davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Which Was Thrown
Down With vendorne
Column . \.

80
for everything connected with the
great Napoleon is now cherished by
the French people and held In admi-
ration by nearly all the people of the
world. It is probable that the col
umn as 1t now stands will never again
be torn down or dstaGed by an infuri-
ated French populacs! The base of
the monument and the railing around
1T may again, in the near MEhre, be
hung with wreaths of immortelles, as
they were previous to 1870.
Many of the deeds and acts Of Ma
poleon may call for condemnation, but
ne brought a glory to France which
Will forever live in history and was
one OF the great characters in bring
ing about the governmental changes
which European countries underwent
during the nineteenth century. Al
though imperial in his ambitions he
was the greatest menace to European
royalty that ever appeared in political
and military action. Republican
France may now justly honor his
memory. He builded his empire on
the foundations of political freedom.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
A Peculiar Bridge.

A very peculiar bridge is being con-
structed over the Mary river at Mary
borough, Queensland, in that it is be-
ing designed so that it's surface will be
submerged several times during the
year at the seasons Of high floods, says
a London newspaper. The idea in
building the bridge in this way is to
save the material that would be re-
quired to build it sufficiently high to
escape submersion at high water. The
country on the banks of the Mary
river lies SO low that the approaches
would have to be extraordinarily long
to be entirely out of the water during
low water and employ boats during
the comparatively short time that the
water would cover the bridge. The
bridge will clear by IL feet and 6
inches at ordinary high water. The
highest flood level is 33 feet, so that
at times the bridge will be submerged
more than 20 feet.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Plague of Dev.lfi.h.

A plague as horrid in its way as any
of those from which the ancient Egyp-
tians suffered has assailed the south
coast of England. Countless hordes
of octopi-the devil-fishes of Victor
Hugo-have invaded the English chan
mel and have swarmed along the
shores of Devon and Cornwall in tre-
mendous numbers. Travelling about in
marauding armies, they have vel! nigh
destroyed the local lobster and crab
fisheries by devouring these crusta-
ceans wholesale On the French side
of the strait, especially in the depart
ment of Finistere, they are thrown up
on the beaches by the sea after storms
in such quantities that their loath-
some bodies have been gathered up
and removed by hundreds of carloads
to prevent them from endangering the
public health by rotting. Many of
these creatures have spread Of six
feet or more, the tentacles being three
feet in length and covered with suck
ers as big as 50-cent pieces. But speci-
mems have been seen very much great
er in size, and individuals are known
sometimes to attain measurement of
sixteen feet from arm tip to arm tip.
That the larger ones will readily at
tack human beings is we'll known, the
sucking disks with which the arms
are provided holding the victim with
irresistible force. Once fairly embraced
by the animal, there is small chance
for the strongest man, unless he is
lucky enough to have big knife or a
spear. The most surprising point
about the plague referred to is that
the octopus has rarely been seen hith-
erto in British waters-so rarely, in
deed, that during many years past
specimens could be obtained for aqua
ria in England only at long intervals,
and half sovereign was frequently
paid for small one alive 1t is very
numerous in the Mediterranean, and
ranges as far north as the south side
of the English channel, which is it's
extreme limit ordinarily.
Mail.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
THE DEADLY RANSOM.
London Wants q Substitute for tn.
Vehicle That Kills.

London Wants Substitute for the
Vehicle That Kills.
London is sorely in need of public
vehicle to supersede the hanson cab,
The streets of the metropolis are more
slippery and more crowded than those
of any other city. Horses drawing
hanson cabs are VIGOROUSLY prone to
stumble on the shiny surface of our
asphalted and wood-paved thorough
fares And when hanson cab horse
falls the passenger has little chance of
escaping injury. He is generally flung
head foremost over the curtain" on
to the body of the horse, struggling
frantically on the ground. If the win
dow is down, he is thrown through
that as we'll; if the window is up, the
sudden stoppage of the cab frequently
brings it sliding downward with such
force that the glass is shivered into
pieces and the sharp fragments lacer-
ate his face and head. An authority
who has spent years in studying the
question of street passenger traffic
mentioned several cases to Daily
Mail representative where hanson cab
passengers known personally to him
self have had glass extracted from the
face, head and legs in consequence of
the horses merely slipping. Another
fruitful source of accident is the kick
ing in of the footboard by a FESTIVE
horse. The splinters are showered in
to the passengers face, as in the other
cases he has no means of escape, for
if he attempted to jump out he would
probably be struck by the lunging
hoofs of the horse. In fact, no matter
what the nature of the accident, the
hanson cab passenger is perfectly
helpless. 1t matters little what type of
carriage is adopted SO long as it is
safer to ride in than the present han
som, which Stays it's score of people
annually and Injuries many hundreds.
London Mail
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Weird RAILWAY suryexinr.

Experience in the Philippines is
casting grave doubts on all informa-
ton from Spanish sources. Accuracy
has been absolutely unknown under
Spanish methods, and work, not error,
has been avoided. The Spanish gov
eminent made an apparently careful
survey of 120-mile railway line from
Manila through Dagupan, and left
elaborate charts, maps and profiles,
with full detail. American engineers
found these plans, and were delighted
at their apparent careful and correct
preparation; but when they went out
on the line maps and levels didn't fit.
The line looked all right on paper, but
the actual ground was out of all har-
mony with the figures. The survey
had been carefully madeAin tho engin-
GERS Office. but the engineer ASkyS !
been over the ground ! tss ".
IDENTIFY touched it at sey Az al penis.
and then made wild guess at what
was between. The road is impractic-
able on the line indicated. Rivers,
marshes and quicksands are found !, OF
which the locating engineer shows no
knowledg York Herald.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Exploding Nitro alyo.rln. Casks.

One Of the most puzzling of the
many difficult problems that confront
our trade is how to get rid Of the
empty casks that have contained nj
tro-glycerine, said manufacturer of
explosives recently to the New York
Sun. The wood of the casks becomes
SO saturated with nitroglycerine that
in explosiveness it equals the nitro
glycerine itself. It dose not pay, nor
is. it safe, to refill the casks. To burn
them is out of the question. If left
around, they are a constant menace.
for while all men are prone to show
their respect for dangerous explosive,
there are few that think that harm
can come of kick at an empty barrel.
There is nothing to do but explode the
casks. This is generally done by plac-
ing them on open ground AMI firing
a ride bullet at them from safe dis
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
.kR AND cURlQ THINGS
AND EVENTS.
Devilnsh Invade the English Channel
and Are Devouring tho Lobsters and
Crabs-stranse Caves Are Formed BY
Animals Licking Salt.
Little Things.
AND EVENTS.


Only little shriveled seed
1t might be flower or grass or weed;
Only box Of earth on the edge
or narrow, dusty acknowledges;
Only few scant summer showers:
Only few clear, shining hours
That was ALL Yet God could make
Out of these, for sick child's sake,
A blossom wonder as fair and sweet
AS ever broke at an angels feet.
Only life of barren pain,
Wet with sorrowful tears for rain;
Warmed sometimes by a wandering
CLEAN
OF joy that seemed but happy dream.
A life as common and brown and bare
AS the box of earth in the window
there;
Yet it bore at last the precious bloom
OF perfect soul in a narrow room
Pure as the snowy leaves that fold
Over the flowers heart of gold.
Henry van Dyke.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Pope on woman.s Clothes.

The Pope has recently manifested a
preference in regard to ladies' apparel
over and above the strict regulation in
regard to ladies who are received by.
the holy father at the Vatican. A,
niece of the Pope was about to be mar
risd, and her distinguished relative
took SO great an interest in her trous-
seau as to stipulate that the young lady
should only have white, blue or black
gowns, adding that these were the
three colors most becoming to young
girls. Gray and brown remarked
His Holiness, "are only suitable for
old women, and l do not like any other
colors." Possibly the Pope prescribed
white because it is the symbol of pur-
ity, blue because it is the color dedi-
Gated to the Virgin Marys and black
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Cat Earns n Salary.

Ten dollars for food for an office cat
is the most curious allowance ever
made by postmaster general. And
such was the item which was sane
toned the other day by Postmaster
General Smith at Washington. Ten
dollars for food for the Office cat at
st. Paul. The st. Paul postoffice is an
old building and SO filled with mice
and rats that the cat has plenty Of
work to do keeping these little crea-
lures in order. They say that the cat
is the hardest-worked member Of the
force and the most necessary When
the item was read by the postal au-
thorities at Washington there was a
hearty laugh. But later when they
read the explanation which accom-
panied the bill everyone, from the
postmaster general to the office boy,
agreed that it was quite right that the
cat should be fed at the expense Of the
government. This is one of the very
few instances on record where cat
has been placed on Uncle Sans pay
roll
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
strange cave. Formed BY An,m.,..

Strange Caves Formed by Animals.
That there are some animals which
cannot thrive without salt is we'll
known, but no very clear demonstra-
ton of this was forthcoming until re-
Gently, when M. Desuzinges, a French
traveller, noticed some remarkable
caves in the Oristadt district of the
Transvaal and discovered, to his sur
prise, that they had been gradually
formed by animals licking the salt of
which their walls were largely formed.
each Of these grottoes or caves" he
says, is as large as an ordinary
drawing room, and the natives assured
me that they had been entirely hol-
lowed out by the antelopes, which are
known in this country as 'dwicks.'
Wishing to learn why the animals
busted themselves in making such ex-
cavations, examined the caves and
found that their walls were impreg-
mated with salt, it's presence being.
clearly revealed by very characteristic
crystallizations. A day or tWq- later,
as was hunting, noticed fourteen
antelopes rush out of one of these
caves as soon as they heard me APP
preaching" NJ Desuzinges also says
that the elks in the Transvaal have
similar habit. and may often be seen
searching for salt near quarries or de-
posits of mari.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Napoleon
....StatNe
paris Letter.)

The recent finding in the Seine river
Of the statue of Napoleon Bonaparte,
which adorned the top of the Vendome
column previous to it's destruction in
1871, recalls the preceding century of
political vicissitudes through which
France passed and the tumultuous
scenes of blood and riot of the Paris
commune. The history Of the Ven
dome column is coincident with this
period and shows the varying mood Of
the French people. 1t is said that ev-
,ery change in the government of
France has witnessed the raising or
lowering of this historical monument
So regular had become its destruction
and subsequent upbuilding that some
irreverant writer's of the time suggest
ed that it he put on hinge, SO that
the performance could be gone through
more easily and cheaply.
The column was first built in the
Place Vendome by Napoleon in 1906.
1t was modelled after the column of
Trajan in Rome and was 144 feet high.
1t was covered with spiral reliefs rep
resenting scenes from the campaigns
of the Corsican against the allied
forces of Russia and Austria in 1905.
1000 Russian and Austrian Cannon
captured during the battles, were melt
ed to afford material for the covering
of the column. On the top stood a
statue of Napoleon in Roman costume.
In 1914 the statue was thrown down
by the royalists and white flag sub
stituted. This act was in retaliation
for an episode which occurred during
the revolution, when the equestrian
statue of Henry W., which for nearly
two centuries had graced the Pont
Neuf, was melted into cannon. 1t was
the intention of Louis XVIII. to treat
the figure of Bonaparte in the same
manner, and to surmount the column
with another statue of Henry w. 1t
seems, however, that he did not carry
out his design.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
YOUNGEST PEACE OFFICER.
An Arizona Lad Take. pue,i.t at ro1n,

An Arizona Lad Takes Duelist at Point
of Gun.
The youngest peace officer in the
United States lives at Congress. He is
Richard Boscha, IA years old, the son
of Deputy Sheriff Pete Boscha, who
has been a deputy sheriff under all adj
ministrations in Yavapai county for
twenty years-a fearless and efficient
officer. Richard Boscha is small for a
boy of IA. He has black hair and eyes
and a look of great intelligence He
came to Phoenix recently, bringing the
16-year-old son Of a county official who
had become infatuated with the Coon
town 400 and ran away with it. Young
Boscha was asked if the young man
was glad to go back. NO." he said,
"he didn't want to come, but there
was no way out of it for him" Anoth-
er boy, the stepson of a well-known
resident of Phoenix, also ran away
with the show. He was with it at Con-
gress, but has not been apprehended.
The boys were to get 81 day and
board Their part in the performance
was assistants in the erection of the
tent. The next stopping place after
congress the boys understood to be
was Denver. There was to be five days
of nothing to do but eat and draw sal
aries. In consequence, they desired to
remain with the show few days, any
how Young Mr.. Boscha first came in
to prominence about year ago by the
arrest of Mexican for whom the off
GERS had been looking for some time.
He and another Mexican had fought a
duel intended to be deadly, for the IA
vor of a senorita. One of them was
wounded and the other left the coun-
try. Some months afterward this lit
tie boy, then only 10 years old, found
the duelist, and at the point of gun
took him into camp.-Arizona Repub-
lican.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
WORK in HOT WEATHER.

Increased Labor Brought to tho Baggage
Men and the Employees of Hospitals.
When very hot weather comes the
busy season of the baggage man be-
gins. When the rest of the world.
tired by the heat and frightened by the
long death list, seeks cooler places out
side the city, the expressman and the
baggage man have to work harder than
ever. Yet they do not seem to mind it
much, and it is stated that few of the
men who handle heavy trunks at the
railroad stations succumb to the heat.
In the hospitals also during hot wave
the doctors and nurses lose their ordi-
nary rest and sleep. They labor over
the heat patients with zeal that
makes them forget the passage of time.
matter of prime Importance in treat
Ing heat patient is the celebrity with
which he is placed in the ice bath. The
receiving wards are arranged in hos
pltal during hot spell just within the
door at which the ambulances arrive.
Portable baths are placed around, filled
with water, in which ice is floating.
Into one of these baths the patient is
plunged quickly, and if he revives he
is carried on a stretcher to the ward in
which he is to remain until he recov-
ers. On narrow cots the heat patients
lie covered with damp sheets, ice
packed about their heads and bodies.
Ihere is separate ward for patients
who are progressing toward recovery,
and on one of the hospital roofs tenn
porary ward had been arranged for
those nearly ready for dismissal from
the place as cured. The heat victim
when convalescent is cheerful and the
conversation of the patients on the
roof ward is almost frivolous. More
men than women are stricken" said a
young doctor with his sleeves rolled
to the elbows who had paused in his
work to enjoy the aid from an electric
fan. This is for the reason, princi-
pally, that men are employed as rule
at heavier work than women and also
that nslny of them drink to excess dur
ing hot SPELL A vast number of the
heat victims are not working smen, but
are of the class Of Mersk That hang
around the parks obtaining the price
of an occasional glass Of beeAfrom the
passerby! New York Sd
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
Mixed Royal Rela tionship.

The union in marriage of blood rela-
tons in the British royal family has
produced some extraordinary compli-
cations. Little Prince Eddie, the son
of the royal: pair, enjoys the peculiar
distinction from his birth of being
third cousin to the duke of Cornwall
and York, his father, and second cou-
sin twice removed to the duchess, his
mother And thus it comes about:
The duke of Kent and the duke of
Cambridge were sons of George III,
and their respective children, the late
Queen Victoria and the duchess of
Teck, were consequently first cousins.
Therefore his majesty and the duchess
of Cornwall and York are second cou-
sins, SO the duke Of Cornwall and York
are not only father and son, but third
cousins. But the duchess of Cornwall
and York is second cousin once re-
moved to the duke and second cousin
twice removed to his son, of whom she
is the happy mother. These be right
royal relationships, and as puzzling as
the discovery made by an astonished
husband that his wife, in the eye Of
the law, was no relation of his at all.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29

When Louis Philippe assembled the
throne he caused an effigy of the Little
Corporal, in great coat and three-cor-
nered hat, to be substituted. This de-
sign could not have been pleasing to
poleon III. became emperor he caused
it to be torn down in 1863 and substi-
tuted one designed by Dumont and
which, closely resembled the first,
showing the great general in the Ro-
man dress. This remained until 1871,
when the entire column was destroyed.
BY the Fury of the Commune.
At this time people would not be-
lieve that the Communists would dare
to destroy the historical monument.
however, and there was great excite
ment in Paris. The day was appoint
ed and crowds went to witness the pro-
ceeding. A vast multitude gathered
and ropes were stretched to prevent the
people getting too near the place
where the column was to fall Soldiers
with guns on their shoulders patrolled
the open space. The Place Vendome,
where the column stood and now
stands is in one of the most fash
ionable, beautiful and popular sections
of Paris. The proprietor of the Hotel
du Rhin sought to prevent the destruc-
ton of the monument He went to
the leaders of the mob and offered
them 100000 francs if they would fore
go their frenzied design. They refused
to listen. A scaffolding was erected
and men sawed and hacked through
the column near the base. Ropes were
attached to the shaft and by means Of
windlass the great mass was toppled
over. 1t fell with a crash and was
broken into fragments. It's fall was
greeted with wild cheering. At one
time the excitement became so great
that riot seemed certain, but grad
ually the fury of the mob subsidized
and the people dispersed.
Until 1875 the pieces of the old col
umn lay on the ground, dust covered
and objects of curiosity to visitors.
Then they were collected and again
placed in position and it was believed
that the statue of the Little Corporal,
which Napoleon III. had placed on top
in 1868, had been restored. The recent
finding in the Seine, however, proves
that the present figure is substitute
The figure has been intrusted to the
Commission for the Preservation Of
Historic Relics and will mo doubt be
an object of much care and curiosity,
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-29
lance. The conclusion produced lby

lance The concussion produced lbyt
the bullet is more than enough to-
bring about an explosion, and the
is one good thing about those casks
when they go off-there are no frag-s
meDts to pick up. Upon one occasion
cask was carried to proper dis
lance while the other was left stand
ing near the wagon. The man who
was to do the shooting then conceived
the idea of leaning his rife against
the top of the second cask to get a
better aim. He thought this was safe
because he knew that the recoil Of the
rife was almost unnoticeable. Well,
when he fred, there were two simulta-
nous explosions His bullet hit the
mark and did its work At the same
time the other cask was exploded by
the slight jar produced by the firing
of the shot. The three men, the two
horses and the wagon were literally
swept off the face of the earth