davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

with peach stones, to prevent the weaS
and tear of passing feet. 1t Is furpjshed
with a table, co hes and chairs, seated
with strips of hide.
Large game Of many varieties, ante.
lope and giraffes were once abundant,
but they r now comparatively scarce.
Nevertheless the Beers are stnlfamous
hunters and can handle a rife perhaps
better than their English n~eighbors in
Cape Colony, B-echuanaland and Natal.
Frequent troubles with the Zulus and
Kafirs have, moreover, given them quite
a little knowledge of warfare. A Brit.
ish officer, who is thoroughly familiar
with Dutch customs and history in
South Africa, is authority for the state.
ment that the older generation de.
lights in remembering Majuba hill,
Laing's Mex, Ingogo and all the rest Of
English humiliation, and some of them
TO this day retain their old guns, with
anotch in the stock for every ''rooinek,"
or Englishman, they allege to have
shot. They fill their cartridge belt,
put a piece of biting in their pocket,
mount their horses and ride off to war.
Billing, it should be explained, is sun
dried yenison cut into strips, and is said
to be very nourishing and sustaining.
The Beers, when out on the veldt, live
on it for weeks at a time and seem ia
crave no other food.
The SAM authority says that when
taking the field the Beers harass them
selves with no cumbersome commits
sariat or ambulance wagons. Every
thing is left to chance. and in the war Of
1854 ii seemed truly wonderful how
they escaped all manne Of horrible
dangers. If they get wounded they
seek a refuge in the nearest farmhouse.
If they are mortally wounded they look
upon it as a decree of Providence.
Practically every Boer is mounted
and although they have no regularly
constituted regiments they join togeth
er in what is called Commands"
These are the aggregate collections Of
the farmers and their sons from one
particular district gathered together
in a heterogeneous mass under the
leadership of the field cornet" or the
commandant of that particular district.
In the past the Beers have never fought
in the open, but in the war now in prog
ress they have several times made bold
charges and accepted hand-to-hand en-
counters. They have also added field
hospitals to their equipment, and the
forces around Ladysmith are accom-
panied by an ambulance train and a
staff of Boer physicians, who are, al
most without exception, graduates of
Edinburgh.
The Boer women excel in marksman-
ship; and when the British troops shall
finally succeed in invading the Trans
vaal they will find them enemies by no
means to be despised, They handle a
rifle with ease and can shoot a bird on
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

VERY fair, sah-very fair for this sea-
son Of the year" said Kurnel Bunker,
as he drained his glass and setit on the
calling Of the veranda. "And now, sab,
you want to hear about what was called
Kurnel Bunker's Purge Bill which
would have made a paradise of the state
of Arkansaw had il become a law. The
state Of Arkanstw, sab, as you may
have observed, is the natural home of
the mosquito, the g%allinipper and sew
eral varieties Of flies. 1t has been my
proud boast, and the proud boast of
other prominent residents of the state,
that only within the confines of the
state does the horse-hy reach a lux
hriant extravaganza of growth. Here
he passes the hy-stage at the age of
four weeks and becomes rather a bird
Of prey. Here you find the gallinipper
at his best--here the mosquito would
be able to pull down a young chicken if
the summer lasted a month longer. In
a way, sab, as showing what natuTeca AK
do and does for us, l speak Of these in
sects with pride: but on the other hand
tam compelled to realize that they are a
drawback to civilization and progress.
1t was for this reason thatI introduced
the celebrated Purge Bill. OF co'se you
saw it referred to in the press at the
timer"
He waited for me to reply, but I was
so long about it that he bestowed a
glance of pity and continued:
"After extensive reading and many
experiments I framed and introduced
my bill. I have several printed copies
at home, and will mail you one to-mor-
row. The bill, sab, provided for the
purchase and use of $1,OOO,O 900 worth of
chloride of lime. Ten thousand persons
were to be appointed to scatter the
stuff throughout the swamps and
lagoons of the state. The idea was to
disinfect and annihilate at the same
time. In my experiments, public and
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13
HIS NOTION OF THE DAY.
President Rogers, OF NOFthventera
U%niversity, Gives His views
OF the Day.

President Rogers Of the Northwestern uni
vsrsity, takes an eminently progressive view
of Thanksgiving day. cit" he says, orig
mated with the Pilgrims at Plymouth 10
1921 and for two centuries its observance
was peculiar to the New England states, al
though it gained some recognition in the
middle states during the revolution. From
these states it extended gradually to the
other states. IN 1868 President Lincoln ap-
pointed the last Thursday of November 'as a
day of thanksgiving and praise to our be
neticent Father who dwelleth in the
Heavens The practice, which had hither.
to been local, now became national, and we
have ever since had a national Thanksgiv-
ing day. In its origin Thanksgiving day was
a period of recreation as well as Of thanka
giving. The first thanksgiving festival, that
Of 1921, appointed by Gov. Bradford, lasted
for several days. Religious services opened
each day, without doubt, but these were
followed by a round Of amusements, To be
sure their amusements were the simple, rus.
tic amusements of the times, and not those
to which we are to-day accustomed. But
the material point is that originally it was
not exclusively a religious festival, and I
feel free TO say that / do not agree with
those who think that it ought to be con-
verified into a strictly religious festival.
I'VE ought not to forsake the assembling
Of ourselves together in the churches on
that day, but, having e~onscientiously per.
formed that duty, it is a mistake to assume
that the rest of the day is to be observed as
though it were Sunday. Recreation and
amusements Of the right kind are a neces-
sity, and they are not to be frowned upon
as something inconsistent with the highest
type of morality and manhood. And the
days in which we can best indulge in recrea.
ton and amusement are the holidays. Bu9
good people everywhere ought to insist, and
they will insist, that those amusements Be
not permitted to encroach upon the religious
side Of Thanksgiving day, The universities
are not likely TO forbid the playing Of foot
bali on that DDS, out for them to allow these
games to be svyed at a time which eon-
hicts with tlN church services peculiar 10
the day ouglR not to be permitted. The
thing itself w9ald be wrong, and would prop
erly give great otfense to the Christian sen.
timent If our land.
The Thanksgiving day Of the future wis
be like tnet Of the past and the present
characterized by religious services. 81
amusementg and by feasting and good fsl,
lowahip. Foe one I would not haved esheP-
wiss"
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

I made the fight Of my life on that bill
sah-the fight of my life. On one occa.
sion [ spoke 6Or fo'teen hours on q
| stretch, and on another II. If my
memory serves me right I issued nine
challenges and accepted six. l made
10 set speeches, won over % weekly pa,
pers and adjourned the senate eight diff
ferent times when the opposition had
fixed things to down me. At length !
came to know the head and front of the
opposition was the governor himself,
and that he had used certain disparag.
ing remarks of a personal nature. /
called on him at IL o'clock at night.
He refused to come down and open the
doah, but stuck his head out of a cham
Der window and asked my business.
Governor says I, is the report
that you have referred to me as a
visionary noodle-head correct?
"'It is he promptly replied.
"'Will you give me satisfaction
"T will
"'Can 1 hope to greet you on the field
of honah at sunrise?'
"'You can; and now get out or I'll
whistle for the police!'
"That was the sort Of governor we
had, sah," explained the Kurnel in an
injured tone, "and it may not surprise
you to hear that he reached the duel
ing ground next morning with a crow
bar on his shoulder. Yes, sah-come to
fight a duel with a nigger's crow-bar,
and he was even abusive about it! As a
/ gentleman I could not resort to such a
vulgar weapon. Indeed, sab, as a gen
tleman I could not fight at all with a
person who resorted to such practices.
I turned my back on him, sah-turned
my back and walked off the field and
denied that I had ever heard his name.
/ went further, sab. AS a prominent
member of the senate my honah for
babe me further relations with the gov
ernor, and I promptly packed up my
belongings and went home for the rest
Of the session. My purge bill was
dead, of co'se, and I was no longer on.
hand to defend it, but the day may
come, sah-the day may come"
when, what, KurneIP" [ asked.
He looked mournfully at his empty
glass and famed himself with his hat.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

sea leveD, and the winters are quite
cold, snow frequently falling on the
slopes of the D~rakenberg, a mountain
chain whose SUBMITS are 1900 feet
above the level of the sea in several
places.
Pretoria, the capital of the South
African republic, has had a weather
bureau for a number of years, and in
its reports the January temperature
is given as go degrees Fahrenheit,
that of the winter months as 40 de-
grees. The summer is the rainy sea-
son., and storms with thunder and
hail are frequently severe. The rains
usually begin about the middle of Oc-.
tober and last internationally until
April, almost the entire fall taking
place during this period. At Pretoria
the average rainfall is 80 inches, This
increases toward the east, reaching
a maximum in the mountain region,
and decreases toward the west, in the
direction of the Great Kalahari des-
ert, a barren and dry strip of unpro-
ductive land, so that on the frontier
It is not more than ~ inches. A cE-
AAdlG- 5uCA as NAAb 4lg VI COAA 9Gg NV Ia
vorable to the growth of timber, ex-
cept in the river bottom lands. Con-
s~equentIy anything bigger than bushes
IS not often seen in either of the two
states, although the soil supports an
abundant heritage which, in the win-
ter, becomes dry and brown, but
springs up with renewed vigOr and
increased succulence with the first
rains. Nature has made the Trans
vaal country a vast pasture, and that
is why cattle raising is the chief in
dustry of the burghers.
General farming is profitable only
where costly irrigation plants have
been established. The soil is adapted
for the cultivation of all kinds of veg
etabIes and fruits, and in some districts
a very fine quality of tobacco is grown.
Grain also does well in certain districts,
but as. a whole the two Dutch repub-
lics are purely pastoral in their indus
tries. As the pasturage is scanty for
half a year, the farms are necessarily
large, for the stock must often be driven
long distances in search of fodder. This
accounts also for the small population
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

only a brihe behind me, but there WIS
a wide difference between us, saba
wide difference. While I had an ex-
ultant feeling. BON Of the firm belief
that he would fall at my fire, he was
shaky and I'll at ease, and 1 think he
had a presentiment that death stalked
at his side. al fine orator and a gal
liant man was the Hon. Jordon Jones,
but not Of the stuff of which warriors
are made. Egad, sab, but / never
think Of him except in sorrow. We
had taken U places and the word
was about to be given, when what did
he do but fall dead Of heart trouble
throw up his hands and fall like q
logl That ended the affair, Of co'se.
No gentleman ever fights a duel with
a dead man. I should have killed him,
but I reckon it was better as it was.
Should q person Of color be visible
from your standpoint you might place
me under renewed obligations"
He was promptly and duly "placed, =
and after an interval of ten minutes
he returned to the subject in hand by
saying:
"As / consc1ent1ously beheved that
my bill was for the best interests of the
commonwealth, I pushed it as vigor-
ously as I could. There were opponents
by the dozen. Some 1 brought over to
my way Of thinking by argument and
experiment, and some L called out. /
cannot recall at this moment that any
! of the duels resulted fatally, but at
least a few Of them must have, and as
1 am here alive and well to-day it must
naturally follow that the other parties
sleep in honored graves. That bill
would have gone through a-fying with
an appropriation Of $4,000, but I had
introduced it according to war tactics
crush your enemy with one blow. The
idea was to make such a wholesale at,
tack all along the line that the pesky
insects would be knocked out in a day,
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13
LAND or THE B0EBs.
Authentic Information Concerning
Lts Climate and Topography.
snqw in WinteF Is Not Uheommon,
hut = summer5 Are very Hot
-qattle-RatsinR the PRtR-
cipal Industry.
fspesIal cerrespondanea.l

The impression that the South At
rican republic and the Orange Free
State are tropical countries SCENE
70 prevail quite generally, Some
imaginative newspaper writer's have
gone so far as to compare the
climate of the two countries with that
of Cuba and the West Indies. Nothing
could be mor misleading than such
statements. While the climatic con-
ditions of the district in question are
not by any means ideal, still some
sections, especially that called the
s.Hooge veldt'' (the high feld), which
forms the major part of the Transvaal,
is very healthy. The heat of the sum
mer is mitigated by great elevation
Gin most places 1000 feet above the
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

of the immense territory covered by
the Boer states, the average in the
Transvaal being seven inhabitants to
the square mile and only four in the
Orange Free State.
Until the discovery Of gold the Trans
vaal was a country of farms. The gold
regions are of small area, and nearly
all controlled by English capitalists and
miners. Although the Beers were given
every opportunity to engage in mining,
they stuck to their farms which, by the
way, are truly picturesque establish
ments. They consist Of sheep kraals,
ostrich farms, Kaf1r huts, where the
boys eat and sleep, wagon houses and
outhouses rooted with zinc. The
dwelling house usually is a square, red
brick building, with matched root,
fronted by a low brick wall. The walls
surrounding the sheep kraals are made
Of sod. The average Boer house con-
sists Of one big room, into which the
front door opens. 1t is called the "sit
kane or sitting-room, and has no
dQarinR beyond elay,or clay studded
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

"she says her husband talks when
he's asleep"
II think that must be a mistake. He
talks when she's asleep Chicago
Post.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

lettering TOm-Did you eyer work a
farm?
Pfodding Phil-No; but rye worked
the farmert.-yOnkerz Statezman.
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

Z VII II
LEADING COAST B
DECLAE
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

O1V
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

In , |
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

!, u Outn
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

nHIul "
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

n - - n % =
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

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The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25

GENERAL LEW w
The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1900-10-25
WAYNE McVEAGH

SUPPORT BRYAN
The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1900-08-24

The Supreme Court has decided that.
technically at least, Admiral Dewey did
not overcome a superior force when he
fought and won the battle of Manila
Bay. The decision holds that land bat.
teries, mines, tOrpedOes and other agen-
cies not operated directly from Monte
jos ships do not count. The effect of
the decision is to reduce the prize
money awarded to the men in Dewey's
squadron from 100000 TO 100000.
The admiral's personal share is cut
down from $4,000 to one-half that
amount Few people will be 80 I'M
gracious as to rejoice at the reduction
OF the amount to be paid to the men
who crushed the Spanish power in the
Philippines. but there will be fewer
still who will not be glad that prize
money In any form or in any amount
is now a thing Of the Congress
having repealed all statutes giving
bounty to officers and sailors of the
navy for the destruction of an enemy's
vessels. Prize money was survival
Of medieval military tradition-a mod
ernlzed form OF loot" In compare
lively recent times. indeed. the soldier
was encouraged to find his recOmpense
in plumber rather than in his stated
pay. Armies were recruited by induce
ments Of pillage and ON the sea pri-
Watering placed naval warfare on a
purely Sordid basis Thus il came
about that the men OF the regular navy
were solaced by prize money to place
them or even footing with the pri-
vateersmen. The institution survived
In the navy long after footing" In the
army was an offense punishable by
death. 1t is well that in this country
and. II recollection serves. In most
other civilized natiOns-prize money Is
no longer to be awarded. 1t made fight
ing a mercenary business and, while
mercenaries sometimes fight well. no
such inducement is needed 10 inspire
the sailors OF the republic with deter
mination TO maintain the prestige OF
the American navy and the honor Of
the American flag. Hereafter In the
navy as In the army victory will be
uncolOred by any Interior thought Of
financial reward IL is thus that Amer.
lean seamen should fight.
The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1900-08-24
SECURED Her Hired Man.

we ministers have many strange
experiences in performing the mar
rlage ceremony" said the Rev. w. r.
Sheridan, of Pontiac, Mich. in the
Pittsburg Dispatch. One Of the most
curious in my experience occurred not
long ago. A large and heavy woman.
accompanied by a comparatively small
and meek-looking man. had come in
and asked to be married Everything
was regular and the ceremony was per
formed. After it was over the bride
explained her position.
"'YOu see, Mr.. sheridan. she said
farm hands are mighty hard TO get in
this part of the country and they are
even harder to keep. You get a good
hired man and get him well broke in
to work around the farm and the first
thing you know he quits the lob and
goes off to town or somewhere else
Last spring l had tirst-class hand
about as good as l ever expect to get
but just when the season got right busy
he up and quit me.
- just made up my mind that
wasn't going TO be left in the same fix
this summer, so here we are.
The bridegroom in the ease simnlv
stood and smiled meekly. He had moth
Ing At all to say"
The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1900-08-24

Whenever a King of AAhantee dies
a guard of 1000 of his subjects are
slaughtered to conduct him to the 9th
en- world. 1t is said that as many rs
10000 people have been slain on such
occasions.
Every time there is a national fes-
tival there are human sacrifices. In
fact. blood letting seems to he one Of
the principal occupations Of royalty in
Ashantee.
Back of the town OF CoomaSie there
is place called by travellers the Grove
OF Skulls, where the bones of victims
are thrown. Here Is what Henry Stan
ley said of 1t when. in 1874, as war
correspondent, he accompanied the ex-
petition of Sir Garnet Wolselcy: AS
we drew near the foul smells
became suffocating. 1t was almost I'M
possible to stop longer than to take 4
general view Of this great Golgotha-
We saw thirty or forty decaptated
bodies and countless skulls. which lay
piled In heaps and scattered over
wide extent. The stoutest heart and
most stoical mind might have been ap-
palled."
Several officers Of the exeditiOn, al
though it remained in COomasie only
two days. visited this Grove of Skulls.
and subsequently described it az sur
passing in horror anything to he seen
in the world
The King of Ashantee is opposed to
progress. He does not want any roads
in his domain. When the English. cut
their way inland from the gold coast
they left fine road behind them. With
several pistols pointed at his head. the
King agreed TO keep this road in repair
and not allow ii to he overgrOwn. but
he knew that the rainy season was at
hand and that the English would have
to hurry back to the coast The road
was never touched.
The system of human sacrifices prac-
ticed in Ashantee Is founded on Wilt
idea of tilial duty, for it is believed
that the rank of dead relatives In the
next world will be measured by the
number of descendants sent after them
lloni tulS' 4ueIe are TWO perlouS' call
ed The Great Adai' and The Little
Adai," succeeding each other at inter
walls of eighteen and twenty-four days
after the death Of some member Of the
royal house, at which human victims
are inundated to monstrous extent
On the Great Adai the King visits
the graves of the royal dead ut Ban
tama, where their skeletons. held to
gether by links Of gold sit in grim
mockery of state.
The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1900-08-24

thority Is a giant umbrella. The spokes
are OF embossed gold. and on the end
OF each spoke Is human skull. This
emblem has descended to him through
a long line Of ancestry.
King Prempeh has exactly 3.333
wives. Why this number should have
been decided upon he does not know
Like several other things they came
TO him by Inheritance. He takes them
for granted.
The kingdom q Ashantee is rich in
gold, and Prempeh is many times a
millionaire. He wears earrings OF solid
gold. All OF his personal adornments
are Of gold. He owns the only house
IN his kingdom. II is n rude structure
OF stone His Royal Highness sleeps
on the floor
King Prempeh Is a bloodthrsty ruler,
and Is In the habit of making human
sacrifices. This is one OF the practices
which England desires him to stop, for
whenever his gods are displeased he
seeks to propitlate them by having a
few hundred OF his subjects beheaded.
II was to put a stop TO this that Eng
land made war on the King OF Asian
The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1900-08-24

race who are capable Of putting IN
such a stifr fight as are the people OF
Ashantee, for they are born warriors
and love their country with a savage
Kind of patriotism. Besides. they would
not dare refuse to fight. Refusal
would mean not only disgrace. but in
slant death. The power Of this pictur-
esque monarch is unquestioned. should
the Car Of all the Russlas even think
Of doing what King Prempeh does and
thinks nothing Of doing. there would
he vacancy at the Winter Palace. The
sultan OF Turkey Is a novice in TYRANNY
as compared with the black King Of
Ashantee. II his breakfast does NOT
happen to agree with him, the cook Is
liable to lose her head. literally. If
one OF his subjects should even han
pen to look 1T one OF his wives tho
said subject would be conducted nv a
subordinate to some shady grove or 10
the rear Of the woOdshed-and he
wonid never return. Should any of his
warriors refuse to fgbt-wel. there ia
no telling where the gore shedding pro.
clivlties Of the monarch with the ping
hat would stop!