davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Dnps I'm Wnr.

A singular phase of rivalry between
the armies of Germany and France is
impending. The extending use Of
cycles in military maneuvers has in
duced the German military authorities
to put themselves in position to de-
feat the onslaught of attacking cycle
corps in the time of war. To this end
they are training dogs to distinguish
between German, Austrian and Italicn
uniforms from those Of French and
Russian soldiers, and when their edu-
cation in this respect is sufficiently
advanced they are taught to throw
themselves on tho cyclists who wear
the uniform of the supposed enemy.
Wheelmen clad in various uniforms
and so guarded by pads that they are
protected against bites ride past 1i
among the dogs, which instantly
rush at men costumed as French or
Russians, and throw them over. Ii q
dog should make mistake and at
tack representative Of the triple al
lance he is severely whipped, while o
reward is given him Tor ASSUMING the
man who plsRptes an enemy. The
dogs selecteS great Danes, which,
from their weight aud strength, are
specially fitted for the service. But
the German officers, while actively
pushing the drilling Of this novel
corps, are understood to dread the
employment by the enemy of dogs in
similar capacity y fearing that in this
case the animals Hhy fight among them
selves, and, losing their sense of dis
tinction between friends and foes, be
as dangerous to the one as to the
other. The French military authori-
ties have become alive to the import
ance of such an issue, and are urging
the training of dogs Oh their own &C
count, as he readiest way of circum-
venting the intentions of their neigh
bors on the other side OF the Rhine
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Toads ut Dinner.

The toad does not take dead or mo.
tionless food, says the Popular Science
Monthly. Only living and moving
insects, centipedes, etc., are devoured,
while worms and other Larvae dis
turbed by their hopping ere safe SO
long as they remain curled up; but as
soon as they move they are captured.
The toad's tongue, its only organ for
seizing food, is soft, eztensile, Mt
tached in front but free behind, and
is covered with a g'utinous substance
that adheres firmly to the food seized.
So rapid is the motion of this weapon
that a careful watch is necessary in
order to see the animal feed. At
night, soon after sunset, or even be-
fore on cool evenings, the toad emerges
from it's shelter and slowly hops about
in search of food. Something of a
regular beat is covered by these ami
mails, whose sense of locality is strong.
In the country this beat includes for
age along the roadside, into gardens
and cultivated fields, and wherever
insect food is abundant and grass or
other thick herbage does not interfere
with getting about. In cities and
suburban villages the lawGs, walks
and spots beneath the electric lamps
are favorite hunting grounds. At
Amherst, Mass, Mr.. A. h. kirkland.
from whose paper we derive these OBJ
sservations,T ,Toncs counted efgnt -farge,
well fed toads seated under an arc
light and actively engaged in de-
youring the insects which, deprived of
wings, fell from the lamp above. At
Maiden, Mass, q colony of about half
q dozen toads sally forth on summer
evenings from under the piazza Of q
citizens house, go down the walk,
cross the street and take up their sta
tions under the arc lamp, where they
feed upon the fallen insects till the
current is turned of, when they re-
turn to their accustomed shelter,
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Decay Follows Neglect

A Columbus (Ohio) engineer states
that his city has spent S., 1000, 900 on
improving 114 miles of streets, but
that they have been allowed to get
into such shape that an expenditure
of S250,00 for repairs would hardly
put them in decent condition.
Unless the roads are constantly
watched and repaired, just as regular
ly and carefully as the great railway
companies watch their road-beds, they
will deteriorate very rapidly and prac-
tically have to be rebuilt every few
years. There is no use in building
expensive yroads, and leaving them to
go to ruin from neglect.
In recent address, E. H. Thayer
stated on this subject that ga man
with one horse and cart, working
eight months of the year, can keep
seventy miles of good road in con-
slant, effective and complete repair at
the outside expense of $3.50. which is
S. per mile, while the cost of even at
tempting to make passable the ordi-
nary country road exceeds S35 per
nile. A dirt cart is loaded
with crushed rock or gravel. With a
hoe, shovel and a rammer, the re-
pairer, IS frequently as the task is as.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
wild Interior of Potaronia.

Professor j. B. Hatcher, of Prince
ton university, has lately returned
from remarkable trip of exploration
in hitherto unknown region of South
America-namely, the wild interior of
Patagonia. He visited Washington
for the purpose Of depositing with the
bureau of ethnology rich collection
of objects illustrating the mode of life
of tie various tribes of aborigines in
that part of the world. Their coun-
try, too, is more than ordinarily in
teresting, being associated since the
earliest times with rumors of gigantic
human inhabitants and an astonish-
ing fauna. Quite recently some skele-
tons of birds that had heads as big as
those of horses have actually been
dug up. They stood at least nine
feet high, and had short wings, claws
like an eagles and beak like a con-
doris. 1t is likely that they attacked
with success the largest mammals con-
temporary with them, being the big
gest fowls of prey that ever lived
Public Opinion.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Lincoln's Estimate of Two Men.

A delegation Of preachers from Chi
cago waited upon Lincoln to urge the
issuance of the emancipation procla-
maticn. The spokesman urged the
claim with ecclesiastical dignity by
saying: "The Lord sends this commis-
sion to you, President Lincoln. per
haps so" he replied, "but isn't 1t
strange that He should send His mes
sage by way Of Chicago?" To another
delegation urging immediate action he
said: eff you call the tail Of sheep
a leg, how many legs will the sheep
have?" Five" replied the spokesman.
NO." said the bothered president, 1T
would only have four. Calling the tail
a leg wouldn't make it one" When a
stately Congressman from New Jersey
presented two Of his constituents by
saying: "It gives me pleasure, Mr..
President, to present to you two Of
the wealthiest men from the southern
part of our state" he endured patient
ly snre pompous compliments, and
then, when they retired, said: Il
should think that end Of the state
would tilt up when they stepped on
Chicago Inter Ocean.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Whv Broad-Tirod wheels Pay.

A wagon going up hill requires
more force to draw it than when it is
moved on level. When C. wheel
sinks in soft soil there is en- elevation
of the ground in front Of it equal to
the depth of the sinking. When q
narrow wheel sinks thres or four
inches in the ground the effect is pre-
cisely the same as if the wagon was
going up the same Incline when the
broad wheel is used, but if it does not
sink in the ground this obstacle does
not exist. The surface of the wheel
does not interfere in the least with the
draft of wagon even on solid, hard
ground, and it must be evident that
the broad wheel will not cut into
road as narrow one will, and thus
on soft roads must be easier draft.
By the use of broad-tired wagon
when new road is being laid out, it
will soon be rolled hard and solid, so
that even q narrow-tired wagon will
not cut in, but attempt to make
road during the average harvest, win
ter or spring season with narrow-tired
wagons and the job will usually prove
q failure.-Roy Stone.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Idle OuirSs.

A timely plant-the four o'clock.
Bright, pretty dairy maids are stars
in the milky way.
dramatically speaking, the sun
sets and the daughter sits.
The argument of an opera is not al
ways worth discussing.
The fisherman may not be at all ez-
pert in scaling q mountain.
The treating candidate hopes that he
is dispensing winning smiles.
The travelling man needn't lose his
grasp just because he loses his grip.
In playing his organ, the street
musician always knows which way to
turn.
The owner of the merry-go-round
makes money in a roundabout way.
There may not be any ghosts in the
Park, but there are lots of animal
spirits.
In barber shop the workmen never
think of cutting the doors bangs.
Shin plasters are no longer made,
hut the molders of cheap images still
make plaster shins.-San Francisco
Examiner.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Tho Growth of City Populations.

The sudden growth of great cities is
the first result of the phenomenon Of
immigration which we have to note.
We think of this as essentially an
American problem. We comfort our
selves in our failures of municipal ad-
ministration with that thought. This is
a grieTous deception. Most of the Eu-
ropean cities have increased in popu-
lation moro rapidly than in America.
Shaw has emphasized the same fact in
his brilliant work on Municipal Gov
ernment in Europe" This is psrticu-
larly true of great German urban CEN
tiers. Berlin has outgrown our own
metropolis, New York, in less than g
generation, having in twenty live
years added as many actual residents
as Chicago and twice as many as Phil
adelphia. Hamburg has gained twice
as many in population since 1875 as
Boston. Leipsic has distanced st.
Louis.
Z. same Topographic outburst has
occurred in the smaller German cities
d we'll. Cologne has gained the lead
der Cleveland, Buffalo and Pitts
burg, although in 1880 it was the
smallest of the four. Msdgeburg has
grown faster than Providence in the
last ten years. Dusseldorf has like
wise outgrown st. Paul. Beyond the
confines of the German empire, from
Norway to Italy, the same is true.
Stockholm has doubled its population;
Copenhagen has increased two and
one-half times; Christiania has trebled
its numbers in generation; Rome
has increased from 1S4, 900 in 1860 to
450, 1000 in 1894; Vienna, including its
suburbs, has grown three times over
within the same period. Paris from
1881 to 1891 absorbed four-hfths of the
total increase Of population for Gil of
Francs within the same poriod.-
Professor Ripley, in Popular Science
Monthly
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
STRATEGY OF A GRIZZLY.
Rakes Corn Near the Barn and fheu
Pulls Chickens In.

Nat Wetzell, st. Louis commission
merchant, has huge grizzly bear,
Gagged behind strong iron bars In the
rear part of his place of business. The
bear was sent to him by some friends
in the Sierras. Within a few days
after the bear was imprisoned on the
premises, Wetzell missed one and then
another of the chickens he had turned
out to fatten on the scraps and refuse
and for time he was at a loss to
know what was taking them of. When
the number had increased to q point
where patience ceases to be a virtue
he set a watch for the miscreant, and
in due time discovered that the big
grizzly was devouring them as fast as
he could lay paws on them. The
brut's process Of capturing the luckless
chicks would do credit to certain
classes of mammals that do not so
about the earth on all fours, and when
he discovered how the thing was done,
Wetzell had hearty laugh in spite OF
his loss.
Corn had been thrown into the bears
cage in great quantities. AS it disap-
peared with due regularity, it was
supposed that bruin was enjoying 1t
immensely, but the shaggy coated old
fellow was wiser than his keepers
knew. He learned before he had been
imprisoned single day that chickens
liked corn pretty well, and as he liked
chickens better than corn, he decided
that a fair exchange would be good
for his constitution.
Acting upon this theory Of the case,
the bear scraped together the corn as
fast as it was thrown into the cage and
pushed the piles out close to the bars,
where the chickens could pick 1t up.
When no one was around he would
set his great paws down Upon the
head of an unwary chick and drag it
into the cage, to be deYoured at his
leisure. Not so much as squawk ever
escaped his victims, and for this reason
his little game was not discovered until
his thieyery had so decimated the
poultry yard that discovery could no
longer be avoided.
Yesterday, when Wetzell entered the
store he found old bruin sitting on his
launches, and in such apparent good
humor that he at once attracted atteE-
ton. Going back to the cage, the pre-
prietor found that the bear had scrap
ed a pile Of chicken feathers fully a
foot deep over into one corner OF the
inclcsure, and had evidently made his
bed there the night before. The quizzi-
cal smile on bruins face seemed to ask
what more could good bear want than
plenty of tender chicks to eat and a
soft place to sleep.
Now ihe old fellows rations Of corn
have been cut off, and it is Wetzells
determination to give him to Forest
Park for the geological department
provided the city will have him.-St
Louis Republic.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Boxing n Brides Ear.

In Lithunia, province of Russia,
it is customary that the BRIDES ears
should be boxed before the marriage
ceremony. No matter how tender
hearted the mother may be, she al
ways makes it point of administer
ing hearty smack to her daughter in
the presence of witnesses, and o note
is made of the fact. The mothers in
tention is kind one, though the GUS
tom itself is bad. The reason for it
is to protect the bride should her mar
riage prove IN unhappy one. In that
case she will sue for divorce, and
her plea will be that she was forced
into the marriage against her will, and
on that score the verdict of the Judge
will be in her favor.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Rural Maj. Delivery and Good Roads.

hurnl hals ocitVcTr Cuu 1oUo NoiluS.
There is prospect that the National
Government may get behind the good
roads movement in peculiarly effec-
tive way. If the price of free mail de.
livery to the farmers is to be the con-
struction and maintenance of mac
adamized country highways it is be-
lieved that the thrifty agriculturists
will not hesitate to pay it.
The indifference of Congress to ap-
peals for interstate highways and the
disinclination OF farmers to construct
roads "for the benefit of the city
wheelmen" have operated as serious
handicaps to the good roads move
ment in this country. In spite of
these obstacles, however, substantial
progress has been made in road build
ing in States where the farmers have
awakened to the fact that while smooth
highways may add to the pleasures of
wheeling the greatest benefit is reaped
by agriculturists in being brought
closer to profitable markets.
But the strongest stimulus to road
building is yet to come. If the eS-
periments in free rural mail delivery
inaugurated by the postal department
are q success, they will establish O
basis of cooperation aud reciprocity
between tho Government and the
farmers that will lead to a general
movement in the building of inter
urban highways oil over the country.
With the view of testing the eff
cheney of different styles of roadbed
Postmaster General Gary has author
lied the opening of routes for free
rural mail delivery through portions
of New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
which embrace macadamized, gravel,
clay and common dirt roads. The
routes are intended to be experiment
tai, and will show relatively upon
what character of roads the best re-
suits can be obtained in the way of
prompt and efficient service.
There is little doubt that free mail
delivery is just as practicable in many
OF our more thickly populated rural
communities as it is in England. The
continuance OF the service, if success
full, should be dependent upon the
proper maintenance of the roads. If
the farmer wants his mail delivered at
his door he must contribute his share
to the building of passable highways.
Chicago Times-Hereld.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
phonneranhic Renorts.

A photographic apparatus is to be
installed in the hall where the NUM-
cipal Council of Etampes, a little town
in the forest of Fontainebleau, in
France, meets to take down. the official
record of the proceedings. The man
who advanced the scheme charges the
city only for the register cylinders,
which are to be kept in its archives.
How the names of the various speakers
are to be recorded by the machine is
not stated, but the French official
stenographers are looking forward to
the experiment with some interest.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Food and Drink For an Average Man.

An average man requires tifty-nine
ounces of food per diem. He needs
thirty-seven ounces of water for drink
ing, and in breathing he absorbs thirty
ounces of oxygen. He eats as much
water as he drinks, so much of that
fluid being contained in various foods.
In order to supply fuel for running
the body machine and to make up for
waste tissue he ought to swallow daily
the equivalent of twenty ounces OF
bread, three ounces Of potatoes, one
ounce of butter and one quart OF water.
The body is mostly water. The body
of q man weighing 154 pounds contains
ninety-six pounds OF forty-six quarts
of water.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Menstrual lrrecuIar|fiea.

Puberty Is the period when mclstruation
Is established. II Is the time when the girl
becomes woman, and also the tiracdr
which many female diseases date. The
10 aq aEs and an aboTt eVer
twenty.eight days. The quantity exuded
Varies from two to eight ounces, but the
amount consistent with the health Of one
person may be excessive and Weakening in
another. The function is regarded rs being
regular when its effect upou the systcm is
favorable. The departures from healthy
corrected by using Dr.. Simmons Squaw
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
Source of til. Nightly Niger.

An English officers thus describes
the tiny source of the mighty River
Niger: Cutting our way through the
underground, we crept and clamDored
down the slippery slopes till we reach
ed the bottom, and same to moss
covered rock from which tiny spring
Issues, and has made pool below. The
foliage at this spot is green, most i1x-
uriant and beautiful, and as one looks
on the birthplace Of the Niger IL Is
easy to imagine ones self at dripping
well in some wood in England"
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
MORAL EFFECT OF PRUNEs.
Said to Havo a Soothing Effect on tho
Nervcs-Useful as q Medicine.


Nervcs-Useful as q Medicine.
European authorities on dietetics
are discussing the discovery OF "a
wall-known physician of Chicago, :"
who claims that he has proved the
prune to be O moral agent. He says
that he has made the prune the sub
ject of special study and has conduct
ed series of experiments with view
to testing the prune as preventive of
crime. At one time connected with a
school for the reform of unruly boys
who had rebelled against all former
attempts to civilize their conscience,
he fed them for o week once g day,
and at the end of that time they were
mild-mannered and bidable. The
prune, he claims, has certain medi-
cinal property which acts directly on
the nervous system, which is where
the evil passions have their seat.
However good thu physician may
make his claim, one thing is certain,
that the prune in Germany has been
a household medicine for the last hall
century. There is daily at the dis
posal of the members of the family a
stone jar of very nicely cooked prunes,
from which the household eat few at
any time in the day, dipping into it,
as one may say, as lady in France
does her ornamented box holding
supared almonds.
It is we'll to know at time when
there is SO much grip in Chicago that
prunes made into drink are very
good food and medicine for the
patient. They are prepared for medi-
cal practice and nursing thus: They
must be of good (but not "fancy")
quality, washed in sieve under run
ming water. Then put them in
basin and cover with cooled boiled
water closed from air and dust, allow
ing them to stand until swollen. Then
cover them tight in the samo basin
and let them simmer for three hours.
They will be sweet enough.
The prune drink for fever is made
in the same way, but to every pint OF
prunes quart Of boiled water should
be added and they should be allowed
to simmer to rags. Strain and then
give the patient to drink. Lemon
juice may be added If desired. Chi
cago Times.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
GOOD ROADS NOTES.
AGAaaAsAEsNszSEsS
he Problem Solved.

The Problem Solved.
eve want good roads," the cyelist cried
Said tho farmer, $50 do we;
With you Of the wheel and saddle
Do we rurallteS agree.
Now, what shall we do to get them?
Here's plan that's simple, quite
We men Of four wheels, you OF two,
Each one claims an equal right
To half the track; that Is level,
And each ought to have his share
4 road-bed should be wide enough
For US both, with room to spare;
It should be both hard and solid
With gently rounded top;
In short, it should be perfect,
And we'll build it so-but stop!
Such fine highways cost money
You are asking half the road
When IL comes to paying for them,
Will you carry half the loadf
There's growing army OF you,
Some say half millionstrong,
Will you each chip'in dollar,
For to help Good Roads along?
II you will, and do it yearly.
Well have solved the problem quite.
Ev'ry time you pay your mighty
We will also pay our mite,
Which we'll pay instead OF working,
As our habit Is to do,
And when your side is finished up,
You'll find ours finished too"
VIII Temple-, In American Agriculturist
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18

signed him will permit, starts out on
the road. Every washout he repairs,
every rut he fills up, loose stones hs
throws out. rough places he levels,
distractions in water courses he re-
moves, and his tireless efforts day af.
ter day result in keeping the good
road in good repair and making happy
every man and woman who drives over
the highway"
1t is only by following the example
set by railway companies in the care
of their road-beds, and acting upon
such suggestions as those above given,
that the highways can be efficiently
maintained and properly preserved.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
An Anciant Ballot.

One of the ballots for Themistocles
has just been found by German exca-
vators in the Areopagus, going back
to q date earlier than 470 B. O., as
that was the year in which that cele-
brated worker of the Athenian pri-
maries was banished. 1t is al in
scribed potsherd bearing his name,
and, with proper care, is good for an
other $500 years. There are only
three such souvenirs of the old Greek
elections in existence and only this
one bears the name of Ihemistocles.