davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

sound extravagant, if not incredible,
to our American farmers, but it is
nevertheless a fact, which can be sub
stantiated by a number of our citizens,
who have settled in this country and
are making small fortunes. Land can
be obtained very cheap, and to clear
it up and prepare the first crop has
been computed to cost nine dollars per
acre. The natives care but little for
any more than their immediate neces-
sites, and consequently are mostly
the laborers of numerous enterpris1ng
foreigners, who constitute the bulk OF
the banana farmers. The opening OF
new markets and The greatly increased
demand for the fruit has stimulated
the clearing and opening Of many new
and extended farms during the past
three or four years. There is always
a certain and sure sale for the product,
as each farmer, at the very beginning
of the planting season, can contract Tor
the sale of his entire crop to any of the
competing lines of steamers which ree'u-
larly visit the coast. If he chooses
this course the only thing that should
concern him is proper attention to make
the yield as great a. possible, having
no uneasiness as to his market. The
competition for the business has be-
come very strong and many additional
steamers and new markets have been
created, as a stimulus and encourage
ment to increased production.
, The banana trade of British Hon
duras is not very extended, and its
product is mostly obtained from Siam
Creek, Punta Gorda. and Monkey
River in the lower part of the province.
Nearly all of the fruit business Of this
colony, including cocoanuts, IL abb
sorbed by New Orleans.
The fruit business of Guatemala is
exclusively confined to the Atlantic
side and to the ports OF Livingston,
Izabal and Port Barios. Although the
trade has been comparatively small a
new impetus will be given. it by the
completion of the railway to Port
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

raises nothing but game chickens.
Occasionally the chickens raise trou-
bic. They raised arumpus about week
ago, and as a result Nj. Hardin was
treated to the novel sight of q fierce
duel between a hen and a rattlesnake.
The lawyer was proudly watching his
pets wander towards the bushes at the
further end of the yard, when sud
denly one of the hens gave a cry OF
alarm. It was too late. The seven
rattles on the tail of a big snake
sounded, and an instant later the fowl
was struck. A hen by her side, in
stead of running away, got her fight
ing blood up, saw a chance for a good
battle and pitched in. She fought
scientifically, and proved that she knew
a good deal about the vital spots of a
snake. She made a few passes, dodg-
ing for advantage, and before the rep
tile realized its danger n fierce peck
at the back Of it's head ended its exist
ence. The hen that was bitten by the
snake died in agony.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
A Remarkable Double Tree.

The accompanying cut of a double
ash is from a photograph taken by
Professor William Werthner, OF the
Dayton High School. The tree, writes
A. F. Foerste, in the Scientific Amer
lean, stands near Waynesville, Ohio.
1t is a very symmetrical coalescence OF
two blue ash trees, five feet apart at
the ground and at fifteen feet above
joining to form a perfect trunk that
extends to a height of some seventy
feet. Each tree is from fifteen to
eighteen inches in diameter, and each
trunk, as we'll as the upper bole, is
perfectly normal, nor does the fork
show any signs of a fattening, ridge
or one-sided coalescence. Hence, the
union must have taxed place, when the
trees were saplings. 49,.
Is this q natural graft" or did
some Indian possibly use the saplings
as part of his wigwam support and tie
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

Barios, as this will traverse the Mon
tagua Valley, one Of the richest sec
tons of Central America.
The trade of Honduras, confined
also to the Atlantic side, is the most
extended of all the tropical countries.
Her leading banana ports are Puerto
Cortez, Ceiba and the islands of Ut;l-
la and Ruatan, although some fruit is
also taken from Tela, Truxillo, Irione
and Gracios a Dios. The bulk of the
imports, however, come through
Puerto Cortez, the terminus Of the
Honduras Railroad, which ~traverses
the great Sula and Ullna valleys for a
distance of forty miles. This section
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

hat the first country of its adoption
should now be the foremost in it's
importation, and the unknown eccle-
~siastic, who brought over the first
germ, was the pioneer in one of the
greatest fruit, industries of the new
world.
The lowlands of all tropical countries
are essentially hot, and while not
gracious and inviting as a residence
for man, they furnish a very necessary
condition of both soil and climate for
the development and propagation of
the banana. Under such a climatic,
state, the vigor and energy of mai
will decline and he would be unable
to properly cultivate the plant and
reap the full benefit Of its production,
if required to use as much exertion
as is demanded in other ATTITUDES.
But nature here, in her great and
be~neicent economies, comes to his re-
lief and has provided against the
necessity Of any hard work and moder-
ated all demand for any severe mental
or physical exercise. The farm work
is light, simple and easy, while it can
all be confined to the cool hours of
morning and evening, leaving the
laborer to enjoy his ~favorite ~siesta, in
some inviting shade, during the heated
term.
There is a fallacy prevailing that
the banana forms the principal and
staple food of these natives. This is
not only a mistake, but, strange as it
may appear, they often warn foreigners,
sojourning in the country, to beware
Of too free an indulgencein this species
of fruit. The natives never eat the
banana, except when it is cooked like
the potato, and generally while it is
green. This %precaution against eat
ing the fruit is not so necessary in
temperate chimes, where disorders of
the intestinal functions are not 80
dangerous and where the digestion is
not weak and low, as in hot countries.
The banana grows luxuriantly
throughout the lowldnds of Brit
ish and Spanish Honduras, Guate-
mala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. A
small supply also comes from Colombia,
Jamaica and Cuba, but the bulk of u
supplyis harvested in Central America.
The most suitable soil is the sandy,
alluvial deposits, along the banks Of
rivers and streams not often subject
to overflow, and the cultivation is con-
fined to wedding, thinning out and
"molding up" Any deficiency in the
"stand" Of the crop planted is easily
supplied by the purchase of slips at
one dollar per hundred. Just eight
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
The Trouble With His Throat.

4 young lumberman Of northern
Minnesota, whose habits Of drinking had
given the "blind staggers" to his business,
reformed and ran his sawmill with profit.
While in the transition period he met Tom,
an old friend.
"How are you?" asked Tom. ,
pretty, well, thank you, but I have just
seen o doctor to have him examine my
throat" ..
"What's the matter?"
"Well, the doctor couldn't give me any
encouragement. At least, he could not
find what I want to find"
What did you expect to fnd?"
81 asked himto look down my throat for
the sawmin and farm that had gone down
there in drink"
"And did he see anything Of them2"
"No; but he advised me If ever got an
other mill to run it by water"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
Whisky Did It.

A weaver named Robert Pendlebury, Of
Chorley, died on Saturday night. On the
previous afternoon q cart belonging to
Messrs. Walmsley and Charnley, spirit
merchants, Preston, was passing along
Railway street, when q bottle containing
six gallons Of whisky fell to the ground
and broke, the contents running into the
channel. A number Of men quickly
damned up the channel and began to
scoop the liquor with anything available,
and to drink It neat. P~endlebury, who was
thirty-six years Of age, got the lid OF q pint
can and drank from 1t nearly thirty times,
becoming helpless and speechless. he was
conveyed home in a wheelbarrow. His
tongue became perfectly black, and al
though DR.. Rigby attended him, and emet.
les were administered, he never recovered
consciousness.
The poor wretch had no wish to kill him.
self. He had been trained by the liquor
traffic to believe whisky to be a good crea-;
ture Of God, and he thought 1t a shame
that any Of 1t should run to waste. Saving
it in his stomach cost him his life. And
this Is the sort Of Creature" that the law
authorizes it's makers to sell.-Aliance
News. cd.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

is exhibiting the greatest development
of the banana industry to be observed
in Central America, and with i'm
proved railroad facilities is destined
to become one of the greatest fruit de-
pots of the world.
The business of Nicaragua is COL
fined to the ports of Bluefelds, Grey
town and Pearl Lagoon, and practi-
cally the entire product is shipped TO
New Orleans or Mobile. Renewed in
terest in the industry is manifest
throughout this section, and fresh
lands are being opened to banana cul-
tivation along the Rama and Escon-
dido Rivers.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
Drink and

The more recent and careful investiga-
zion Of the relation Of drink to insanity
tends to confirm the belief that by far the
largest percentage Of the insane are 80;
through drink. A most valuable contribu-,
ton to this study has inst been supplied by
Professor ]. Holt Schooling, Fellow Of the
Royal Statistical Society of Great Britain.
He has Just completed a very interesting
investigation by which he has been enabled
to. show some curious facts relative to the
insanity of the British people. He tells us
how many persons go mad and why they
do so. He declares that one person In
every 800 Of the population Of Britain Is q
maniac, and that that ratio promises to in
crease. =
Entering into the causes as to why men
go mad, Professor Schooling" says the
New York Herald, to which we are indebt-
ed for this item, "strikes q mighty blow for
the cause of temperance when he makes
the statement, solely inspired by his inves-
LEGATIONS and the accurate results thereof,
that drink, liquor, sends mad nearly one-
third Of all the persons who become insane
in Great Britain from the eight leading
causes Of insanity In that territory"
He places these eight principal causes OF
insanity and the percentage OF each as re-
CARDS every hundred. Of lunatics as follows:
Drink, 1876; domestic troubles, 1871; mental
anxiety, 1874; old age, 1872; adverse circum-
stances, ,13; accidents, 6.5; religious ex.
element, 4; love affairs, 49,.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
How to Keep Flowers Fresh.

Some people are not aware that
flowers will keep fresh much longer If
the stems are set in a dish of sand
than if they are plunged simply into
water. Put the flowers into a vase as
usual; then carefully sift into the vase
by means of a funnel sufficient sand to
fill it nearly to the top, shaking it so
that the sand will settle down among
the items, Gradually add water I'M
til it stands a very little above the top
of the sand, and replenish the water as
often as needed.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

months after this slip is put in the
ground it will furnish its first bunch
of bananas, and one only requires a
machete and a forked stick to gather
the fruit. When ready to cut, the
bunch is taken four feet from the
ground, in order to allow the moisture
to drain back into the stool of the
plant; the forked stick receives the
bunch and lets it easily to the ground
and the stalk is allowed to decay and
enrich the soil. Suckers 500 shoot
out from the stump and all but two
are cut away and planted elsewhere.
One average bunch will stand about
four feet in height, weigh ninety
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
The Great Disease of Paris.

"Intemperance," says DR.. Max Nordau,
'is the great disease Of Paris" This state
ment NAV be placed beside the declarations
of some American travellers that Parisians
are a temperate people with all their wine
drinking: Nordau has practiced In the
hospitals Of Paris and knows well what he
says. One may not see any drunkenness
on the boulevards, nor in the Tuileries and
the Bots, but the roofs Of Belleyille cover
the most tragic scenes Of suffering and sor.
row due to the intoxicating cup. One OF
the most popular drinks in Paris Is the
deadly absinthe. Body and mind are said
to crumble together under the influence OF
this terrible liquor. As a rule, Parisians
may not drink to bestial excess, but they
drink very, very often. The average Work.
man is constantly under the stimuli OF
alcohol.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
A Victory Won.

A young gentleman who had not been out
in the world a great deal, and had never
attended a banquet, was. invited with his
father to attend a very fashionable one In g
certain city. Many kinds Of wines and
liquors were served. Seated at the table
by the side of his father, the waiter APP
preached the young man with liquors and
wines and asked him what he would have
Somewhat embarrassed, and not knowing
what to say, he thought a while, looked
around, and at last said to the waiter: :
"Ill take what father does" The waiter
passed on to the father. What should he
do? What should he take? Aroused fully
to his responsible position, more so than he
had been before, the father said with en-
phasis:
"Ill take water The battle was fought,
the victory won, and the destiny Of his boy
as a man to temperate habits fixed 80 far
as he had the power to do it by his ex-
ample. ..
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

The banana trade of Costa Rica,
confined exclusively to Port Limon,
shows the most rapid growth of any
other Central American country. Its
product, raised mostly in the canton
of Matina, has grown from m output
of a few thousand clusters in 1882 to
1900, 900 punches for the present
year. According to the statement Of
Consul Delgado, at New York, that
city alone has received about 700, 900
punches during 1896, while the re-
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

at the mine, which is largely owned by
officials of the Canadian Pacific Rail
way Company.
The precious mass was taken to the
United States Assay Office. Itweighed
4149. 80 ounces Troy. In appearance
it resembled a sugar cone, save that
the sides were more rounded and the
apex not so pronounced. 1t measured
nine inches at the base, was ten inches
high. and is worth S72, 900. .
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
The Discoveries of Anesthesia.

The credit for first using anesthet
les, which has done so much to lessen
human pain, must be shared by three
men; Wells, of Hartford, Conn, who
employed nitrous oxide in 1874; Nor
ton, of Boston, who tried ether sue
cessfully in 1916, and Sir J. Y. Simp-
son, of Edinburg, who introduced
chloroform q year later.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
Deaths From Alcoholism.

The United States census gives the num-
Der of deaths from alcoholism in 1880, as
1892; in 1890, 2657 AN increase OF sixty-seven
per cent. If the same ratio has been main
tanned during the past seven years the
is 1908. In the Marine Hospital service Of
the United States. in the year 1893, 1894 and
1895, there were treated 1853 1903 diseases.
Of these ST. were cases Of alcoholism 5.a
per thousand.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
ELoRAA(ERWYN5~
H. q 2zz2e2a@*zm.y.k 9F0RTUNE.
-NoR5E 0B&-S

Eyes! yes!" murmured Dacre eagerly.
He told me to hide-hide it. He told
me to tell you-to give you
A paroxysm of weakness caused Cup.
Piles to falter, but Arnold Dacre, in the
intensity of his emotion, fairly galvanized
him into new life with the magnetic
power OF his vehemence.
ITO give me what?' he demanded.
'Speak, mani"
The answer came with difficulty, but
it came, bringing to the face of the arch
plotter a wild. eager glow, that made
his sinister, avaricious eyes sparkle
brighter than ever.
The package!" gasped the PROSTATE
man.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
An Inebriate's Legacy.

Edward Lee, an inebriate, who died at
Oswego, N. Y, left the following last WILL
and testament:
IT leave to society a ruined character, q
wretched example, and a memory that will
soon rot. Ileave to my parents as much
sorrow as they can, In their feeble state,
hear. leave to my brothers and sisters as
much shame and modification as I could
bring upon them. I leave to my wife q
broken heart, a life Of shame. I leave to
each Of my children poverty, ignorance, q
low character, AND a remembrance that
their father filled q d%runkard's grave. For
drunkards to read when they get time"
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

pounds, have twelve handles Or
clusters and contain 100 bananas.
An acre will produce about
$50 punches during the second year
after planting, and an average yieldfor
the future of 800 punches per annum.
The price of the fruit huctuates slight
" during the season, but averages at
the steamer from twenty to thirty cents
per bunch, and to the frugal and care
full farmer this represents a profit OF
thirty-fve or forty per cent. This may
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
GOLD BRICK WORTH $4,000.

A Solid Cone of the Precious Metal, One
Third Actual Size, as Pictured.
A solid cone of gold was received
in New York recently by the agency
of the Bank of Montreal, from the
Caribou Hydraulic Mining Company,
of British Columbia. The chunk was
the result of about two months work
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

This is considered a very conserva-
tive estimate, and if the amount of
local consumption, reflections and loss
from over-mature fruit is considered,
the product will easily aggregate over
five million punches. Add to this the
amount of the fruit brought from ia
maica, Colombia, Cuba and other
sources, and the whole will approx
mate very close to eight million
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
Constantly on Guard.

The celebrated John B. Cough to his dy-
ing day would not allow himself to be IN q
room alone With a' bottle Of whisky. This
man and others in like situation were able
to hold the disease in allegiance, but with
any emotional disturbance, any relaxation
Of the will, the appetite would assert its
SWAY and relapse occur. The will Of any
man is only as strong as 1t is at its lowest
point of relaxation, as a chain is only as
strong as its weakest link.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

A company of men and officers Of
the British ship Intrepid were taken
from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico
by the English colony of the capital
city, at an expense of $4,000, and gave
concerts there which captured the
town. The men were entertained and
as we'll pleased az the citizens.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
California; so-Called "Mild Wines"

Much is being said to-day In praise Of
CALIFORNIA; mild Wines" and papers de-
scant upon their harmless qualities as q
beverage, when the fact is these same mild
wines are rapidly bringing the State into
unenviable prominence for drunkenness.
While tweuty-fourth in population, she Is
fifth in liquor-dealers and sixth in GRIM
inals; and the city Of San Francisco has q
saloon to every sixteen voters.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

punches. Engaged directly in this
business are about thirty steamers and
an equal number of sailing vessels,
while double that number are engaged
in the traffic in connection with other
products OF the tropics.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
A BANANA SHED, NICARAGUA.

ceipts at New Orleans from Costa
RIGA have been fully as much, if not
in excess of that figure. From calcu-
lations made, on reliable statistics,
the approximate banana production
of Central America for the present
wear ia as follows:
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
Grave of Lincoln's Mother.

An association has been formed at In.
dianapolis, Ind, to care for the grave OF
Nancy Hanks, the mother Of Abraham
Lincoln.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

them so tightly as to induce a coales'
cence? The size of the trees CONSIDER.
ing the slow rate of growth of the blue
ASH seems to make them antedate the
white settlers in Ohio.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

The Latest in Woman's Couture.
This new movable strip fringe is a
boon to wheelwomen and jewellers by
the sea. 1t is an English idea not yet
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

Texas is to tax cigarette dealers to
the tune Of $1,000 o year.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
A TEMPERANCE COLUMN
THE DRINK EVIL MADE MANIFEST
IN MANY WAYS.

Away With the Mocker- Investigation
Shows That the Largest Percentage OK
Insane Persons Reach That Deplor-
able Condition Through. Strong Drink
What makes the silliest talker?
You give it up? Why, wine,
The mockerl
What makes Of man a rocker2
Well. whisky-yes! and wine,
The mocker! "
And woman dainty, what shall shockheS
So painfully as wine,
Themockeri
To Dayy Jones's locker
We'd gladly send strong drink.
The mockerl o..
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28
HEN KILLS A "RATTLER."

A Fierce Duel in Which "Biddy" Whipped
the Snake.
Attorney Ben T. Hardin, Of Kansas
City, No., is never happier than wher
he has gamecock under each arm. He
is an enthusiastic breeder of fowls, and
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

An ordinance prohibiting screens in
saloons has been adopted in Cleveland,
Ohio.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-28

seen here. 1t is fixed to a single
strand easily concealed among the
front locks and does not heat the head.