davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
His Home Surroundings.

"You see." said the Arizona man
who had been asked why he didn't
come east to live, its all in being
acquainted with the people around
you. was hauled up before justice
of the peace the other week for cutting
a Mexican, and, knowing me, he let
me off with So fine. Then l went at
it and called him fifty-two of the hard
est names I could think of and ended
up by throwing him through win
dow. How much dye think he fined
me for all that" "He probably sent
you to jail" was the reply. mot
much. AS he knew my ways and had a
lot Of fun out of it, he only tucked on
SIS more. | admit that you can get
a better drink in the east and that it's
nice to ride on street cars and eat of
of tablecloths. but how would | come
out cutting Mexicans and toying with
the law and having Saturday holt
days Washington Post
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
GOLF KIN EE.
A New Ailment with Which Our Doctor,
Are Wrestling.

A New Ailment with Which Our Doctors
Are Wrestling.
At recent meeting of a certain
medical club one Of the members read
a paper on the subject of the Golf
Knee" Among other things he said:
In all seriousness, golf knee is a
pretty common thing to see among
golfers. 1t resembles bad case of
knock knee and it is caused by the
posltlon assumed in driving. We all
know how the tyro is taught to stand
for a driver, with the knees close to-
gether and one foot stuck upright into
the earth by the toe. That is dread
1ul knock-kneed pose but it's very
goi1-llke, and artists always draw the
soll player in it; so the fellow likes
1t, and from the force of habit assumes
IL not only on the links, in driving.
but at home, at the club, in the office,
before the bar, while tossing off
lemonade, and in many other unlikely
places. People say of him that he is
knock-kneed. He isn't though. really,
Tor the bones of his leg are still
straight. He has 'golfknee, which. if
ne is under 30, with bones still soft
and malleable, would change to knock
knee but for medical interference.
That consists of exercises that tend
to cause bow leg and in quasi-hyp-
motto suggestion of the ungainlness OF
the golfers driving pose and the abb
surdity of assuming il on every occa-
sion. With children and youths whose
bones are soft, year or TWO of : g
ly marked golf knee ends Just az
ly in knock knee as constant h
backing with the very young ends in
bow leg l have on my list OF pa
tients now four children of fashionable
parents in the last stages OF IL
knee who are. threatened Wit le
permanent deformity of knock e.
itself. But hope to cure them l.
cinnati Enquirer.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
calk Attachment for Horseshoe.


The necessity of keeping horses
shoes sharpened in winter weather to
enable him to keep his feet on ice-cov-
cred and slippery pavements has given
inventors an attractive problem. One
solution offered is an adjustable calk
that can be fastened to the shoe tenn
porarily and which can readily be re-
sharpened at will. 1t consists Of two
bars, bent as shown. with their ends
bent up into hooks so as. to engage
with the shoe. AS both bars are of
shorter length than the largest diane
ter Of the shoe. it is evident that they
can readily be held in place with
bolt and nut in the manner shs,wn.
Wedge shaped calks are fastened in
tapering holes formed in the bars, the
location of the holes being dis~ctly
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21

astonishment. tiny little chicken
amidst bits Of broken sgg shell, lying
In the green basket.
The children danced about like little
puppets, clapping their hands and cry.
Ing aloud. "A real, true chicken; and
all Marjorie's own"
When quiet was restored, Mr. Dean
told the little ones of his granddaugh-
ter's discovery in the afternoon, and
explained that this must be one Of
Bnffy's chicks. who, knowing 1t to be
Mar5orie's birthday, had come out to
surprise her and wish her Many hap
Ply returns Of the day"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
SPECIALIZED TO FIGHT.
General de yillebois-M areuill of = War
ring Family.

ring Family.
General de Enthusiastically, who
died fighting for the Beers the other
day, came of family which has,
since the days of the crusades, gone
about the world looking for trouble"
and finding it. One of them came over
here and fought In the Revolutionary
war. Villebois- Mareuil belonged to the
class of nobility that was specialized
to fight. When peace reigned at home
this class went abroad. 1t crusaded,
it fought the Turks under the emper-
or, and in the service of the republic
of Venice, and it sent under Lafayette
contingent to fight under Washing
ton. This crusading spirit is now al
most extinct in France. Comte de Viii
lebols-Mareuil was a case of atavism
overcoming environment. He was lit
tie in harmony with modern condi-
tons He obeyed sudden impulse in
going to the Transvaal, and thought
he went for the good and glory of
France. The impulse took hold of him
at Biarritz, where he was staying with
his only daughter. Should come to
grief" he wrote to his brother, 81 be-
queath her to you" He then came to
Paris, made his will, and relieved in
it his family, in case he died soldiers
death, from the painful duty of fetch
ing back his corpse to France. "If
am killed fighting my wish is to be
buried with my comrades where
fell" The comte traced his nobiliary
standing to the battle of Bovines under
Philippe Auguste. From that reign to
the revolution all his ancestors were
soldiers. The general was 81 years old
when he was killed. His first commits
sion was as an officer of marines. He
served in Cochin-C China and in the
Franco-Prussian war. Like the ma
jority of Frenchmen he was a born
cook and prided himself highly upon
his culinary art. In one of the last
letters he wrote he asked that a pc
troleum stove be sent out to him-one
upon which he could grill steak or
more palate than a fowl and were at
first inclined to laugh at the French
warrior fussing over his cookery. But
when they saw how active the cook
could be in the field they learned to
respect him When they tried to break
the news of her fathers death to the
generals daugh -
ing that he had sss
Then he must be dead. SIT S5stssssss.
Ny father would never ,sWlffer the
English to capture him. New Yorb
Press.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21

city. But they will allow no other
country to interfere with their affairs
if they can help it. The fact that the
country of Ashantee is exceedingly
rich in gold and that France controls
the nelghboring country of Dahomey,
may have something to do with Eng
lands solicitude for the people Of
Ashantee and their comic opera king,
There is probably no other savage
race who are capable OF putting up
such stiff fight as the people of Ash
antee, for they are born warriors and
love their country with savage kind
of patriotism. Besides, they would rot
dare refuse to fight. Refusal would
mean not only disgrace, but instant
death. The power Of this picturesque
monarch is unQuestioned.
Whenever a king of Ashantee dies
guard of 1000 of his subjects are
slaughtered to conduct him to the
other world. 1t is said that as many
as 10000 people have been slain on
such occasions. Every time there is a
national festival there are human sac
rifices. In fact, blood-letting seems to
be one of the principal occupations of
royalty in Ashantee. Back of the town
of Comasie there is a place called by
travellers the Grove of Skulls. where
the. bones of victims are thrown. Here
is what Henry Stanley said of it when
in 1874, as war correspondent, he
accompanied the expedition of Sir Gar
net Wolseley: LAS we drew near the
foul smells became sufrocating. 1t was
almost impossible to stop longer than
to take general view of this great
Golgotha. We saw thirty or forty de-
capitated bodies and countless skulls.
which lay piled in heaps and scattered
over a wide extent. The stoutest heart
and most stoical mind might have
been appalled," Several officers of the
expedition, although it remained in
Coomasie only two days, visited this
Grove Of Skulls, and subsequently des-
cribed it as surprising in horror any
thing to be seen in the world. There
are two periods. called THE Great
Adai" and The Little Adai," succeed
ing each other at intervals 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 at Bantama, where their
skeletons, held together by links of
gold. sit in grim mockery of state.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
INTERNATIONAL TENN
Match VIII Occur In nobo,1en 70

Match Will Occur In Hoboken TO "a
Davis Challenge Cup.
Almost positive confirmation
Aow reached the American authorit,
from England in regard to the expect
ed international lawn tennis match for
the new Davis International Challenge
Cup, and there seems little doub
the match will be held at Hoboke
ginning on July 81. Persistent +,
declare that the famous Doherty ]
ers and H. S. Mahony who was
three years ago, will make vi
challenging team, and they are e2 :
ed to arrive in New York late in 2.
If the British team is made up
pected, the Doherty brothers will
resent England in the doubles, an g
older brother, Champion R. F. D
ty, and Mahony in the singles. This
team would be the strongest that Great
Britain could possibly produce, and
the American experts would find it
difficult task to keep their new inter
national trophy at home. A recent is
sue of the official organ of the lawn
tennis players announces that unless
some new man upsets all present cal
EQUATIONS between now and the middle
80 ss ls ,ssssssaS1pe Of the old veterans
shows unexpected form, the American
team will be composed of Champion
NJ. D. Whitman and D. F. Davis, the
donor of the new cup. in the singles
and Davis and Ward, the national
champions, in the doubles. If this
should prove to be the composition of
the home team it will be curiously like
that of the challenging visitors, as it
will include the national champions OF
both countries in both singles and dou-
bles, and the next best players in sin
giles to help out the champion in that
section of the contest. Neither side
will be able to offer any excuse for de-
feat if the teams are made UP in this
way.-Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Rain Scarce,

Some portions Of the world never
have rain. On the west coast of Peru,
South America. it never rains, except
at an interval Of years, and childrer
have grown to maturity withou
conception Of rain. and when 1t d.
come an immense damage is done
houses and exposed sections by was
outs. The water used comes from
mountain streams running to the s,
In one locality in Norway it raj
three days out of four, and on
western side of Patagonia, at the ba
of the Andes. it rairs every day.
The bay of Panama is a phenomenally
rainy section, as is the Rio de la
Plata. in South America. Port An
geles, in Washington, Straits of Juan
de Fuca, has big record as stormy
center, as has that whole section, par
ticularly the west coast of Vancouver
island.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
which permits of the rider gently
pricking the horses sides without ap-
plying any force to the dig.
Animals Play Jokes.

To show that there are useful spots
of gray matter in every species of an
imal trainer picked out the ugly and
forbidding hippopotamus. He said,
quotes the New York Tribune: May
be you think this freak of animal ma
ture doesn't know thing or two. I'll
show you that he does. We have one
with us who is as big as all outdoors
and with his eyes peeled looks like
an old-fashioned picture of the Infer
no. His keeper is named Spencer. This
name ought to make him know better.
The keeper feeds the hippopotamus
with bran balls. Punch is fond Of
these. They are rolled up and tossed
far into his internal economy before he
can close his jaws.
"a short time ago this keeper got
funny and leased Punch by holding a
ball of the coveted morsel close to
his nose, where he could get the sweet
SAVIOR of it. and then jerking 1t. out Of
his reach. This was not pleasing
performance for Punch, and in many
ways peculiar to his kind he showed
it. He lay down in his tank and
held his nose low. and when the keep
err held out the bran ball he pretended
to be Indifferent or asleep. Seeing
this the keeper became careless ana
began rubbing the bran ball about
Punch's nose. Here is where Punch
showed the cunning of ancestry, and,
waiting his chance, grabbed the keep
er's hand between his teeth.
Wow-wow-wow.' yelled the
keeper.
sWhu-u-owa-a-a-h.' snorted Punch
in great delight.
After enjoying the situation for
minute or more and winking his eye
knowingly he eased up on Spencer's
hand, so that the latter could get it
back to its original ownership Punch
then slid back into his tank of water
and the noise that ruff1ed the surface
indicated that he was having a Jolly
good laugh underneath at the expense
OF Spencer.
Elephants are the trickiest OF all,
however. They look dull and heavy,
but just the same they are, like O. mis-
chievous boy, always on the alert for
forbidden fun. In the twenty-five ele-
plants of our show fifteen of them
are trick performers and able to do
lot of things that startle observers.
Only the other day five of these were
doing a pyramid act and Professor
Lockhart had just climbed up to the
top Of the head Of the beast forming
the apex when the largest elephant
gave keen squeal and at this signal
The huge animals turned in opposite
directions and the surprised profess
soy had to jump to save himself from
q disgraceful tumble. The elephants
got together in corner and the shrill
blast they blew in unison showed the
knowing that they were in mood of
enjoyment and the joke was on the
professor"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21

does not return by that time must
admit that the chances of his being
seen alive again are very SLIM"
Herr Andree scouts the idea that the
balloon has been wrecked, and asserts
that the party could travel In 1t with
even more safety than in sledges. It
was put together, he says, without re-
gard to expense, and every precaution
possible was taken to make 1t abso-
lutely safe and able to resist violent
shock. Moreover, in the water the
balloon was almost as manageable as
boat.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21


they went up to the ponderous Maine
man to be introduced. "Humph!"
said Mr.. Reed, sis that the best the
persimmon state can do?" What do
you mean?" asked Mr.. Freer Moth
ing" drawled the elephantine speaker.
II was only wondering at the uni
formity of things down your way. I
suppose the horses are all ponies and
the persimmons all dwarfs-"
WELL" interrupted Mr.. Freer,"
there is one thing in our favor. the
persimmon has more taste than the
pumpkin" The laugh was on the
speaker. and he acknowledged it by
cordially grasping the hands of the
Liliputians and joining in the merri-
ment.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Getting Rid of Him.

1t was in the North of England, and
the owner of some large manufactur-
ing works was competing for a seat in
the house of commons. He was not a.
favorite among the several hundred
of hands whom he employed. so the
term doubtful" might have been ar
pleGpriately used in defining his char
OF gang their votes. Consequen
his opponelht was smiling up his sic
at the idea Ia certain walk ov
But on the resd of the poll bece
ing known the codA enance of the la
ter can be better ina iaed than de-
scribed, for the employer sf labor r"d
beaten him by Majority nea
800. Anxious to know if therahsh.
been any bribery in the affair, he en-.
ployed an agent to sift the matter out.
The agents first move was to the
manufacturers foundry works, and
there the following conversation toof
place: Agent-How was it that Y.
voted for your master, when you
have such bad opinion of him? Oh
of the workmen blurted out Wet
yer see, mon, we voted fer i'm so ;
he cud put hisself away in the hou,
We don't want him here, '-Lond
Tit Bits.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
The Japanese Frog.

The little folks in Japan make some
very interesting paper toys, and none
is more interesting than the frog man
ufactured out of green paper. First
cut piece Of paper into square much
larger than you expect the frog to be.
Draw lines from the four corners Of
the square and from the middle of the
sides. First fold the paper along the
diagonal lines. then turn it over ON
the other side and fold it along the
lines from the sides. It will then form
kind of box which can be pressed to-
gether along the folds in the shape of
an unequal diamond. Now, selling the
paper below the ends of the cones, fold
1T backwards so as to have two more
regular, equal points. When this has
been done to each of the eight cones
the result fill be perfect diamond,
with small diamond in the center.
Then each one Of the cones must be
folded again, SO as to get all the points
around the center. Care must be taken
to get the points as even and equal as
possible. To finish the frog, turn the.
upper points out SO that they spread
and form the forelegs, and the lower
points so that they form the hind legs.
When it is finished fine thread may
be attached to the frogs body. and by
careful jerks it almost seems to leap
around on the floor or table. The pa
per used should be stiff enough to re-
tain the folds as given to it, but not
SO brittle as to break under the han
ding. Do not be discouraged If the
first frog you make is lame, for then
it Is certain that the points have not
been folded evenly.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Sweet Sixteen.

In the very rarefied atmosphere OF
Brook Farm doubtless no one could
have been more weltsme than frolic-
some girl of sixteen. Such was Ora
Gannett Sedgwick, who gives, in the
Atlantic, her "reminiscences of some
happy days spent there in memorable
company. Shy and serious men are
not usually so by preference, and one
can imagine how girls witchery
recluse whom it was intended to tease
She says: Il do not recollect Haw-
thornes talking much at the table.
One Gay. tired of seeing him sit i'm
movable on the sofa in the hall, as
was learning sohe verses to recite,
daringly took my book, pushed it into
his hands and said: 'WiH>Sou hear
my poetry, Mr.. Hawthorne?' He-sgave
me a sidelong glance from his w.
shy eyes, took the book. and most
kindly heard me. One evening he was
alone in the hall, sitting on chair
at the farthest end. when my room
mate, Ellen Slade, and myself were
going upstairs. She whispered to me:
Let's throw the sofa pillows at Mr..
Hawthorne!' Reaching over the ban
listers, we each took a cushion, and
threw it. Quick as flash, he put out
his hand, seized broom that was
hanging near him. warded off our
cushions, and threw them back with
sure aim. AS fast as we could throw
them at him. he returned them with
effect. hitting us every time, while we
could only hit the broom. Through 1t
all not word was spoken. We
laughed and laughed, and his eyes
shone and twinkled like stars.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Spur on stirrup.

The picturesque though cruel heel
spur that has played so important a
part in all the famous rides of history
is to be displayed at last by a novel
and up-to-date stirrup spur similar to
that shown in the illustration. The
spur, which Is Of the familiar toothed
wheel type, is fastened to the heel OF
the riding boot. The shank to which
the wheel is attached is contained in
a casing and mounted on a spring
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Gear Operated by Electricity.

On the California, Nebraska and
West Virginia, three 13,000-ton armo.-
ed cruisers planned for the United
States government. electricity will OPP
crate the .turret turning gear, blowers
for ventilation, mechanical bread mix
err, laundry, ammunition hoists, gun
hammers and air compressors for tor
pedoes. The machinery for propelling
each vessel is to develop over $4,000
horse power to drive the ships %
knots, and this. with the standard
naval water tube boilers, must not ex-
coed 1000 tons in weight.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Tables Turned ON the Sneaker

A good story is told in West vir-
ginia. rs Cyrus Patterson Jones, in
volving two of the congressman from
the snug little state and Thomas B.
Reed, the gigantic speaker OF the last
house The two West yirginiaps are
the Hon. Blackburn B. Dovsner and
the Hon. Romeo Hoyt Freer. Both
are small in stature and wonderfully
alike In their appearance. Together
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Playing Railroad Train.

We're playing railroad train" shs
said as she pulled her fathers paper
away, and I'm the conductor. Tick
cts, please!''
He took card from his pocket and
handed 1t to her. She looked at it In
stently for minute and then handed
It back. That was issued yesterday"
she said, "and isn't good today. You'll
have to pay cash or get of the train
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Had Ons & Home.

A class was being examined in SPELL
ing the other day at a school in Man
chester, when the teacher questioned q
little girl as follows: Ethel, spell
kitten" K, double i, double t, EN-, !"
replied Ethel. Kitten has two .Ps
then, has IT," said the teacher. .Yes.
IAN. !" answered Ethel, confidently,
ours has
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
College Yells-a Degeneration.

~ COlege YeNB-a Degeneration.
There was once time when a col
lege yell was an inspiring cry, not
wanting in that melody that results
from the blending OF sonorous young
voices in perfect time and; accord, ring
ing with enthusiasm, and pronouncing
words or phrases chosen with some re-
spect for the rules of euphony. 1t was
undoubtedly music of barbaric kind,
such as marked the beginnings of civ
ilization. but 1t held the elements of
harmony, with defined cadence and
measure and pent-up fire that had
something of the flavor OF Homeric
days.
The college yell of today has lost
all OF its music, much of its inspiration
and most of it's significance. 1t is no
longer a spontaneous outpouring of
pride and loyalty to the alma mater,
but harsh mechanism which at the
turning Of crank pours forth great
volume of discordant sound. Its main
object seems to be to make noise, and
bigger, louder, more disagreeable
noise than the rival school. should its
representatives be present
Now, 1t may be that American in
stitutions of learning are wholly de-
pendent upon the college yell for pres
ervation and sustenance, and that
they might helplessly collapse should
It's support be withdrawn. Among
conservative people, however, there is
q growing suspicion that the interests
OF education may be conserved with q
little more decorum and a little less
yell. Some one has wisely suggested
that an initial step in weaving the
American university from dependence
upon the yell would be to follow the
example Of Oxford and Cambridge and
NIX certain day in the year when stu
dents shall be conceded unlimited IL
cense, when discipline and the faculty
shall take back seats, and youth and
merriment reign supreme, and not coll
lege yell and class yells alone be the
order Of the hour, but when all man.
ner OF cat calls and caricature Of the
dominies shall be reckoned among the
days privileges. Should such an or
der be established. so strange COM
bination Of manliness and of baby
hood is the American student that
nnding himself cast wholly upon his
own responsibility, one may safely pre-
dict he would use his liberty with
wise restraint and consideration UNI
known to English universities.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Not wnlis That Time.

Willie. didn't tell you I'D have to
spank you II You put another rubber
button on the stove!" queried an exas-
perated mother.
!" Yes'm. answered Willie. s''but it
Amt me this time; it's pa smokin' one
% those cigars you gave him..
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-06-21
Cause Of Unpleas.n tn.ss.

Mrs. Tucker-Tomm what on
earth makes you so late?
Tommy-Had some words with the
teacher, and she kept me in after
school.
Mrs. Tucker-You had words with
he teacher?
Tommy-Yes'm. couldn't spell 'em.
Chicago Tribune.