davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31

simmons will meet both OF them after
ward. These are the only conditions
Fitzsimmons will make with Mccoy
and Corbett.".
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
TO Cslre a CoIsi IN s.,s, 49,

Take Laxative 8ro1no ii liIn hi i TaSs
All druggists refund III RaS rs ona
fails to cure, 20 cent ri lSby
Z. Trotter, Main sire sss
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
EXECUTIVE .E|.X |. MANSION
WITHOUT TENANT
Old Governor Moves 0lI mike
Room Tor The Men.
NUMEROUS PARTY ARRIVE NTH Tyler
Reception TO Be Held at the Mansion Sasss
urday Night,

senator Dnnicl May Deror IsIs ,yisltl 4
TO tho Capitol -Shite Wan shoos ! ias 81
co'ored BOY whilo IN me A d on
Stealing from q Chesnpenhe . sansg
Ohio Freight car clsrssy man ii
Leaves H.nrse Estate 10 1gisS
widow. ss;S 81
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
INSoLVENT RAILROADS.
List for the Year Small Compared with
Other Years


Chicago, Dec. 3O.-The Railway Age
makes the following statement of the
receiverships and foreclosures for 1897:
NO year since 1887 has shown so few
roads or so small mileage confessing
insolvency, while compared with the
record for any one of the five years i'm.
mediately preceding 1897 the list Of new
rcceiverships In the last year is sur.
prisingly small, in respect to number
OF lines. mileage and capital involved
In 1893 no less than "a companies. with
29,3i0 miles OF road and 81 ,7S1 900 900
OF bonds and stock, defaultcd in their
obligations and were turned over Ito tha
control of the courts. In 1897 the mum.
per or similarly unfortunate roads was
10, their mileage was 1537 and their
capitalization was less than 500 900, 600
In 1896 the number of roads was "a
the mileage 5,441 and the capitalization
S275, 597 900.
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
aEFaE,E,E
y lEgTE 49,
Twenty Hens berAhi isss 40 tsiss sssS fSss
40 be Given w ase ~ fsss sSssi
,shOrthansia allst xgssd Ill asix r ns 1Sf 81 &
b Esity, !, Corr ssEnnG snnst 2S ssys lIeTs
Ave. ~ I. S. S

no each Of the stfrst t we Ii M gsaS
who buy s q ssnfio ias hi fSi 3r 81,
business and al Snfsr
WEE IS III be- M vi 81;
ticket 10 lSa stI7
TO the gymnast batf IL
;etc3 free.
.for Sths youn8 yqsio ii HE
Cal onse I'D d sfs
rnentse g tsice
10. ms S
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
DEMOCRATS
REFUSE 70 FUSE
VIII MOI l0!e Tor 0 Republican OIL
BeQI MQ[k Homo.
OPPOSITION IN DANGER OF FALLING THROUGH
OPPOSITION IN DANGER OF FALLING THROUGH
Kurtz Faction Refuses TO Modify lis Claims
In The Least.

lRn"nn Cannot ho nontcn Unlesa tho
Entire DemocraticS strength Can ue
Combined with tho Republican
opposiion-Thi seems TO 10 out
ofihc 0"esiion--Sensution Caused
bS publication OF Letters by Rep.
rcsentative Snidcr,
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31
England SIZING Up
HER NAVAL STRENGTH.
Preparations for WH on Both Sides
OF The AI|01tIc.
THE NAVAL RESERVES TO Be AOBIlIzED
+HE NAVAL RESERVES TO Be A0BIlIZED
Fleet 10 Back up the British Superintend-
ent of Customs In Gorea.

Operations fin Canada Indicate Pur-
poso TO Resist Russian Occupation.
of.Port Arthur-Grcat Britain ana
Japan Seem I" IIavo Good Un-
derstandinE-In Official Circles no
Importance Is Attached TO German
and Russian Seizures.
The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-12-31

ORDERED TO TIE NAVY-YARD.
washington. d. c.. Dec 30.-passed
Assistant Engineer j. s. Mexican has
been ordered to the Norfolk Navy-yard.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
How Long Does an EIepbant Iiye9

81 was practically reared i'm the circus
business" said ALI Ringing, one of the
brothers of circus fame, "but never tire
of vHtching the elephants. There is an
int able fascination about the big
bra % me which l am unable either TO
rid my self of or explain, and l am Just
rs much afraid of them as any country
zap who sees them for the first time. They
are the most treacherous animals | know
anything about, and would rs soon trust
my safety to lion as to an elephant, no
matter how well may be acquainted with
him or on what good terms we may ap-
pear to be-
II am satisfied that the naturalists are
mistaken in the general belief that ele-
plants live to be 200 years old. OF course
it Is difficult matter To determine the age
of an elephant with any degree Of accu-
racy, yet IL can be easily estimated on the
basis commonly used in arriving at the ex
pectancy of all other animals. The hui
man, for example, attains full growth at
the age of % or % years. With this knowl.
edge we can estimate that the average
length of human life Is three times the fig
ure ut which physical maturity is reached,
or about 60 years. Dealing with the ele-
plant on the same basis, cannot estimate
his expectancy ut much over 100 years.
The elephant quits growing at the age of
30 On the principle accepted, therefore,
he cannot be expected to live more than
three times 80 years. or 105 years. We
have one elephant known To be something
over a hundred years old, but he Is show.
ing his ago very decidedly, and l look for
him 60 die most any time. st Louis
Republic
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
Blase Ticket Chopper.

"There's no fun any more in the theater
for me, f" said ticket chopper at one Of the
principal up town east side 81" stations
the other day. II used to like to go to the
show To see the different kinds of people
there, but there's such n variety goes by
me here that the thenter seems tame. From
early In the morning till late at night l
see all classes of folk going about all kinds
Of business. The last rounder ut night
has scarcely got off the train before the
men who do their days work by night
come along They're hardly out of sight
when the earliest of the workingmen of
the day appear. Then come the clerks,
and then the school children, and the men
who get To the Office between and q, then
the more prosperous ones who don't go
down until the women shoppers begin To
throng the trains The women keep II
up all day until the first of the people who
work for living begin to come home.
That crowd starts Mt about 4 o'clock and
runs till and after. Then there's the
theater crowds going and coming, and
then the FOUNDERS again.
$50 il goes. ! never have To buy news
paper; get so many Of them that are left
i'm the cars, and hardly ever want To look
at them any more than | want to go to
the theater | don't get tired of the peo-
pie, but don't find any fun i'm looking
for variety anywhere else, either in the pa
pers or at the shows. New York Press
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
The Joke That Failed.

There IL an individual in Manchester
who thought he would play dead and find
out for certain exactly how much his wife
thought of him. Accordingly he lay down
upon his bed placed an empty laudanum
vial by his side and, holding his breath,
awaited events.
Then came the lady. She looked upon
the apparent corpse and wondered what
i'm the world could have. induced John to
put an end to himself after this fashion.
The more she considered the more she
marvelled, and at last thought she, too,
would try an experiment. Perhaps John
was not dead altogether. The laudanum
might not have taken full effect She had
heard that a needle introduced into the
human flesh would indicate by the chang
ing of the brightness of the polished sur
face, whether that flesh was defunct.
John, all unconscious of the treat in store
for him, remained silent, enjoying, how
ever, the opinion that, from her manner,
Mrs. John would not fade away on account
of his passing away. The lady had no idea
of going to the expense of burying a man
who was not dead and, approaching the
bedside with throbbing heart and hated
breath, she thrust the needle bravely and
deeply into Johns leg.
John was astonished and so was Mrs.
John, as he jumped up and declared that
the whole thing was joke He was not
much pleased, because his wife said she
thought il the best joke she had ever
known. John has come to the wise deter
mination that playing dead with that
woman is game which has its disad-
vantages. We neglected to state that the
needle was extracted. London Tit Bits.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
Fly Casting.

As useful way as any to help the read
er to cast fly will be To describe how the
writer has tried To help lads who are learn
ing. 1t is in this way: The boy takes the
rod, fitted with its reel and line only, to a
waters edge free of bushes or trees, or to u
lawn recently moved. If the grass is
slightly damp all the better, as it holds
the line more nearly as does the water He
pulls off from the reel enough line SO that
the free part shall be once and a half or
twice the length Of the rod. This he throws
out i'm front of him as well as he can. He
then is told to- keep his elbow close against
his side To prevent moving the arm above
the elbow He then tries with quick
movement of the wrist and with as little
movement of the forearm as possible TO
lift the line upward and backward until it
strnightens out behind him, and then with
another similar motion to make it go
straight out before him.
Do not try To make the forward cast on
just the same plane as the back cast, for
fear that the end of the lire should snap
like a whiplash, which, If you were actual
ly fishing, would crack off your flies pretty
certainly. Therefore make the lift of the
back east with IA slight sweep, generally
inward toward the body Is the more nat
ural, and deliver the forward cast straight
out toward its destination; but always
aim about your own height above the spot
on the water you mean TO reach to insure
the line falling lightly. -Harper's Round
Table
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24

A Great Deal of Red Tape Before the
Ceremony Is Permitted.

It is not, even i'm these days of advanced
hygiene, difficult TO die, but in France, mt
least it appears TO be not very easy to be
cremated In fact, IL a Frenchman wishes
to give his heirs, executors and assigns as
much trouble as possible after he has de-
parted this life, he could hardly do more
than leave directions that his body should
be disposed of in that manner.
The following are the formalities that
have to be gone through before his wishes
can be carried out: l. A request on stamp
ed paper for leave To have the body Gre
mated must be addressed to the mayor of
the commune. 2. A certificate of death,
also on stamped paper, must be got from
the medical attendant. 8. This certificate
must be countersigned by the commissioners
of police 4. A further certificate certify
ing the certificate of the medical attendants
must be obtained from the civil medical
officer. g. The next step is to go before the
mayor armed with the various certificates
enumerated, to obtain the authorization of
that functionary. q. This authorization
having been obtained, it must be presented
to the project of police, who, after counter
signing it, delivers three certificates for
the removal of the body--one for the may
or, one for the pompes funebres (corre-
spending to undertakers) and one for the
authorities of the Pere la Chaise cemetery.
T. The prefecture of the Seine must next
be visited to arrange as to the hour at
which the cremation Is to take place. 3.
Next some one must go to the burial office
of the commune to settle the details of the
funeral and to pay the bill. 8. On arriv-
ing at the cemetery the authorization of
the mayor and the certificate of the project
of police must be presented to the keeper
in his office. 10. After the cremation has
been carried out the representative of the
deceased's family must again go to the
keepers office and pay the tax of l25 francs
(45).-British Medical journal.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
MISTAKEN IN THE MAN.
The New Postmaster Proved to the Crowd
That He Had Dignity.

I was getting my mail I'm the little post
office at Wolf Valley and chatting with
the postmaster, and he was just saying
that he had only held the Office week,
when crowd of men marched In and ono
of them said:
"Bill. we've bin talkin the matter over
up at the Palace saloon, and hov come to
the conclushun that you hain't "a III man
fur this job"
"B but. why notY" stammered tho post
master, turning pisls.
"Waal," continued the speaker, "you
don't seem to hey dignity 'nuff about you.
It's United States guy 'ment posishun,
you know, and the man who fills it must
be full o. dignity and ready to shoot at a
word o. SASS. +"
wv why, w-who complains"
"Seyeral of the boys, Bill. Fur instance,
Joe Davis claims he gave you 10 cents to
pay fur 2 cent stamp Yesterday and you
didn't hev dignity 'nuff to keep the
change"
OBJ butt
"And Jim Peters says no sassed you in
yere the other day fur five minits, but you
never pulled gun on him. Is that any
way fur United States guv'ment official
to act9 Is it, Bill?"
"W -why, you see, boys. the postmaster
tried to explain, but the other interrupted
"And when Pete Perkins pulled your
nose last night cause thar wuz no letters
fur him you didn't hev dignity huff to
throw him out of the winder. You won't
do tall, Bill, and
"Boys," spoke up the new postmaster,
sudden change coming over him, 81
didn't know you wanted that kind o. dig
nifty i'm this office, but If you do, why it's
my dooty to give it to you. Jest stand
whar you are fur mint and give me a
chance to show off my dignity"
And in less than that time he emerged
from little side door carrying "A big horse
pistol in one hand and club In the other,
and when he yelled to the crowd to git
there was rush which took them out
doors and block up the street. l was the
first man out of the building, and when
came across the crowd "a little later i'm the
hotel barroom heard the fellow who had
acted as spokesman exclaiming:
"Boys, I'm burned if we didn't make n
big mistake in that postmaster arter all,
fur If thar's critter in this hull state
who could hev treated us more dignified
then / don't keer to meet him. Dignified,
dignifled! Why, durn it, he's dignified
huff to be in the state legislator that's
what he ar l''-New York journal.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
CURIOUS oN.e TOO OFTEN.
Brown Learned What Was Going on, bat
Got More Than He Wanted.

small apartment house in this city
has become the scene Of "a foud that bids
fair To rival that of the houses of Mon
tague and Capulet.
Mr.. and Mrs Brown and their daughter
occupy fiat No. | on the ground floor,
while Mr.. Jones and his wife, with their
numerous flock of young hopefuls, live in
the flat directly above. The little Joneses
are greatly given TO playing tag and hide
and go seek. According To Mr. Brown,
there Is no hour i'm the day and very few
in the night when they are not tearing
from one end of their fiat to the other,
pounding the undeadened floors with
steadiness almost uncomfortable to the
highly strung nerves Of Mrs and Miss
Brown.
On the other hand, Mrs. Jones COM
plains that the people underneath exhibit
an undue curiosity i'm regard To all her af
fairs that no visitor Is allowed to call mt
fiat No. 2 without undergoing the scru-
tiny of Mrs Brown and her daughter and
that frequently they examine the mail
which the postman leaves in the unlocked
box of the Joneses, one of the small chill
dren having lost the key.
Mr.. Jones has long suspected that the
Browns employ the speaking tube as a
means of learning what was going on I'm
his household, and when his suspicious
were confirmed the other night by his cid
est daughter, who had been hanging over
the bannister to watch, he grew wroth in
deed and swore vengeance When he came
home the next night, he carried an awk-
ward bundle which he opened and dis
played to his wife and children.
whats that, par" asked his 6-year old
"You don't know nothing" said the
elder brother haughtily; that's bel
lows"
The following morning the Browns no
ticed signs of some unusual festivities In
the fiat above, and wishing to know the
cause thereof Mr.. Brown stopped on his
way out To listen moment at the tube.
He heard "A door slam and the excited cry
of "Nowr' The next moment blast of
air smote his ear, and he found himself
enveloped in what seemed to be cloud of
dust. But on looking at his hand, with
which he had rubbed his face, he gave an
unrepeatable exclamation that brought
his wife and daughter TO the scene, and
was IA source of qualification to Mr.. Jones,
who, coming jauntily down the stairs on
his way to business, paused to wish his
friend and neighbor IA very good morning,
greeting which was not returned But
Mr.. Jones went on his way rejoicing in IA
mental image of Mr.. Brown, whose scowl-
ing face and former snowy linen were
generously decorated in lampblack.
capo Tribune
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
Not That Time.

A few days ago certain Clevelander
came hurrying into the Union depot. He
glanced to right and left and his anxious
countenance showed relief. Then he es-
pied friend and approached him.
"By George" he said, "I'm glad l
haven't missed that Conneaut accommo-
dation. My wife's Mt her mothers and
I've got a telegram to come down on the
first train"
"No bad news, l hope" said the friend.
IN no, said the first man i'm voice
full of agitation. Then, in an embarrassed
way he hauled out his watch. II wonder, "
he added, "if my time Is rightp I've got
4:30.'
"Sunp" asked the friend.
"No," replied the other absently, 1.-TWO
girls. "-Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
OSTRICH PlUCklNG.
The Process Is Not Cruel and Is Unat-
tended by Violence.

My attention has been called to leaflet
entitled Birds" in which it is stated
that recently facts have come TO light
which prove that the pluoking Of ostrich
plumes causes great suffering To the birds,
which have To be bound during the opera
ton to prevent their defense of them
selves. -
A long residence in the ostrich farming
districts in South Africa gives me author
ity to say that so far ms l have observed
no suffering whatever is caused by ostrich
plucking. 1t Is To the farmers interest to
allow the feathers to grow tho legitimate
time, and the plucking thereafter is easy.
When the quill Is ripe in its sheath (about
every seven months), it must be drawn,
or if allowed to grow an apprecable time
it will trail and be trodden under foot and
will thus be rendered worthless
The process of plucking is simple and
unattended by violence.
A sack is lightly thrown over the head
of the bird, which is kept in camp for the
time being, and while the farmer holds
the sack in place the assistants draw the
feathers. The sack is used because the
bird Is restless and excitable and would
certainly stampede or show fight If it saw
q number Of people in its vicinity. But it
can be safely said that no cruelty is neces-
sary, the feathers often dropping at the
mere touch, and none is practiccd. OF
course one cannot guard against cruel
man, and us sheep shearing may be made
intolerable, ostrich pluoking may also be
done viciously.
The ostrich farmer, however, Is humane,
and if he were not it would be Improbable
to pluck before the feathers have ripened
/ have heard stories of the cruelty attend
ing the plucking of ostricbes In Cairo
how the feathers are cut from the body he
fore the quill and sheath have hardened
l know nothing Of this, but from "a bust
ness point of view at least l can hardly
credit il. Let me affirm that in South
Africa, the largest plume market in the
world, no cruelty in ostrich pluoking Is
exercised. Boston Transcript.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
To Clear the Complexion.

Dandelion wine is excellent for persons
who have liver trouble, and the following
recipe is given for making the wine:
Gather 3 quarts of dandelion buds; at night
pour 4 quarts Of boiling water over them,
and allow IL to stand until morning; strain
through a cloth; slice into 1t lemons
from which the seeds have been removed,
and add 3 n pounds Of sugar. Put on the
fire until the sugar is dissolved; thon pour
into covered jar, and let IL remain for IL
or IA days. Strain again, pour into bottles
and cork when the fermentation is com
plete.
Dose, one wineglassful twice n day IL
is said by many grandmas who profess To
know that there is nothing like this ms
medicine TO clear the complexion. New
York Tribune.
Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
DISCOVERY or CATCHUP.
To the Antics of Monkey We Are In
debted For the Sauce.

"Did you ever hear how tomato catchup
first came aboutgn asked South Water
street commission man.
His friend the grocer, said he never had
heard about it.
"Well, this Is how IL was" began the
commission man. There lived in Massa-
chusetts many years ago an old woman
who devoted nearly all Of her time to rec
ipe making. She had the reputation all
around her part of the country of being
able To make better plum marmalade and
richer preserves than anybody else. Every
once in awhile she would come out with
something entirely new. forget her name:
I think IL was Robbins or Smith or some
thing like that, though. Well, one day
she went out To her sewing circle, and
oh, forgot To tell you-she was very fond
of pets, and had pair of monkeys "A par
rot or so, some white mice and rabbits, q
dove and everything like that, and she
kept them in "a room adjoining the room
where she made her culinary experiments.
Well, Old this particular day she went to
the sewing circle, leaving open the door
which led from her experimenting room
Into her menagerie.
''The two monkeys discovered the door
open and went on an exploring expedition
to the experimenting room. They saw on a
tn BILE dishpan full Of nice, ripe tomatoes,
and while one of the monkeys was sitting
on the edge of the table examining the
vegetables his mate became hilarious and
pushed him into the pan. The result was
that by the time the monkey scrambled
out every tomato was smashed so thorough
" that il wouldn't be taken for tomato
IL the seeds weren't there The monkey
that did the pushing then picked up u jug
which happened to be full of vinegar and
emptied about half of 1t into the pan.
Then il smashed some green peppers that
happened to he lying on the table and put
them also in with the tomatoes. The
broom handle was brought into play as a
mixer.
"When the sewing circle had fixed up "A
couple of quilts for the poor, the old WON
an came home and lost no time in getting
to the experimenting room. She opened
her mouth SO wide and quick when she
saw the mixture in the dishpan that her
false teeth came loose and she nearly swal-
lowed the upper set. She dipped her finger
into the stuff and tasted It, No sooner
had the finger reached her mouth than she
shouted Eureka SO loud that one of the
white mice had the headache and the par
rot began To disturb things orally. Well,
there Is little left to tell She improved
upon the mixture, and that's how catchuI
| first came about. Chicago News.