davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Portland daily press., 1898-09-15
PENSION CHANGES.

Washington, September a. The follow
ing pension changes, resulting from the
issue of September 70, are announced:
ADDITIONAL.
Thomas Huntley, South Berwick, $6 to
So.
INCREASE,
George W. Heath, Reeds Mills, SIT to
$50; John o. Soule, Patten, IS to $12;
Talbot jerks, Togus, Sc to So.
REISSUE.
John P. Kelly, Boyd Lake, $50.
ORIGINAL, WIDOWS. ETC.
Minor of Silas Barrows, Burnham, $12.
The Portland daily press., 1898-09-15
THE PRESS.
THURSDAY, SEPTEM Der 15.

The Spanish Cortes has approved the
neace protocol, not because it wanted
to. we may be sure, but because there was
nothing else to do. Esz2
The Portland daily press., 1898-09-15
NATIONAL. CHINESE UNIVERSITY.

Exceptions overruled.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
Az AntI-RheumatIc Potato.

A woman residing in the country
uear PHrkersburg, ". Va, lately died
and was buried. During her lifetime
she suffered with rheumatism, and
among the various other cures recon-
mended she carried potato in her
pocket. For IA years she carried the
same potato, until it had grown black
and become as light as cork. After
the funeral the clothing Of the de-
parted one was hung out to air. Dur
ing the hanging OUT il rained. This
necessirated a further drying and air
ing. but when the dress was takendcwn
to be put away it was discovered that
the potato was still in the pocket o.
the dress. and during he airing proc
ess had put forth several green sprouts.
The circumstance was related by a
near relative of the old lady, who
vouches for its truthfulness.-Balti-
more American.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
AS USUAL, LOVE FOUND A WAY
Romance Begun in Germany Cui.
inmates In Chicago
wedding.

Ethel Schwaan was romantic maid
en- of dozen years in the little town of
Druisburg. Germany. There lived in
the town of Druisburg young man
named Carl Redlinger. He was years
older than she, and he scarcely noticed
her. but she adored him. He was her
hero. When he came TO America few
years ago she mourned long time in
secret. But the years passed and she
never heard from him, and then,
through the shiftings of fortune, she,
too. set sail for the United States.
This was a year ago. All the way
over she had been thinking of her lost
hero. She wondered if he were still as
good and noble as ever. She had heard
that he had settled in a small town in
Illinois. but she didn't know where.
Then Miss Schwaan did some hard
thinking. She sat down and wrote a
letter. addressing ii to Carl Redhager,
Flgin. On the outside Of the envelope
she wrote: please return II NOT
called for in ten days" Then she wrote
another letter and addressed it TO Carl
Redlinger, Bloomington, with the same
instructions on the envelope. Every
day she wrote one or more of these let
tiers. all addressed to Carl Redlinger
and each directed to different town.
Every day she got letters back. aud so
the months went by, until one day
August Carl Redlinger walked into her
home at 139 Orchard street, Chicago.
The wedding that took place at the
Schwaan residence tells the rest of the
story. and the young couple left the
next morning for their farm at Rock
r,o~r III
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
hole representing the underworld and

hole representing the underworld, and
upon which each man stamps and
sprinkles sacred meal as he passes.
As soon as the circling is done the ar
telope priests cline up" in front of the
'kisi, and then using their rattles
gently and rythmically, begin TO chant
a weird and thrilling song.
When this is ended the snake priests
dramatically march from the hva.
and circle before the kisi. Then, fac
ing the antelope priests, they line up.
and the two rows begin 10 sing and rat
tie. moving back and forth, a step with
slow and dignified movement, and with
a precision well-trained soldiers could
not excel. Then at given signal from
the chief snake priest, the line of
snake men split up into groups of three.
while the antelope priests continue the
song and the rafting
Now begins the exciting. disgusting,
alarming and yet most fascinating part
of the ceremony. The first of the groups
of three slowly advances to the kisi4
One of the men kneels down and re-
ceives from the warrior priest who is
inside the kisi, writhing, wriggling
snake. This he Immediately places in
his mouth, the head TO the left and the
remainder of the body to the right.
/ The second man of the group advaT ces,
as this snake carrier rises to his feet,
and, placing one arm around the neck
CT his fellow carrier and "hugger," they
start TO move around the circuit in a
peculiar hopping fashion, with swing
| and rhythmic movement that is equally
hard to describe or reproduce. The
third man of the group follows behind,
with his snake whip, and when the
carrier reaches certain place and
| throws the snake from his mouth this
gatherer must stoop down and pick
up the now angry and excited rel tile.
Sometimes the creature, especially if a
RATHER. will coil up and show Fight.
! Then the snake whip comes into rcqui-
! sition. Giving the coiled reptile a
"swipe" with the feathers, il immedi-
ately uncoils and seeks to escape and,
no sooner is it in motion than the
gatherer rapidly seizes il and the excite
ment is over. While this has beeI' go
ing on the second group has received
its snake and the third, and so on, until
all are supplied, and they, in turn. dis
card their snake. The first group,
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24

when it's turn comes, receives another
snake, and thus the endless chain con-
tinues until all the snakes are given
out from the kisi.
When the gatherers find their hands
too full they give over some of the
reptiles to the antelope men, who still
remain in line singing. Thus, with
perfect dignity, earnestness, and with
out confusion, the ceremony pro-
crosses. At this stage the chief snake
priest steps aside, describes a circle
upon the ground with the sacred meal
gives a signal, and all the priests Of
both orders rush forward and throw
the snakes into the circle. Imagine the
writhing, wriggling, hideous, rafting
kissing mass. One priest sprinkles the
snakes with meal, another with water.
the women come and cast all the meal
out of their baskets upon them, a brief
prayer is offered and in another mo.
ment the snake priests dart down upon
them, grab as many as they can seize
and then dash down the steep trails
and, on reaching the valley, there de-
erently and pray over them, and then
with equal speed spring back over the
trails to their respective l<ivas. Here
the snake priests drink large quantities
of an emetic which has been specially
prepared, and those who are not too
sensitive may witness the remarkable
sight of 30 or more priests solemnly
vomiting as a part of their religious
exercises. This painful duty over, the
priests descend to the privacy of their
kiva, where the women have already
brought large piles of piki, their wafer
bread; pikami, a kind of sweet meal
pudding. meat and other delicacie.
upon which a rich feast is made, ano
the ceremony concludes
Are the dancers never bitten?f
Very seldom. SO seldom, indeed, that
those who have seen the dance often
are most chary in accepting the state
ments OF those who say they have
seen some one bitten. But if such a
disaster should occur an antidote has
been prepared which, the Indians say
is infallible. "Are the fangs of the
snakes not removed" Most certainly
not. This would be sacrilege of the
worst kind, and having personally ex.
amined a rattlesnake at the close of
the ceremony and found his fangs and
poison glands all there and in active
operation, | can testify that no mutt.
lation of the snakes takes place.
What is the secret of the Mokis in
handling these poisonous reptiles with
out injury?" All! who can tell? Am
Moki? G. WHARTON JAMES
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24

underground chambers, hewn out of
the solid rock, and are what might BE
termed the secret lodge rooms of the
different orders.
There are three living white men who
have been admitted to the sacred mys-
teries of the liyas, and | am fortunate
in having been one of the three. Part
of these ceremonies consist in the
making of the affairs, the reciting of
prayers, singing, the making of bahos,
or prayer sticks, to be used in the
open ceremonies, all of which except
the first named are of little interest.
But the one ceremony of washing
the snakes" is both exciting, thrilling
and unique.
Seated before a large bowl of spe-
cially prepared water were three of
the chief priests of the snake order.
All around on the floor were the other
priests, over 80 in number, myself
surrounded by them. Before us, at
one end of the room, was the altar,
and behind several large ollas or jars
filed with the snakes. When certain
prayers had been devoutly offered, two
priests took from the jars two snakes
each, which they Immediately handed
10 two of the priests seated at the
bowl At the same time all the other
priests began to sing. The song at
first was soft and gentle, but as the
snakes were dipped into the bowl again
and again it grew louder and more
fierce, until, to my horror, the snakes
were thrown directly across the kiva
upon the altar, and at the same time
half the singing priests burst out into
blood-curdling, hair-raising shrek:
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Owl" Again the
song began, soft and low; more snakes
were brought TO be dipped; the song
increased in volume until it was again
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
-@-A1sA @-0
"a Sss1S,AL-l- >-elIsfxbsssk ~

"a double forte; then the snakes were
thrown upon the altar, while the hoT-
rible wells again rent the air.
Half an hour later, imagine the
scene! The dark underground cham
Der was stifingly hot; the smoke that
the priests had made before the wash
ing began filed the eyes and the lungs;
the fetid odor of the reeking bodies of
these naked and perspiring Indians
mingled with the sickening smell of the
snakes; the half dark room added to the
horrors. and my surprise and alarm can
better DE imagined than described
when | felt snakes crawling over my
feet, and up my legs, and at length
when | suddenly discovered the head
of a large rattIesnake on my lap, with
his body rapidly followingl
The altar is somewhat different from
the antelope altar, which I believe no
camera has ever photographed except
nv own The latter is a sand mosaic,
made of different colored sands, repre-
senting the zig-zags of the lightning.
which is the sacred symbol of the ante
Iope order. Around it are the prayer
sticks, or DaHOSY anu Oluct CetctioAAAfat
paraphernalia.
Just as the sun is setting on the
evening the snakes are washed, the
open-air dance begins. Visitors, white
ana red. are present; Mokis from the
other villages. Navajoes. Apaches, Iava
Supais, Hualapais, as well as white peo-
Die from the leading scientific societies
Of the world, and those whom curiosity
has attracted hither. It is a motley
crowd, picturesque in its eommingling
of races and costumes. looking with
eager EYES at the ~kisi," a bower of
cottonwood boughs. the lower portion
of which is covered with canvas. and III
which one of the snake priests has al
ready deposited the ollas containing
the snakes. Suddenly hush falls upon
the onlookers- The chief antelope
priest has come up the ladder from the
kiva. and all the '-antelopes" are follow
inc him. Then. with solemn stately
tread. shaking their rattles. they march
tow ard the kisi. before which they slow
IL circle three or four times. inst be-
fore the kisi is plank under which j.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
PITH AND POINT.
When some peonle are moi hnnrr

When some people are not hungry,
they are sleepy.-Atehison Globe.
A man seldom forgets his place-it
he has a good one.-Chieago Daily
News.
The Limit.-Foreigner l
will pull your nosel" Maybe my nose.
count; but never my leg!"-Philadei-
phia North American.
Il see you've got your old Office boy"
"Yes." improves with age, does he? p
"Well, he seems to be getting fresher
every day."-Philadelphia Record.
One Woman's Wisdom.-Bleeker-
where on earth did you ever discover
such homely typewriter" Meeker--
"Oh, that's one of my wife's discov-
cries. "-Chicago Daily News.
From a Novel.-"Adolar was be-
witched Never before had the countess
seemed to him so beautiful as at this
moment, when. in her dumb grief, she
hid her face. "-Fliegende Blaetter
Willis-"A pin factory in Jersey
turns out 100000 pins day. wonder
what becomes of them all?" Hills-'I
guess that sooner or later my baby
swallows the most Of them Town
Topics.
Did you find the snakes pretty thick
down there2" mot very thick, but
some Of them were pretty long" "Oh,
you know what l meant Were there
many round ," Cylindrical would
be better word boston Transcript.
Mrs Hicks-'I told you Mrs. Dix was
envious of our new dining-room furni-
ture, and you don't believe it," Hicks
Has she been here and told you p
Mrs. Hicks-"No; but she sent over a
box of boys tools to-day to Dick,
Odds and Ends.
Johnny, how are you get
ting along with your geography In
school?" Small Boy-"Teacher says
I'm dom great" Yisitor-"Tell me,
what is the capital of New York state"'
Small Boy don't know, sir, but Ha-
vana is the capital of Cuba. "-Roxbury
Gazette.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
MOKI SNAKE DANCE.
1t Is Accompanied by Weird and
Disgusting Ceremonies.
G.. wharton James Gives Graphic
Description of an indian Reii-
gIous Feast That Is with
out an Equal.
[sneclal Arlzona Letter ]

"Snake Dance?" Yes! In India?" No!
where ?" In the United States. the civ
ilized, the progressive, the leader OF ma
tons Ride with me over the wild, san
DIV. painted desert of Arizona, leaving
the Santa Re line at Winslow, and fol
100 miles or so l will show you desola-
ton as complete as it is wonderful, ere
we reach the three Mesas, or rocky
table lands upon which the seven Moki
villages are found. Three villages on
the first or east mesa, Tewa, Sichomavl
and Walpi; three on the second or mid
die mesa, Mashongnayi, Shimopayi and
Shipauluvi; one on the third or west
mesa, Oraibi. The Mokis pronounce il
Mo-ki-the short as in pitt are peace
full people. as the name they give them
selves implies, viz: Hopituh, or peo-
pie of peace. But they have been sur
rounded for centuries by warlike
thieving and numbering Navajoes
Utes, Pintes and Apaches, hence self
protection led them, centuries ago, to
build their villages on these almost in
accessible heights where defense was
easy and assault by surprise almost inn
possible.
Every other year, in five of the vii
lagos, the sacred ceremonial called the
Snake Dance occurs. 1t is mainly a
prayer of Thanksgiving and for rain tc
be given, that their otherwise barren
lands may be made fruitful and pro
ductive.
The date is fixed by council of thC
two organizations, clans or families
that alone perform the ceremonial
The antelope and the snake clans sole
" decide when the observance shall be
gin.
At the appointed time the snake mer
repair to their "kiva," and the ante
lope men to theirs. These kivas are
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
BEST TIME TO KICK A MAN.
First Save His Life and Then You
May Apply Your Boot
with Impunity.

Perk and Quirk were walking along the
crowded street, feeling very kindly toward
themselves and the rest OF humanity just
as they reached the middle Of crossing
one Of those aggrarSt.ng individuals who
walk one way and look another stepped di-
Ieetly in front OF 4 cable ear which was
rounding the corner. OF course the "a. had
no fender on it. Nearly everybody in tie
vicinity yelled, and naturally the bewil.
dered man looked in the wrong direction
Quirk didn't yell. though he jumped to
the side OF the track and grabbed tbcna
by the collar and yauked him clear Of the
tracks and almost out OF his shoes Then
he gave HIM another fcrocious Jerk to get
him out OF the way Of an express wagon,
and, getting him az proper range 2t the same
time. he gave the poor man a kicl, that must
have driven his spine UP INTO hts hat. And
with the kick Quirk reared
'Confound YOU. keep your eyes open when
YOU are on the street,
Qujrk looked unutterably savage but Pork
tottered to the curb, sat down and laughed
until the tears came. Then be said;
you are the only big enough idiot on
earth to save a mans lite and then lic5
him for it."-Chicago Times Herald.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24

The people in portions Of Africa have
many curious customs and supersti-
tions, and among the former may be
mentioned the fashion Of having fat
wives. Being introduced TO a great
chiefs wife, Spoke thus describes her;
II was struck with the extraordinary
dimensions, yet pleasing beauty of the
immoderately fat fair one. She could
not rise. and so large were her arms
that the flesh between the joints hung
down like large, loose, stuffed puddings.
The chief pointing toward his wife,
said: This is the product Of our milk
pots; from early youth we keep these
pots to their mou hs, as il is the fash
ion at court TO have very fat wives.
The daughter of the king sat before me
sucking at a milk-pot, At which the
father had kept her at work by holding
the rod in his hand: for as fattening is
the first duty Of their fashionable fem
irine life, ii must be duly enforced by
the rod, il found necessary. Detroit
Free Press
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
A CLEVER RUSSIAN COUNT.
He Found an Effective Way OF beat
ing n Persian Creditors Unique
Method.

In Persia, when a creditor fails to
oct his money in any other way, he
appears in the debtors house and
sits down. Then he does not move
away till the delinquent pays up. He
enters the debtors sleeping apart
ments. if possible. and has his meals
brought; in. \ few years ago Per-
sian held an unsatisfed claim against
the British government. and he pre-
sented himself before the British min
ister one day and camped out in his
private office. The minister did not
Sc the joke. and sent for a policeman.
That made a lot of noise and trouble,
and the Russian representative in
rcherau evidently learned a lesson
from il. for he managed case of the
same kind much differently few
weeks ago.
The Persian who demanded money
from the Russian Count Kolomeisowl
was a holy man. a deryish. and when
he sat down in the Russians anteroom
TO wait till the latter paid his disputed
claim. Count kolomeisow knew that
he could not get rid of him without
much fuss ana explanation. II Is
against the laws. or At least the Gus
tom. which is just a firm. TO touch a
creditor who takes this means of col
lectiug money. so the count did not
throw him out. He thought over the
matter, and one morning he sent for
a lot Of masonS. Then he ordered them
to build wall around the deryish.
who was sitting in the middle of the
room. The dervish watched them
placidIy at first, but when the wall
grew and it became apparent that it
would be completed soon, he jumped
over it. ran away, and has not been
seen since They say that the count
is the first man in Teheran who has
beaten a creditor of this kind without
recourse 10 the police.-Pall Mall Ca
ZettC
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
NEW INDIAN WOMEN.
We Have some Feminine Celebrihes
of Dusky Hue i'm Art and
Literature.

White women are not alone in push
ing themselves to the front along ar
tistic and literary lines. Their sisters
of the red race are also making reputa-
tions in the same ways.
The most distinguished literary In
dian woman in America is undoubted.
" Pauline johnson, the daughter OF a
chief on the reservation at Brantford
Ont. Miss Johnson is poet Of no mean
ability. Her poems have been pub
lished in many periodicals for the last
five years Miss Johnson also reads
from her own poems and gives imper-
sonations of Indian character in cos
tune. In London she is received by
literary students on an equal footing
Eugene is an Indian princess who lives
with her father, Chief Philippe Vim
cent, of the, Hurons, at the Indian
Lorette near Quebec. She is well ed
ucated, having spent eight years in
the convent at Charlesburg; speaks
French and English al well as her OWL
tongue and plays, sings and composes
strange, wierd melodies. One Of her
official duties is to guard medals pre-
sented to her family by George ",
Queen Victoria and the prince Of
Wales.
Bright Eyes, or Inshta Theambra.
is daughter of the Omahas who has
won distinction both in literature and
art. She has written many magazine
articles and has illustrated a book Oh
Indian folklore Jane Waldron, Of
the Sioux, selected music as her pro-
fession. She became proficient and
labors constantly at the various gov
eminent schools to teach the pupils
the rudiments of music There are
two Indian girls on the stage-Go-
Wan-Go-Mohawk and Gretchen Lyons.
The former writes her own plays and
is stage manager as well as star.
There is a very clever Pawnee girl,
Maud Echo Hawk, who teaches in the
Hope Indian school at Springfield, s.
d. Minnie Cornelius, an ambitions
Oneida Indian girl. was graduated
from Grafton hall. Fond du Lac, Wis,
last June She speaks five languages
fiuently and will practice medicine
among her own people. = Chicago
Chronicle.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
Ready for Him.

Surely I cannot be mistaken said
the buuko steerer. This is Uncle ST.
las, of Joachim's Corners, isn't it?
Just let me carry that carpet bag for
you"
Ten minutes later the bUuko man
wac perspiriug like horse and grunt-
ing with every step.
what in the world have you got in
this bag?" he asked. 1T weighs a
ton"
Meant that it should" returned
Uncle SiIas, tersely. Loaded it with
bricks purpose an put my clean col
lar an an extra pair o socks in my
coat pocket. Reckon you biDko-bun-
ko men don't get hardly enough exer.
else to keep your health good. Chi
cago Post
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-11-24
HAD FUN WITH HIM.
An Artistic LandsmHn Gets Some
Pointers from the jolly Sea
RoNcrS.

The sailor man, when ia deep water, can
not conceal tile feeling OF superiority with
which he regards the uutdrrcd laudlubber
Some 81 the uoucombatdnts who sailed the
gulf and the Caribbean during the war
learned TO keep AN eye ON the mariners. and
others gained painful experience before they
got their sea legs.
An artist who boarded grimy tugboat
clad ia white linen found his coat covered
with coal dust when he was day from port
and decided to wash IT, He filled bucket
with sea water and fell to work. When he
had scrubbed the garment for ~ minutes he
WAS satisfied.
Then ii occurred to him to starch the coat
pockets. lie did So, and pulled out-hls gold
watch.
lie MAS perturbed The crew laughed and
re rehukvd chem They hldcd their time.
Then one of them told the artist that the
proper way to restore the coat TO its normal
color was to tie a line To 1t, heave It over
hoard and tow it for few hours. The artist
dil So.
When he went below a deck hand hauled
the coat aboard, united the line and hiding
lhg coat made fast ragged piece OF white
duck and threw 1t overheard.
When the owner of the coat pulled in his
line he was tho augrest man on the tug.
And he didn't know lu>t how t. accept a
deck hands glhly made explanation. which
was that a shark had seized the coat, until
the garment was restored to him. y
Herald.