davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
A FAMOUS JOCKEY is DYING.

"Dick" Clawson, the berry picker,
known at one time as one of the best
jockeys in the country,
can live but a short time. Clawson
and his wife left New York this week
for the Adirondacks in the hopes that
his life may be prolonged. but little
hope is held out.
Clawson has fallen a victim to con-
sumption as the result of too much
reducing in order to make weight.
Clawson was proud of his ability to
take off from 10 to 20 pounds of weight
in single day and was not warned
by a couple of breakdowns as the re-
suit of his foolish system. He was
growing rather rapidly and this caused
him to work the harder to keep with
in the limits. His stomach became
weak so that he could stand scarcely
any food and he finally had to give
up training altogether. This did not
give him any relief, and soon it was
noticed that his lungs were affected.
Clawson is product of San Fran
cisco tracks and was known as the
berry picker" because of a previous
occupation. He was brought east by
Sam Hildreth and soon made great
name for himself on tracks in New
York and in Chicago. Jack Atkins
("California Jack"), of the firm of
Atkins &. LOttridge. had the first con-
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
breaking a Stable Kicker.

The best means is to give him a
sand bag to exercise upon. Fill
grain sack half full of sand and swing
up to the ceiling with a rope, so that
the sack will hang just where the
heels of the horse will have good play
upon it. Tie the horse in the STALL
with good strong rope and let him
kick. At the first kick the bag will
wing away and return, giving the
horse as good as he sent. For the next
minute or SO there will be a battle
royal, but the sack will hold it's own,
returning all it's received with inter
est The horse is bucking against the
real think, will soon come to a realiza-
ton Of that fact, and will be thor
oughly cowed. Leave the sack behind
him for week or so and then remove.
If he ever tries to get into his old
habits, give him another punch bag
to exercise With. L. Irwin, in New
England Homestead.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
pulling strength of Elephan Is.

1t Is difficult to estimate the pulling
strength of an elephant, for the sim
pie reason that the strongest animals
in captivity are not the possessors Of
the sweetest tempers, and accordingly
their keepers are chary of allowing
them to be attached to thermometers,
not caring to speculate as to what the
end would be were the mammoth to
lose his hair" Tests which have been
made with ayerage-sized animals, how
ever, prove that a healthy young
Jumbo of eighteen summers or there
about can make a dynamometer regis
ter five and half tons dead weight.
In order. to get an idea of what this
represents it may be stated that a
pair of powerful horses could only reg
lister a ton and a fifth by their united
efforts.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
SHEETS OF BREAD.
indian Women Bake Them In the Amer
lean Desert

indian Women Bake Them In the Amer
lean Desert.
If you wish to dine off sheet of
Dread, you must go to the great Am
erican desert and ask the women of
the M'oki Indians to bake it for you.
But If you are wise, you will not in
quire too closely into the details of
the process. The preparation of the
bread, in sheets hardly thicker than
a sheet of paper, is real art among
the Moki women. A corner in the
principal room is set aside for the ac-
commodation of a shallow trough,
walled in with slabs of stone set on
end. The trough is divided into three
compartments, and in these the first
process of bread-making takes place.
When bread is to be made, a girl
kneels behind each compartment.
Shelled corn is then put on the fiat
stone in the first compartment, and
girl proceeds to rub it. The coarse
meal thus prepared is passed on to the
next compartment. Here it is again
rubbed with stone less coarse, and
passed on to the third stage. The re-
suit is decidedly floury meal. With
brush which is made of dried grass
bound together with string of cali
co, and with which the floor is swept
between times, the meal is then gath
cred up and mixed with water to
thick batter Then comes in the art
of the baker. She takes a single
handful of the batter and spreads it
over long, fat stone, under which q
fire has been for some time burning
The batter is made to cover thinly the
| entire surface. When one side is bak-
ed she takes the bread by corner
and pulls it off dexterously, turning
it the other side up. When it is done,
long, fiat basket receives it, and the
baker turns the edges all around, so
that the air can get at it. Sheet afte.
sheet is baked until the basket is piled
high with the blue bread or "piki,"
which the baker pronounces "peka."
No salt is used in the batter, and the
| piki has a swedish taste. 1t is usual
ly blue, partaking of the color of the
corn from which it is made. 1t is eat
en- dry or in sort of soup. When the
men go on a journey they take piki
made into rolls, very much as one
would roll up sheet of wet paper, the
bread being of about the same thick
ness as the paper. The stones upon
which the bread is baked are prepared
by the old women of the tribe with
great secrecy and much ceremony.
They are very valuable, and are b and
ed down as heirlooms from mother to
daughter. The first stage in. the pro-
cess, so says Popular Science News, is
smoothing and filling Of the surface OF
the stone with hot pitch. 1t is then
smoked and rubbed for many days
with an accompaniment of rude chant
ing. AS far as white man may know
the first rubbing is with a smooth
stone, the next with pieces of wood
while the finishing work is done with
the bare hands. The result is je
black, smooth surface, to which the
piki does not stick in baking.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
The Dull Season.

Since the death of the Horton law
In New York state there has been
nothing doing" in the world of pugil
ism save an abundance of fight talk
that has little or nothing behind it.
Billy Madden claims the champion
ship for Gus Rubin on account of
Jeffries ignoring the challenge CT the
Akron mans hacker. jeff issues a
def to Fitz but the latter says he is
out of the game for good and is not
going to give Billy Brady any cheap
advertising for the champion. Tom
Sharkey also energies from the OBJ
security of defeat and opines that he
thinks he is entitled to meeting with
JEFF on account of having stayed with
him for 25 rounds. Corbett and kid
Mccoy have been filling up more than
their share of the newspapers through
the medium of their wives and the
public is heartily sick of them. Now
that all have had their say, in one way
or another, it is doubtful if big bat
tie could be pulled off any place in
this country. Carson City and San
Francisco are the only two places
available, but it is possible that leg
islation will be passed shutting out
the big fellows before they could have
a chance to meet in the ring.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
Good Word for Fitz.

lnere are fighters in New York who
nave made more money in the past
year through the practice Of their
profession than they could earn in any
other way in lifetime, writes Macon
Mccormick. Some of them have been
straight as an arrow" while others
have been, 1 fear, as crooked as rams
horns. Two of the straight ones have
been Bob Fitzsimmons and Gus Rub
lin. I am not stuck on Fitz as a man.
There is no law on the statute books
which compels me to like him, and
| don't, but as fighter there is no
gainsaying the fact that since his ar
rival in America all his battles have
been on the level and that he has
done his best to win every time he
has toed the scratch in ring.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08

Youngstown, a manufacturing city in
Ohio, with population of $4,000, has
been carrying out church census on
the lines projected in several cities re-
Gently, and the results are rather in
teresting. The work was done by $50
canvassers from dozen Protestant
churches, the Roman Catholic churches
cooperating to the extent of indors-
ing the work. The returns show the
following distribution of church-go-
ers: Catholics, 11,493; Methodists, s.
OBJ; Presbyterians, 4,127; Lutherans, 81
5s7; Disciples, 2,732; Episcopalians, q
O70; Baptists, 1,7S7; Reformed church,
lab; ongregationlists, 1888 The
rest of the population is divided among
Hebrews, Christian Scientists, Theos-
ophists, Latter Day Saints, Unitarians
and members of the Union Evangeli-
cal church. Only $500 persons, or 6
per cent of the population, confessed
to have no church preference.-Kan-
sas City Journal.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
Lonr-Lived Birds.

It used to be believed that raven,
lived longer than any other birds, and
it was said that their age frequently
exceeded century. Recent studies Of
the subject indicate that no authenti.
instance of a raven surprising seventy
years of age is on record But parrots
have been known to live 100 years.
One lost its memory at sixty, and it's.
sight at ninety. There is record of
a golden eagle which died at Schoen-
brun at the age Of 11S years. Another
golden eagle was kept In the tower Of
London for ninety years. A third
died at Vienna aged 101 years. Geese
and swans are tenacious to life. and
extraordinary accounts exist of the
great age that they have attained.
Button and other authorities have
credited them with eighty and 100
years of life.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
No Danger Of overcrowd,nr.

Mr.. M. G. Mulhall says there is
no reason to fear over-crowding on
on this globe for many centuries. The
area of the United States, excluding
Alaska, is just 100000 square miles;
the average density of the New Eng
land states is seventy-one Inhabitants
to the square mile, so that it may be
said that the Union could easily sup
port 210,O00,000, or three times it's
present population. Meantime other
vast fields are opening to invite i'm
migrants. Canada, Brazil, Spanish
America, and Australia. are each Of
them larger than the United States.
Each of them could find room for 2OO,-
100000 settlers.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
OTHER SPORTING MATTERS.

The Yale football team received
most welcome addition to her giant
rush line in the person of Richard
Sheldon, the champion weight throw
er. Sheldon was a member of the
Yale eleven in 1896, but only re-
manned in college a year, leaving the
institution to pursue a business ca
reer.
Major Taylor will soon go after
records in Chicago, where he secured
honors last season. He will again
use the Garfield park one-half-mile
cement track in that city. 1t is quite
probable that he will follow the
Charlie Miller motor, the McDuffee
steam motor and the pacing machines
of Albert Champion. Taylor hopes
to place the mile record at Ills, and
will try to do 40 miles in the hour.
Jim Corbett is the latest fighter to
announce his retirement from the ring
He has made the declaration in man
ner which indicated that he meant it
says a New York telegram
Corbett was seen at his cafe, and
when asked what his plans were for
the future the ex-champion said: 81
don't think / will ever fight again, and
to tell you the truth I don't care if /
never do. for l am Disguised with
everything.
eff I should fight what would the
public think? Why, they would say I
was going to fake it with my oppo-
nent have never been mixed up in,
fake fight in my life and I defy
anyone to come forward and prove
that my fight with Mccoy was fake.
IF was in the habit of quitting
1 think I would be better thought
by the public. This false statement
to the Mccoy fight would never havS
been made but for Honest John Kelly
and few others who had lost few
dollars on Mccoy. These kind of peok
old my wife my fight was yn771
Ind s.ssss'saauzp- eauit {! p ~
$780, u! She made the false announce
| ment,"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
"BIG JIM" BRADY.

capitalist who made long trips to some
vague, outlandish place where he was
a broker or Spectator or something,
and always came back with money to
throw away. Once he was a giant.
Now he is bent and gaunt, withered by
age and disease and want He is in
his seventy fourth year.
In speaking of an experience with
julius Doherty, an old-time pal, Brady
said: 1--WE were coming back from the
southwest with big leather bag full
OF money. Julius wanted me to break
open nice place with him in Wash
ington. l said no; we had enough
in the bag to go back to New York
and live happy the rest of our lives.
He said it would be sin to pass this
place by, 1t was SO easy. We left the
big bag at the railroad station. I
strolled into the jewerly store, bought
diamond ring and watch, and took
good look at the whole thing. I
saw that the jewelers. son kept a
clothing store around the corner and
that the two buildings met at the
rear. When went there that night
I saw that julius was anxious about
something. Soon l saw him dodge
across the street and whisper to a
policeman. / saw his whole scheme.
I out the back window and through
the clothing store. Grabbed a long
coat with cape as went through.
Then I slipped on a false moustache
had in my pocket and strolled around
the corner into Pennsylvania avenue.
Burglars inside?' said to the three
policemen who were trying to break
in the door. Well, men, do your
duty When I got few blocks away
I gave cabman $25 to catch the New
York train. Yes, there was my friend,
Julius Doherty, with the big bag full
of money beside his chair. Oh, but
l had fun with him. He never knew
me in my disguise, though; I sat be-
side him all the way. At Jersey City,
when the train slowed up, said: Can
/ help you with that bag, sir?' Before
he could say no. I took off my nous
tache and I said to him in my own
natural voice: If you touch that bag,
I'll croak you And I would, too, in
a minute. He took flying jump off
the train. I never saw him again"
Eyes" the veteran robber continued,
II sat among the big ones for days.
Went with the best, ate and drank the
best. Why, I've passed for a senator
and people never knew any better. /
arrived in Montreal looking like lord
and introduced myself as a United
States internal revenue commissioner.
When got tired of Montreal went
to Quebec and then to Three Rivers. 1t
was the same everywhere. People
couldn't do enough for me. And
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
everywhere I went I was making my

everywhere went I was making my
plans. I had my gang always in the
same town. I'd be the United State!
commissioner in bank in the after.
noon, and that night my boys would
crack it and get all the stuff. I did
many job in the west the same way;
There's one thing, though, that beats
us people-that's electricity. Show me
the lock / can't pick, or wedge, or
blow. But electricity-it's in the walls,
under the floors, wires stuck in where
you never think of them. Why, I
remember bank got into one night,
and worked as nice as could be for
half an hour. Then l just happened
to move chair. Would you believe
they had electricity fastened to it
somewhere? If hadn't had my plan
of retreat well worked out they'd have
got me-
Brady used to own large tracts of
land in New Rochelle He lost it all
while he was serving his last term in
prison IL years ago. He had all the
property in his wife's name She
vanished. But before she went she
sold everything. Brady enriched the
members of his family, who never
knew how he made his money But
now they are all poor. Not only did
he own property and spend money Law
ishly, but he once aspired to be a
leader in politics. This was 30 years
ago. A valuable horse which Brady
stole in Buffalo led to his arrest. He
took the animal to New York and
drove him while. firing of him.
Brady offered him for sale for $4,000
While showing his PAGES the horse ran
away, upset the buggy, broke the pros
pective buyers arm and Brady's leg
and three ribs.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08

whelming desire; the same which as
boy had caused him to lean idly on the
pillow in the Kansas corn fields and
look out over the undulating prairie.
murmuring to his jaded horses: 1T
les looks like the sea-" All through
his life he had said, Next year, il
times grows better, I'll go to the sea-
Even after he owned a small farm Of
his own and hot winds. or drouth, or
grasshoppers continued season after
season to wither and blast his straight
rows of corn. hope still kindled his
eyes and he only said, IF crops is good
next year, I'll see the sea"
+ He had married early, as is custom
hry in small communities, but his wife
had died after a year on the desolate
farm, leaving little daughter. Then,
after continued failures on the place,
he had lost it on mortgage and had
moved into the town where he could
"pick up something doing odd Jobs =
AS an unusually strong blastrof wind,
dashed a fusillade Of fine sand against
the window pane, he glanced up and
met his daughters steady, but sym.
pathetic glance.
i've got it almost figured out Lie
~ could go on the freight to New
York for $50. We could raise about
q hundred on the house, couldn't We?
and you could have the rest to live
on till got back. You see I'm gettin'
old, Lie. and If. / don't go pretty
soon here his voice quavered pitti-
fully and he shifted his knotty hands
helplessly IF / don't go pretty soon,
I'll never see the great ocean" He
looked about the dim1y lighted room
and continued. tits SO grand, they
say pillows Of white foam-and It's
green, like things a-growin'."
The girl went over to him and lifted
one, of his hands soothingly with
motherly tenderness. well have to
wait awhile, Dad. she said. Wait till
me and Jim is married and maybe then
We can raise the money better"
Jim was the switchman who spent
most of his life in the high switch
tower a few blocks from the home. He
represented all that was heroic to
Lie. And now" she was saying,
syou must be going over to the tracks
or you'll miss the train to Wichita
and you'll not get back tomorrow
night.
II get that job in Wichita, Lie, /
can save enough money in a year to go
TO the coast =
Yes, she sighed YEARLY, Yes,
Dad, you might, a
She followed him to the door as he
was leaving and impulsively threw her
arms about his neck. I'll go up to
( the tower with Jim and watch for you
Is you pull In tomorrow night" she
told him Be standin on the plat
form and III wave to you.
'sIsd like to see things myself. !" she
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
Paris Misses It's Eng1i.h Patrons.

One Englishman wastes, according
to his means, more money on pleas
ure trip than three dozen foreigners.
The Englishman is not a good lin
guist, and even if he knew a language
dramatically his words are strag-
Cling. "They refuse to come out in
procession as George Eliot wrote. AS
a consequence he is feeced and sub
mits cheerfully to the fleeing. Not
so the German, the Austrian, the
Spaniard and the Italian. They all
know French, and even if their ac-
cent should betray their foreign origin
they are safe, for the French shop
keeper and trader only goes deliberate
ly for the "Anglish." The "Anglish"
have kept away, and now there is
wailing and gnashing of teeth.-Lon-
don News.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
The Increase of Natio,. .litie..

According to German statistician,
Russia is a nation whose population
increases most rapidly-the population
doubling in about forty-fve years.
Germany needs sixty-fve years, AUS
stria- Hungary seventy, Great Britain
eighty, Italy ITO, but France can only
do it in Sc years, provided the pres
emit annual Increase does not diminish,
which unfos snnately seems to be the
case. The loss Of Alsace- Lorraine,
with population Of 1 100000 souls,
is nothing in view Of the Insignificant
annual increase Of Frances popula-
ton, During the last five years the
population of Germany has increased
5000, 900, while Frances increase has
been scarcely lie, O00a considerable
part Of whom are. moreover. OF for
letgn nationality.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
READ1No-RooMs FOR BLIND
sightless May Enjoy the Pleasures of


Stghtless May Enjoy the Pleasures of
Reading.
A good work never stops Since the
Congressional library at Washington
opened a reading room for the use of
the blind-the first instance of the
kind known-its example has been
followed by public libraries here and
there throughout the country, and the
sightless are no longer deprived of thu
pleasures of reading. In Washington
itself the work has widened in inf1u-
ence. The afternoon reading in "The
Pavilion of the Blind" as the reading
room is called. have been wonderfully
successful. There authors and singers
have come to give pleasure by readings
the house frequently devotes an after
noon to the entertainment of his COM
panions in darkness. He has softly
modulated voice. and often repeats
poetry of a religious character. When
the Eppiscopal convention was in ses-
sion in Washington, several of the
bishops became very much interested
in this work for the blind. Bishop
Whipple and Bishop Whitehead read
twice during the week they were there,
and through their efforts and those of
Bishop Gilbert and DR.. Samuel Hart,
the prayer book was printed in the
New York Point system and placed in
the Pavilion" A very encouraging
thing is the interest manifested in the
work by the young ladies of Washing
ton. Amidst the distractions and de-
mands of society they have found time
to minister to those less fortunate than
themselves. A committee of twenty
five have taken turns in escorting the
blind people to and from the readings.
Several members of the committee
have learned the tedious system of
writing in New York Point and Braille,
and have volunteered to copy in it the
leading magazine articles and stories.
and place them on the reading-tables
of the Pavilion. One girl writes half
dozen articles every month, and
binds them in little volume, which
she calls 1.-THE Meteor" She is we'll
repaid for her trouble by the eager
pleasure of the readers when the little
book appears.-Youth's Companion.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-08
BOAT SONG.

When we boated, you and I,
Swaying willows kissed the stream.
Was 1T Yes, twas last July!
Little cloudlets faxed the sky,
lust to make 1t bitier beam.
When we boated, you and I.
once again il. ,,,,s. ~
Blow. All, did they fairer seem
Was It? Yes. twas last July!
Var from you the days dragged by
y Wintry hours without CLEAN
Since we boated. you and I.
You were cruel then. Your eye
Gayly Knocked my hope supreme.
Was II? Yes. twas last July!
StiH love you. DO you sigh?
sweetheart. make 1t true-my dream;
Whne We're boating, you and I,
Say you love me-this July!
samuel Minturn Peck In Harper's Bazaar.