davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

"a cry burst from them as the bucket,
without pause or stop, leaped up amid
1.-THE heavy timbers and sped swiftly
on toward the great sheave wheels.
Another wild cry, and then On awful
crash astbe bucket dashed against the
wheels. 4 human form whlrled IN
the mir, struck against the timbers.
and plunged out Of sight down the
yawning blackness Of the shaft. An
other form was clinglng to the timbers
far aloft. ~
s "tWho sis that?" called the engineer.
4um Carroll" answered the man
clinging to the. timbers.
fWho was it that fell down the
fshaftf" ~
aOld Murphy"
Is Another awful cry broke the stiffness
of the night. Down from the shadow
of the engine house Black Jake Muir.
ply came running. s'tat'f
s "Who?1 he cried, and no words can
tell the fearful agony In his voice.
se.NTho went down; the shaft?" y
i 'Your father, Jake" said the en-.
gineer. -
With one bound Jake was at tue
shafts mouth.
Father" he cried, "father!' But
the black pit gave no answer to his
frantic call. With wild cry he
turned. Throwing his hands aloft he
shook his clincbed fist at Carroll, still
clinging to the timbers, end with q
fearful imprecation on his lips fell
backward into the awful depth.
5@
The Investigation that followed
showed that q connecting pin in the
reversing gear had fallen out or been
removed. 1t was beneath the floor on
which the engineer stood, and any
one could reach 1t unseen. It was
also. shown by Jim Carroll's testimony
that old Murphy, the pump runner,
who should not have left his post I'M.
til relieved. had insisted on coming uI
to the surface with him...Wayerley
Magazine. -. &
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
AProposnI on AM Eee.

The Bristol Mercury says that at
well-known grocers III Stokes Croft a
few days ago, one of the assistants
was opening a box Of 800 eggs from
Canada, when he came upon one good
sized hens egg, on which he found
written in the neat handwriting OF
evidently young lady the following:
miss q. Wing, West Port, Ontario,"s
and beneath the address the gentle
postscript-always the best part Of a
lady's letter, with q view to matri-
mony.n The proprietor, on arriving at
the establishment, and hearing Of the
singular incident, asked the assistant,
q young bachelor, what he had done
in the matter. "Oh," promptly replied
the young man. II responded at once.
and the letter is already posted to
West Port, Ontario, acknowledging
the receipt of the interesting offer and
asking Tor further particulars by next
NALL, ..g s.@ lrfs.rf ~,
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
an Autiseptlc Broom.

The most up-to-date broom, and that.
which sweeps the cleanest, has mi
crobe destroyer attached, as shown in
the accompanying Illustration. The
new broom was designed by South
erner. 1T consists of bag to be at
tached to the end Of the broom handle
before the straws are wired in place,
with a hole drilled in the handle to q
point above the straws for, the inser-
tion Of the chemicals, etc, which form
the microbe destroyer. The antiseptic
is preferably made In the form of hard.
balls, which readily roll into the bag
through the channel. and to promote
the dissemination Of the compound
through the straws a quantity OF
water, alcohol or other solvent may
also be introduced through the agency
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
Danger In Lead Pencils.

Lead pencils are the latest subject
for condemnation by the English doc
tors, or rather the method Of using
lead pencils In schools. There have
been outbreaks of skin and other ALL
ments in a number of schools lately
which have puzzled the doctors, and
the school medical inspectors, after
considerable inquiry, now assert that
the school pencils are to blame. The
practice, it appears, is that pencils are
provided for the whole school, and are
collected at the end Of each day, and
redistributed next morning. In this
way single pencil makes a tour Of
the class and is sucked in turn by
most Of the children. The moral OF
the discovery is: Zone child, one pen
cil."-WeStminSter Gazette.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

fact that the animals have had better
feeding than they have had for years
past. They are great fish eaters.
With the trout streams reduced to
mere ribbons Of water. the big trout
all went to the deep pools and became
prisoners there. With plenty of water
to move about In q trout Is abundantly
able to take care Of itself as against
the mink. But, imprisoned in the
pools, the mink had the trout at his
mercy, and the mink that has not had
all the trout he wanted this summer
has been lazy beast. They have been
able to simply gorge themselves, and
that Is why the mink are 80 fat and
sleek this fall. I think the catch Of
mink skins this winter, when the sea-
son Is really on, will be the finest we
have had in a long time. So, You see,
the drought worked we'll for my busi-
ness, even though 1t was little hard
on the farmer and fisherman"
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
Jake Murphy's Reveng

possibility ever arisen, old Il Murphy
would readily have laid down his own.
life to save that of Ills ;son. He
watched him then lest he should sdo
that which might neces state his de-
parture from this world at the lands
Of the sheriff. His watching brought;
him great uneasiness. Black Jake had
changed. He did not seek nm oppor.
tunity to revenge his defeat In open!
fight. Rather he avoided: Carroll and;
when they were together, and, work.
ing in the same shaft they could not.
keep apart, he was quiet and FAIR
spoken. This was. not Black 1akeis
nature and the old man feared for;
what was to come.
Sitting at his post, looking down at
the three men below him. old Murphy,
in the Pickering light of the miners,
lamps, caught q glimpse OF his sons;
face and a terror fell on him. So1ne-
thing told him in those set and siiiien
features and eyes that seemed to burn
with inward fire that The time tad
come. .gs. $. ;S;.s.s o..
With a rattle and rush the 3heavyi
iron bucket plunged down through the
darkness and touched the water ere !
it stopped, slowly turning witht the J
twist Of the rope that, like a .liin Inc
of black. disappeared in the blacknessa
above.
Jake Murphy gripped it and sprang
inside. Only two men could go uDssin
1t at once.
Come ,Jim," he cried, get In, and
looked at Carroll.
Old Murphy's tongue was loosened. 1
"Hold on, Jim," he called out.
want yer to help me fix this yaiYeI|
afore yer so up"
Jim turned irresolute. Intthat mo-
ment tie other man jumped in The
bucket.
call right" he cried, "Let her gole
Carroll saw that the bucket was
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
Joke of a Merry Englishman.

- -
No Englishmany of the present time
Is ;graver in his appearance and de-
meanor than Sir Henry Howorth, and
no3one looking at him would suspect
him of being capable Of joke. Yet
he9is one Of the merriest men in all
England.
It is related that when the Archaeo-
logical Institute paid its recent visits.
to Dorsetshire, the members gathered
in the old disused Saxon church. at,
Wareham. After much learned talk,
the vicar described how, during re-
cent excavations for .underpinning
the chancel arch. a stone coffin had
been found at considerable depth,
adding, that it must have been pre-
viously disturbed. because Of the
multiplicity of bones it contained, the
head cavity being occupied by three
jaw bones. Sir Henry, on hearing
this, leaned forward and asked the
clergyman, with much earnestness,
if there was any inscription on the
coffin. The reply was in the negative,
the vicar adding that he, believed an
inscribed stone coffin would be most
unusual.
gAh," said Sir Henry, "you disap-
point me. I was in the hopes that
you might have found the name Of
Howorth, for an ancestor with three
jaws would be some excuse for
my intolerable loquacity. London
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
They Did Not Mate.

Everybody in his corner of the auc-
ton room crowded around him. He
hadDjustg bought from the unclaimed
express packag ges offered for sale big,
shakys parcel iof uncertain shape. He
had paid 10 cents for it, which Is
rather large sum to risk on blind
purchase, especially since nearly all
the packages sold that morning turned
out to- be iron castings for rare and
unknown machines. "But," said he,
with sly twinkle in his eye, II seen
in through hole; they's shoes,an' new
'uns, SIR" He tore open the parcel
and held up big hob-nailed leather
boot1g He put his. hand down into the
parcel again and fished up mans low
shoe, then ,lady's slipper then a
baby's little shoe. He kept pulling out
shoes until his arms were full then he
looked up despairingly. They're. all
right saidshe. Eyes but you're left"
called some one,froui the back OF the
crowd. Tposton Transcript
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
Bears In q AIix-Up.

Two of the monster bears at the Zoo
engaged in a fierce fight for scalps a
few days ago. The animal attendants
were compelled to use hot irons to sep
arate them. The bears fell out over a
turkey that was left over from Thanks
giving. Their keeper divided the tur-
key "half and half" rs he thought.
One Of the bears got it into his head
that the other bear had little the
best Of 1t, and hostilitles began. The
monsters fairly shook the building and
clawed and gnashed their teeth for
fully ten minutes. Bear skin was
lying around the den promiscuously.
The bear that was defeated was taken
to the Zoo hospital on stretcher, bad
ly damaged. The hospital is very in
teresting part Of the establishment,
and is provided with all the necessary
adjuncts for the proper surgical treat
ment Of Injured animals.-Baltimore
News.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

esque hunting lodges. The deer in
this north park are fine, large animals,
of dun color, with magnificent ant
lers, somewhat resembling our Ameri-
can wapiti, but peculiar in having
what the Chinese COLL mule tail.
Probably the commonest game bird
Of China is the pheasant. Szechuau
is the home Of 4 peculiar animal that
might be called q missing link" 1t
is a species of ape, growing quite
large, adults reaching four feet in
height. 1t lives in the mountains and
is protected from the cold by heavy
fur and name. 1t is peculiar for the
fact that it hibernates like bear, and
the Chinese, recognizing this peculiarl.
ty, call it the run-hiung, or the maD
bear. 1t is much sought for its flesh,
and its paws are priced as great DELI
cacies.
There is so much swamp and lake
country In China that it is very nat
urally a great country for snipe and
plover, while the rich feeding to be
found in it's great rice fields makes it
the home Of greater focks Of swans
and geese and wild ducks of all va.
rietles than can be found anywhere
else in the world. The Chinese a:e
great pigeon fanciers, and take advan-
tage of the pigeon habit Of flying ~
droves to steal from each other and
TO take wild pigeons. They do this by
fastening wooden whistles on the tails
of the leaders of their own flock, for
the purpose of attracting other pigeons
to them. The air of Chirese cities Is
full of soft aeolian noes Of these
pigeon whistles.
There is another method Of taking
game practiced by the Chinese which
must not be omitted, and this by
means of trained falcons. The great
sport Of falconry, once so popular In
all the courts Of the world, survives
strongly in China. Here hawks, eagles
and falcons are still taught to pursue
the quarry, and the great falcon mar.
ket in the southern part of Pekin, IS
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

action - hieesin ssoniv
birds, while exposed parts are black,
With one species Of paroquet the
wing feathers are blue-green on the
side that touches the body and black
on the other side;t and it is the same
with others. 4. Another class of in.
stances is observed when the tail
feathers are partly covered by the,
feathers that protect them; the
former are paler at their bases. and
tend toward white. This is seen very
clearly with several birds that have
the exposed part black. The base of
all feathers, where they are protected.
is paler and less brilliant in tint.
Light has an evident influence on the
pigmentation of the plumage. The
first birds mentioned are quite black
when seen from above, while from be-
low they appear white. Wherever
their feathers are exposed to the sun
they are black; where protected they
are white. With cage birds the oppo-
site is often seen; the plumage be-
comes dark when they are kept in the
shade and is more brightly colored
when they are exposed to light.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

Chinese were the first inventors Of
gunpowdcr and firearms, still their
shotguns have never been sufficiently
improved to be Of much service in
hunting. In the first place the Chinese
have never invented or used the per.
cussion cap. Their gun barrels are
roughly cast and many Of the cheaper
ones look as If made out Of pot metal.
The lower end Of the barrel has ii
small vent on the side with q flash pan
attached. Over the stock Of the gun
is holder shaped like a half bent fin
ger, made OF soft steel, and split so rs
to hold piece Of lighted punk OF in
cense. To fire his gun the Chinaman
fills the fash pan and then, with his
thumb, pushes the holder forward till
the lighted punk touches the powder
In the flash pan. By this time any
creature with an atom of intelligence
Is mile away more or less, and un.
less something else happens along op-
portunely to receive the charge, the
shot is wasted.
The reason for the number Of foxes
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
- LACK Jake Murphy was the
x bigger, but it did not take
lnnpar thnn Eye minnteS to

IN LACK Jake Murphy was the
2 * bigger, but it did not take
longer than five minutes to
& determine who was the bet
ter man. Even Mike Hudok, the big
Polander, saw it. He was viewing the
fray from IN upturned beer keg in
front Of Yankee Pete's saloon. Ee
slim lick 'um, heap quick" he ejac-
ulated, and his words were prophetic.
In less than ten minutes Black Jake
was thoroughly and scientifically
licked" and he knew it. He would
have fallen on his face again as he
staggered up after the last knock
down blow, IL some one had not given
him an arm to lean on. Through the
blood that blinded him he saw the
crowd in a red haze. But his reeling
sight looked for but one object, and
his whole brain and soul were filed
with a fierce and devilsh hatred for
the man who stood near with bruised
face and barred arms-his conqueror.
Slocum's Patch had no sympathy
for Black Jake Murphy. AS a rule,
the Patch displayed no excessive fas-
tidiousness as to the component parts
OF its select society. 1t had even got
beyond objecting to the Polander and
Hungarian. But with Jake Murphy
and his father it refused to associate
OF any terms more friendly than those
involved in imbibing Yankee Pete's
whisky at their expense. 1t could not
be asserted that either father or son
were ut all dlscomposed by this par
tial ostracism. 1t rather seemed to
suit their sullen and morore disposi-
tions. They did not seek the allure
ments of Slocum Patch society, eX-
cept on the rather rare occasions when
together they sat down for q drinking
bout at Yankee Pete's. Then all who
chose could drink at their expense,
and then for the few hours their
la
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

Ghina The NIuElds las game Preserve
Bears and Wolves Still Abound.
Many Varieties of Deer and Birds.
;sss88a e#828s8a82

The taking of game by the Chinese is
chiefly by means Of nets, running
nooses and desd-falls., Quail and rab-
bits are taken almost solely by mears
Of nets, which the Chinese set in
standing grain, and into which they
then carefully drive the game. For
larger game they use pits with trip
falls and nooses with weights, ar
ranged to catch the animal around the
neck and hang it.
The abundance Of game in China is
not peculiar to any part Of the en-
pire. In the mountains, both north and
south, are found great numbers Of
bears, both black and brown, and
strange as it may seem, they are most
numerous in the province Of Shan
tung, which is one Of the most thick.
ly populated and the Oldest province
Of the Chinese empire.
Tigers and leopards are also found
in all the mountainous parts Of China,
the royal tiger Of India is found In
the range of mountains which parallel
the coast from Canton north to the
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

marvellous bit of vegetable life. l
could scarcely believe the story he
told me, yet curiosity at length over
came incredulity, and we set forth one
morning in a small canoe. We spent
nearly three days padding and polling
our way over the winding waters. In
the afternoon Of the third day l be-
gan to wonder if he had only been
deceiving me for the sake Of the boat
hire and his pay as guide, when he
gave q grunt of satisfaction and point
ed to the right.
."Distrustfully / followed him ashore
and through the underbrush. Beneath
great cypress trees. hoary with the gray
hanging moss, and past immense bay
trees we wended our way inland.
Eagerly he led the way until reach
ing the edge of a little open space he
stopped and with silent pride point
ed toward the centre. Gracefully
tree, with broad, Lanana-like leaves,
reared itself aloft. Wide spreading
branches hung down. slightly waving
in the warm breeze. Its emerald hued
foliage was the most beautiful had
ever beheld. 1t rose to height OF 20
feet and its thick. substantial trunk
indicated many years of existence.
This, the old Seminole informed me-
was the blushing tree
81 told him to prepare to camp
here until it rained, regardless of
time. We unrolled our blankets.
stretched out mosquito bars, without
which one cannot sleep in the glades,
cooked supper and rolled up in our
blankets for the night. That night,
the day following and the next night
t&passed without rain.
81 began to think 1T would never
rain, when about noon cloud dark
ened the sky overhead. put rub
Der poncho over my shoulders and
fixed my eyes on the green and pretty
tree a dozen yards away. 1t was
covered with a greenish insect, the
size of a large wood tick, which in
tensified it's color. The rain began to
fall in torrents, after its custom in
that region Beside me-. grinning con-
fidently with a pipe in his mouth,
stood the Seminole.
"As the cold water drenched the
tree, was amazed to note changing
of color. Gradually. yet unmistakably
the green hue was giving way to
pink. The Indian had told the truth.
The tree was blushing the rain.
"In few minutes the green had
faded from sight. Only in few,
half hidden spots beneath broad
branches and on it's trunk was there
a tinge of green to be seen. The tree
was as pink as the cheek Of healthy
girl.
AFTER an hour or more the shower
passed over and l watched with no
less interest the wonderful tree as
sumo it's familiar green once more.
AS it was changing back to emerald
l suddenly realized the secret of the
phenomenon. The tiny insects and
not the tree itself changed color.
These peculiar parasites are pos
sessed of the power of chameleons.
In the bright warm sunshine they are
greener than the tree on which they
live, but when tho chilly rain falls
upon them they contract their little
backs and become a pretty pink in
color. Millions of them thus change
the tint of the tree. They are found
only upon one species of trees which
grow in certain parts Of the Ever
glades."-Denver Evening Post.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06

curling from the exhaust pipes. As
they left the bucket Black Jake bid his
companion surly good night and
started off MS though for home. But
once out of sight he turned and swiftly
and silently crept back. he passed
the mouth Of the shaft, and dlsap.
peared in the shadow of the engine
house.
Within the engine house Tom Allis,
the engineer, stood at his post. Be
fore him was the huge conical drum
sixteen feet In diameter, round which
the snake-like cable was coiled in
grooves. On each side of him were
those mighty engines whose gigantic
power could, when the time came.
snatch the carriage and loaded chr up
those twelve huIdred feet of depth in
fifty seconds. With one ham on the
throttle he waited for the signal to
lower. 1t cane. The bell clanked, the
throttle shot open, the steam rushed
into the gnat cylinders, and down
dropped th bucket like q stone
dropped dwn we'll. With steady
eye Allis rarked the cable as it reeled
swiftly OF the drum. He never no.
ticed MISUNDERSTANDING dial that
told Of tie buckets descent. For his
practlcet eye bar of white paint
daubed N the cable was q better
guide. n another instant that white
mark Us of the drum, when the
throttlewas closed, the reversing bar
shot blk with q crash, again the
steam lshed into the cylinders, and
the enne, with q few short pants,
stopped The bucket swung at the,
same pth within half an inch that
it hadyhen Jack Blake climbed on
the bod. 1t was Tom Allis's boast
that ife knew mans exact height
he coul drop that bucket on his head
withoudoing more than smooth out
his hal
he XIV there was one. more man to
come u The pump. runners shift
would t expire for four hours yet,
and allhe stnkers but one were up.
With Inland on the throttle lever be
waitedor the signal to hoist. A
minuteassed and two, but he stood !,
like q aven statue.
Clanrlapk! clank! The bell struck
three mes. It was the signal to
hoist yh care, as human weight filled
the bret. Slowly he drew the throt-
tie OF, and the gigantic engines.
wakir from their britf rest, once
more ut the drum flying round. Coil
after i Of writhing cable was wound
about. One hand on the throttle
and other on the reversing lever,
Tomlls watched the spinning drum
and white marks on 1t that told
him len to stop. AS he stood there
he the reversing lever shake and
trele, as If some one had touched |
it. bad no time to think of this, for |
in Dther second the bucket was
wit one hundred feet Of the surface.
H0sed the throttle and pushed the
re,ing lever.
lid cry burst from his lips. AS
heshed 1t, the bar shot back with
ling crash, but the reversing gear
NJ moved. The engines would not
rese. In that awful moment his
pnce Of mind never left him. He
sd the brake bar and threw all his
yht upon it. The band of steel that
ed the drum gripped tight. But
t could that do to stop the mas.
engines running at high speed?
jammed 1t back and rushed from
. engine house.
| 5 he did so, the bucket shot up
. 10 the shaft. Two men were In II.
Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-06
A Curious Timepiece.

a Partisan novelty is sun-dial
watch, with compass, as shown in our
illustration. 1t is made Of nickeled cop.
per, and is to be recommended to hunt
ers, fishermen, cyclists-in short to all
who spend much time in the open air.
In the upper part small compass IS
fixed, at the lower is marked a scale
Of the hours, and in the centre there
is small finger, which can be raised
and lowered at will.
In order to use this novel watch ii