davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
DUELING IN EUROPE,
One thousand Year In France and 2,759
Duels In Ten Years In Italy.

Duels In Ten Years In italy.
More duels are fought in Germany
than in any other country. Most of
them, however, are student duels,
which culminate in nothing more seri-
Gus than slashed cheeks or torn scalps
Of all German university towns little
Jena and Gottingen are most devoted
to the code. In Gottingen the number
of duels averages one a day, year in
and year out. On one day several years
ago 10 duels were fought in Gottingen
in "a hours. In Jena the record for one
day in recent times is 81. Fully 1000
student duels are fought every year in
the German empire. In addition to
these there are the more serious duels
between officers and civilians. Among
Germans of mature years the annual
number of duels is about 100
Next to Germany, France is most
given to the dueling habit. She has ev
cry year uncounted meetings, merely
to satisfy honor that is, merely to
give two men the opportunity to wipe
out insults by crossing swords or firing
pistols in such a way as to preclude the
slightest chance of injury In the duel
statistics these meetings are not reckon
ed, as they are far less perilous than
even the German student duels. Of the
serious duels, France can boast fully
1000 from New Years to New Years.
The majority of these are among army
officers. More than half of these result
in wounds, nearly 90 per cent in seri-
Gus wounds.
Italy has had 2,759 duels in the last
ten years and has lost SO citizens by
death Oh the field of honor Some 2, 400
of these meetings were consummated
with sabers, 179 with pistols, 90 with
rapiers and 1 with revolvers In 974
cases the insult was given in newspaper
articles or in public letters regarding
literary quarrels More than 700 princi-
pals were insulted by word of mouth
Political discussions led to 559, reli-
gious discussions to 80. Women were
the cause Of 189 Quarrels at the gam
bling table were responsible for 189
A summary shows that, as regards
numbers, the sequence of dueling coun-
tries is: Germany, France, Italy, Aus
tria, Russia. AS regards dead liners of
duels Italy comes first. Then come Ger
many, France, Russia and Austria in
the order named For the most serious
duels the pistol is the favorite weapon
in all five countries New York Sun.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A Practical ,TnIxa.

A practical joke that was played on
Charles Maurer of Eleventh and Cal
lowhill streets early last spring has re-
suited in something likely to puzzle the
brains of several up town naturalists.
Mr. Maurer is great lover of birds.
Last spring one of his canary birds was
busy with a nest of eggs, and Mr.. Mau-
rer was as much excited as the mother
bird. As a joke Curtis Souder removed
the eggs and in their place put three of
the sparrow variety. Now, in the course
of time those eggs were hatched, and
both mother bird and master were
greatly bewildered at the odd looking
birdlets. The joke in some way leaked
out, but as the mother bird was treat
ing her foster children tenderly Mr..
Maurer decided to let them remain and
watch the result. After the sparrows
got little older it was noticed that
the canary would put them in row
and chirp to them, after which the
Eparrows would try to initiate her. Per
severance on the canary's part has re-
suited in three ugly sparrows that are
beginning to sing, and it's toss up as
to whom the joke is OH. n.-Philadelphla
Record
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
THE MOTHER AND HER BOYS.

There are Fairfax and Fred and Arthur and
Ned,
Good boys, and remarkably clever.
In studies and sports and games of all sorts,
To excel is their noble endeavor.
And when porting DER books with studious
looks,
Despairing of help from brother,
The eldest of all will not scruple to call
For aid from his bright little mother.
In out of door games every one of them claims
Her presence to strengthen and cheer them,
For the better their luck and the greater their
pluck,
They say, if their mother is near them,
With hearty good will and wonderful skill
She champions one or the other,
And the boys oft declare, with satisfied air.
There's no better playmate than mother.
She joins in their walks and delightful the
talks,
Most sacred and sweet the communion
The mother enjoys as she strOlls with her
boys,
So loving and loyal their union.
Their future careers, their hopes and their
fears,
They would not reveal to another,
Are confided to her, and the lads all aver
The best of companions is mother.
She shares in their games and in all of their
aims,
Their faults and their follies correcting,
That they may grow wise and secure the best
prize,
True culture and courage rejecting.
And if quarrels take place, as at times is the
case,
Alas, betwixt brother and brother,
She soon sets them right, preventing fight,
For there's no better umpire than mother.
Josephine Pollard in New York Ledger.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A Good Sally Lunn.

A good Sally Lunn, made according
to the original Sarah Lunn's recipe,
without yeast, is this: Mix cups of
flour, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 3 table
spoonfuls melted butter, a cup of milk,
teaspoonfuls baking powder and 3
eggs together and bake in loaf. If a
''raised' bread is desired, nothing is
better than this often tested recipe. Add
3 tablespoonfuls melted butter to large
pint of warmed milk, then we'll beaten
eggs and half yeast cake dissolved in
tablespoonfuls cold water. Pour grad
ually over a quart of -four and beat to a
smooth batter. Add teaspoonful salt
and a teaspoonful of sugar. Set to rise
for hours in a warm place and bake
To those who like the hop taste whole
yeast cake may be used with these pro-
portions and will, of course, accelerate
considerably the rising process. New
York Post.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A Mothers Triumph.

"WillieP'
"What do you want?"
81 want you to get right up. r"
"All right" says Willie and turns
over for another nap. Half an hour
passes. and then
"Willier
"WeIlf"
"You going to get up today?"
eyes"
"Well, be about it then. You march
yourself right down here"
Twenty minutes elapse.
"Willier'
"What you want?'
eff you amt up in five minutes, I'll
come up there and rout you out in short
order. You mind that. "
''I'm coming"
YOU'D better, sir, if you know
what's good for you"
Fifteen minutes later.
"Will! If you RE not out of there in
ten minutes, I'll douse you with cold
water, see if don't. Get right up. i"
Willie comes down half an hour later,
and the triumphant mother says:
"Aha, young man, thought I'd rout
you out. You may just as we'll under
stand first as last that when 1 speak
Won have to mind. Remember that. -
Detroit Free Press.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
THE SHREW MOUSE.
Some Queer Superstitions About Harm
less Little Animal.

less Little Animal.
The shrew, or shrew mouse, as it is
commonly called, is found in nearly all
by an elongated, pointed muzzle, small
eyes, plantigrade, six tOed feet and
glands that secrete a musky fluid. AL
together it closely resembles a mouse,
but it is really not related to the mouse
family.
When at home, it is either under
pile of rubbish or in a hole which it
has burrowed in the earth. 1t is nOctur
nal in its habits, but perfectly harm
less. yet at one time it was much dis
liked and prosecuted because it was
thought to be dangerous, mischievous
animal. Among the Italians the notion
was prevalent that the bite of shrew
was extremely poisonous. The French
and the English believed that if shrew
ran over an animals foot the animal
felt great pain and eventually became
paralyzed Hence if horse, a COW or
goat became little stiff in its limbs
the foolish people at once declared it
"shrew struck" and the poor shrews
had to suffer in consequence.
OF course the "shrew struck" animal
had to have something to cure it, so an
ash tree was selected and a deep hole
was bored into its trunk. Then shrew
was captured, put alive into the hole,
the hole was securely plugged and the
innocent little animal was left to die of
starvation.
The ignorant believed that, after such
an act, the ash tree had power to cure
"shrew struck" animals, and whenever
an animal became inactive or a little
numb in its limbs its owner hurried to
the "shrew ash" cut switch from it
and switched the ''shrew struck" beast.
The smarting caused by the switching
naturally made the helpless animal
move about as much as it possibly could,
and in short time it was pronounced
cured. Times.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
At Her Expense.

Not SO very long ago man took a
girl and her chaperon to the theater.
Circumstances, it SO happened, COM
PEELED him to dress hurriedly, and he
thus found himself at the box office
minus any money in his pockets except
just enough for one seat. This was high
ly embarrassing, of course, but there
was no help for it, SO the man went to
the girl and told her his predicament.
"Oh, that's all right" said the girl.
II have plenty of money with me, so
I'll just pay for the other two seats. 1"
And she handed her purse to the man,
who over and over again thanked his
stars that he was with such practical,
sensible sort of a person.
Now, the play that night was humor-
Gus, distinctly so. It did not deal in
horse play, but it relied upon delicate
little subtleties of dialogue and situa-
tion to supply it with fun, which sub
tleties were not, of course, perceivable,
except to those blessed with very keen
sense of humor. This, however, was Just
what the girl with the man was Be
sides her practical good sense she had
plenty of humOr, and she therefore
found much enjoyment in parts of the
performance that the man could see no
fun in at all. Perhaps it was that he
was still smarting too much from the
awkward predicament at the box office
to see fun in anything. Perhaps gull
ty conscience made him suspect that not
all the girls merriment was directed at
the stage-there are times, you know,
when you want to laugh so badly that
almost anything will do to laugh at
but at all events he was i'll at ease At
last the girl broke forth into perfect
peals at something that none of the rest
Of the audience smiled at. 1t was the
last straw. Turning to the girl, the man
remarked, I'm afraid you re laughing
at my expense. " "Oh, no, indeed, ;"
said the girl, I'm laughing at mine.
New York Sun.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A Queens Visit.

To be old and poor and bedridden is
generally to be debarred from the great
er privileges of life, but there was one
old man in Scotland who found his dis
advantages had procured him privi
lege that the strong and more active
members of his family were seeking in
vain.
1t was on an occasion when Queen
Victoria was at Balmoral, and, as she
often did, she went one day unaccom-
panied to visit the cottages. In one of
these she found an old man, bedridden
and quite alone, and she sat down to
talk to him.
"And how is it you are alone?" she
asked. "Have you no one to keep you
company"
"No," replied the old man Innocent
ly. "My folks be all away seeing the
queen. They thought they might get a
glimpse of her. ="
His visitor made no reply, but she sat
with the old man, pleasantly filling the
gap made by the absence of "his
folks" and then found time to read to
him from the Bible she herself treas
ured. On leaving she gave further
proof of her sympathy in the shape OF
e5 note, accompanying it with the
words, "When your people come back,
tell them that while they have been to
see the queen the queen has been to see
you. ''-Youth's Companion.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A Meercat Discovered Diamonds.

The story of the discovery of the ia
nous Wasselton diamond reads like a ro-
nance, but is vouched for upon the high
est authority as truthful. 1t is said that
q simple minded Boer had been out on the
veldt after the horses one evening, when
he noticed small animal called a meer-
cat scraping away the dirt from its bur
row. Some popularity of the earth led
him to put some of it into his handker-
chief and take it home where he examined
it that night. To his astonishment and
delight he found in it "a carat diamond.
Further search of the meercat's hole re-
vealed other diamonds, and before six
months had passed the Dutch farmer had
been offered and refused 50, $50, 900 for his
farm.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
WOMEN OFTHE YUKUN
EXPERIENCES OF SOME WHO WENT
TO THE KLONDiKE REGION.

Mrs. Berry Kept House For Her Hus-
band, but Managed to Pick Up $4,000
Worth of Nuggets Between Times-A
Washerwoman Who Got Rich There.
Women have gone to the Klondike
gold regions, have endured the hardshlps
and dangers of the journey as we'll as
the privations Of camp life and have re-
turned safe and well to civilization.
Some of them are there yet. Others are
on the way there and many more are
planning to go.
In view of these facts the stories told
by some of the returned women of the
Klondike are especially interesting just
now. Foremost of them all is Mrs.
Clarence Berry. On March 15 of 1896
she left San Francisco bride and
started with her husband to help him
find a fortune in the frozen goldfelds of
the arctics.
AS far as Juneau travel was comfort
able, but from that point to Forty Mile
the route lay across a frozen wilderness
of snow and ice, and at every point some
new danger lurked. From Juneau to
Forty Mile it is about 900 miles, and
Mrs. Berry and her party were three
months on the way.
Thanks to Mrs. Berry's previous ex-
perience she knew exactly what to take
in the way of an outfit. "It cost me. ="
she says, "about $3.50. 1t included three
suits of everything. I had heavy woolen
underwear and knitted woolen stock
ings. My skirts were heavy and flannel
lined and came only little below the
knee. I had heavy fur coat, fur cap,
fur gloves and the heaviest shawl
could get. Besides this | had rug OF
bear skin, which was a necessity. On
my feet I wore moccasins made OF seal
with the fur inside. They had tops
which reached above my skirt. Then
for wet weather I had pair OF muc
lucs, as the Indians call them. They
are mud moccasins, the soles being
made waterproof with seal Oil. AS an
additional precaution I had flannel
inner soles for my moccasins, and my
toes were not frost bitten once"
How would the average woman like
to put on a costume such as that? Mrs.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23

Berry rode most of the 900 miles strap
ped to dog sledge. When the sledge
tipped over, which was not infrequent-
ly, she tipped with it and went into the
snow all over At night the men pitch
ed a tent, made a bed of boughs, and on
that she slept, wrapped in blankets
At Forty Mile she was fairly comfort
able, but her most interesting expe-'
riences began after her husband staked
out claim on the Klondike Is miles
from what is now Dawson City. The
men built a log cabin, and when she
arrived it had neither floor nor Will
dows. It was made habitable after
awhile, though, and she started Ill with
her housekeeping. She cooked over
little sheet iron stove, and all the fuel
she had to burn was knotty scrub pine
SO full of pitch that it would burn up
and go out if not looked after closely.
All their stores were frozen solid,
and everything had to be thawed out
before it could be used. Their vegeta-
bles and nearly all their meat were cam
ned. Every drop of water used had to
be made by melting snow or ice. Mrs.
Berry made yeast from hops and canned
potatoes and taught several miners the
art of bread making.
1t was rather lonesome i'll the cabin,
and when Mrs Berry had finished
washing up the dishes she used to put
on her furs and go out to the mines,
with the thermometer at from 40 to 5O
degrees below zero. There she picked
up nuggets of solid gold just for amuse-
ment She says it was most fascinat-
ing diversion, and most women Will
readily believe her.
''I used to poke among the clods
which were thrown up with sharp
stick, says Mrs. Berry, land when l
saw anything that looked like gold L
would pick it out. In this way l found
many nuggets, the largest OF them be-
ing worth $231. Then | tried pann1ng
out the dirt, but l had to melt ice for
water, and this was almost too hard
work. l saved my nuggets and dust Ill
all kinds of bottles and jars, and my to-
tai clean up was worth about SlO, OOo.
Among the women who went alone
to the Klondike was Mrs. j. L. Willis
of Tacoma Her husband was so GRIP
pied with rheumatism that he could not
go, so she went and left him at home.
Needless to say she is woman OF IRON
will. 1t was two years ago that she
started for the Yukon, but for long
time she barely made enough to live OF.
She was early on the ground at Klon-
dixie after the first strike and obtained
work as cook in Dawson City at Sl5 per
day. She also did washing for the
miners, but she secured claim which
is said to be worth $3.50, 900 and when
she comes back will probably be rich
woman. JOHN T. WILLOUGHBY.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
1t Is In That Way That Savages Usually
Regard Meteorites.

1t Is In That way That SaVages Usually
Regard Meteorites.
Savages, whenever they come across
meteorites of large size, are apt to re-
gard them as objects of worship. Such,
however, was not the dignified fate of
a very remarkable specimen that is now
in the National museum. This strange
aerolite is four feet in diameter, weigh.
ing 1,40O pounds approximately, and
has the shape of a ring. 1t was found
in the Santa Catarina mountains, and
for long time was used as an anvil by
Mexicans at Tucson. In this employ
ment it was discovered by DR.. Irwin of
the United States army, who bought it
for a small sum and gave it to the
Smithsonian institution. Doubtless the
substance of this meteorite originally
was largely stony, but the stony parts
became disintegrated and disappeared
after it fell, leaving the ring of iron.
Of 400 meteors that have been seen ac-
tually to fall, only about a dozen were
metallic, the rest being mainly of stony
material, though containing more or
less iron.
On the other hand, nearly all of the
meteorites picked up in a casual way
are masses of metal. 1t is probably the
case that a great majority of such bod
les are stony, but meteorites of that de-
scription do not attract notice when ly-
ing on the ground. All of these facts
are extremely interesting in view of the
belief now entertained by science that
the composition of meteorites throws
light upon the make up of the terrestrial
globe. In fact, according to this the
ory, the make up of the earth is much
like that of the average meteorite. OBJ
viously the moment this assumption is
made the study of the structure of me-
teorites comes to have extraordinary i'm
portance, for mans knowledge of the
planet on which he lives is restricted
almost entirely to the surface of it. The
bowels of the earth remain almost un-
known. n.-Washington Post.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
The ChineSR.

Conservative historians among the
Chinese claim for their race an antiq-
uity of at least 100000 years, while
those whose estimates are little
"wild" assert that the Chinese were the
original inhabitants of the earth and
that Chinese history goes back at least
500, 900, 900 years. The government rec
ords of China place the foundation of
the empire at 1900 B. c. and claim that
it was established by Tohi, who, they
assert, is the Noah mentioned in the
book of Genesis, B. G. 2240.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
INOUISITIVE SPARROWS.
They May Have Been Hostile, but They
Didn't Dare Attack the CockatOo.

They May Have Been Hostile, but They
Didn't Dare Attack the Cockatoo.
There was trouble and to spare one
dav last week in back yard on Brook
Iyn Heights. The cause of it was an in
nocent cockatoo which had flown away
from home and found it's way to the
top of q tree near State street. between
Henry street and Garden place. Where
the strange bird came from there is no
body to tell.
1t was first discovered by the large
and noisy colony of English sparrows
which inhabits that vicinity. The first
sparrow to see the foreigner lost no
time in communicating the news OF Its
discovery to its mates, and in three
minutes no less than 90 sparrows had
assembled to examine the strange visit
or and exchange views about him. They
took places on all sides of the cockatoo
and began chattering which soon at
tracted attention from all the neighbor-
ing windows. They hoped about from
branch to branch, but never approach
ed nearer than yard to the puzzled
stranger. For a time the cockatOo view
ed the conclave about him with sereni-
ty, but the strain became too much for
him, and finally found expression in a
series of the most penetrating screeches,
accompanied by the elevation of his
light green plume, which had previous
ly been partly concealed in his fluffy,
snow white feathers. This demonstra-
ton added threefold to the wonderment
and fright of the sparrows and In
creased the volume of their chattering
in like proportion.
But the unwelcome foreigner soon
found that the chattering was harm
less, and that the saucy sparrOws lack
ed the courage to make an attack. Find
ing himself surrounded on all sides by
the little nuisances, he gradually work
ed his way through one side of the cir
Gle and out ON the end of branch,
where he perched contentedly and view
ed his tormentors with the calmest in
difference. Having found that the in
truder would neither take nor give of
fense, the sparrows one by one flew
away, leaving the cockatoo to take a
nap in peace and quiet.
Meanwhile the cat colony of the back
yards had been aroused by the unusual
activity of the feathered tribe, and
there had been gradual concentration
of the feline forces near the base CT the
tree which formed the cockatoO's perch.
This meant cat fight as sure as preach
ing, and it was not long before the hos
tilities broke out. Then the dogs had
their turn, and the cats disappeared,
but to the last the cockatoo sat unruffied
in his feathers in the tree top.-New
York Sun.
The Winslow mail., 1897-10-23
A DREAM ER.

He is a dreamer. Let him pass
He reads the writing in the grass
His seeing soul in rapture goes
Beyond the beauty of the rose.
He is a dreamer, and doth know
To sound the farthest depth of woe.
His days are calm, majestic, free.
He is a dreamer. Let him be.
He is dreamer. All the day
Blest visions find him on his way
Past the far sunset and the light,
Beyond the darkness and the night.
He is dreamer. Godl To be
Apostle of infinity
And mirror truths translucent gleami
He is Il dreamer. Let him dream.
He is a dreamer. For all time
His mind is married unto rhyme.
Light that ne'er was on land or sea
Hath blushed to him in poetry.
He is dreamer, and hath caught
Close to his heart a hope, thought,
A hope of immortality.
He is a dreamer. Let him be.
He is dreamer. Lo, with thee
His soul doth weep in sympathy.
He is a dreamer, and doth long
To glad the world with happy song.
He is dreamer. In breath
He dreams of love, and life and death.
o man, o woman, lad and lass,
He is a dreameri Let him pass.
London Sun.