davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

omy" in the useful Stories Series,
published by D. Appleton & Co. This
author accounts in simple manner
for the canals on Mars. In his Opin-
ion they were made in course of long
ages by water from the melting snow
and ice around the poles distributing
itself over the continents. That is his
guess. But in Germany is another
new guesser-Leo Brenner-who is out
with most interesting theory, which,
if true, accounts in quite human way
for the canals. =
Leo Bremen feels certain that Mars
is inhabited by beings in some re-
spects resembling ourselves. He rec
ognizes this resemblance in what he
calls the stupendous irrigation system
on Mars. The amount of work ex-
pended on irrigation shows, in his
view, that the inhabitants are very dis
similar to ourselves, since human be-
ings would be incapable of performing
such labor-or if not potentially inca
pable,: conditions are such on this earth
that it @would never need to be per-
formed, only in very limited sections.
He believes that the people of Mars
live in perpetual fear Of water fam
inc. and that the network Of canals
wards off the danger. OF course, then,
he believes that the canals are artificial
and in his publication lately made on
the subject he attempts to explain
away some difficulties that have been
considered by many as insurmount-
able. He finds reason why the sup
posed inhabitants Of Mars should have
dug canals Of such extraordinary
breadth, and why no mountain chains
hindered the straight-lined direction
#of almost all the canals. Mars, he
says, must be many hundreds OF mil-
lions years older than the earth, and
/ it is also considerably smaller, SO that
B it's surface must have become leveled
up in the course Of ages. the debris
from the mountains gradually filling
up the valleys until the surface has be-.
come fiat plain, state Of things to.
which our earth will ultimately at
tain. This process Of wearing down
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
New Theory Of Mars Canals.
Astronomer Burnham Thinks That They
Have Been Misnamed.

While Sherburne Wesley Burnham,
who is. only one of Chicago's astron-
omers, but perhaps the most distin-
gulshed of them all, processes to have
no very definite and unalterable opin-
ion as to whether the planet Mars has
artificial canals or not that can be seen
: from this earth, he yet does not hest
tate to say that Schiaparelli, who first
thought he saw them, was unfortunate
In the name he gave them. A canal
on our earth is a thing made by human
hands, and when canals are declared
to be on Mars the idea is perforce car
r1ed that they, too, were constructed
by beings that must have some re-
semblance to man. This was not
Schiaparelli's idea, or if it ever once
occurred to his mind he never insisted
on it. He did see on Mars lines that
suggested canals, and hence he named
them canals, but how they came to be
there, what their use was, and all that,
he did not say nor pretend to know.
Mr.. Durham, while deferring some
what to the opinion Of other astron-
omers who have given more attention
to the subject than he has yet been
able to give it, inclines to the opinion
that If the name t'canal' had not been
applied to Schiaparelli's discovery OBJ
servers that followed him would have
been long time in coming to the con-
clus1on that artificial canals are on
Mars that can be seen from this earth.
Mr.. Durham admits that great in
terest attaches to the subject, even in
the minds Of skeptical astronomers,
and far greater interest has it for un-
scientific people. There is so strong a
probability that some of the other
planets are inhabited by intelligent
and working beings, and so taking is
the notion that mankind has a race
cousin dwelling on Mars, that when
ever the possibility of this is suggest
ed, men and women of all degrees of
: enlightenment eagerly hope that it all
may be true. In the United States,
latterly, rather more Of popular inter-
est is taken in the subject than in
Europe, by reason of the recent studies
and delightful writings Of Mr.. Lowell
He seems to require no further or bet
ter evidence than he has already dis
covered that the Marian canals are
artificial. From his tower of tele-
scopic observation at Flagstaff, Arr,
he may yet discover further evidence
which will be sufficient to convince ev-
erybody.
But there are other. American writers
than Mr.. Lowell on the subject, and
! the very latest is author of "Astron-
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
Biggest Wedding in History.


On the day that Alexander the Great
was married no fewer than 20,202 per-
sons In one ceremony were made hus-
bands and wives. This seems impos-
sible, but the event really took place,
its historical record tells us. This
monster wedding occurred upon the
conquest by Alexander the Great Of
Persia, which was then ruled over by
King Darius. Alexander married Sta
tiva, the daughter of the conquered
king, and decreed that 100 of his chief
officers should be united to 100 ladies
from the noblest Persian and Medean
families. In addition to this, he stip-
nlated that 10000 of his Greek soldiers
should marry 10000 Asiatic women.
When everything was settled a vast
pavilion was erected, the pillars of
which were so feet high. One hun
dred gorgeous chambers adjoined this
for the 100 noble bridegrooms, while
for the remaining 10000 an outer court
was inclosed, outside of which tables
were spread for the multitude. Each
pair had seats and ranged themselves
in semi-circle round the royal throne
OF course, the priests could not marry
this vast number of couples, so Alex
:ander the Great devised very simple
ceremony. He gave his hand to Sta
tira and kissed her-an example that
all the bridegrooms followed. Thus
ended the ceremony, and that vast
number were married. Then followed
the festival, which lasted five days,
the grandeur of which has never. been
equaled since.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
HIS WEAPON WAS EMPTY.
.NeEro Robber Captured by Man with
,E.s Eiss& NSsS an Un1oadad r,ur

Negro Robber Captured by Man with
an Un1oaded Gun.
A gentleman Of this city who lives
out near the Bayou st. John had O.
peculiar experience few nights ago.
His house is somewhat isolated and has
= kitchen several yards in the rear Of
the dwelling. On the night in ques-
ton he was awakened by a noise, and
taking his pistol from bureau draw
f r slipped on some clothes and went
out to investigate. AS he approached
the kitchen burly negro sprang out
Of the rear door and darted across the
back yard carrying bundle under
his arm. The gentleman Is something
of sprinter himself, and he imme-
diately rushed after the fugitive. For
few moments it was nobody's race,
but the fleeing thief was unfamiliar
with the ground, and presently he was
trapped in blind alley. His pursuer
was at his side in a couple of bounds,
and leveled the pistol at his head.
Throw up your hands, you scoun-
drel!" he cried. The negro hesitated
and there was murder in his eye as
he glanced at several handy clubs ly-
ing near, but the cleaning muzzle
cowed him and he did as directed. The
bundle contained few old garments
taken from the kitchen, and, not desir-
ing to bother with the courts the gen.
tleman told him to begone. When the
nervy suburbanite returned home and
told the story his wife turned pale
E"Good gracious!" she exclaimed, why,
that wretch might easily have killed
you in such lonely place. How could
you be so foolhardy?" ooh, pshaw!
my DEAR" replied her husband, there
might have been some danger, admit,
if had been unarmed, but, you see,
kept him right under my pistol, and if
he had budged I'd have filled him full
of lead" Before going back to bed it
occurred to him to take second look
at the weapon. It was empty!-New
Orleans Times-Democrat.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

mountains and filling up valleys may
be seen active anywhere between west
ern Nebraska and the Pacific ocean,
Then he assumes that the continents
upon Mars resemble the fiat country
of Holland, and asserts that the inhab-
1tants have to protect their shores by
dams similar to those built by the
Dutch. They have, therefore, built
dams along their coasts, while at the
same time they have tried to lead the
sea water into the interior Of the con-
tinents by means of waterways and
canals. Fortunately for the inhabi-
tants, after the dams are built the can
ais do not have to be dug, but let in
the water and it will flow between the
dams up and down the continent. And
he explains the changed appearance
from time to time of the network of
canals by saying that when one of the
larger canals has given up much water
to the lesser ones it feeds it must be-
come shallower and consequently
fainter in appearance, and as soon as
it gets more water from the sea it be-
comes darker and visible again.
Leo Bremen is man of science and
in good standing among the astrono-
mers, and hence his theory respecting
the Marian canals is attracting good
deal of attention. It is but theory,
of course, for nothing is absolutely
known concerning the supposed inhab-
itants and canals upon Mars, and it is
next to certain that nothing ever will
be known. Some are looking forward
to a time when larger or more power
full telescopes will be made and point
ed at the heavens. At such a time,
many are thinking, we shall be able
to see important things on the planets
that are now invisible. But this is
not at all certain to come. to pass.
Mr.. Burnham is of the opinion that
the practical limit to the power of tel
Escapes has been attained. Not that
larger telescopes, with higher magni-
flying power, may not be constructed,
but that our atmosphere presents diff
fculties that are increased proportion
ately to the increase of magnifcation.
Mr., Burnham is not, it should be
said, specially interested in Mars and
it might be better to consult Mr.. Low
ell or some other man that is devoted
to the subject. Chicago's most noted
astronomer is a famous hunter of dou-
BILE stars, and he has catalogued more
of these, by 100, than any other man.
He is hunting still, for he makes trip
every other week, to the Yerkes tele-
scope at Geneva, and his looking is fire.
quently rewarded by some new find
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
Kitty In q Mail Rap

The officials Of the Oakland postof-
fee were startled this morning to dis
cover a. small kitten in registered
mail pouch from San Francisco. Be
sides the feline there were a number
Of heavy packages in the pouch. When
it was opened by the postof1ice en-
ployes, who were attracted by a new
ing inside, the kitten jumped out in a
playful manner, much to the amuse-
:ment Of those present. It is believed
the kitten crawled into the pouch
while it was in the San Francisco post
Office. The pouch was thrown off the
train at the Sixteenth street depot
when the train was speeding at the
rate Of forty miles an hour. San
francisco Call. 3
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
FASHIONS FANClES,

Pheasants' wings are being used
just as a momentary fancy upon vel
vet toques.
From Vienna, whence, by the bye,
some admirable European fashions
emanate, comes gown of crepe de
chine of vivid green, with lace trim
mings; the bodice, cream leather, en-
broidered in white and gold, and opens
over cream chiffon; the basque is
slashed to the belt and a cerise velvet
collar gives just touch of color.
The fchu of silk muslin. fastened
with pale blue muslin and pink roses,
is figuring now at many dinner tables,
as well as at country garden parties,
and this mode will be emphasized later
on by headgear that resembles the
Charlotte Corday cap, closely allied to
the turban toques, that have suited so
many pretty people this year.
Embroideries will be introduced on
the fronts of gowns in endless variety.
The narrow fronts over which the
dress seems to open assert themselves
in many new styles, but now the en-
broideries are fitting to the side pan
els, which are to divide the front from
the sides. This style will be repeated
on the bodice either for revers or for
braces. ~ j.
However inconvenient, we must ac-
cept the inevitable. The gowns Of the
Immediate future for day wear will
fasten, many Of them, at the back.
Some of the princess gowns owe most
of their charms to this arrangement
but demand beautiful figure, and the
shirts with broad lace insertion, sci
horizontally for the collars and cuffs
and perpendicularly down the front
would lose half their charm II they
were united any other way.
Many Of the most lovely lace fans
have gauze let in and are tenderly
painted, while the chicken-skin fans
with tortoise -shell mounts, form the
background for the most beautiful
paintings. Others, again, such as blacl
silk with ivory mounts, are not only
painted, but inlaid with gold. and some
OF the gauze fans have quaint fora.
patterns in spangles. Ostrich feather
fans have not gone out, but they are
for the moment subsidiary to thu
/ painted ones.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
TENT STOVES FOR SOLDIERS,
Quartermaster Smith VIII Order Two

Quartermaster Smith VIII Order Two
Thousand for the Barracks.
Bids will be opened today by Quar-
termaster G. c. Smith of the St. Louis
depot for 1000 conical wall tent stoves,
and on his recommendation the con-
tract will be awarded by Quartermas-
ter General Ludington. Not since 1895
has the government invested in tent
stoves, when 1900 were purchased
through the st. Louis depot. From a.
civilians way of thinking the army
tent stove is most unique. 1t has the
form of a frustrum of a cone, is con-
structed out of No. IA United States
standard guage common annealed plate
iron, and is in one piece, except the col
lar and door. The aperture for the
door is six inches high by six inches
wide, and the covering is sufficiently
large to lap over. An "A" shaped vent
is at the bottom of the stove, directly
under the door, and is two inches high
by three inches wide. The general di-
mansions of the stove are as follows:
Height, to top of collar, % inches; out
side circumference at top, 13 inches;
distance from bottom of door aperture
to base of stove, IA inches; weight, 10
pounds. The cost to the government
for those on hand was S1.23 each. cit
is not likely that all Of the 1000 stoves
will be used at Jefferson Barracks"
said Quartermaster Smith. II think
several hundred will be plenty. The
remainder will be shipped to other ar
my camps. The stove was adopted for
use in the army September 10, 1894,
and is by far the simplest device that
could be used in tent"
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
SNAKES AS DECORATIONS.
Samoan Dancing Girls Wreaths Thorn
selves with Reptiles.

Samoan Dancing Girls Wreaths Thsn-
selves with Reptiles.
Foy the most part the Pacific islands:
are destitute OF snakes. That is abso-
lutely the case In Hawaii. In New
Zealand, equally free Of these reptiles,
the only knowledge which the .Maoris
mad OF snakes may be found in leg.
end of q monster called the taniwha,
concerning which authorities differ as
to whether it is the ancestral and dim
recollection Of snake or of an alliga-
Tor. All the eastern islands of Poly
nesia between these two outposts are
snakeless. Westward from Hawaii,
down among the Gilberts and the Mar
shalls and the Carolines, Nthe square
bodied water snake begins to make it's
appearance in the lagoons and har-
pors. By the time the Philippines are
reached the water snakes become both
common and deadly, and the jungles OF
those islands are abundantly supplied
with snakes. From the Philippines, as
one follows down the chain of islands,
snakes are found both abundant and
venomous. In the wild lands of the
western Pacific the reptiles are fire.
quently objects Of worship, and in
some legends are credited with the
creation of the world. Samoa seems
to lie just on the boundary line Of
snakes in the Pacific. In the eastern
islands of the archipelago no snakes
are to be found; in Upolu a few are
seen at rare intervals; in Savaii, only
a few miles to the westward, they are
common and attain great size, in the
case of some kinds at least. None Of
them is venomous, and the islanders
neither fear them nor exhibit any Of
that repugnance to their presence
which is commonly called instructive.
This Indifference to the reptiles is
made most markedly manifest at the
hamlet of Iva, on the northeast coast
OF Savaii. Here are to be found small
snakes of most brilliant red color.
They are so common that a basketful
may be picked up in any banana patch.
The dancing girls of this town are in
the habit of employing these gaudy
snakes for personal adornment in their
dances. They tie them about their
necks, their ankles and their wrists,
festoon them in their head dresses and
tuck few extra ones in the belt in
readiness to replace such as escape in
the dance. At their best these sivas
danced by the Samoans are either dull
or revolving shows of savagery. It can
easily be imagined that they are made
no more attractive when the taupon or
village maid and her crew of attendant
girls go careering about with an as
sortment of writhing red snakes. Still
the Samoans, who have no stock OF
snake prejudices, look upon this as one
of the most successful and artistic
dances in their islands.-San Francisco
Examiner.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
Popular iZing the Spanish Language.

Popular ling the Spanish Languages.
The opening of the new school year
was marked in many of our public
schools and colleges by the introduc-
ton of Spanish in the list of regular
studies. Within a few years the study
of this language has met with much
favor among progressive educators.
During the past summer our sailors
and soldiers have provided us with
business, new in the way of having
never been worked with the skill,
push and highly developed methods
of the American man of business,
whether financier, commercial factor,
farmer or mechanic of any kind. -
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
A Crnel Awakening.

Miss Lovey-Ah, no, Harry, it can
never be. Jack locked that bracelet on
forever and kept the key. Mr.. Hazard
If you want to get out of it say so.
Every fellow in the class gave girl
one and our keys are all alike.-Je
elers' Weekly.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
An Excuse.

II Think" said she, that shall go
to the fancy ball as tax list" 81
comprehend" said he, with his GUS
tomary quickness, 'sYou wish to rep
resent something that will permit you
to not have on more than half you
ought Indianapolis Journal. :"
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

Anthony Trollope Advocated Union.
It is interesting to recall the fact
that Anthony Trollope, the novelist,
was one OF the first Englishmen to
speak up in favor of the United States
annexing Cuba. This he did thirty
eight years ago.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
Outwa ard signs.

New YorkerAre times improving
in your part Of the country? Kansas
City Man-Yes. things seem to be
getting a little brisker. We've had
two train Srobberies lately Chicago
Tribune. =..s.. # 5s
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

About the time man begins to have
good common sense old age makes him
childish and he can use It.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

Woman is called the weaker vessel
presumably because she Is leaky and
let's out all the secrets she hears.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

It takes less effort than to read
Chaucer, and no more than to read
Burns, to translate such a sentence
into plain, everyday English; yet per-
haps We may be grateful that there is
not yet any active literary movement
observable among the authors of Corn
wall
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

The dialect of Cornwall is rich and
varied, but recent authors, with the
exception Of Mr.. Quiller-Couch, have
not pressed it into the service of litera-
ture; and even he has administered it
in gently moderated doses to the I'M
prepared public, which might not have
accepted it at full strength.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

Protestant Churches In Rome.
There are fifteen Protestant
churches In Rome, all the work OF the
last twenty-eight years.
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15
QUAINT CORNISH DIALECT.
"A hitched my foot in the sconce and
knacked my nuddick, an A wadn't able
to chunky for fortnight

"A hitched my foot in the sconce and
knacked my nuddick, an A wadn't able
to chunky for a fortnight"
Readers of recent popular dialect
tales will probably take it for granted
that this sentence is Scotch. It is
however, Cornish, and being inter-
preted means, II caught my foot in the
pavement, and struck the nape of my
neck, and I was not able to swallow
for fortnight
The dialect of Cornwall is rich and
varied, but recent authors, with the
exception Of Mr.. CUTLER Couch, have
not pressed it into the service of litera-
ture; and even he has administered it
IN gently moderated doses to the un-
prepared public, which might not have
accepted it at full strength.
There are some quaint terms COM
mon in Cornwall which have a pleas
ing SAVIOR Of their own. The phrase
my deear"-prolonged to two sylla-
bles-is not, for instance any indica-
ton of especial affection; it is a COM
mon form of address, to either man or
woman. So also, though with rather
more discrimination in it's use, is my
deear life''
A young child is mentioned in terms
OF endearment as my 'ansome,' or
tender deear," or even "tender
worm" ''son'' and Sonny are used
without the least relati on to the. age
or sex of the person addressed. A
son may sometimes be heard speaking
to his own father as Smy son. or a
husband calling his wife SONNY"
Young means simply unmarried.
A bachelor of eighty is "a young man"
OF a bride still in her teens it was said
that she was "a pretty lot better-look-
ing than when she was young!" An
old person is not simply old; he is
''old ancient" Several New England
localisms are found in Cornish speech;
as "cricket" for a small stool, "chores"
for household jobs, and "dowdy" for
pudding-though in America the lat
ter word survives only as part of pan
dowdy," the delicious deep spiced-apple
pie of country housewives.
A Cornish anecdote relates that a
small boy left at home to supervise the
family dinner while the rest of the
household were at church, having, like
King Alfred, neglected his duty and
allowed the fig pudding to scorch, in
his dismay ran to the church and
from the doorway made signs to the
housewife to come forth. She indig-
nantly signed to him to wait, which
for time he did, but at length, be-
coming impatient, cried aloud in reply
to her further winks and grimaces-to
the scandal of the startled congrega-
ton:
t'Yiew may winky and skrinky as
long as view du phase; but the figgy
dowdy is burnt gin the crock!"
It takes less effort than to read
Chaucer, and no more than to read
Burns, to translate such sentence
into plain, everyday English; yet per-
haps We may be grateful that there is
not yet any active literary movement
observable among the authors of Corn
wall.
An Excuse.
II think" said she, that shall go
to the fancy ball as a tax list 81
comprehend" said he, with his Gus
tomarv ouickness. "YOu wish tn rem
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

Readers of recent popular dialect
tales will probably take it for granted
that this sentence is Scotch. It is,
however, Cornish, and being inter-
preted means, II caught my foot in the
pavement, and struck the nape of my
neck, and I was not able to swallow
for a fortnight"
The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-04-15

*Yiew may winky and skrinky as
long as view du phase; but the figgy
dowdy is burnt gin the crock!"