davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

During the period of the confedera-
ton the power TO coin money was vested
not only in the continental congress,
but in the several states, many of them
taking advantage of this to issue cop
per coins.
The Massachusetts Legislature has
appropriated 100000 for good roads.
The farmers of the state have watched
the road building operations of the last
two or three years and have concluded
that there is money in going ahead with
the work.
Canada has just bestowed names
on it's territory bordering the Arctic
ocean. 1t will hereafter appear on the
map in four districts or provinces
Ungaga, Franklin, Mackenzie and Yu-
kon. The four combined contain 1,421,
600 square miles, or nearly seven times
the area of the province of Ontario.
One of the largest life insurance
corporations in New York is discharg-
ing a number of its clerks owing to UNI
usual dullneSs in its business at the
present time. The custom is to make
changes and raise salaries in March.
1t is the first time in the history of this
company that clerks have been dis
charged at this season of the year.
The lash was recently applied to the
back of man in England who had
committed highway robbery. He
knocked down young woman and
stole her purse. Justice Day, of ths
Kent assizes, expressed his disapproval
of long sentences for first offenders.
He thereupon sentenced Ellis to 8
months imprisonment and 30 lashes
from the cat"
The Yankee Notion arrived in Bel
fast, Me-. recently. 1t is frail, monde
script-looking vessel, 20 feet long, sia
feet wide, with a house amidships, and
is constructed of odds and ends of lum
Der. The occupants are Cobbler Viii.
liam Cottrell, of Swans island, and his
yellow dog. Capt. Cottrell proposes to
navigate the Maine coast, earning his
living at odd jobs of cobbling.
The women of the early years o.
New Netherland and New York diff.
ginia and New England. They had
other traits than those of domestic
housewifery; they partook frequently
of the shrewdness and business sa-
gacity and capacity of their Dutch hus-
bands. Widows seem to have felt no
hesitation and experienced no difficulty
in carrying on the business affairs of
their dead partners; their ventures
were as extended and as fearless as
those of the men. They traded for
peltries with the Indians with marked
success. Perhaps part of their profit
may have come through the Indian
braves serene confidence in their own
superior sagacity in bargaining and
traf1icking with the white squaws."
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
CONTROL OF THE ORINOCO.
Punta Barima Important, But Not a
Vital Point.

To comprehend fully what the con-
trOi of vast waterway threading the
richest part of Guiana would mean to
America and American interests, one
must study carefully the map of South
America. Geographers divide the
southern continent into three great
basins, those of the Amazon, the ORR
roco and the Plata. To dominate the
mouth of any one of these great arte
ries of commerce would be to become
tho master of one-third of South Ameri
ca. The Orinoco is navigable for YES
sells of the deepest draft to Ciudad
Bolivar, Nenezuela's eastern metropolis.
Within this distance of 400 miles 90
other navigable rivers swell the mighty
current of the Orinoco, while still far
Their into the interior the eastern bank
receives the waters of 81 large rivers
and the west those of 30. Two of the
former are navigable to the affluents of
the Amazon, and many of the latter
to the remote interior of the neighbor
ing republics of Venezuela and Colom-
b;a.
IL sic "CIt W gain tOIlIOl VI Tic
Crinoco, England would possess the
key to the entire eastern part of South
America. This view has been advanced
by ex-Iresident Guzman Blanco III a
recent publication. He attaches to the
possession of Punta Barima the ability
to dominate the Orinoco and the entire
water system which empties into It..
Punta Barima is on the southeastern
bank of the OrinOco, at its iuncture
with the sea, and is described as high
bluff which, when properly fortified,
would control this entrance, the most
navigable of all the mouths of the ORR
noco. 1t would not be under water dur
ing the period of inundation, and with
dockyard and three or four gunboats
its master might lock up the Orinoco
and all that vast tributary country.
On the other hand, the oounterview is
advanced, and should be stated, that the
position of Punta Barima would enable
the English to dominate only one pass
by means of guns placed on fortifica-
ticns on shore, since at least two of
the other mouths of the Orinoco can
be entered by vessels from the sea.
The best line of communication to.
day between Trinidad and Ciudad Boil
var is by a side-wheel steamer, built in
the United tSates, which passes
through a mouth of the Orinoco far to
the west of Punta Barima, on the bar Of
which there is at least eight feet OF
water. 1t therefore may be argued that
Notifications at Punta Barima could
not close the Orinoco, the control of
which would depend upon vessels of
war. England's strength as a sea pow
er, with Trinidad as base, gives her
all necessary control of the river to-day.
If British Guiana should develop into
a great nation, claiming and owning
one bank of the Orinoco, Punta Barima
would become a point of great impor-
lance; but this is contingency hardly
to be dreaded by Venezuela, since, with
her superb natural advantages, she
must inevitably keep the lead. - w.
Nephew King, in Century.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
OHIO AND MASSACHUSETTS.
The States That Have Brought FOrths
Some Great Men.


Ohio as the mother of great men be-
comes possibly more conspicuous in
war than in peace. The number ami
character of the men who were leaders,
on the field between 1861 and 1865,
whose birthplace was in Ohio or whose
early training was there received, ara
preeminent. Among them were such
commanders as Mcdowell, Mcpherson,
Buell., Cox. Rosecrans, and also Sheri-
dan, Sherman and Grant. Mcclellan
went to the war from Ohio, and was
first appointed to the command of Ohio
troops. 1t is only not to be forgotten
that Hayes and Garfield won the title
of general long before that of presi-
dent. But these names are to me hardly
so significant as the fact that one.
eighth of all the federal army of the
great war came from Ohio.
The similarity between Ohio and
Maine in having it's great men political
leaders is striking. The delegation Of
Maine in congress, like the delegation
of Ohio, has always been one of pre-
eminent ability. George Evans and VIII
liam Pitt Fessenden, Lot NJ. Morrill,
Hannibal Hamlin and James G. Blaine
not to mention men who are now in
ongress-illustrate the character of,
the timber which the Pine Tree stats
has sent to Washington. An Ohio Cow
ernor was the rival of the great Maine
man as a candidate for the republican
nomination for the presidency in 1876.
and four years later a like condition
prevailed. The Ohio men won both i'll
the conventions and at the polls.
But the contrast between the voca-
tons and avocations of the great men
of Ohio and the great men of Massa-
chusetts is most striking. One who
visited Boston 20 or 40 years ago wanted
to see literary men-Longfellow Whit
tier, Emerson, Lowell and Holmes
Sumner did not attract the public notice
that Longfellow called out, nor Wilson
that of Whittier, nor Winthrop that OF
Holmes. There are two exceptions.
One, Daniel Webster. No man probably
ever filled the public eye in any state
as did Webster in Massachusetts. l have
heard Col. Higginson say that when
Webster walked down State street,
State street seemed to stopits business,
look out of the windows of counting
rooms, cease its walk and turn round in
order to look at the great man. Men
and boys said, in bated breath: There
goes Webster" The other exception
is Wendell Phillips, great orator, who
thought he was statesman, but who
| ha1,NoI To 10 hn TO ,ht oh LODI
into service the greatest of statesmen
President Charles f. Thwing, in
Harper's Magazine.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
SHARP ANIMALS.



There are many of the lower animals
that feign death when it serves their
purpose to do so. Creatures as low in
the scale as microscopic animalcules
will, when surprised by an enemy, pre-
tend that they are dead.
There is a fresh-water worm which
when approached by giant water
beetle makes use of this stratagem: Il
will be swimming along when sudden
ly it will hang limp and threadlilie, the
sport of the currents and waves. The
reason for this peculiar action is the APP
proach of one of the beetles. After tho
beetle disappears the worm comes to
life.
Grubs and caterpillars feign death.
A naturalist watched a caterpillar one
day which accidentally fell into little
sandy pit. Every time it attempted to
climb up the side of the pit it fell back,
dragging with it a quantity of sand.
1t tried all sides and finally when al
most up dislodged Il corn cob, which
fell into the pit, dragging the caterpii-
lar. The caterpillar thought the cob
was dl tilSlHS anu Cul ICu up III d 'ISio
ball, lay dead some minutes and final
Iy cautiously came to life and success
fully crawled away.
The black viper and tree moccasin
snakes have the habit of feigning death.
A wonderful piece of acting was wit
messed by man who was teasing Il
black viper. The snake suddenly rose,
bent over, bit itself in the back, shud-
dered and stretched out for dead. The
man sat down and watched it. In
about Is minutes it woke up and sour
ried away. This snake is called the sui
eide snake by farmers, who insist that
it poisons itself.
Ants play dead" and the opossum's
tricks in this direction are very well
known.-Chicago News.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

Among the Arecunas, another tribe,
both men and women encourage person
al vanity to an extraordinary degree,
and pass the greater part of the day
decorating their naked bodies with all
the colors they can obtain. These they
prepare from different fruits, that of
the cusarapeu producing q bright scar
let, and the bark of the cuare a deep
black. Around the wrists, forearms
and ankles the women wear bracelets
made from the teeth of wild animals,
and they paint the legs, breasts, and,
last but not least, the faces. The de-
signs are often artistic, and enable
them to conceal their ages more sue
cessfully than all the modern lotions,
powders and "blooms of youth."-W.
Nephew King, in Century.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

From Foochow Owney sailed to Hong
Kong, where he was unfortunately de-
layed and prevented from making a
speed record around the world. He
visited the consulate, made round of
visits to the rich tea and silk merchants,
and received many curious pieces of
Chinese money, which were strung to
his collar. From the emperor of China
Owney received passport bearing the
royal crest and dragon, permitting him
TO travel in the country. But Owney
did not go beyond the city, and so muck
red tape was employed on his depar
ture by the pcninsular and oriental
steamer that Capt. Panton, of the Vic
toria, finally decided to take the dog
traveller back to Kobi, Japan, from
which port he finally sailed to New
York as the guest of Capt. Grant, of the
steamer Port Phillip.-Charles Fred
erick Holder, in st. Nicholas.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
BITS AND BREvlTIES.

Franklin, Ind, has imposed fine Of
500 on cigarette selling to minors.
Opium smoking is prohibited by the
Japanese government in Formosa.
Whisky does not smell as badly as the
reputation of the man that sells it.-At-
tia, in Lever.
In 1895, France furnished $780, 49,, 900
gallons of wine, according to the Mont
teur VeniCale. Paris.
Only two animals eat tobacco; large
green worm and-mnn. p. S.-The
worm can't help it.-Christian Guide.
OF the worl>ingmen who have won
their way to the British house Of com
mons, only one was not an abstainer.
The morbid use of narcotics is slow
suicide. They dull pain, but leave the
scalpel as sharp as ever.-Ram's Horn.
a temperance hospital and training
school for nurses has been established
in New York city by two German ply
sicians, under the auspices of the Red
Cross society. Several eminent New
York physicians are on it's staff.
In trenchant article in the North
American Review, Mary A. Livermore
says: at is the most serious and wide
spread evil OF our time, the drunken
ness of husbands, alike in high life and
low life, and it portends the direst son-
sequences to postcrity."
The Baptist Union of Scotland, a few
weeks ago in session at Dundee, held
an interesting conference devoted to the
vital topic: How best to promote the
total abstinence movement (1) in the
church; (2) in the state; (3) in thN
school.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
Swiss Funeral.

The funeral customs among some of
the Swiss are most peculiar. At he
death of a person the family inserts
formal, black-edged announcement in
the papers, asking for sympathy and
stating that the mourning urn" will
be exhibited certain hours on a special
day. In front of the house where the
person died there is placed a little black
table, covered with a black cloth, on
which stands large black jar. Into
this the friends and acquaintance of
the family drop little black margined
visiting cards, sometimes with a few
words of sympathy on them. The urn
is put out on the table on the day of the
funeral. No one except gentlemen ever
go to the churchyard, and they general
ly follow the hearse on foot, though
sometimes carriages are used The
horses that draw the hearse have loug
black cioaks on, with places cut out Tor
them to see through. Any man who
NETS a funeral procession invariably
lifts his hat until it has passed. The
graveyards are very different from the
American cemeteries. Instead of plac-
ing the dead in private lots, as here, they
are buried according to the wear in
which they died. Thus, in going to the
graves of departed friends, the visitor
must remember the year of the deaths
and search along the rows until the de-
sired mound is found.-Chicago News.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
TEMPERANCE
MY PLEA, :

Have you seen my little child to-day,
Leading her father home?
Rosy cheeks and smiles,
Dimples with their wiles,
Locks the winds to ripples comb
Have you seen my little child to-day?
Brave and loving little heart Away,
Leading her father home;
Stepping slow the while,
Innocent of guile.
AS the lambs that green hills roam,
Leading home her father gone astray.
Close she holds his strengthless hand al.
way,
Leading her father home.
Keeling step, blank smile,
Maudlin words that soil
Eea the weeds rank in the loan.
Yet she gently leads him home Away.
If you see my little child to-day,
Leading her father home
Mothers with glad smiles,
In homes where naught deflles-
Think of my child and her home,
Think of her, my little child, to-day.
Have some pity in your happy lot, pray.
Lest we hurt ones groani
God keeps rank and file
OF the souls so undefiled
They can weep when others moan.
Pity, then. my child and home, pray.
Alice L. Simpson. In Union Signal.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
AFRICAN LIQUOR TRAFFIC.
Should Be Placed in the Same Category
as the Trade in Slaves.

During the past year considerable at
tention has been paid by the London
Times and other metropolitan English
papers to the question of the liquor
traffic with the native races. No doubt
the interest taken on this subject by
the English press is due to the urgent
appeals and protests made by Khama,
chief of Bechuanland, to the English
people. The following extract from one
of his protests against the English gov
eminent flooding his country with rum
shows the spirit of this chief
ut were better for me that I should
lose my country than that it should be
flooded with drink. To fight against
drink is to fight against demons, and
not against men. | dread the white
mans drink more than the assegais
bf the Matabele, which kills mems
bodies; but drink puts devils into men
and destroys both their souls and their
bodies forever. It's wounds never heal.
| pray, your honor, never to ask me to
open even little door to drink"
No wonder that even the London
Times should editorially say:
THE time seems to have come in
which the spirit trade with natives
should be placed in the same category
as the trade in slaves. In the English
colony of Lagos alone 100000 gallons
of spirits go in every year for native
consumption, and in the neighboring
colony of Oil Rivers--known now as the
Niger protectorate-2,O 100000 gallons
more go in every year"
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
GUARDED.
Story of Little Deaconness Nurse and a
Drink-Crazed Man.

Story of Little Deaconness Nurse and q
Drink-Crazed Man.
"Come out, please"
A very tiny woman in the cap and
gown of a deaconess nurse stood hold
ing open the door of a dark closet. With
in stood a huge, black-browed man, his
hair disordered, his eyes wild and blood
shot. He glared down at the little wom
an like wild beast, and ground his
teeth together. Was she afraid? MOL
Not a tremor passed over her. An hour
before she had been on her knees, and
now she knew that an invisible hand
protected her.
81 won't come out. Shut the door and
leave me alone"
But l want you to come out first.
Why should you stay in here?"
What power it was that prompted
the man to obey the girl herself could
not have told, but, crazed with drink as
he was he felt the spell of some power
stronger than his own will and stag
gered out of the closet. The girl closed
and locked the door and then went back
to her patient.
The sick woman lay unconscious. AL
ready the cold gray shadows were creep
ing over her face. All that the nurse
could hope to do for her was to protect
her from the drunken frenzy of her
husband and suffer her soul 30 go in
peace. The children wept by the bed
side, or fed in terror from the pres
ence of the insane father as he APP
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

"Well, you're homo at last, are YOU
said the mermaid, angrily. "And where
have you been, I'd like to know? DO
you realize that it is nearly "a hours
since | last saw you? A pretty hus-
band you are!"
''But, my dear" the norman BEGAN.
'But'-'but' don't say but to me.
No doubt, you've an excuse. You'd be
poor sort of man if you couldn't
think of one by this time. But know
where YOU were. You've been hanging
around those bathing resorts again.
Chicago Tribune.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

The very first living thing to appear
upon the surface of our globe, in other
words, the earliest distinctly organized
animal whose fossiled remains are found
in the rocks which go to make up the
earths crust was a three-lobed worm
called tribolite. According to the
biologists it was the first created being
that had distinct animal organiza-
tion.--Detroit Free Press.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

The oft-debated question of the pro-
duction of typhoid fever by oyster eat.
ing has been brought up at the French
academic de medicine. Thirty-five mil.
lion oysters a year is the average con.
sumption in Paris, and professor pro
poses that they should be sent to the
uninhabited coasts of Brittany and
Belle Isle and left in the sea to get clean
before being eaten.-Chicago Chronicle
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30

A piece of pianoforte wire recently
tested at the Watertown arsenal showed
the extraordinary strength of 2O6 tons
per square inch in diameter; large sizes
gave tensile strength of 1876 tons anil
upward per square inch. The metal
contained o.s5 per cent. of combined
carbon.-N. Y. Sun.
The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-07-30
Cardinal Wolsay's Ring.

Wolsey's seal ring is preserved in the
Tower of London. 1t is set with pc
cuiar stone, the nature of which is
unknown, bat which was believed by
his enemies to possess magical proper
ties.-Chicago Inter Ocean.
The herald., 1896-12-09
JULIAN STORY ON AMERICAN ART.

Mr. Julian Story, the well knwn artist,
has recently returned to New York from
Paris, and contemplates remaining here
curing the winter. Within the past few
years Mr.. Story has attained leading
position among American painters He
has given rather more attention to por-
traits recently than he did in the earlier
stages of his career.
When Mr.. Story was seen in his apart
ment yesterday he was reluctant to
speak of his work. Il naturally take
pride in the fact that the French gov
ernment has honored me by purchasing
my salon picture" he said The fact
that it is not customary to purchase the
work of a foreigner makes it. of course,
the more gratifying to me.
Il think that American artists are es-
tablishiDg themselves more firmly
abroad, and the number of studenl wis
iting Paris increases every year. / be-
lieve in the Paris atmosphere. AS !
have followed that course myself, nat
urally advise the young American paint
ers to go to Paris and study there as
much as possible. Their opportunities
We're never better than they are today
AS an Illustration of what is being done
there for the American artist, Twill cite
a case in point. At the exhibition of 'S9
an American jury was formed, on which
I had the honor to serve. My associates
lHCluueu IIeTCe, MelCneTS, Bridge man,
McEwen, Weeks. Stewart Gay. Dannet
and Bisling, among others. When the
exhibition was over we met at monthly
6inners, and eventually organized the
Society of American Artists in Paris.
1t was and is our object to see that
American works receive proper atten-
tion at the various art exhibits. and to
supply all requisite information to the
intending exhibitors. AS the represent
ative Of the society I served on the jury
at the Berlin exhibition. We do what We
can to encourage the students and ad-
vance their interests
And what of Charles Dana Gibson's
success in London?"
1T was most pronounced" said Mr..
Story, with warmth. "He simply cap
tivated London with his pictures. OF
the several that appeared in public
prints over there, 7 particularly admired
his drawing of pretty girl looking at
her first picture
1t is Mr.. Story's intention to rent a
studio in town for the winter. That he
will exhibit at the spring exhibition in
the Fine Arts building is not improhS ble
He will while here. be engaged on sew
eral portraits. but of those he preferred
NJ. to speak.-New York Herald.
The herald., 1896-12-09
SANTA MONICA ELECTRIC LINE.

Mr.. E. P. Clark, general manager of
the electric road was down yesterday
from Los Angeles taking a general view
of everything in general and the cleo
trio road in particular.
He did not say just when the cut off
from Sherman to Los Angeles would be
completed, but he explained many of the
advantages to be obtained by the
change.
The cutoff will only shorten the route
by a mile and half, but it will avoid
the many hills that are now traversed.
At present it requires thirty-tive min
utes to cover the first five miles out of
Los Angeles and only forty minutes for
the other fourteen miles. making total
of one hour asd fifteen minutes. That is
from Fourth street, Los Angeles, to
Third street. Santa Monica.
The running time by the new route
between these points will be reduced by
twenty minutes, making the trip in fifty
five minutes.
We hear no objections on the part of
the public to the proposed change
Santa Monica outlook.