davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

called TIE Ancient Order Of Queer
Bish, and had been accepted. presented
himself at the appointed time for ini-
tiation.
In accordance with ancient usages,
the candidate was blindfolded, ushered
into the lodge-room, marched In slow
and solemn procession around the
darkened hall. subjected to various
trying ordeals, including that Of being
tossed In blanket held at the corners
and sides by athletic members, and
having come through the ceremonies
alive and In fair preservation, was de-
clared duly initiated. and entitled to
the right hand of fellowship. The
bandage was removed from his eyes,
and the brethren crowded about him to
extend their congratulations on the
fortitude he had displayed.
How did it impress you" asked one
of them.
1T was the most impressive cere-
mony, take 1t all around" he answered.
''that ever knew or ever heard Of"
you were aware, of course, that
there was fire across the street while
we were putting you through"
"Why," rejoined the new member,
II could hear the putting Of the engines,
the tramping of the horses on the stone
pavement, the yelling of the firemen
and the swish of the streams from the
hose, and could smell the smoke, too,
but good gracious, thought it was a
part of the initiation
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
HOW HE GOT HIS CLOCK.
Saved Mans Life Who Was Dying
of Quinsy.

saved a MANS Lie VINO was Dying
of Quinsy.
In the hallway of a Philadelphia
doctors house stands a fine example of
a grandfather's clock, the possession Of
which the medical man owes entirely
to a pinch Of snuff, says the Philadel-
phia Record. Some years ago the doc
tor in question set his heart upon such
a timepiece, and devoted two of his
vacations to clock-hunting. He visited
many New England farmhouses with
out success, as old furniture has been
pretty well gathered up by the dealers
down east" and then carried his
quest into Delaware and Maryland,
where he found many old clocks, but
none Of them for sale.
He was about to return home dis
consulate when he was called into coz
sultation over a patient dying of, quinsy.
The resources of medicine had been ex-
hausted, when the Quaker city doctor
bethought himself Of an old snuffbo1
he had picked up during his waTdsr-
ings, in which still fingered modicum
Of snuff. pungent as Of yore. With this
powerful tobacco the doctor assailed
the nostrils Of the sick man, who, sneez-
ing violently, broke the abscess in his
throat that was choking him to death.
Stimulants were administered and the
sick man recovered.
The Philadelphia doctor left the place
the morning after this remarkable
operation, but he had not been home a
week before the grateful Marylander
sent him a grandfather's clock, ac-
companied by card. upon which was
written: This clock. which struck the
hour of my birth, would have also
marked the hour of my death IL youc
skill and knowledge had not stayed the
hand Of the destroyer"
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

The eabbateans Of saIonica and Their
Peculiar Belief.
Surely one of the oldest religious In
the world Is that OF the Sabbateans
Of Salonica. of whom NJ. Damon has
lately made special study, says Pail
Mall Gazette. The sect takes Its name
from one Sabbath CevL O Smyrniote
Jew, who fourished In the middle of
the seventeenth century, and so mud
died himself by constant study Of the
Cabala that he gave himself out for the
Messiah. Thanks to some miracles,
thousands Of Jews flocked to his stand
ard and serious revolt was on the
point of breaking out when the pasha
of the district captured him and offered
him the choice between accepting
Islam and being incontiEently shot.
The story is that he chose the former
alternative and that his followers, dis
gusted with his apostasy. abandoned
their belief In his Messiahship and re-
turned to their former faith.
Nj. Danon's researches, however,
show that the sect Is not extinct, as has
been thought. He had much difficulty
In getting the information, and it was
only the lucky accident Of one of the
faithful sending his waistcoat to be
mended, without remembering that a
sort of prayer book was stitched in the
back, that threw any real light in his
way. AS it was, the tailor had just
time to show the document to friend,
who took copy now in NJ. Danon's
possession. From this. it seems that
the Deunmeh Tor converted) as they
the God Of Abraham under his cabalis-
tic name of infinite and acknowledge
as their lord and king" Sabbath Cevi,
whom they call ''the true Messiah" and
their redeemer. They are not to take
false oaths In the name Of God or his
Messiah, are not to murder, "even
though they. hate any one," to bear
false witness. nor TO covet other
peoples goods. But they are to keep
their faith profound secret, and to
live like Mussulmans, keeping the
Moslem fasts and observing all their
ceremonies without any scruple until
the day when they are to take ven
geance for Israeli" after which they
will become angels.
The mixture Of gross and lifelong
hypoericy with the practice of real
virtues-it is especially said that there
are no poor among them, every member
of the community being willing to help
at any time any Of the others-is very
typical of these apocalyptic sects. And
in this faith more than thousand
families In Salonica believe.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

dive, or viceroy. OF the dynasty Of Me-
hemit Ali. Cairo capital Of Egypt.
metropolis of the African teaching-has
had q romantic history. Scene OF IA
nous exploits Of great personages,
from Saladin to Napoleon. OF sanguin-
airy conflicts between Christianity and
Islamism. and the memorable massacre
Of the Mamelukes; cradle OF religion
and cults; home Of the arabian
Nights tales; the place where lasting
principles Of philosophy and science
were conceived. and where Bible
scenes were laid. Cairo has become the
meeting-ground OF winter idlers from
every cline.
Cairo looks old. but comparatively Is
not. Alexandria has the appearance OF
'newness. but was twelve hundred
years old before the first stone of the
present capital was laid. But the
Cairo of to-day is only the develop
ment of Fostat. Old Cairo. New Baby
Ion. and Heliopolis. probably. There
has always been a great city there Or
whereabouts. changing In appellation
with its locale.
The visit to Egypt has become almost
as essential to Americans-and fully
half Of the eight thousand winter visit
ors are from the States-as the pilgrim
age of good Mohammedans to Mecca.
The Mohammedans' religion takes
them but once to the sacred city of the
prophet, but pleasure draws those IA
vored by fortune to the Nile capital
time after time. Cairo is more than in
teresting; 1t is fascinating. The anti
quarian. the student. and the savant
have always been at home there; and
the invalid. real or imaginary. seeking
climate, finds in and about the khe-
dival city the superlative Of air and
temperature.
Artists never weary of reproducing
Cairo's picturesque scenes and vivid
colorings. The blue of the skies, the
.splendor Of the setting sun. the Turner
esque afterglow. and the delicate
suggested in water-colors. Like Venice,
Egypt demands master hand in oils.
The traveller Of impressionable ma
ture yields to the fascination Of Cairos
quaint Eastern life, as perfect as IL met
far beyond the Orient's threshold, and
doubly satisfying, because found with
In half-hour Of the creature comforts
of hotels conspicuously modern. To
walk the streets Of an Oriental capital
wherein history has been made. be-
tween meals, as 1t were, and delve by
I day in museums and mosques perpetu-
ating mysterious past, and dine de
rigueur in the evening. with the best
music in Europe at hand, explains a
charm that Cairo has for mortals lik-
ing to witness Eastern life provided
they are not compelled to become part
of it. If Egypt disappoints, the indie
cisive dler can in four or five days be
back in Paris or the Riviera.-Century.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
(Which" Hazel.

According 10 ,Meehan's Monthly, the
correct nar.e for Hamamelis Virginia.
is not Wi h hazel, but 'wych hazel Our
plant has 10 connection with the magic
of the water hunter. The blackthorn
of England. Prunus Spinosa. was the
wood used in these divinations, or
whatever these superstitious practices
may be termed. Hazel had very wide
meaning in the olden times, and the
elm, as well as the nut now known as
such, was hazel. One Of these elms,
now known as Ulumus Montana, was
the favorite wood for making wyches,
or provision chests, and was therefore
known as the wych hazel. In the pres
ent day 1t is the wych elm. Our Ham
mamelis received from the early set
tiers the name Of wych hazel from the
resemblance of the leaves to those of
the wych hazel or elm Of the Old world.
Language reformers imagining that
wych should be spelled witch are re-
sponsible for the confusion. Wych
hazel Is the correct term for our plant.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
Earliest Strike.

The earliest strikes occurred about
1850 B. c., or upward Of thirty-three
centuries ago. Pharaoh was building
a new Temple Of Thebes. The ma
sons received very little cash, but a
quantity of provisions. which the con.
tractor thought sufficient was handed
to them on the first Of each month.
Sufficient or not, they mostly ate it be-
fore the time had elapsed. On one
occasion many of them had nothing
left quite early in the month, so they
marched to the contractors house, be.
fore which they sauatted and refused
to bulge until justice was done. The
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
Reindeer as Racers.

The popularity Of horse racing in
Russia is seriously threatened by the
introduction Of the reindeer as the RI
val of the horse, says the Golden Pen
ny. The rp'ndr"r is among the swift
est Of quad,,'r,-ds and can outstrip the
swiftest of horses. 1t Is estimated that
he could give the fleetest Derby winner
a start Of half mile and beat him cas-
lily over the Derby race course, while
for short distance he reaches a speed
of sixty miles an hour. A st. Peters
burg merchant has constructed a spe-
cial course for this new sport, and the
novel excitement Is looked forward to
with great eagerness by sport-loving
Russians. 1t is expected that before
long reindeer will be harnessed to
sleighs and that most exhilarating Of
pastimes made more exciting still.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

panying cut. This box is unique con-
trivance fitted with automatic signal
flags so that the passing carrier can see
at glance IL there is any mail deposit
ed in it for him to collect. 1t is also
receptacle for delivered mail, and a
different colored flag apprises the
householder when the carrier leaves
any mail in the box. One of the flags Is
white and the other red. The box Is to
be affixed to post near the street con-
venient for the carrier.
1t is fitted with perfect locks. and
when the carrier drops mail into the
box the white flag Immediately comes
up, which indicates that there is mail
for the people at the house. Dropping
a letter to be mailed into the box raises
the red flag, which is the signal to the
passing carrier. 1t is large enough for
the largest-sized letters and has separ-
ate spaces for papers and packages. 1t
is the intention Of the Postoffice Depart
ment to-, introduce the house-to-house
collection system as soon as possible.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
PRIVATE MAIL BOXES.

A New and Convenient Idea of the
Postoffice Department.
The Postoffice Department has order
ed that in all cities and towns having
free delivery the postal system shall be
extended to include house-to-house col
lections, and the SYSTEM is also extend
ed to all rural free delivery routes. One
of the requirements, says the st. Louis
Post-Dispatch, which the citizen must
observe is to supply his own mail box.
Postmasters are instructed to give in
formation about the boxes and encour-
age householders to put them up.
The Government has made special
recommendation of certain kind Of
mail box represented in the accom-
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
One in Misfortune.

The soldier boy wrote home from the
far Philippines:
"Father-My left leg has been shot
off by a cannon ball. want to buy me
good, first-class cork leg. Please send
me 500 in your next letter."
The father answered, from his home
in the Georgia pines:
"Son-I kin shake hands with you on
yer loss. lost my wooden leg endur-
in of the blizzard. A niger stole 1t an
split it up fer kindlin' wood. Eff you
git that cork leg, let me know how 1t
works, an whar you got the money to
git 1t with."-Atlanta Constitution.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

guard house term In the autumn Of
1879, and immediately repaired to the
nearby town Of whisky shacks and
made himself exceedingly drunk. He
returned to the post with the announc-
ed intention OF razing It to the level Of
the desert and firing a volley over its
ashes. The captain had him lassoed
as he was entering the post. He order
ed that hole sufficiently large to re-
ceive the upright body Of man be
dug In the sand of the parade ground.
When the hole was dug the captain or
dered that the hard-case soldier be
stood In 1t up to his neck, and that
the sand be then repacked around him
as tightly as possible, covering his
arms and shoulders and leaving only
his head protruding above the ground.
The captains orders were obeyed. The
offending soldier, still more than half
drunk, was packed In the sand hole,
his head alone catching the rays of the
semi-tropical sun, and sentry was
placed over him. The sun was nothing
compared to the desert ants. The ants
sent out their couriers to the highways
and byways and dunes and hollows,
and it was no time at all before some
thousands of them, big, red, spider
like and ferocious, were running over
the soldiers head. They crawled into
his ears and his nose and his mouth,
and they caused him such unspeakable
agony that he shouted in frenzy. The
sentry finally reyolted against this
punishment, and his comrades joined
him. They threatened the captain, and
the latter, from fear of summary pun
ishment, permitted the prisoners re-
lease. The prisoner was taken to the
hospital, almost a maniac. The case
was reported at Washington, and the
result was a revision of the military
code.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

and down in front of the guard house,
from the time he went on post until re-
lieved, at the end Of two hours, by
another guard house prisoner, to whose
shoulder the log would be transferred.
1t was also the sentry's duty to see
that the "log-humper" did not drop his
burden. The prisoner could shift 1t
from one shoulder to the other, or car
ry thunder his arm, or horizontally in
front of him, or in any other way he
chose; but he had to carry 1t, and he
had to keep moving. on pain of being
indented with the point of a bayofet.
There are hundreds of old soldiers still
In the United States army who did
their little tricks at "tree packing in
the old days, and none Of them speaks
with the slightest degree Of enthusiasm
of the job. The guard house prisoner
of large physique was out of luck in
those days. A 1O0-pound log was in
variably bestowed upon him. The
smaller logs were reserved for the pris-
oners of less bulk.
"Trotting the BulI-Ring."
One of the punishments meted out to
the cavalryman who got into the guard
house under the old regime was ''trot-
ting the bull ring" The bull ring is
the circular track upon which the
horses are exercised when there is not
much doing around the post in the way
of drills on account of Indictment
weather. Every cavalry post has its
bull ring. Upon the smooth surface
Of the bull ring the fractions cavalry
man of a couple of decades ago was
required to chase the intangible air at
regular intervals, named in the SEN
tence, every day of his confinement.
His bull-ring work was no go-as-yOu-
please walking match, either. He could
go at any pace swifter than a walk
but he was not allowed to walk. Heel
and-toe business was barred. IL he
chose to work 1t out in cantering the
sentry was agreeable; did he prefer the
less graceful, but also less irksome
trot, the sentry hadn't a word to say
but IL for single instant he relapsed
into a common, everyday walk ht
would hear the sentry's command, like
the crack of a circus ringmaster':
whip, s"Shake her up there, Pete; wha
do you think this is, practice march
G'langw and If the bull-ring poundel
knew his gait he would leave off walk
ing right away. The bull-ring worl
was good for wind and muscle, but !
was hard and CALLING. A soldier under
going bull-ring sentence dropped
dead from heart disease at post II
the Southwest one day about seventeel
years ago, and then the bull-ring pun
ishment was abandoned.
Buried i'm Sand.
1t was reserved for the commandin,
officer of an Arizona post, one-com
pany outfit, to inflict so barbarou
punishment upon an offending soidie
that the whole scale of punishment II
the United States army was revise,
and made hard and fast. This com
handing officer was a captain, and tn
affair happened in 1879. He had II
his company a soldier who was a yer.
hard case, and put in most Of his tim
in the guard house. He completed
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
HORRORSOFU.S. ARMY
CRuELTIEs FORMERLY IMPLICIT
Ed ON SOLDIERS.
shouIdering Log rotting the Bull
Ring-One Man Buried UP to His
Neck in, Sand Some Other Inhuman
Methods.

Twenty years ago cruel punishments
indeed were melted out to refractory
soldiers of the United States army. In
those days a 20 or 30-day trick in the
guard house was not comparatively
minor matter, as 1t is now. The SOL
der who nowadays lands In the guard
house for drunkenness, insubordina-
ton, neglect Of duty or any other vio-
lation of regulations is put to work at
some job around the post from fatigue
call in the morning till recall from IA
tigue late in the afternoon. The work
is never hard. The only discomfort
connected with the work is that 1t Is
always performed under the watchful
eye of sentry with loaded gun. On
the other hand, the guard house pris-
oner gets every night in-that is, he is
permitted to slumber peacefully on the
comfortable bunk in his guard house
cell, while his comrades who have not
committed themselves have to take
their turns standing guard over him
through the watches of the night.
Shouldering a Log.
The soldier who worked himself into
the guard house prior to 1879 did not
get any night in, from the day he be-
gan his term until its end He walk
ed his post, two hours on and four off,
from the beginning to the termination
Of his sentence. But he did not car
ry gun while onpost. He shouldered
an Embarked log, from six to eight feet
in length and weighing from 20 to 100
pounds, and man in his rear carried
the rifle. The business Of the soldier
with the rifle was to see that the SOL
der with the log kept on the move, up
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
HoIIanders Smoke Most.

The Hollanders are perhaps of all the
northern people those who smoke the
most, the humidity of their climate
making it almost a necessity, while
the moderate cost of tobacco with them
renders it accessible to all. To show
how deeply rooted is the habit, It is
enough to say that the boatmen of
Holland measure distances by smok.
ing.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
HOW Diamonds Ar, Cut.

Diamonds are cut in three different
forms-the rose, the brilliant and the
table, of which the second Is the pretti-
est. 1t is a double pyramid or cone,
of which the top is cut or to form a
large plane, and at the bottom directly
opposite to a, small plane.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
Cordial Relations.

Mrs. Snow-My husband has grown
very fussy of late years, but he was
easily pleased when we were married"
Mrs. Coldeal-He must have BEEN
San Francisco Examiner.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
BIottcrs OF Historic Value.

A Philadelphia man owns a most
unique assortment of pieces of blotting
paper, collected by his father, who was
long an official of the White House.
each Of which bears, reversed, the sig
nature of a President, from General
Harrison, who died month after his
election in 1S41, to Garfield. On one
sheet, the most highly priced of the
lot, the last official letter signed by
President Lincoln was blotted before
he was assassinated by Booth.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
Bucking and Gagging.

Although the new regulations ex-
pressly forbid the punishment of "buck-
ing and gagging," men have been buck
ed and gagged in the United States
army within the past dozen years.
Bucking and gagging consists in tying
a refractory soldier-generally a sol
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
lerusaIem,s Formulation Increasin ..

The population Of Jerusalem has
been rapidly increasing Of late and is
now about $4,000; Of these 2S,OOO are
Hebrews.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11
FASCINATING CAIRO.

The Most Picturesque and Interesting
of Oriental Cities.
From its founding In 969 by the
Fatimite califs. as an offshoot Of the
tented settlement of Fostat. to the pres
emit rule of Abbas Pasha, seventh Khe-
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

He Gin an argumenD-weIl, thank
goodness, I'm lot two-faced. She
You ought to be thankful. One face
like yours is enough.--Ex.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

II you must go to law, hire the best
lawyer in town. The law is always on
the side of the best lawyer.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

A man who had applied for admis-
sion into secret society, which, for
the purposes Of this narrative. -sS be
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

Historic Relic OF Quebec.
The cloak on which Wolfe breathed
his last, at the capture of Quebec, is
one of the curiosities in 1.-The British
Museum.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

BY the time a man Is able to supply all
his wants he doesn't want very much.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-01-11

Contrary to the general rule the
street-car company finds its hangers
on source Of revenue. i''' % 80 oss