davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
The Fearless Coward.

Gen. Henry Kyd Douglas was chief
OF staff under Stonewall Jackson and
Learned the art Of war from that great
general. He was called one of the most
fearless and dashing riders in the
whole southern army. Among the stor-
les he tells of his army experience is
that OF the bravest man he ever knew.
He saw young fellow start to run,
then halt, and go forward marching
into what seemed to be the very jaws
of death. He expected, as a matter
Of course, that he would be killed and.
gave no more thought to him until
after the battle. Riding over the field
he recognized the rash youth. He
asked him what had impelled him to
dos such a brave thing. The reply,
after some hesitation, was as follows:
Well, colonel, it was just this way:
] am the worst coward on earth, and
il started to run. and intended to
keep on running tillsI got home, but
allgof sudden the face of q little girl
rose before me, and when ,Isaw her
eyes knew just had to fight, and
then I waded in and did my best
Saturday Evening Post. f3s
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06

Gala, on the Pacific coast, is as com
mon as the crocus or the daffodil i
with US. Callas grow out in the ope,
ar, and attain a size from four tt
SIX times as large as anything of tn
s!ad here. Imagine a row of calla
along an ordinary paling-fence,
tail as tho fence itself, and as thicl
as the neighbo-ing hedge, with flow
ers as big as good-sized milk pitchers
and leaves nearly as large as those O
the plant that We know as elephant,
ears Indeed, in some gardens, Gala;
spread SO fast that they have to bt
cut down and .hinned out as nut
sances. The flowers enter layishly int,
Easter decorations, but they are al
ways used as background wheu
great masses of white are desired
rather than delicaey. The arum fam
lily is large one, including all plant:
whose howers resemble those of tn,
cana, In having a sheath and club, or
surety speaking, spathe and spadix
But we have only few species in TIL;
United States, the best known OF,
which is Jack-in-the- pulpit. The skunl
cabbage of early spring also belonga
TO this family. The flowers appear il
late March. or early April, always be.
fore the leaves. The spathe is sunni
IN the ground, with none of the stall
showing, so that the sheath, pointing
upwards, appears like little tent. In
color, the spathe is dirty yellow
notified with dull red or purple. The
plants grow in swamps and meadows
when the leaves appear, they are large
and oval, of brilliant satiny green
growing in dense punches, somewhat
IN the style of garden rhubarb. Those
OF us that have an opportunity to visit
large conservatory, such as Horti,
cultural Hall in the West Park, are
almost sure to notice several hand,
some tropical plants Of the arum fam
lily. One Of these is the red Gala. It
mas perfect bright scarlet spathe, and
golden yellow spadix. The spathe,
however, is fattened and turned out
ward, more like true petal. with none
OF the tubular effect Of the white Gala
Another plant of the order is the mon
sierra, from Mexico and Central Amer
lea. 1t may be described as climbing
vine, with large, oval leaves, gashed
into leaflets, like fingers. The flower
resembles that of the white Gala. This
is succeeded by an edible fruit.-Mar-
garet B. Harvey.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
UNIQUE CHARITY.
The Boston Plan Known as the Farm
ers' Fruit Ocfarinr

The Boston Plan Known as the Farm
ers' Fruit Offering.
Boston has a unique charity which
might well be patterned after by 9th
er large cities. 1t is known as the
farmers fruit offering and the idea
originated with Edward Everett Hale.
In the year in which the scheme was
put into operations the farmers in
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont,
as well as those in Massachusetts, sent
to Boston as gift the surplus of their
fruit crop. and this was distributed
among the very poor people of the city.
A great many families were thus pro-
vided with fruit who never before had
such luxury in quantity 1t was even
said that a large number of children
tasted fruit for the first time in their
lives when they received that gift
from the farmers. This year there is
again tremendous crop Of apples, one
that las made the fruit drug in the
market, unless it is of the best quality.
That surplus is now being shipped to
Boston for distribution through char.
table organization that works without
pay. The railroads bring the stuff to
the city without cost This year, in
addition to apples, there are coming
considerable quantities of onions, tur
nips, squash, some pears, and few
potatoes. The shortage of the latter
crop keeps the offerings of that sort
down to the lowest A few farmers
who were lucky enough to get good
crop in this dry season are willing to
give away their surplus potatoes rath.
CT tnan sell them, as they easily could
These gifts will aggregate several
thousand bushels, mostly apples. Ap
pie parties are organized to visit or.
chards when farmer writes that he
will give the fruit to the society if
they will send men to pick and pack it,
The young people who join these par
ties have jolly time while engaged
in this practical charitable work.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
CAROLAN'S BARN.
sumptuous Quarters In Which Forme,
Chicago Girl Entertains.

sumptuous Quarters In Which Former
Chicago Girl Entertains.
The new stable of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Carolan,. at Burlingame, near
San Francisco, is not palace for the
horses and a barn for the hostlers. SO
fine are these new quarters that the
owner has reserved for his own use a
large room in corner of one of the
buildings, which surpass those owned
by George Gould at Lakewood and
George Vanderbilt at Biltmore, while
extraordinary attention has been paid
to the comfort of the servants who
have their quarters therein. There are
kitchens and pantries, a room for stor-
age of provisions, sick room, and sit
ting rooms. The opening of such
stable was worth celebrating, and the
celebration, in the unanimous vote of
+ coast society, was worth remembering.
The ball was held in the stable and
coach house, and the scene, with cleo
trio lights, and the vari-colored cos
tunes, is said to have been one never
to be forgotten by those fortunate
enough to witness it. The buildings
are entirely of wood, and resemble the
low, rambling manor houses of Nor
mandy and Brittany. There is
large court 14S feet long and SO feet
wide, and this court is surrounded by
covered porches into which every room
opens and III which the horses can be
exercised in rainy weather. A cupoIa
tGAers 4 feet above the court over the
coach Iousa, VII ';sE77!as win eso4Es~
and is lighted from the cupola The
smart set in San Francisco society was
present at this ball, at which some
beautiful costumes were worn. Mrs
Carolan is a daughter of the late
George NJ. Pullman. Under the will,
which cut off her brothers with in
comes of $4,000 year, Mrs. Carolan
received s1,000,000 outright, besides
her portion of the large residuary
estate.-New York Journal.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
A Canadian Victoria Cross.

The only Victoria Cross ever won
In Canada was won during the Fenian
Raid under the following circumstan-
ces: On the 9th of June, 1866, Priv
ate 7. O'Hea of the First battalion of
the Rifle brigade, was one of an es-
cort under Sergeant Hill in charge OF
a railway van containing 1000 pounds
OF ammunition en- route from Quebec
to Kingston for the use of the militia
on the frontier. On reaching DAN
vile the van was found to be on fire,
and was hastily pushed down the line
away from the station, the inhabi-
tants of the neighboring houses flying
in terror. O'Hea ran down to the van,
burst open the door, tore away the
covering from the ammunition and
extinguished the fire.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
Two Little Americans.

When Cousin Mabel returned from
America, bringing two little Yankee"
dogs with her, you can imagine how
eager the little English cousins were
to see them. The puppies were such
funny, brown little fellows! They
were not mastiffs nor pugs nor span
1els, not like any dogs that the little
folks had ever seen before. When they
squeaked out their droll, tiny bark,
and jerked their little bushy tails, the
children could not help laughing. The
little fellows were named Yankee and
Doodle, and they were credit to their
native country; in fact, they were
model puppies. They did not tease the
cat, nor chase the chickens, nor care
for any of the tricks that tempt other
little dogs into mischief They never
even played with a bone, for, strange
to say, they were strict vegetarians.
Perhaps it was because they had seen
SO much of the world that they were
SO wise and well-behaved. They had
come way over the big green ocean,
which perhaps looked to them some
thing like the big green prairie. The
first thing they could remember was
living in nice, snug village with hun
dreds of little playmates. 1t was a
very queer village; the houses were
not built, but dug in the ground, and
in these houses there was not man,
woman or child, but only families Of
dogs lived in them. All, now you have
guessed, have you not, that these dogs
were only prairie dogs? The little
Americans seemed to like their Eng
llsh home, and lived there very hap
PLY, till one day stupid terrier mis-
took poor Doodle for rat or squirrel
Il don't know which-and put an end
to his harmless little life. Yankee,
however, continued to thrive, and Ma
bel and he were capital friends. He
used to climb her knee and poke his
little head into her apron pockets for
dainties which she hid there for her
dear doggie. If he found nothing, he
would jerk his little tail and bark so
funnily, as if to say, 81 want my din
ner!' Now, although Yankee was
usually so good, must confess that
once he was guilty of naughty caper.
Mabel's mother had prepared a great
number Of thick, wadded coverlets TO,
cold weather. They reached from the
shelf of the linen closet almost to the
ceiling, and looked SO clean and soft
and warm! Yankee thought this
would be fine place for a burrow, so
he nibbled his way, alas! through ev-
cry one of those nice coverlets, and
cuddled down cozily inside. Perhaps
he dreamed that he was snug at home
once more in Prairie Town. If you
ever go to London, you can see Yam
kee in the great museum where the
stuffed animals are kept, for he was
really, truly" doggie, and his funny
little figure has been admired by thou
sands of little British boys and girls.
Youths Companion.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
Lily That Is Not a LILY.

Our interest in lilies is always re-
vived by the Easter season, and this is
a good time, therefore, to talk about
member of the family that really
does not belong there. I refer to the
Gala lily-so called. The Gala is not
lily at all, but an arum. 1t belongs
to the same family as the well-known
Jack-in-the-pulpit, SO common in our
woods in early summer. The Jack has
a flower shaped like that of the Gala.
only smaller. In the Gala, the broad
sheath resembling petal is pure
white, enclosing golden club; in
the Jack, the club and shield are both
pale green, the sheath being some
times streaked with brown. Many per-
sons call the white sheath of the Gala
petal. and speak of the Gala as the
lilly with one petal" This is not cor
rect. What they call petal is really
a sheath, or envelope, properly named
spathe. 1t is an ornamental appen-
dage. surrounding the true flowers.
which are inconspicuous little growths
clustering at the base Of the club.
which latter is botanically named the
spadix. A similar arrangement ex-
lists in Jack-in-the-pulpit. This last
species is also well known under an
other name. When the green spadix
and spathe have withered away, a
bunch of bright scarlet berries appea-s
where the little inconspicuous flowers
bloomed, and the children then call
the plant Indian turnip," not recog-
n,zing it as their old friend Jack in an
other guise. Woe to the unfortunate
wight who bites either the berries or
the root! His tongue will declare.
without uttering word, that mustard
is mild in comparison! One common
name for the Gala lily is Gala Ethiop-
lea, or Lilly Of the Nile" but this is
said to be misnomer. Some species
OF Gala may be found in Ethiopia,
but the one with with which we are
most familiar is more abundant in
South Africa. It is SO common In
some places as to be regarded as little
more than a weed. The Dutch call it
the "pig-lily," as the pigs eat the
roots Thtse OF us that have visited
California about Easter time can cas-
iiy understand what this means. The
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
Area of charlestown Yard.

Charlestown navy yards area is
more than 100 acres, and it's water
front facilities mile in extent. With
the new ship channel projected for
Boston harbor, the facilities will be
even better for ships of any draft
coming directly to the yard. Again
another advantage which Boston will
always retain, Rear Admiral Sampson
believes, is that it is the center of an
extremely large population, among
which are the best and most intelli-
gent mechanics in the country. Near
ly all the tools and machinery used
at all yards are made in this vicinity.
another advantage by reason of the
workmen's intimacy with them.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06


General James H. Wilson was born
IN Illinois and went to West Point in
1906. He graduated just in time to go
INTO the war. After serving in minor
capacities he was made lieutenant
colonel after the battle of Chattanoo-
ga. From May to August, 1864, he
commanded the Third Cavalry diyi,
sion in the Army of the Potomac. and
IN October Of that year was given
command of the Cavalry Division Of
the Mississippi, and was made briga-
der general in the regular army after
the battle of Nashville. In March and
April, 1855, he led a cavalry expedi,
ton into Alabama and Georgia, cap
turing Selma, Montgomery, Columbus
and Macon, and on May 10, 1855, took
prisoner Jefferson Davis, the president
OF the confederate states. He wal
made major general of volunteers in
April, 1865. In 1870, after several
years service in the regular army, he
resigned from the service, since which
time he has been prominent as d
railroad manager in this country and
in China.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
Boys Discover Large Cave.

Three young boys have made a
grewsome discovery in cave near
Florence, Ala. Several months ago
they discovered the mouth of the
cave, which opens in strip of wood
land about half mile from the Ten
nesee river, and explored it for some
length. They found stream inside.
which abounded in eyeless fish of Curl
Gus formation. Peculiar vegetation
was found growing along it and vari-
Gus curious geological formations were
developed. Later the boys made an
other trip Of exploration into the cave,
this time going much further than at
first. They found the stream had com
pletely dried up, and proceeding along
its bed for half a mile they found a
large pile of human bones enough,
they think, to represent the remnants
of six or eight men. The boys dis
covery will be thoroughly investigated
and it is hoped that the identity Of the
owners of the bones will be devel.
oped.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
Oratory Under DIe,cu,t,es.

Oratory Under Difficulties
The meanest scalawag in Michigan
lives over In Augusta township, Wash
tenaw county, and we'll proceed to
prove 1t. Hank Smith was billed to
speak at school house near Whit
comb, when a Republican club was to
be organized. The room was damned
full of men, women and children.
little platform had been temporarily
arranged for the orator of the even
Ing, surmounted by a single chair,
the seat of which some miscreant had
covered with fresh glue. In this chair.
TO which he was conducted, Hank"
sat down, not knowing it was loaded.
Meantime the burghers proceeded
with their work, and an hour was con-
sumed before the officers were elected
and the job finished. The new presi-
dent then stepped forward and intro
duced the present and the next con-
gresham Of this district, Hon. Henry
G. Smith Of Adrian"
Mr.. Smith gol up ana SO did the
chair. He tried to shake it off by a
hip wriggle. This failed. He reached
down and tried to pry it off with his
fingers, but without success. He
pulled sturdily at the rear to force it
to let go, but it wouldn't do anything
OF the kind. He now smelt rodent
The president. seeing his pred:cament,
stepped up and gave the thing such a
tug that Smith, in alarm, but in an
undertone. said:
Hold on, Ferguson, you'll tear the
cloth away, and you can see my coat
is a short sack, and there are ladies
present"
The audience now tumbled to the
situation, and instantly burst into
laundering outlaws. The room be-
came bedlam of laughter-convulsed
lunatics. Women screamed and chill
dren Whooped, while ablebedied men
lay down on the benches and roared.
The hilarity was catching, and soon
Hank, genial-hearted and fun-loving
as he was, sat down, leaned back and
joined the deafening chorus. Finally,
waving his hand, the crowd became
sufficiently quiet to hear him say: 81
came here to speak my piece, and I'll
do 1t, though the whole schoolhouse
were glued to me- Then he got up
again, and, half bent over, with the
chair dangling behind, waded in. At
every motion he made the chair would
bump up and down on the floor or
swing against the wall, or strike the
table holding the lamp. OF course,
the crowd laughed when he joked and
laughed when he didn't joke. At
last the speaker said:
Ladies and gentlemen, I must rest.
My back is about broken" and sat
down. At this an old fellow ran out,
and, trotting across the way to his
house, brought over a pair of over
ais. Hank was steadied off the
platform amid renewed yells of laugh
ter and with a man holding the chair
away from his calves, waddled out
doors, where he was "unhusked." He
finished his speech in the overalls.-
Grass Lake (Mich.) News.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
French Service Of 2s Year.

! The first thing that distinguishes
the army Of France from all others is
Its characterS Of microcosm of the
whole nation. says Paul Bethlehem in
the Nineteenth Century. All classes
are represented, ard every French
soldier may hope some day to WELD
the marshal's baton which he carries
In his knapsack. France is the only
European country which iarms all its
children without distinction, and even
those who choose the army as ca
reer. and succeed in entering the Mill
tary colleges, are bound to enlist for
= period Of three years. In accord
ance with the last French army law.
passed in 1889, every Frenchman
serves for twenty-five years. He en-
ters the army at twenty one, remains
three years with the colors, and at
twenty-four joins the first reserve
where he. remains ten years, during
which he Is called out for two train
3ngs Of twenty-eight days each. v At.
thirty- four he enters the territorial
army, where lie remains six years, be-
ing called out once for period OF
thisteeRs days. The last six years are.
spent With the territorial reserve, q.
forse specially intended for the de-
fense ct the country itself.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
~ kIgzIlI lIzIzEzI!
e. APP III ~

eastern shore of Virginia, in the conn.
y Where Senator Palmer's grand
i g. was born. One of the SENATOR
washington friends happened to meet
.ne old lady down there, and asked hen
II sne were not kinswoman Of his
she did not know, but thought neri
maps she might be. The gentleman
was OF virginian descent, was he not
ana In the United States senate? Yes
she was quite sure he was kinsman
Was he in the army?" she asked
Yes" answered the senator's friend
He was in the army and a gen.
The old lady was positive that he
was q relation.
But" went on the friend, '.he was
a general in the Union army"
lied. 4 't-e a.
Well" she said. you know there's
a black sheep in every family
Washington Post.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
A Soldier or Saint.

Garibaldi has been called not sol.
der but a saint. Most great heroes
have outlived their herois1n and thei,
worshipers have outlived their wor,
ship, but Garibaldi has never been
anything but the unselfish patriot who
wanted everything for his country, but
nothing for himself. He has been
described, on his return to Italy from
South America, as beautiful as a
statue and riding like centaur.' "He
was quite a show said the sculptor
Gibson, everyone stopping to look at
him. Probably" said another Eng
lishman, "a human face so like lion
and still retaining the humanity near
est the image of its Maker, was never
SEEN" {.ss.5s
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-12-06
snake Them Lazy.r

Volunteers in the late Spanish war
are not apt to have their pension
.caaims adjusted for some time to come.
It Is stated that the pension bureau
will not be in any hurry to pass upon
their applications. because pensions
for young men are apt to make them
lazy" At least thissaist the reason
given for the bureaus delay in adj
justing these cases by an attache Of
the bureau. who said:
They are just beginning to come
in. I suppose they will come in rap
idlyfsoon, but it is too early for them
yet. We are not pushing the Spanish
war, claims very fast. Most Of the
applicants are young men, and they
do not need the pension very badly.
OF course. they will get their pensions
from the day their applications were
filed. but We are in no hurry to grant
them. It is a feeling at the pension
bureau that it is not good thing
for the young men to draw pensions.
1t makes them lazy, and it is not good
for them morally. HA
Regarding the number of applica-
lions being made, the attache said:
THE bureau has already on file 3d.
900 applications, and they are still
coming in. Over so per cent of the
members Of the District of Columbia
regiment have filed applications for
pensions"
How many of these men were
wounded?" was asked.
"Not one," he replied, "as far as
know. Most Of them claim they have
been permanently injured by con-
tracing fever or other diseases in
camp"
About what will be the aggregate
sum paid out annually for these 10000
pensions?"
Il should say that not more than
so per cent Of the applications will
Z be acted on favorably. But about 49,
900 men will get pensions, and they;
will average about $3.50 a year each,
or, say. s2,25o.ooo for all of them
AZ do you think that S2,25O,O00 annu-
ally will cover the Spanish war pen
sions?"
NO." he said. Experience has
shown that the pension list grows for.
a number Of years after the close Of
the war. But lots of men who have
applied for pensions are young men
who have nothing whatever the matter
with them. The examinations of our
surgeons plainly show that" .