davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
What Might Be saved.

The office of road inquiry in tue
Department of Agriculture has esti-
mated that over $500, O0O,00 might
be saved annually in the United States
by the construction of good roads.
The statistics of the Department of
Agriculture show the total amount OF
all kinds of grain raised in the United
States. The amount consumed on the
farms was estimated as being offset by
n large amount of other articles
hauled by farmers on the public roads.
BY reducing this all to tons and using
their inquiries into the cost Of haul
ing one ton as a basis, it was found
that the total cost of hauiage amount
ed to S9l6, 414, ,665, and that two
thirds of this enormous amount might
be saved each year.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Driil,EnoI in Aln.Isn.

One of the greatest curiosities no.
ted by travellers in Alaska is the Won
derful haven of driftwood on the coast
between Yakatag and Kyak Islands,
some 1900 or 800 miles northwest from
Seattle. The constant deposit of logs
and driftwood in this particular spot,
which has been going on for hundreds,
nay, perhaps thousands of years, is
due to the phenomena of the tides,
the Pacific Gulf Stream, the mysteri-
ous ocean currents and the peculiar
formation of the shore lines at that
point. Logs and timbers are readily
identified there as having come from
Japan, China, India and other parts
of Asia, as well as from California,
Washington and other parts OF the
American continent.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
uook Publishing and Book Selling

The old comfortable idea about a
81 80 book was that it was made for
about seventyive cents, sold to a job
Der for about 81, passed on by him to
a retailer for about Slip, and then,
neatly wrapped by itself, with pleas
ant remark about the weather thrown
in, sold to waiting customer for
81. 80, and he took it home under his
arm. To-Day the same book is made
for about fifty cents; but it is sold to
tine customer for ninety cents or
dollar, and it is handled by the thou
sand, delivered to the purchaser, and
its sale is only au incident of vast
traffic. More books are sold. Where
5000 copies were Giddy success, no
one begins to talk sales now much
under 100, 900; but the percentage of
success is no bigger and the original
risk on the new book is equally big
for success or failure. The practical
result is that more books have to be
sold for the old profit, and the chance
of publisher getting good book is
no better. The standard classics"
have to be sold by the carload to
make a profit. There are no stocks
which sell year after year. No one
can afford to carry them. The fag
ends of editions are cleared out as
"remainders. The $1.50 book that
makes a failure, which was once de-
corously allowed to die out through
the slow sale of 1000 copies over de-
cade, is cleared out i'll fifteen or
twenty months, and the able book
which the reviewer assured you was
worth buying and reading at Sl.5O
s:ares you in the face after year or
SO in pile labeled ''twenty five
cents. philadelphia Press.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
SOME WHY'S ANSWERED.
rhc Ancient and Curious Origin of Fla
miliar Customs.

milisr Customs.
1t is not surprising what number
Of little things We do without know
.ng the reason.
Why, for instance, do widows wear
.aps? Perhaps you may say because
they make them look pretty and
Interesting. But the real reason is
that when the Romans were in Eng
land they shaved their heads as sign
Of mourning. OF course woman
couldn't let herself be seen with
bald head, so she made pretty cap.
And now, though the necessity of
wearing it has passed away, the cap
remains.
Why do we have bows on the left
side of our hats? In olden times,
when men were much in the open air
and hats couldn't be bought for half a
dollar, it was the habit to tie cord
around the crown and let the ends fall
on the left side to be grasped on the
arising of a squall. They fell on the
left side so they might be grasped
by the left hand, the right usually be-
ing more usefully engaged. Later on
the ends got to be tied in bow, and
later still, they became useless, yet
the bow has remained, and will prob
ably remain till the next deluge or
something of that sort.
What is the meaning of the crosses
Or rs on barrel of beer? They sig
nifty degrees of quality nowadays.
But originally they were put on by
those ancient monks as sort OF trade
mark. They were crosses in those
days, and meant sort of oath on the
cross, sworn by the manufacturer
that his barrel contained good liquor.
Why are bells tolled for the dead?
This has become so familiar prac-
tice that funeral without it would
appear un-Christian. Yet the reason
is quite barbarous. Bells were tolled
long ago, when people We're being
buried, in order to frighten away the
evil spirits who lived in the air.
Why do fair ladies break bottle
of wine on the ship they are christen-
ing? Merely another survival of bar
barrie custom. In the days of sacrifice
to the gods it was necessary to get
some poor victim when boat was
being launched and to cut his throat
tized it.
Why are dignitaries deafened by
salute when they visit foreign port?
1t seems a curious sort of welcome,
this firing of of guns, but it seems
the custom arose in a very reasonable
way. Originally, n town or warshiI'
fred off their guns on the approach of
important and friendly strangers to
show that they had such faith in the
the visitors peaceful intentions they
didn't think it necessary to keep their
guns loaded.
Why do we sometimes throw a shoe
after bride? The reason is not very
complimentary. From of old it has
been the habit of mothers to chastise
their children with shoe. Hence
the custom arose OF the father of a
bride making present to the bride
groom of shoe. as sign that it was
to be his right to keep her in order.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
WORDS OF WISDOM.

Ruins are milestones Oh tine road OF
time. e.-Chamfort
There is never but one opportunity
OF kind. d.-Thoreau.
True education enlarges in thought,
feeling and purpose. Rousseau.
To learn of fault is an opportunity
to add new line OF beauty to the life.
Miller.
A iudicious silence is always better
than truth spoken without charity. -
Francis De Sales.
How much you read is of less conse.
ouence than how much you think OF
what you have read. Dickens.
If every person would be half as
good as he expects his neighbor to be,
what a heaven this world would bel
Talmage.
All great natures delight in stability;
all great men find eternity affirmed IN
the very promise OF their facuitles.-
Emerson.
He who has high standard of liv-
ing and thinking will certainly do bet
ter than he who has none at ALL
Samuel Smiles.
A more glorious victory cannot be
gained than this: that when the INJURY
begins on his part, the kindness should
begin on ours.-Davis.
Men seldom, or, rather, never, for
n length of time and deliberately re-
bel against anything that does not de-
serve rebelling against. t.-Carlyle.
/. nnn ic claar IN that no
indulgence OF passion destroys the
spiritual nature so much as respecta-
BILE seltishness. George Macdonald.
Do not live in the clubland of some
transcendental heaven: do your best
to bring the glory Of a real heaven
down, and ray it out upon your fel-
lows In this work-day world.-Pun-
shon.
By doing each duty fully as it comes
we qualify for more light and greater
aptitude for succeeding duties, Faith
fulness day by day in small things will
make us keen to recognize the divine
voice with reference to greater things.
Chapman.
We are apt to underrate the moral
| quality of mans regular vocation,
his daily talk, his business, to look
somewhere apart from this for his op.
rortunity for achieving character and
doing good. But there is nothing else
that is so determInative of mans
character, nothing else that so fur
nishes hands for his benefcence aud
feet to run his errands of good will
John W. Chadwick.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Ths Gentle Art of WinkIng.

When you have mastered the gentle
art of winking," said Lord Beacons-
field, "you hold the key to success in
your hands"
Everyone's personality is made up
of trivial failinSs and trivial talents.
Foster the good qualities in your
friends and subordinates and wink at
those failiugs so dear to their possess
sors. Not to see everything is n rule
which will strengthen friendships and
help you to get the best results from
your fellow workers.
''He is no good" said the great
Napoleon of one OF his officers; she
is continually looking into the pri-
Yates stew-pot"'
" l want man who can keep his
eve on the ultimate result and ignore
little faiings. never mind how aggra-
vating," said Nelson. And General
Gordon once remarked that the man
who lost his temper because pri-
Yates bootlace was tied loosely on the
day of battle did more to lose the day
than all the enemy's guns.-Answers.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Food Elements in Fruit.

Sugar, starch, gum, de1trine,
pectine, saccharifable cellulose, or
ganlc acids and other extractive mat
ters are, together with water, the
chief elements in pulp fruits. The
sugar is assimilable, and is food.
Fruits which contain most of it, as
bananas, dates and figs, are true
hydrocarbonated foods. Extractive
matters are also nourishing, but in a
less degree, as they are not so diges
tible. With these aud other rare ex-
ceptlons, however, fruits, in the
opinion of NJ. Ballaud, are little nutri-
tive, and cannot be considered rs
foods. Their juices which please us
by their smell or acidity are condi-
ments rather than foods. London
Globe.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Buyers at Book Sales.

"Two things are noteworthy about
the book sales of this city," remarked
n man who has made it practice to
attend old book sales. Zone is the
almost entire absence of middle class
of buyers, such as we find in the Euro
pean countries. Abroad, all classes
who can afford it buy books. Here,
aside from the retail booksellers, all
the buyers belong to one of two
classes; rich men who can afford to buy
anything. and poverty stricken biblio
philes who are willing to give mp their
last dollar for choice volume. Men
of comfortable incomes seem to prefer
to buy of the regular retail dealers.
"The other curious fact is the
amount of buying done under assumed
names. After sale is over it is often
impossible for the auctioneer to say
what has become of the volumes he
has sold. He may have his suspicious
that John Smith, the extensive buyer,
is really Mr.. So and so, but he seldom
knows positively. Rich men seem to
have been driven to this course to es-
cape the prosecutions of the army of
persons who have books to sell. -
New York Post.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Tabequachc-A Co-operative Colony.

When the panic fell with crushing
weight upon Colorado, nine heroic
men and women formed colony up
on a new plan in this State, which has
been a success. 1t is located in Table
quache Park, and the plan may be
called the Tabequache idea.
The people practically had nothing
except energy, intelligence, originali-
ty and high purpose. In five years
they have built canal fifteen miles
long, made expenditures approaching
5000, 900, have greatly recruited their
number, and have proved the FEAST
bility of system of cooperation and
government among themselves that is
most interesting. Each man and wo-
man is allowed twenty-five cents an
hour for work.
The government is in the hands of
a Board of Directors, elected by each
individual casting single vote. re-
gardless of the amount of stocks held.
This prevents the rich stockholders
from obtaining the ascendancy, as in
ordinary companies.-Denver Coli
Republican.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
A SONG FOR THE OLD YEAR.

yes. sing n song for him, my friends,
The wear IS lonely nowl
rho frost and ritne OF winter-timc,
Lie thick on beard and brow.
no had his faults, his foibles, too,
his follIes. doubts, and fears;
YET take him all In all. tits true
He brought more smiles than tears.
so we will speak hiul fair, my friends,
We loved him we'll. you know,
And sins; the good old year song
Before We let him 20.
Oh. shall we sing how blithe be seemed
The night when ilrst he came.
When bells were runs, and songs were sung,
To usher IA his names
NV spripc-time met him In her bowers
Fastooned with Garlands gay,
And simmer strewed his path with MOVERS
And Iured him on his way:
And though among the Joys he brought
There lurked some dres. ot woe,
Wen sing the c0gi old year song
Before we lot itim 90!
Oh when the bearlei grain grew ripe
Aud harvest sOpcs went round,
He swung his blade in sun and shade
Gin all tho wheat wa, bound.
IL, led rs through the golden sheGves,
And through tine ripnuins shocks,
AMI tv-iued the Hrst bright autumn leaves
Among his tangled locks.
Ol. then tbs year was in his prime,
But row his stsi. is slow,
And we viii sling u song Tor him
Before we lei him coi
IT'S true he robbed US in bis hiSht,
And took from form or face
some touch Of color or of light.
Some trick OF air or grace
AMI tu their stead. .perchAnce. he dropped
A wrinkle here and there,
Or traced upon the once smooth brow
Some lines OF :rici or care.
Dut stil wen cherish in our hearts
The year We've learned to know.
And sing Il soug for him, my friends,
Before we let him 20,
What though he left some folded page
No eve mas -'er diyine=
or in the heart, sone barbed dart
OF which We make no stgnt
Though some sweet chord, whose numbers
thrilled
Our being to the core,
Is hushel aud mute. its music stilled,
To throb :Oc US no mOrtH
The memory OF that silent voice
Cling. to the year We know.
And we will SIN: song 70. him
Before We let him 70,
Helen Whitney CLARK.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
NEvhDl'5 DEATH SPRING."
Men and Animals Fall Victims to the
Poisoned Waters.

Men and Animals Fall Victims 10 then
Poisoned Waters.
The death of Robert Watson, a cat
tie man, after drinking of the waters
of Death Spring" in the Rabbit
Hole mountains, again brings into
prominence this terror of Nevada
stockmen. The spring is situated in
Humboldt county, Nevada. Its wa
ters are so impregnated with arsenic
that death results to most creatures
that drink from it. Running from
the spring is tiny stream, clear as
crystal, which sinks into the ground
about a hundred yards from the
spring. Along the banks of this
stream are to be found the bones Of
hundreds of small ANIMAL, and even
of deer, sheep and cattle that have
drank of the water and died.
Stockmen have built high fence
about the spring and, 80 far as posi-
BILE, have enclosed the stream. 1t
seems impossible, however, to keep
stock from drinking the water. Stu
ated many miles from any other water
supply, cattle will get to it, no matter
what precautions are taken to prevent
them. Hundreds of head of stock are
lost each year on account of it.
Watson had lived in the vicinity
for a quarter of century and was
we'll aware of the fatal properties of
the spring He was out hunting
stock when he became separated from
his companions. He lost his horse
and was obliged to follow them on
foot.
The second day after his mishap,
after being nearly thirty hours with
out water, he reached the spring. His
thirst was overpowering and, in his
partial delirium, he drank of the pois
onous water, much the same as ship
wrecked sailors drink from the ocean
when their thirst becomes unbearable.
His friends, who had expected him to
overtake them every hour, had, in the
meantime, concluded that some mis-
hap had occurred, and turned back
to look for him. They found him
shortly after he had drunk OF the
deadly waters He was still alive, but
suffering the greatest agony. All that
could be done in the desert tie relieve
him was done, but without avail. He
died within an hour after his COM
panions found him.
A similar spring is to be found be-
tween Mountain Meadow and Susan
vile, Lassen county, California. The
waters of this spring and the stream
that runs from it are green and unin-
viting, unlike those of the Nevada
spring in this respect. The bones OF
many deer, cattle, sheep and wild
animals that have tasted of the water
of spring or stream are to be found
in the vicinity. Stockmen have built
seven-foot board fence around the
spring, and on top of the fence have
put several lines of barbed wire, that
stock may be kept from it.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16

deeply hurt. There seemed to be no
reason, no excuse, for such neglect.
To think that this, their first separa-
tion in so many years, should be un-
abridged by word!
II was the way of men. and he, 1t
seems. was no better than the rest of
them. Once out Of her sight he for
pot-forgot all the love and daily de-
yotion of forty-two years.
By Saturday morning Mrs. Allies
tree was Hill enough to go 10 bed.
Jimmy had to fetch both posts, and
after delivering in person the hrst
one. which consisted of papers only,
he vowed to Molly that he would not
approach Mrs. Allestree again while
Mr.. Allestree was away.
All day Sunday Mrs. Allestree lay
silent in dark chamber. Molly could
not get word from her, nor would
she eat.
But by Monday morning she was
suffering torments once more. She
felt that if Jimmy returned without
either Joseph or letter she would
surely die, and indeed she nearly died
as it was.
When the wheels sounded again up
on the gravel Mrs. Allestree sat up IN
bed. She was winter than her hair.
No voices were heard below. She
clutched her heart and gasped. But
presently door opened and step
came up the stairs. 1t was the step
of Joseph. As he entered the room
she fell back among the pillows.
MY dear Henrietta, what's all
this?" He looked around almost ac-
cusingly upon the two frightened
women, as if he had caught them in
the act of assassinating their mistress.
Joseph, you might have sent me
one little hnei'
Henrietta, I wrote to you every
day, and sometimes twice a day"
They stared at each other.
But never got solitary letter, I"
she said, presently. Il sent to every
delivery-went myself until l became
ill. Mr. Framwell said there was
nothing from you. 1t nearly killed
me, Joseph,
However, he muttered, "they
couldnt have all miscarried. /
Henrietta! 1 have it, Wait I'll be
back il twenty minutes, and the
gentleman fairly ran ont of the room.
He laughed all the way downstairs,
and she heard his hah-hahs between
his shouts for Jimmy to bring back
the trap. In few minutes they
ratified out OF the grounds, and within
the time he mentioned they ratified
back again. Mr. Allestree tore breath
less up the stairs, bursting boy fash
ion into his wifes room. He carried
a package of letters, which he spread
out in a circle on the bed. There
were fourteen of them, aud every
one was addressed to Miss Henrietta
| Shower"
For a short space nothing was said,
! and then the two aged lovers began
to laugh, and they laughed until they
cried.
Joseph she said, "its very
funny, very, but it was almost the
death of me. How did you come to
do it?"
"Why, Henrietta, love, when 1
once got out of your dear, familiar
presence the old days came back com
pletely. You were little Retta Shower,
and"
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
A Forward Look.

In speaking about good roads th
other day Colonel Albert A. Pope
said TT is estimated that in New
York City there are twelve thousand
trucks, carrying on an average load
of n ton and half for three miles on
each OF the business days of the year,
and with an average daily cost of 81
for each truck. This means sixty-tive
million tons transported one mile in
every year for $4,000, 600, or about
twenty-five cents ton mile. This
transportation can be done by rail at
six-tenths of cent mile. When
our highways have been so constructed
that draught animals can haul the
maximum load at the minimum price,
when the lowest freight rate and
greatest freight convenience have
been combined, or, in short, when we
have secured tree interchange of
commodities throughout the civilized
world, we shall have insured peace
and good will among the nations. y"
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Senator Beveridre Said.

''You look like very young man,
said some one to Senator Beveridge,
of Indiana, in the Senate corridor
few days ago.
eyes" said Beveridge, with the air
of one who has made apatient investi-
cation, 81 am five years younger than
was Alexander Hamilton when he was
appointed Secretary of the Treasury,
and 1 am four years younger than
Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the
Declaration of Independence. To be
sure, Henry Clay, when he was elected
Speaker, WAS
At this point the Senator's voice had
faded away and he had disappeared
hround a corner of the lobby. Wash
tngton Post.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
Producers of New Books.

According to Il recent writer, Great
Britain produces fewer than third OF
the number of new books published
by Germany, not many more than
half of the new books produced by
France, and considerably under the
total produced by Italy. The num-
bers given are: Germany, "a, 600
new books per year France, $1,000;
Italy, $500; Great Britain, 1900;
United States, $500; Netherlands,
$500. If, however, England is thus
low in the general production of new
books, she leads in the production of
novels, heading the list with 243S.
Germany leads in educational works
with 5442, arts and sciences with
293S, bellies lettres with 2453, and
travel with 1139; while Italy leads in
political economy with 1894 and
France in history with 1164.-Tit-
Bits.
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
The Los.e. We suner.

at must be plain to any one who
gives the matter thought that we suf-
fer enormous losses each year as the
result of bad roads, says Otto
Dorner, chairman of the League of
American Wheelmen High way I'M
provement Committee. "But what do
these losses really amount to, and how
much would be saved, if we had uni
formly good roads? We may say that
it doesn't cost the farmer anything to
market his crops, because he does all
the hauling himself. True, but isn't
his time worth something? Suppose
that in place of every ton OF wheat or
hay or potatoes loaded on his wagon
he was able, as result of good roads,
to load up two tons aud to market tine
entire crop of his farm with Just half
the labor and in just half the time
which is required at present, wouldn't
the amount of time he could save be
worth something, and wouldn't it be
worth saving? Labor is the farmers 3
working capital, which he is continu-
ally seeking to make as productive as
possible" "
The Springfield herald., 1900-02-16
White Menin Alaska.

Not counting the floating popula-
ton of miners and fishermen and lum-
bermen, which stays in Alaska only
from spring till early fall, or the vari'
ous tribes of Indians, which are esti
mated to aggregate between 40, 200
and 80, 900, the actual white residents
probably do not exceed ten thousand.