davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
The Ga11opang White Hearse.

1t was in the dark of the evening,
and the streets were thronged with
men and women on their way home at
the end of the days work. At Thirty
fourth street, where Broadway and
Sixth avenue cross with network of
tracks, the usual clangor of gongs, the
shouts of newsboys and the roar of the
elevated trains filed the air, while
myriad electric lights sparkled like so
many stars.
Suddenly out of the gloom came a
little white hearse, being driven rapid.
ly home. Its sad days work was over,
and the little horses were probably
anxious for their dinner. Still it gave
one shock to see them galloping so.
Even more pathetic it looked when
empty than with its precious little bur
den. The very emptiness spoke of the
vacant little chair at home, the unused
toys, the unworn frocks folded away
for some woman to cry over on a rainy
day.
Fathers hurrying home to their own
little ones felt sudden lump in the
throat, mothers leading their children.
grasped the little hands with a quick
access of tenderness, and strange,
sad sense of loneliness came to the
heart of the passerby who had no child
to lose. Just a little white hearse,
seen only for moment in the gather
Ing darkness by the hurrying throng,
but what 4 world of pathos it suggest
ed!-New York Mail and Express.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
The UPicketv

The picket was generally inflicted on
cavalry and artillerymen and was a
singularly brutal bit of torture. A long
post, near which stood a stool, was
driven into the ground. The delinquent
was ordered to mount the stool, and
his right hand was fastened to a hook
In the post by a moose, drawn up as
high as it could be stretched, round his
wrist. A stump the height of the stool,
with its end cut to a round and blunt
point, was also driven into the earth
close to the post. Then the stool was
taken away, and the sufferer had moth
ing to rest his bare feet upon but the
stump, (which, though it did not usu-
ally break the skin," says Captain
Crosse, put him in great torture, his
only means of relief being by resting
his weight on his wrist, the pain of
which soon became intolerable." One
can very well believe him, especially
when he makes the addition that a
man was not infrequently left to stand
In this position for half an hour, al
though the orthodox period Of endur-
ance was 10 minutes.-London Graphic.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17

The most lifelike and serviceable ar
tifcial legs in the world are manufac-
tured in America. Enormous quanti-
ties of these limbs are shipped to Eu-
rope every year.
The first great boom in the artificial
leg business was brought about by the
civil war. Since that time railroad and
trolley car accidents have kept up an
ever increasing demand. Another fac
tor has been the general use of antisep-
tics. The mortality among those who
have their legs amputated is far less
than formerly. and large proportion
of the survivors become patrons of the
wooden leg factories.
The old fashioned peg leg is practical
ly thing of the past. The modern ar
tificial leg shows a great advance over
the old forms. Every Improvement has
been with the idea of greater SIMPLE
tty.
The main object of the manufacture
ers is to improve the fit of the legs.
The best models now cost 500. 1t
costs from So to $25 year to keep one
of these in order.
Few women wear artificial legs. On
the other hand, it is becoming more
common to fit limbs to children. Legs
are made for children sometimes be-
fore they can walk. They are fitted as
soon as the child learns to stand and
make it possible for it to develop SYM
metrically.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
The Breton Peasnn+.

If there is country. where the tradi.
ton of hatred of 1.-The Englishman"
as hereditary enemy still holds it is
In Catholic Brittany. In the eyes Of
the Breton peasants and fishermen the
Englishman is the enemy with whom
they have fought battles and will fight
them again.
That is to say, the Englishman
stands for the typical sailor of a man.
of-war or torpedo boat, whom they
will fight when the time comes for
the attack. but no one thinks of him
as man. The enemy is a unit of war,
something outside ordinary life. a be-
ing In uniform whom it is glorious to
kill. He is the enemy''-something
which will do great mischief to France
If one does not take care, something
which must be much more terrible and
dangerous than they can imagine. since.
all the men of France lose the best
years of their youth in learning to kill
this eventual adversary.
If ever the peasants come clearly TO
realize that the only use of war is to
kill people like themselves; if ever each
soldier becomes capable of imagining
what the shock of two armies is and
by what complicated SERIES of lies and
intrigues peoples are brought to the
point Of killing each other, the work of
peace congresses will be wonderfully
mplified.-Contemporary Review.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
SYBARITES IN THE COLD.
Luxury as 1t Is INDUCED In by the
Arctic Traders.

So much has been written of the Es-
kimo c'husky") dogs and dog sleds of
the north that they may well be men-
toned here if only to show the idea of
luxury which many of the factors and
traders of the Hudson Bay company
entertain. Seated or rather reclining
in his cariole, swathed in furs, he is
driven by an engage on foot who dash
es along at great pace. The cariole is
painted gaudily. There are Russian
bells on the collars of each of the long
span of dogs, while the harness is a
mass of beadwork and tassels.
No longer when he lodges at night at
post does he partake solely of the
simpler fare it can furnish, nor even
when he camps out IN the wilderness
must he be content with what his gun
can bring down in addition to the penn
mican he carries. For now, either IN
der the cariole seat or in an additional
sled behind, there is found a good sup
ply of canned meats and vegetables,
products of Chicago and Ontario, and,
moreover, his driver is his cook In
the open a fire will be deity kindled,
tea will be made, bacon and even eggs
will be fried, and hot ''fiapjacks," that
delectable fritter of the bush, half an
inch thick and swimming in grease
and molasses will tickle the factors
palate.
At night, enveloped in his furs and
maybe reposing on hastily construct
ed bed of balsam boughs, the last
vision before his eyes close upon the
scenes of dreamland will be the scin-
tillating splendors of the aurora borea-
lis, whose purpling waves alternate
with bars of vivid light so rapidly and
in such volume as to make the behold
er almost believe that nature speaks,
mauger the silence, all penetrating, all
pervading-Cornhill Magazine.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
Dionysius' Ear.

In Syracuse is a cave said to have
beenSconstructed by the tyrant Dfony-
sius, .probably used as a prison 1t is
made in the shape of an immense hui
man'ear, and its acoustic properties are
most remarkable. Maxwell Sommer-
ville,: the author of Sands of Sahara"
visited it and had it's properties exhib-
tied to him by the guide stationed
there.
The man took a sheet of letter paper
and, standing within the portal of the
ear, struck the edge of the paper with
the forefnger of his right hand once,
twice, thrice. Each light tap was re
peated through the deep orifces of that
stone ear as if it had been a blow with
a heavy sledge hammer on the roof of
an iron house. He then ratified the pa
per slightly, and that feeble sound was
augmented a millionfold, reverberating
through the vaults above and beyond
like the crash and roll of thunder He
whistled, spoke and called Thousands
of stentorian voices repeated every
sound. Turning to my companion,
said:
I'VE must not longer tarry. Let us
embark. Now we shall go to Kabylia,
OIL our way to the desert of Sahara"
Myriad lungs of stone caught up the
last word of each phrase and answered
aloud. 'Tarry- arry-embark- "a
bylia-bylia- Sahara-hara-ar
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
Doing the GIazier a Kindness.

A travelling tinker out of work be-
moaned his hard luck to a sympathetic
glaZier.
"I'll soon put that right for you."
said the glaZier. lust come up to
that big hotel over there in half an
hours time. and you'll find work"
Accordingly the tinker made his ap-
pearance at the appointed time and
found himself in great request, as all
the good wife's pots and pans had mys-
teriously sprung leaks.
Needless to say the glazier had slyly
operated on them to provide a job for
his acquaintance
Having finished his work. the tinker
trudged off, full Of gratitude. and soon
arrived at wayside schoolhouse.
A happy thought striking him, he de
termined to repay the. GLACIERS kind
ness. and. arming himself with stones,
he speedily smashed every window in
the house.
Returning. he intimated to his friend
the service he had rendered him, but
was amazed to see the man of glass
become convulsed with rage.
"Great Scott. man." shouted the lat
ter, you've ruined me! l repair the
windows of that school by yearly con-
tract!'-LOndon Answers.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
FRIGHTENED HIS WIFE.
Forty Cents Almost the Cause of d
Catastrophe.

Forty Cents Almost the Cause of d
Catastrophe.
Before Mrs. Bromley was married
she scoffed at the misguided girls and
women who kept personal accounts.
Her argument was that if you know
how much money you had and it was
all gone what was the use of piling on
the anguish by having your folly and
extravaganza in black and white to
stare you in the face, especially as you
had no more money at the end of the
month than you had without an &C
count book?
But since she has been running a
house she has achieved not one but
nearly a dozen account books. There
is one devoted to the grocery man, an
other to the butcher, personal accounts
take third, and so on till she spends
nearly all her glad young life balanc-
ing sums. 1t is a matter of pride with
her that they shall come out even, and
so there was woe last month when 40
ard Mr.. Browley had a grave and
lengthy discussion over the missing 40.
Each accused the other of frivoling the
sum away and neglecting to enter it on
the proper book, "Sundries." Mr..
Bromley insisted strenuously he was
not guilty. Mrs. Bromley looSed pain
ed and urged him to confess. He left
fog down town vowing vengeance. 1t
was late that afternoon when Mrs.
Bromley was entertaining roomful of
aristocratic callers that a telegraph boy
appeared. The maid brought in the
fatal yellow envelope, and at once the
bride knew her husband had been ia
tally injured and was sending for her.
Some one revived her with smelling
salts, a lady in purple velvet famed
her with a hastily snatched lamp
shade, and third visitor with more
presence of mind than the rest opened
the telegram. The message read:
Honest, now, what did you do with
that 40 cents ?'-Chicago News.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
Photos That Would PAY.

Everybody is trying to make money
quickly nowadays, and photographers,
amateur and expert, form a goodly per-
centage of the total included in "every
body" Here are a few subjects that
would fetch very high prices:
A house being struck by lightning
We have photos of lightning flashes,
but no picture of the kind which shows
flash actually striking house.
Two trains in collision. Photos of
wrecked trains are common enough.
but snap shot at the very occurrence
of the smash remains unrecorded.
The crew of a lifeboat in the act of
rescuing the sailors of a sinking ship
in a fierce storm.
A negative of an Atlantic liner bat
ting with an ocean tempest. If you
could take snap shot of this subject
from the deck of another liner it would
be worth good sum.
A photograph of sprightly earth
quake in Japan or some other country
which is troubled in this way. 1t
would be well to hang up your camera
and make it work automatically, as
earthquakes are not to be played with.
Such a picture would be jumped at.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
WHEN PERIL COMES.
Sudden and Extreme Danger the
Test of True Courage.

1t is when the unexpected happens
That fatalism proves how fragile prop
1t is, after all, for human courage. The
soldier or the sailor can say to himself
when he knows that he must take
supreme risk in battle or in a storm:
Il am powerless against the fate which
was decreed for me from the beginning
of the world. If my time has come, I
cannot help it; if not, all the forces Of
earth and sky and ocean cannot prevail
TO harm me-" But when without an in
stant's warning rock crashes through
a ships bottom and the waters rush
into the gap, when confusion seizes the
entire company aboard, when the fog Is
too thick for the captain to be seen or
the roar of the sea browns the sound of
his orders new test is applied. Then
1t is that the courage which rests on
nothing firmer than a negation gives
way, and in his greed to save his own
life the stole becomes as a mailman.
There have been steamship disasters
in which men ofhumble station, of all
colors and faiths, have shown the finest
quality of heroism, and there have been
those in which the common sailors, all
whites and Europeans, have earned
eternal disgrace by their cowardice.
The point we are making is not that it
is possible to draw hard and fast line
between one religion and another or
one race and another in the matter of
bravery, but that the affirmative sense
OF responsibility for ones own acts, Of
the difference between right and wrong,
between nobility and ignominy and Of
the grandeur of duty well done at the
sacrifice of self. is a far surer depend
ence in the presence of sudden peril
than all the stoical philosophers ever
worked out by the mind of man.
Washington Post
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
THE MAN WITH THE ADze u
How the Butchers ChOpping Blocl.
Is Kept Smooth and Mont

Is Kept Smooth and Neat,
constructive rather than a destruc-
tive force implied by the name is "the
man with the adze," who is sometimes
seen by early Corners to the meat mar.
ketS.
Most persons have doubtless obsery-
ed the large blocks upon which butch
ers trim their steaks and chops. The
top of the block is usually as smooth
as glass, but the constant chopping of
meat thereon roughens the surface
eventually. The general idea seems To
be that the butcher keeps his block
smooth by merely saving off the rough
section. Such however, is not the case
Specialism has even entered here.
The man who makes a business Of
smoothing the butchers blocks appears
at rhe meat markets early in the morn
ing before the customers arrive. He
rolls the big block to the sidewalk
then mounts to the top of it, adze in
hand. Bringing it down swiftly from
a vertical position above his head. the
blade is made TO pass between his legs
sklmming the surface of the block with
great dexterity.
AT each stroke a thin layer of the
rough wood is removed. The operation
is continued sufficiently to satisfy the
butchers requirements. Some three
hours are ordinarily consumed in the
operation. and at the end of that time
the man with the adze' finds himself
richer by $1.-New York Times.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
When Lii Hung Chang Gr,nped.

Once during a dry season in China
the viceroy. Earl Ii Hung Chang. call
ed on the American minister, Mr. Con
ger, and spoke of the weather
YES" said Mr.. Conger. at seems to
be dry everywhere. 1t is dry in my
country too ! read in one of our pa
pers the other day that in many places
in the west the people were praying for
rain"
What" said the earl DO your peo-
pie pray to their God for rain?"
"Oh. yes" said the minister. they
often pray for rain"
"And does their God send it when
they pray for it?' asked the earl
Eyes, sometimes their prayers are an
swered, and sometimes they are not
"All the same ike Chinese joss, heyY
said the earl with grin and chuckle.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
Rather OutsnOken.

when a man in the west likes not
another" said British Columbia man,
he is in no way disposed to hide that
fact under a bushel basket or to con-
ceal it from either the gentleman dis
liked in particular or the rest of the
community in general.
Il remember an example Of this trait
that came under my notice some years
ago in Idaho A certain old fellow
named Haas ran paper there, and he
and Judge Buck, the judge who rem
dered the celebrated decision In the ia
nous Poor Man Tiger litigation, were
sworn enemies. Another old timer
named Cheney disliked Haas and Buck
and had it in for them both.
Zone night at Wallace a dinner was
given, at which Buck, Haas and Che
ney were present and at late stage in
the proceedings Cheney was called up
on for speech. | don't remember the
topic he chose or how he brought it in
but when he got through Cheney left
in the minds of his hearers no manner
of doubt as to how he felt toward the
other two.
Gentlemen said Cheney as he
hung unsteadily to the end of the ia
bic, for the wine had been passing
freely. old man Haas says Judge Buck
is perjurer and a blackmailer, and
Judge Buck says old man Haas is a
horse thief and liar. AS both the
gentlemen are extremely well acquaint-
ed with each other and should know
whereof they speak, | do not feel call
ed upon to dispute either statement
And then he sat down amid tumul-
tuous applause. New York Tribune.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
All bn, One Peened In.


When a prominent picture dealer of
New York starts the topic of woman's
curiosity, his wife always laughs and
bushes, for she knows the story that
Is coming.
Zone day." the picture dealer begins,
Il decided to close the small exhibit
ton studio which leads from the gal
lery and put Private ON the door just
for an experiment. There was an i'm
portant collection of water colors by
Dne of our best artists in the gallery.
/ sat at the desk just outside the en-
trance and presented to each lady a
fresh catalogue of the paintings. When
she took it, l politely requested her to
leave it as she went out.
This request was complied with in
every instance, and l was enabled to
notice a most interesting series of CO.
medicines. On every catalogue save
one there was in one place or another
4 little smear of gliding transferred to
the paper from the carefully prepared
knob of the door marked Private"
When the story had been accepted.
with laughter, by his listeners, some
body is sure to ask, How about the
one catalogue that was undecorated"
To this query the picture dealer has
one invariable answer:
ut was the catalogue carried by the
young woman who afterward became
my wife. She told me that the other
women turned the knob merely to see
If the door was locked, but she knew
that sort of gliding rubbed off, and she
had on light gloves."-Youth's Com
panion.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
A Lay Suggestion.

On the last night of series of PRO
tracted meetings" in the Methodist
church of a little southern California
village the visiting evangelist was
making a special. effort to obtain a
showing of anxious souls. He had
preached his best sermon and reached
an emotional fervor that he had seldom
equaled. But nobody responded to his
invitation. They sang hymn, and
then the evangelist rose again and call
ed upon the congregation to "enlist for
the service of the Lord"
A battle SCARED, wooden legged vet
eran who had dropped into the back
seat watched the proceedings with in
terest. For the third time the perspir-
ing evangelist rose and asked, rs
there no one willing to enlist in the
Lords army?'
Then response came from the back
seat, Draft 'em. parson; hang it, draft
emp
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
senatorial Renartee

Once in the senate chamber John J.
ingalls, was directing some remarks to
Senator Hoar of Massachusetts. The
other senator from that state, Mr.
Dawes. having come in while Mr. In
gals was speaking. thought the words
were meant for his ear, and so, inter-
rupting, he asked Ingalls, if he was di-
recting the remarks at him. The tall
senator turned slowly around, for Mr.
Dawes sat behind him, and then, with
delicious information. but an instant
wit, he said, Il was directing my re-
marks to the successor of Charles Sum.
ner and not to the successor of Daniel
Webster"
The repartee has become traditional,
and the utterance was at once placed
alongside of that reply of Conkling
to Senator Thurman, which is also ira
ditional in the senate chamber.
Conkling was speaking, and Thur
man had said, interrupting him, Does
the senator aim his remarks at me;
he constantly turns to meT when
Mr.. Conkling, with delicious gravity,
bowling to Thurman, with whom he
was very friendly, said: when | turn
to the senator. turn as the Mussul-
man turns to Mecca; turn as would
turn to the common law of England
the worlds most copious fount of ju-
risprudence."
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17

A baker who has returned rom Cape
Nome to Chicago reports that the bust
ness was exceedingly profitable bread
selling for % cents a loaf. But he
could not keep up with the demand, for
he could not keep his assistants. even
when he paid them S. and $40 day,
as they would be off in the rush follow
ing each story of great finds in new To-
calities.
Last year the total number of new
books published in the United States
reached 1856, or 653 more than In any
previous year. There were 662 new
editions of old fiction and GIG new nov
els, showing decided reaction toward
novels of established reputation. A
special feature of the year was the re-
issue of celebrated books in fine and
carefully edited editions.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
A Criminal.

A friend of mine, the minister of q
west end chapel in London, tells how,
in his last visit to America, he preach
ed in one of the larger jails and after
the service visited some of the prison
ers in their cells. One case interested
him especially, man of good educa-
ton and address and seemingly of
abilities fitted to command success in
the world. My friend gave vent to his
sincere distress at finding such a man
In such position and was going on to
Improve the OCCASION when the pris-
Oner cut in with the remark that he
believed in England we were fond of
fox hunting.
My friend, regarding it as. a broad
hint to change the subject, assented.
"And may 1 ask" said his compan-
lon, when a man gets fall, does he
give up hunting?" And on getting the
only possible answer to such a ques-
ton he added, 81 have had a bad fall,
and no mistake, but count on better
luck another time"
This case is thoroughly typical. The
IL NC PAOACSSlOiidl 10 AOl d weak CT0d-
ture who yields to uncomfortable i'm
pulse. Loving a life of adventure and
having a soul above working for his
living, he pursues life of crime with
a full appreciation of its risks.
Change those risks to certainties, and
you at once supply a motive adequate
to influence his course. If every fox
hunting would be Stunned, save by
few desperate men, and the same
would be. true of professional crime of
this character if it always ended in
disaster. -Nineteenth Century.
Amador ledger., 1901-05-17
Reading as n Cure.

The practice of reading aloud at reg.
ular intervals is of great benefit to any
one affected with a chest complaint.
In all cases of lung trouble it is impor-
tant to indulge in those exercises by
which the chest is in part filed or emp
tied Of air, and reading aloud, singing
and whistling are three of those excr-
cises.
There are many who cannot sing,
and we do not expect the fair sex to
whistle, but reading aloud can be prac:
ticed by all. Care must be taken not
to overdo it, Of course, and the body
should be in such position as to allow
the chest to have free play.
Reading aloud, if we pay attention
to what we are doing, will not only
be beneficial from the standpoint of
health, but will also have the effect Of
making us better speakers by teaching
Us proper modulations of the voice and
by increasing our knowledge
This is where it has the advantage
over whistling and singing.