davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1897-03-04
OUR DESERT ISLAND.


1hsfa was ana ei4lheus rattle upon thu
handl" OF the door--a rattle needlesslJ
long and suspicious It conveyed an al
together unworthy Slur upon the pro.
eeedincs Of the Inhabitants of the room.
o,1 e,.ntl,i, l.,p.h.,3 ,.ith ,,,n.od r.yi.,
-,
..f. ,,...,.. ~, ..r1.
II II >'.'''i,,, siie saul liz IL
WAYS comes i'll Ink. 'il'''
We must DO the same for hlm' !
replied, "Whcn he arrives at years OF
discretion and becomes engaged.
Cynthia's Youngest brother stole into
the room ro,i,l1v and softly Keonino
his eyes rol..ionsly .,,o,,od from tbe
aof. - a.. r,oaraa. H. ,,ia,-.,
1,a11. g., a. ts15' - 5.',,..55 ~
DooN l''''' '''' 90 "'''' Wv i''' -
offered some casual eRsefNatIon' but he
took no notice, clearly thinking II
would be lnJuolclous OF HIM to be mixed
up IN the business at all My innocent
position. which was two GOOD yard.
from Cynthia. courtrd observation. aud
/ we both felt little injured.
81 wonder what be expccts TO seq |
said, resunrur mv seat uUon the sofa.
"Aueustus i'm the presence of Clcopatra
was not NOR, careful 10 see nothing. l.
it a sense of decorum or a feeling Of
contempt that inspires his caution?'
Never mind, . answered Cynthia.
Let us talk about ourselves Are Won
! sure? Are YOU sure you are quite sure?n
This c0uuudrum had bcord before
The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1897-03-04
Hamburg Bremen Fire Insurance
Co. Of Hamburg Germany.

Incorporated "a - Commenced business
IN ls54 = q AfFfip. MANAGE New York.
The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1897-03-04

Attest;-N4rHAS Pow LER. Regjste-.
Post Ofhce address. Judge and Re ais e.
Skowhegau. At. w
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
A Mighty Force.

The greatest force known to science
is that produced by the contraction and
expansion Of metals, resulting from the
action of heat and cold.
Every person who has travelled by rail
has noticed a continuous jolting and
throbbing of the railway carriage. This
is caused by the wheels passing the in
terstices between adjoining rails. On
account of its expanding property no
line would be safe without small spaces
left at these points.
Originally the rails used to be riveted
closely together. The result was that
when the brake was applied on a train
going at great pace the heat generated
by the friction of the wheels caused an
expansion of the rails, for which no al
lowance was made. The great expansive
force, therefore, twisted the rails ont of
the straight line, and the next train
that came along was derailed.
This great power is used in the con-
struction of ironclads, iron bridges and
things of the kind. When it is required
to rivet two plates together with the
greatest possible firmness, the steel bolts
are fixed when redhot and screwed up
as tightly as all the devices known to
mechanics will permit, but when the
bolt cools it contracts, and a tremendous
Tightening is brought about, such as
could never have resulted from any
other kn own method.
In making modern cannon the same
principle is applied They are not cast
in one piece, but are constructed of sep
arate pieces of metal made to fit one on
the other when rcdhot. The Tightening
resulting from the cooling process helps
much toward building up the stupendous
resisting power.
The tires of cart wheels are also fixed
when redhot, and they remain Oh SO
firmly that if they ever do come off it
can only be from some defect in the
wood
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
The Origin of Natural Gas.

An experiment of some Importance is
reported, made with a view to deter
mine, if possible, the origin of natural
gas irrespective of theories hitherto
prevalent. For this purpose dried sea-
weed was stepped in water which had
been freed from air, and on the third
day gas appeared, continuing to be
evolved in diminishing quantities until
the tenth day, when SOB cubic cent?
meters had been collected. The evolu-
ton had evidently ceased, though after
standing two years and half 80 cubic
centimeters more of gas collected in the
apparatus. The second gas differed from
the first, consisting, it is recorded, al
most entirely of methane-the chief
constituent of natural gas-from which
it is inferred that this slow secondary
decomposition of vegetable matter may
have some relation to the origin of nat
ural gas.-Boston Journal of Commerce
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
Reputed Advances in Microscopy.

A prominent scientist is confident
that, with appliances now 7ailab!e, he
can magnify an object 100, 100, 900 diam
eters, says the Globe-Democrat He
atfirms tina. by means of a new inssru-
ment, ramed by him phOto-mlcro-
grapho-scope, he has already raised the
ma mica lion of an object to 5000, 900
diameters. The working limit of the
best microscope in use up to the pres
eut time has been about 10000 diane
ters, so if the alleged new discoveries
are confirmed, a marvellous stride in
increasing the resources OF scientific
research has been made. But in scien-
tific circles the announcement of this
great advance has not been accepted
Internationally. A scientist whose
opinion carries weight says: 9Th
whole idea reminds me of the social ed
sunbe Am microscope, which was invent
ed many years a &c, and which gave an
extremely high ma2nifi' al with
otherwise faulty optical results. That
is to say, while the object was i'm
mensely enlarged-say to 1000, 900
diameters-the de ails were not sharp
anu distinct" To get details with
high magnify ing power demands an
extremely strong light This Limits
the practical use of most high power
instruments to something over 5000
dianeters. If, in the new system of
pilot ,-microg' aphoscopy the difficulties
of detiui ion I'D Ii ht have been owe
come, while the hi yh n a gnifying Pow er
il retained, it's discoverer viii have
earned the credit of having made one
of the most wonderful scientific eXpoSi-
tiOns of this century.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
To Render Iron weatherproof.

Countless attempts have been made
to deal with the rust problem in iron
structures. A new process has been sug-
gested which consists in treating the
iron with a solution of ferrocyanide.
This forms a coating of cyanide of iron
that is stated to be uniform and imper
meable and of such nature as to effect
lively protect the iron SO covered. The
solution is mixed with fiaXseed var
nish to which has been added little
turpentine or benzol so as to cause a
very homogeneous emulsion which can
be applied without difficulty. The evap-
Grafton of the alcohol leaves the flaXseed
varnish, which forms coat and pro-
tects the cyanide of iron which is de-
posted upon the metal The iron re-
auires no preparation for this treatment
beyond removing any rust that may al
ready have been formed, and which
may be too thick to admit Of the action
of the ferrocyanide. -Industries and
Iron
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
Waste Not. Want Not.

We have found in modern tunes the
PHILOSOPHERS Stoue," which was
sought for by the alcnemisls of the
middle ages. 1t turns out to be, how
ever, the scientific knowledge of prop
critics of matter, ard it's application is
in the line of making new Things out OF
old. Golfers Weekly" has an editor
ial on this subject, saying:
Stag, once nuisance, is now blown
into what is called mineral wool, the
cheapest a d best material for deaden-
ing floors and filling in" the walls OF
wooden houses. Coal tar. another old
time nuisance, now produces a bewil9-
ering varit ty of valuable medicines and
coloring materials as we'll as sac
lrine matter several huDdrt d times d.
sweet IS sugar. Wood ashes, which
used to be dumped at refuse heaps,
have large money value as fertilizer:
SO have street sweepings, with whic b
rivers aud hsrbOrs used 10 be ruined.
Cotton seed, once thrown away, sells
for as much as the cotton from which
it came: and now cornstalks, the tor
ment of the farmers pillow, have come
to the front as this basis OF pulp from
which may be nodded many articles of
common use that now are made of
wood, aud company with enormous
capital has been organized to use it
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13

luxury, but ever retain and cultivate
that habit of simple and severe living
which was shown by her puritan
fathers
This refer ence to the puritan fathers
suggests to the mind Gne dlHere zee be-
tween the Amer lean of tie present and
of form err generations For Americans
were not always wasteful. The foun-
dations of the republic were laid by
men who were known for their frug-
gaity and small economies. 1t is only
since the civil war that this tendency
to ons picuous extravagancs a nd waste
fuln :ss which Mr.. Watson notes has
appe ared as distinctive trait of Amer
lean character. Habits OF wasteful-
ress are not conductive to the best
development of a pc pple. Thrift and
frugality are qualities essential to the
highest citizenship, aud the nation
tn at does not ce 7elop them is untrue
10 itself.-Cbicago Record.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
Graphite Used In Brazing.

A new and interesting use for graph
lite has been discovered in connection
with brazing, and it is now largely used
in some Of the bicycle factories. 1t is
found that by mixing certain quality
of graphite with water or turpentine to
the consistency of thin paste and ap-
plying it to those parts of a steel tube
which it is desired that the melted brass
shall not adhere to the graphite effec-
tually prevents this adhesion, and there
by does away with much filing and 9TH
er work formerly necessary to remove
the brazing material. This seems to re-
suit from the fact that the graphite has
strong affinity for metal surfaces and
at the same time is not affected by the
heat. Thus it simply keeps its place
upon the tubes during the heating and
prevents adhesion IF the brass. -Amer-
lean Machinist.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
AMERICAN WASTEFULNESS.
A Noted Author Criticises an AstOnish
ing Trait of a Great People.

The Rev. John Watson Ian Msclar-
en) comes from land OF thrift. The
Scotch, by the very necessi Y of their
S .tuation end surroundings, sra Obliged
TO be frugal, with results that are
apr aren't to all who are f.miliar with
and was.efulness of Amerie an seems
to have impre ssed Mr.. WalsJn. He
says of tn m:
''If one were place. in witness box
he might BE- obliged to declare that
they were distinct y thriftless. An
America filings about his money with
gorgeous pr odigality. Times thee
are when hard-beaten poverty-=trlck-
| en- Scot cherishes bitter grudge
a. ainst / is m. re fri ndly cousin. IL is
when he follows him into cOntir enta
hotel and finds the lackeys despise bis
poor vail a ter the royal lsrges5s they
have just received. We can only stand
asi5e aud wonder at our kinsmsn who
gets his money 50 cas- ly. who holds it
so tightly, who spen is IL so lavlshly-a
man surely Of a very prlncely habit
and far removed above thought of
saving. And ct it may be allowed us
to shake our heads and have some mis-
givings es to whether tt is prCdigelty
| is for the good of individual character
and the firm upbuildine Of people.
Is the destinations waste of food IL
hotels wholes ONE or justifiable, whe re
the menu is b.wildering in variety and
the portions supplied beyord all neces-
sity, and more is tn ke n away tina is
used? Does it conduce to S ability and
Sc. f-restrai MT to be quite iaditf sren
about tomorrow and to reserve nothing
of today's earnings? Have not the
farmers traded recklessly on the vir
gin resources of the land? Have net
the forests been improvidently Gu,
down? Is there not everywhere Ger
tain want of prudence and ma ageme Mt
which cannot in the long run minister
to moral strength or evt to materia!
wealth If it he true; as is cOnte nded,
that every great empire has been built
up on thrift, this II cans that the home
lest of virtues does not enc in the act
cummulation of money, bus results in
the creation,of manhood. And the best
friends of America: therefore, desire
that amid all her pro sperity she shall
not fall away Into improvidence and
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13

pieces of zinc about one iuch square,
the same numbar of pie ,eS OF copper,
and <e number OF pc -es of paper.
The paper should be thoroughly soak
ed in vinegar.
First, take a piece Of 1i-c; on it place
piece of vineGar-SOaked paper, then
put on a piece of copper, then piece
of paper, then another zinc ana then
paper, and so on until all the pieces OF
zinc, coppe: and paper ara us-d up
1t is important that piece OF zinc
should be on one end and q piece OF
copper on the other. After the pile IS
com pleted, again soak the whole slight
/ ly in vinegar, thea clean 1t OF on the
outside.
Ii the forefinger of one hand is held
against one end and the forehneer OF
the other hand is held on the otht T.
en1 of the pile, quite a percepti'le
cur; ent will be felt. If several persons
clasp hands and the p"re, MS on each
end of the line touch the voltalc
! pile, the current will flow through the
! bodies of all these in position
The thermopile Is another electrical
current pred ucer which may be made
ia any household at a triling expense.
! The electric current is geuerAtef IN
this case by heat, and anything from
a candle to live coal may be used to
produce the heat. Take a lot Of &c :
man 81 yer and copper wire and cut it
into 6-ioch lengths hen take Ger
man silver len 9TH and copper length
and twist the ends together. You will
have V-shaped arrangement of wire
Take another length of German silver
wire and twist one end of it tightly
around the copper erd of the V. Con-
tinue the process until you have long
succession of what might be called We
or double VS., arranged with alternats
pieces of copper and German silver wire
Now take two large curtain rings
Bend your string of wire lengths until
it has assumed the position OF star
ard clamp il between the two curtalr
rings. One end of the string of wire:
should be copper and the other Ger
man silver. You will fad when these
are clamped between the curtain rings
til az the inner points Of the star form
a small circle in the middle of the
rings The rings should be placed or
lupri ghts and a candle should be light
ed so that the flame will play between
The inner points of the star.-NeW
York Herald.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13

buyer to protect himself in the deal. This
requires some knowledge and experience.
Suppose no regular grade of the street is
yet established. But few things are as es-
sential as this in the planning of a house.
About tho first matter to think of is whether
a street will be cut down six or eight feet
and leave the house high and dry or
whether, if filled up, the house will be left
in a hole. Either is likely to happen, and
future cost and chagrin ought to be con-
sidered at the start. Sewers and water and
gas connections in the street are always
worth great deal of attention, but they
are generally neglected by lot sellers, who
do not care to incur the cost of them. Any
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13

divided. 1t has never been the policy
of the government to exclude mineral
laads from settlement. Many senators
and repr .sentatives contend that to
make an exception in this case would
be E -iOus mistake.
Capt. Beck, agent for the Uncom-
paghre reservation, VINO is in WASH
ing ton, explained that great difticui tF
is experienced in getting the gisoulte
to market. The Denver & Rio GRAND e
railroad, which is the most accessible
line, is l25 miles distant. The new
syndicate that " us would, of course,
construct q railroad from the mines to
connect with the Denver g. Rio Gran
de, thus greatly cheapeDiog marketing
of the product. The syndicate could
afford to reduce the price without les
sening it's profits anu at the same tue
create an increased demand. The let
profit now realized on the gilsOnite
shipped from the vicinity of Uncom-
pagnre reservation is $40 a ton. The
profit Of q syndicate controlling the
entire deposit nd reducing the car
rying charges would doubtless be twice
as much per ton or the enormous sum
of $3.50. 900 900.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
Telephone Improvements in Future

TIL telephone is now IN such eneral
use tbas every body will be glad to
know that t lephone talking is soon to
be made easier. A system is to be
gradually extended to all exchan ges
that has already been SUGGEST lilly
worked in various places. In his sys-
tenn there is 70 ringing of III to at
tract the attention of ''cen trail. -
When the receiver is taken from The
hook it Ii hts snail inca1descens
lamp at h central Off &c. This take S
the place of the annunc' ator drop,
which sometimes C ughL and refI SEQ
to p r'Orm its st rvice and subjeci ed
the busy subscr Der to eXaspe, ating
delay. When the re ceiver is retu ned
to its hook the light is exiting. ished
and the circuit is closed. A second
improvemt Mt, which, like the for o.
ing, has ben experimental with for
near.y four years, has been brought
t } perfect ton. Under the present sys-
tenn the subscriber rings the b IL that
calls his central Office and asks for The
number desired. Eight times out of
tea, accordir g 10 stat sites ON the sub
j ct. this number is OUTSIDE of the dis
Jiict served by his ''eXchange.' The
opef ator then has to catl the central
otfic through which t1e connection is
10 be made, and she must wait until
the second operator answers. She
ihsn gives the number to the second
operator and The connection is made.
The new sys i N .obviates the necessity
for riug ing up the second ops rator.
Instead, the trst operator p aces a
plug in the lumber on the switch board
n f. ont of her, max ing the. necessary
connection with the subs ;riber. The
i sertion OF this plug causes s tiny in-
caudescent lamp ON t7e board
OF the second operator to be
/ GIFTED, which indicates the conuec-
ton wished. The lamp remains light
ed "a long as the connection is main
tainsd, and is ext n2uished by the
hanging up of the receiver of the sub
scriber who asked for The numbe-.
The u e of this device will pat an end
to the frequent Interruptions of cen
trial" inquiring if one is through
talking" 1t will also serve to keep
the trunk wires free when they are not
actually in use.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
THE STEAM THRASHER.
improvements In Recent Years - Straw
Stacked by Compressed Air.

improvements In Recent Years - Straw
Stacked by Compressed Air.
On the vast wheat farms of the west
one of the most important adjuncts OF
the farmer and the one that has done
the most to make the operation of these
great properties possible is the steam
thrasher In its latest form it does away
with the labor of many men and auto
matically accOnlplisiles- i'll Il few hours
what would have taken days under the
old methods.
The development of this mechanism
has taken place i'll about so years from
the first crude thrashers, introduced III
the early forties, run by treadmill with
the power furnished by one or two
horses. Then came the cleaning attach
ment and an increase of size until four
or five horses were used. Straw increas-
ed in value, and to save 1T and fac1l1-
tate the handling of it the 'straw car
rier'' was attached, and then the stack
er, separate affair that was placed IN
front of the thrasher, received the straw
and delivered it at any point on the
stack. These were all horse machines,
and the care and keep of horses were
found to be a burden and an expense,
especially when rainy weather kept
them idle for several days at time
Steam enignes were therefore intro
duced to operate the thrasher, but
horses were still required to drag the
machines from farm to farm as they
were required till the traction engine
was applied for this purpose.
Then the thrasher was thought to be
| perfect, but in few years came further
improvements, doing away with the Ia
! Dor of six or seven men in the hardest
and dustiest positions, The straw is
now handled on the stack automatical-
! ly, the sheaves are fed automatically,
! and the bands for them are cut and ap-
/ piled by the machine The stacking OF
the straw is done by compressed air, the
blast blowing the straw just where il
is wanted. The long tube through
! which it passes is under the control OF
; the man ON the separator, and it can be
raised or lowered at the will of the op
orator. The blast is so strong that the
straw is sometimes thrown so feet high
and stacks can be made % or 80 fee
high with ease. Another improvement
is that by which the wheat is weighed
as it runs from the spout of the thrashel
instead of being measured, and there
are automatic markers to measure thu
number of bushels as well.-New Yorl
Tribune
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
Fort Custer 10 be Abandoned.

The war departing nI, acting on The
recommendation of Gen. Wade. com
m anding the, dep srtment of Dakota
has ord red the abandon m@nt cf Fort
Custer, Mon. Ore oftHe riasons for
abandoning Custer is that its sanitary
cond ton is bad a~d the! water supply
not what it should BE-. : Troops "A, s,
E and K, 10th cavalry, and companies
A md d. 18th. infantry. are stationed
az Custer. It is expected that Part. of
! b s. force will be sent to the new MILL
tary pest; Fort Harrison, near Helena.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13

world. Among these will be line of
tally no coaches that will make daily
trips for the accom- modation of the
guests, steam yacht also at the dis
pos al of guests, roof garden and q
market garden, from which will be
obtained many of the supplies for the
dining room. Many other lnnOvati ms
will also be introduced. A syndicate
of New York and English capita lists
is back of the scheme. A plot 2OOx25O
has been purchaser and the grounds
a-d buildings will cost So 900, 900. The
monster will be eighteen stories higo,
patterned somewhat after the Hotel
Cecil, London's crackaj ,ck. 1t will be
both q summer and winter palace, and
will cater chiefly to wealthy families.
El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
GREAT GILSONITE BEDS.
A New Combination of Capital Which
is Seeking Possession OF Them.


A Washi ag ton special says:-There
is now in sight the furnati of a great
er and more remune. alive mon, poly
than ny Of the usts here before Or
gan.Zeu to control specific industry.
The new com bInetion of capita! will
seek to obtain posse ssiun of the gil
sOnite or asphaltum beds of Utah, ca lily
the most valuable in the world.
Toe represent of wealthy
New York syndicate and the agent OF
the ST. Louis corporal ON now engaged
in the gilsOpite trade are preparing
to struggle for this fabulous stake.
Thev are bidding millions for the
trize. The cost of the land under the
miner al laws, or sold in the usual way
by the government, would be but a
tr! ie compared with the profits.
Congress is expected to staod be-
tween this new trust ami the people,
but the only Alternative ia sight seems
to be government ownership, aud
that source. On April L next the IT.
compahgre Indian reserva ion in Uta 4
will be opened to settlement, all except
the mineral lands which are reserved
by the government. Thee miner al
lands embrace a 1out 1OO,O CO acres.
TIE only mineral known to exist is
gilsonite or asphalt. The deposits OF
tn IS character are computed t. be the
richest III t1e world. When the vast
Wealth lying in this sma l area await
ing the consent of the government and
Tie enterprise of man to bring it forth,
is estimated, the discoveries of gold in
the Klondike region seem insi gniticaut.
George Herman Eldridge, the United
States eeolog cal expert, says 10 bis
report that % 900 600 tons of aspbal,um
can be mined in this territory. AS
every city in the Uni'et Sta es Is now
laying asphalt pavements the value of
this richest deposit in the world can be
understood The problem as to what
DISPOSITION shall b made of these lands
will be one of thu most troublesome
with wi len cong. ess will have to deal
with at the approaching session. The
sentiment In both branches IL widely