davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
THE ABAkWETA DANCE.
lt IL the Most Famous Savage cere-
monial in South Africa.

monial in South Africa.
The abalSweta dance, the wild war
dance Of the Umtata youths, is the most
famous savage ceremonial in South ~
rica, and rite seldom witnessed by
European eyes.
This barbaric dance has a curious
place in the tribal customs. In Umtata.
which is the native state in the east of
Cape Ce.Sony, in South Africa, every
able-bodied youth is taken from his
parents just before arriving at the Gge
of manhood and maintained at public
expense for one year.
During this transition period the
young men are known as abakwetas, or
neophytes. BY the chiefs and most
skillful warriors they are trained in the
use of arms and IN the practices of war.
All this time they are not suffered to
visit their families, nor may their moth
ers even look upon them.
While in the abakweta stage they are
required to dance in public once every
two weeks, and upon the manner in
which they acquit themselves much de-
pends their success III future life.
The dances last the entire day, from
sunrise to sunset, SO that it is terrific
test of endurance and spirit. But the
duration of the dance is in itself less
exacting than the costume which tra-
dition prescribes must be worn.
In preparing for the odd ceremony
the abalawetas first strip themselves
naked and smear their bodies over with
white clay, rubbing it on in spots, SO as
to give the effect of a leopard's skin.
This is thought to be very terrible and
likely to inspire the enemy with fear.
Next, long bands of straw thatch are
wrapped round them, like ballet skirts.
There will usually be 30 or 40 feet of
this, and it will weigh so or 6C4ssS ands.
But the weight is not the most trying
discomfort. The straWs are sharp and
are put next to the bare skin, SO that at
the end of the dance it is a matter of
course that the loins and waists of the
dancers are raw and bleeding.
In order to conceal the features from
themothers and families-for the dance
is public one--long capes of straw,
much like the skirts, are worn over
the face, These, too, are hot and heavy
and chafe the skin.
The abakweta who flags under the
fatigue or torture of the dance is looked
upon in contempt. If he breaks down
completely he is sent back to the wom-
IN and forever loses his position in the
tribe. The rest are applauded and en-
eouraged by their instructors.
After a year of this training they
cease to be abakwetas and become full
fiedged warriors, entitled to all the
rights and privileges of men. Those
who can survive the terrible trimming
certainly have proved themselves fitted
to undertake the responsibilities of the
South African ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Weekly.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

dolt or a persaa off ia teilect?' Straight.
way comes the answer-based on at
tendant facts-whieh shuts out of con,
sideration any. bet q, man Of intelli.
gence. 1t confines the murder to very
narrow circle-do you not see? Prob.
ably one-ffth of the people of this
world are intelligent enough to be
clever in matter of murder; the other
four-tifths, given q crime for commits
sion, would perform the work blunder,
ingly and amafeurishly-would slaugh.
ter and go away. This crime was not SO
committed. Consequently shrewd
and gifted man did the job. Conse.
quently, also, four-ffths of the number
Of men who might otherwise have been
held as possibly hlameworthy are ex.
culpated by the fact of their obtuse.
ness. Dofyou not see how ib}}aszne is CEN
tered? AS an illustration, let us take
the number 1000. Say our culprit is
among these. Well, if the crime shows
that the work was of dullard, we
would have to search among the full
thousand, for the intelligent man can
do the work of the clown, but the clown
cannot counterfeit the man of brains
But, on the other hand, the indications
are that the criminal is man of high
order of intellect. By the cold, hard
proof of unlying figures we straight,
way strike off 800 from the list of the
blamable, and we have but 200 to in.
vestigate.'
"Interesting, but still you have a
great number, and your man may yet
escape" A strange look was on the
face of the match borrower.
impossible. Do you not see that the
philosophy which will allow, the cur,
tailment of figures to the extent have
mentioned will proceed with another
equation and set aside-well, let us say.
$50. Then the pursuer has but so per
sons to look after where five minutes
before he, had 1000. Another simple
process of figures and the so is reduced
to 20, the 20 to fve-and so on until
you come to the one of all where the
blame lies. Do you see? I, the murder
er of Old Winchester, stood at his body
and in an. instant all this flashed be-
fore my mental eye. Why, even as
looked about me, [ saw how this de.
tail of preparation for the deed was
going to cut out IS per ceht., and that
other incident, which had considered
SO clever, was absolutely certain to re-
lease 30 per cent. of the possible Grim
inal population from the diffusion OF
blame. Did they not teach you in
youth that figures cannot lie?"
The other man looked intently into
the face of the philosopher. He seemed
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
OPINIONS AND POINTERS.

The republicans have placed their
order for three more senators, to be de-
livered in time for the extra session.
Detroit Free Press.
Trusts continue to grow and to
multiply. lis time TO say the fact that
no mention of policy against them is
made by Mr.. Hanna.
svengali Hanna has calmed tile
rufaed spirit of Trilby Reed and
changed his war1ike voice to that of
swallow twittering in the caves. =.
Chicago Chronicle.
The real reason why the repub-
iicans in the senate did not want to
take up the Dingley tariff bill was that
this would bring the silver question be-
fore the senate, and the free coinage
substitute would again be passed
Kansas City Times. IS
The problem Of managing the
trusts Is difficult one, but attempts
will be made to solve it until they are
successful. The combines" and the
republican party had better recognize
this fact now than later. Louisville
CourieT-J ournal.
1t required year and half to
pass the Mckinley bin and about as
long to pass the Wilson bill, and yet
souae people appear to believe that the
extra session Of the Fifty-ffth con-
gress will pass and have IN operation a
new tariff measure before the end Of
May.--St. Paul Globe.
Still we hear the walls Of those
tariff reformers" who helped to elect
Mckinley for the sake Of the gold stand-
ard. They do not seean to be able to
swallow the Mckinley trust and mo-
nopoly protection pill. But the Pitts
iburgh Post cannot see bow a pig iron
trust is any worse than q gold trust.
The mission of democracy Is to keep
up the sxar on both Illinois State Reg
lister.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
GRANT AS A YOUNG DEEaTEg
Took q Prominent Part In a Kentueky
Club. @

Apparently Grant entered the Philo
mathean Debating club, Maysviile, Ky.
forthe first time at its thirty y-third meet
ing, January 3, 1887. He took a promi
nent part at once, says MeCIure's. BY .
curious coincidence, the question foi
this first evening was: "Resolved, That
the Texans were not justifiable in giving
Santa Anna his liberty" In the names
of the debaters this night there ap.
peared on the record III. =. Grant. Ht
was on the Affirmative side. He wal
ON tbs affirmative side at the thirty
fourth meeting, with this question!
Resolved, That females WELD greater
Influence in society than the males.
The affirmative side won in this cass
| as well as the other. At tthesthirty-fiftf
meeting his name. appears on the affirm.
ative of the question "a very vital on,
at that time3: Resolved, That It woult
not be just and polite to liberate tbs
slaves at this time.' Again he was or
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

the winning side. At the thirty-sixtI
meeting the name appears 81. Grant
on the affirmative side Of the resolution
that "Intemperanee Is a greater esi
than war
At the thirty-seventh meeting he wa
elected. together with his friend, A. II
Markland, and w. Rieheson, as mem
Der of the committee; he also took par
in the debate ON the question:: IRE
solved, That Socrates was right in no
escaping when the prison doors wer
opened to him. He took the affirMa
tive and it was again the successful side
And in all the succeeding meetings
down to March 81, 1887, the recon
shows him to have been active, but afta
that date his name does not appear
The probabilities are that he returne,
home to help put in the crop.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
DIES WHEN CHANG DOES.
The Story of the Keeper Of Canaries for
the Chinese NiceroY.

the Chinese yiceroy.
There are q number of interesting
figures in the. train of the great scholar
OF CHINA title that he prefers-gna
all of those who inspire interest are not
the gentlemen of the yiceroy's imme-
diate suite. One, at least, of the hunt-
blest, if not the most menial of the
servants of the household, is Lee Bcah,
who, in his capacity as keeper Of the
parrots and canary birds, gives no token
of the past greatness that was his. The
story of Lee Boah is in effect as follows,
says correspondent:
At the battle of the Yalu, September
II, 1894, the captain of the Chin Put,
chartered vessel of the Armstrong
line. acting as a transport, in attempt
ing to escape, ran his ship ashore.
where it was afterward destroyed by
the japanese. The disastrous ending of
the greatest modern naval battle and
the apparent cowardiee displayed so
preyed upon Admiral Ting's mind that
he committed suicide, The captain OF
the Chin Put was captured and ordered
beheaded. LiHung Chang, who himself
was not at tie time in good odor with
his majesty, sl.e emperor of China, but
who welded sufficient influence to save
an occasional head, despite the loss Of
his yellow jacket and his three-eyed
peacock feather, stepped in and inter
ceded in behalf of his friend, Capt. Lee
Boah, and reprieve was issued to the
captain for The period OF the Viceroy' s
life. Naturally, therefore, he guards
the life of his excellency as his own, for
so, in sense, it is. No more faithful
henchman would be possible, and he
tip-toes around in the: most abject hu-
nility, sleeping at the viceroy's door,
OF even under his bed, but always on
guard. When Ii Hung Chang dies off
goes Capt, Lee Boah's head, and he
knows it, although he hopes that the
greater power his excellency now wielas
may make his full pardon possible.
There was feeling OF delicaey in
asking about matter so close to his
head, but he answered me readily that
he had been disgraeed three times; once
in the japanese Tornosa war, in 1874:
once in the Chinese French war, in 1884.
and in the late Japanese.C Chinese war,
as above related. 81 have been rein
stated twice." said Capt. Lee Boah, .and
expect to be again. Seattle Post-In-
teIligencer.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
Fox HOUNDS.

4 Description of HUNT That Makes
Ones Blood Tingle.
We became aware, from the shouts
of the darkies, as they urged the dogs
into the thiekets, that these animals
had names of famous flavor, though
their appelatious had not been bestowed
by ono who possessed a fine sense of
the historical or chronological unities,
says Lippineott's. Hi, yo' Clovisi"
Come hynr, Uncas!' Git on, Brutus,
giton! Whit yo' suikina about?" These
calculations tHere accompanied by sun
dry kicks, deIf7efed upon the represen-
tatiyes of these and other renowned
characters. To such uses do mems
Iames come after death.
After the disappearance of the hounds
III the thielet we rode slowly along the
devious ways of the pine lands, listen
ing intently for tnat peculiar canine
cry which announces the discovery OF
q trail. It was nat long delayed, for
gray foxes are almast as nueaerous III
eastern Virginia as rabbits ale in the
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

r e w
to. be attempting to read the strange
thoughts back of those burning eyes.
He did not answer.
.'As / stood there" the man with the
newspaper continued, Il foresaw how
horribly / had erred. / saw that the
night beyond was filled with proofs,
not of my identity, but proofs that it
was not this man or that, or one of
this so or that 100 who had slain
Mr.. Winchester. Oh, no. IT,, I had
planned it all with wonderful fore
sight, and there was absolutely moth
ing to connect me directly with the
death of the old man. All, but the
proofs that the murderer could not
absolutely could not-be any of that
large number which might otherwise
be suspected were equally numerous.
It-.is very simple. A death is brought
about by violence. Some man is the
author of the wickedness. We take all
those who by any shadow of possibility
could have performed the function, and
by the process of elimination we find
our man. We may have. to start in with
She whole population of the world,
but the end is as definite and certain.
One from two leaves one in Illinois,
just as it does in Syria. Arithmetic
cannot be set aside any more than can
the law of gravitation. All this ap-
peared to me as looked down upon the
face of my victim. l saw how I must
keep coming back to the scene to revise
and amend my crime. SO that blame
might be thrown elsewhere
The other man started in his seat.
He placed his pipe in his pocket.
Il saw that / must dwell forever in
am atmos, ,ohere Of foolishly attempt
ing to make four from five equal two
by making my figure five larger or my
figure four smaller on the ckboard.
But. my friend, it cannot be done.
.No," said the other, 1t cannot be
done"
Suddenly there came quick lurch Of
fhefcar and the newspaper fell from the
hands of the man who had been SO
intentlg regarding those black head
lines The reader Strengthened up and
his demeanor was as of one emerging
from hypnotic spell. He looked about
hastily. Il must get OFF, = he said.
NO" the other quietly remarked.
,sYou must go on to the city with me-
AS You said, when the mesmerisn of
the memory of your crime was upon
YOU, one from two leaves one, and
you3 are the one. knew it for some
time before. of course, but still your
little dissertation while under the in
Huence of the news paper story has been
nightly entertaining His right,hand
rested on just the hint OF q reEol yer, and
with his left he opened his caat ard
showed the little silver star beneath
Chicago Record.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

of three kinds of unicorns: The mag
nifcent white unicorn, which had pur
pie face and blue eyes and a single horr
yard in length; the eglisserion, which
nesemnled gigantic deer and had q
very sharp horn growing from the mid
die Of the forehead, and the monoceros
or common unicorn. The white UNI.
eorn's horn was of three differen4
eo1ors, white at the lower part, black al
ebony in the middle and red at the
point. Common unicorns were said te
have had horns about Is inches ii
length, but so strong that they cou1t
easily kill an elephant.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

rectness to me. Every provision had
made for safety seemed now to be a lfess5j
proof of guilt. My artfully-contrived
devices for coneealment We're open dec
Iarationss of culpability.''
"But," said the other, "you left no
marked weapon-no property of your
own which could lead to association of
your name with the crime--tlid your.
He spoke with great positiyeness, and
then, as though regretting what he
had said, leaned back in his seat and
locked with nervous earnestness at his
newspape apersstaring companion.
That would be the act of an imbeeile
and not OF q clever man. such as am.
Also that would be the way a vulgar
murderer would perform, = said the lat
Ter. But I committed the crime stu
diously, slxillfully. That is why Ii
eassld le 50 readily traced to me. skae
question arises Who slew this nan--
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
TOGETHER.

We loved each other long and true
And at last in April weather,
When the crocus buds were breaking
through, = ~ =
And the dying moon hung faint In the blue,
We put to sea together.
For years we sailed on the sunny main,
And then came stormy weather:
Our vessel groaned with the tug and strain,
And out In the shrieking wind and rain
We faced the gale together.
But whether the sky was dark or bright,
Or fair or foul the weather,
Our love was ever the beacon light
That cheered our souls in the darkest
nightp
And held our hearts together
And now we sail in our battered boat,
UnmindfuI of the weather.
The winds may rave and the clouds may
gloat,
Dut little we care If wessink or float 1.
So we sink or float together. f !
Henry Lynden Flash, in n o. Times
Democrat.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
western states. Suddenly, amidst the

western states. Suddenly, amidst the
chorus of sharp, short yeIps, we heard a
Iong-drawn, wailing cry which at night
would be interpreted as cry of the
banshee, but which, ringing out on the
air of a bright November morning, loses
its ominous significance for every one
except the trail has been struck" As
the cry rose and swelled and was taken
up by 30 other mouths, our siow-fIng
cayalcade became enthused with the life
and animation of a cavalry company
that has just received orders to charge.
Reins Were tightened, knees were
pressed closer to the saddles, hats were
pulled down over eyes and men leaned
forward over their horses necks like
Jockeys waiting for the fall of the
starters fiar.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

His food is passed in through sliding
panel in the door of his cell. Not one
prisoner has ever been known TO sur
vire this punishment more than three
years. The authorities have striyen in
vain to- prolong their lives by varying
their food as much as possible, but
those who are moderately or lightly
nourished gradually waste away, while
those who are fed generously go mad
n1d die. raYil1g- -naaniaes.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
A Terrible Punishment.

There is no death penalty in Belgium,
but few criminals would choose the
punishment substituted for it, that is,
if they had a choice The condemned
man is placed in dungeon SO con-
structed that from the moment he en-
ters it he will never hear the sound of
human voices nor see human being.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
: A FabIed Monster.

One of the tabled monsters of ancien
times was the unicorn. 1t was, accord
ing to a summary Of the opinions Of sew
eral of the oid-tiIne, writers, beas
about the size of a common horse, bu
with very short legs. The people o
the middle ages believed in the existeno
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
A Sisters Love.

do / love George?" unused Clara,
softly, "or is It simply sisters affec.
ton that feel for" just then Bobby
burst noisiIE into the room and inter
rupted her meditations "Get out oil
here, you little brat!" she shouted, and
seizing him by the arm she shot him
through the door. "Ah, nc" she sig he'd
ss she resumed her interrupted trail,
OF thought; my love for George is moi
a sisters love. It is something sweeter
purer, higher, holier. London Figaro
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
Of Ancient Lineage.

The negro race can be traced back to
1900 b. O.. when the Egyptians became
acquainted with them through the con.
quests Of their rulers. The origin of
the race and their history previous ts
that time Is unknown.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

Arizona Abe What's Mojaye Mike
lookin so mad erbout? Til court de-
cided thet tn shootin' was done in self.
defense, didn't it?
AlkaH Ike Yes, but this is th' sixth
man Mike hez shot wat b'longs TO tn
same mutual Insurance eompany ez he
toes. 1t keeps him broke a-payin. III.
'sss ssneafaN. Z, Truth.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23
4 Relic Of tho 4 sc of Ice.

One OF the largest glacial powders
lying above ground ii the state Of Penn
sylYania is on the farm of Enos Stump,
near QuakertoWn, in Bucks county.
This monster relic Of the great ice
age is Sc feet long, 46 feet wide and IL
feet thick.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

night came two men who made speed
10 find comfortable positions of semi
redundancy in the smoker. One OF
them drew an evening paper from his
pocket and began reading it with APP
parent interest. The other filed briar
pjpesand interrupted the reader to asi,
him for match.
The man with the pipe forgot to
smoke, and the man with the paper, al
though he must long since have arrived
at the place where the story was inter
rupted by the fold, did not turn his
journal, but stared into it with eyes
wh@h read nothing. Both desired to
speak to one another, and each seemed
dislsiclined to make the first vocal adj
vance. Finally the man with the paper,
with his eyes still intent on the big,
black type. of the heading, said sonle-
thing about the storm.
1T is very bad weather for one to be
out unless he positively has to-" the
other remarked. 81 wish I didn't
You got on at Bineton, didn't you?'
inquired the reader.
''Ges. Horrible little town. stopped
tire population was taken up with dis
cussion of the murder, 50 / had to pull
OUT disgustedly.
81 thought saw you at the station"
The other said, Shut wasn't sure. /
pity you. Ipity anyone whose fortune
sends him into muddy little country
town in stormy weather. That was.
strange murder, wasn't it2 have been
reading of it in the evening paper. Do
ycu know it affected me most wonder
fully? The newspaper account was SO
realistically presented, you know, and
il seemed to take possession of my mind.
Possik It was the motion of the train
and the transition into light from dark
ness, and perhaps the lulling influence
or the storm from which. am shell
tered, but whatever the combination
it set me to dreaming ON one propo-
sition of that murder and hardly
seemed myself. vs.gE
lis thatCso?" said the man with the
pipe, in d tone that indicated sudden
and inte1iseinte #
Yes, got to thinking about the MUIR
derer, and about how he must feel just
now.I pictured myself as theauthor of
tbccrffne. Itried to conceive what would
be my sense tions is / were really the
man who had killed Old Winchester.
AS read, it seemed that some sort of
an influence came over me, and some
strange metamorphosis changed me
from my real personality, giving me
that of the assassin. yieldedanlyself
TO the phenomenon, and mind and
body were no longer my own. j felt
the sudden sensation of horror which
comes to one who has just taken life.
or horror. not because of the wicl1edness
of the crime, but because of the inn.
probability Of escape. i fancied myself
standing over the victim, whose body
lay like a pulpy and disorganized bum.
die before me, and wondering what had
made me so foolish as to kill him in
exactly the manner which would cause
the crime to be traced with unerring di-
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

rTH an alarm which
was not entirely
unmelodious t h e
engine dashed III
alongside the plat
form, and out of
tho TaIrhI I,arip az
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

Maybe the reason we don't hear 50
much talk about reciprocity now lies IN
the increased respect III which Mr.. Me-
Kinley is held since his success at the
polls. He was opposed to the intToduc-
tion of the reciprocity clause fn his tariff
bill, you know, and citation II its fnvor.
might offend him st. A11uis Rspup plan.
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

Nearly 100000 were given ii the
form Of charitable bequests in Berlin
last ear
St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-01-23

The republican leaders have con-
cluded To begin their tariff agitation at
once. There is no prospect of the pas
sage Of the DingIey bill IN the senate,
and there is no chance for much dis
turbance ON that score, Sc, the ways
and means Committee will begin al once
to agitate, with the view Of being pre-
pared to go into the extra session ready
for the fight, which seems probable IN
view Of the republ lican differences On the
tariff question. Bi1ghamton On. Y1s1
Leader.