davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23

| lines of the enemy have begun to ad-
vance. The skirmishers are simply SO
many alarm bells. They fire and re-
treat, stop and reload and fire again,
and presently are swept back into the
battle lines. Their cracking fire ceases
for moment, and then there is a
grand crash of musketry which seems
to rend the skies. The double ranks on
brigade front have fired together.
Owing to the lay of the ground we can
not see the combatants, but as volley
succeeds volley, and the volleys are
merged into one grand roar, we know
that there is a grapple to the death over
there. There is no talking in the ranks
now. The noise not only prevents it,
but the men are breathing hard and
quivering with nervous excitement,
and have eyes only for the smoke cloud
rising in the air.
1t may have been ten minutes, fifteen,
thirty, since the skirmishers began
work. Only the generals note time on
a battlefield. The attack on the right
had been beaten back, but sputter of
musketry still continues. Now we be-
gin to see the skulkers. A score of them
come running along our front, KNAPP
sacks, haversacks and muskets thrown
away, and though we yell ''Skulker!"
and Coward" at them. it only hastens
their flight. After them came a dozen
wounded men-shot in the arms or
shoulders, but able to get to the rear
by themselves. They call out the news.
and add that it will soon be our turn.
Half dozen officers have been shot off
their horses. The horses gallop back
and forth across our front neighing
wildly. and now and then swerving to-
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
THE UNIVERSAL GENIUS.
That's What the Perfect Farmer Should
he In Order that the Best Re-
suits be Attained.

4 farm should be q nation in minia-
ture. and its practical independence
should be recoSniz I'd and IN .intaiued.
This is necessary in order that the re-
ward of we'll directed labor may be en-
joyed. The merchant need only TO buy
judiciously and sell ut q profit. That
is all there is to his business. The
banker lends money, discounts notes,
and buys and sells exchange. He may
be successful if he knows nothing
else. But it is different with the
farmer; his business involves q mul-
titude of separate factors. His es-
tate is an omnium gatherum which
must be reduced to order, and each
separate feature worked out un-
der rules and methods appropriate to
the case. He should be a Esck-of-all-
trades, from tinkering q clock to rum
ming q thresher, from half-soling a
shoe to upholstering a carriage. II he
must take his plow to the black smith
or his wagon to the wheelwright every
time something goes wrong; if he must
have carpenter whenever he wants
some woodwork done; if he can not
conduct the building OF a barn, sink
ing Of well, the measuring of a field,
the grading of o ditch, without foreign
help, he is far from the Independence
he should enjoy. Workshops and tools
for wood and iron and leather should
be rs distinctive y feature OF every
farm as land aud fences, barns and
stocks, vehicles and implements. Be
cause no farm can be run without
mechanical labor, = farmer should, as
far as possible, have practical training
founded upon scientific principles. All
our agricultural and mechanical col
lages give 70 the students Of agricul-
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
load and fire. There is an interval in

load and fire. There is an interval in
which you are taken out of yourself.
You could cot give your own name ii
asked for it. The smoke blinds you. the
noise deafens you, and you fight me
chanically. Somebody lays a heavy
hand on you, perhaps seizes the mus
ket in your grasp. and you come back
to yourself again. There is no more
firing. Your ears are roaring and you
cannot catch word spoken, and you
look along the lines, and the faces of
your comrades have a strange, queer
look to you. You have to look again
and again before you can identify
them. What has happened? you ask
yourself, in dull, indefinite way. You
see men pointing, and your eyes follow
and take in the sight on the old field
below. From point to which you
could toss your cap clear back to the
fringe Of the woods are the enemy's
dead and wounded. That brigade Of
brave men pressed forward until those
red volleys famed into their very faces,
and the regiments have gone back in
remnants and fragments. 1t was des-
perate attempt to break our center, but
it failed.
You remember the rest only as you
remember a morning dream. You were
moved to the left to toreenforce-youw were
moved to the right to drive back the foe
again-you countermarched to your
first position. Now and then you saw
bodies of troops moving through the
smoke-you saw field guns galloping
this way and that, and you hazily re-
member the dead and wounded and the
serving out Of fresh cartridges. You
are still an automaton, still confused
and bewildered and wondering over it,
when you hear q human voice. II
sounds far away and indistinct, but you
make out the words: "Hello, old man,
but haven't you got your jaws together
yet? Rouse up and let's have cup
of coffee and bite to eat. Landsl but
didn't we give them Hail Columbia!"
There was battle. 1t began soon
after sunrise, and now as you look
around you in q startled way the sun
has gone down and twilight is coming
on. You marched and countermarched;
you fired away 60 rounds of ammuni-
ton; you fought as bravely as anyone.
and yet you can scarcely recall a single
incident. You rise up and look about
you, but all things have undergone
change. You move mechanically, you
cannot think clearly, and it seems as
If your comrade was tapping your ears
with drumsticks as he says:
ut is the most terrible battle of the
war. They say the dead and wounded
fully 10000. Lord! but how
you did cheer and curse and rave! You
must learn to hold on to yourself and be
cool"
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

Commodore Dewey has been widow.
er for more than 70 years.
John Erigena Barrett, an Irish writer,
is coming rapidly into prominence
1t is said that Mr.. Barrie received the
large sum of & 400 week in fees from
THE Little Minister" at the Haymarket.
Before her marriage. 16 years ago,
the wife of Admiral Sampson was pro-
fessor at Vassar and afterward at Wells
college.
Three American women have recent.
ly published novels in England-Mrs.
Atherton, Amelie Rives (who still writes
under that name), and Kate Douglas
Wigg;n.
The Book Buyer announces that the
play, Ian Maclaren's The Bonnie Brier
Bush," arranged by Mr.. James Mac
Arthur and Mr.. Tom Hall, has received
the benediction of DIR. Watson.
Charles Dewey. brother of the now
famous commodore, is president of a
life insurance company at Montpelier.
VT. He and his wife recently celebrated
their golden wedding Sanniversary.
Prince Henry of Prussia, the brother
of the German emperor, was rendered
ball while in Shanghai, China. recent
IN. on which occasion he was presented
with gold and jade art works valued at
SIS 200.
Lady Stella and Lady Dorothea Hope,
sisters of Lord Hopeton, have taken
small farm in the southeast of Eng
land, their intention being 10 breed and
train ponies. Both young women are
capital whips and expert veterinarians,
being quite able to care and prescribe
for sick stock. They are girls of charm
ing manners.
Mrs. Flora Annie Steel's Scotland
home is Dunlugas House, near Banff.
1t is also the old home of Sir Thomas
Urquhart, of Cromarty, who could
trace his pedigree from the creation.
The neighborhood of Dunlugas has
peculiar interest in India. for it gave
birth to the famous piper, Findlater.
who played the slogan when the High
land troops stormed Dargai.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
Cost Of Production.

There should be an emphatic protest
against the efforts of some parties to
make the cost of production of farm
crops appear as small as possible. The
ridiculous estimate of the cost of .
bushel of corn, published by one farm
journal last year, is not the only mis-.
leading one, that one differing from
most others in unfairness to the farm.
ers only in degree. Several causes con.
spire to make these estimates mislead.
ing. Outside of the very rich black
lands the charge for rental is rarely
large enough for corn, as the land il
nursed up to fitness for corn once in
four or i've years, and less remunera.
tive crops are often grown while the
soil is being fitted for corn again.
Again, it is usually the most wide.
awake and energetic farmers that
make report of yields, and such
usually have soils in best condition
for big yields-not average soils
and yields. Again, it is against human
nature, it would seem, to report fail.
ures. They come in all crop produc.
tion, and their cost is borne, but they
do not figure in reports usually, while
the maximum yield is always in evi.
dence. There is the additional fact
that farmers, as a class, are inclined to
rate their work at a very low price, and
to charge nothing ut all for the skill
in management. 1t results that esti-
mates are usually too low, and we
"bear" prices and induce competition
by these inaccurate figures on cost OF
production. The impression is created
that we are doing much better than we
really are, or that we have only our
selves to blame if we are not prosper.
ing. No other class of producers il
guilty of such Stiffness, and we are the
victims OF theorists and politicians
whose figures should not receive u Sec
ond thought from practical men,
Farm and Fireside.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
DO AS YOU PLEASE.
That May BE Found the Best Way to
Live and Enj0y the Blessing
of Health.

What has cured one hypochondrias
may prove of like benefit to many 9TH
ers. The man in question imagined tina,
some dread thing in conspiracy with
death was rapidly working destruction
In his system. He could not figure ou,
Just what it was, but he resolved to
battle impending fate by observing all
the approved rules of health. Regard
ing the stomach as the greatest source
of disease, he first devoted his attention
to it. He found from one authority
that he should eat no meats and had
just became a vegetarian when he
learned from another good authority
that the man who did not eat meat
could never attain the strength OF mind
and body that nature intended. He
ceased all stimulants because he read
that they were detrimental and then
came across the assurance from another
learned doctor that nothing was better
than these same stimulants judiciously
taken.
The farther he went the greater the
confusion. Tobacco was poison. To-
bacco was grand thing because 1t kept
out the deadly microbes to which the
mouth is peculiarly susceptible. Late
eating was ruinous. Late eating was
source of health because it attracted
the blood from the brain to the stom-
ach and induced sleep. Besides, it was
not intended that the system should &c
f2 hours out of the "a without taking
in sustenance. Eggs were among the
healthiest Of foods. Eggs tended di-
rectly to impair the liver. 1t was bad
to drink too much water. There was
nothing like water to keep the system
flushed out and in healthy condition.
Fruit in the morning was the worst
thing possible for the stomach. Fruit
in the morning was positively the hap
piest and best introduction the stom-
ach could have to its days work. Coarse
bread was the best. The finer the flour
the more nutritious the bread.
But when our hypochondriac read
from a German doctor that all bread
was injurious and should be used Just
as sparingly as possible, he dropped his
Investigations in disgust and vowed
that he could find the highest authority
for eating. drinking and living just as
it suited him. Now he has red gills.
rotund form and sunny nature. AND
yet he does nothing for which he cannot
show you the highest medical sanction.
Detroit Free Press.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23

An officer, walking softly along the
lines to see that all is well, will hear a
sleeper groan or q wakeful man sigh,
but he will find no one sitting up-no
one wandering about. 1t is for every
man to fight it out alone and unaided.
To thousands it is like the last night
of the condemned.
Daylight is just breaking when the
lines are aroused. As the men spring
up they turn their faces to the east a
if by instinct-as the man lying in his
bed turns his face toward the sunset, if
not too weak. Before there is the
slightest tinge of red in the gray sky,
blankets are folded and packed, the
4 hasty breakfast is being prepared.
There are no songs now, no levity. All
faces wear q serious look, and there is
Z sternness in the voices of the officers
which was not to be noticed in camp.
The pickets and skirmishers begin fir
ing. and here and there a field piece
bellows it's hostile note. Arecruit would
listen to the clatter and imagine the
battle had already begun, but the vet
eI80 kuOWS OCtlOA. ~ AS "a y
which will last until the sun is well up,
and both sides are ready for the grap-
nile. Reenforcements may have come
M during the night, men and guns
been shifted, defenses thrown up. Only
the broad light of day will reveal these
things to the generals as they ride
along the front.
The east is growing fiery red as the
.oldiers f.nish their breakfasts, lift their
knapsacks to their shoulders and get
the command to fall in. The firing has
almost died away in the front, but there
IL enough to keep our eyes busy.
Aides and couriers and orderlies are
r.llopinr here and there, bodies Of
troops taking up new places. guns be-
ing shifted to more advantageous po-
eifions. A mile away, on the fringe of q
heavy forest, we see few of tie enemy.
MS lines OF battle are six miles
long. running across highways, creeks,
meadows, farm-yards and forest. Ours
are of the same length. Up leaps the
sun as you wait, and you can almost
hear each and every man draw long
hreath as he turns his eyes upon the
rcd hall. Now they begin to shift un-
.asilv and to talk in whispers. We do
not talk of wounds or death. but of the
strength of the enemy, whether we are
e advance or hold our ground. whether
th- fight will be on the open dapk or
here in the center. Twenty rods in front
- us is q creek. Every fifth man in
.verv company is detailed to take five
..,teen. down and fill them. Men be
-;n Is laugh and joke. and though you
s.., the hollowness Of it you are glad to
,h.ve something to distract your
.hou~hts. The canteens have been re-
tnrned and q quarter of an hour slips
.-.v All OF sudden there comes
.,..h ! silence all*along the front that
....r look at each other in wonder. The
s;.ordered line straightens up without
!. command being given, and each mus
~ & rripped more tightly. Something
= eoing to happen.
sPopl pop! pop!"
.sIt 4 the muskets of the skirmishen
.,.,va On the front and to the right. The
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
HERE AND THERE.

Wherever alfalfa will grow it is the
best all-round pasturage and hay crop
that can be grown. Once seeded and it
is almost perpetual. by scarifying the
soil, and thus pruning the roots, it ID
given o new lease of life
No wonder the Dutch farmer can
snap his finger in the face of the world,
in dairy production, for he believes in
science, in study, in progress, in every
thing that will help to better ideas
and better understanding of his bus
mess.
I'm fighting weeds q stroke in time
saves ninety-nine. Destroy them while
in the seed-leaf, if possible. In the
field harrow covering l6 feet at .
sweep will do it. In the garden a 20
inch rake, or u light wheel-cultivator,
will do the business rapidly and easily.
If the war with Spain continues, it
will be d good thing for the growers Of
good cavalry and artillery horses Al
ready contractors are offering prices
far in advance of those obtainable two
months ago. Uncle Sam is n god Gus
toner for things he wants, and ne wants
horses for the army.
The use of fruit for food has re-
Gently secured very strong advocacy
from some of our leading Physicians.
1t is now said that there IS ilo IN )re
speedy and ready cure for liver diff
culties than to make our break fasts
entirely of apples; or for q few days to
eat nothing else.
Under existing conditions the farm
er who sells of his calves or unncces-
sarily decreases his female stock, il not
wise, unless peculiar circumstances
make this caus. necessary. It is prob
able that cattle, whether for dliry or
beef purposes, will continue to bring
good prices
Ideas govern. Wrong ideas or lack
Of right ideas govern just As rigidly NJ
the best of ideas. Cool sound thought,
correct IDEAS of theory aud practice
must take the place Of nnsoand oncs.
or there can be M improvement la the
productivensss and prorit Ut our soil y.
aaiWalA
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
A Stationary Easter.

The awkwardness of movable Eas-
ter has frequently attracted attention
ON the continent, and the discussion Of
the question has again been revived this
year in Berlin. a year ago Prof. Fors-
ter, director of the Berlin observatory,
suggested that the pope should take in
hand the settlement of the question.
He also communicated with Sig. Tom
dini and with the astronomers of the
Vatican observatory. Their common
proposal was to fix Easter from the
year 1900 on the third Sunday after
the 21st day of March, the moon NO
longer influencing the date. The festi-
val would then only vary between April
1 and II, instead Of between March q
and April Is, as NOW. Y. Sun.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23
THE SMOKING LAMP.
A Time-HOnOred InstitutiOn Of the
British and American Navies
and Its Peculiar Use.

One of the time-honored institutions
of the American and British navies is
the smoking lamp. Without the smok
ing lamp the modern sailorman would
be like fish out of water. He would
mutiny. 4 failure by the galley cook
to light the smoking lamp without the
loss of a seconds time after the word
has been given arouses Jacks temper,
and whatever limited stock of invec-
tives he is possessed of is made public
with promptitude and emphasis.
To landsmen the mention of smok-
ing lamp has no more significance than
mention of the Jack-of-the-Dust. But
both are necessary part of the equip
ment of any warship, be she first-rate
or fourth-rate. Upon the smoking lamp
the crew, including that mysterious
adjunct of the paymaster's department..
Jack-of-the-Dust, depend for light for
their pipes. Jack-of-the-Dust dives
down into the depths of the hold and
brings up the navy plug, which, being
cut into bits and crumbled between the
hands, is put into pipe and fired at the
smoking lamp.
The need for the smoking lamp arises
from the necessity of guarding the ship
to the utmost from danger of fire. Pre-
cautions which seem ridiculous and un-
necessarysto a landsman have been
found by sad experience to be abso-
lutely necessary on board ship of war.
The navy regulations provide severe
punishment for any seaman caught
with matches on his person. Could il
have been proved by the Spanish board
of inquiry that The sailors of the Maine
had been guilty of carrying matches
about with them they would have been
justified by naval experts the world
over in declaring that the destruction
of the Maine was due to the careless
ness and lack of discipline on board.
Such was not the case, however. No
sailor on the Maine carried matches.
He lit his pipe at the smoking lamp and
he only smoked during those times that
the smoking lamp was lit. He never
dared to go below decks with lighted
pipe. If he had, Jimmy Legs would
have had him aft at the stick and the ex-
ecutive officer would have deprived him
of shore leave for a month at least.
The smoking lamp is constructed
upon the same lines as a lantern, but
the globe is made of sheet iron insteal
of glass. In the side there is a small
round hole through which Jack may
stick his pipe in order to catch the
flame. 1t is the duty of the ships cook
~ ,vhS
lamp when the word is given by the
proper officer, who is generally the
chief boatswain's mate. He, in turn,
gets his orders from the officer of the
Dispatch.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-23

ward us, as if demanding our protec.
ton.
'Zing! ping! ping!"
The bullets begin to fly over our
heads. A bullet flying high makes q
queer, menacing sound-a long g-drawn
drone, which makes the spine chill as
the head ducks. For five minutes the
air above us seems to be alive with en-
ragged bumblebees. Then a man is hit
In the shoulder. The impact turns him
half around and throws him down, and
he cries out in a way to startle every
body within earshot. An officer pushes
his way in and restores order, but next
minute another man goes down. The
bullet strikes him in the head and he
sinks in his tracks without groan. In
the next ten minutes we have another
Then the men in the lines begin to
curse and mutter. II there were no
officers behind us some would run away
and some dash forward. A soldier
would rather fight for three hours than
to remain inactive under fire for 30
minutes. He cannot for the time being
reason that it is a part Of the plan Of
battle to hold him thus. He is serving
a purpose, but he RACES because he
cannot strike back.
Attention.! Shoulder-arms! Right
oblique-march!"
You do not hear the order. You obey
because the men on your right and left
obey. A right oblique and a forward
movement of 300 feet brings us to the
crest Of long ridge. From thence
we can look down across the fields
and see brigade Of the enemy ad-
vancing straight upon us. Fer 80 sec
onds we stand and watch them. Then
our lines sink down and the barrels
OF our muskets are thrust forward. At
the same moment three field pieces rush
up and unlimber on our left, and pres
emily the earth shakes and quivers rs
they open fire. Under the smoke-cloud
we can see the shells strike and burst
and the lines thrown in confusion, but
the gaps are closed up from right and
body begins to yell and cheer and curse.
1t is a combination of enthusiasm and
defiance. We dfe holding our fire, but
the guns have changed from shell to
grape and canister. Such gaps are
opened in those advancing lines that we
wonder the living do not turn and Ay.
It is only after the battle that you ad-
mire the stern discipline and reckless
courage which closed up the gaps and
forced the lines to come on. Now you
begin to separate from the mass-to
note that one man Is taller or shorter
than another. Now you hear them cry
ing out and cursing and jabbering like
a mob in the street. They are impa-
tient to make a rush and be at us. They
are coming-coming, and you have .
feeling Of pity instead Of desire to kill.
Now
We have held our ire until they are
only pistol-shot away. OF sudden 4
great sheet Of flame leaps out on our
front, followed by . billow of smoke
which springs 80 feet into the air,
and then there is such q roar as you
did not believe possible on earth. You
dre into the mass-you load and fire.