davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
VANITY FAIR.

Pelota may be the next substitute
for lawn tennis in England. 1t is of
Spanish or Basque origin and has long
been popular in Spain, South America
and (under an Italian name) in parts
of Italy. What billiards are to baga-
telle and polo to hockey pelota is to
tennis (real tennis-not the lawn"
Variety. 1t is played with a heavy
ball Of leather and India rubber, which
is struck by the players arm. The arm
is incased in a solid gauntlet or cestus
made of basket work, which gives ter
rife force to every blow. The game is
not for weddings.
An Indiana woman played a joke
on old Dame Nature this summer by
inducing a lilac bush to blossom twice
in one season. Having heard that
picking off the leaves Immediately af-
ter the bush and bloomed in the spring
would cause it to again blossom in
the fall, this woman tried the expert
ment. Regardless Of the amusement
of her skeptical friends, she stripped
her lilac bush of it's leaves and sue
ceeded in making the poor shrub be-
lieve spring had once more arrived.
Accordingly it again leaved forth and
by the first of September produced
beautiful white flowers, as perfect and
fragrant as those which it bore ear
lier in the season.
Emperor Williams long-talked-of
visit to the holy land has at last been
definitely settled and it is to take
place during the coming year. The
exact date, however, will depend upon
how long they take to complete the
new German church at Jerusalem. as
his majesty is anxious to be present
at the opening. This church. which
is being erected on a site granted by
the sultan, will be the largest profess
tant church in Jerusalem. The kaiser
will be accompanied by the kaiserin,
and it is not improbable that the
crown prince and Prince Eitel-Fritz
will also be of the royal party on
board the Hohenzollern. The German
residents in Palestine are naturally
looking forward to the royal visit.
Their majesties have no intention OF
confirming their s~ojourn in Palestine to
Jerusalem alone, but have expressed
the wish to see Bethlehem. the Dead
sea and other places of interest.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
JESTS FOR THE TABLE.

At a musicale and supper Mrs. De-
forest suggested that the watermelon
might aid the chorus. Scooping it out
would make it boiler.
There is only one thing which is
said to be worse than being called up
on Unexpectedly to make an after-din-
ner speech-that is to prepare an az
ter-dinner speech and not be asked to
deliver it.
A little girl was told that too much
hot buttered toast would make her i'll.
Looking at the dish for a moment, she
thought she saw her way out of the
difficulty and exclaimed: well, give
me another piece and send for re doc
tor"
The child's jest that a mistake is not
a beefsteak would hardly be compre-
hended by the Kentucky young woman
who, on being informed that her lover
only played for dinners, suppers and
small stakes, declared she was rejoiced
to hear that he played except
for something to eat.
In a Paris cafe, say a writer, l ask
ed the maid whether she did not think
the name on the menu: "Demi tasse
cafe au lait frappe a la glace," was
very inflated for such a small cup of
cold coffee and milk. Eyes, madam"
she replied, sit occupies the mind as
we'll as the stomach"
The proprietor of a new Washington
hotel celebrated its opening by inviting
a large number of ~distingues to a sup
per. At the table a distinguished judge
Of diminutive stature took offense at
a jocular remark of the landlord and,
handing him a dollar, said: "Sir,
wish to pay for my supper" The land
lord handed him back SO cents, saying,
quietly: Children, half-price."
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

talents which im~mortalized Madame
de Stael, Madame Recamier won for
herself a place of no less social infu-
ence among the men and women of
her day. 1t is to no special brilliance
that her ascendancy has been traced.
Her friends speak in raptures of her
letters, but she, it appears, tool pains
to get them back toward the end OF
her life, and left orders to burn, after
her death, the packet containing them,
together with the fragmentary me-
moirs which she had written during her
half-blind state. 1t was not her beauty
alone that lent this singular power of
fascination to all that she said, for
this power remained unimpaired long
after she became conscious, as she
said, that the little Savoyards no lon
ger turned to look at her in the streets;
and long after her wealth had gone
brilliant men and clever women bow
ed to her autocracy. The secret
witchery which was so distinctive in
Madame Recamier lay, perhaps, more
in her warmth of heart; something in
her nature wen beyond her delicate
and indefinabla tact afforded the myst
ferrous charm. Saint Beuve's remark,
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

knife from his belt the ~bushranrsg
laid it on the table"
"Gammonr" observed Bill, who had
listened with much attention to the
story. It's a thing as Leotard, or any
one O. them springy chaps, couldn't do"
Its only a trick" replied Mr..
Blake-"a mere circus trick which
every clown in the ring understands.
Here, I'll show you how it's done in
a minute-that lis, I'll show you how
Simmons must have done it, according
to my belief"
With ready obedience Bill stood UP,
and turned his back to the operator.
Il suppose that's how the Tinman
stood?"
Il should fancy so. Raise your arms
a little above the level of your head.
That's it. Throw them back a little,
and I'll show you how the trick was
DONE"
Bill, following every direction, raised
his hands high over his head, then let
them decline slightly in the direction
OF his new friend.
The latter, taking Bills wrists In
his hands, brought them gently togeth-
er.
This is how the thing must have
been DONE" he said. Simmons must
have taken advantage of a position
that placed the b%ushranger absolutely
In his power to draw a pair of hand
cuffs from his pocket, and, before the
other could make a movement, slip
them on so.'
The thing was done in an instant,
and, before the craftsman could real
ize the fact, he found himself seated in
n of the chairs, his hands fettered,
and his captor, calm and smiling,
standing over him.
What do you mean by all this?"
Bill gasped out at last, looking about
him with bewildered amazement. us
it a joker"
"A capital joke!" replied the other.
ut was I who tried the same joke on
the Tinman, and it succeeded CAPT
tally"
"You?"
"At that time I belonged to the
Colonial police. Now I'm MIR. In
spector Simmons. My address is Scot
land Yard, and I'm very much at your
service."-New York Daily News.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
us 1T A K ?"

mayor or chancellor of the eXchequer,
for any chance l have of getting back
there; but being here where l am I'm
only a jail-bird.'
"'Who do you take me for?' he
asked, with an oath.
81 don't take you for anyone but
your proper or your improper SELF
said Simmons, quite unmoved, and
filling two tin mugs with the sweet
ened tea.
land who am l.?
"'Joe the Tinman.'
Joe handled his pistols as one pfe~
pased for action, but Simmons burst
into a laugh.
Leave off handling your barking
irons he said, and take that mug OK
ten. I'd advise you to put a taste OF
run in it, for the nights a nipper.
You know where the bottle is, so make
no bones about it. When Old Mike
Chat was the name of the stockman)
sent me up here in his place, he
didn't forget to say who was his
friends and best customers
so, Joe the Tinman and Simmons
the trap sat down to their tea to-
gether, and a jolly night, I've heard,
they had of it.
Toward morning each took to boast
ms of his powers of doing this thing
or that thing, and, among other things,
Simmons, who'd been, when a mere
boy, a sort of acrobat at a. circus,
boosted Of his powers of jumping.
Now he said, '%supposing the traps
were about me, and you was one of
'em, I'd clear a short man like you at
q bound; and, provided you weren't
armed, I'd defy a dozen like you to
catch me-.
"The Tinman, who was bumptious in
his cups, denied this.
why, he said, If you was to try
to leap we me as you say, I'd just up
with my arms and pin your two thread
paper legs So
He illustrated his words by action,
but Simmons only laughed.
"'Nonsensel I'd skim over you as a
swallow skins over a bit O. water.
You wouldn't even touch my shadder
as I passed.
THE Tinman, drinking more rum,
grew angry.
"'Td like to see you try it. You're
more of a grasshopper than a proper
ly-built man, that's what you arc!
Come, I'll bet you this gold watch that
you don't jump clean over me as !
stand now, back toward you
watch be hanged!' says Simmons
I'll bet you a bottle of rum against
hat bowie you've got in your belt that
I clear a shore chap like you, hole UP
your hands as high as you can, at a
jump, only give me a run OF a few
yards
"'Done!' And drawing the bowls
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
GEMS OF THOUGHT.

We shall be judged hereafter not by
what we have felt, but by what we
have done.-Robert Hall.
Time is like a river, in which metals
and solid substances are sunk, while
chaff and straws swim upon the sur
face.-Lord Bacon.
OF all the perils of advancing age,
none is greater than that of losing the
faculty of wonder. That which is
commonest is, indeed, the most real
cause of wonder.-Westcott.
How easy is the thought, in certain
moods, of the loveliest, most unselfsh
devotion, How hard is the doing of
the thought in the face of a thousand
unlovely dificulties.-George Macdon-
aid.
The truth is that there are
which do not excuse. All these OBJ
jections are objectionable. None of
them are conclusive, but all are delu-
sive. Benjamin Franklin said that the
man who is good at an excuse is good
for nothing else. 1t is poor policy, on
any pretense whatever, to beg off from
eternal life.-C. A. S. Dwight, in OBJ
server.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

The crowd in Morgantown at the
opening of the Sewer trial was the
largest which had ever assembled in
North Carolina, or, for hat matter,
In h entire country south of the Po-
tomac. The roads were unusually
good in the summer of 1898, and for
100 miles around people had ridden
over the hills to hear what the hero
OF Kings mountain" who gloried in
having been a rebel and a traitor
against England, would say when put
on trial for his life on the charge Of
rebellion and treason against North
Carolina. The high court did not open
until 10 O'Clock, and long before that
hour both the court house and the
square around it were crowded with
men in every variety of costume from
the uniform of a general of North Car
olina militia to the buckskin shirt of
the Watauga backwoodsman. The
-four "groggeries," which were ample
for the needs of the town on ordinary
court days, were swamped with GUS
toners, and nothing but the liberal
supply OF such pocket pistols" as our
colonial ancestors carried with them
on such occasions prevented a deplor-
able epidemic of thirst. AS it was,
the crowd kept in a good humor.
There had been only one fight during
the morning, and it was all too brief.
In the crowd which hurrahed for this
fight, and for every other which took
place during the day, there was "a tall,
lank, uncouth looking young man, with
long locks of hair hanging over his
a and his back hair done up in an
eelskin cue" According to Albert
Gallatin, his name was Andrew Jack
son and he had stopped to hear the
trial, intending to proceed afterward
to Robertson's colony on the Tennes-
see side of the mountains. Gallatin
says Ibis dress was singular and his
manners those of a rough backwoods-
man," This is undoubtedly true, but
it has never been definitely proven that
he was the same Andrew Jackson who
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

tracked his man to a low public house;
and. under pretense of being an old
thief himself, threw his companion
on his guard by relating anecdotes.
He was unarmed himself, and knew
that the real burglar-who was known
to the fraternity as "Bill the Cracks
man"-had a revolver in his breast
pocket, with the use of which he was
thoroughly acquainted; and the ques-
ton was how to arrest him single
handed. Story followed story, and
reminiscence Renaissance, till Bill
ana his companion-who called him.
sell jerry Blake-became as thick as
members of the formers profession
are proverbially supposed to become.
now said Mr.. Blake, after a
pause, "as a last bit of anecdote, I'll
show how Joe the Tinman was took.
He'd sworn as there wasn't any man
as would take him single-handed.
well, as the reward for his capture was
a heavy one, a chap named Simmons,
VINO was then one of the mounted po-
lice, determined to try it on. So what
does he do, knowing some of Joe's
naunts, but brides a stockman, who
lived in a lonely hut on the side of a
deep gully among the hills, to let him
axe possession of the place for a
week or so. 1t was a hut where Joe
was accustomed to call when he want
ed to pick up news, or get a fresh sup
ply OF rum, for the stockman had been
a convict like himself, and a pal of
mis-; but, pal or no pal, he sold Joe
this time, and no mistake"
I'D have blown his brains out if
I'd been joe" observed the craftsman,
with a savage oath.
Il honor your sentiments" respond
ed Mr.. Blake; "and from what l know
OF Joe, he shared 'em. But, you see,
when he looked in one night at the
hut, no stockman was there; but in
his place Simmons, looking the very
pictur' of a rough shepherd, was seat
ed over the fire, making his tea.
"'Hilloh! where's the stockman
here?' asked Joe, stalking into the hut
and approaching the fire; for Joe
wasn't afeared of Satan himself. Be
sides. he was all stuck round with six
shooters and bowie knives, so that he
was a caution to look at.
Hes gone
"'Gone where-dead?'
Pretty nigh it. He's down at the
station with marsh fever. I've been
ordered up here in his place.
And who may you be, mate, when
you're at homer asked Joe, savagely,
for he was disappointed at losing his
friend.
"'When I'm at home said Sim
mons, still busy with his supper; If
home means England. ! might be lord
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
H,ving delivered himself of this bar-

Having delivered himself Of this har-
angue without seeming to care whether
1t would please the bystanders or not.
the tall young man shook hands twice
with young Sewer and turned toward
the court house, followed by a cheer
from the tackles" or plebeians, as he
would have called them in the Ian
guage Of the volume of Plutarch he
carried in his saddle bags. He had a
way of his own in getting through a
crowd, and a few minutes later he was
in the court house and inside the rail-
ing, talking in low tones to two other
young men whose conversation showed
that they were law students and fierce
republicans like himself. SILENCE in
the court!' said the high sheriff, stern
ly, and the undersheriff, who held the
royalistic mace which had helped to
occasion the "Jacobinical" outburst,
brought the handle of it down on his
desk in a series of menacing tfumps.
AS the noise ceased the judge looked
over his spectacles at the prisoners
dock. THE defendant has heard the
Indictment charging him with high
treason against the sovereign common
wealth of North Carolina, by the grace
of God free and Independent. Let him
stand up before the bar of this court
and plead whether he be guilty or not
guilty"
Sewer rose slowly. He was smooth
ly shaver, and his face. still unwrin-
killed., gave him the appearance of be-
ing 10 years younger than he really
was. He had dressed himself care
fully in the full regimentals of a Con-
tinental colonel, and when he rose to
plead, the crowd outside, seeing him
through the windows and being safe
from the anger of the bench, gave it's
The judge frowned. and the sheriff's
mace once more pounded the desk. AS
the cheer died away Sewer began:
"If it please this court
But he never finished his sentence.
The taller of the three men who had
ridden up u side with the led mare
pushed forward before him and bowel
to the Judge:
my name is James Cozby, il 1t
please the COURT" he said. 81 am dep
utized by the people of the Watauga
settlement to represent this defendant
by challenging the jurisdiction of the
court to try him. When the court
wants him again, let it send to Wa
tauga for him!"
In the breathless silence which fol-
lowed this astonishing utterance, an
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

aft ,rward exchanged shots with Sewer
on the road to Knoxville. 1t is not
nee >ssary for the purposes OF this MIS-
tory to dwell on that point. 1t is
enough to say that he had a keen eye
for aorseHesh, and when three stall
wart backwoodsmen rode up with q
led mare whose slim TANKS, clean-cut
limbs and erect head showed her aris-
tocratjc blood, he was alert at once.
81 want a horse to ride over the
mount aims" he said. will you sell
or t~rare?"
This is not my day for trading!"
said tho tallest of the three backwoods-
men, ar he dismounted and gave the
reins Of his own horse and OF the led
mare to a young man, who, as II by
prearran cement, pushed out OF the
crowd to take them.
"A will give you a hundred for her"
81 tell ,ou it's not my day for trad
ing" said the backwoodsman in the
hunting shirt, briskly. Come, gen.
tlemen."
With his companions he pushed
through the crowd to the court house
door with the air of a mar who had
business there. To offers Of "a hun
dred and fifty" two hundred" two
hundred and fifty" for the mare he
paid no attention whatever. The young
man in the eelskin cue, who had fol-
lowed him half a dozen steps to make
them, returned to the youth who was
holding the mare and began to ques-
ton him. At first uncommunicative
to a degree, the young man finally re-
Taxed and said, half humorously, half
fiercely:
"If you want to know who those men
are l can tell you. They are Maj. Jim
Cozby, Capt. Nat Evans and Capt. Jack
Gibson. They were over in this part
of the country once before when the
British were licking you people, and
now they have come back to see you
hang my daddy, John SEWER"
ALLOW me to shake your hand, sir!
I am pleased to meet you. sir, or any
other relation of Colonel SEWER" said
the North C~arolinian. The truth is,
sir, that the gentry, who never were
anything but half Tories at best, have
taken possession of this commonwealth
and are trying to run it on royalist
rather than republican principles. In
the court house there now, your faith ar
the friend Of Franklin, sir, and the
upholder of the rights of man-is be-
ing arraigned before a judge who
wears an imported London wig and
gown warranted to be of the exact
pattern worn on the Kings bench. And
the sheriff has just gone into court
with a mace and sword carried before
him as if he were the lord mayor Of
London. Republican institutions will
go to the devil, sir, If it is not stopped
and stopped SOON"
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29
TRAINING THE CHILDREN.
Why Papa and Mamma Resolved t
Change Their Ways.

Why Papa and Mamma Resolved to
Change Their Ways.
John" said Mrs. Wisely to her
liege lord the other evening, according
to the Detroit Free Press, 81 want to
have a very frank talk with you. Do
you realize that the boys are old
enough now to observe and are begin
ming to form their characters?"
"Of course l do. Great boys"
"Yes, and we want them to be great
men. They naturally look UP to you.
Johv. nor than to anybody else. For
their sakes you must be careful in
what you do and say. You fell over
a chair the other day and used some
very improper language. l heard Will
liam repeat 1t when he stubbed his
toe n 1.-the back yard"
"1L little rascal! He didn't?"
chuckled the father.
Yes, John, and they pretend to
smoke cigars and pour drinks from an
inns ginary d%ecanter. Can't you set
them a better %example?"
Say, little one, l heard Amy play
ing keep house one afternoon lately.
When callers were announced she
sent out word hat she was not at
home. When she did consent to re-
ceive anyone she combed them down
to beat the band before they were adj
mitted. One was an old trump, anoth-
er wa an intolerable bore and a third
better a good deal be at home cleaning
house OIL looking after her children.
You couldn't have done it better your
self"
81 see what you mean, sir. No use
of rubbing it in. But wait, DEAR" in
a softer voice. Lets both do better.
It's for their sakes, you know"
"Il go you," and they shook hands.
AS John left that evening he slipped
up on the front steps and made the air
blue. Around the corner he Lit his
cigar. Mrs. Wisely had some animat-
ed gossip with 4 neighbor. And yet
the children seem to thrive.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-01-29

other backwoodsman, almost as stall
wart as Cozby, grasped Colonel Sc
vier's arm, and with the third of their
party in front of them, they forced
their way toward the door, pushing
the crowd to the right and left with an
energy which sent more than one man
to the floor. AS they reached the door
Major CoZby released Sewers arm,
drew a pistol from under his hunting
shirt, and shouted, Sewer! Sewer!
A rescue! a rescued" thrust aside the
undersheriffs around the door, and
made way for his party through the
crowd. Fifty yards away across the
square stood young Sewer, holding the
horses. While Judge Spencer was still
speechless with surprise and indigna-
ton, the fugitives were mounting, and
before the sheriff had made his way to
the door of the court room they were
Gathering down the Watauga road,
followed by one after another of the
wild, high-pitched cheers, learned
from the Cherokees and famous in
after times as "the rebel yell"
Through the whirlwlnd OF summer
riders, it could be seen that the led
mare" on whose back Sewer had
been forced by his companions, was
already in the lead by a dozen lengths,
and that she was gaining a length n
every twenty she covered. More than
nnn Of tha ohoar;nn fafarlyioct raon0-
nized her as Sewers thoroughbred
Bonnie Kate" who, when first i'm
| ported, had come near bankrupting the
habitues of every race track in West
ern North Carolina.
1t was fully three minutes before the
sheriff and his party of a dozen depu-
ties had made their way to the hitch
ing racks" which fianked the sides Of
the square. On reaching them, it was
only to find that every bride was tied
to the rack poles in double and twisted
hard knots. Swearing and perspirins
with their efforts, three of the sherit's
party did manage to mount and give
chase before the fugitives were put of
sight, and the others struggled after
them as soon as they could cut and
piece out their bride reins. But the
chase was so hopeless that it's failure as
a spectacle exasperated the crowd in
to yells of derision. The tall young
man with the eelskin cue had mounted
the top Of a gate which commanded a
view of the road until it disappeared
around the hill a mile from the court
house. They are half a mile ahead
already, and it is no race at ALL" he
said. mo race at all, gentlemen; no
race at all! They will win in a can
ter. If they ever come back over the
mountains to this court house it will
be with a thousand men behind them.
And, by the eternal, if it is necessary
to defend republican principles against