davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
UNCLE SAM SLOW.
Takes as Much Time Over q Sixteen
Cent Bill as Any Others.

Takes as Much Time Over a Sixteen
Cent Bill as Any Others.
A grizzled veteran of two big wars
and several smaller Indian combats,
was relating stories Of his experience
while In the service of Uncle Sam.
One of them that will show your I'm
Gle Samuel one of the real business
men of the. world is told by the vet
eran, as follows: .."I went through
the civil war, and rose from the vol.
unteer ranks to a first-lieutenancy,
and was assigned to the regular army.
In June, 1873, while attached to the
quartermaster's department of my
troop I disposed Of some oil to private
parties. In selling the oil 1 sold one
gallon more than I had, and turned
the money over to headquarters be-
fore I discovered my mistake. then
wrote the department at Washington
asking it to return the price of the
oil, so that I might have my accounts
Strengthened. AS only sixteen cents
was involved I thought the matter
would end by the return mail bringing
back the amount of the claim In
that was much mistaken, as I am
still forced to answer documents that
read In reply to yours of June, 1873,'
and so on and so forth, till I have in
my possession a stack of documents
weighing not less than fifty pounds.
and still they come" +:
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Two Fine Old Oak Trees.

Raleigh, N. c., has the largest pair
of oak trees in the United States,
when symmetry of trunk and top is ta-
ken into consideration. They stand
300 yards north of the capitol in the
spacious grounds of the "see house"
of the Episcopal diocese. There is
practically no difference in their d.
mensions. The diameter of trunk at
the ground level is nine feet, and six
feet higher up Is seven and one-half
feet. It is: thirty feet from the ground
to the first limb. The branches radi-
ate in the most symmetrical manner
and cover space of 10 feet in diam
eter. The height of the oaks Is ninety
eight feet. Their trunks are not ir-
regular or roughly buttressed. They
are red oaks and their age Is estimated
at 600 years. Their vitality is per-
feet.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Coal and Iron Center.

Birmingham, Ala., is built on foun-
dation Of limestone. Its southern linn
it's touch a range of hills which are
filled with iron ore. On the north
lies another ridge containing immense
deposits of coal. Nowhere else, it is
claimed, are the three essentials for
the manufacture of iron and steel
found so close together. AS a conse-
quence, Birmingham is one of the
greatest: producers of iron and steel in
the world. A new steel mill, to cost
$1,500,0 900, and a rod, wire and nail
MILL. to cost $2,00o,00o, are now. in
process of erection. Birmingham
makes pig iron at a cost of Sc a@ton and
basic steel at an additional, cost of
from So to IS a ton.. Because OF the
low cost OF production, its mills send
more pig iron to foreign countries than
all the rest, of the United States put
together. During the first six months
OF 1898 Birmingham's shipments to
foreign ports amounted to $4,000 tons
of pig iron, IN addition to 5000 tons OF
cast iron pipe. Foreign trade for
1899 will show an increase OF more
than 33 per cent over last year.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
FORTUNES IN HARD WOODS,
Big Advance In Their Values Durine
the Past Year.

Big Advance in Their Values During
the Past Year.
The hardwood business mas increased
to such mammoth proportions in the
last decade that Chicago is unquestion-
ably the largest consuming market in
the world. The receipts so far this
year Indicate that by January there
will have been placed in the forty Diff
ferent yards fully 1,200,0OOOOO feet,
valued at upward of $30,OGO,O00. The
largest consumers Of this vast amount
OF hardwood are, the 80 furniture fac
tories, the many piano and organ
makers, the agricultural machine man
utacturers, the palace car works and
the building interests. An inventory
completed week ago showed 3O,000,-
900 feet in stock at the Pullman yards.
European demand for black walnut
takes nearly all Of the limited supply
Of that wood, leaving only enough to
meet the piano and organ require
n1ents.a Indiana and Ohio, the hest
forest states in the country, wasted
more of this valuable wood in rail
fences and in fires than the value Of
the remainder of their trees, and those
states are now being secured for the
rails, which can be made into table
legs and similar pieces. One tree near
Goshen, Ind, recently sold for $4,000,
and eighty trees brought 100000. -Four
trees shipped to Europe sold for $1O,-
600. The Indiana sycamore is valuable,
finishing in bright red with birds-eye
dot. 1t is used mostly for small fancy
boxes. White walnut is used mostly
for carvings for churches and finishing
for expensive residences. Butternut
and chestnut form most of the collins.
Chicago Chronicle.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28

Copenhagen's War Against Rats.

So great a nuisance have the rats
recently become in Copenhagen that
efforts are being made to exterminate
them. In order to encourage the new
occupation Of rat hunting for profit
and pleasure combined, premium OF
10 ore per rat is being paid for every
one Of the rodents produced whole but
dead. For the past three weeks war
against the rats has been .waged. In
the first week 6,094 were officially re-
corded as killed; thes number grew to
6,616 in the second week, and for the
last week it had swelled to $3.50 1t
is hoped to reach weeks mortality
among the rats of 10000 in two or
three weeks unless the supply becomes
exhausted in the meantime. It Is pro-
posed to extend the rat-catching OPP
GRAFTON to the whole country. The,
crusade has become Of national in
terest. - T.: -
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Curious Indian Names.

Oregon Indians have curious names.
Recently an Indian named Shot His
Mother-in-Law signed q warrant of the
treasury department, and other we'll
known names are: Finds Them and
Kills Them, Kills: Over. Beyond the
Other, Hoop on Forehead, Rear Goes
to Other Grounds, Crazy Sister-in-Law
Points Gun in His Face, Got Many En-
emies, Looks at the Ground, Steals on
the Camp, Hears Every Way, Strikes
on the Top Of the Head, On Top Of the
House Sings in the Mountain, Bull
Don't Fall Down, Does Many Good
Things, Kettle That Boils, Strikes at
Night, Kills. Coming to the Birds,
Bird Tail That Rattles, Charges lMadly
on the Enemy Gets Hold Of the Dead,
Knot Between the Eyes, Goes.to Look
at the Prisoner land Sits in the Middle.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
; Ages OF Birds,

1t is only possible at present to col
lect data from the duration of lives of
birds in captivity; evidence otherwise
must be unreliable, and it is purely a
matter of theory as to; whether the
natural possible life is greater than
that; under the unnatural conditions
Of captivity. There are records Of a
nightingale having lived twenty-five
years, a thrush seventeen, blackblrd
that was still alive at twenty and a
half, "a goldfnch twenty three, and
skylarks Of, twenty-f -four and twenty.
Ravens, owls and cockatoos are popn-
larly supposed to. live to q very great
age, and. the following records appear
to be authentic: Raven. f fly gray
parrot, fifty and forty :; blue macaw,
sixty four; eagle owls, f1fty-three, and
one still alive at sixty ght.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Cook Stove as q Monument,

William McKillip, at an early day a
citizen of Traverse City, but for many
years a resident OF Muskegon, tells q
curious coincidence which came in the
list of his experiences. Mr.. kcKillip
us native of Washington county, New
York, leaving it in 1S46. and in ceme-
tery there with which he was familiar
in early life there were deposited the
remains Of the wife of one Aaron Cros-
by. As a monument to her memory
there was placed over her grave a
common castiron cooking stove, on the
top being a marble slab, with the ap-
prcpriate inscription Of name, ETC. The
peculiarity of the cook stove monu-
Inent naturally impressed itself upon
his mind, aside from the fact that he
was acquainted with the man who
sought in this manner to perpetuate
his wife's memory, but he was des-
tined to see another monument of the
same sort. Happening to be in Spring
field. ILL.,. in 1852. he found the Sab
bath somewhat lonely among stran-
gers and to kill time wandered out to
the cemetery. In looking about he
came upon the counterpart of the cook
stove memorial, and, upon reading the
inscription on the slab, found that
wife No. of4Aaron Crosby was rest
ing below. No doubt both ladies were
excellent cooks, and the appreciatiye
Aaron knew no more appropriate way
TO perpetuate this great qualification
Traverse City Eagle. J..
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
THIRSTY oNpoN {.
The Quantity 6f Wstsr Required TO,
supply the big city. 81

Tho Quantity 81 Wster Required to
. supply the Big city.
In 1894 the astounding total OF 1922
0O0, 900 gallons day was reached by
the combined water companies OF Lon-
don. This was supplied to the $500.
900 inhabitants at the rate of, say,
thirty-two gallons head for ali pur-
poses. These figures represent an
enormous volume Of water, though
small when compared with the mighty
river that flowed into old Rome We
can only deal with the figures roughly;
the supply fuctuated to a considerable
degree at different times in the year:
It is therefore not possible to be math-
ematically accurate. Allowing for a
slight increase. since the last return,
and taking in other sources, to which
I shall. refer a little later, we. may
pretty safely put the present London
water, supply at about zoe, ,0o0,000 gal
Ions day. Let us try for a moment
to realize what these figures mean
With 200,000;0O0 gallons Of water we
could I'LL a. lake mile long, quarter
: OF mile wide and five feet deep. The
water In 1t would weigh nearly mill
lion tons. This lake would stretch
from the Bank of Church, yet it would
be empt1ed in a single day to assuage
the thirst of: London. Or suppose we
could freeze all this water, we could
build up great block of ice a thou
sand feet long, thousand feet wide
and thirty-two feet high. If we allow
! Tor the expansion of freezing the block
would of course be still bigger. Sixty
i've of the largest ironclads in the
British navy could float in the water
we use every day in London. When
we come to compare our supply with
the mighty torrent Of Niagara we. be-
little it. The water goes laundering
over the falls at the rate of 2,oO0, 600
tons minute, or 420,0OO,OOO gallons.
Our whole daily supply would be
whirled over long before the second
hand of watch would have travelled
once around the dial. And could we
divert the magnificent torrent for only
three hours we could supply London
with water for whole year at the
present rate. Niagara is big thing
Good Words.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
BLACK SWAN OF AUSTRALIA.
Is an Impressive Fe.ture Of Its lseau-
4 #5 I3s tiful SURROUNDINGS. .sss 81

/ - an Impressive Feature of Its Beau-
fj*f# #s IS tifu1 Surroundings. s#s (. vi
Ez, The native swan Of Australia Is. not
the very beautiful white bird which
adorns SO many OF the English waters,
: but the more ordinary king black
swan, which is invariably an exhibit Of
our geological gardens, and is noted
NOR more especially for it's fierceness and
strength, says Chambers Journal. As
1ar as appearance goes, the black swan
1s certainly not as attractive as its
!. more ornamental cousin, neither would
i It; lend SO picturesque an addition to
an English landscape, but when seen
IN It's native state, sailing in large
nocks, peacefully, contentedly and ap-
parently with, perfect unanimity Of in
clnat1on, on some sheltered lagoon,
amld surroundings of rising country
clothed with rich herbage and thick
virgin forests, it's presence and appear
sance. is most impressive, and causes
one to feel that the beauties of the
scenery around would count for little
without the living complement of
1eathered creatures so sedately and
gracefully gliding along the waters
surface. It is matter OF COMPARE
lively little trouble to obtain views of
these birds in their immense flocks, but
the true difficulty is to get them within
gunshot range, and in hunting the
black swan it must be remembered that
the sport is not simply pleasure and
pastime-the birds are sought after
Tor very practical purpose, and their
acquisition is of considerable value. It
seems hardly needful to refer to their
down, but it may be mentioned that
that obtained from the breast of these
black swans is exceptionally beautiful
and snowy white, the outer and coarser
black feathers being removed before
the down itself is exposed. Although
the extent Of one breast is small, the
covering is so wonderfully thick and
spreading that it can be divided up
into many yards length of the finest
and softest swansdown.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.
NAY Soon wipe Out the Dlstinctions OF
Day and Night.

NAY Soon wipe Out the Dlstinotioas Of
Day and Night. 4s#5
IL Within the next half century arti-
4fcial light will be so inexpensive, so
excellent, and so abundant says q
scientist, "that it will wipe out the
demarcations Of day and night. Z He
continues: Darkness is one Of the
forces Of nature against which civiliza-
tion wages war. It facilitates crime, it
dmpedes travel, 1t puts arbitrary linz
Its on human exertion. The time is
coming when darkness will be thor
oughly conquered, and the great cit
les flooded from end to end with a
light that will make every vocation OF
life as easy and as practicable at one
hour as another. In this latitude night
is undoubtedly the best time to work
especially during the summer. The
temperature from sunset to sunrise is
/, cool and equable, there Is almost al
ways a refreshing breeze: and as soon
as darkness is abolished the people
will gradually and naturally reverse
their hours of toll. I venture the pre-
diction that noon in 1850 will see the
streets OF our great cities deserted, ex-
cept for a few midday roysterers and
policemen with sunshades. Respect
able folks will be, abed and asleep, en-
5oying that delightful repose which
we now associate with an afternoon
snooze-something, by the way. that
should long ago have given us hint
that day was the proper time to rest.
Then, when the wonderful incandes-
cents of the future blaze forth at dusk,
everybody will arise invtgorated and
alert, and get ready to begin the
nights work. It Is beautiful vision.
Whenever con1ure it up, could weep
for ve1ation to think that I was born
a century too soon."
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
A Map of France In stone.

The map Of France in stone, which
the Russians are preparing for the
Paris exhibition, is a remarkable spe-
eimen of the lapidary's skill. It shows
each individual department in colored
Jasper, while the sea is represented by
lapis laznli, the rivers by platinum and
the 106 towns marked by precious
stones. .l The countries bordering on
France are given in gray jasper, and
fourteen islands are represented by
stones of the same color as that used
for, the adjacent mainland. The map
rests on a marble slab about three feet
square, and it is proposed to enclose
! it in "a silver frame. - s3a a Il
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
BIRD NOTION.
Things That Have Been Found Out by
tho AlrxhiD invan ora.

Things That Have Boon Found Out by
tho Aixship Inven ors.
In flight the body is. moved forward
by the resistance Of the air to, the
strokes Of the wings. The reason why
the start is the most laborious part
of the process is thus explained by M.
Marcy, the great authority of all forms
of animal locomotion: when the
bird is not yet in motion, the air struck
by it's wings first of all presents a
resistance due to its inertia, then be-
gins to move, and flies below the wing,
without affording any support. When
the bird is at full speed, on the con-
trary, its wings are supported each
succeeding moment by new columns of
air, each one Offering the initial re-
sistance due to its inertia. The sum
OF these resistances presents to the
winds much firmer basis. The in
crease OF the resistance Of the air
diminishes the labors of the bird. In
calm air seaxull at Its swiftest ex-
pends scarcely fifth of the labor
which it had to put forth At the be-
ginning of It's niEht. The bird which
flies against the wind is in still better
conditions, fresh masses Of air con-
ttinua1ly presenting themselves to it's
1ings. The start is, therefore, the
most laborious phase of flight. Hence
birds employ all kinds of artfhces to
acquire motion before Tapping their
wings. Some run along the ground be-
fore darting into the air, others jump
rapidly in the direction in which they
wish to fly. Others, again, let them
selves drop from height with ex-
tended wings. All turn their bills to
the wind at the moment Of starting"
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
BOAT DRILL IS TERRIFYlNo.}
Aboard Ship That Always
Ss Scares the Passen gers. @.*5#

!
scares the Passengers
A boat drill is an interesting per-
foTmance when one sees It. for the first
time, provided he knows that It is COM
ing; but its terrors are real for those
who do not expect it nor understand
what it means. The second day out,
while I was sitting calmly on deck =
said a woman who crossed the ocean
this summer, t1I heard the bell ring vio-
lentlya and ontinuously. Looking
around, sew two able seamen drag
ging heavy hose and in another Sec
ond the water was turned on full force.
Then the crew began to appear; on
every hand and to tear about in the
widest way. Meanwhile the bell con-
tinued to ring and the captain stood on
the bridge. giving orders. I wondered
If had time to go for my pocketbook
or for life-preserver. 4 did regret that
had not read more carefully the d.
rections for putting on the life-pre-
server. Meanwhile I tried to find out
how near death we were, and just what
was the cause of our doom, but the
men to whom appealed were as much
frightened or as ignorant as /. Yes,
the ships on fire. answered one. An
other said he didn't know whether
there was fire in the hold or whether
something had broken about the en-
gine. The crew was busy getting the
lifeboats over and hadn't time to an
swer any questions. I saw two women
crying and clinging to their husbands,
and one woman was about to leap
overheard when she was restrained by
man in a white coat and apron, who,
I think, was a cooks boy. The cooks
boy told me at last that it was drill
to test the men. Don't try to encour-
age me- I protested; L would rather
know the worst It must have been
over in five minutes, but I learned in
that time to feel what it meant to be
sure of death at sea. I asked the cap
tain why be didn't warn the passen-
gers of what was coming. Because
the men would know, too,' he replied,
and wouldn't find out then how
many men slept en- duty"
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Phosphate Rock.

: Fernandina, Fla, is the largest ship:
ping point in the world for phosphate
rock. The rock. which IS used. as a.
fertilizer, was discovered in Florida in,
1885, In 1890 the shipments from Fer
nandina. amounted to 10,42S tons. Each
year it has increased, until last year.
$4,000 tons were shipped from that
port. This year it is expected that the
shipments will reach 2SS, 900 tons. All,
the phosphate rock shipped from Fer
nandina goes to foreign countries. The
harbor of Fernandina is unsurpassed
by that Of any Florida port, the depth
of water over the bar being 221h feet.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
A Remarkable sBsxa my. I, -aSe. \ I

# A rather remarkable bigamy case
came to light IN Southwark recently.
a Mrs. Little, wife of a railway porter
at Portsmo outh, went to London and
there married q ascarman named Car.
ter. She paid visits alternate fo her
two husbands for some time Ithout1
discovery but during one visit Mr.
Little discovered the cert tifeate Of tho
second q marriage q pinned inside his.
wife's bonnet, and he 5co conmnnicated
with his brother ID Lon Ion, n 10 gave
Information to the police.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
CURIOUS ALBINO TREE.

One Discovered Growing In a Garden In
London.
Much interest has been caused lately
by the appearance of a horse chestnut
tree in the Thiergarten. The numer-
GUS branches around the lower part Of
the trunk have pure white foliage,
such as is seen on trees growing in
dark places, where no chlorophyll can
develop on account of want of light
The same whiteness~ of the leaves is
also noticeable in few of the neigh
boring branches through the crown to
the top. People are often puzzled as
to the cause of the popularity, and
many strange explanations are some-
times given. The singular appearance
of the tree has been noticed regularly
for some years. This particular tree,
it seems, had been attacked by a
swarm Of caterpillars and other crea-
lures Of the same species. and tho
foliage had already been destroyed;
but still masses of caterpillars contin-
ued to crawl up and down the trunk,
and finally clung there in Jumps. To
preserve the beautiful tree, after other
means had been tried in vain, a solu-
tion of acid was used, and the ground
all around was watered with it, as
we'll as the trunk and the branches,
which were specially drenched. This
treatment proved successful. The tree
gradually recovered, and now stands
in it's full strength and freshness, but
has ever since shown the already de-
scribed whiteness of it's leaves, which
presents a by no means unpleasant
contrast to the otherwise dark green
foliage.-London Standard.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Rocks Sent to Rhodesia.

In July, 1898, Mr.. Rhodes sent out
500 young rocks to Rhod desia, and as
these were found to do soyWeH and to
take kindly to their roundings at
sGrotte Shuur, Ronde debosehs where Mr.
Rhodes residence is situated, amidst.
thousands Of large oaks and Scotch
frs, another consig ignment of 500 birds.
has Just been dispatched from South
ampton, England, to Rhodesia
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
Churctes Where: Incense \: Is Used

] gAelist has been made Of churches in
England where incense IS used and
which will therefore be affected by the
recent decision Of the archbishops.
There are 289 in England and perhaps
more the diocese where the use is
most common being London, with for
zty-six churche The northwest of
England Il is comp mparatively free from
the practice. s5s. 55t 5S5# .E#
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28
IA Crusade Against Parrots.

The town council Of Richmond, Eng
land has been crusading against par
trots. 81 It seems that certain Of these.
birds have been disturbing the slum-
bers OF the. town clerk and an alder
man. $50 the music Of nature has been
hushed by a2penalty ssof forty shill;ngs.
The Cook County herald., 1900-04-28

5 California Aprlcots. Reports from
california say that apricots are scarce
and in demand. Agents Of the large
$canneries are making contracts to take
all the apricots they can get, paying
cash, and at "a price double that Of
former years. The apricots are still
dropping in some Of the latterslo ocall-
ties s5f " u HI = 81 Ssh n