davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
Big Spiders.

All the larger kinds of spiders have
a spinning apparatus, but use it much
less frequently than the small kinds.
Instead of living, for the most part,
in a web, they retire for protection
from the weather or from their enc
mics to their nests, which are simply
straight tunnels, often lined with silk.
They seem to trust to their formidable
size and strength for their security,
and do not even fortify the doors of
their dwellings. The ~sedentary spider
sits in a kind of central telephone Of
flee, where every thread is a wire that
thrills the moment any intruder
touches it. and seems to tell the pro-
prietor something of the size and
character of the intruder. Should it
prove to be a silly little fly, he re-
ceives the news like IN invitation to
dinner, as it really is; but if it is some
large, fierce insect that he cannot
handle, he's apt to skulk away, as If
he had been dunned for a long-out-
standing ~tailor's or grocer's bill.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30

truth operated the healing business
boSh by personal treatment and mail.
II was the custom of Mrs. Truth to
open the mail and extract the S. which
was demanded in absent treatment.
Then the letters were sent out to the
mailing department and were answer
ed by the girls. AS soon as the letter
was received from a sick person. pro-
vided the S. was Enclosed, the follow
ing typewriter letter was sent:
Dear Friend-Yours of even date,
with Enclosure of S. for one months
absent treatment, at hand. Thank
ing you very kindly for same, I will
do my utmost to heal you by divine
power, and trust you will do your part
in bringing about the desired result.
Please observe carefully the inclosed
special directions, as they form a very
important part in restoring you to
permanent health and strength. Wear
the handkerchief upon your chest next
to the flesh. Send a clean handker-
chief to be prepared after the inclosed
is soiled. Please write about once in
two weeks how you case is progress
ing, as | like to keep in touch with my
patients. Wishing you well, believe
me, yours for health and happines.
FRANCIS TRUTH.
Dictated by Francis Truth"
There were other forms of letters
which were sent to patients, after one,
two or three months treatment. Truth
also edited and published a monthly
paper called the Divine Healer. He
gave instructions personally and by
mail to persons who wished to learn
the art of divine healing. For a course
under his personal supervision, con
sisting of thirty private lessons at the
Truth institute of divine healing, he
charged 500, payable in advance upon
entering the institute. The mail
course, including Is lessons, he gave
for $15 a week. To aid him in adver-
Using the concern, Truth had hun
dreds of testimonials purporting to be
from various parts of the United
States. These letters were published
broadcast, and thousands of Easy vic
tins were led, by reading of those
marvellous cures, to answer the adver-
tisements and drop" their coin. 1t
IS needless to say that most of these
testimonials were fakes and without
foundation.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
BRIDGE FTRAGEDIES
TO LOSE IDENTITY AT HANDS
OF REBUILDERS.
Bands of Indians Fought There Years
Ago, And Horrors Have Been Con-
tinued There Ever sinoe-Rendezyous
of Robbers.

Probably no place in the United
States has been the scene of more
crime than the Morris creek railroad
bridge, near Montgomery, w. Va,
which Is soon to lose it's identity at
the hands of bridge builders engaged
to remodel it, and the creek which 1t
spans. The original owners were the
Morris brothers, who held the patent
from the state of Virginia, and from
these brothers the creek bears it's
name. How many tragedies occurred
here before the white man came is not
known, but tradition says the creek
was the scene of a number of conflicts
between the Mingoes and the Shaw
nees, and the quantities of arrows and
stone hatchets which car be found
there bear out the correctness of this
statement. At one time this creek
was n Of the prettiest bits of seen
cry in the Kanawha valley, but the
railroads and coal mines have taken
away much of the beauty which it
once possessed, and the beautiful
stream of water is now but a discol-
ored drain for all the impurities of the
different mines along it's course. In
August, 1894, DR.. ]. w. Davis, a prom
inent physician of Montgomery, was
returning from a professional visit up
this creek, when he was fired upon and
received wounds from which he died
In a few hours. This assassination was
carefully planned, and fire was opened
upon the doctor by his invisible as
sailant before he had got into danger
GUS range. The doctor whipped up his
horses and tried to escape, and in sc
doing was compelled to drive nearer
to the ambush of his foe. He drove
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
CARRIED AWAY BY A GHOST,
Mrs. Petit Was Summoned by Her
Dead Husband,

Mrs. Petit Was Summoned by Her
Dead Husband.
Either a strong proof that superna-
tural things occur in this world and
may be seen by mortals, or the work
ing of a disordered imagination is the
story told by Mrs. Charles W. Lee, a
Danbury, Conn, woman. However
this may be, the facts in the case, in
so far as they are procurable, are fully
in accord with her assertions. Mrs.
Lees mother, Mrs. Margaret Petit of
Brooklyn, was visiting at her daugh-
ter's home. Mrs. Lee, as the result
of recent surgical operation, was con-
fined to her bed, slowly convalescing.
The mother, apparently in robust
health, retired late at night. Accord
ing to her custom she did not appear
at breakfast in the morning, but greet
ed her son-in-law cheerfully when he
entered her room at o. and placed
fruit and coffee at her bedside. A
shor time after Mrs. Lee had left Mrs.
Pettit's apartment, her daughter says
SLe Saw tHe we'll remembered HSure
of her father, dead sixteen years, pass
along the hall and enter the room oc-
cupied by her mother. Distinctly, she
declares, she heard her fathers voice
says:
Margaret, come with me-"
Overcome with fright, unable either
to move or scream" said Mrs. Lee, in
recounting her mystifying experience,
Il lay with eyes fixed on the door of
my mothers room and ears strained
to catch the slightest sound. Clearly
l heard my mother answer fathers
command. Her words were indistinct,
but the toni implied her willingness
to 60. An instant later the door
swung noiselessly open and my father
stepped across the threshold, carrying
mother %teuderly in his arms. They
vanished as l looked at them"
Something has happened to moth
err" she shouted. 60 to her! Go
quickly"
MI. Lee tried to sooth the hysterical
woman, then, to humor her, went to
the mothers room.
Mrs. Petit lay dead in bed.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
becoming frozen, fell upon the aston
ished dancers in the form of snow.

Curious Cures for Common Complaints
Medicine has been a scientific pro-
fession for five centuries. but among
the ignorant classes of the presant day
there yet linger the most ridiculous
remedies. Indeed, there are quite a
number of respectable people who
firmly believe that in some occult way
rheumatism can be cured by carrying
a potato or horse chestnut in the pock-
ct! And there are plenty of credulous
people who will steal meat from the
butcher, rub it on warts, and then bury
the meat, the warts being expected to
vanish as the process of decomposi-
ton sets in. Physicians are often
called to deal with summary severity
with people who believe in ridiculous
remedies, and they frequently find their
best efforts and highest skill thwarted
by ONE old crone with her "yarb" tea
n nominations. In the middle ages
absurd cures were almost innumerable
n %devoutly believed in. A favorite
cure for ague was a chip from a gal
lows on which several persons had
beer hanged, said chip to be worn in
a bag around the neck. If a person
was subject to cramps a rusty sword
hung by the bedside would frighten
them away; and If that did not answer
a ring made from a coffin would GER
tainly give relief. That agonizing NAL
ady, toothache, was cured by driving
nails into an oak tree, which, II 1t did
not kill the pain, was a sure %preventa-
tive against a future attack. 1t was
we'll known to the people of the mid
die ages that nightmare was caused by
witches, who sat on the sufferers
stomach, and it therefore became nee
essary to brighten them away with a
"iagstone." This was a stone with
a hole in it, hung at the head of the
bed. and it in time came to be re-
garded as a safeguard against all the
ills with which the evil demons af-
flicted mankind. We cannot but WON
der how these ideas prevailed so long,
since the people continued to have
headaches, toothaches and all other all
ments, in spite of their cures and pre-
ventives. But it Is much more won
derful that there should be found q
single person now living in the Chris
tian world who can believe in witches
or magical cures.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30

through a hail of bullets, three of
which took effect, wounding him NOR
tally. B%loodhounds were placed OF the
trail of the assassin, and in a day or
so Bud C~lendennin, a man who but a
short time before had recovered from
an illness through which the kind
hearted doctor had treated him free of
charge, was captured. He was tried,
convicted at Charleston and given a
life sentence in the penitentiary where
he subsequently died, protesting his
innocence to the last. The fact that
it was on the eve of an election, and
that for some of the jurymen to vote
it would be necessary for them to dis
pose of the case that night, saved
Clendennin from the gallows, as II
of the jury were for hanging, the
other was not, and, declaring his in
tention Of holding the fort, the rest
gave in. so that they might vote. In
the same year, and but a few months
later, the body of DR.. J. G. Aultz, a
well-known surgeon, was found a life
less mass under the fatal bridge. I'm
known parties attempted to blow up
the bridge with dynamite during a
strike in 1894, but owing to the fact
that they were not familiar with the
explosive the force of the explosion
was u%nconfned, and though the bridge
was somewhat weakened, comparative
ly little damage was done. During all
H. 4;~,o +Lnt tLo 7 oxrs. 49, ~ .-l
bels and murderers existed this was
their rendezvous, and every move
which they made was planned under
the shadow of the old bridge. Here
it was that John Cochran, miner, was
coaxed one night in March and MUIR
dered, robbed and then his ~lifeless
body cast into the inky waters of the
creek, and washed out into the bosom
of the Kanawha river. Viers, who led
the white element of this gang, made
an effort to throw the responsibility
for this murder upon an innocent man
named Lewis, who was an enemy, but
on the scaffold his nerve failed him,
and he confessed that his former state
ments were false, and that Lewis had
nothing to do with the murder.
Back in 1880 the first lynching that
ever took place in that section occur
red within a few hundred yards of this
bridge. Mart Lee, who had assaulted
a white lady, was turned over to the
sheriff of Fayette county by the sheriff
of Kanawha on this bridge, which was
then the dividing line between two
counties. In a short time a mob over
powered the sheriff, and, taking Lee,
swung him over the river from the
first available tree.
Many people have fallen between
the tracks of this bridge, and sustained
serious injuries. The last of these was
only a few months ago, when an e.
sane soldier from the PHILIPPINES, in
charge of two guards, en- route to one
of the eastern army infirmaries at
night, and while the train was passing
over the bridge, leaped out, and was
Immediately followed by one of the
guards, who was permanently injured.
The insane man was never found.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30

around the table and set it down where
the major had indicated on the floor.
Like a marble statue sat the young
subaltern in his white linen clothes,
while a cobra di copello, which had
been crawling up the leg of his trous-
ers, slowly raised it's head, then turned,
descended to the floor and glided to-
ward the milk. Suddenly the silence
was broken by the report of the
majors revolver, and the snake lay
dead on the floor. Thank you, major"
said the %subaltern, as the two men
shook hands warmly. you have saved
my life!" You're welcome, my boy"
replied the senior, 'but you did your
share. scottish American.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
OUR SOLDIERS LOOK ALIKE.
fair-Haired Saxon Type Prevails In thu
ARMY,

Army.
The Saxon type prevails throughout
u active fighting forces; at least, it
so appears to the mere eye-observer.
whatever the records may show. A
newspaper correspondent, now in Bos-
ton, called my attention to this at San
Fernando, in the interior of Luzon, and
l had myself noticed and spoken of it.
Everywhere the pale blue or gray eye,
everywhere the fair skin, everywhere
the tawny hair and beard. In Cebu,
Panay, Negros, and Sulu the same
phenomenon, writes Senator Bever-
idge. In many instances the boards
have been allowed to grow, and OBJ
were startlingly struck with
the resemblance which these fierce
looking bearded men-boys in years
bore to the old pictures in our primary
school histories of twenty-five years
ago, and of the descriptions which ac-
companied them. The Saxon type is as
conspicuous in the Philippines as the
flag itself. OF course, the dark hair
and eye are there, 90, Three of the
most daring and enduring soldiers |
met were of that type, but the general
impression is distinctly fairness in
hair and lightness in eye. This calls
to mind the homogeneity of the people
of the republic. One might well expect
the same type in the men from the
Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas; but
he who has not followed chronological
currents in America would have ex-
pected that the southern troops would
have been quite a different type. And
yet, in the Tennessee troops in Iloilc
was found precisely the same type as
in the Dakota troops at San Fernando
You might have said that they al
came from the same section, the same
state, the same county, almost the
same family. 1t was an inspiring
thought; the American people are in
deed one people. The boys from Ten
nessee look like the brothers of the
boys from Nebraska or Montana. The
boys from Oregon and Washington
look like the brothers of the boys from
Pennsylvania. The boys from Cali.
fornia look like the brothers Of the
boys from Minnesota. And brothers
they are-brothers of the blood, broth
ers OF the flag, brothers of battle,
brothers of destiny. How mad must
be the man who dares believe that by
any temporary emergency these broth
ers can ever be divided against them
selves.-Saturday Evening Post.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30

This was one of the architectural
boasts of Nankin, China. 1t was reared
in the ninth century before Christ by
King Avon, and has been twice re-
built-once in the fourth century Of
the Christian era and again in lab by
Hoang-li-Tai. The tower originally
attained a height of $50 feet. 1t con-
sisted of nine stories ~surmounted by
a great mast bounded by a spiral cage
and crowned by an immense globe.
A hundred and ifty-two large bells
were hung from the. roofs of the nine
stories, which were ornamented also
with 12S lamps. The cost of the origi-
nal edifice was estimated at between
$35, 00O, 900 and $40, 000, 900. 1t was
made of white brick and the walls and
roofs were brilliantly ornamented
with porcelain. The great proclaim
town was destroyed in 1853. during the
Tae Ping occupation of the city.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
Extravagant Wedding Festivals In the
Eaat,

1t is difficult to realize what vast
sums are spent on weddings and fes-
rivals in the east. Every man must
send out son or daughter handsomely,
though he may have to borrow from
the native money lender at 30 to 100
per cent. For instance, a Hindoo
sweeper" of Benares. the other day
G. e., one of the lowest caste, answer
ing to our s~cavengers), had a son get
ting married, and spent four hundred
rupees on the occasion equal to about
5000, for the rupee maintains it's value
to the native. Fancy a scavenger
with us spending 5000 on a single we'd
ding. But the feast lasts for days
costly dishes are provided; music
bands are hired; scents, such as altar
of roses, are sprinkled on the guests;
and altogether it is made a right royal
festive occasion. This, as may be
guessed, keeps the poor still poor, for
debts go on from generations. And
when it is remembered how young chill
dren marry, at ten to fourteen being
quite common, and how families in
crease in a household, for the sons
bring their wives to the parent home,
it will be seen what a source of evil
and poverty such marriages are. No
one could be more anxious to get his
sons and daughters we'll married than
the Indian parent. From birth a part
ner is locked out and bargained for.
And as for debt, why, what ~self-re-
| speeding Hindoo does not consider
himself justified in mourning that for
SO ~laudable an object as marriage? 1t
is one of those customs in which opin-
ion has more influence than conviction.
And even intelligent men who admit
the abuse are too much guided by Gus
tom and opinion to start a reform. In
deed, so ruinous has the cost of mar
riages sometimes been that parents
have murdered their female infants to
avoid it.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
O~UTWITTING A COBRA,


threatened tThBeuys
Dinner was just finished, and several
English officers were sitting around
the table. The conversation had not
been animated, and there came a lull,
as the night was too hot for small
talk. The major of the regiment, a
clean-cut man of 55, turned toward his
next n%eighbor at the table, a young
subaltern, who was leaning back in his
chair, with his hands clasped behind
his head, staring through the cigar
smoke at the ceiling. The major was
slowly looking the man over, from his
handsome face down, when with a sud
den alertness and in a quiet, steady
voice, he said: Don't move, please,
Mr.. Ca%rruthers. l want to try an ex-
pertinent with you. Don't move a
muscle" "A1l right, major" replied
the subaltern, without even turning
his eyes. Hadn't the slightest idea of
moving, l assure you! What's the
gamer" By this time all the others
were listening in a lazily, expectant
way. do you think" continued the
major-and his voice trembled just a
little-"that you can keep absolutely
still for, say, two minutes-to save
your life?" Are you joking?" "On
the contrary, mov a muscle and you
are a dead man. Can you stand the
strain?' The subaltern barely whis-
pered, yes" and his face paled slight
ly. Burke" said the major, address,
.. ~ - IL I-.-
some of that milk into a saucer and
set in on the floor here just at the back
of me. Gently, man! Quiet" Not a
word vas spoken as the officer filled
the saucer, walked with it carefully
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
A HORRIBLE LYNCHING.
Negro Hanged and Pierced by Nine
RuIIAfS,

Negro Hanged and Pierced by Nine
The other day a colored man named
John Bailey attacked a white girl
named Miss Amanda Snellgrove as she
was going past a lonely strip of woods
near Marietta, Ga. She battled brave
ly with the burly negro and screamed
loudly, but no on2 was neal enough
to hear her. The negro, insane with
rage, drew a knife and used it freely
on the woman's face and body,
scratching and biting her with fend-
ish ferocity, Fancying he heard foot
steps approaching in response to her
calls, he finally fed. Miss Snellgrovc,
nevertheless, almost hysterical, her
clothing in shreds and her face bruised
and bleeding, managed to crawl to
her fathers home, giving the alarm
and naming her assailant, and his cap
ture was easily effected. He was plac-
ed in Jail. At the trial Miss Snellgrove
was present with the signs of the knife
cuts and bruises and scratches which
she had received still plainly visible on
her face. After the trial a mob was
organized and advanced upon the jail.
They had little trouble in gaining pos
session of the prisoner. When they
reached the park a piece Of telegraph
wire was placed around the neck of
Bailey, and he was drawn into space.
The wire was not securely fastened
about his neck and he dropped to the
ground, ~whereupon fully fifty shots
were fired at him, nine of which pierre
ed his body, three entering the right
lung, one his liver and the remainder
his stomach. The mob believing Bail
ey was dead, quickly dispersed, and
the sheriff discovered that Bailey was
still alive and was conscious. The man
was carried back and placed in Jail
and the wounds were dressed.
When told by the physicians who
were present that there was no chance
for his recovery, Bailey broke down
and admitted to the... and the sheriff
that he had committed the crime
charged against him and was sorry
for it.
The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30

Eight skeletons, believed to be
those of traders murdered many years
ago, were unearthed by laborers build
ing a switch near Guthrie, Ky. A
closed a murder. The skeletons are
the remains of men who had been
buried at least twenty years. In the
spring of 1852 eight traders left Nash
Vile for st. Louis with a large herd Of
cattle. They disposed of the stock,
and a few days later started upon
their return home. Nothing more was
eve heard of them, although they
were traced to a section where the
skeletons were found.