davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
A Church Built of Coral.

A church built of coral is one Of the
curiosities of the Isle Of Maize, one OF
the Seychelles islands in the Indian
ocean. The Seychelles islands, which
are supposed by many to be the site
of the Eden. of Old Testament his
tory, form an archipelago of one hum
dred and fourteen islands, and are sit
uated al out 1,4OO miles east of Alden
and 1000 miles from Zanzibar. They
rise steeply out of the sea, culminat-
ing in the Isle of Maize, which is about
5000 feet above the level Of the ocean,
and is nearly the center Of the group.
All those islands are of coral growth.
The houses are built of species OF
massive coral hewn into square blocks,
which glisten like white marble, and
show themselves to the utmost ad-
vantage in the various tinted green
of the thick tropical palms, whose i'm
mense fern-like leaves give pleasant
and much-needed shade. These palms
grow as high as 100 feet and more,
overtopping both the houses and the
coral-built church. They line the sea
shore and cover the mountains, form
ing in many places extensive forests.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
The Unselfish Ants.

A traveller in the Australian bush
has just written book describing his
adventures. Like most travellers in the
tropics, DR.. Semon suffered much at
the hands, or, rather, the jaws, of the
ant. After endeavoring in various
ways, and unsuccessfully, to cope with
these resolute marauders, the author
hit upon the happy device of scatter
ing their advancing armies by means
of cyanide of potassium. The result Of
this measure is thus narrated: "How
astOnished was l when l saw the whole
surface of the heap strewn with dead
ants like battlefield! The pieces of
cyanide, however, had totally disap-
peared! More than one-half of the
community had met death in this des-
perate struggle, but still the deathde-
flying courage Of the heroic little crea-
lures had succeeded in removing the
fatal poison, the touch of which must
have been just as disagreeable to them
as it was dangerous. Recklessly neg
lecting their own safety, they had car
ried it off little by little, covering every
step with a corpse. Once removed
from the heap the poison had been we'll
covered with leaves and pieces of
wood, and thus prevented further dam
age. The heroism of these Insects
which far surpasses what any other
creature, including man, has ever
shown in the way of self-sacrifice and
loyalty-had made such an impression
on me that l gave up my campaign,
and henceforth l bore with many an
outrage from my neighbors rather than
destroy the. valiant beings whose cour-
age | had not been able to crush"
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
The Woods.


When I was sad, to the heart of the
woods ! stole
To the woods alone
And the grave woods listened to my bur-
dened soul
When my soul made moan;
NO need of words, for the heart of the
woods to hear
10 the souls mute cry
IN her solitude the quiet trees give ear,
And the still blue sky
The sky that looks through the trees like
loving eyes
Till the soul-pangs cease
AND the solemn pines point singing to
the skies.
And the pines sing "Peace!"
When l was glad, to the heart of the
woods l went
To the woods alone
AND the kind woods listened, making my
content,
My joy, their own;
The blue sky smiled, and the leaves made
merry with me.
FOR they understOod:
VINO seeks will find a friend in every
tree
IN the heart of the wood
1et' lingering there SO deep the soul-joy
grows,
Light mirth must cease:
ANA far above, where the free wind
comes and goes.
The pines sing "Peace!"
Francis Barine.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
McGraw at the Bat.

McGraw is a smart man at the bat,
1t is doubtful whether there is
smarter in the league than the war
like little chap who is making such a
name for himself this year as a mana
ger. To begin with, his position is ex-
cellent. He faces the pitcher properly
and he has his eye out for the curves.
He is seldom fooled by curve. Per-
haps that is the greater part of his Sc
cret as successful batter. In his
earlier days he struck out now and
then, more because Of his desire to
knock the ball out of the lot than be-
cause he was fooled by the pitcher. A
nigh ball never seems to bother him.
Furthermore, he is one of the few left
handed batters who can not be coaxed
into striking at inshoots. He doesn't
swing blindly at the ball as he did
when first league player He has ac-
quired that peculiar chopping motion
which makes hitters like Burkett and
Keller. 1t is not surprising that he is
up with the leaders, and there might
be more in the same place IL they
would employ their brains to as good
advantage as McGraw has employed
his since he became a professional ball
player.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
BASE BALL TOPICS
CURRENT NEWS AND NOTES OF
THE GAME.
ihe Reservation Article Again Being
Discussed-Activlty OF John +. Brush
the Cause-AnOther Blow at Rowdy-
ism-BostOn's Great Catcher.

The National league constitution re-
strlcts each clubs right of reservation
TO eighteen players, exclusive of those
reserved for former season. and who
nave refused to play with the club to
which they belong. Rusie and Joyce.
Tor instance, can be held by the New
York club without being included in
Its reserve list for 1900. Mr.. Brush is
adding SO many more league players to
the Cinc'NLati clubs roster that there
Is great deal of speculation as to the
policy he will pursue in retaining them
and the desirable mem mbers of his pres
ent team According to reports Mr..
Brush has made deals for ten minor
league players, three of whom, Frisk,
Elberfeld and Seybold are with the
Reds. Scott the indianapolis pitcher;
Barrett, Detroit outfielder, and Craw-
ford, the Crand Rapids phenom, will,
1t is said rer:rt to Manager Ewing on
September II. The reservation of play
ers by clubs is provided for by section
80 of the National league constitution,
which reads as follows:
sec. 81. Each club member OF this
league shall be entitled to the right of
reservation. On or before the 30th day
or september in each year each club
snail transmit to the secretary a re-
serve list of the players not exceeding
eighteen, whose services It desires to
retain, and who are then under con-
tract to the said club for the current
or for any succeeding season or sea-
sons; and in addition thereto the
names of such players reserved in any
prior annual list who have refused to
contract with said club Such players,
together with all others thereafter to
be regularly contracted with, shall be
Ineligible TO contract with any other
club in this league, except as heretofore
provided. No club shall have the
right to reserve any player when in ar
rears of salary to him. The secretary
shall promulgate such lists"
The section restricts each club of the
National league to the control of IS
players on September 80 in each year
but there is no limit to the number
which can be carried after that date
All players thereafter regularly con-
tracted with" are as fully protected as
the property of the club which signs
them as the 1S who appear on it's an
nuA reserve list.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03

mystery man wealth, education and
refinement, who came to New Har-
mony from nowhere, never spoke of
the past, had no name, and never
wrote letter and received but one at
stated intervals. 1t contained cash He
lived and died at New Harmony. When
he died there was nothing found to in
dicate who he was or where to address
his people. The town took charge Of
him and inferred him in this grave way
off to one side. They took the remit
tance that came few weeks later and
placed the tombstone over his head
That was the last remittance. Since
then no one has come to visit the
grave, and no light has been thrown on
the interesting history Of the mystery.
1t was thought probably he was fugi-
tive from justice, perhaps nobleman
in exile, perhaps Tilted lover. The
people of the town have waited to hear
his story. but many who waited are
lying further up the hill, and still the
story has not been told. His bearing
was mystery itself
IN the OLD community burial ground
lie some of the men whose names dec
crate the pages of literature and
science. In the center of the city, the
yard OF the old Owen homestead, lie
the remains of William MacClure, the
great scientist, and Thomas Say, the
father Of American zoology New Har-
mony's interest lies buried in her
graves. E. L. LEWIS.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
Monkey sense.


Forest and Stream: There has been
recent discussion whether animals
nave reason. The question seems to
ME much like discussing whether dawn
is daylight, but l am not proposing to
debate it. l only wish to call attention
TO the fact that the numerous instances
or intelligent animals, made famous by
your correspondents, are all dogs!
BLOOD is thicker than water. Please
record the following instance of intel
hsence and other equally admira BILE
qualities in another race somewhat
nearer to us on the family tree. Dogs
are only mammalia; monkeys are pri-
mates. A friend who was encamped in
the woods recently witnessed the fol-
lowing occurrence: A troop of mon
Keys, which seemed to be a picnic par
", under the charge of chaperons,
came to cross creek by his camp
They came along, travelling, as usual,
from tree to tree by interlacing limbs,
and at the creek side soon found some
vines which made suspension bridge.
There was considerably skylarking 60
ing on in the procession, but the chap
erons marshaled all across the bridge
except two. These two had lodged be-
hind trees and palpably and deliberate
ly got left on purpose, and when the
rest of the picnic was safely out of
sight they selected nice narrow seat,
where they sat extremely close to-
gether, apparently deep in conversa-
tion and as happy as could be. After
some time the larger one espied fruit
hanging not far below him, and began
to reach down to try and get it. His
reach proving too short, he took a
twist with his tail around the limb
and swung for it. But even his tail
was too short, and the fruit still hung
a foot or more out of his reach. His
smaller comrade saw the difficulty and
solved it at once. She grabbed the
tail firmly, loosed it from the limb,
while at the same time her own tail
took turn around it, let her COM
rade's tail twist about her wrist, and
then, all securely braced and anchored,
she reached down until she had low
cred him in reach of the fruit. He
gathered it and in a minute was back
at her side and they were eating the
fruit together What dog could have
ever figured through a problem like
that, beginning with getting left by
the picnic? And what dog would
have failed to eat the whole prize him
self, only growing at his comrade to
keep off? But blood will tell!
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03

Second Baseman Childs of the st, Louis
club, struck Umpire McGarr at Bos-
ton and was fined and removed from
the game. 1t matters not what uni
form player who engages in a fight
on the field wears, he should be heav-
lily fined and suspended There is no
punishment too severe for a member
Of national league team, who assaults
an umpire. A thorough investigation
should be made of each case by Pres
ident Young. Failure on his part to
do his duty licenses lawlessness. How
can an umpire maintain the dignity of
his position and compel the respect of
the players II the league, which he rep
resents. will not protect him from the
anarchistic element? 1t is bad enough
when players engage in brawls and
lights with each other President
Young has failed to punish one Of the
many offenders OF this class this sea-
son. The bully and tough should be
driven from the game and II President
Young will not do his duty under the
constitution. he should give way to
some one. who will see that the laws
Of the game are enforced.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
used for Its construction weFe made by
hand by the colonists and used by


hand by the colonists and used by
them In the erection of their colony
nall, church and school, all com bined
1t was then and for many years the
north and west of the Ohio river. 1t
covered an entire square. 1t was
transferred, together with the houses
and farms, to the Owens and William
MacClure in 1925, but later the Rapp-
ties sent representative back to New
Harmony and purchased the building.
They tore it down and placed the brick
IN this remarkable wall.
Once a year the Rappites send a
representative to New Harmony to cut
the grass, repair the breaks in the
fence, prune the vines and trim the
trees. John Duss has filled this COM
mission for many years. He brings with
him the chart and points out the last
resting places of the men and women
who were prominent in the colony
work. Their regulations were over
shadowed entirely however, by John
Rapp, the leader, and their histories
are of but local interest, and principal
ly connected with the work they had
and the houses which they occupied.
All of these old houses are still stand
ing, though they have been altered
greatly. Duss is an interesting talker,
and this year he gave a lecture to a
select party, explaining the lay Of
the land as originally plated. He also
gave a complete key to the burial Of
the dead it is but matter Of time
until the colony chart will be mis-
placed, to be eaten away by time, and
then the fufillment of the Rappites'
strange code Of rules, which made the
grave the end of all individuality, will
be complete. 1t should not, however,
be construed that they did not have a
reverence and a care for their dead;
that there were no ties Of relationship
and blood, which were not stretched
beyond the grave; that the Rappites
failed to have proper appreciation OF
these ties, or that they did not be-
lieve in hereafter. They were over
Jealous in the latter belief at least,
and were human in all of their feel
ings. They were, however, opposed
to ostentatiOn or even passing show.
The Owen community graveyard lies
out toward the mound. The present
burial ground lies just below it. On
the approach to them a grave, marked
by an old tombstone, is noticed clear
off to one side. It's isolation attracts
attention. Here lies buried the great
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
His First Thought.

No one can say how it began. The
first the loungers on the beach saw was
his body borne ruthlessly aloft on the
crest of the breakers, where it was
twisted fog a moment in giddy gyra-
tions and then dashed violently to the
beach and pounded and pummeled.
buffeted and worried by the merciless
waves. Eager hands snatched him be-
yond reach of the brutal breakers and
applied restoratives. For long, long
minute hope struggled with fear; then
the blue lips painfully parted, and he
gasped, while his eyes slowly Enclosed:
Quit now, Maria quit. Darn it, III
get up in minute!"-New York
World.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
TOMBS OF RAPPISTS.
OLD INDIANA COLONISTS ALL
SIDE BY SIDE.
Not Headstone, Not Even So Much as
Mound of Earth, Distinguishes the
Followers Sleep.
New Harmony (Ind.) letter.

New Harmony Und) letter.
Though this old town is the Mecca
annually of an army of students of lit
erature, science and socalstic and
communistic problems, and the old
Rapp and the old Owen colony land
marks have been written into state
OF decay, very small per cent of those
who come even so much as notice a
tWo-acre vacant inclosure, which lies
IN the heart of the residence portion
and which is the most interesting
burial ground in Indiana. and possibly
IN the country. Within this inclosu~e
over 500 of the old Rapp colonists lie,
sleeping the slumber of the just: but
over their graves is erected not even
one headStone-nOt so much as a
mound of earth. There is nothing to
indicate where friends and relatives
lie, and sort of 'first come first
served motto has prevailed in the
bur1als. The inclosure is surrounded
by wall as remarkable as the burial
ground itself. 1t is of brick, two feet
wide and five feet high, capped with
sandstone. There is but one entrance,
and 1t Is barricaded with iron gates,
kept locked. The interior looks like
neglected lawn. There are evergreen
trees here and there. The grass is cut
but once a year.
Here lie the followers of John Rapp.
peculiar in life, equally peculiar in
death. They erected no tombstones,
because Of their religious views They
heaped no mounds The general sup
position has been that they did not
believe in display. However, they JUS
titled this and all other peculiarities by
reference to their book Of law-the
New Testament. From multitude OF
passages and sections of the New Tes-
lament they drew burial code which
precluded marking graves. They held
that death should end the mortal's
connection with this world; that to
preserve its personality was contrary
to the workings of God, who caused
death. For these and many other rea-
sons, they buried with little ceremony.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03

but with very reverent rites. The
grave was leveled to the ground. They
forgot the dead individual and cared
for their dead as community" They
did not bury in families. as is the
custom today, but laid their dead away
in rotation. Their colony was a large
one. numbering in 1920, when it
reached it's highest population, little
over 1.400 persons. They had reason
to believe that it would become larger.
They had erected their colony-town at
this point to endure for ages, and fig
ured that rotation in burial was the
best plan to adopt-this for obvious
reasons. Furthermore. it was consist
ent with their religious views con-
cerning death.
When death occurred in the colony,
the age, place of birth and other data
were inscribed in the colony book. The
graveyard chart was consulted, the
number of the next grave was given
the relatives, the name of the body to
be inferred was marked in the chart.
The clods fell in, the individuality was
by landmarks or by counting the slight
traces of depressions in the ground be-
ginning at the end of the row. The
descendants consulted the chart and
located them.
For reasons only fully known to
themselves, the Rappites sold their
colony town and farm and in 1925 re-
turned to Pennsylvania, where they
first located when they came to this
country, and there first built Har-
mony. They built them third colony
town and colony farm and named it
Economy. They believed in celibacy.
The great colony has gradually dwin-
died until it now numbers but seven
families Their policy was exactly op-
posed to that of the Mormons, who ad-
vocated numerically heavy offspring.
The Rappites had practical, as we'll as
religious, views for this part Of their
policy. The women worked side by
side with the men. and motherhood in
capacitated them-at least, tempora-
rily. The colony now numbers less
than forty persons all told. Their
property, which is held in commsn,
amounts to $25.O00,0OO or 5000, 900,
which is invested in railway stocks
and gas properties
The big brick wall around the ceme-
terry is marvel. It's height and its
breadth are remarkable. The brick
are capped by heavy stone coping and
It win stand for centuries. The brick |
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
Rat That Was AdODted nv a Cat

Forbes Baker of Steuben, Mo-, has
one of the most remarkable mousers
in the country in trained rat. Hav-
ing driven all the rats and mice from
his own premises, the rat is now doing
odd jobs for the neighbors. The rats
odd propensities are no doubt due to
the influence of his adopted mother, a
big maltese cat, owned by Mr.. Baker,
and rated the best mouser in Steuben.
Last winter she gave birth to kittens.
One day she came upon a young rat
and took him to her kittens. Mr..
Baker supposed she intended to give
her young ones their first lesson in
the art of rat killing; but the old cat
had no such intention. for instead of
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
Hustling Boston Catcher.

William J. Clarke, whom the Bos-
tons secured from Baltimore immedi-
ately after the Baltimore Brooklyn
deal was consummated last winter, is
ball player Of the type Of Fred Ten
ney in earnestness and hustling activ-
ity. He is never Indifferent. and al
ways plays ball for his club and the
spectators to the best of his ability No
catcher in the league is a more willing
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
Modern Mama.

In Arabia the Arabs sometimes find
in the sandy deserts kind OF fungus
which apparently resembles the mama
of the Bible, and which serves as food
for both men and camels when no bet
ter is to be had. 1t appears upon the
sand after every rain, sometimes In
little heaps. 1t is of a grayish color.
and the separate masses are about a.
big as peas. 1t has a sweetish taste,
and Is nutritious.
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03

Yeast-The north pole seems to be
away off. doesn't it? Crimsonbeak-
Yes. and so do the fellows who think
they can flnd it-Yonkers Statesman,
The Philipsburg mail., 1899-11-03
IN THE ODD CORNER.
QUEER AND CURIOUS THINGS
AND EVENTS.

monkey Sense, How Two Apes CO.
operated and Finally Got the Fruit
Rat That Was Adopted by q Cat
Queer Weddings in japan.
The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-03-28
SCHOOL IND COLLEGE

The graduating parts have been as
signed to the MEMBERSHIP the Senior Class
of North Yarmouth Academy as follows:
Salutatory, John Harold Gould, Vinal
Haven; class history, Mabel Ellie Pente-
cost, Montville; class prophesy. Rachel
Soule Stockbridge, Freeport; essays, Ada
Cole Hannaford, Cape Elizabeth, Minnie
Florence Weber Chebeague; Della
Genevieve Hamilton, Chebeague; valsdic-
tory, Lillian Lawrence Latham, Pownal.
Ths following.have been awarded parts
ut the Lewiston High school for the June
graduation: Valedictory, Miss Lillian
Norton; salutatory, Maude Furbush; o.
Smith, G. Fisher, Misses Chute, Parlin,
Marble, Hanscom and Messrs. Il. Well.
man and L Hayes. The evening pro-
gramine is as follows: Presentation of
gifts, l.. Beedy; recitation, Miss Lowell !;
,ration, p. Lothrop; vocal solo. Miss
Ieel; vocal solo, Miss Booth; piano duet,
Misses Phaneuf and Patten; recitation,
Miss Bowley.
The followlnsg members of the Bates
senior class have been selected to take
part in the annual senior exhibition
Friday evening: Charles ;. Calhoun,
Victoria, b. G; Alban b. Hyde. Fairpurt
y. Y; Herbert &. Small West Gardiner !;
Oscar A. Fuller. Washington; Ernest l..
Palmer. Charleston; Alton &. Wheeler,
South paris Miss Edith Hayes. Auburn /;
Miss Alice e. Lord Lewiston; Miss
Mabel 4. Jordan, Lewiston: Miss Edith
!, Irving, Lewiston; Miss Susie l..
Rounds, South Paris; Miss Muriel h.
Chase, Lewiston; Miss Wilde Tbayer,
Lowell. Mass.