davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
STOOD Up For KANsAs.

When Mrs. Jewell of Wichita was at the
Omaha exposition she. with a party Of
Kansans. went through the Iowa building
In this building is a big register for vIs-
itors. The book is nearly three feet long
and when Mrs. Jewell went 20 register
her name she found It difficult to ,urn
it about. A dspper young fellow. vita
his slair wei pasted down from the mid
die both ways, who evidently had charge
OF the desk, came 10 her assistance, and
said. while arranging the leaves:
Where are you from
kansas" said Mrs. Jewell
"Ah. indeed. Wei. we let people from
poor, drouth stricken Kansas register.
too
lymph. Wei. you cant have NY name
after that. and KS . Jewel Of name.
too. And what's more. Kansas can beat
Iowa IL any product yoa want 20 name,
and veil wager n0w ard compare toe ex-
hiol,s % the two buildings and ii let
you be the judge"
"Ah. yes, .et ne see Is Kansas 4 state
or territory p sarcast.caIfy.
That proves a good start o. ny prop
ositioa. Your question demonstrates that
Iowa Is sadly lacking IT. tie eommon
school equipment, for e you car ana a
;ea-yezr-old Bog Il tae common Schools
OF Kansas that don't kaow whether Ioza
IS q state or ;sTTit3ry. you nag cal the
whole bel woa Tor sou ard ia pay any
wager yoa set" And taea Irs- Jewell
continued % roast the smart young guy
III Iae whole crowd q KaEzzns a.
casereL And see e.31's Sigz re register.
either.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

/ the more methodical and less emotional
! they were about it the more shots they
would FIRE and the more times they would
hit and the more credit they would get
They were imbued with the idea that the
cement surely could not last lcng. and
| there was no time to waste.
Someone brought a bucket OF water into
| the turret. Occasionally some OF the men
would take this bucket up and have a
drink but for the most part the men aid
not drink at all They were too busy.
Finally out OF the harbor came the two
Spanish torpedo, boats. They headed for
the Indiana. The thirteen-snch guns were
not needed against these long. nearly sub
merged slender boats and the boys were
ordered 70 cease firing. However they
trained the gun so that in case OF too
near approach they could help smash the
invaders
After the fight they went up on top the
turret and sat on ii. smoking tipes
and viewing the scene nonchalantly. They
could see the Oregon in the Citing chasing
away after the Colon. The New York
came up and told the Indiana TO so back
to the blockading station. They turned
about and steamed back. The Oquendo.
the Teresa and the vizcaya were beached;
about as far from the shore as the Eagle
Office IS from Cash Henderson's store
They were burning fiercely and presented
a very grand sight. Larimer saw no men
on board the ships burning. although he
thinks some burned 10 death. But not
many. He saw many swimming to shore:
not long swim by any means The smoke
was rolling lazlly from the big vessels and
every once in a while there was a prodi-
gious explosion full Of flame and carrying
debris hundreds OF feet in the air.
Even then the men sitting On that tur-
ret smoked away with the romplacency Of
a spectator toward the end OF q eworks
exhibition.
They all felt great satisfaction over the
scene. and speculated considerably over
what the Oregon was after. our there was
nothing emotional about ii.
- guess It's our training said Mr..
Larimer.
The day after the battle he visited the
wrecks TO see the effects OF the shells
The ships were stu very hot. AS the waves
laved up against the side OF the ships
there was a slight hiss. One OF the shells
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
SALVATION ARMY SOLDIER

A few days ago Jack Gleason. a tramp
printer. came into Wichita having beat
his way here from down in the strip. He
was riding on freight trains. finding as
comfortable a berth as possible IN a box
or coal car. At Arkansas City he jumped
into an empty coal car and found that he
had company. Il was a Salvation Army
soldier. with a boy about years old. They
both began praying, something that Mr..
Gleason hadn't heard for a long time At
last the brakeman came along and made
them all put UP a few cents. He asked the
Salvation Army soldier where he was going
% and he said Wichita. The brakeman
charged him 50 cents for the two. The
soldier is now in this city and IS to be
seen each evening in the street parade.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

opened by the removal of pin.
| The range was TO be found. The turret
moved and aim taken. There was no or
der to fire. The heavy projectile was
rammed into the gun by hydraulic ram.
The breech was closed as the gun came
into position. The turret was controlled by
a man at a wheel as a man starts a
threshing machine in Kansas. The gun
was fred by the pressure of an electrical
contrivance The men wore no hats and
were in their undershirts.
As the ships came out of the harbor,
at a distance, they did not seem to be
moving fast, and during the battle as
the Indiana moved parallel to them and
with equal speed. 1t was hard to realize
| that they were moving at all. With the
| aid of the telescope at the gun, they
| doomed up as big as they were in fact.
They were painted dead black. They were
making an evident run, OF course. Signs
Of life were apparent but not distinct as
to individuals. They were turning per-
feet hail of shot on the American fleet
Inside the turret the men could hear the
shells go over The projectiles which went
straight over made a single-syllabled as
pirated groan those which tumbled
through the air gave puisated many
syllabled roar Those which struck in the
water acted just as a brick thrown in
water throwing up a column. Some ex-
ploded on touching the water and made
a great splash.
The men in that turret forward we're
intent on one thing. They had not be-
lieved that the ships were really coming
out. They didn't think they were ever TO
have chance at Cervera. They doubted
It even when they were training the gun.
But when the ships began TO appear they
were measurably glad. But they were not
excited Their one idea was to get that
gun in action and keep it in action. The
more shells they fired the more times they
would hit and the more credit they would
get
They went about it methodically. No one
shouted orders. No one grew red in the
face. No one bumped into somebody else.
They simply went silently to work with
great earnestness and fired the shots. They
have reason to believe that it was their
shell which fell on the deck of the Oquendo
as she was emerging from the harbor. The
shell was from the Indiana, but whether
from the forward or other turret there is
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
BROUGHT BACK A MAcHErE.


Fred o. Burgess. a regular soldier. is
Wichita.
Burgess was honorably discharged from
the service at Santiago de Cuba He is a
fine looking young man with good, solid
physique and fat. healthfuI cheeks
He had wandered away from the family
roof-tree and enlisted in the regular army
in san Francisco six years ago. When the
war broke out he went TO Santiago. 60
=, ing over in the transport which carried
Shafter, He was not sick. He was not
shot He was not wounded IN any way.
In the latter part OF July his enlistment
expired and he took his discharge. The
discharge issued by the government and
which Mr.. Burgess displayed the other
day IS parchment, sitter and harder than
staxched linen. On II IS printed his aga
his birthplace every detail OF his service
and his HlarksTna nship. The fight on the
first day Of July is called officially The
Battle Of e Caney." The fighting sue
cee5ing that date is called The Siege Of
Santiago" The whole Of the late contest
is called The War With Spain The dis
ItlA1 x ASN4NtS AANA Air - III eNlTA --rdttLls
unwoundei. that he Is perfectly sound and
d first class uarksmal
At the bottom Of the discharge - a
Qiecs Of parchment which can be torn OF
This Is called bob-,ail and - headed
Character" When an officer can not
give 4 good character 10 a soldier he tears
this OF Mr.. Burgess oo5-;ail contains
the following: Character: Excellent
Mr.. Burgess brought back with him
r1ache;e which has a history.
The American soldiers made a sharp
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

dispute.
As the turret turned it rolled easily on
its mountings with no perceptiole jar.
Through sits provided they could see the
fight progressing. OF course they did not
then call the ships by their names. but
/ first ship second ship and so on. in
the order in which they came out OF the
harbor.
At this time the Spanish ships were fire.
quently almost hidden by the smoke from
their guns and tunnels. Sometimes only
the PROV would be visible: sometimes only
funnel. An enemy's gun fred directly
at you is big puff OF smoke and dash
of red.
The boys in the turret got orders TO
concentrate their fire on the Oquendo.
They watched the effect OF their shots with
calmness and confidence. There was no
cheering and no exclamatious of delight.
When a shell lit on the superstructure the
instant fountain of debris and smoke and
the immediate succeeding air OF stiffness
at that point satisfied them that they had
shot home. One shell made a rent in one
of the enemy's ships which they could
plainly see.
The gun during the engagement fred
twelve shots. The turret was not uncom-
fortably warm. The gun was not hot.
Back of the breech are electric fans 10
drive the smoke out OF the gun through
the muzzle. A good deal OF the smoke
curled back in the turret when the breech
was opened and made the place dim and
gaseous. and there was a good deal OF
coughing among the men.
when the gun was fired there was no
discomfort from the shock. They didn't
stand on tip-toe TO lessen the conclusion.
An S-inch gun above them made a dis
turbance which gave them the only jar
they received.
They had no other idea than that they
they were going to destroy the enemys
ships. They had no thought about the
possible death on their side. I ney be-
lieved that somebody must be getting kill
ed in the American fleet but that was only
a transient impression rather than
thought. They simply felt grateful that
they had a chance TO get at the enemy
and test that gun and excel the other
turrets.
In that they worked like Trojans. but
with a cold calculating realization that
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
FOR HOME PEOPLE,

pathetic interest in the welfare and comfort
Of those underlings who occupy suhor-
dinate position beneath the moneyed mag
mates who employ them. When just out
side of this city. bound on tour of in
spection in the south, a bad accident hap
peDed to the engine pulling the special car
of the directory. 1t was an hour after
midnight, and a terrible night 1t was. rain
ing in torrents and the wind blowing
hideously. making it one Of those disagree
able inclement nights when one likes TO
keep inside and sheltered from the rude
winds and weather out of doors. The whole
train crew were demoraliZed, as 1t was
just such an accident as would be con-
sidered by railroad men as inexcusable,
and yet no one was to blame, and no one
could reasonably be held responsible. All
the train crew gathered around the engine
to assist the engineer to repair the dam
age as best they could until the mex.
roundhouse could be reached. While they
were worrying over the unfortunate situa-
ton and wondering whether they would
al get discharged, they were STARTED by
seeing Mr.. Charlie Gleed walking down to-
ward the engine closely wrapped in Il long
overcoat. They all trembled expecting
lacking up" Instead Mr.. Gleej dunn
founded the men by casually remarktag
that it was tough night TO be out work
ing like they were in the rain and cold.
and added by way of emphasis that ;hey
were in no especial hurry anyway, end
that unlocked for accidents were pound 10
happen. and not TO worry; that one day
late on the trip would not seriously hir-
der the party. Then he called Jfi the
work of repairing the engine ard invI,t d
the crew to accompany him into :he psi
vate apartments Of the directors. Dirty
and greasy and grimy, the men solemnly
filed into the car, more than half expect
ing their walking credentials. Instead the
colored cook was in waiting with a steam
ing hot supper of the most refreshing
viands for the hungry and exhausted men.
Colored walters were there 10 att-11 20
their wants, and all ate a hearty. refresh
ing meal. after which Mr.. Glee1 set up the
fragrant Havana cigars andy said coed
night. and the men in a sort OF dazed frame
OK mind went at their work of repairing
the engine with renewed zeal and hearty
interest. They had found a. least one
member OF mighty corporation who Was
not entirely heartless and Indifferent 10
the cares and worries OF the employees OF
his big system.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

The younger boys Of Wichita who have
heard Ned Larimer's experience have quit
reading marine stories. and have ceased
signing for life on United States man
of-war.
From young Mr.. Larimer's narration,
part of which may be charged up TO mod
esty, it is evident even to an magma
ton that is willing 10 gid a tame situa-
ton with inner emotions, that the slim
ulating element of romance is not in a
naval battle
An effort was made to get Mr.. Lari-
mer to grant that those above him and
under him were excited in the contest
off Santiago harbor. The effort failed sim
ply because Mr. Larimer was positively
sincere that there was no excitement.
He was on the Indiana, in the forward
turret on the left thirteeninch gun.
He is a Kansas boy. For years the
biggest body of water he ever saw was
the Arkansas on a June tear, his idea OF
craft was a siXteen-foot row boat. His
idea of nautical perfection, to feather his
oars. His idea of craftsmanship was to
get a ball to first from right field before
the runner got there.
A few years experience on the great
ocean has made him better acquainted
with the difference between a cat-boat
and yawl, than between a sunfower and
a rosin plant.
He is diffident of extended conversation
because, among his old-time friends, the
discourse is like a small plug train on
a many-stationed railroad line with
water tank between each and leaky boil
ers on the engine. 1t is a perpetual stop,
explanation and continuation, stop, expla-
nation and continuation.
Il was standing on the fo'xI," all in
one breath and accented hard on the 40"
ION the what?" asked TIE Kansas-bred
reporter.
ION the fo'xI"
How do you spell it?"
"F-o-r-e-c-a-s-t-I-e.
"Oh, forecastle."
That's right. Only we pronounce it
differently"
Where is it?"
ITS forward"
Front end Of the boat?'
The ship"
And then a little further along:
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
ROASTING HIS WIFE

There is one awful mean man in this city.
and his consummate atrocity lies in his
cynical attempt TO roast his wife A few
days ago he remarked 70 a bosom friend:
Women are strange creatures, don't
you think so?"
Just how do you mean?" replied his
chum.
well. whenever II IS a fearfully stormy
CAV. and the rain pouring down in torrents.
and the wind blowing gale my wife in
variabiy suggests that such a day will be
a glorious one 10 stay az home and in the
house"
Yes and what OF that?'
20. nothing. only just about then she al
ways arrays herself in her macintosh and
umbrella and proceeds 10 go somewhere -
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

from his turret had penetrated the ad-
mirals' room on one of the spanish ships
It had exploded and wrecked everything.
which had further been charred by the
fire. Some parts Of the shell lying about
were as small as a mans hand Nothing
at all was intact IN the room. Even .
gold coin had been melted down
Pictures have appeared IN the newspA-
pers OF men climbing ap che rigging like
/ bees while the ships were burning. lie
saw nothing OF the kind.
Another feature of the battle was tnss
Lariner saw none OF the officers wearing
swords. and he does not believe that the
Spanish officers wore them.
Orders did not occupy the dramatic pars
in battle they are supposed to occupy.
messengers who delivered them as they
delivered ordinary messages.
Naval Cadet Iariner does not wear .
uniform in Wichita, He had not completed
his course In Annapolis when he was ssnt
70 Santiago. and ne returns to the naval
school.
With him he brought back several SOU
venirs. now on exhibition az va!ls iewefry
store. They are as follows:
Spanish officers sword. from the deck Of
the Oquendo. Plainly very Ornamental
AFFAIR before the FIRE reached t.
Sheath knife from the oQueHdo.
Three Spanish dollars. found on the deok
OF the Maria Teresa. The IRE has welded
them together.
Spanish revolver. from the deck Of the
Maria Teresa.
Hexagcnal brown powder. from the
Oquendo: very badly burnt eu; no; dts.
: charged.
Two pTisms Of brown hexagonsl pow
der such as is used on the Indiana.
Msuser bayonst. from the deck sf the
Maria Teresa
old canister. from the fort al Gaanta-
namo de Cuba
one-pounder cartridge casing Fred from
the Indiana
Mauser bullets. Spanish. found at Moro
castle.
Brass jacketed bullets used by the Span
ish.
A fuse OF a Spanish u-ineh shell Of the
Oquenao.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

The first thing we did was to close
! the battle hatches.''
What's a hatcf?''
AN opening in the deck of the ves-
sell"
Great Caesar. Did you close 'em and
then stay on top?"
well. you don't exactly understand.
You see
You closed the matches. and then how
did you get down below deck. or how did
anyone get up?"
I'VE went inside the turret. There was
a hatch there and others inside the super
structure"
"Oh. the battle matches were on the
open deck and exposed the center Of the
boat and are not used during a battle"
The young naval hero assented and the
prairie-bred reporter placed in his men,
DRY a great marine discovery.
And then little further along in the
conversation:
Where was Schley's ship then?"
"A little abaft our beam
"A little where?"
z "Abaft our BEAM"
For heavens sakes. what's abaft and
what's your beam?'
What's tilat?"
That abaft business"
"WelI, in an arc Of the horizon between
line that crosses the ship at right an
giles, or in the direction Of her beams, and
that point of the compass toward which
the stern is directed
Say" said the reporter. ''you were
raised right here in Kansas weren't you?"
YES"
at doesn't seem possible"
A little later the reporter had the
temerity TO ask what a range-fnder was.
and got a geometrical answer which
stopped all further technical questions.
Young Mr.. Larimer was simply speaking
the everyday language of the big boat.
When cautioned that he was talking
Greek, he explained with great effort
just what he meant in plain, Kansas Ian
guage. although of course he had just as
hard time doing it as a Kansas farmer
would in explaining to a sailor, who had
never seen one, what threshing machine
was really like.
He despaired Of explaining what bar
bette was and took a picture in maya
zine and pointed it out.
But the striking element in Larimer's
narration of the facts is the lack of ex-
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
HE WAS ELECTED.

Mr. Richensberger. the Republican who
was nominated for the legislature for the
western half of the county this week was
working on his farm when his little boy
came in from Wichita and said:
well. you're elected"
Elected to what?"
"Oh, you're elected to some big. long
name"
What do you mean?"
Just look there in the paper
Then for the first time Mr.. Richensoer-
ger knew. from the Eagle. that he had
been nominated for the legislature.
He had refused to permit his name TO
60 before the convention. His friends in
sisted Finally they asked him IL they
nominated him unanimously would he
take it. He answered yes. This was
some time before the convention and he
didn't expect 1t.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11

element on the part of the men around
the guns during the battle.
Naval Cadet Larimer, at $50 o'clock on
that Sunday morning. had gone up on
deck, forward. The sky was clear and
bright. However. he did not notice it in
particular. He heard the navigator who
was watching the shore with binoculars
say rather quickly, but not excitedly. with
every word separated with a little pause.
and every syllable sharp:
Jump -tell-the-captain that-some-
thing-is-coming- out-of-the-harbor."
There was nothing hysterical. joyous or
emotional in this order to an orderly.
Larimer turned quickly. OF course, to
look at the flarbor. Back of the hills and
over them there was lot of stringy
smoke.
Everybody set to work TO close the bat
tle-hatches. the exposed openings in the
deck.
This done, Larimer rushed into the tur-
ret, the forward thirteen-inch gun turret.
For these movements he did not seem
to remember any orders.
In exactly four minutes from the time
the navigator sent word to the captain
about the stringy smoke. the thirteen
inch gun had belched forth its gigantic
missile Of death.
Larimer, once in the turret, said
quickly:
Jump down boys. Turn on all steam
and pressure. Unlock turret.'
The big gun is run by hydraulic press
ure, also the ammunition hoists and the
turret, when not nsed, is locked.
Then came the orders in this fashion:
1-Uplift.
2.-Out nose-pin.
3.-First cartridge.
4.-Second cartridge.
5.-Down lift.
6.-Ready lift.
Up-lift meant for the ammunition HOSTS
to be sent up. The lift had three wrought
iron cylinders, one containing the
shell, the projectile weighing 1,5oO
pounds. the other two cylinders contained
the charges of powder. AS the first
cartridge passed into the gun, second
cartridge was announced. Down-lkt
meant to lower the hoist, and ready-hft
meant that below the hoist was ready
again. Out nose-pin meant that as soon
as the hoist arrived the cylinders contain
ing the projectile and charges were to be
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
A FELLOW FEELING

On one of our busy corners yesterday
sat a blind man, a forlorn looking piece
of humanity who spps t'cd } tie sympa
thies of the passers-by. The music he
was attempting to grind out could hardly
be called music-a squeaky, worn-odt or
ganette- Finally two small boys came
along. One of them had a paralyzed arm
and a leg that he could just manage q
swing along by giving it an extra hitch
They bore evidences 0: extreme poverty,
but they halted near the blind man. The
crippled lad said to his cOmrade: Run
your hand in my pocket and get my purse.
I amt got much but we will give him
some" The purse was drawn out and
tho contents emptied out into the hand Of
its Owner-four cents. He stepped up in
a sly, cautious way and dropped three of
his pennies in the blind mans cup.
The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-11
IN THE SHADE OF AwAGoN.

Last Wednesday a stranger walked into
Justice Enoch's office and said he wanted
TO be married.
"AH right" said Mr.. Enoch, where's
your bride?"
shes up the street a little way. II you
will come with me IL won't take long"
They went down stairs. up Main street
10 Central and West on Central to Waco.
That was almost a mile and Mr.. Enoch
kept looking for the man 10 turn in. But
ne didn't At Waco they started north
and plugged along 20 Fifteenth street.
when they turned west again. Coming up
to a group OF campers, the stranger
stopped and called 10 his bride. The two
stood up in the shade Of a wagon and
were made man and wife. giving their
names as TTuess McKasson and ollie
Henderson. McKassOn. IN his covered
wagon bound for Colorado. came up with
Miss Hendersons people two weeks before
in Missouri. They caia'ed together a
night or two. The two youngsters fell
in love and Judge Enoeh finished ttle story
for them only two weeks after their
first meeting. When the ceremony was
over McKasson took Mr.. Enoch 20 one
side and gave him a dollar. Woen Enoch
reached his once again he had walked
nearly three miles. But then the expert
ence was worth something.