davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
CHASING STRAWBERRIES.

From the Nile River In September to
Scotland In August.
The queerest fad of a millionaire
globe trotter is that of John X. Hamp-
ton of Liverpool. He made his millions
on the corn exchange and holds the
golden key to the worlds pleasures.
Yet he spends his life chasing the
strawberry. When he was working
night and day amassing gold he found
that a plate of really fresh strawber-
ries and cream was the finest deli
catesseE he could have. Fortune
smiled on him in 1891, and the follow
ing year found him so wealthy that
further work would have been mad
ness. 1t was early September and he
went at once to Cairo, where fresh
strawberries can be obtained during
that month. Since that date he has
regularly followed the late spring, and
so that strawberry, from Cairo to AL
giers, from Algiers up through Spain
from South to North, and likewise
through France. Then, in early May,
when the strawberry season in that
country is finishing, he crosses to the
Channel isles and chases the smiling
fruit across to Cornwall, generally
landing In England in the middle of
June. His trip finishes in Scotland at
the end Of August, when he takes a
through ticket back to Cairo, and so
commences his tour again.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

Doctor Yerkes Of Harvard Univers-
ity. in experimenting with the turtle,
has discovered that It is a model Of
patience and presidency. II rises su-
perior to great obstacles. The Pru-
Dental Record gives certain results Of
his observations: The doctor arranged
a box with various obstacles between
the extreme corners, in one Of which
was a dark nest. At the end farthest
from the nest he placed a turtle. The
animal wandered around for thirty
five minutes before finding what 1t
wanted; but after 1t once knew the
route it began to improve on its rec
ord. In fact, the fftieth trip was
made in t~hirty-hve seconds. More diff
1cult labyrinths were arranged, and
the turtle again showed that when
once it knew its way It went as
straight as possible to its destination.
II it got lost, it would go back to the
starting point and begin over again.
All these things show that the turtle
has some points which everybody
might copy with profit. For instance,
its way of making its record better
with every effort is entirely commend
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

vor this year. The game is being pre-
scribed by many doctors who are con-
suited as to the best sort of exercise
for reducing the flesh and limbering up
the body. The pole is about ten feet
high and six feet from the ground is
a black band. With tennis bats the
players endeavor to strike the ball so
that 1t will coil the string around the
pole above the darkened portion. To
do this the players stand at a pre-
scribed distance from the pole, a circle
Of three feet being marked of. The
game may be played in sets or each
player may take a certain number of
strokes in his endeavor to get the
string coiled around at the proper
mark. The game requires a lot of
jumping around and raising Of the
arms above the head and is undoubted-
ly a good exercise for gaining quick
ness on the feet and getting of any
accumulated flesh about the waist.
Tether ball originated from tennis, the
idea being to give practice in serving
the ball. But it proved such a health
full game In itself that it has speed
lily become popular on its own account.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

A German Chemist and an Austrian
mechanical engineer have invented an
improved mercerizing process and
have obtained letters patent in all
countries. They mix copper, ammo
MIA and cotton waste in a large vat. In
about six hours a liquid Of dark blue
color is formed, which passes into a
large filter press, and then out Of small
glass tubes through a mild sulphuric
acid bath. It then Is Of a ge%latinous
consistency, and is caught by a small
glass rod and reeled on a large glass
spool as 1t passes through the bath.
The copper and ammonia, together
with other chemicals, are deposited as
a sediment and are used again. AS
the threads are reeled they receive a
bath Of cold water from a siphon. The
numerous spoOls center on one large
spool, and are then reeled on one large
spool and are then reeled onto an
other, and SO on, always under cold
water, until all chemicals and acids
are removed. This stage Of the proc
ess takes four hours. The thread Is
then taken to a drying room. The
product is brilliant in color and finish
and Of considerable textile strength.
The thread consists Of ten or twenty
hbres twisted into one, but can b
made Of any desired thickness.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
Pecu1iarities Hedge
About Three. Seven
And Nine.

have seven wonders Of the world, sew
en- champions Of Christenrom, seven
sleepers, seven wisemen, seven planets,
eve deadly sins, seven ages Of man.
and four ordinary leases are made for
seven or a multiple OF seven years.
But, however mystically significant
three and seven may be, they cannot
lay claim to any such peculiarities as
are the property Of the figure nine.
That the ancients had nine muses.. nine
rivers In the internal regions, a hydra
with nine heads and nine gods for
Lars Porsena to swear by. or that In
modern times a cat has nine lives. that
It takes nine tailors to make a man, or
that possession is nine points of the
law, are facts that pale into Insignia
canoe after one has once sat down
with pencil and paper to investigate
some Of the special peculiarities Of the
figure nine. For instance, 70 you null
tiply nine by any other number, you
will find that the figures composing
the product, when added together. will
always amount to nine. Thus:
8 times 2 equal Is and / plus s equal 9
9 times 3 equal % and 2 plus Z equal 9
9 times 4 equal SO and 8 plus 6 equal 8
and so on to any extent. On arriving
at II times 9 we find what appears to
be an exception, for the digits Of 80
equal is. But it will be observed that
is is a multiple Of 9, and, moreover,
that the figures composing It add up
to 8. Another popularity of this hg-
ure is discovered by taking any num-
Der Of two figures Of which the first
figure is Of greater value than the Sec
ond, reversing these figures and then
subtracting the number thus obtained
numbers is divisible by g.. It is not
every number which can thus be dealt
with, and the reader may find an even
ing's entertainment in trying to puzzle
out the reason why, An example Of
higher number may be given by way
of a little assistance: 896,573 is not
divisible by 9, but IL the mystic z be
added to it, either in front, where It
raises the amount by 1000, 900, or in
any other position, each one Of the
eight various amounts which may thus
be obtained becomes Invisible by 8.
1t may be that If any Of us would only
put himself through a sourse Of the
higher algebra, digest the integral cal
culus and master a few amusing treat
lses on the theory Of differences all
that now seems so p%erplexing in the
matter would become as plain as the
multiplication table.-Montreal Herald
and Star.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

A..M wv.
From any point In London a man
can write a letter in the morning and
get an answer the same day. and II
not too far of he can do the same In
the country, depending, Of course,
upon the promptness Of the person to
whom the letter Is addressed. This
rule Will apply anywhere within 100
miles Of the Bank Of England. There
are hourly collections and hourly de-
liveries in all parts Of the city, the
business as well as the residence quar-
ters. The average number Of deliv-
cries in cities Of over 10000 inhabit-
ants is fourteen a day. Within the
city limits a letter is carried by the
ordinary mail service about as prompt
ly and as rapidly as a telegram with
us. There is a letter box at every
corner. A person mailing a note at 9
O'Clock is sure to have It collected be-
fore 10 in the morning and delivered
at it's destination anywhere within the
limits Of London before 10, and II the
reply is posted before 1 o'clock he will
receive it within three OF four hours at
the furthest. This quick postal SER
vice has been a great obstacle In the
way Of telephones. There are prob
ably fewer telephones in London when
compared 70 the population than In
any city Of the United States.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
How to judy. Of robsoso.

color, burn and texture are the
three things which the grower Of to-
bacco has chiefly to consider. At pres
ent the trade calls for a light CHINA
m~on-brown shade, which must be uni
form. not notified. The leaf when
rolled on a cigar and smoked must
leave a white or light gray ash, which
does not fake of and fall into ones
bosom OF over his waistcoat, and 1t
must not coal. e., have a black,
charred ring just behind the ash on
the burning cigar. This is sure to give
a bad flavor and taste. The leaf also
must burn freely. and when lighted
hold firm for a reasonable time. II
must have a soft, silvery texture,
glossy surface and the elasticity Of a
piece OF kid, so that It may be drawn
smoothly and closely about the cigar.
Flavor Is not wanted In Connecticut
tobacco, for II there be much Of It It
Is sure to be bad. Perfect burn. color
and texture can be got In the northern
climate, but a delicate and agreeable
flavor has not yet been obtained. Fla
vor 81 conditional upon soil and fer
nlzers. IT Is desirable. therefore, that
the leaf be neutral, without taste, az
far az may be. We get the favor
wholly Ia the Cuban nller. 10 OBJ
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

RELOCATED to the duty Of prison ship
and a place Of confinement for
privateersmen captured by the British
toward whom the bitterest animosity
was felt. Smallpox in its most Virh-
lent form soon fastened upon her IN
mates, and fearing that the disease
might spread to the well-populated
shore. the ship was moved to the
Wallabout, then a solitary and unfre-
quented part Of Long Island, ~ now
the site Of the hourishing Brooklyn
navy yard. There she slowly rotted
away during the remaining years OF
our struggle for liberty, and finally
sank on the site she had made the
center Of so much human misery and
needless suffering.
Any n that has been aboard the
old order Of our wooden ships can re-
call the limited space between decks,
the scanty allowance OF sunshine that
found its way in through the nOne-too-
generous gun ports. and the general
atmosphere of confinement even under
the ~pleasantest conditions. The sur
r~oundings on the Jersey were these
limitations int snsihed by an indiffer-
ence that amounted to well-nigh dew
fish cunning.
The old gun ports were securely
closed as soon as the ship was given
over to prison purposes, and small
holes, about 10 feet apart, were cut
instead. These openings, only 20
inches square, were, in turn partly
closed by the stout iron bars that
crossed them in two directions; and
when we remember that the vessels
sides were from is to twenty odd
inches thick, one can realize how eff
f~ectually the inmates were cut out
from the reach Of sunshine, except for
the briefest while in the earliest and
latest hours OF the day.
The bowsprit Of the ship was the
only original spar Of the ship left, and
out upon It's ample length the hardest
Of the prisoners clambered to be as
free as possible from the noisome at
mosphere Of the body Of the hulk. Sew
eral accounts OF the ship have been
written, but none Of them with more
fulness and startling truth Of color
than the simple. straightforward &C
count Of Capt. Thomas Dring Of the
Providence privateer. The Chance-a
vessel Of ~ s~ix-pounder cannon and a
complement Of 65 men.
brings aocoun dwells upon the sum-
mer period, in fact he was liberated In
October, after a confinement Of only
hve months. but the story of the win
ter suffering is ever many times worse.
The old hulk was absolutely unheated.
and the great mass Of the prisoners
had only their tattered garments in
which to wrap themselves. The cold
winds blew through the old craft with
out h%indrance. the sleet and snow NJ
tered down through the hatchways up
on the crippled sick. and the wretched
prisoners saw their frost-bitten feel
actually fall from them for want Of
medical attention Of the mildest sort
Heaven knows the record Is grew.
some enough as far as we have gone
and yet this Is but the briefest hin.
OF the sunerings Of that 10000 tina.
! went to martyrs graves with the prof
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
National Prison Ship.

Every SOCIOLOGY knows IN brief the
frightful story Of cruelty and horror
practiced aDon the prisoners OF a
privateers by the British during the
revolution and especially Of that rec
ord OF the old Jersey, which will 60
down the long corridors Of time with
undiminishing reproach to our G
bitter foe.
The whole story was born anew the
other day by the announcement that
the navy department would use n OF
its e%ol1iers as a prison ship at Norfolk.
Va, TO tighten the a. upon the pretty
veil filled prison at the Boston navy
yard.
The report Of the judge advocate OF
the navy for-the past fiscal year point
ed out the inadequate quarters for
prisoners at -Boston-long the principal
naval prison on the Atlantic coast,
and urged that something be done to
meet the growing demand for such ae-
commodations. incident TO the great
increase Of the service.
The story-of the British prison ship
Jersey is n criminal IeColu VI bho
progressive murder Of nearly 10000
continental patriots, and that within
the sight Of their own dear land and
amid the vaARted plenty Of their cap
tors; and It is something to tie dis
credit Of us, who enjoy the fruit Of
their sacrifice. that nc fitting non
ment has yet been reared to their
memory, even though their bones have
been given the Christian burial first
denied them, says Boston Herald.
The Jersey, the most notorious Of
the several prison ships, was an old
ship-of-the-line, a 64-gun craft, which
had passed tie days Of naval useful
ness ere the revolution was more than
begun.
Fast ~decaying, the ship was disman-
tied and first turned into a storeship
and moored in the East river at New
York. In the year 1880, however, be-
coming unfit for that service, she was
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
Thieves OF India.

Probably the most expert thieves in
the world are those in lower Bombay.
There theft has been made a fine art.
To enter a zenana, or the woman's
apartment in a native house, where all
the family treasures are kept, Is the
ambition of every native thief. This
is no easy matter, for the zenana is
the center of the house, surrounded
by other apartments occupied by ever
1t the thief burrows under the house
until his tunnel reaches a point be-
meath the floor of the room to which
access is sought. But the cautious ma
tive does not at once enter. Full we'll
he knows that the inmates Of the
house sometimes detect the miner at
work and stand over the hole armed
with deadly weapons, silently await
ing his appearance. He has with him
a piece of bamboo, at one end Of
which a bunch Of grass represents a
human head, and this he thrusts up
through the completed breach. If the
vicariOus head does not come to grief
the real one takes it's place, and the
thief entering the zenana s~ecretes
himself-or, finding everything favor
able for this purpose, proceeds to at
tempt what seems an impossible un-
dertaking. This. indeed, is no less a
task than to remove from the ears and
arms and noses the earrings, brace
let's, armlets, bangles and rose rings
Of the sleepers without awakening
them and to get safely away with his
plumber. Who but a dacoit would be
equal to so delicate, dangerous and
dimcult a piece OF work? But the
dacoit seldom fails.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
Are
- Queer

Nobody mas ever satisfactorily ac-
counted for the popular partiality for
odd numbers. This Is the third
timer exclaims Falstan, on the occa-
sion Of a crisis In his relations with
n Of the merry wives of Windsor.
i hope good luck lies In odd numbers.
they say there's a divinity in odd num-
bers, either In nativity, chance or
death" And Il is scarcely necessary
TO say that the belief is much more
older than Sir. John Falstan. Three,
seven and nine appear to have been
the favorite numbers all the world
over. The ancients had three fates,
three furies and three graces; Nep-
tunes trident had three prongs Jupi-
ter's thunderbolt three forks, and Ger
berus three heads. We have three es-
tates Of the realm. a man who accepts
a bill has three days grace, and three
persons gathered together nay make
a riot. Shakespeare was we'll aware
h a he must have neither more nor
less than three witches In Macbeth"
and that the brindle cat must NEW
thrice, and our popular folklore in
sists upon three merry men, three
blind mice and three wisemen Of Goth
am. Three meals a day is the usual
scale Of feeding. OF a more mystical
character than three is the figure sew
en-, or, at any rate, It has a large num-
Der Of religious applications. Noah
had seven days warning of the coming
OF the flood, and when It came he took
fowls by sevens and clean beasts by
sevens into the ark; the ark touched
on Mount Ararat in the seventh month
and after seven days a dove was sent
out, followed seven days afterward by
another. In PhGraoh's dream there
were seven fat and seven lean kline.
which Joseph Interpreted to mean sew
en- years Of plenty and seven years OF
famine. At the destruction Of Jericho
seven priests bore trumpets seven days
and on the seventh day they walked
round the city seven times, after which
the walls fell. In the apocalypse al
most everything is seven except the
number Of beasts. There are seven
churches, seven golden candlesticks.
lamps before seven spirits. the
BOOK with seven seals, the lamb with
seven horns and seven eyes, seven an
gels with seven seals, seven kings,
seven thunders, seven thousand slain.
the dragon with seven heads and seven
crowns. seven angels brings seven
plumages. and there are seven walls
of wrath. In merely secular matters
seven occurs frequently enough. We
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

Juvenile courts and the system of
probation for young offenders have
proved so successful in Eastern cities,
especially in Boston. that much good
was expected from the introduction Of
the plan in Chicago. The results are
disappointing. The fundamental idea
OF the system is that for a first Ofense
a young lawbreaker shall be placed on
probation. during the term Of which he
is TO be under the care of suitable per-
sons. In Chicago at least twenty-five
probation officers are needed. The city
appointed only five, each OF whom has
charge Of about three hundred boys,
and the whole fifteen hundred are
herded together In a reformatory
school which does not reform but cor
rupts, II Is a pity that American cities
are so slow to learn that anything
which prevents an increase In the num-
Der Of criminals Is a saving IN dollars
and cents, to say nothing Of the moral
gain.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

Italian Girls and Their photographs
Italian girls, unlike most of their
American sisters, are generally UNI
willing to have their photographs pub
lished, and even when their consent is
obtained their relatives may object In
arranging, for instance, for pictures to
illustrate the article on What Girl
Life in Italy Means" in the Ladies'
Home Journal. the agent Of that mag
azine had with much difficulty at last
secured the photographs Of some very
pretty Italian girls, with their permits
sion to publish the pictures without
their names, simply as types Of Italian
girlhood. Before the photographs had
been mailed, however. a iealc. s lover,
three still o Jealous brothers, and
a pair of angry fathers withdrew the
young ladies' given permission. and
the photographs we're, OF course, at
once returned. After further fruitless
efforts the hope Of getting any pictures
had almost been abandoned when, by
a happy chance. the good offices OF
Prince Ruspoli, Lord Mayor Of Rome
and head Of the municipal schools,
were enlisted. and the attractive pho
tographs that illustrate the article
were finally obtained.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

city Refuse made q Source Of Revenue An
Warrington.
Washington city, It appears, 80 dis
poses Of us garbage that a profit Us
got cut Of Il, while most other Ameri-
can cities have to pay largely for It's
removal. There Is a contract with n
company which collects the garbage
and disposes Of &C. The garbage is
kept separate FROM ashes and other
refuse. In iron tanks II Is taken by
rail thirty miles down the Potomac to
the reduction works. Here It Is sorted.
Tin cans bottles, etc, are removed.
The rest Is placed IN a close iron yes
sci and subjected TO steam pressure.
after which 1t Is pumped into tanks
and allowed to settle. Oils and fat
rise to the surface, and, being Skinned
Off, are sold to soap makers. Under
pressure more oil is obtained, to so
the same way. The caked garbage.
after pressure, is ptlverized and sold
for fertilizer. Incidental profits arise
from the sale Of the hides or horses
and other animals and the manipula-
ton of the %carcasses along with the
garbage. The horse hides make good
russell leather. A good monthly profit
is said to be realized.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

A pleasant accompaniment Of the
hot weather this summer is the in
~creasing tendency on the part of city
teamsters to provide their horses with
head coverings. The really fashiona-
BILE thing in equine millinery Is a
walking-hat OF straw, with a high
crown and holes in the brim through
which the horses ears protrude. Some
of the teamsters who have feminine
friends and a sense Of humor have
provided their animals with trimmed
hats, generously decorated with chif-
fon. bright-colored ribbons or a gaudy
quill. The hats themselves are a con
siderable protection against the sun,
and when, as is usual, a wet sponge
is placed IN the crown, the horse can
do his work without danger and in
greater comfort. It is a sensible in
novatiOn.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27
When Not a Drop Of Rain
Fell After the Middle
Of June

all-nearly as white as snow Some
times travellers throAts would become
so badly choked that they couldn't talk
until they took a drink of water. 1
guess in those days most of is ate our
allotted peck O. dirt or more.
THE spring Of 1855 was s~easonable
and crops sprang from the grolhd W tn
renewed ygor. lean keenlx reraaDAe7
our first meal with homegrown vege-
tables on the table, and I've never
tasted anything since that was quite
so good"
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

fer OF plenty, and the comfortable ex-
ample OF their renegade countrymen
ashore should they desert the CONT
mental cause.
With every reasonable consideration
for their health and comfort, the pris-
oners on the southery have nothing to
endure sav confinement to the ship.
Food they have in plenty, and Of work
and exercise enough to keep them in
proper trim.
The ship Is under the police control
OF a marine guard detailed from the re-
ceiving ship Franklin-herself most
famous because she brought back from
the Mediterranean the notorious
boss" Tweed years ago.
ROBERT G. sKERRETT.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

The annual report concerning the
food supply Of Paris for 1900 contains
some interesting figures. Here is the
oticial average Of what a Partisan
eats and drinks in M year: Two
hundred and forty-two eggs. 1925
pounds Of butter, 3.O5 pounds Of ready
cooked butchers meat, 1892 pounds Of
fish, 154.74 pounds OF beef, 25.3S pounds
OF pork, and 27.83 pounds Of fowl and
game.
The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-27

A rare phenomenon attended an
earthquake that visited a little town
in Mexico recently. Having wrecked
several houses in the town the tremor
passed on to a lake in the neighbor-
violent agitation. The agitation ceased
after a few minutes. and then the
water gradually disappeared, leaving
the bottom Of the lake exposed, when
it was seer that the earthquake had
opened a assure in the bottom and
thus drained 1t.