davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
THE GREEN PERIL.
THAT STALKS I'M FRANCE
ALARMING HER LAWMAKERS.
In the Last Six Years the Consumption
OF Absinthe Has Doubled In the French
Nation, Says This writer-Introduced
as Medicine. v

At last the French lawmakers have
awakened to the green peril of France
the deadly absinthe, says the New
York Press. The consumption of this
drug has been for years the curse of the
French people. It's effects upon the
nervous system are such that it is
especially harmful to an excitable peo-
sible for the increase in insanity in
France is shown by the fact that the
growth in its consumption goes hand
in hand with the increase of cases of
mental arrangement. Cases of insanity
directly traceable to the use OF this
quantities absinthe produces epilectic
commissions, as has been shown by ex-
pertinent, and the continued though
moderate use of it produces symptoms
of an epileptic character which are not
due to the alcohol in the decoction. In
the last six years the consumption of
absinthe has doubled in France, the
absinthe drinkers of that country now
consuming, according to M. valiant,
100000 gallons year. The confirmed
absinthe drinker is nervous, irascible,
erratic and incapable of self-contol or
of logical reasoning. He does not get
drunk like the whisky drinker, but is
driven to sort of frenzy. Absinthe
also stimulates the lowest and most
abnormal passions. No man can re-
main Derfectiv sane and he addicted re
absinthe. The French Academy OF
Medicine and the French members OF
the Chamber of Deputies see grave dan
gers ahead for France if the use of the
drug is not checked. If the increase in
it's use goes on with the same rapidly
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
PREVENTION orr SKIN DISEASES.

Among the most common diseases of
the skin are acne and eczema, one of
which is known to be. and the other
probably is. the result of the presence
OF microbe on or in the skin. This
microbe is vegetable growth although
very minute one, and like other nox-
ious weeds. when once it has been
planted and has begun to grow it is
OFTEN extremely difficult to dislodge it.
Every farmer knows that it is easier
to keep field clean by constant care
than to clear it after it has once been
oVergrown with weeds. 1t is the same
with the skin. 1t is easier to keep the
skin in health, and to arrest a COM
mencing disease, than to cure disease
once 1t has become firmly. established.
II 1t were generally understood that
the presence Of a few pimples consti-
tutes a true skin disease, which, if
neglected, will probably grow worse,
FEWER persons would suffer from the
disagreement of acne.
Inc skin is much like the system in
general if it is in good condition it
VIII repel the assaults of disease, but if
neglected it becomes less resistant, and
soon offers favorable soil for the
growth of noxious germs.
Inc skin is one of the so-called ex-
eretory organs, and if the other organs
OF similar function-the kidneys and
tne powels-do not perform their work
properly, an undue proportion of the
waste products of the body must be
got rid of through the pores of the
SKIN. This throws work upon the in
regiment which it is not accustomed to
perform, and it soon becomes diseased
IN consequence.
The first thing necessary to keep the
SKIN well is to maintain the health Of
the body by exercise, cleanliness, fresh
ar uay and night, good food properly
cooked, a sufficient amount of sleep,
ana suitable clothing. In addition to
tnese general measures the skin itself
should receive special attention in the
way OF daily bath, followed by Wig
orous rubbing with coarse towel or
flesh brush.
some persons have naturally clear
SKINS while others appear to have a
speciai predisposition to blackheads
anu plmples. The fortunate ones must
70 II that they do not mar what
na'ure has given them by an unhy-
eienlc mode of life; but the others need
no' despair, for their tendency to erup-
ions may often be overcome by scrup-
ulous care both of the body and of the
snin ltself, after the manner above in
o,oa'eo' and in such other ways as the
physician may direct.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
BEET BEATS sUGAR-oANE.

According to recent consular re-
port from Magdeburg, Germany, the
production of beet sugar in the world
is now twice as great as that of cane
sugar. This victory of the beet over
the cane is ascribed to the influence of
the industry of beet sugar making
This influence is especially exerted in
Germany, where more than thousand
chemists are exclusively employed in
the sugar factories. The manufacture
of beet sugar has taken a sudden start
in Spain since she lost her colonies in
the war with the United States.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
Gas Belt Being
Exhausted.
u d0SAOsssssssss

So great have been the demands
arising from the extensive use of nat
ural gas in factories, public buildings
and dwellings of Indiana, Michigan,
and Ohio, that the supply is rapidly
being overdrawn and it is estimated
that the gas belt of Indiana, where the
product is obtained, will in two years
at the furthest be practically exhaust
ed. Attention to this matter has been
called by the statement of the Indian
apolis Gas company that it is unable
to declare dividends owing to the fact
that three-fourths of the citizens of
Indianapolis are guilty of recklessly
wasting and stealing gas from the COM
pany and the answer of citizens to the
effect that they have to resort to
seemingly sharp practices because the
quality of the gas is so poor that they
cannot get light without so doing. The
directors of the gas company allege
that the violations of the law are not
confined to the Door or vicious, but in
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
RAPID DwINDLINC OF
THE SUPPLY IN INDIANA
CHARGED TO RECKLESS
WASTE.

clude city and county buildings, city
officials, lawyers, churches, ministers
of the gospel, physicians, architects.
and some of the most prominent resi-
dents and business houses in the city
of Indianapolis.
AS described by the company, the
method of stealing is to cut additional
small holes in the feed pipe, without
paying the extra charge due for the
increased supply. Everybody, appar-
emily, according to the company, does
this; or, at least, it was found that out
of $4,000 consumers, three-quarters
were using more gas than they paid
for. AS a result, the company's earn
ings decreased $4,000 year, and the
dividends had to be deferred.
No gas meters have been used in In
dianapolis, despite the efforts of the
company to secure their adoption, and
there is no means of definitely deter
mining the amount of the product
used by each consumer.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
lA& $&p1r~% ~
$50 So
=| /z$&d
- o. ==:=5zzz523zRl
NEW BIoYoLE AMBULANCE.

The bicycle is such a convenient
means of transportation that it is moth
ing extraordinary that inventors
ehould apply it to the carriage of an
ambulance for emergency cases. We
illustrate in the accompanying cut
machine fitted with an ambulance
which can be manipulated by the rider
alone. without the aid of any other
nerson. 1t is intended primarily as a
means Of reaching the injured as soon
as possible, rather than providing a
rand means of transporting the suf
ferer to a hospital. The bicycle is
proyided with curved bar at the front
and rear, which are clamped to the
frame and provided with sockets to re-
ceiye the sides of the frame. The lat
ter is of light tubing and has braces
to stretch the canvas when the
stretcher is open. When not in use the
braces are folded in line with the frame
and the whole may be rolled up and
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
ABOUT EAST AFRICA.
Two Notable Facts to Which Dr. Smith
Calls Attention.

Calls Attention.
DR.. Donaldson Smith was the first
white man in the wide district be-
tween Lake Rudolf in East Africa and
the Nile. Among the most important
of his remarks before the Royal Geo
graphical society were those relating to
the meteorology of the country. He
said there is no doubt that the desert
conditions of the lands inland from
the Indian ocean is the result OF the
fact that the north winds blowing Over
the mountains of Abyssinia are wrung
perfectly dry of their moisture in cross
ing the mountains and then descend
the southern slopes as dry winds.
These breezes are the northern trade
winds and as they cross the lofty
mountain ranges of the Abyssinian
highlands practically all the moisture
in them is condensed and precipitated
and only a pitiful drop or so Is per-
mitted to reach the more southern
lands. so Somaliland and the low
lands to the south of Abyssinia are
very dry All the rivers and lakes
which came under his observation this
year were half dried up. The other
striking fact which he mentioned is
that the whole fauna, both birds and
mammals, appears to change as soon
as Lake Rudolf is passed. In other
words of the fauna between the Indian
ocean and Lake Rudolf and the Nile.
Gazelles and heartbeasts were seen on
both sides of the lake, but the varie-
ties were different. Walters gazelle.
which had been a constant companion,
was nowhere to be seen. but the oribi
and reedbuck took his place. More
than one hundred species of birds
were seen to the the lake and
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

which Il has in the last four years II
is only question of time when France
will become nation of lunatics In
this country little absinthe is con-
sumed. Ten years ago there was quite
a fad" for absinthe drinking In the
United States, but it was of short dura-
ton, American common sense sooa
RELOCATING the dangerous drink to OBJ
security. Later it became the custom
to say to the bartender when ordering
a cocktail, Just dash of absinthe r.
it." Now the bartenders in the best
drinking places in New York say that
absinthe in cocktail is seldom called
for. Now and then young man who
is just learning the ropes" of the big
city and wants to appear knowing"
will call for an "absinthe frappe," or
some old FOUNDER" whose Pickering
candle is almost gone out, will order
an absinthe as a "bracer," but as a
general drink it is seldom used here
now. The real "rounder," the man
who has drunk all his life and intends
to drink for the remainder of it.
eschews absinthe as he would tenn
perance pledge. In restaurants and
cafes frequented by foreigners one may
occasionally see men sitting over their
cloudy green liquor, but as rule the
drip glass" remains unused behind
the bar, and the absinthe bottle keeps
1t company. The history Of the intro
duction of this drink into France is Gu
rious. When the French soldiers were
sent to the Algerian war in 1S44-7, they
were advised to mix absinthe with the
water they drank as a preventive
against fever. 1t was as pleasant a
tasting medicine as any man had ever
taken, and the result was that the
whole French army in Algiers became
an army of absinthe drinkers. When
the soldiers returned to France they
brought the absinthe habit with them
and introduced their friends to the new
drink. The absinthe habit spread
throughout France with remarkable
rapidity, and has now become great
national evil, calling for strict legisla-
ton if the country would save itself
! from it's green peril.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
SHIP CHANNEL ExoAyAroR.

The dredging of deep water chan
mel for large ships by any of the sew
eral methods now in use is laborious
task in spite of all the improved ma
chinery designed for the purpose, but
an Irish inventor believes he has in
vented an apparatus which will do this
work more economically and thorough
ly than it can be accomplished by any
OF the old methods. He has taken out
patents on the invention in eighteen
different countries. The apparatus
consists OF pair of large steel cylin-
ders, with elongated lips projecting
from the central portion which are
adapted to engage the earth as the cyl
inders are drawn toward each other,
scooping the earth into the rear por-
ton of the cylinders. The arrange
ment is such that the vessel can be
fioated to any required position and
then drawn apart to the required dis
lance and sunk to the river bed. The
controlling apparatus on the ship
above then begins to tighten the
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
AGE OF THE BIG TREES.

An age as great as 5000 years has
sometimes been ascribed to the giant
trees of California. Prof. Charles E.
Bessey, of the University of Nebraska,
regards this estimate as very much ex-
aggerated. He says that he once
counted with great care the rings of
growth of tree felled in 1858, and
which was fully "a or rs feet in dame
ter, so that its stump served as the
floor of a dancing pavilion. The rings
numbered 1,147, and that number
would represent the age of the tree in
years. Professor Bessey adds that he
gravely doubts whether any of the ex-
listing trees approach the age of 1000
wears
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
Spread of the Coffee Plant.

Some interesting facts regarding the
coffee tree have been printed recently.
The native home of this plant is said
to be Kaffra, in southern Abyssinia- 1t
was not until it had been in use for
centuries by the Arabians that the
plant was carried to Java. In 1905 a
tree from Java was sent to Amster-
dam, and when it Powered and ripened
seeds young seeding was present.
ed to Louis XIV. From this plant
seedlings were sent to Martinique, and
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

from these plants again seedlings were
sent to Jamaica, Cayenne and San Do
mingo; while from Amsterdam plants
were sent to Surinam. In fact, it was
from the one plant. sent from Java in
the beginning of the 18th century by
everything in the French possessions
and West Indies sprang. In this way
has travelled the progeny of the orig
inal coffee plant. introduced from Ara
bia at the end of the seventeenth cen
fury.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
THE ORIGIN OF WRITING.

arthur j. Evans, the discoverer of
ene remains of great prehistoric pal
a.e a. hnossos in Crete, which is be-
reveu TO be the original of the tabled
1apyrinth, says that the revelations
naue tnere carry back the existence of
written documents on Greek soil some
eisn. centuries beyond the earliest
u"eeu Fnoenician record as seen on
sne noaoite stone. These discoveries,
.nereiore' place the whole question of
the origin of writing on a new basis"
mr' Evans thinks that the Cretan
n,eroglyphs exactly correspond with
wnat, In virtue of their names.we must
suppose TO have been the pictorial
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07


thAy become distinctly Improbable.
both for egg production and for fat
fening One medical authority advises
the use OF one teaspoonful of powder
ed pomegranate root bark for every
fifty fowls. II is. however. easier to
prevent than to cure such troubles,
and the necessity for greater cieanii-
ness is apparent The same ground
should not be used for combining fowls
year after year.
Chicks should never be permitted to
be stunted in their development. The
writer has had this fact forced on his
attention more than once in the rails
ing of chicks. He has seen chicks that
had stimulating food fed them from
the beginning grow rapidly and con-
tinuously to maturity. On the other
hand he has seen the same kind OF
food fed to chicks that had reached
six weeks of age without it and has
seen how little effect it seemed to
have. The chick does not differ from
other animal life in this. 1t is well
fed during its early life will never re-
cover its habit of rapid growth. We
do not understand the operations of
the nutritive system that governs this,
but when the development of cells is
reduced to a certain rate it seems difh-
cult to increase that rate.
There are two kinds Of fowls that
lay well in the winter-the ones that
are scientifically handled by men that
make a business of poultry raising
and the hens on farms where there is
during the summer a large supply Of
some kind of meat food. In either
case the pullets are rapidly developed
during their first six months and are
ready to begin the dropping of eggs
| in the autumn. We sometimes hear
of farmers focks that have laid well
all through the early winter and on
investigation we almost always find
that they have had meat supplies of
some kind. In years when grasshop-
pers are unusually abundant the meat
supply is of course large, and the
chickens having the run of the fields
and the exercise attendant on the
chasing of the game thrive according
ly. Where natural conditions are such
that only a grain ration is accessible
to the poultry, the farmer must sup
ply the deficiency, for it has been fully
demonstrated that meat is necessary
for the securing of the best results
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
TRANS WITH DOUBLE MOTORS.

Experiments are being made on the
Wannsee railroad between Berlin and
Zehlendorf, Germany, to determine the
precise value of electric propulsion as
a substitute for steam The train used
consists of eight ordinary cars, and is
provided with an electric motor car at
each end, the advantage of this ar
rangement being that the reversing of
the train at the terminals of the jour-
ney becomes unnecessary. Thus far
the electric power mas proved to be
about 10 per cent cheaper than steam
power.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

A joint annual meeting of the Min
nesota State Fair Association and the
Minnesota Live Stock Breeders AS
ISOLATION win be held in the state cap
itol, st. Paul, Jan. to 10, 1901, and
will without question be one of the
greatest live stock meetings ever held
in Minnesota. There will be five day
sessions and two evening sessions; de-
voted entirely to the discussion OF sub
jects pertaining to agriculture. The
questions discussed will include sugar
beet culture. the Pan-American Expo
sition, dairying in Minnesota. infiu-
ence of feed on the body of the grow
ing, pig, wire grass and its uses, how
shall the Minnesota Farmer improve
the cattle upon the farm, the care of
the brood sows and her young, fat
tening sheep, and live stock markets,
and the kind of cattle the farmer
should grow. These questions will be
discussed by men each one of whom
is an expert in his line. On the after
noon of Wednesday ali address will be
given by Hon. ]. HI. Brigham, assist
ant secretary of agriculture, and the
evening of Wednesday, Jan. 9, will be
given up to the discussion of various
agricultural topics by the students of
the Minnesota Agricultural College.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

Lord Beauchamp's failure as COVER
nor of New South Wales is declared to
have been due mainly to the fact that
he was unmarried. Australians do not
like bachelor governors, and have in
the past so emphatically manifested
this dislike that candidates for the po-
sition have been known to qualify by.
getting married in hurry. The So
ciety women of the colony want more
"doings' at the capital than are easily
obtainable with bachelor executive:
hence Lord Beauchamp's fizzle.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

attached to the bicycle without inter-
fering with the rider sufficiently to i'm
pede his progress. To steer the wheel
when the stretcher is in use an elong-
ated handle is clamped to the front
fork, extending nearly to the level of
the canvas, the rescuer using one hand
to push the ambulance and the other to
steer with
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
IMPROVED DREDGING APPARA

chains, causing the cylinders to be
forced toward each other. which
presses the scoops into the earth and
causes a layer of the material of any
desired thickness to slide into the cyl
inders. When the latter are filled they
are tilted backward until the opening
is at the top. Then the water in the
end compartment is forced out by in
jecting air and the vessels rise to the
surface, to be transported to the
dumping ground
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
p uItry Briefs.

It is reported that the December
trade in poultry was not all that could
be desired, owing to the warm weather
and the very large supplies of poultry
especially turkeys. Much of the poul-
try sent to the large market centers
did not arrive in the hands of the COM
mission men in good condition.
Bedbugs sometimes get into chicken
houses and are very hard to extermi-
nate. One man that had his entire
poultry establishment overrun exter-
minated the pests only after tearing
down the building and treating each
piece separately. One man says that
bedbugs in poultry houses can be ex-
terminated by applying whitewash, to
which turpentine has been added.
Poultry when being prepared for
market should be well fed previously
to being killed and should be allowed
to remain for Is to "a hours without
food before death. If they are killed
just after being fed the crops remain
full and this Injuries the appearance
of the birds. We are aware that very
many of the chickens we purchase in
Chicago have their crops full, but that
fact is never an inducement to buy.
Tapeworms sometimes infest poul-
try to such an extent that they be-
come very troublesome No less than
nine varieties are known to infest
fowls, and when fowls are so infested
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
THE ELEPHANT AS A WORKER.

Mr.. e. n. Buxton, in discussing the
question of the preservation of big
game in Africa, points out the great
difficulty of protecting elephants, on
account of the high market value of
their tusks, and then AYERS that per-
sonally he is opposed to the destruction
OF elephants at all. on the ground that.
valuable as they are for their ivory,
they might be still more valuable as
weiCht-carriers. The idea of employ
ing elephants as domestic animals OF
burden is not new, and many have tes-
tined to the patient and effective man
ner in which they apply their enor-
nous strength in the service of man.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07
T. US CzENGE Al D
F;ss5p RoGREss

~44ginals OF the Phoenician letters on
which the alphabet is based. Among
these are Aleph. the ox's head; Beth,
Inc house; Daleth, the door, and so
torth. This contravenes the old theory
Oh De Rouge that the Phoenician let
ters were derived from early Egyptian
forms signifying quite different objects.
BICYCLE WHEEL IN ASTRONOMY.
At the Yale observatory an interest
Inc use has been found for the bicycle
wheel. By fitting such a wheel with
series OF opaque screens placed at regu-
lar intervals and then rotating it, with
the aid of a small motor, at the rate of
from 80 to 80 turns in a minute in
'front.' OF the cameras used to photo
graph meteors, DR.. Elkin has succeeded
IN measuring the velocity of the me-
teor's flight. The principle depends
upon the Interruptions produced by
the screens in the trails of light made
upon the Photographic plates by the
nying meteors. The velocity of the
wheel is known at every instant by
means of chronographic record, and
the length of the Interruptions indi-
Gates the seed of the meteors.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

An ancient philosopher once said:
There are only two good men; one
of them is dead and the other IL not
yet born"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-05-07

Senator Vest of Missouri has
grandson he is very proud of. The
other night his mother went into the
nursery to kiss hlm goodnight. Il
have come to hear you say your pray
ers, Harry" I've done said EN-,
mamma" why, you can't say them
by yourself" Yes, can. / said,
God bless grandpa and make him
we'll and fat again; God bless mamma
and papa, and make EN- give me
everything l want. And please. God.
bless and take care of yourself, for you
are the boss of us alll'"