davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1898-04-07

Seven British regiments have been
given permission TO add che word Chit
Eal' co their colors
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

mento has such a contingency arisen. Never before in the month of April did the settlers in the Yolo Basin see such an expanse of dry land; never before in the history of the State has there been one single drop of water conveyed to the river bottom lands Uf the Sacra- mento for the purposes of irrigation yet to-day there are millions upon mil lions of gallons being poured into the absorbing sands from Colusa to Contra Costa. The great fertile valley of the Sacramento is thirsty for the first time in the memory of man.
 Not until the present dry spell had continued we'll into the month of April was it that the river farmers began to look about with apprehension. When they did a single glance told them that something must be done and done quickly. The first to move against the whitening forces of nature were those residing on Grand Island, in what is known as Reclamation District No. 3, one of the largest, wealthiest and old est in the State. Twelve thousand acres on Grand Island in this county have been saved in one single instance.
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

r T was the night after the Brooklyn
 Handicap had been won by Orna-
 ment. A group of men, all good
 fellows" were gossiping in the cor
 ridor of New York hotel.
 Running along on racing for a time with stories of great winnings and los ings, the talk finally slipped into stories of cards and gambling. One man was a noted manufacturer of playing cards, yet he had never played a game of poker in his life. Another was a re- tired gambler, now turf patron of prominence-and he in all his sporting career had never taken a drink!
 There were others present, but they do not count for this story. They were good listeners and this is what they heard:
 Many years ago." said the turf patron, q was a partner in a famous gambling house located in Cincinnati. No matter now where it was. Perhaps you can guess its location when 1 tell what happened.
 "One of my partners was a famous character in his day. He had made big money in the good old days when the tiger was festive There is plenty of profit in faro. It is a fair game when square and the percentage, small and sure, counts invariably for the bank With all the good traits pos >.,
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

well, thank you, by keeping away from the heavy losers, who were playing the limit. There was frequent objurgatlon of wrath from the big players, but swearing at a queen does not make her do her duty to a faro fiend.
 Along came a fellow who shuffied his chips with the abandon and ease that marked him a professional gam bier. He played high and lost with magnificent precision and dispatch. At last he raised up, yawned and put $2l on a card, saying That's my last bet. I've walked fifty-three miles to-day, fell down and hurt myself and I guess I'll quit His money was lost and he got up But he did not leave. He saun- tered about the room and in a few min utes the proprietor asked him to step outside. Then loser at the table said to another loser No wonder we don't win. Did you hear what the fellow said?'
 Well, what of it?' said the other loser.
 What of it? Why, the game is crooked. When he said that he had walked fifty-three miles he meant that there were f1fty-three cards in the box. We're up against it. The boss has taken him downstairs to settle
 There was a rapid change of deal CTS and cards, and that house was soon in bad favor"
 "You know" said the card manu- facturer, that faro cards are the most expensive made. They are not only of the best material, but must be printed
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

sessed by my partner. he had one mania that was a cheating box.
 He did not have the skill or the nerve to work one, but he bought every skinning device that came along. If he is living he probably has a cord of such things stored away like junk, for I would never use one, and know he never had the courage to work a crooked box himself Every now and then a smooth guy would appear with rejoice, also buy.
 "One day in Chicago I was shown a new cheating box. It had a hidden spring lock which would loosen the side plate and push out two cards at a time if necessary. l took one of these boxes to Cincinnati and gave it to my partner to please him. He was in a frenzy of delight. He couldn't sleep for thinking about the money that crooked box could make for him. l wouldn't use it, and he was afraid to be confidential with any one around the game. So in a week that box joined the half ton of similar cheating devices which he kept locked up. I don't think, with all his mania for such things, that the old man ever turned a trick with such a box. He simply did not have the nerve. You can never tell when dealing bank just how smart the fellows may be on the other side of the table,
 "One night in Chicago a couple of business men were playing in hard luck. The 'pikers' were doing quite
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

very carefully to prevent marking, scratching or splitting. A card dam aged so that it leaves a mark is dan gerous proposition for bank dealer. You have no idea of the complaints that come to manufacturers about cards which are susceptible of marking or accidents which disclose their iden- tity. Not long ago a rich man came to me and said he was losing at poker with high-priced cards. He was a busi- ness man and played a stiff game with other business men two or three nights a week. He had bought the cards and kept them locked up in his safe, but in an outer compartment. In three months he had lost about $11 900, and was very tired. 1 looked over his cards, dealing them out face down. l threw out card after card which my practiced eye showed me had been fixed Every one was a court card.
 But how had they been marked? That was what puzzled us bGth An investigation developed that a negro servant had access to the safe at times. He had been bribed by two other so- called gentlemen who sat in the game they had adroitly fixed them. They were quietly threatened with exposure, and made good. In the cheaper grade of cards you can often tell the ace of spades from the back. This is because it is SO big and black and the impress sion is so heavy. Yet it takes a trained eye to make it out.
 "A slick card marker will put mark
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
LERS-THEIR W,ES THEIR TOOLS HND THEIR TRqDE

pack with a microscope, but l could dis cover nothing. Finally l caught on. The court cards had been slightly con- caved on the edges. An expert manip- ulator could tell them by touch or glance How had this outsider man. aged to fix up my friends cards? did a little detective work on my own ac- count, and by asking about town who was blowing money in the resorts, found that my friends barkeeper had become very much of a good thing of late and was going quite lively spin in certain localities.
 Sure enough, this same bartender had saeaked the cards out, givel them 10 the crooked player to mark, and, of course, stood in with the play. There was a cocktail mixer looking for a job in a very short time"
 T was in hard luck once in Chicago" :" said the turf patron, "and sat around a gambling house one night to see the play and curse the fact that l couldn't join in. I had but $200, and needed 1t to live on. A son of the boss was deal- ing, and was stuck on himself. He had an airy, dudish way of waving his hands about the table in handing out checks and gathering them in, and seemed very vain of his graceful mo- tions It was a chear vanity, but dear to the house, as he did not watch other details I noticed when the cards came out that the seven spot of clubs was a bit ragged on the edge. I was somewhat on the ragged edge myself that night, and that card had a fine
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

fascination for my gambler eye. The next deal l assumed an easy nonchal- ance and I remarked that the third seven ought to come out winner. I had located the ragged edge, and of course it came out. I had carelessly put $100 on it, and took cash instead of chips. I kept my eye on that seven as 1t was shuffied up, and in the next deal 1t came ambling along to win. Another hundred went down, and I was given the cash. Two old birds with eyes as good as mine looked up, looked at me and then at the dealer. He was so serenely happy in self-admiration that he suspected nothing. They did.
 ''They saw me put another hundred on that seven, and down they went with me. It came up smiling every time, and the check rack soon looked like a dismantled Spanish fort.
 q had about $500 to the good, all on account Of that seven spot, but played few small bets on other cards to avert suspicion. The smart guys did the same but never failed to follow my partner He saw the big pile of checks in front of us and was red-headed. We had another deal, with the same pleas ant returns from the ragged card, and then the partner provokingly said to the dudish dealer: Aren't you tired? Let me deal awhile2' That settled it. The partner took up the cards, looked them over, sneered at the young man and took a fresh pack out of the drawer. It was time to quit
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

plan was found or the premises of A. T. J. Reynolds, who resides on the is land and who has pear orchard of 200 acres that was "so badly in need of water, said he to The Call corre- spondent, that I have pumped in 21,- 100000 gallons of water for six days and was unable to discover a single trace of moisture except in one or two places"
 The pump used by MT. Reynolds has a guaranteed capacity of 5000 gallons per minute, is run by twenty-four- horse power ongine and Q continuous run of twenty-four hours cos $ him about $2O
 Twenty-Five thousand gallons per minute will fill a ditch three feet deep by two wide and when it has been so filled for a distance of one mile not a single drop will be found in the ditches in three hours so rapid is the ;-1sorp- tion. MT. Reynolds is a pioneer on the island and this is the first experience of the kind he has ever had.
 The barge I. G. Merritt from San Francisco, with two pumps of 10000
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

on a card with a needle point ana De able to see it every time.
 Many rich clubs buy cards by the gross and use a new deck for every game Cards to be serviceable and safe should be seasoned just like tim Der. This is not generally known, but if you are a constant card player you should buy a big lot Of cards and put them away for three months to dry, and they become like ivory.
 Talking of marked cards,' said the turf patron, reminds me of an eXperl- ence I once had in Cincinnati. A friend of mine had a saloon and cardroom not a thousand miles from Enghth and Vine streets. He was fond cT 'twenty-one, playing for goodly stakes, and made a very comfortable rake-off. One day he came to me- and was full of woe. There is a man down at my place who is winning all my money was the bur den of his tale My friend was con vinced that the fellow was crooked, but couldn't prove it. He wanted me to look on and discover the trick. l asked what motions the fellow made, and the description convinced me that he did no holding out with the old sleeve or vest game, then dangerously in vogue. My friend insisted that all his employees were straight. He would not listen to a suspicion that they were standing in with the winner, who was driving my friend to Longview. took few looks at the fellow in action, but could detect nothing. Then I was convinced that the cards were marked. l examined a
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
.HE Sacramento vallev has been

THE Sacramento Vallev has been
 saved from drought.
 But the work has not been cas-
 fly done. It has cost tens of thou
 sands of dollars and called for all the ingenuity that engineers and the farmers themselves were capable of. Six weeks ago it was feared that the crops of 20O0 acres would prove a to- tai loss. Three weeks ago, after cer- tain irrigating work had been started, there was hope and now success is as sured, although the work is still go- ing on.
 In order to fully comprehend the dan ger that threatened most of the big farmers in the Sacramento Valley as a result of our last extraordinary dry winter it must be remembered that un- der normal conditions no irrigation whatever is needed. In fact. the gen. eral annual trouble has been too much water, and many big ranches have enormous pumping plants for the pur- pose of removing this surplus. But this year things were reversed.
 Never before in the history of recla- nation along the banks of the Sacra-
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

inclosed by the levees Is lower than the water of the river the engineer of the island applied the principle of the siphon, and it worked like a charm. While the flow of water from the river to the land has not the volume which is attained by the pump working in the opposite direction, 25000 gallons per minute are, nevertheless, conveyed through the siphon, with no force but nature, and 12,000 acres of hay and grain which were in the scar have been revived and splendid crop has been guaranteed.
 Operations by this system commence they usually begin to work the pumps for the purpose of drainage The ex pense is small and the result will be most satisfactory Without it not one acre would have been harvested; as it is 12,000 acres will produce a splendid crop.
 The other farmers on the island and at other points along the river whose lands are too remote from the gigantic siphon to be benefited by it have taken the same advantage offered by the rivers continguity, but have applied it in a different way. Instead of a siphon they use pumps, which in some in stances are operated by portable en- zines on the river bank, .5hile others are run by engines stationed on river barges. An illustration of the latter
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
WATCH THIS KNOCK OUT.

regular bag platform close the ring in the middle the Pavilion makes much noise his work prze-hghter.
 Aside fact that the dog should desire such the marvellous of 1t all is he is able punch the bag at all Such strength and quick and of almost incomprehensible
 Tip needs coaching in order to induce him to fight the bag It is only to put him in the and he invariably jumps the bag the instant sight of it.
 On the first jump he bunts it with his knocks against the platform with whack the bag bumps against sde but before 1t is back again Tip at with all his strength. His actions really succession of jumps blows paws He will leave the ground and describe halfcrcle 3ump
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

catching the punching bag midway knocking 1t as hard as if struck by the fist of strong man.
 To describe the actions of the almost impossibe
 He be the ground in air at the same tmeup and down with the rapidity lightning so eye can hardly keep track of him. all the time bag is pumping the platform, first and the other - " -
 The length Of time that Tip will keep. up the bag punching is marvellous. It would he tired in few moments, but he doesn't. He has been then after minutes rest go at it again as hard as ever
 The accompanying pictures from snapshot photo graphs and give of how Tip looks while going through his strange performance.
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

The novelty of the situation can be best judged when it is known that the very means by which the present dry and thirsty lands are watered were, in the first instance, intended and design ed to carry water away. The original purpose of the great pumping plants on Grand Island has been completely reversed, and instead of pumping the water out to drain the usually flooded district they are pumping the water in to moisten the land that is now parched and hard.
 At a steamboat landing known as "Ryde" the district has a large pump ing plant capable of discharging 50,000 gallons of water per minute through the line of pipe which empties into the river at that point. Leading to this point of discharge is a large canal which connects with other canals and small ditches, until 12,O00 acres of land has been placed under this system, which ordinarily drains the entire area To reverse this and turn the waters back into the canal and its tributaries was the problem to be solved, and the forces of nature solved it. AS the land
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
WATCH THIS PUNcHn

Il have been MT Gibbs efforts to check this trait of Tips character that led him take bagpunchng of relieving his pent feeling of combave
 
 Out in the Mission, where Mr. Gibbs lives Tip, soon after his arrival year ago, with himself exterminate the entire population of the neighborhood He nearly succeeded and doubtedly would have made finish of II had his almost reached state of bankruptcy through ing for the victims
 This of course. made it necessary call halt. and Tip was in conseouence made acquainted with the re- straning effect of good strong given sundry whppngs after he had finished victim All this had most discouragng effect him he wan dered about feeling that life not worth living.
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
TN READY"

TD ID you ever dog fight punching bag? E The most marvellous dog of that kind in the world right here in San Francisco. ready to
 claim the championship against all corners ' His name Is Tip, and he belongs to S. M A< Gibbs of this city. Of course his very
 proud of him and tries to keep him a home, but nevertheless Tip spend goodiy portion his time at Woodward's Pavilion where he gets chance punch the. bag.
 After all 1t very strange that Tip should like to punch the bag, for he comes of fighting family He of his species have felt unconlrolabe desire to wipe all the other dogs off the face of the earth Not desired the earth for ther use but they simply objected to having others around
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26
"BANo,WOWF

But day Tip wandered into Woodward's Pavilion where of pugilstic celebrities in training punching the bag. He looked, he saw he comprehended and in a moment was a changed dog. The world was brighter to him again.
 Watching his chance when the prize-1ghter stopped a moment to rest Tip went for the bag with all his strength He jumped he bit and he punched when he became tired laid down to satisfied and once more life seemed worth living
 Since that time Tip has regular business of bag punching In fact he Is at it every chance he can get His fame is rapidly spreading and whenevr he is sport
 It is most unusual sight to this dog fight a punching bag, and it be seen almost any day. He
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

The crops of the Sacra- mento Valley were threat ened with destruction this season on account of the lack of rain last winter. In the lower valley and along the big stretches of river bottom the crops have been saved by big pumping plants on barges that forced the water over the levees on to the sur rounding lowlands. In many places the pumps that had been used in past seasons to drain the flooded lowlands into the river were reversed and made to pump the water from the river on to the parched soil. The cut above shows the system that has been generally adopted to distribute the water.
 Half a dozen big pumps and scores of smaller ma chimes that distribute hun dreds of thousands of gallons a day are still hard at work trying to relieve the dry soil. By this simple process hun dreds of thousands of dollars have been saved to the farm CTS of this section.
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

gallons per minute capacity each, has been put to the same service on the upper Sacramento River.
 While these extensive operations are being carried on by those who can af- ford them those of smaller possessions. but with just as much at stake, have contrivances proportioned to their means, and from the sprinkling barrel used to spray infected trees to wind mills and horse power, are the waters of the Sacramento River being raised to- the lands along its border. It may we'll be said that the drought along the Sacramento has been conquered.
The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

Elephants in the Indian army are fed twice day. When mealtime arrives they are drawn up in line before a row of piles of food. Each animals break fast includes ten pounds of raw rice, done up in five two-pound packages. The rice is wrapped in leaves and then tied with grass. At the command At tention!" each elephant raises it's trunk.
 There are 5000 persons in Great Britain who pay tax on an income of more than e10,000 a year.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1898-09-29
CHRISTIAN ENDEAvOR RALLY.

The rally of the Christian Endeav-
or society of the Presbyterian church
held Saturday and Sunday was very
largely attended at all its meetings
Other societies outside of the city that
we're represented we're Morgan, Sleepy
Eye and Delhi, the latter having the
largest number present. The Endea-
vor of the Christian church of this city
also took part in the rally. The first
meeting was held Saturday afternoon,
Miss Minnie Ellingson of Blooming
ton Ferry, State superintendent of the
junior department, conducting chill
dren's service at five o'clock. A large
number of children we're present, as
we'll as some of the older people. Sat
urday evening the attendance was not
as large as at all the other services,
but in point of interest it was one of
the best meetings. The address of
welcome was given by E. E. Harriott,
in a short speech, in which he extend
ed a cordial welcome to all present.
The response to the welcome was
given by Rev. McHenry of Delhi.
After this Rey. F. j. Barackman
preached one of his best sermons.
Sunday morning Miss Carrie Holbrook
led a prayer and praise service at $50
O'Clock. At 1870, Rev. McHenry
president of the Tracy district of En-
deavor, preached the rally sermon.
Sunday afternoon at 2:3O o'clock, An
drew Hanson of Sleepy Eye read an
excellent paper on ''The Quiet Hour"
Another paper on the subject of the
"Duty of Giving and its Blessings
was read by Dan Mclean of Delhi.
C. G.. johnson followed Mr.. Mclean
with short talk, and then Miss Ell
lingson spoke on the subject of the
"Duty of Looking on the Bright Side
of Things" Elder Goodacre Of the