davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The morning times., 1897-01-31

ting bruin steal march on him In the
rear =.
Presently he halted on the edge of a
fringe of trees, and had started to re-
trace his steps when his eyes fell upon
the ground close at hand. For an in
slant he remained motionless; then,
giving a quick look about him, he bent
down and examined the surface of the
snow. Breaking the white, even crust
We're big marks-marks which resem-
bled the prints of human feet. but
which were broader and heavier Jack
had never before seen a bears track.
but he knew them at once.
The trail led in direction at right
angles to the course which the boy had
been pursuing, and bruin had passed
only a short time ago, as was shown by
the clear impressions left by the ami
mails feet, entirely free from the snow
dust that the wind quickly swept into
all hollows. Jack stood debating with
himself what he should do.
The direction in which the trail OF
the animal led indicated that it was
making for some other pig nen than
that of the Birches. Jack. therefore
felt no apprehensions for the safety of
his pigs. He had the choice between
going quietly home or of pursuing the
bear for the general good. Eut Jack
had come out to meet the bear as we'll
as to protect his pigs, and the excite
The morning times., 1897-01-31
College Graduates Equipment In 1s41.

1t is well to state with Just what out
fit I left college in 1871. had a rather
shallow reading knowledge of six Ian
guages-English. French. Spanish, ItaI-
ian. Latin and Greek-and had been
brought in contact with classic books
in each of these tongues. / may here
add that L picked up at a later period
German, Portuguese and Hebrew,
with little Swedish and that I hope
TO live long enough to learn at least
the alphabet in Russian. Then I had
acquired enough of the higher mathe-
matics to have a pupil or two in that
branch, something of the forms of log
ic and of LQcke's philosophy with the
criticisms of the French ecIectics upon
it. smattering of history and political
with field natural history. some prac-
tice in writing and debating, a passion
for poetry and imaginative literature.
a vOraciOus desire for all knowledge
and all action and an amount of self
confidence which has now. after more
than half century, sadly diminished.
1t will be seen that this was an outfit
more varied than graduates of the
present day are apt to possess. but
more superficial, their knowledge of
what they know being often far more
advanced as well as more solidIy
grounded than was mine. No matter
Colonel t. W. Higginson in Atlantic
The morning times., 1897-01-31

ment infused into him by the sight of
the bears trail made him throw aside
/ caution and start off after the animal.
He did not consider what an us'y thing
it. would be if he should come upon the
beast without d place of retreat near
at hand. He wanted a sight Of the
bear, and he kept right on, telling him
self that he might get chance to shoot
the animal yet.
The trail in the snow was readily
traced and Jack followed the marks at
brisk walk They led away almost in
straight line from the Birch home for
quarter of a mile, and Jack had al
ready reckoned that the sheep fold of
neighbor named Robinson. was
| bruins objective poir-t. when, sudden
ly the trail bent round and struck off
obliquely in the direction of Jacks own
home. 1t looked as if the bear had
changed its mind. and had decided that
a supper of bacon was preferable to
one of mutton or lamb.
Jack halted in amazement for full
minute: then realizing what this
change of course might mean. he
wheeled about and started off on
dog trot toward the house. thin
grove of small trees presently inter
rupted his path and he moved through
these more slowly, for his common
sense told him that the bear might be
met with here at close quarters. AS he
pushed his way through the last of the
trees, a sound came to his ears that
made him dart forward, cooking his
rifle as he ran. 1t was wild chorus OF
squeals from the pig pen, still a hun
dred yards and more away. In the
quiet of the night il sounded rs if the
four pigs were all being slaughtered al
once. For a few seconds it was loud
and persistent, then came a piercing
shrek shriller than any before and
Jack knew that bruin had closed the
earthly career of one of his pigs. The
thought made him angrier than ever.
and more determined to make the ma
rauder pay for its depredations With
its life. He rushed forward at full
speed, and was spurred TO his utmost
endeavors by the sight of a dark mass
which made it's appearance against the
white background of the featheTy
snow, and which he knew must be
the bear cIambering out of the pen With
its victim.
But Jack was yet fifty yards away
when the bear reached the ground and
started off with its booty The ami
NAL seemed to think only of flight. and
if it had been unencumbered its pur-
suer would have had no chance of com
ing up with it.
AS it was. the pig. which was fairly
good sized one, greatly retarded its
speed and Jack saw that he was slowly
| overtaking it. If he had thought a
minute he would have halted and fired
from where he was. as he would then
have had safe place of retreat in the
stable should occasion call for it. But,
The morning times., 1897-01-31
The Same Girl.

The sudden strain of an old refrain
VIII oftentimes reveal,
Like flash at night. some previous
plight
And this is the way I feel.
Ages ago. | somehow know
That | was a crocodile,
And I frittered away the livelong day
On the banks of the ancient Nile.
And it seems that there, Meath the
burning glare
OF the sun on its daily track,
AS | idly strayed, / was loved by a
maid
With a corrugated back.
died, and then, incarnate again.
l passed to another life
In the form of an ape my brain took
shape,
And 1 lived with a chittering wife.
In later span l became a man,
And a web of love l spun:
Yet | feel it's true that the girl WOO
To-day, is the self-same one.
Who in ages past with my lot was
cast,
For l often hear her declare
As they have done since the world
begun
Il haven't d thing to wear!''
Tom Mason in Life.
The morning times., 1897-01-31
NOVEL And CLEVER
DEVICE FOR .COASTNG
A -Propelling Sled Which viii
Run Rapidly on Ice or Lew
ell Fields of Snow.
HILLS NO LONGER NECESSARY.
1t Will Delight the Boys and May
Incidentally Deliver Team
sters From Annoyance.

Copyright, 1897 by the Baeheller Syndicate.
self-propeIIing sled has just been
invented, which bids fair to revolution
ize the sport of coasting II viii be a
special boon to those who live in parts
of the country where snow is plentiful
but hills are few and far between; for
it enables the rider to skim over the
level snow or the frozen surface Of
lake or stream as fast or as slow as
may be desired. as readily as when
coasting down the steepest hill
This method Of propeIIing sleds is the
invention of John Loose, Of Brooklyn,
N. Y. 1t is very simple and requires
absolutely no previous experience
There is no danger Of ugly falls; there
is no nice trick of balance to be learn
ed: all that is necessary is to take a
seat on the sled. start the machinery,
and go wherever inclination leads.
On an ordinary wooden sled. well to-
ward the front, two upright blocks or
posts are firmly fixed. one on each side
Through holes or bearings. as they ara
called. in the top Of these blocks. there
runs a strong shaft. each end of which
projects a few inches-just far enough
to form an axle for a large propeIIing
touches the ground on a level with the
runners.
In the middle of the shaft which sup
ports these two wheels is pinion or
small cog-wheeI, which fits into a Iarg-
er cog-wheel hung upon two uprights
called a crank-arbor, which arise from
a support beneath the shaft Two
crank-handles project from this crank
aTbOr. The coaster grasps these han
dies and by turning them rapidly eaus-
es the driving wheels to revoIve. thus
propeIling the sled
Ranged around the outer edge Of the
propelling wheels are a nurlber OF
small metal teeth, so set tEat they
face slightly forward instead C. point
/ ing directly downward, as is usual in
/ such wheels. The advantage of this
| arrangement is that they first press
/ the snow down and then dig into it, in
| stead of merely throwing the snow
| backward, as would be the case if the
I teeth pointed directly downward
| The steering apparatus is as simple
as is the method of propulsion Placed
/ beneath the shaft near each end. and
| securely fastened 10 the upright posts,
/ are two levers which terminate at theif
| lower ends in stirrups. Through
these stirrups which work indepen-
| IDENTIFY, the rider puts his feet and a
downward pressure on either lifts ths
The morning times., 1897-01-31
AN INGENIOUS SELF -PRoPELL1NG SLED.

though they were, came the reply:
Yes. but I'm nearly done fori"
Hold on to the bucket if YOU can,
and I'll haul you up" shouted Mr..
Robinson.
He grasped the handle Of the wind
lass upon which the bucket rope was
wound, and began slowly to turn it,
In few minutes Jacks head ap,
peared in the opening of the welI-curb,
and with Mr.. Robinson's aid the boy
was helped out. They hurried him into
the house. An hour or so later, wrapped
in warm blankets and with a hot water
bottle at his feet, Jack lay in bed and
told his story TO three interested lis
tenerS.
When I found the bear was gaining
on me as 1 lodged around the we'll
house" he concluded, Il just popped
The morning times., 1897-01-31

81 haNJEh, NJ II y 1hlS L EMH
While we were being robbed we told
the man little story with a funny
climax to it, and also asked him to
guess two or three racy conundrums,
but he didn't thaw out in the least.
1t was evidently straight business
with him and he had no time for fool
ing around. 1t was hardly fair in him
to take our guns and ticker, as we
have hourly use for both, but at the
same time we can't blame him for
working the mine to the last cent We
hope TO meet him under different cir
cumstances some day, and meanwhile
shall do no kicking over what we lost.
A SHAMEFUL AFFAIR.
Major John Taylor has carried two
guns on his hips for the last twenty
years, and Judge Truax has always
carried at least one, and has been
known as a dead shot Wednesday
evening last these two gentlemen met
in the Bald Eagle saloon and began
talking of political events OF a sud-
den the Major called out
"Sir! That's not sor'
Yes. it iSr' shouted the Judge.
Il doubt you, sir!''
Don't call me a iari''
Then each man stepped back and
drew his gun and began blazing away.
That is, there was no blazing at all.
The Majors gun wasn't loaded at all,
and the Judges was so rusty that the
cylinder wouldn't revolve They tried
and tried, but had to give it up, and,
each realizing the righteousness of the
situation they finally laughed and
shook hands and called it good joke.
We fail to see it that way. What is a
gun for except to shoot with? Why lug
it around except as a weapon of Of
fence and defence? The two gentle
men may ehuckle and laugh, but we
know they have lost the prestige they
have been years in building up. 1t has
heretofore been considered dangerous
to ask either one of them to hitch
along at the bar of a saloon and make
room, but we venture to predict that
it won't be week before some wagon
train man will take them by the neck
and spin 'em across the room Both
are foremost citizens, and we feel sor-
~ for 'em, but the fault is their own
and they must put up with the conse-
quences.
The morning times., 1897-01-31
The Bank of France,

The Bank of France has one of thu
most ingenious arrangements in ths
world for photographing strangers
without their knowledge. Behind ths
cashiers desk is a hidden studio. and
at a signal from any bank employee q
suspected customer viii have his pic.
ture taken instantaneously. The cam
era is also useful in detecting frauds. a
word or figure that TO the eye seemS
erased standis Ut on the photography
ic pIate
The morning times., 1897-01-31

corresponding driving wheel from the
ground As the opposite wheel re-
mains on the ground it turns he sled
in the direction Of the wheel thus rails
ed.
4 sled fitted with this simple device
is at all times under control and car
with very little exertion be dri zen rap
idly over the snow. even wbeIe it il
not trodden into a compact mass The
invention really promises 70 prove a
blessing to the public at large. for tbs
younSsteF who is the fortunate owner
of one will no longer be COMPELLED to
chase after sleighs. to the great annoy
ance of the occupants. in the doubtful
hope of getting a ride by ''iIitChing
on -
The morning times., 1897-01-31
The AFFAIR AT RED CREEK.

1t was just nine o'clock in the morn
ing when Joe Billings rode into Red
Creek ON his cayuse; on the saddle be
hind him was woman about forty
years old. The moment Joe pulled up
his horse the animal fell down from
exhaustion. There were ten or twelve
men in front of the Red Man Hotel,
and Joe accosted one of them with
Say, stranger, men this yere female
desires to git spliced. Is thar a critter in
this town who ar justified to do it?'
Il reckon thar is" was the reply.
''And who might he be-"
Hes about my size and heft, and
the charges viii be five dollars
''Durn the charges, but shoot er off
and hev it over with bekase this crowd
looks thirsty and every man in it will
hev two drnks!"
He was talking to Hank White. the
only Justice of the Peace for forty
miles around, and Hank had never
married a couple and could not recall
the program as laid down in the books.
Never mind the ceremony. Jest make
a legal hitch of it and don't waste no
more time"
"All right Jine hands. Do you take
her fur yer wife? Do you take him fur
yer husband? Then the thing is a go.
and durn my buttons if anythin' but
death Kin separate yer
The crowd was drinking at the bride
| mounted men came galloping into town
with a hurrah, and as they drew up at
the hotel the leader shouted
Boys, Joe Billings stole a cayuse
over at Lone HE ast night, and we
are hot on his trail to hang himr
1T can't be did, said the Justice as
he wiped off his chin. Il just married
him five minits ago. and you can't hang
no man in this kentry till he's been
married week"
The Lone Hill crowd began to bluff,
but the Red Creek gang showed a bod
front. and Joe finally showed up and
paid $50 for the cayuse and treated the
men who had pursued him. Everybody
Was drinking and everybody was happy
when five men came dashing into town
over the same trail. AS they pulled
| up the leader caught sight of the Justice
and called OUT
''Her you seen Joe Billings and my
wife pass this yere way? They cut
and run at ten o'clock last night"
'They arrove yere about thirteen
minits ago. slowly replied the official.
And which way did they go?"
''They didn't go. They are in the
paror of this yere hotel at the present
mint. The woman was your wife. eh?'
'She was, and Joe Billings hain't got
ten minits to iive"'
Go n leet.e slow, Jim Hastings; Jest
leetie slow. I've married your wife
TO joe aud it won't do any good to kick
If I'd known who she was | wouldn't
hev done it, but it's did, and that ends
it."
But she's my wife, yelled the man.
she was, but thar has bin a new
dea'," replied the Justice
But you had no legal right
''Mebbe not. but I'm sayin' | did il,
and its got to go, and the cr.tter as says
it hain't has got to fight this crowdr'
The Lone Hill men joined in with the
Red Creekers-making four to one
and, after whooping around for awhile,
the injured husband cooled down and
said
wall. let 'er go. Tell Joe Billings
this crowd wants big drink all around
and If Nance is satisfied, am"
The morning times., 1897-01-31
JACK, OH JACK, ARE YOU THERE?"

into the opening I didn't see where 1
was going exactly. and L would have
tumbled right down. head first. But.
luckily, 1 caught the rope with my
hands. as I fell forward. and 1 hung on
to it for all L was worth L went down
fast enough as it was. and in a wink
1 found myself at the bottom in water
up to my waist. 1t was terribly cold.
but felt l was safe. and soon made
a hitch in the rope, and managed to get
my legs through the loop. That's the
way 1 spent the night. 1t was tough,
but I stuck it out, hoping some one
would find me in the morning.
couldn't have lasted much longer,
though
FRANCIS CHURCHILL WILLIAMS.
The morning times., 1897-01-31

hot in his rage and the excitement of
pursuit, he strained every muscle to
come to closer quarters. Not until he
was within twenty yards of the bear
did he check his running, and, drop
ping on one knee, take sight at the ami
NAL. He pulled the trigger. meaning to
put bullet behind the ear, but his aim
was not true; the shot went wide of its
mark and struck the bear in the hind
quarters. !,
Jack rose to his feet to note the effect
of his shot. 1t had knocked the animal
over. and it was biting furiously at the
place where the bullet had entered.
But, far from killing or disabling it Sc
riously. the bullet had only stung 1t to
madness.
The morning times., 1897-01-31

scription list and Ii was dark before
we left for home. As we came to
Panther Greek man stepped out into
the road and levelled gun on us and
ordered us to throw up our hands and
dismount. He had business ring to
his voice and it didn't take us over fif-
teen seconds TO get our feet on the
ground.
How much We gotF7 said he as We
came down.
Seven doIars, to cent" We
replied
The morning times., 1897-01-31

For an instant Jack stood stock still;
then a quick sense of his danger made
him spin round and, dropping the rifle.
dash for the stable. He ran at top
speed and he made record: but his
lightness of foot was discounted by the
rate at which that angry bear covered
ground. The boy cast a fieeting glance
over his shoulder. The great beast was
only fifty feet behind. Jack felt he was
lost. but he never slackened his pace.
\ sudden noise of scraping of snow
together with a snort from his pursueI
made him look back again. The bears
wounded leg had evidently failed its
owner, and the animal had fallen. But
it was even then getting on it's feet
again to take up with the chase. Short
as the reprieve was however. it sufficed
TO add dozen yards to the boys lead.
and ray of hope came to him. But il
was quickly extinguished. Jack saw
that he could never reach the protec-
tion of the stable as matters were. The
bear would overtake him by the time
he had covered fifty yards more. The
animal was now not more than the
same number of feet in the rear.
Just ahead of Jack was small shin
gied shed. covering a large well from
which the family drew their water. In
the desperate hope that his pursuer
might slip again in trying To make the
turn, and so give him another lead, the
boy instantly determined to dodge
sharply round the corner of the struc-
ture and then dash for the stable.
Like a flash he rounded the well
house, catching at the edge with one
hand to keep his footing. But the bears
sharp nails enabled it to do the trick
almost as readily, and it was close on
Jacks heels. AT the second corner the
animal. overran itself a bit, and gave
him few feet more of lead. Even then
it was so close to him as to make his
chances of reaching the stable scarcely
worth counting. And Jack, with a sud
den pain at his heart, realized il,
The next morning at an early hour
Mrs. Birch and her daughter arrived at
her home in a sleigh driven by a neigh
Dor. Mrs. Birch got out, expecting
Jack to open the door, but it was lock-
ed, and no response was made to her
repeated knocks. Then Mr.. Robinson,
the neighbor, got out and tried, but
with similar results. Mrs. Birch grew
alarmed She was sure Jack would not
have gone off when he knew she was
going 10 return that morning. AIr.
Robinson said he would look in the
stable; perhaps Jack was there. But
he acknowledged to himself that there
was little chance of this, and he tramp
ed over TO the stable with many fore
bodings. a few minutes passed and he
came out. Mrs. Birch saw at once that
he had discovered nothing.
on his return he passed close to the
we'll house. Suddenly he paused, lis
tened a moment, ran quickly toward
the structure and then threw open its
covers. Mrs. Birch. in some bewilder-
ment. waded through the snow to his
side. Mary with her. Just as they
reached the spot. a cry came up from
the Well. MIR. Robinson had thrust his
head into the opening, and he called at
the top of his voice:
Jack oh, jack Are you there?"
Then in tones which Mrs Birch and
Mary instantly recognized, muff1ed
The morning times., 1897-01-31
"Hand it oYern'

HdHU lI UNtT.
We took great pleasure in transfer
ring our wealth, and hoped he would
take it and hurry off 10 buy cattle
ranch. He didn't go, however AS we
stood there with hands up he took pos
session of our watch and guns and
p0cketknife. For a time he seemed
inclined to ride away on our broncho,
but he finally abandoned the idea and
ordered us TO mount and git 1t is
needless 10 remark that we didn't lose
minute and that we didn't look back
10 see if he counted our cash correctly.
The morning times., 1897-01-31
HOW JACK BIRCH
SAVED HIS BACON.
7ruin Not Only Stole a Pig, but
Gave Its Hot Headed Owner
a Chance to Cool Off.
ASH PLUNGE DOWN OPEN WE'LL
Voice From the Depths-HaIf Frozen
Fugitive Rescued After Hours
of Pain and Fright.

Copyright, 1897, by the Bacheller Syndicate.
I'll do it!''
Jack Birch, the speaker, a stockily
built boy OF fifteen, faced the fireplace
He was looking at long rifle which
hung on couple of iron hooks above
the mantel shelf. The piece had be-
longed to Jacks father, and since his
death. had rested undisturbed in its
place.
Jack took down the gun, standing on
chair to do it. He wiped off the
coating of dust and dropped the ram
The morning times., 1897-01-31
PASSED OVER.

We are sorry II announce the death
OF Unc.e Bill Gray, one of the pioneers
Of Giveadam Gulch and local char
acler Of note. He was found dead on
the street Tuesday morning. and al
though the COron0r's jury returned a
verdict of heart disease, there is no
question that it WAS Whiskey knocked
him out at last Uncle Billy was one
Of the few who had his face set against
progress. He shot The first bullet into
OIr blue neclufe. He hen Us up on
Apache avenue and made us take off a
linen collar and throw our cuffs away.
When a theatrical troupe came this
way he always had n front seat and
two guns. If the pay was ''Othello,"
with five clog dancers and three or four
rlcy songs sandwiched in. there was
no shooting II it was Hamlet" with
out fight between cowboys and In
dians and a girl sliding over cliff,
Uncle Billy led the fusillade, and the
netors were scattered over the country
for miles around. sHe wanted nothing
new. not even new brand Of whiskey
They'll have to hunt up an o,l-faShion-
ed spot in Heaven and stake out
claim for him, and any attempt to put
go'tien wings on him will be promptly
and vigorously resented. We've known
better men TO die, but the o1d man will
be missed by those who knew him well,
and Of al the things said about him
nothing will be spoken in malice.
The morning times., 1897-01-31
The ARIZlEA KICKER.

Copyright, 1897, by the Bacheller Syndicate.
A MYSTERY SOLVED.
That sound which came TO the ears of
our sleeping citizens at midnight the
other night was not caused by an avail
anche ON Wild Cat Mountain. If any
body believed it the rush of a herd of
steers over tle plains he was mistaken.
The morning times., 1897-01-31
A Fine Distinction.

Tonlmy-"Are all men who have too
many wives called bigamists pa?" Hen
peck--'No," only those who have two
or more my son."-Puck.
The morning times., 1897-01-31

LES DESIRES TO GIT SPLICED."
Joe set EN- UP, shook hand all around,
and as he borrowed another cayuse and
resumed his journey the Justice of the
Peace looked after him, and said
"Wall, if | had sich luck as comes
10 that critter I'd steal hull family
and run off a herd of steersr'
The morning times., 1897-01-31

Dodson-'"That was somewhat pre-
vious joke Witticus got off, wasn't it?"
Sn,iley-"Yes; previous to the food"
New York Herald.