davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
A Song Of Contrasts.

A Song of Contrasts.
We are too much in cities pent,
In crowds, we live in Punishment;
OF Nature and her wondrous ways,
Which should excite our eager praise
No more than mysteries do we know,
Such slaves are we to idle show.
Observe the boosted works of man,
Where Art refines on Natures plan;
A picture study, or book,
Or on some stately temple look.
Perfection nowhere do we find,
No thought so wistful as the wind.
Then mark the throstle, or the bee.
The striped snake, or growing tree;
These living works confess, admire.
And trace perfection in desire,
The small as finished as the great,
For faultless laws on Nature wait.
Go then where fields or forests thrive,
Learn wisdom from the busy hive;
Approve the rose, or daffodil,
And know how false our boasted skill;
Or look upon the ocean wide,
And mourn the foolishness of pride.
Charles Lusted.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
Read Character In Lips.

From no one feature of the face can
the disposition be more accurately read
than from the lips, and especially the
upper lip; the lower one is less pro-
phetic. A woman with short, sharply
curved upper lip is nearly always of a
happy, lovable disposition. A man with
short but straight upper lip is apt
to be of a low order of intellect and
coarse in his tastes. The person with
long, straight upper lip is the one
to beware of. He has a will like
adamant, is not always thoroughly
trustworthy, is apt to be quarrelsome
and jealous, and more often than not
an unmitigated politician. If he is
gifted with a strong intellect he will
make his mark in one way or another;
if he is not, he may become a harmless
person, parasite, or scoundrel. The
man whose upper lip protrudes is apt
to be a shrewd business man. The per-
son whose mouth has decided droop
at the corners may be humorist, .
hypochondriac, or poet.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
Choice and Curious Cats.

The plastic charm of the household
cat, in infancy and maturity, has made
1T favorite subject with sculptors
and artists. With the possible excep-
ton Of young kids, who compose"
perfectly, no animal is so graceful,
whether in action or repose. Small
wonder, then, that with beautiful
ferns, exquisite freedom of movement,
such as only few housekeeping little
piquant individuality, the cat is priced
as pet now, and was worshiped as an
oracle in ancient Egypt The true cat
lover may be an art connoisseur, also
and seek far and wide for curio pussies
Such is that delightful essayist, Miss
in Philadelphia an interesting and val
liable collection of carved cats. Chief
among her treasures, according to the
Philadelphia Bulletin, is the goddess
"PaSht. This is rare antiquity,
carved in green metal, unearthed in
the ruins at Cairo. Pasht has the
head and arms of cat, and the body
of a woman; she sits in chair, and
although her ears are cooked" she is
the perfection of repose. A bronze
model of a cat made by Fremiet may
be seen near Pasht. This is one Of
the most delightful of this great
French sculptor's small figures of ami
mails; all the imperturbable composure
of the cat is in it. The Viennese mod
els are nearly all characterized by
playfulness rather than fine modelling,
and some are only an Inch long.
Mephistopheles rides on the back of
one of them. The sedate and thought
full German charmer is carved in the
shape of a jug; it's head may be lifted,
and the blue corn-aower of the empire
is painted on it's back. Holland is
represented by a stolid specimen in
cat, with sapphire eyes, comes from
Switzerland. The Chinese cat is yell
low,-the imperial color, which no one
is entitled to wear except members Of
the highest class. unless decorated by
the emperor.-and it's head is as
oluOOIA duu lSAAo co IllC Odil WILL
which it is playing. One of the most
remarkable pieces is group Of three
Japanese kittens carved from one
block of grayish white sandstone,
stained in few brown blotches. Their
bald round heads have white eyes and
pink noses, and each cat has twelve
whiskers. They wear the conventional
full dress for cats in Japan-a ruffle
round the neck. But the gem of the
collection is Lucky Merrick
black and alive! No curio cat. even if
made of fine gold with eyes of precious
stones, could be handsomer than this
living. breathing, purring beauty. Nor
is Lucky Merrick's superiority wholly
esthetic; in an emergency his royal
highness could catch mice.-Youth's
Companion.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
surgical Instinct Ia Birds.


Some remarkable stories are told by
a well-known French sportsman and
writer on natural history regarding
what he calls the surgical instinct"
of birds. According to this authority
the woodcock. partridge, and rail, and
possibly some other birds, are able to
dress their wounds with considerable
skill. M. Fatio says that on several
occasions he has killed woodcocks that
were, when shot, convalescing from
wounds previously received, and in
every instance found the old injury
neatly dressed with down plucked
from the stems of feathers and skill
fully arranged over the wound, evil
IDENTIFY by the long beak of the bird.
In some instances a solid plaster was
thus formed and in others ligatures
had been applied to wounded or brok-
en- limbs. One day, he AYERS, in his
bag he found bird that had been
severely wounded at some recent pc
riod, and on examining the wound he
found it covered and protected by
sort of network of feathers plucked
by the bird from it's own body and so
arranged as to form plaster COM
pletely covering and protecting the
wounded surface, having evidently act
ed as hemostatic in the first place,
and subsequently as shield, covering
the wound. The feathers were fairly
Melted together, passing alternately
under and above each other and form
ing truly textile fabric, protecting
the injury. The author declares that
ten times in his experience among the
game killed in his shooting excursions
he has found birds whose limbs had
been broken by shot, with the frac-
tured ends neatly Appropriated and
ligated together-a statement whose
truth is vouched for by no less
naturalist than Fulbert Dumonteil.
Another and really astounding fact re-
lated by M. Fatio and also vouched for
by M. Dumonteil is in regard to a
woodcock that had been hit by M.
Fatio in the afternoon of a certain
day. After long search the bird was
given up but the next morning. by
accident, it was discovered, and in the
meantime the wounded legs were
found to be neatly ligated, bandage,
irreproachable in neatness, having
been placed around each wounded
limb. The poor bird, however, had in
the process of dressing his wounds, got
his beak entangled with some long soft
feathers. from which, having no use
of his feet, he was unable to free it,
and was thus condemned, had he not
been thus early discovered. to die of
tarvation.-Chicago Journal
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
g(s2zz!
,@1Iz32g@

1900, and that campaign he participant
ed forty-five championship games and
again acquitted himself In a very
,creditable manner. He figured in three
shut outs, the victims being the Chi
Nagos, the Detroits and the Buffalos.
te held Minneapolis and Chicago
! Own to four safe hits each, but, un-
1otunately at Minneapolis it outbatted
thslocal more than two to one. When
theplayers Of the Kansas City club
WerS transferred to Washington he
was etained by the new management.
He lss left handler, of medium height
and, according to good judges, has a
peculiar delivery that puzzles the best
of batshen.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

ton and demolished In some cases
the sinking is very gradual, while in
Others it is unexpected and instan-
taneous. One of the principal thor
oughfares took forty years to sink If
teen feet. while another grew appre-
proved that one side of the street was
slipping completely away. The shop
of dry goods merchant sank one-fifth
of it's height in ten years. and in the
subsequent seven years subsidized an
other fifth. Several houses may be
seen. the windows of the ground floor
of which are level with the roadway.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
ENDURING
DISEASES

One of the latest medical theories is
that certain diseases ward off death.
Rheumatic people. for instance, are
said rarely to die young. Why, the
medical men are unable to say, but it
is probable that the blood acquires
some property which is fatal to the
germs of other diseases. A doctor Of
experience has noticed the fact that in
a family of five or six brothers and sis
ters. one of whom is rheumatic, that
one will outlive the others, as rule,
If govt can be kept away from the
heart and confined to the big toe the
patient is likely to live to be 80 or
100 years old. 1t is said that this is
due to the fact that the disease puri-
fies the blood. If one has an attack
of smallpox and lives through it. he
stands an excellent chance of attain
ing a ripe old age. In a census of aged
people taken many years ago it was
found that large percentage of them
were pock-marked. This led an emin-
ent physician to make a calculation
which proved that there were twice as
many pock-marked people over 80
years old as there would have been
had not the smallpox exercised a pre-
sentative influence. He accounted for
this curious fact by concluding that the
smallpox microbe frightens away all
other microbes, just as rats brighten
away mice from house. Deafness is
said to have the property of adding to
the victims age. Now and then dear
man is run over in city street, but
when deaf people prudently pitch their
tents in the country their chances of
a long life are extremely good. The
true explanation of this is declared to
be the fact that deafness saves people
a lot of worry over small matters and
from the wear and tear of noises. The
shrill noises to which most people are
insensible because they have got used
to them really are harmful. Changing
bells of street cars and ambulances
of autos" and bicycles; the roar of
elevated and surface trains, the
rafting Of carts and drays; the shouts
of paper sellers and hucksters; even
the growing of cocks, the barking of
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

The very Oldest tree, which has
withstood the onslaught of centuries,
is certainly the Bo-Gha or sacred Bo.
1t is one of the greatest natural Curl
'osities of Ceylon. 1t stands in An
uradhapura. the ancient capital of the
kings of the island. 1t is a fig tree,
grown from a sprig cut from the
original tree under which Gautama
rested on the day he became Buddha.
1t was planted in 2SS before the Chris
tian era, in the eighteenth year of the
reign of Devenipiatissa, and is now
2,lS9 years old. The extraordinary
tree seems to bear out the prophecy
made by the king who planted it: 1t
will blossom to the end of centuries.
NJ. Leclercq, the oriental scholar, says
that the sacred Bo was honored under
all the reigning dynasties and spared
by every invader For % centuries,
millions of pilgrims have come and
knelt down at the base of the revered
tree. To this day its leaves are pious-
ly gathered by the pilgrims and kept
and revered by them as sanity relics.
The renown of this tree dates from far
back. AS late as the fifth century the
Chinese traveller, Fa Han, came to
visit it, The Bo of Anuradhapura is
certainly the Oldest historical tree now
in existence. All the other Bos which
grace Ceylon temples were grown from
it. Thousands of years of age are also
credited to the Dracena at Orotava, to
the chestnut tree on the Athua. the
Virgins tree in Egypt, the cedars of
the Libanus, the Californian yelling
tomas, the eucalyptus of Tasmania,
the Baobabs of the Senegal, and
others; but these estimations are based
on mere probabilities. while the age
of the Bo is established by the most
authentical documents that any man
can require. Today the Bo of Anurad-
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
SMALL BOY
AND Asll[... The HORS Sc
- y

What nuisances these small boys are
sometimes. The streets are full OF
them. They play tricks upon us. They
SNOWFALL our tall hats They steal up
behind us and placard our backs with
Il am blind" or Wanted to buy 100
cats" We are made aware of it only
by the people who pass us. stopping
angry we are! And then we discover
peeping around the corner three or
four small boys. They are so comical
we burst into laugh; that is, if we
are wise. and remember that we have
been boys ourselves some time in the
past. And so the incident passes with
the comment, Boys will be boys" For
our part, we like small boys. We can
get along with their FRANKS. We can
endure the noise they make, muddy
footprints on the carpet, pillow fights
in the morning when we would like to
sleep, the new suits all bedraggled and
muddy with holes in the knee, the
stubbed toe that must be washed and
done up, bedlam in the house in gen.
eral. Why this moralizing upon the
subject of the small boy? you ask.
Just this We saw small boy, as we
were passing along the crowded street,
stop and caress horse. 1t was not
a royalty bred, heightened beauty, but
an ordinary work horse, standing
YEARLY by the sidewalk waiting for
Get upi here" and perhaps the lash
of the whip. The boy was eating an
apple. He stopped and patted the
horse. He gave him part of his APP
pie. He cares,sed his nose, placing it
against his face. You should have seen
he mutual quick understanding be-
ween hbrse amid boy. Would we trust
hat boz? SURELY we would with I'M
His frank honest face,
Is eye{ speaking sympathy and kind
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

According to scientific Investigations,
directed from Washington, which have
been going on for several months, there
are about 275 reported cases of leprosy
in the United States. 1t is thought
probable that the real number may
be nearer 1000. For various reasons
physicians who have cases OF this dis
ease, in many instances either fail or
refuse to report them. But the num-
her reported is sufficiently large to oc-
casion some alarm. Seventy-four OF
she known cases are in New Orleans
chiefly among the Italian population
There are % In Minnesota, mostly
among the scandlnavians in the rural
settlements. There are Is cases IN
North Dakota, and two in South Da-
kota, among the same people. Chi
cago has five cases and New York
six.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

At a recent woman's meeting where
parliamentary points were getting tan
gled and feelings embitsered, Mrs.
Win witft rssbegged that
the ladies' heed the rules of the Pill
grims: "Touch no state matters; pick
no qnarrels; reveal no secrets; main
tain no i'll opinions; make no COM
parsons; lay no wagers." These max
inns have since been known in that
circle as "Fanny's recipe for club
elections Oddly enough, King Ed
ward recently discovered an old black
letter manuscript bearing the same
rules, which he has caused to be
framed and posted in Windsor Castle
They may be recommended to per-
sons who are not habitues of clubs or
castles.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

Attention has recently been called
~ scientists to the disappearance OF
the chamois from the French Alps
These graceful animals, in spite OF the
fact that they conceal their homes and
places Of refuge in the most inacces-
sible spots, at heights varying from
1900 feet to 1900 feet, are merciless-
" hunted and shot down. so that there
Is danger of their complete extinction
In italy there is a large reserve on
which the channels are protected, and
the formation Of a similar reserve in
France is advocated.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
Bad.n-Powe,l.s Rudeness.

During the campaign in South AZ
RIGA, last year, General Baden-Powell
tapped telegraph-wire, and heard the
Boer commander Grobler ask General
Botha to send re-enforcements at once,
as the British had cornered him. This
story was related by the London pa
pers, and Baden-Powell was much ap-
plauded for his strategy and good luck
But one little girl, five years old, had
opinions of her own concerning the
exploit. She listened very attentively
to the account of the proceeding and
to the approving comments of the elder
members of the family, and when they
had finished she said, decisively:
well, think it was very rude of linn
to listen"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
This Has Been the
Means of Wardins
Off Death " K V

dogs and the whistling of boys, are
The ear nerve is very large and every
time it is over-stimulated the brain re-
ceives a shock. Deaf people escape
all these life-shorteners and hence they
live long. Bronchitis often shortens
life, but In some cases it has the OPP
posite effect A large number of the
old people one meets cough all the year
round with chronic bronchitis. One
would think to listen to them that they
must cough themselves to death soon,
but that is not so. The coughing helps
the heart to circulate the blood, and,
in fact, gives exercise to many Of the
organs. Only for this daily exercise
many old peoples mechanism would
get fatally clogged. Besides. a man
with bronchitis will not sit in a
draught, he will avoid getting wet and
will not stay out half the night losing
his sleep and painting the town" with
the boys" Thus he more than COM
pensates for the injury done to him
by his ailment. Perhaps the most sur
priSing assertion is that disease in
parents often confers long life on chill
dren. The contrary is believed, popu-
larly, and no doubt there is some
ground for the belief. Some time ago
the British Medical Association inves-
tigated the subject of old age. TAX
ing $40 people aged from 80 to 80 years,
they inquired into their family history.
Here is the result: There was cancer
in A families; consumption in IS fam
lilies; govt in 80 families; rheumatism
in SO families; insanity in 10 families;
apopleXy and paralysis in AZ families.
Thus there was a history of deadly
diseases in the families of 253 of the
old people. In Al more families there
was likewise some grave disease. And
only 40 families We're free, or said to
be free, from those maladies which
usually are supposed to be hereditary.
New York Press.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

The summer camp for schoolboys is
recognized institution in certain
parts of the country. All its advan-
tages may be seen in n new applica-
ton of the camp idea which has just
been made by members Of the Inter
collegiate Young Mems Christian AS
ISOLATION. In this second summer of
their enterprise sixty boys preparing for
college are to gather at a spot on the
New England coast where the best IA
cilities for all land and water sports
abound. Besides the boys there will
be fifteen leaders" young men still
in college or just out of it, who have
been identified with the more serious
aspects Of college life, as well as with
athletics. Indeed, a fair proportion OF
them can wear varsity" initial on
their sweaters.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
Finish of Its "Copy.r

Miss Annie E. Mcdowell, pioneer
woman Journalist of Philadelphia, Is
mourning the loss of her parrot. OF re-
cent years Miss Mcdowell has devoted
much of her time to literary work. The
parrot, which was an heirloom in her
family, had attained the age of 60
years, nearly 80 of which it had passed
on it's mistress writing table or on the
back of her chair, making excursions
up her arm to the top of her head.
Often it's attentions were so annoying
when Miss Mcdowell was writing that
she would say: II may as we'll lay
down my pen." A few moments before
it died the parrot made weak attempt
to again climb it's owners sleeve, fell
in her lap and croaked: II lay down
my PEN" This sentence it had heard
so often that it remembered the words
and spoke them with its last breath
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

1t Is said that the Bank of France
has an invisible studio in a gallery be-
hind the cashiers, so that at a given
signal from one of them any suspected
customer can instantly have his pho
tograph taken without his knowledge.
Inc camera has also become very use
ful In the detection of frauds, word
or figure that to the eye seemed COM
pletely erased being clearly reproduced
in photographs of the document that
had been tempered with.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
ACTS THAT
STAMP THE
HUMAN WITH
THE BADGE OF
NOBILITY

ness, intelligence and pent-up fun and
life, were an index of his character
and natural bent that were unmistak-
able. Boys, you are soon to be men,
Such incidents as the above are worth
your consideration. They are indexes
of what you are and what you may
hope to be. They have reflex influ-
ence upon you. too, that will help
you in after years. The boy was I'M
derstood by the horse; the observing
man understood the boy as well.-Bos.
ton Traveller.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11
RESORT TO THE nLAcKL1.

Tue Eastern League may bl
the players who deserted it f
American League. The decisio
Lajoie case, is to the effect
player cannot be held to the
ance Of contract, because
with which he signed has al
of it. Contract-breaking is d<
but the blacklist is not popI
the American people and 81
be resorted to except in cal
honesty. The American Lea
not allow Dolan to play wit
letics if, as claimed, he al
vance money from Syracusl
land should be compelled to
Schiebeck, if it can be shown
shortstop was under cor
agreement with Montreal. T
reprisal is not far distant, if
jumping is encouraged or t
vantage of by the America
club-owners. Let the Natio,
monopoly in that kind of br
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

T. j. J. See of the Naval Observatory
has announced the results of new
measurements of Saturn and it's rings,
which differ somewhat from older de-
examinations. He makes the exterior
diameter of the rings about 1925
miles, the equatorial diameter of Sat-
urn 1890 miles, and the polar diam
eter 67,395, the difference between the
two diameters being 1886, miles al
most equal to the entire diameter OF
the earth. Mr. Sees measures make the
diameter Of Titan, the largest of Sat
urn's moons, 1902 miles. 1t had pre-
viously been estimated as high as 81
500 miles.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11


managing the Baltimore American
league team, is without doubt one of
the best all-around ball players if tho
business. He was born at Truxton,
N. Y, April z, 1873. His first pro-
fessional engagement was with thu
Clean team of the New York stat
league in 1890, when but LIZ years ol
age The following winter he went I'd
Cuba with AL Lawson's team, repre-
senting Ocala, Fla, and in 1891 joined \
the Cedar Rapids club of the Western
association. Before the season was
over Manager Barnie secured him for
the tail-end Baltimore club. The fol-
lowing winter McGraw made anothe
tour of Cuba. McGraw played seq
ond base for awhile in Baltimore, b
his remarkable talents were not
preciated until Hanlon took charge
the team in the summer of 1892 Ha
Ions keen eye at once saw the pos
bilities of the little infieldeI, and
placed him on third base,whe1 Ne
played ever since except d
larger part of the season of
he suffered from. severe
typhoid fever. The prominent
| Graw took in winning thee
ships of 1894 and 1895 3foz
more club and his record
known. Physically theY
the brainy young mfnass
perhaps the frailest player IN,
league, yet he is stronger than
and makes UP in brains and SKIN
he lacks in muscle He exceis III
ing pitcher for bases on balls
reaches first base more than any
er in the country. N
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-07-11

Among the features OF Japan's mill
cary system is the fact that on the
army pay rolls are 1000 tailors, 1000
snoeamakers. 10000 grooms, and 1900
aotendants, says the Washington
iimes. The medical staff is one OF
tue most complete in either Europe or
Asia, All officers holding only tempo
rary commissioned rank are included
IN the list OF petty officers.