davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05
ALL HITG THE FIRE

There are probably more night Prov
lers, fellows who like to be called Bo-
hemian.. in Wichita than any city of
Its size in America. They a.e simply
owls and cannot go 10 sleep until day
begins to break in the east After all
9ther resorts close about midnight these
fellows shuttle out and 20 to the all night
restaurants where they pick out the
most comfortable place in the eStsb-
}ishment. Now that the cold weather
has set in good many strangers; fel
lows without an overcoat and who. while
they resemble the tramp order, a"e not
afraid of water. These same fellows
usually live by their wits but from all
appearances have had slim pickings dur
ing the past summer. one of this varie-
ty ambled into an East Douglas avenue
restaurant one night last week about IL
O'Clock There were several in the re,-
taurart at the time and as they were
talking trey paid no particular attention
to the new conner. He walked up to the
stove and warmed his hands and then
took a chair from one Of the tables and
tilted it against tae wall. Seating him
self, his head against the wall. ne was
soon asleep. At $50 ne awoke and saw
the cook seated opposite 10 himself.
Nothing abashed, he said that he wa.
cook and wanted to know if he could
tell him where he could get joo. The
cook told him he knew Of no vacancies
at that time. Ii was then that the fell
low asked the cook if he couldn't stake
him to something to eat. This was too
much for the regular cook and ne said:
You have more nerve than anybody I
ever met. You owe me two bits now
for lodging. The night prOwler never
said another woed, but walked out. He
hasn't been back since.
The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05
Gossip For Home People

shook hands with each other with
friendly goodbye, and parted. 1t was
a query in the mind of the writer how
sucn thing of that kind could occur.
which was explained finally. They were
members of the Masonic fraternity.
The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05

WIGHT SCADJL bNiA<DiSBc
There are fifteen school buildings II
Wichita and 10 80 to al os them one
mus. r-aXsl t1irty meA
The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05
WHY WICHITA MEN SUCCEED.

There is not city east or west whose
that Wichita bushes. men have made
during the last five years, despite the
great business depression throughout the
entire country. White hundreds of mer-
chants and tradesmen in towns and
cities throught out the county nave gone
to the wall our merchants have stemed
the tide without the los. of one. While
1t is true that some OF them have made
but little money during the press OF hard
times, they have lived and maintained
their credit and standing with the COM
mercial world. The wholesalers have
made money. for they have increased
their stocks steadily from year TO year.
extended their fields Of operation, while
the retailers have shown by their busi-
ness and mammoth stocks that they, too,
are reaping the reward that they haveso
faithfully earned. There is combina-
ton OF reasons attributable to their sue
cess, one Of the cfiefest OF which is they
are business men who are alive to their
interests, never faltering. having impli-
cit confidence in the city and it's destiny;
loyal to fault in al its interests, loyal
to each other, Notwithstanding the sharp
competition, yet their broad and COM
prehensiveness OF view enables them to
see that competition among themselves
is the life Of trade, in fact and not in
theory. And today Wichita has larger
stocks of goods, beginning with the mod
est little peanut stand up through it's
bewildering different branches of busi-
ness RETAIL commission and Wholesale,
than she ever had before, which means
stiff competition, which also means bet
ter goods and low prices. The Eagle
congratulates the merchants one and
all, and their patrons over this condition
OF affairs and feels that with contif,ua-
ton of existing methods by our mer-
chants, manufacturers and tradesmen,
loyalty and faith in our city, faith in
each other, push and enthusiasm, each
man in his business, we will continue to
ride on the wave of success, and will con-
tinue to maintain our supremacy as the
leading commercial city of the state.
The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05
Ho1sTED BY HIS Wis PETARD.

HOISTED BY HIS Wis PETARD.
A certain person in this city, who
owns residence in front of which was
dilapidated, snakey wood sidewalk, fell
while walking over il, barking his snins,
and Immediately consulted an attorney
with the intention OF suing the city for
damages. The attorney thought and
said nit"
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11

and the ice was % slippery that he
could not make anything like the
usual time Of his when they throw
their souls into their heels. and scatter
miles behind them with an easy indif-
ference most beautiful to witness.
We played wolf on him. doc"
Spalding, who was riding the ice BIZ
cycle. shot straight ahead. and very
soon passed him. and forced him to
turn, and when he did turn there was
ring Of skaters all around him, and
for an hour he played with US very
much as four-legged animal might.
We got him running IN a circle. but
we were unable to catch him, for every
time any one tried 1t. that venture
some individual either failed to get a
hold on him, or, succeeding, was hurled
az from q catapult along the ice, to
the great delight of all the rest. II
was the merriest skating party ever
witnessed, although the deer might not
have seen much matter for merriment
In 1t.
But he was perfectly safe. unless his
wind played out before ours did, of
which the event proved there was small
danger. One wing of the circular
trocha we had formed in the line got
out of breath and slowed up, gap was
formed In the line, and the deer went
through It like flash, and the last we
saw of him was "hull down." and go
ing as merrily as If freshly started
Minneapolis Journal.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
LAND OF TOYS.
Great Attention Paid to ChiIdren's Plea
suTes in Mexico.

Mexico has often been called the land
of sunshine and the land of flowers,
but it might with equal reason be
called the land of toys. There is proba-
bly, no city in the world where more
attention is paid to the production of
everything that will please and amuse
children. There are street peddlers
without number, sidewalk booths and
great stores that do nothing but sell
toys.
A great surprise is in store for the
average American upon coming to
Mexico. The stores are wonders of
beauty and completeness. But from the
outside one gains little idea of the
beautiful things inside. A window full
of dolls is all you see; you go in and
ask, either in words or signs, to see
the toys and you are taken upstairs
into wonderland and shown toys I'M
ported from every part CT the world.
| The dolls are from three inches high
| to three feet, beautifully dressed and
cost in gold from 80 cents to $50. There
are baskets beautifully lined, in which
| you will find a doll Of any size you
wish, dressed completely, and beside
| her will be from three to twelve COM
| plete suits of underclothes, dresses,
| shoes and hats. lou will see entire
| bed room sets, brass beds with canopy
tops, all made up, with lace draperios,
a wash stand with complete toilet set,
| and the dresser. Another thing for
| girls, which would complete the play
house Is a cooking stove. These range
| in size from by 1-2 feet to the larg-
est, 3 by 2 IL feet. The largest one Is
| the most complete. 1t has an oven a
foot wide by two long, and under this
| is an alcohol burner; then, on top of
| the stove are six holes, with utensils
that will hold about a pint each, and
| under each of these holes Is an alcohol
burner. It has a hot water tank, and
besides the six utensils is wash boiler.
| The musical toys are numberless.
There are bears that dance as tho
music box plays; boys that play leap
frog to music, and negro boys that
play the banjo and dance. There Is no
limit to the number of different kinds.
Boys cannot help being pleased with a
miniature stable, with horses, carriages
and harness all complete. There are
jockey outfits, and steam engines with
alcohol fires, and in fact every kind oil
toy under the sun can be found In
Mexico, from the funny rag dolls made
by the Indians to completely furnished
houses imported from Europe.-Modern
Mexico.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
The Divers Heavy Dress.

The dress of fully equipped diver
weighs 169 pounds and costs about
$500. 1t is made up, among other
things. of 8 1-2 pounds of thick under
clothing. The dress itself weighs IA
pounds, and the heavily weighted boots
weigh 80 pounds. The breast and back
piece weigh 80 pounds, and the helmet
35 pounds.
The greatest depth at which diver
can ordinarily work is $50 feet, though
there are rare instances of work being
done at a depth of 21O feet, where the
pressure sustained is SO IL pounds to
the square inch. 1t is not generally
known that the present system of div
ing was first suggested by the action OF
the elephant, which swims beneath the
surface, breathing meanwhile through
its trunk, which it holds above the
water.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11

4 Way Discovered for Utilizing h In
Kansas.

Kansas.
The Kansas jack rabbit, which from
time immemorial has been accorded the
unQuestionable freedom of the prairies,
with only an occasional jack rabbit
roundup to disturb his peaceful pos
session of the fields. henceforth must
be ever on the alert. for price has
been set upon his head.
Thousands upon thousands OF dollars
are thrown away every winter because
sportsmen do not know that Jack rab-
otis hides are valuable. Sporting clubs
and individual hunters kill many thou
sands of the lithe-limbed jacks every
winter simply for the sport OF killing.
Occasionally cargo OF the rabbits thus
slain are sent to the relief committees
In the larger cities for gratuitous dis
tribution among the poor, and many a
family In the tenement districts of the
great cities has sat down thankfully
to a steaming hot dinner of jack rabbit
soup, dish not to be scorned by any
lover of game meats. But despite the
Inroads of hunters upon the ranks of
The Kansas jack rabbits they have fol-
lowed the Scriptural injunction to in
crease and multiply until they are so
numerous in some counties as to be re-
garded as pests.
A number of dealers in hides in vari-
GUS cities in Kansas at last have awak-
ened to the fact that jack rabbit hides,
known in commerce as American hare
pelts, are in great demand In the East
ern markets, and notices similar to the
following are appearing in many papers
throughout the State:
I'VE will buy nicely handled, cased
Jack rabbit skins at cents each; open
ed or damaged half price; culls and
pieces, 3 cents pound. Must be per-
fectly dry and free of meat"
The buyers say that these are almost
New York prices. A skilled rabbit
hunter at these prices may easily make
50 a day, besides having his usual sport.
The skins of the jack rabbits are used
for making hats. The best quality hats
are made from fur, and the fur has
heretofore been obtained from Austria
liza, where the rabbits are successfully
disputing the possession of the country
with the human inhabitants. The skins
go through shaving machine, and the
fur is shaved of very close. 1t is then
cleansed and subjected to variety OF
of processes until it comes out per-
feet head covering, shapely and stylish
and ready for the bandbox. 1t requires
about a dozen rabbit skins to make one
hat.
It has been found that the fur OF the
black-tailed Kansas jack rabbit Is
superior to all other materials for hat
making purposes, as it is longer and
stronger, and there is very little waste
in the process. The hides are larger,
too, and more hats may be made from
a given number of Kansas jack rabbit
skins than from a corresponding num-
Der of the hides of other varieties OF
rabbits. When your hat blows on In
a gale and goes bounding away down
the street it may not be altogether the
fault of the wind; who knows but that
the hat is still instinct with the life OF
the Kansas jack rabbit, and revealing
In a race with the wind? For the Kan
sas variety of jack rabbit is by far the
feetest of the whole rabbit family. A
black tailed jack rabbit will leave a
greyhound hopelessly behind in race.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
The Porcuplne's QuiIIs.

The current opinion that porcupine
throws its quilts at an enemy Is not
supported by facts. Says the Portland
Oregonian:
The spines of the porcupine are very
loosely attached to the body and are
very sharp-as sharp as a needle. AT
almost the slightest touch they pene-
trate the nose of dog or the clothing
or the flesh of person touching the
porcupine, and stick there, coming
away from the animal without any pull
being required.
The facility of catching hold with
one end and letting go with the other
has sometimes caused people to think
that the spines had been thrown at
them. The outer end Of the spines,
for some distance down. is covered with
small harbs. These barbs cause a
spine once imbedded in living animal
to keep working farther In with every
movement of the muscles.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11

sWayfarer's Rest" is the title OF
lodging house and restaurant In Chica-
20 where weary travellers can obtain
bed and breakfast for the sum OF TWO
cents. The dodgers all sleep In one
large room. On layer of straw ON the
floor Ia placed a carpet tackled down AZ
the edges. Into this room the guests
are turned to pick out soft spot that
suits their fancy. Early In the MORN
ing a gong arouses them from their
slumbers. They file out into another
room. where a bowl OF soup Is given
each as a morning repast. Then tho
proprietor makes the big bed by sweep.
ing 1t with broom, after which 1t Is
ready for another flock of Weary VIII
lies" The proprietor Of the establish
ment says that he is making all kinds
of money"
BY the census just completed In
France. the population of that country
is shown to be 3S,517.975. which IL an
increase of only 175.027 over the popu-
lation it had in 1891. This Is an omi-
nous showing, but the Minister of the
Interior is trying to minimize the alarm
1t has produced by pointing out that OF
late years there has been large emil
grafton to the colonies. especially to
Algeria. and that more troops are now
kept in remote possessions than form
erly. At the same time, he Is COM
PEELED to confess that there is a marked
tendency in the population to remain
almost stationary, and that it does not
increase in anything like the same pro-
portions as its neighbors. While In
twenty-four departments the inhabi-
tants have increased, there has been an
absolute diminution In sixty-three.
Oddly enough, this census shows that
fewer foreigners are settled in France
than was the case in 1891. In that year
the number Of the alien residents was
given as 1,101, 79S. while now it is 1921
191. This falling off is attributed to
the law on nationality promulgated in
1889, and also to the efforts made to pro-
tect the interests Of the French work
man against foreign rivals.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
Green Cross Society.

We have a Red Cross Society and a
White Cross Society, and now, says the
London Chronicle, there has Just been
started at Vienna a new order known
as the Green Cross. Its object should
be of special interest to the Alpine Club,
for its purpose is to render assistance
to venturesome climbers in the Alps by
establishing huts on high mountains
as a refuge against the cold at night
and to keep supplies and relief stores
and boxes containing articles likely TO
be needed In emergencies at those spots
where private resources of the mouE-
taineer are likely to fail. The now
order is an offshoot Of the Austrian
Alpine Club.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11

wheels; while moving at trot. with .
load OF $50 pounds, the pull was 6S-5
pounds and Ss6 pounds. respectively;
In the mud. under the same conditions
OF load and speed. the pulls were 35.2
and 60.7 pounds for the iron wheel
and 23.1 and 21.2 pounds for the pneu-
matte tire. Other tests consisting of
pulls Of varying speeds over macadam,
paved and ordinary roads, In all of
these the pneumatic tire showing q saw
Ing in pulling power of from thirty to
nearly nifty per cent. The main fea-
ture Of interest In Michelin's expert
ments consisted. OF course, In the fact
that the actual amount of power re-
quired to pull carriage equipped with
pneumatic tires was SO much less than
when ordinary wheels were used.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
A Mechanical Baseball.

A machine, or rather gun, which is
Intended to take the place OF a pitcher
in base ball batting practice has been
invented by Mr.. C. II. Hinton, an Eng
lishman, instructor of mathematics at
Princeton University.
1t is claimed for the Hinton mechani-
cal pitcher that it can be made to shoot
a base ball so as to make 1t curve in or
out or drop, and at almost any speed
required. 1t was only after construct
ing a number of catapults, cannons and
guns, all proving unsuccessful, that Mr..
Hinton finally succeeded In making q
gun that ,did not propel the ball with
death-dealing velocity. but which could
be depended upon to send the ball at
moderate speed, with reasonable accur-
acy. and at the same time curve 1t.
The gun consists, first, Of a cylinder
in which the ball is placed. Behind the
ball is placed a movable breech, and to
this is attached tube. At the other
end of the tube is a rifle, minus the
barrel, the tube taking the place Of
the barrel. A blank cartridge is placed
in the gun, which, when fired, generates
enough gas in the tube to propel the
ball. The powder thus acts indirectly
upon the base ball and not directly as
it does on a bullet in a gun barrel. 1t
thus has more the effect of compressed
air.
Shot straight out OF the cylinder thus
the base ball would, of course, go
straight, except as affected by the at
traction of gravitation. To produce
the curve Mr.. Hinton made some iron
fingers, padded on the inside with rub
Der, the fingers being attached to q
false muzzle and can be turned at Will.
The base ball, when shot, strikes these
fingers on one side and receives a rapid
rotary motion. The ball is made thus
to curve toward the side on which the
fingers are.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
"YANK AND JOHNNY"
A Pathetic Incident of One Of the Civil
War Battles.

William Wilkerson, who was Tor
many years jailer of Fayette county,
and who was noted for his fidelity to
truth, related the following pathetic
incident of heroism which he witnessed
shortly after the battle of Richmond,
KY, in 1862.
"A son of my friend Hon. Cassius M.
Clay, was killed in the fight at Rich
mond, and it was my duty to visit the
battlefield to identify the body and take
1t to his fathers home. While riding
slowly over the scene of the battle
heard groans, which / was sure came
from cornfield near at hand. Looking
down the corn rows / soon discovered
two wounded soldiers lying about forty
yards apart. One was Federal and
the other a Confederate. A cannon
ball had broken and terribly mangled
both of the Confederate's legs, while
the Federal was shot through the body
and thigh.
"I am dying for water / heard the
Federal say just as discovered them.
His words sounded as If they came from
a parched mouth.
~ have some water in my canteen.
You are welcome to a drink II you'll
come here said the Confederate, who
had feebly raised his head from the
ground to look at his late enemy when
he heard his pitiful cry for water.
"I couldn't move to save my life.'
groaned the Federal, as he dropped his
head to the ground, while his whole
body quivered with agony.
Then l beheld an act Of heroism
which held me spellbound until it was
too late for me to give the assistance l
should have rendered. The Confeder-
ate lifted his head again and took
another look at his wounded foe, and
saw an expression of tender pity come
over his pain-distorted face as he said:
"'Hold out little longer, Yank, and
I'll try to come to you Then the brave
fellow, by digging his fingers in the
ground and catching hold Of the corn
stalks, painfully dragged himself to the
Federaps side, the blood from his man
gled legs making a red trail the entire
distance. The tears ran down my
cheeks like rain, and, out of sympathy
for him, l groaned every time he moved,
but was so lost to everything except
the fellows heroism that did not once
think of helping him.
when the painful journey was fin
ished he offered his canteen to the Fed
eral, who took it and drank eagerly,
the water seeming to sizzle as 1t passed
down his parched throat. Then, with a
deep sigh of relief, he reached out to
the Confederate, and 1t was plain to
see as they clasped hands and looked
into each others eyes that whatever OF
hate may have ranked once in the
hearts of these men had now given
place to mutual sympathy and love
Even while ! watched them / saw the
Confederate's body culver as II in q
spasm of pain, and when his head drop
ped to the ground / knew that a hero
had crossed the dark river. The Fed
eral kissed the dead hero's hand re-
peatedly, and cried like child until
had him removed to the hospital, where
he, too, died the next day."
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
Afflicted with Drops.

speaking of nervous Diseases" re-
marked a we'll known specialist yester-
day, Ibid you ever hear of a person at
flicted with the 'drops?' No. Well, it's
a most remarkable complaint. OF
course It has its technical name. but It
is commonly known as the drops
The patients nerves may be all right
in every respect, but should he be car
rying q bundle or parcel Of any kind
and you should suddenly cry out:
Drop that he would drop 1t as
though 1t were hot brick. He could
no more help 1t than he could ay.
Cases of this kind are very rare in the
east, but throughout the west there il
something In the climatic conditions
which makes the disease compare
lively common. "-Philadelphia Record.
ord.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
The Unit of Heat.

We cannot, of course, measure heat
by yards, pints or pounds, but the unit
of heat (the standard measure Of that
phenomenon has been agreed upon by
those whose business 1t is to philoso-
phize on that subject to be that guam
tity which can raise a pound Of water
one degree. Now to turn pound Of
water into a pound of steam requires
81 of these units Of heat-that is to
say, II we boil pound Of water until 1t
all goes away In steam we shall have
used, in doing 80. a quantity of heat
which would have raised s67 pounds
of water one degree higher In tempera-
ture.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11
APnsumatic Tire Test.

In a paper presented lately by A. ].
Michelin to the French Society of Civil
Engineers. the author gives sugges-
tive account Of his experiments with
the pneumatic tire and the ordinary
wheels. The first experiment was made
on three days, that is, when the ground
was covered with three inches of snow,
also when the snow was melting. and
then when the ground was muddy. The
results showed that when the empty
carriage moved at walk through the
snow, the draft or pull required to move
It was $50 pounds with iron wheels
and only 26.2 pounds with pneumatic
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-03-11

We had gone up in the great bay
near the head of the lake, when the
boys and dogs, rummaging around the
woods and along the shore, started a
deer and chased 1t onto the ice, and
we had the most exciting chase int
mediately after / ever took part In.
We did not harm the animal, and had
we wished to do so we couldn't. for
there wasn't gun In the crowd; but we
made him make the effort of his life''
before he broke the trocha we built
around him and got away. When we
sighted him he was making straight
acrSAS - tNT, which is Ave miles wide.