davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Fighting Fires in winter.

To stand upon the peak of ladder al
perhaps the third or fourth story of a
building, directing the stream of water
at the blazing interior, while the Their
mometer is at about its lowest point, is
not comfortable task. Perhaps an
other stream is playing over your head,
and you stand in an icy spray. Icicies
hang from every point of your fire
hat. and the rubber coat is frozen to
your back; and the water that is fall
ing about you freezes as fast as it falls.
Every movement upon the ladder is
fraught with danger; for it is so en-
crusted with ice that it is almost i'm
possible to get solid foothold, and a
misstep would hurl you to tie ground,
40 feet below.-Charles T. Hill, in ST.
Nicholas
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Early Man in Europe.

Judging from skeletons found in
Europe, palaeolithio man was short of
stature and had a low retreating fore
head; it is supposed that he had a yell
lowish skin. which was covered with
coarse hair much like the ainu of Yezo.
He was strong in body, but he had the
diminutive mind of e. child. Wild and
fierce, he knew little of pity or of love:
he was lower in savagery than any we
know, but he bore the germs of a bet
ter race: he was only a hunter, living
on the animals he had slain and the
roots and nuts he. could gather. At
war with his neighbor and at war with
himself, his life was racked with fears
and torments, and his mind filled with
debasing superstitions, which civiliza-
ton has hardly yet wholly eliminated.
Harvey 3. Bashore, in Lippincott's.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01

sapphires. emeralds, garnets, tur-
quoises, amethysts and other stones,
with imitation pear-shaped pearls 1t
was specially designed in 1864 by NM.
Bapst and Neveu, of Paris, and When
the imperial regalia was dispersed at
the Louvre, in May, 1887, was bought
by the late Baron de Horn.
The bidding, after good deal of hest.
tation, started at 700, and eventually
reached e 400. Beyond this, however,
no advance could be made, and the prop
erty was withdrawn.
Another interesting item immediate
ly followed Sevres dejeuner service
which at one time belonged to Empress
Josephine. The service is said to have
been birthday present to the empress
from Napoleon I. After their divorce
it was given by Josephine to her ia
vorite femme de chambre. Some years
later it was sold, and came into the
hands of NJ. Perrot, a well-known
French collector, who afterward parted
with it for 600. 1t only inspired one
bid-a hundred guineas-and, like the
crown jewels, was accordingly with,
drawn.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Mud for the Complexion.

For certain diseases the mud bath
Is an old form of treatment, but new
application is being made of it by the
woman of fashion. 1t is claimed that
there is nothing equal to mud for the
complexion The face and neck are
covered with a coating of clear black
river or swamp mud, which is permitted
to dry on. Care must be taken not to
get it into the eyes and not to leave any
spot of the skin uncovered, as it Will
result in a red blotch. When the coat is
removed, it is claimed that the skin will
be far softer than it is possible from
any of the well-known preparations;
all blemishes will be removed, includ-
ing hair and moles; and wrinkles will
disappear.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Greece and Turkey at War.

On the 18th of April, without any
formal declaration of war, the Turkish
government severed diplomatic rele-
sions with Greece, and ordered its
armies to take the offensive The Turk
ish force commanded by Edhem Pash:r
moved southwark from its position at
Elassona, and after sharp fighting occu-
pied the Miiouna pass, which commands
the road leading to the Greek headquar-
ters at Larissa- in the northeastern part
OF Greece. At about the same time the
Greeks crossed the northwestern from
tier into Epirus, with the cooperation
Of their fleet on the west coast
Youths Companion.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01

never lived. Often it takes less than
SO steps day, and it will be month or
more in going mile. 1t is not neces-
,sary for to go any faster, because it
lives in the trees and its food of leaves
ana soft twigs is always within easy
reach. Sloths have three toes on each
foot. and each toe bears a strong hooked
claw. When the sloth moves he sim
ply hooks the claws over a limb and
crawls about from tree to tree. In this
position he can sleep hours at time.
When a little sloth is born it uses its
mother for a hammock until it is big
enough to climb itself.
The sloth grows to be about two feet
long. Its hair is why and coarse and
it has no tail to speak of. The natives
say that it cannot feel pain, and they
prove what they say by showing how
the sloth will roll itself up and deliber-
stely fall out of tall tree in order to
save climbing down. Pretty lazy, isn't
it? An uglier, more useless animal
could not well be imagined.-Chicago
Record.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
AeYsslNlAN ART CRITICS.
A .I.ast Judgment for Men>lik with
Friends and Foes Distributed.

a s.Last Judgment, for Men+lik with
Friends and Foes Distributed.
As the Egyptians, Etruscans ana
Greeks were artistic, SO, it seems, are
the Abyssinians. As is known, a great
organ has been ordered from Berlin for
the cathedral of Ads Abeba, the resi-
dence of Emperor Menelik, and a cele-
brated Russian painter, Vlad:Scow, is
going there to paint the Negus as he
appeared at the battle of Adowa. The
cathedral of Ads Abeba is composed of
two churches, one inside the other. The
outside onesis open to all the faithful,
while the inner is reserved for the sa-
cred person of the Negus and his
family. Emperor Menelik, it seems,
has an artistic fancy. He wished the
outer walls of the inner church to be
decorated with religious pictures, and
ordered, under the first CriSpi cabinet,
the pictures in Italy, sending the meas
ures of the walls and the windows
which break them. The Italian govern
ment received the order with great
pleasure, and commissioned several
artists to paint the pictures, which were
almost finished when Ras Makonnen
came to Italy as ambassador eXtraor-
binary. At Turin he saw the pictures,
but they did not please him, the artists
having given them the appearance of
tapestry, and they were forthwith re-
fused.
The commission was again given, this
time to artists in Rome. Ras Makonnen
called to examine the sketches, ap-
proved them on the whole, but suggest
ed certain changes. The interpreter
was embarrassed for words to convey
the exact idea, and the Ras, waxing
impatient, seized a piece of charcoal
and, STOPPING, drew the design he
wanted en- the tile floor in primitive.
but thoroughly ineligible manner.
The pictures were soon finished. One
represented kind of universal iudg.
ment; in Paradise are King uumbert.
Queen sMargherita, Emperor Meme,
Xix, Slgnor Crispi, Count Antenellis
who had been Italian representative Ia
Shea, the Ras Makonnen himself, etc.
while in inferno stand Ras Alula Ras
'Mangascia and others The canvases
were sent, and now. after Adowa, one
would much like to knew if the above
mentioned persehages retain their re-
speetive positions in Paradise and in
fsrne, and when the e., 600 for them
Will be paid.-Pall Mall Gazette.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
DEATH MYTHS.
some OF the Ghostly Terrors In Store
for the Soul.


Among the myths of the most bari
barous races we find definite ideas as to
the destination of the soul after death
and of the perils which surround it be-
fore it can reach that happy land, the
abode of deceased ancestors, who have
attained to it by the same perilous road
At the meeting of the British assoeisa-
ton at Oxford QS94), Prof. Tylor
brought forward four of these after
death perils in a very interesting paper,
entitled, The Diffusion of Mythical Be
liefs as Evidence IN the History of Gull
ture" in which he showed the eNistencs
of belief in these same perils in coun-
tries as widely separated as Japan, Mex
leo, Persia and Europe and threw upon
a screen representations almost iden-
teal from Mexican, Japanese, Buddhist
and old German pictures, drawing from
the similarity of the scenes depicted the
inference that there must have been
some sort of intercourse between these
countries in the remote past. The four
scenes brought forward represented:
ID The crossing of a stream by
dangerous bridge; CD the passage of
the soul between two mountains which
clash together; go the climbing up
mountain set with sharp knives; ca
the dangers from wind carrying
knives with ii.
Three of these ghostly terrorS may
be found in the myths of many other
countries besides those named by Prof.
Tylor. the two first being the most
widely distributed The perilous cross
ing of a river after death was \ belief
among Egyptians, Greeks and Romans,
but they provided a boat and a ferry
man for the convenience of the souls,
who were required to pay for the ac-
commodation with an obolus placed in
the mouth by pious relatives. This fee
is not unknown in less classical coun-
tries, being found, 1 believe, in Peru and
Japan, India and Fiji, while the boat
is often replaced by a much more
dangerous mode of transit, this being
usually a hair bridge or one so sharp
to resemble the blade of a knife. The
perilous bridge of the dead is found in
the legends of the Esquimau, among the
Shamans of Siberia, and in Australia,
in each case accompanied by the second
of DR.. Tylor's dangers, the clashing
rocks under somewhat varying forms,
but always, as / think, making link
with the medieval representations of
The Jaws of Death" Among the Es-
quimauX, the angakos, or sorcerer, who
would visit Sedna, the goddess who lives
underground or in the depths of the
,, ocean, presiding over one of the couno
tries to which souls go after death, must
first pass the arsissut (the dwellings OF
the happy dead) and then cross an abyss
in which wheel as slippery as ice is
constantly turning round. Arriving at
the house of Sedna, he finds it guarded
by terrible animals, sometimes de-
scribed as seals and sometimes as dogs;
and when within the house passage he
has to cross an abyss by means of n
bridge as narrow as a knife edge.-An-
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
THE "sUMMER BUTTERFLY"
Small Tradesmen Whe Turn Cabmen
In LOndan.

Small Tradesmen Who Turn CabmeD
in Londen.
tSander If yau know what a. sssuma
HasF butterfly is? If you wers
skilled in the ways of the cabby YOU
would know that 1T is the small trades
psen who turn eahmen during the sea-
son, returning to their legitimate oc-
equation when autumn sets in. 'sBuf-
tsrtiies" are being gradually weeaed
ont by the police, and man is allowed
to take out a cab-driver's license only
when he can prove that he is what he
represents himself to be. 4 claimants
earnings greatly depend. NAV saw OH
luck; accordingly. the weekly wage
may range from as low as ten shil9ingS
10 as high as two pounds at certain sea-
sous. Tie hours, as YOU know. are eX-
ceeding1y long. Surprising a man turns
cut at ten a. M; he drives the same
horse from six to seven hours, and then,
changing horses, gees on till three
o'clock in the morning. There is moi
much difference between hansom-csfl5
drivers aud the four-wheeI men as the
public seem to imagine Not infre-
IuentIy drivers change and change
about: thus a four-wheeier who feelz
that the moving of heavy boxes Is past
his strength will take a hanson; or,
again. the hanson eabby who finds that
his exposed position brings on rheu-
1Esatism and kindred Ills. will change in
favor of the more 1og-trot vehicle.
1hafs is scarcely a we1lknown cab
driver IN London but has his own spe-
ciaI appeliation generally given to him.
in view Of some physical or mental pc
culiaaityr Some idea. of tie literary q t.s
taiHnsessts and wide knowledge ofcsIsby
cssn bs gwen you by the fact that among
the aieknames may be found ''Trilhy,'
s''Loraf Randolph Churchill - Flop the
Eeasile,'' Ulster Jack sweet Apple
JNe,' Busy Bee" ''Garibaldi,', "Nico-
demus' and "Fourin-Hand.' Not in
frequently the men are known to one
aAother only by their pseudonyms.-
London Sketch.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Wear Makes Rugs Valuable.

The most costly rugs in the world
come from Persia. The beautiful soft
ness and peculiar sheen of these rugs
are due to the constant treading of bare
feet. The rugs are made of goats hair
and wool combined. All oriental rugs
are hand made and each piece of wool
inserted is tied twice. Years of labor
are involved in making some of the
largest of these floor coverings, but
they never wear out. When a rug is
made it has to be subjected to years of
foot wear before it becomes at all valu-
able. Many of the Persian rugs BOW in
use have been walked on more thar
100 years and are still as new as ever.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Luncheon. for young Peop1e

For the first course of girls lunch
con have shaddocks. Cut into halves
with sharp knife, remove the seeds
and fill the space with powdered sugar.
Then serve deviled fish in shells, then
broiled chops and peas with tomato
sauce. followed by salad, and char
lotte russo or orange Bavarian cream.
For dinner for young people serve
bouiilon in cups, then fried srneltS with
sauce tartare, then a Iaried fiIIet or
panned chicken with cream potatoes
and peas. followed by simple salad
and light dessert.-Mrs. s. I. Rorer, in
Ladies' Home Journal
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01

period of attendance is always deter
mined by the queen. They serve two at
a time, aud, during attendance, which
is usually four weeks, they reside at
court. During this time they must
be in readiness to obey her majesty's
commands, sent by the equerry. Now
that SO few state entertainments are
given their duties are light. The queen
has really two lives-one her court life
at Windsor, the other her private life
at Balsnoral and Osborne.
The maids of honor in turn attend her
at all the state ceremonials and bear
her company in her retirement. They
drive with the queen, read to her, sing
to her, play to her, or converse, as she
determines, using their special accom-
plishments for her pleasure. A clear
and beautiful handwriting is a neces-
sity, for they have many letters to write
and copy; they must be good horse
women, and, of all things, good mu-
sicians. The queen is fond of music
and an excellent pianist herself, and
SO is Princess Beatrice, who often makes
demands upon her mothers ladies for
companions in riding and in reading
duets. There are eight maids of honor.
There is one extra maid of honor,
Hon. Constance III. Kerr. These ladies
belong TO department of the household
of which the mistress of the robes is
the head. Her principal office is 10
look over and pass the queens per-
sonaI bills for dress, toilet, bric-a-brac,
etc. She enjoys precedence over every
lady at court. When in residence or
on q visit she presides at the royal
household table. This office is now held
by the duchess of Chicago
Inter 0oean
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01

been the sacrifices in it's defense Oh land
aid sea; and as the lad looked and
listened, he felt as if he were standing
on holy ground.
There" she said, gravely. when the
mittens were done, 9"when you wear
these you will show your co1orsy You
must always show them"
So the little boy wore the patriotic
mittens; for the first time to church.
and after that to school and to play
He was proud of them, and he never for
got their pictured lesson. Enthusiasm
for freedom and country, fidelity to
truth and duty, love of honor aud right
had all been knit into his young life
by his good mothers teachings. as her
needles had knit the flag into his nit
tens.
Years after the war was overland
the little WORKOUT pair of mittens had
been laid away-the faithful mother
died; but the boy had become a man
The time came, as it happens to every
man of affairs, with the temptations of
the world around him, when it seemed
more profitable to be shrewd and uns
scrupulous than to be strictly upright
In his Office hung a strange little pic
tnre. There, mounted in q neat frame,
behind protecting glass, were the idenv
teal mittens bis mother had knit for
him so lofIg ago; the very pair, with the
Stars and Stripes on their backs, that
he had worn in the old days when She
told him he must show his colors.
In the mans heart the boys reverence
for all that was true and noble came up
permost, when he looked on his early
lesson. He was ashamed to do a ques-
tionable thing. The little frayed nit
tens wrought by the fingers of a dead
mother were monitor to him.
A little while ago he sent the writer
photograph of them. They are wor-
thy of a place in the paper, for they tell
the story of childhood influence that
became the inspiration of an honorable
and manly life.
In spite of our worst selves, most of
US find our best selves bound to God by
some one strong cord of holy prayers
1t may dbe dying sisters last word.
Such memories are more precious than
life. The heart holds them, and they
knit honor into our very being.-Youth'a
Companion.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
Deltciou. Potato Pompon.

A delicious dish of potatoes TO be
served for supper can be made as fol-
lows: Season cold mashed potatoes
with pepper and salt Take a table
spoonful at time and roll it into ball;
dip this in an egg, previously beaten
light, then roll in bread and cracker
crumbs and plunge it into a kettle of
boiling lard, TO cook like doughnuts,
and you will have a delicious potato
pompon. Onion finely sliced may be
added before cooking, or parsley shred
ed fine. Minced ham or tongue would
make it still better.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01

Salt puts out a fire in the chimney.
In the oven under baking tins it will
prevent their scorching on the bottom.
Salt and vinegar will remove stains
from discolored teacups. Salt and soda
are excellent for bee stings and spider
bites Salt thrown on SCOT which has
fallen on the carpet will prevent stain.
Put on ink when freshly spilled on
carpet it viii help in removing the
spot. Salt In wfitewash makes it stick
Salt thrown on a coal fire, which is low.
viii revive it; used in sweeping carpets,
1t viii keep out moths.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
A parliamentary Hint.

1t was getting late, and still the ven
cradle eX-United States senator lin
gered in the parlor with the young peo-
pie. Evidently something had to be
done.
Il hope, papa" said his daughter,
gently but resolutely, that you will
not be offended if now move a close
call OF the house, during which ali per-
sons not entitled to the floor will please
retire, while Charlie and 1 discuss
question of personal privilege!"-N. Y.
Truth.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
x RAYS AND BLINDNESS.
No Good Evidence Found That ono
VIII Help the Other.


VIII Help the Other.
Quite sensation was produced sew
eral months ago by an announcements
that Mr.. Edison had helped the blind
to see with the aid of the Y rays. 1t
was intimated that the optic nerve
would respond to this stimulus when
il would not do so to ordinary light.
1t proved, however, that the great cleo
trician was misrepresented. He had I'M
dertaken some experiments in this di-
rection, and a few triffing circum-
stances gave him encouragement for
time. But he eventually found it i'm
possible to produce any effect where
the blindness was due TO atrophy, or
loss of feeling, of the optic nerve. Va
rious physicians also made tests of a
similar character. In one instance,
where the cause was cataract and tho
optic nerve was all right, the Y rays
assisted the Ocuiist in ascertaining
what the matter was. The usual opera
ton for cataract then restored the pa
TENTS sight But almost without ex-
ccption all investigators reached the
same conclusions as did Mr.. Edison.
One very sanguine experimental, DIR.
Louis Bell, however, declared that when
Crookes tube the resultant Pickering
could be perceived by man with whom
he had made tests. and who was blind
from paralysis of the optic nerve. The
matter has since been followed up by
two Texas scientists, DR.. HiIgartner,
oculist to the state institution for the
blind, and Prof Northrup, an expert
in electrical matters. These men pro-
cured powerful apparatus and then got
hold of IL blind people, seven of
whom had absolutely no power of dis
corning light; four others could very
family perceive light. But not one OF
them could get the slightest impression
by looking either at an excited Crookes
tube or at microscope. This lack of
substantiation will probably lead un-
orejudiced scientists to the conclusion
that DR.. Bell was deceived somehow.
and that no help is to be derived from
his source.-N. Y. Tribune
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-01
PATRIOTIC MiTTENS.
How They Became the Inspiration of
an Honorable Life.

an H0nOrao1 L11e
During the civil war the martial feel
ing of the time excited American chill
dren as well as American men. But in
country home in the state of Maine
lived little boy who neither owed his
interest in the great conflict to the ex-
ample of soldier father nor showed it.
in military play. The boy was not yet
ten years of age; old enough to thrill
at the beat of drums and the marshall
ing of departing troops, but not old
enough fully to understand the mean
ing of all the commotion.
His father was ineligible for service.
His mother was not strong, but she had
the heart of n patriot, and she was de-
voted to the cause Of freedom. Love Of
country was to her next to thelove of
God. Her loyalty TO it's flag was as true
as her faith in her Bible.
Through all those troubled years, this
woman was constant and unwearied in
her efforts to help the union cause. She
picked lint, and her boy helped her,
wondering. She made jellies, and her
boy stirred the kettle while she an
swered childish questions about the
terrible times. She talked to him daily
about the honor of the old flag, and
told him that every one in those days
must show his colors Or be branded as
traitor.
What is showing colors,' mother?"
he asked, much awed by her manner.
81 will show you, my son. she said.
Thereupon she began to knit a pair
of white mittens, and upon the back
of each one she fashioned the stars and
stripes, knitting them in, as she went
along. so that they were part of the
wool of the mittens.
Q Standing by her side the boy watched.
her shining needles. She gave him the
history of the flag as she threaded the
rcd. white and blue into her work She
told him how many and how great had