tornado in Chicago. 1t is not
entirely a question of why the city is
safe. The main thing is: Is it safe2
After hat speculation is idle.
But you know hat tornadoes never
visit localities where the Indians had
villages? They never do. There was In
Indian village at the mouth of the Chi!
,agoriverwhen the first explorer cametd
the portage. And tradition then said
that a village always had stood there.
There has never been a cyclone in the
city. Sometimes they come within ten
miles, but they never wreck the city.
There was no Indian village on the
site of ST. Louis, and cyclones have come
there repeatedly. The one in 1872 waa
almost as severe as this one of Wednes
day.
81 don't pretend to understand why,
you know. l only give you the facts.
Isuppose the course of storms, the chan
mel in which they travel, is as definitely
fixed as the course of the gulf stream or
the recurrence of the seasons. In pass
ing ages the people, however primitive,
will come to recognize these boundaries.
They will not make settlements Ill the
places where tornadoes come. They
will go to places where tornadoes never
have struck.
by hat system of selection they
chose Chicago. They did not choose st.
Louis. Now, it may be the presence OF
the lake-though that scarcely seems
reasonable, as other lake cities have
been visited. 1t may he the general fiat
character of the land. but Kansas and
Nebraska have suffered, and they ars
as level. I don't know why. / only
state as a result of my observation and
study that sites of Indian villages are
never visited by cyclones."-Chicags
Post.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

Put six heaping tablespoonfuls of
powdered coffee-Java and Mocha
miXed-into a French coffee pot. pour
one quart of boiling water over the cof
fee. When it has Ieached through turn
il out into n hot quart cup and pour II
over again, so it teaches through the sec
ond time. Pour the coffee into a freezer.
Sweeten to taste and add one pint Of
rich cream. Pack the freezer with
Clipped ice. and when the coffee is cor
gealed, take a large punch bowl, into
it put a good-sized piece of ice. Pour
the frozen coffee over this and cover
the whole with whipped cream to the
depth of three inches. Serve with a sill
yer ladle in small egg-shell china cups.
st. Louis Republic.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
BASELY DECEIVED.
This Man Has a Grievance Against the
Weather Bureau.

weather bureau.
1t was one of the hottest DAYS that
usurped the privileges of balmy spring.
The sun beat down until a mist OF heat
came from the stone walks and the
brick walls. Toward furnishing store
n fat man, among Detroit's best-known
citizens, made his weary way In one
hand he used two handkerchiefs as a
mop. while with the other he kept up
the busy action of a palm-leaf fan. Per-
SEPARATION ran in merry rivulets down his
shining face, to be absorbed in the wilt
ed collar and collapsed shirt from that
were immaculate an hour before. He
was painting with the respiratory unc-
ton of Il porpoise and ut intervals NUT
tered excavations that Kissed with
steam. His hair looked as though he
had beer swimming. and his nOSe was
beaded with glistening drops:
SHOW INT a straw hat ordered the
man of flesh as he settled down on the
little round seat that at once suggested
the frIil stem of a great toadstool.
LOOKS like RAIN" ventured the clerk,
who is always under orders to be pleas
ant.
Don't look a bit like rain. Weather
forecast is for n dry spell. This one
will do. Now III get some pie-plant
leaves and put in it. Don't propose to
have nv brain baked"
An hour later he was on the wooded
Fart of the island, hardkerchiefs and
fan still in commission. Suddenly, as
ii the heavens had opened, he was
deluged with rain. The mucilage from
tire hat mingled with the extracted
green Of the big leaf, poured down over
his head, neck and face. blinded his
eyes, filled his ears and streamed over
his natty light suit. lie swore out
rageOus'y as he CROPPED his way to the
lending, and by his hopelessly bedrag-
gled appearance excited the passengers
to say that the poor fellow must have
been drinking to cool off and then went
in bathing without thinking to take
anything off. He was a study in water
colors that might have been mixed by
nature N a %frog-pond. Now he is going
around with a blank check trying to
hire some big lawyer TO sue the govern
ment for damages because it made false
representations through its weather
1epartment.-Detroit Free Press.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
HUMOROUS.

-She-T would not marry you il
twere to live to be 100 years old" He
We'll, 1 should say you wouldn't if i
had anything to say in the natter
indianapolis Journal.
--He-"Hear the duet Mr.. and Mrs.
Bacon are playing" She-"I hear Mrs.
Bacon playing the piano; that's all"
Well, Bacon is playing the hose in the
Tard."-Yonkers Statesman.
She (angrily)-'I was a fool when
I married you" He-"Aren't you q
fool still?" She-"No, I am not" He
Then you should be thankful to me-
for reforming you."-Tid-Bits.
For the life of me-" said the young
man, 81 don't see why a woman was not
born with the same capacity for swal7
lowing that she has for ice
acknowledgements Journal. !
His Winning Card.-'Why are you
going to marry that man, Laura? He
hasn't a single quality to recommend
him!" 'Oh, yes, he has, Cora. He is
the only man I ever saw who knows
how to carry an umbrella."-Detroit
Free Press.
-Drummer-"You must have seen
many strange things in your time, Un-
Gle Reub." Uncle Reub-"Most every
strange thing there be, I guess, b'goshI
I've lived here in Overbehind. man an
boy, for so years, an my eyes amt been
shut, stranger."-Exchange.
Lady with Alpenstock 81 can
NEVER reach the top of this mountain"
Guide-"But, madam, see-there are
those ladies on the summit" Lady
Yes, / know-but they are Chicago
women who live in the top stories in
apartment buildings!"-Chicago Rec
ord.
Its real mean,+ said the Amazon,
Indignantly. There ought to be soma
sort of restriction to prevent such a
thing in civilized warfare" what do
you mean?" Zone of the scouts has
just come in. She reports that the
enemy is making arrangements to usa
trained mice."-Washington Star.
-Grandpa's Explanation.-A small
BOY who had heard a good deal of con
versation on the progress of civilization
went up to his grandfather and said:
"Grandpa, tell me what is the difference
between barbarism ard civilization?"
'Barbarism, my boy, is killing your
enemy with a Ratchet a distance of Q
step; civilization is killing him with a
bombshell IL miles away.'-Chicag0
Times-Herald.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

There, Willie" said the lads moth
er. SIS ten cents for you. Now, what
are you going to do with it??"
Save it up to buy fireworks for the
Fourth of July" replied the boy, in a
tone whose ~positivencss was almost de-
faint.
why, Willie, you know you are saw
ing up your money to give to the
heather"
"Y-yes'm, but the Chinese aro
heather, aren't they"
Yes, dear"
".And the Chinese make the firecrack'
crs, don't they?"
Il am told they do"
"WelI. then, the heathenIl get my
money just the same, so it's all right"
burlington (Ia.) Journal.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

ers. the prosperous merchants, the lead
ing lawyers, the official m~agnates, the
sturdy yeomanry of the new nation
soon to be. Familiar to us almost as
the persons of our own fathers, they
stand grouped in that stately hail. dis
cussing the alI-absorbing question
shall these colonies be free and indie
pendent states?
There is John Hancock, th@ TreSi-
dent, patrician and courtly to the very
tips OF his toes. and Sandy-haired, long
Tom jefferson, the most ardent of demo-
Gratis. Stout, pOmpous. rcd-faced John
Adams, and the white-haired, venerable
Benjamin Franklin are there. There,
too, are the slight, wiry Elbridge Gerry,
and pcrtly benjamin Harrison, who
weighed nearly 800 pounds; Roger Sher-
man. grave and dignified, and the Qua
ker. Stephen Hopkins. who stands with
his hat on. We know them all well.
They vote, and the declaration is passed.
America is free.
Then comes another day-August 2
of the same memorable year. Nearly
the same group is assembled in The same
hall. They have met this time TO sign
the great charter Of our liberties. There
is no hesitation. no hanging back, no
weakness, though every signer knows
full well the import of his action. They
will all be marked men. declared rebels
to the king, and perhaps be hung for
treason. But not 4 man refuses to sign.
One after another the delegates go for
ward ! o the table and place their sig
natures on the parchment. where John
Hancock has already placed his name
in hat bold, defiant and ornate hand of
his. Every man watches his neighbor
as he writes.
BY the side of Samuel Adams, talking
in 4 friendly way, is a man every way
different in look and dress. Adams is
plain and democratic, even more so
than jefferson, and has been schooled
in the hardest of all schools-adversity.
His companion is to the manor born.
rich and aristocratic as an English no
BILE, and the inheritor of a great name.
But his patriotism is as ardent as that
of the New England Puritan, Il he is
willing to sacrifice even LOT
And now it is his turn to go forward
to the table. He takes the goose-quill
and signs his rnme, in well-deined char
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

On July 4. 1921, the fact that only
four of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence were still living was no.
ticed in many of the newspapers of the
time. Thirty days a~fterward, one of
them, William Floyd, of New York. was
dead. The death of John Adams and
Thomas jefferson on July 4. 1896, left
Charles Carroll the last surviving
sigEer. He lived almost seven years
longer. On July 1, 1928, after he had
passed the age of 80 years. in the pres
ence of 4 vast ]concourse of spectators,
and attended by an imposing civic pro-
cession, he laid the corner-ston of the
November IA, 1882. at the age of 95 years.
1t is customary to suppose that only
the lower and middle classes embraced
the cause of liberty in the revolutionary
contest. But this opinion is not war
rarted by the facts. Many of the
w%ealthiest men in the colonies were
ardent patriots. Washington and the
Lees, of Virginia, were wealthy men.
John Hancock and Robert Morris were
each the most %affiuent individual in his
respective state. The Livingstons, of
New York, ranked among the greatest
landholders in the country. But of all
the patriots of the revolution, none
risked so much, none had so much to
lose. as Charles Carroll. of Carrollton.
1t is pleasant to know that he handed
down an undiminished estate to his
children, M of whom was subsequent
~ governor of his native state. And the
name is still one of homer in Maryland.
Fred Mvron Colby. in Golden DAYS.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

He started out early. our dear little boy
With Il packs and a nice Caano toy,
y pistol for caps ana tOrpcdOes galore.
And 149 pinwhecls or more.
We hired n man just to watch him ut play,
And to follow his footsteps around all the
day;
Ten times in the morning he saved the
dear's life,
But was blown up himself and sent home
to his wife.
And at night, when they brought what was
left of our bog,
Our anguish was tempered by small grains
of joy:
For he said. as the powder was picked from
his eye,
II wish at tomorrow was Fourth o. JULY
Then the doctors came round at cur ur-
gent request,
And tackled on his limbs where they fitted
the best:
But the kid only said: I'D be willln' to
die
Every day if twas only the Fourth O.
JULY
N. Y. Evening Sun.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

at seems to me-" Observed one of the
neighbors, happening along during the
afternoon of the glorious Fourth, you
might have put a flag or two on the
front of your house"
"We did," answered the Withholding
man on the vcranda, but we had to
take them down and use them for
hapdages."-Chicago Tribune.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
Hint

He-Don'tyou suppose the wild waves
ars beginning to say something DOWN
at the seashore?
She-I don't know. I do knew whnt
the winds are saying, though 1 dont
think you do"
NO. What do they say?%
Observation-Disclosures Enquiries.
The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04

Heat mt cupful of milk in a chatting
dish or double boiler, rub together Il
tablespoonful of -four and half as much
tutter and stir smoothly into the milk.
Next put in one car of salmon, breaking
1t as little as possible. eason to taste
and serve as soon as heated through
Albany journal.