davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Hutchinson gazette., 1901-04-11

The moth may not be q society IA
yorIto but 1t frequently appOarS in a
dress suit
Hutchinson gazette., 1901-04-11

The man who Ia never idle has no
time 10 be mean.
Evening star., 1901-01-05

in his clothing undoubtedly saved the egg
hunters life, as tha bird. as soon as it
struck the water. begin to try to fly. and
actually helped the man out Of the kelp bed
into which they had fallen, then, by its
struggles freeing itself, allowing the man
to swim to the rock. where he was hauled
up by his companiOnl3 81
Another eagle was now wheeling about
the nest. and as 1t wBs evident that there
were young in 1t. the idea of reaching 1t
was abandoned. Upon investigation it was
found that the boat was damaged beyond
repair, and as the swim. to the place where
they could climb thsYetfn was too long and
dangerous, the adventurers were obliged
to wait for a boat. That night the sea
rose. but they crawled into a crevice on the
lee side, where they sat- shivering with
cold, until morning, then finding themselves
in seething caldron where release was
impossible. At low tide they caught lin
pets and some abalones, but the lack of
water began to tell on them that night, and
they determined to make the attempt to
swim around the point of the island. AS
good luck would have it, the sea went
down later in the day. and early the fol-
lowing morning they were rescued by a
passing boat after series of attempts,
being hauled through the surf by lassoes
A number of people have had experiences
at the islands when robbing eagles nests,
and in almost every case the birds came
off victorious in their attempts to protect
their young.
Evening star., 1901-01-05

Vow. New York has got to be simply a
hopeless frst-night town. The audiences
are made up of too many foreign elements
| have had some mighty gloomy weeks In
Washington with attractions that made i'm
mense hits in New York. but that / knew
myself, in my inner consciousness, were
really not worthy of having made hits.
The Washingtonians caught on to the
weaknesses of these New York hits and
simply declined to buy seats.
We Draw the Line.
While Washington never struck me as
being in any wise puritanical town. 1t IS
fact that it will accept less salaciousness
in its theatrical offerings than any other
sizable town in the country. 1t is far
more exacting in this respect even than
Boston. l always have my extravaganzas
and even some of my serious productions,
edited up a bit before taking them to
Washington. and the more risuue lines
deleted, II there are any. These risque bits
make big hits in New York and are laughed
over uproariously, but they are as | found
out by experience. received in dead silence
in Washington. The theater-goers down
there CONSIST more largely of family parties
than they do in most cities. and the Wash
ington man, reasonably enough, doesn't
care to sit alongside his wife or his mother
or his sister and be reGaled with lines that
verge near the border line.
Another unusual thing about the Wash
lncton theater-goers is that they always
adhere to their original verdict. Some
years ago | made a production down there
that the Washingtonians unanimously pro-
nounced account. l had the piece
changed so that it was virtually unrecog-
nizable, and put it on here. where it had n
big run. A couple of years later | took it
back to Washington and played to the
benches for the week The Washington-
ians are consistent, and that's the reason
their verdict is more valuable to me than
that of any other American city" c. l.. c.
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Strange Tales Told by Travellers in
the Mexican Desert.
THE COCOPAS and THEIR QUEER WAYS
White Mems Clothes Are Rapidly
Diminishing Race.
THEY PAINT AND TATTOO

Written for The Evening Star.
The Cocopas, a very queer people, living IN
the valley of the Colorado river-party IN
Lower California and partly in Mexlco-haVe
just been brought to light by Prof. w. j.
MCGee the well-known ethnoloSist of TINS
city. He had just returned from an inter
eSting visit among them when he chatted
with me day or two ago. He is the first
scientific man to have studied them and to
have noted their remarkable customs.
I'VE left Washington October -" said
Prof. MCGEE, land went by rail to Phoenix.
Arizona, where outfitted- With four
mule wagons three extra saddle animals
and three months provisions We proceeded
down the banks of the Salt and Gila rivers
to Gila Bend and then south across des-
ert. fifty miles of whose dry sand offered
us no water. Resting at Ajo. a copper
mining town of Arizona continued
southwark to the ancient Papago village of
QuitUbaquitO. thence to the Mexican Gus
toms office at Santo Domingo. Here an
officer of the Mexican treasury department.
who had accompanied US from Phoenix IA
Cilitated our crossing the frontier with our
outfit
Crossing the Mexican boundary at Santo
Domingo we struck out directly as
might be for the Tepoka country, $50 miles
below. The next water was QuitobaC. d Pa
pIsa village thirty-fiSe miles distant and
here we found warm mineral springs. Thir-
~ miles further southwark found CO.
Znn. another village of the Papagoes. Then
We passed on to a little stamp-mil, known
as Las Tajitas, AMI from there to Caborca,
the wcSternmust town on the river Of
northern Sonora. known as Rio San IgEa-
Cin or Rio Altar AT Caborca five years
ago had learned that the Tepoca Indians
Evening star., 1901-01-05
ADULTERATED MOLASSES.
The Blame Placed Upon the People
Who Want Cheap Goods.

From the New Orleans Picayune.
The fact of the matter Is that all this cry
about adu,terated molasses has somewhat
befogged the public on this Interesting
topic. They have come to believe that the
molasses producers in Louisiana have
ruined their industry by adulterating their
product with glucose. and even worse. by
using hurtful chemicals This is not the
case at all. The producers. or planters. as
they call them in this part of the world,
still make the Simon Pure article as of old,
but as the supply OF the fine old-time
sugar house or kettle mo,asses is neces-
sarly small, ii is high priced. and the con-
stunning public will not pay the price in
competition with the fine-colurcd. aduitrr-
ated. but cheaper article. Jobbcrs no longer
desire to handle the pure kettle moasses,
because their customers will not pay the
cost when they can buy the mixed article
for almost half the price. Any one who Is
wiling to pay the price can buy all The
pure molasses he wants from first hands in
New Orleans.
There was a time when large quantities
of rich kettle molaSses were made in this
state in the old-style sugar houses. This
rich molasses represented the waste of "A
considerable portion of the sugar product.
The tendency in recent years has been to
extract all the sugar possible from the cane
juice, and modern sugar factories extract
such large proportion of sugar that tae
molasses by-product is no longer the rich
sugar-house article. except in the case Of 4
few old-fashioned factories where the ket-
tie process is still in use.
The great bulk of the molasses now mar
keted from the plantations is a compara-
lively low-grade bi-product of Indifferent
color and inferior in saccharinc strength.
very large proportion of this molasses
would not be acceptable to consumers in
its crude original state, hence the praC-
tice of mixing it with glucose to improve
Its appearance and render it merchantabie
commenced. This mixing of molasses is
quite distinct from the custom of bleach
ing. in which chemicals used, the dele
terious effect of which has been much dis
cussed. Molasses mixed with glucose, al
though ii is certainly an inferior article
compared with pure Sugar-houSe molasseS
or can syrup. is yet entirely wholesome.
1t is certainly bad practice to sell a
mixed article in lieu of pure article: bat
in the case of molasses there need be no
danger of being deceived Pure moaSSo5
is very much more expensive than the
mixed article. The reason why it is Gif-
ficult to obtain from the retailers is the
unalterable propensity of the average
American to discriminate in favor of the
cheaper article, providing its appearance
is satisfactory. The average consumer will
buy the mixed article every time in prefer
ence to the pure article. owing to the great
difference in price. The mixing of mo-
lasses has therefore been actually forced
upon the distributors-tirst, by the al
tered system of manufacture on planta-
tions, and. secondly, by the unwillingnesS
of consumers to pay the price of the pure
article
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Scissors Weighing Forty Pounds.
From the Kansas City Star.

Percy W. Smith of this city has pair
of scissors which weigh probably forty
pounds. They are cumbersome and crudely
made, yet these same scissors once had a
keen edge and were used In the very deli
cate work of cutting nap from cloth. Mr..
Smith bought the scissors, or cropping ma
chine. as it formerly was called, of Jenkins
Palmer, a blacksmith living at Chenago
Falls, N. Y. Mr.. Palmer saw the crop
ping machine used in the '3Os and years
afterward bought 1t as old iron. Seventy
years ago practically all cloth was home
spun. and after the weaving had a coarse
nap which was moistened and pressed and
allowed to remain for the women's cloth
ing, but which was trimmed Off for the
men. The operation of cropping, therefore,
became quite a handicraft, and to use scis-
sors weighing forty pounds and leave a
uniform and well-cleaned surface required
considerable dexterity. The man who was
to do the cropping seated himself in a
chair before wide board. and broad
strap passed around his, neck assisted in
holding the shears steady. The cloth was
brushed with teasels Ga burr about as large
around and half as long as corn cob to
loosen any knots or threads and then was
sheared. second man pulling the cloth
steadily along the board. The present
method Is to burn the nap, which leaves an
absolutely even surface
Evening star., 1901-01-05
TROUT on TAP.
Boston Drummer's Ingenious Way of
Turning an Honest Penny.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Boston Drummer's Ingenious Way of
Turning an Honest Penny.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In the days when the only means OF rapid
communication with Eastport. Me. was by
steamboat from Portland and st. John N
B., Bert Bean a commercial traveller from
Boston, paid a visit to Campobello Island
which belongs to New Brunswick, though
only short distance down the harbor
Bean had little money. and liking the is
land he bought a tract of land on top of
the hill. His purchase contained about 100
acres, In the middle of which was a small
pond in hollow about 300 feet above tide
water. which washed the shore less than
seventy-five rods away. AS the pond was
fed by springs. Bean had it stocked with
trout, which were caught in brooks on the
mainland and brought over in pals. Then
he went away for four years. On his
turn the pond was SWarming with fine
trout. Though the place had been fished
by expert anglers, they had never met with
any luck because there were many cad
dice worms and other insects in the water
that the fish had no need for taking the
hook.
as his pond contained less than ten acres
1t was his to hold and protect against all
comers. He waited a few years longer and
sent down a crew of men, who bored a hole
from tne shore through lHe Ddlh facing the
ocean, inserting a water main In the OPEN
ing. When he had put a turn tap in the
pipe SO far inside the hill that it would not
freeze In winter he was ready to supply
fish to order. Orders were taken in Boston
and other large places for as many trout
as he could furnish Then Bean came to
Campobello. turned the stop cock, drew off
the water and picked up his fish as easily
as he could kindlngs. He always left
enough 20 stock the pond with young fry,
after which he closed the faucet and al
lowed the springs to fill the pond for the
growing of more trout.
Evening star., 1901-01-05
PIONEER PREACHERS TALE.
Sold a Horse for Land Now Worth
Fifty Thousand Dollars.


The Rev. A. Johnson of Richmond Ind,
is now visiting in Wichita, and he recites
many interesting incidents of life on the
western border. Mr.. Johnson came to Shaw
nee Mission. Kan, in 1915 as a Quaker
missionary. On the 26th day Of November
in that year he was invited to dinner by a
Rev. Mr.. Barker, also missionary among
the Indians. You see," said Mr.. Barker in
rendering the invitation I'VE New England
ers have a Thanksgiving day, and its OBJ
servance being a good custom 1 have
started it in Kansas This was the first
time Mr.. Johnson had heard of the custom.
and beyond doubt it was the first Thanks
giving feast in Kansas.
when | first came west said Mr.. john
son. there were Indians living on the out
skirts of the present Kansas City, and it
was not an uncommon sight to see great
herds of buffalo roaming over what is now
the principal portion of that big town.
In the course of a few years Mr.. Johnson
located in Kansas City. 1t was small
town then. Kersey Coates was running 4
store, and upon the present site of the
Coates House he laid the foundation for a
hotel. Mr.. Johnson tells an amusing Incl
dent regarding real estate values in the
downtown district of Kansas City in the
early days.
I'm 1861 said he, there was a belief
general among northern people that the war
movement was only a bubble, and that it
would soon die out. Not thinking that the
war would last long, | moved to Olathe,
after storing my household goods intending
to return in few months When the war
became certainty and after it was shown
that it would last three or four years
was anxious to get back to Indiana my old
home. | returned to Kansas City and of
fered everything l possessed at a great sac
rltice. / managed to sell everything but
sorrel horse. Money was scarce. so | tried
to get a trade. but failed. 1 met a man
f,,,l b. l,-
fered the animal to him for s.. He couldn't
tWenty-ive-foot lot in McGee's addition to
Kansas City i g.. 49,
'''Tll give you a good title to the property
for the horse, said the man. l accepted his
proposition and took the deed in exchange
TOR the horse. l went east, and about five
years later ] was riding on a train going
from Kokomo to Richmond. I happened
to sit down beside man, and in the course
of the journey | asked him where he hailed
from. Kansas City was the reply Then
| thought of my real estate I told him my
name, the size of the lot and the location of
1t as best I could. He looked Interested
Why, l bought that PROPERTY for taxes. he
said and have since built a two-story brick
bakery upon it, .-.
''Of course / was surprised and I told
him l still had claim Upon the property
Before We reached Richmond l had made a
deal with him whereby he gave me $500 for
q Huitclaim deed. That lot was in the deH1r
town district, what is now Grand ave
nue. think. I'm 70 ost"sure 5000 woudn't t
buy 1t, and still ] sot 1t for horse that |
would rather have sold for five-dollar
bill" ~ r
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Music and Plants.
From the Chicago Tribune.

FROM the chicago tribune.
The latest musical folly is that recently
announced by Prof. Hans Tietgen, Ger
man musical savant. He has discovered
plants that are sensitive to music. He
says he has a plant that unfolds its leaves
when some one begins playing, but closes
them again if the music becomes dIsso-
nant Some plants, he affirms. are stimu-
lated by pleasant harmonies and SYM
phony will expedite the b,ossoming OF
rose. 1t Is to be hoped Prof. Tietgen will
follow up his investigations. If a single
plant is amenable to the concord of sweet
sounds a whole garden of plants should
manifest the same popularity. provided
there is music enough. A brass band might
be usefully employed in expeditng the
products of truck farm. while a mandolin
orchestra could be relied upon to Stmu-
late a flower garden much as it does
rosebud garden of girls" Some discrimi-
nation should be used, however. in the
music played. No one can imagine the
havoc which might be created in a cabbage
field or a celery farm If a Strauss tone
poem were let loose in all its noisy disso-
nance.
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Here and There.

From the Philadelphia Press.
Mr. Borem-'I certainly do make myself
al home Perhaps ] stay too long
Miss Pepprey-"No. You couldn't to suit
me-"
Mr.. Borem (eagery)-'Do you really mean
I couldn't stay too long here?"
Miss Pepprey-'Oh, no. / mean there
where you say you make yourself"
Evening star., 1901-01-05

Three Successive Dry CamDS
I'VE next struck westward along the boun-
Diary line, taking the old Yuma trail the an
cent highway of communication between
Mexico and California. We were now faced
by' a @-mile jaunt without a spot which Of
fered water. half the distance was over
exceedingly heavy sand and qua rtcr was
over volcanic flows. We had three sue
cessiVe dry camps. and it was noon OF the
fourth day before we struck water 1t
happened to be humid and stormy and
our blankets were wet the whole distance
Two days and another dry camp brought
us to Yuma. at the affiueuce of the Colo
rado and Gila. We outfitted and went down
Inc colorado seventy miles by road to
pace sometimes called Colonia Lerdo
where the Cocopa people live. This little
colony belongs to the Andrade family the
present head of which is the Mexican con-
sui to Los Angeles, Cal He has a son
Don Eduardo who resides in Yuma. The
Ahdradt grant formerly included one and
Il haif millions of acres and took in the
valley OF the Colorado from the boundary
line To the gulf. The residence of the fam
lily was formerly at Colonia Lerdo oh
Ia ned from Don Eduardo the necessary per
NIT TO enter the estate and found the CO.
copaS on the west side of the river their
villages extending many miles to the north
west. We crossed the river eight or nine
times, swimming the horses after our boat.
Inc Cocopas greatly surprised me. Liv-
course. that they were fishing people.
1cund them essentially agricultural They
were culuvating corn. beans peas and
;sguashes; We're harvesting five different
Kinds OF grasses for their seeds. They had
located their little farms according to the
caprice Of the floods, frequently occurring
IN this valley. They professed to be strong.
l? iiIiInical to the Mexican government and
70 be anxious to emigrate to the United
states. An occasional Cocopa seems TO
nave crossed to the American side and TO
h;-Ye there rece we'd our higher rate of wages
IEey preferred American silver In fact
had TO exchange my Mexican silver for
ours; had to send to the frontier for this
purpose.
Pick Up Hot Goals With Their Toes,
The Cocopas are generally of fine ply
fldue. The men are tall and robust. I
measured one and found him to stand six
feet three. Their skins are dark They
nave very large feet. notable for the fact
that the middle toes are invariably the
longest saw the big fellow whom meas
ured run barefooted over patch of sharp
stubbie left by stalks of the cat-taiI flag
which had been burnt. He was hcntfng wild
hcgs and his feet We're not hurt in the
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Knew 1t Long Ago.

From the Chicago TimesHera
Aikali Ike laughed uproariously.
Have these smart people at the Uni
versty of Chicago just discovered that salt
prolongs life?" he asked.
Ibid you know it before?" the tenderfoot
inquired
"Did I! Well. say! any one who has lived
in the west ought to be able to reason that
out for himself in about five minutes. Why,
it just naturally follows from the fact that
the man who Is too fresh is almost inva-
riably cut down in his prime"
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Too lndulgent.

From the Philadelphia Press.
Wife-I don't see why you sneer at Mr..
Goodhart because he's so shabby. Clothes
don't make the man, you know
Husband-"No, but his wife's clothes
often break a man. sneer at Goodhart
because he's fool enough to be that sort of
man..
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Requires Experience.

Waiter-'I spik some Ingleesh. monsieur"
Customer-'Oh. very well: but most of
the walters understand my French
Waiter-"Pardon, Monsieuri but may be
haf not been lang enough In re eountree to
understan ze customaires French.
Evening star., 1901-01-05
Their Marriage Customs.

"These people are ostenSibly homogeneous.
OF their polygamy in which state they for
merly lived openly, there. are yet traces,
kept in the background out of deference to
the Mexican law.
They have prescribed a strange ordeal
which must be undergone by every Cocopa
girl before she can be considered to be mar
riageable. When she is ready to take a
husband hole is dug in the ground and IN
it is built fire. kept burning until the sur
rounding earth has been thoroughly
warmed, The fire is then extinguished and
the briGe-elect placed in the pit. She Is
buried to her neck and in this condition is
left standing over night After being dug
out, the next morning, she Is ready for the
Each Cocopa family Is bound by strict
law pertaining to property rights. Strictly
domestic property belongs to the women
farmStead property to the men. For the
purpose of buying some articles for my col
lection | visited one hut while the husband
happened to be away. The wife was willing
to sell me her pottery. her squash vessels,
her mill or the grain which she had ready
for grinding in the latter. But in the alb
sence of her husband she had no authority
to sell me the grain in the granary or the
granary itself.
During my stay among them the Coco
pas had a great feast. out in the extreme
northwestern part Of their territory, at a
point seventy-tiye miles from Colonia Lerdo.
| contemplated attending this jollification.
but changed my mind, and later had reason
to be thankful that ! had thus reconsidered.
One Of the tribe committed depreciation
for which three of the Mexican rural police
undertook to arrest him. His companions
rescued him and tore the police utterly to
, pieces. The Mexcans will of course punish
the Cocopas for this, although the latter
are many hundreds of miles distant from
civilization. The penalty for their crime will
probably be the further reduction Of their
number by from a dozen to a score OF
souls
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, Jr.
Evening star., 1901-01-05

Wer" still eXtant, eighty miles down on the
coast of the Gulf of California, 50 | now
pushed down into their alleged country by
ii four days journey. l found remains of
their hutS and some Accommodations of shells
and from what | saw roughly estimated
that the Tepokas must have been extinct
or nave departed ten years ago We then
Returned q Santo Dorningo
Evening star., 1901-01-05

While adverting to this subject of the
average Englishman's conception of the
American method of speech, I shall mar
rate little talk I had the other afternoon
with famous and wealthy young Amer
ican who spends a good deal Of his time
in the British Isles He Is quiet,
modest. accomplished gentleman of the
best sort l found him at one of
his clubs, and he was reading story in
a magazine with a countenance that gave
evidence of extreme inward disgust. 1t
was one of the new Amateur Cracksman"
stories by the English writer Hornung.
This sort of thing" said the young
American sportsman, "is what every Amer
ican. who goes to England, and especially
to London, has to contend with. Have you
read this story? It's clever enough In its
way, like the previous stories written by
the same man, but It's his utterly wrong
and imbeciIe attempt to portray the way
an American talks that's 80 exasperatfng.
Evening star., 1901-01-05

At this point of the rock part of the de-
bris of the old nest had rolled down, and
among it was a limb of tree which the
climber grasped: as the eagle struck at
him he thrust it directly in its face and
pushed 1t off. his position being such that
he could not strike. The bird merely fell
away to regain it's equilibrium. then turned
and plunged at him again with loud and
discordant cries. The man struck at the
bird with his knife, holding the stick as a
guard, but missed 1t, and one Of the claws
fastened into his clothes and became en-
tangled; then suddenly he lost his balance
and fell against the rope which broke, and
man and bird went plunging into the sea.
The fact that the birds talon had caught