davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
The Reward Of Virtue.

The following story is related Of a
gentleman who invited q number Of
Sunday school children to a treat in his
beautiful grounds. Not the least appre-
ciated among the many good things were
the excellent Strawberries and cream,
Of which there was plentiful supply.
Seeing how the children enjoyed these,
the good man. wishing to improve the
occasion, addressed them:
well, boys" he said, 81 hope You
have thoroughly enjoyed your straw
berries and cream"
"Yes, SIR" was the reply in lusty
chorus.
But suppose. he continued, "that
instead of having been invited here you
had stolen over my garden wall and
helped yourselves when no one was look
ing. You would not have enjoyed them
half so much, would you?'
"NO, sir, again replied the chorus.
"And why not:" queried their bene-
factor.
To this question there was no imme-
diate response. the boys being apparent
ly shy of giving any reason. At length,
however, little urchin, rather bolder
than the rest, piped out:
"'Cause we shouldn't have had no
cream with them. London Tit-Bits.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
a Realistic s1G~es-

At tho final rehearsal of Mozart. /.
opera. ''Dnn Giovanni. tls- cumpuarr
was dissatisfied with the efforts of thu
young Indy TO wh",n the part &C Zsrlina
was assigrcd- Zcrlina - frightened si
Don Giovanni's too prunoupccd love
making and cries fer assis;ap-r trhirssl
the scenes. Mu=ar; was unabl- 60 iniu.r
sufficient fore into the poor girls
screams. until af last. losing all pa
thence. he clamb,rc'l from the conduct.
or's desk on to the boarslS Al that rrri.
oil n few talluw c.spdlcs tiimly clim.
mercd among the desks of ;i.- inI.si
clans. hut over the stage aud tls. rrsi
cs the house almost utter darkness
rcigncd. aoxart's sudden appcaraisrr
ON the stag was thrrsfore nn; suSyrrirsl
by poor Zcriina. who. nc tho issasarnt
when she ought io have ut;crd the cIy.
received from the composer a sharp
pinch ON the arm. emitting In co,s.s..
quence n s.irick which causr,i him in
exclaim: Admirable! Mind you ram
like that torigh,!''
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
Swallowing n Snake.

I had the good luck to see a curious
sight-that of one snake killing and
swallowing another. We came ON the
scene just as a king snake was kill
ing black snake, each q little over three
feet long. The king was tied and coiled
round the black, and the latter's tail
could just wigsle. After a few minutes,
during which the king tied himself in
the most curious knots and ran his head
up and down his victims writhing
body, biting it here and there as if ex-
amining his supper, he turned to the
blacks head, gave it preliminary bite
and then slowly proceeded to take the
black snake into camp. 1t seemed impos-
sible that he could swallow q snake as
long and as large as himself, but he did.
This is how he did it:
He would stretch his head as far as
possible, get his teeth hooked in his vic
TINS scales, then slip his body up till
it was in wrinkles at his neck and for
some way down, then loose his tooth
hold and slide his head forward for an
other grip, just as if you were putting
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22

Tho future of tho nsoose. oldea and
nnblcst Of tllc game animals on tins
continent. - n matter that has ssisessssfnd
a good many rruple. NJ. Isfaiih~aiie,
vis" has LIVED afssuns tbese animals al
his ltr. ssys thrrc ~ po danger rsf ibeif
disninss. .tsl in New Isfsnswiek. J1brF
shed their aaitisss hefofe fbe sasgw i~.
cusnrs dep in wisstrf. and tlse sJ,osss.
man Who rBdsasof~ g. carry away .
hnfnlose nsoosp - always fuashls sleaif
with by tlso niagistfai.s slu~n 90 tbe
srttlcmcnts Tbc .aiiy rslestless .tcsny
of the innosc ts fisr lumbf fsaan. ~ba in
the depth uf w5ntsf can malse good eso
of tine m.aL Dot ia the reria which 10
the sabjrrt of this afticlc tlrfe is little
lumber. and 90 tbrsU arr ses lumimfs
men. The derrntfatp 1pdia1lssd the va
lzrrs SELDOM irouhlc fi.rtaselst,s q hunt.
and the tcw moo-o killesl 30 hunters are
as nothins compared with the young
ones drsisryod iy the bears iBfpin ecss
trapped becanse has cazt wall average
go 60 his cspinr. There aso no wolves
In this wiltlrfncss. 40 tbo rfosprcis fos
tho moosc arc rrtfinx bctiof inssosd of
worse. And IL tbrfe are thonsxods of
moa-c. tlscrc arc tens uf tbouszpds us
caribou Iflapd IN serb.
nsrs
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
MEN CAUGHT IN TRAPS.
Accidents That Have Eccu Caused by tlsG
Devices set by Huptera.

devices set by Huntera
Dob Michael. Cae Ct TIE best hunters
and most thorough Of wccdsmen in
northern Herkimer county, n. Y.
walked against string one night and
was mortally wounded with buckshot.
An old French Canadian trapper above
the Saranac lake region was setting n
II pound steel besrtrap near an old
burning one day and had both arms
caught between the jaws, and there his
body remained for weeks. being found
at last when the mice and ants had
gnawed his bones.
In Africa a curious trap is used fo.
elephants. II consists merely of a long
blade OF steel ii four foot log of wood
suspended from a tree by triggers
When the ELEPHANT s.irs the string. the
con;riyancc drops, buying the steel be-
tween the victims shoulder blades
Tigers are captured in India by how
and GROW trap. a chunk Of bait 10
hung ON a stick, below which the .TTcw
is aimed. When the tiger pulls the bait.
the bowstring is loosened, ard the arrow
is supposed to find its way into the AMI
mails heart.
Baited traps ere not usually danger
ous to human life. 1t is when strings.
half concealed by bushes ard grass, ere
hung across the runways that there is
danger Of mon walking into them and
having bullets, ;rfows or drop sticks
shot into them.
One of the ot.d things orc meets in
forests where b, srs, panthers and wild
cats are found is n log house. q sort Of
lean to camp. with an eight inch spruce
stick lying over the entrance and jut-
ting off into the woods 80 or 60 feet. \
hewn plank inside the inclosurc is Gr-
ranged so as to look like n fine resting
place for foot. Bcyond the plank is 4.
chunk of fodl smelling meat, burned
honey comb o. ether lait suitable for
the intended game. Men who use dogs
in hunting dctest such con,rivances. fer
the animal that steps on the plank has
its back broken by the sprncc stick.
Such a deadfail is hard TO bi.ld. but il
is among the surest Cf traps for large
game that is not shy Of inclosurc. 1t is
remembered of lost ard starving In.
dian that he tried to reach the bait of q
deadfall and was crushed by the logs,
though not killed instantly. Other mel
have had fingers crushed in mink and
marten deatfaiis.
Men set SHARES for big game, using
wire rope to encircle the beasts necks
when they venture to touch the bait. II
is curious fact that such men some.
times get a leg in their own trap and
are yanked into the air by the stout sap
ling tree used as a spring pole. After q
man has danCled with his head down,
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22

There is reason TO believe that at all
times there are men on the line who are
working very near TO their breaking
strain We may in regard TO this men
sion three well known instances which
at the least show the tension under
which work IL often carried On A sta
tion master. seeing = man run over On
the line. himself fell down dead upon
the platform. Here was n shock which
permanently made his heart stand still:
bat Row many times had no; tina; mans
heart stood sill bcforc: We may feel
perfectly certain that II the major shock
could kill. the minor daily recurring
shocks Of n railway life mus; have
greatly damaged q heart so under the
influence Of the nervous system
Two trains collidcd af n Junction II
was either the fault of the drivers or of
the rails. certainly not of the signal
man. The signals wcrc night: yet vhcn
.hc box was entered the signaiman was
found TO have gone mad. AID had O. -
taken To an asylum. where he REMAINED
for long. He was broken utterly by the
horror Of the dilemma: but what shall
we say about the smaller dilcmmas
which every hour of his working life he
had to solve: Did they not also have an
effect. although n lesser orc. upon his
brain.
A few years ago it was found tina;
the sickness rate among the signalmcn
Of certain lines was becoming excessive.
. and it was determined Co do away with
! the system Of leaving to one man thu
whole responsibility Of taking charge Of
Q signal box At great expense every
box along the linc was supplicd with
two men. Great evils were pruphcsicd /:
il was thought the men would talk. and
lark, and neglect their duties. This did
not happen. but the sickness stopped
Under the shared responsibility they no
longer broke down.-British Medical
| Journal.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
wen: By the Expr~ss.

Suburban Rrsid.nt-Scc hcr-. sir'
You told me- that country plarc bought
of you was only 81 minutes frum iisc
city.
City Agcnt-Ycs. sir. s5 minu,cs IS
express. You remember. when vrc wen;
out to Look at 1t. the time was IS min
uies exactly.
But. confound II. sir. the -xrrrss
trains don't stop there. not onc uf them.
and the accommodation takes ai-uu; n,
hour aud n half.''
You and ! went by express. ard 10
stopped for us. You know"
Yes. l know: tut IL hasn't stopped
SINCE
1T Will stop IL you hire a man a;
your station to buy n through ticket foT
somewhere. That's tho way did the
day we went out. New York Weekly.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
Bale. ,r.d, . H.llsto...

ColSns! Clark r. Westcott Of London
is responsible for the following account
Of a singular phenomencn. His story is
as follows:
Zone no, day I was riding alcng q
to a minc in which I am interested,
when I noticed high above me, soaring
in majestic circles, an eagle l had As
80 winchester slung across my back,
and it was but the work of q moment
to unsling the gun and fire at the bird,
which appeared to be directly above me.
As fired I noticed that the bird was
directly between myself and a dense
black cloud which hung above me. The
shot was Il clear miss, and, not caring
to waste any more cartridges, / was
about to ride on. when 1 was startled
to hear what / took TO be the dull
chung of a stone thrown by an unseen
hand, which fell into little gully part-
~ filled with leaves within 30 feet Of
me. l looked carefully about me in all
directions, bat could see no sign Of n hu-
man being, and then dismounted, and,
scraping back the leaves, was astonished
to find piece Of ice as large as q goose
egg and about the same shape Upon
close examination / was further aston
ished to discover my rife ball firmly
imbedded in its center. l have specu.
lated deal over this phenomenon since
that time, and the only solution can
see is that the ball in passing through
the cloud gathered the moisture and
held it by its wtirlinC motion sO that i,
was frozen at a higher altitude and fell
to the earth as have described. Chi
cago Chronicle.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
MAKING SICHOUETTES.
Some Instruction In the Art cf Pro,iuc-
ing Thc-e Old Tiu,c Ia,rriic,.

Some Instruction In the Art cf Prosluc-
ing These Old Time Iavoritcs.
Even in the enlightened days when
the art of photography has advanced 80
very near to perfection there are still
some old fashioned people who cling
with fordncss 20 these silhoucttcs. Ono
great thing in their favor j. that the
least clever among us may. with littlo
patience and a steady hand, find in them
a pleasing recreation and soon become
adroit IN their execution. But there
may lie some Of cur young readers who
scarcely know what n silhouette is. and
such unenlightoned persons we will en-
deavor briefly to instruct in the almost
forgotten art. a few sheets ~ drawing
paper, a pencil and lamp are all the
essentials needed to commence opera
tions.
The operator first fixes n sheet of pa
per to the wall by inserting q pin in
each corner. Then the person whose
hkeEcss, or silhouette. is to Be taken
is seated i'm u chair close to the wall i'm
such position as to throw distinct
shadow of his profile (as near life sizc
as pcssible) on the center Of the paper.
To secure steadincss n wine glass or
some such support is placed between his
head and the wall-for the slightest
movement often causes failure. Having
arranged these matters satisfactorily, the
operator proceeds to sketch with q pen
Gil the head and profile Of the sitter,
and this requires steady hand and
some dispatch, rs it is no easy matter
to sit in enc position for a great length
of time perfectly motionless. When the
sketch is concluded, little skill will be-
needed to bring the task to an end. The
operator has only with sharp penknifc
to cut out the head in the line Of the
pencil mark. The center part Is then
thrown aside and the other paper laid
on piece Of black cloth, which throws
out the features boldly, and if sufficient
care has been taken n striking likeness
will be the reward.-Happy Thoughts.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
NOT MADE TO oeoeN.

"she ~hcn fis~~ rnrs. te asits s-sff. % 2 s~se.
81 ike nui yszr tan wofesa-gssse f-tiss.
VITA eycs that nest f.rffo-re le fasssd 20
ns3ne
Ana .rnzii. vAsse hxnes sad isffie. dznrans
fe-s-~
Nc. wh~n - me-. tr-~. - shat hossr dssins
Year so.ess eyes lsoked isrel late snise.
"she must 10 ssesl.-~osnsn's -hs~frss sh.fsr
N~~k and snlssnis.3sr 60 ms lasht-ss ffgsns~
Bns no~ ny hoars ss isins ~ fauf fssss
Al ho~ t-npcfsosssif yoa -astasd q s1oens
Ard 4 Yoar stllins s,a~s frxrsn daf a. a.f.
Live he's o. iusr. 60 haaor. So obsy.
sshe -ssss ~ FAIR
But IN your rusns3sd cbeek
Ths re Apd tfu~a g. tas~s 10 s~-assrss
Trad.
H. tnSlish- drsh ts r. ronr hrssf hai..
Aaa tonr tiArk iasfrs adds.d b-sesy issid
TO yoaf hfurn r1rss ehsfe aafalf ss9stsn iis
Lsseis answers a lofes sAf ai,axsasaifs
-laaafaelais Nas kifs
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
LUcIEk BONAPARTE's SONS.
They Were an Energetic Lot, but Had
Few Other Good Qualities.

They Wero an Energetic Lot, but Had
Few Other Good Qualities.
Prince Lucien Bonaparte was the best
OF the four sens of Lucien L The others
made the sta1Ss of the church too hot to
hold them. All had impetuous, master
full tempers and Literary and arch@olog-
ical tastes. In different ways each con-
trived TO bleed the late emperor Of mon
ey. They were brought up at MuigDano
among the Etrurian remains which
their father disenterred during more
than 90 years, to the enrichment of
most of the great museums of Europe.
Pierre and Antoine lived like ban
ditti. carrying off women and shooting
the men who went to stop or came to
arrest them. Pierre fired his final shot
at Victor Noir, at Auteuil, and killed
him. The eldest. whom remember as
Prince of Musignano, was married to a
daughter of his uncle Joseph. He re-
volted against the pope, was president
of the Roman constituent, and such q
violent domestic tyrant that his wife
ran away to Paris to supplicate the en-
peror to protect her and her son-the
future cardinal.
The Prince Of Musignano met this by
threatening to publish certain papers Of
the first Lucien proving over and over
again the dishonor Of Josephine and
Hortense. Louis Napoleon bought these
documents at his Cousins price, The
death of the wife, Zenaide, put an end
to the feud. The late Prince Lucien,
who obtained civil list pension Of
G25O n year-about the fourth of the en-.
tire fund-fgured in Paris during the
second republic as an ultra Liberal. He
played this card until he got large
sum of money and senatorship. This
post was honorary, as he had to live out
of France.
Antoine, the youngest of the four
brothers, led q charmed life. His life
was spared by the pope at the supplica-
tion Of Lady Dudley Stuart and her
mother. The papal government banished
him, and he went to Greece, where he
got into another serious scrape In New
York he had the narrowest escape of be-
ing lynched for forgetting that he was
not at Musignano. Thence he went to
Mexico and Panama, with q scheme in
his head that he and Louis had talked
over at Bordentown for making an in
teroceanic canal. He laid the egg at
Columbia (D which his cousin Lucien
Wyse and De Lesseps Matched Is years
ago. Thus, had the man sent to arrest
Antoine shot, instead of being shot by,
him, tho Panama bubble would not
have been inflated in our time.-Paris
Letter in London Truth.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
ALLIGATOR SENSE.
They p..s u.se uass ssss~s~ 1hr, 49,
Ons Dsasdfsd tsafs ssld.

They b.-t usse Nnss p,<sss~ 1he, 49,
oss ssssar~a tsas. oia.
''Do you know. - szid Colanri 1san
Cason. lcansar i,srk in has chair. ''fhss
aliisatarS arr tlst fnnsf affcctsunafc crras
trFrs On ..rthi It's n fart. Ard the
sc1sc they have, They've Eot more ssbsr
than dog. How 90 kBo~g HAsrp'i
] educated 'csay Amt slssfe an aili=ator
iio years cid IN Dcs Allcnatd hayop
;ha; would WORK his tail to ibo bone Sea
me II ] asked him tos Say. you snaka
me tifodi wha, afo y-a laughing si !;
VOC srt n gallon uf inolastes and long
neckod ,oitlc ard Ill show yoa bow to
tame al,isair-s It's the easiest thing
on earth. Thcy'rr 80 afiocfsonnfe.
''cn Irnc -. iSks. I went Co pus
Allcmaisd bayou fishing. Aborro named
Bap;!sic for;icr had Just eaurh; am al
liTaior 100 years cid Z conid tell i,y
the rings around him You can't train
n young aliienfur. That's funny. asn'i
ity I askcd Bapits;c to seli hirn Co sno.
raid him si.as. and Jim. that's fhe
allisatur's nznlc. was mine. I pnt .
chain aruund hts neck Tbon ! rss me
n long n-ckud ho'fie. fili-d % with tao.
lasscs and walked upto him. Hcog,'nod
kis jaws to nsb mc. That was ms
chance. ] showed the neck -f fbc bo'ile
in his mouth. just hack of his ears.
where an alligator has no teeth. I tilted
the bottle mp. Jim tasted the molasses
and hcgan wagRing his tail H. broke
Baptis;e's lcG. bu; that was an soci.
dent He was ne gentle as a rrffrr dac
from the minute BE- tasted tho fnnisssrs
I taught him n lot cf pretty tricks
how to catch flies. how to stand nn his
tail. how to chew tnhacca. Finally
barncssc,l him up so a boat. Bo lorked
around at nic Ca scc what ! wanted. !
reached over the sidc Of sho boat and
pushed him n little. Thcn he under.
stood OF llc went. whrn Pulled un
tire RIP. ] had around his prcls. he was
nonplusod for n minute. but he soon
caught on. and now whan SO e. Dss
AlI.nlaDd's ! never have Go hire anr.
body Co paddle my canoe. Jim attends
10 carrying me anywhere I want 60 20
''ssy. do you know Jim is as glad ia
SO me vhcpcveT pass that way as IL
he was q relative rf mtpe. What that,
Of course it's tho t-~th. Ask Bspsiste.
He takes carr of Jim for INC while Q am
| in New Orleans New Orleans Tinar.
/ nssuorr,at
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
The Thusder's Long Roll.

The prolonged roll Of thunder is rcad-
lily explained by comparison with n vol
ley fired along lire of troops. Suppose
troops TO be drawn mp on . line in such
numbers as 20 extend for n mile and or
dcrcd by n signal that all could see to fire
at once. Ono standing ut the end Of the
line would hear the report Of the mus-
ket nearest him instantly. He would
hear the others succcssivcly. Thus n ~.
port $50 feet away would come tn him
in half second, and he would not hear
the last report fo- five or six seconds
after the gun had been fired This would
produce sort Of roll. which would
gradually increase in intensity. II the
listener stood exactly midway between
the two ends of the line, the reports
from both ends would reach him ai
once. and the sound would be but half
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
Which Would He BE:

Much amusement was caused recently
at an inquest held at certain town i'll
Maine, according to an exchange.
After the usual swearing in Of the
jurors one of them arose from his scat
and with much dignity protested against
sitting as juror, as he was managing
clerk for firm of solicitors and could
not waste his valuable time at an in
quest.
After making his protest the coroner,
turning to his clerk. said, Mr.. So-and-
so, kindly hand me 'Jervis' " (the book
of authority on juries). And fixing the
juror steadfastly he said: Upon refer
ring to 'Jervis' find that no persons
are exempt from sitting as jurors except
idiots, imbeciles and lunatics. Under
which heading do you claim exemp-
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
Teaching Them EnRlish.

The simple and effective method of
teaching English to the children of Ital-
ians, Portuguese, Polish and German
Jews used in the north end schools of
Boston might profitably be adopted by
other cities which are obliged to face
the fact that within their borders are
thousands of foreign children who know
nothing Of the customs, institutions or
language Of this country. A writer in
the Boston Transcript thus describes the
method:
The children, within few days after
their arrival, are sent to the public
schools, as rule without compulsion,
and here they are first of all taught the
English language. 1t is done by sys-
tenn of object lessons. The teachers in
the elementary rooms are young women,
as men would not be patient enough to
accomplish the best results.
The teacher may point to her eye and
say, This is my eye," repeating it sew
eral times and requiring the pupils to
repeat it i'll unison. Other portions of
the body are pointed out in a similar
manner, and then familiar objects in
the room are in the same way brought
to the attention Of the children.
Later. when they have made sufficient
progress in the language, it becomes de-
sirable to teach the different lenses. To
accomplish this, boy or girl is directed
to run slowly round the room, when the
teacher and children say in unison,
THAT boy is running" repeating the
sentence several times. The boy is then
told to halt, and the teacher and pupils
say in unison, THAT boy did rum
again, 'That boy is standing still. -
''That boy can rum" ''That boy is
walking" ''That boy walks fast, 81
can walk, 81 can run, II did walk, u
etc.
These and other sentences. as they
are spoken, are written ON the black
board by the teacher, and the pupils
write them on their States Thus they
are taught the language and taught to
spell, read and write almost simultane-
Ously.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
The Compass Plant.

The compass plant is one of the odd
est creations Of the vegetable king
dom. 1t derives its name from the fact
that its leaves always point directly
north and south. So if you are out ON
u western prairie and lose your way
just look for one Of these plants and re.
member that they always point in the
directions indicated. Botanists call
this curious plant Selphium lacinia.
tum. 1t is unpretentious in appearance
and bears yellow flowers that are not
unlike field daisies. 1t has remark
ably thin leaf, SO thin as to be notice.
able even to the untutored eye. The
compass plant is really a western
flower and is indigenous to the prairies
Of that section.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22
Advantage Of Trousers.

II took my little boy out of kits yes
terday," said a well known Methodist
preacher. land he was dressed in his
first suit Of knickerbockers. The little
fellow was as proud as q new president
and strutted about in all his fanciful
importance. Finally he turned toward
me after carefully surveying his small
trousers:
Papa he remarked. now I can
stan on my head wivout bein ashamed
before the ladies, can't T. New Or
leans Times-Demcrrat.
Rock Island Argus., 1896-10-22

rs long IN reaching him as n hc siccd
at one extremity. n the soldiers formed
a circle. there would 10 ono sharp rx.
plosion. Flashes cf lightning may br
considered NJ rcrrrs"n'ing three linrs cf
troops along which the explosions 60.
cur at the same time. Consider the "a.
ricty of distarrc ami position uf th- lis-
fener. and we ac-oun; for the variety -
sound in thunder. IN mountainous 80.
gions the rolling j. augmented ~ river.
bcrations or cchccs -Bnston Traveller.