davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
a Plea Fo
: our o ests.
John Muir's Naiuabia Book on "Our
National Paris farm Done by Pros
Dectoys. Sheep OWnsfs and Mills.

-.
- n his latest volume, "Our National
Parks John Muir has again lifted
his voice in an Eloquent appeal to
the American people to save our
mountain parks land reservations,
which are usefuls1lot only as foun-
tains Of timber and irfigating rivers, but
as fountains Of life where nerve-shaken
and over civilized people can rid them
selves of the stupefyingae effects of the vice
of over-industry and the Deadly apathy of
luxury: The -1e reg tttifrass semands on the
forests that have passed Hlto private own
ership, as well as thosean the hands of
the government, Mr. Muir. says, are in
creasing every year WIth&the rapid settle
ment and upbuilding5o OF the country, but
the methods of numbering are as yet
grossly Wasteful: .cs .-"5-,
In most mills only the best portions of
the best trees are used, while the ruins
are left on the grounditoi feed great hres,
which kill much ofTWhat is left OF the
less. desirable tinlber#Etogeth with the
seedlings. on which the permanence of the
forest depends Thus every mill is a
center of destructionN far more severe
from waste and fire than from use. The
same thing is true Oft the mines, which
consume and destroyHdndi immense
quantities of timber with their innumer-
Eble fires, accidental or set to make open
ways, and often without regard to how
Ear they run. The prospector deliberately
sets fires to clear off the woods just
where they are densest,s to lay the rocks
bare and make the discovery of mines
easier, Sheepowners and their shepherds
also set fires everywhere through the
woods in the fall to facilitate the marcel
~f +1,A'r countless foeks the next sum
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

playe0 dIUrIg Inc various rdlIwny .roUf,s.
Thoreau, when contemplating the de-
struction of the forests on the east side
Of the continent, said that soon the coun-
try would be SO bald that every man
would have to grow whiskers to hide it's
but ne thanked God that at
east the sky was safe. Had he gone
West he would have found out that the
sky was not safe; for all through the
summer months, over most Of the noun.
tain regions, the smoke of mill and for.
est fires is so thick and black that nc
sunbeam can pierce it. The whole sky
with clouds, sun, moon and stars, is
simply blotted out. There is no real sky
and no scenery. Not a mountain is left
in the landscape. At least none is ir
sight from the lowlands, and they al
might as well be on the moon, as far q:
scenery is concerned. -
Mr.. Muir points out that while the
;half-dozen transcontinental - railroad
companies advertise the beauties of thei1
lines in gorgeous, many-colored folders
leach claiming it's as the "scenic route,
ia more truthful description would b.
1.-THE route of superior desolation, smoke
dust and ashes.'' 49,. ..
Every train rolls through dismal smok,
and barbarous, melancholy ruins; and tn
companies might well cry in their adver
tlSementS:r come! travel our way. Our
lis the blacklist. 1t is the only genuine
.Erebus route, The sky IS black, and thu
ground is black, and on either side ther'
is continuous border Of black stump
and logs and blasted trees appealing tt
heaven for help as if still half alive, ant
their mute eloquence is most interesting
ly touching. The blackness is perfect. o.
account of the superior skill. of our work
men, advantages of climate, and the kin'
of trees, the charring is generally deepe
along the line, and the ashes are deeper
and the confusion and desolation = dis
played can never be rivaled. No othe
route on this continent so fully illustrate
the abonination of desolation." Such
claim would be reasonable, as each seem
the worst, whatever route you chanc
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12


spurreu territory with his bong, limbo
legs. What manner of man was this VIII
4 could ride old Satan, the terror of tw
territories, and nonchalently roll a, cigar
cite while the furious beast was tiein
double bowknots in the air and COMM
down like a piledriver, without seen1in
to even receive a Jolt? Never had tn
boys seen, such riding as this. -s..~' l.:
When Ike got ready to dismount oil
Satan had been ridden and well rtdder
and had been spurred from his ears I
mis- tail. He was the meekest lookin
horse in seven states, but looked no NOR
sheepish than the boys who gathere
around the calmly benignant Ike an
asked: ,..~ ~ r... .~.
Who in thunder are you, anyway
You never came from Missouri ~
''Yes I did-about thirty years agt
And my names Ike-front name, Buck
skin. -: 49, .4- #-.'.s 70 st-. >
He4was, indeed, the most famous. ride
ever known in Utah and Arizona. HI
fame, but not his face, was well know
at the ranch he had duped. And it wa
due to this fact that the Bar * boys wer
the worst sold gang. that ever initis:e
a greenhorn into the mysteries of bronch
riding. BucksRln Ike had travelled mile
for his fun and had enjoyed it to tn
limit. 1t WAC d way he had.-Denve
Times. 49,. -..
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
Poe and the French.

The keener appreciation in Europe of liter
allure as fine art is doubt the main
reason why Poe is looked upon over there
as our most noteworthy poet. Poe certainly
had a more consunmate art than any other
American singer, and his productions are
more completely the outcome Of that art. They
are literary ~feats. ''The Raven was as de-
liberately planned and wrought out as is any
piece of mechanism Its inspiration is verbal
and technical. 1.-The truest poetry is most
feigning,'' says Touchstone, and this is main
ly the conception Of poetry that prevails in
European literary circles. Poe's poetry is
artistic feigning, like good acting. It is to
that extent disinterested. He does not speak
for himself, but for the artistic spirit. He
has never been popular in this country, for
the reason that art, as such, is far less ap-
preciated here than abroad. The stress Of
life here is upon the moral and intellectual
elements much more than upon the esthetic.
We demand a message of the poet that he
shall teach us how to live. Poe had no
message but that of art; he made no contribu-
ton to our stock Of moral ideas; he made
no appeal to the conscience or manhood of the
race; he did not touch the great common work.
aday mind of people. He is more akin to
the Latin than to the Anglo-Saxon. Hence
his deepest impression seems to have been
made upon the French mind.-John Burroughs
in the Century.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
TAXATION OK CATS,
|Provisfolsofs.t Fill In the MaSsacI,u-
St.ttN LcGikIxtEre


In every considerable community in this
broad land the owner Of dog has bcc, com
PEELED 10 pay a license tax, while his neigh
hors cat has been allowed to expand it's ia il
on the Woodshed roof in costless liberty The
apparent to every catess dog owner In the
name of kindness bill has been introduced
IN the Massachusetts legislature which pro-
vides for license on cats. the tax being so
cents each. 1t authorizes mayors and select
men to kill all unlicensed felines In order
to win the support of the lovers of the cat it
Is pretended that there are many starving and
boy tortured stray cats which ii would be a.
mercy to put out Of the way. In fact. however,
there is little doubt that it is the lone-infiig-
nant dog owners who have devised this scheme
of justice.
DOGS are taxed partly as a means OF revenue
but chiefly to get rid Of stray ours. 1t is urged
noisy at night and danger in the alleged
mad dog season. In the city they are held
to be entirely useless. If q dog be worth his
bones as a guardian OF the home he will be
a menace to the legs of the letter carrier and
20 children. The amiable dog which wags his
tail when the delivery hoy comes will welcome
a tramp orr a burglar as a dear afriend.: Cats
however. = are not less noisy. ard dangerous
than dogs, but the reverse. Their ,midniyht
imitation of a baby with collie creates an cpl
demic Of insomnia, and they are as liable as
dogs to rabies. They are vastly more danger
Gus as carriers Of disease germs. They lack
the affection and fidelity OF the dog In short
every argument in favor Of dog license is fully
as strong in favor Of cat Observation-Disclosures
Record.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
..Hand to Mouth,, Ltxcrs.

One of the paradoxes of waste is that the
persons most addicted to it are not men and
women OF independent means. who can sup
port themselves in spite of their extravagant
expenditure, but the poorer classes There js
hardly an abIe-bodied laborer who might NOT:
become financially independent, If ne would,
but carefully husband his receipts and guard
against the little leaks of needless c9,.ense
But unfortunately, this is the one thing
which the workingman finds is the hardest 10
do. There are a hundred laborers who are
willing to work hard, to every half-dozen VINO
are willing to properly husband their earn,,,ra
instead OF boarding . small percentage of
their receipts 80 as % provide against sick
ness or want of employment. they eat and
drink ND to their earnings as they 20. anf
thus, in the first financial crash, when mills
and factories shut down. and capitalists.
Jock up their cash instead of using It in greaf
enterprises they are ruined Men who thus
live from hand to mouth ]" never keepine
more tfan days march ahead OF actual waiIs
are little better of than slayes.-Success b IS
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

, mer, and perhaps in some places to I'M
prove the pasturage' The axe is not, yet
at the root of every tree, but the sheep is,
or was before the national parks were es-
tablished and guarded by the military,
the only effective and reliable arm of the
government free from the blight OF
politics. Not only do the shepherds, al
the driest time Of the year, set fire to ev-
erythlng that, will burn, but the SHEEP
consume every green leaf. not sparing
even the young conifers, when they are
in starving condition from cr0Wding
and they rake and dibble the loose soil OF
B the mountain sides for the spring floods
ito wash away, and thus at last leave ths
ground barren
n Mr. Muir points out the fact that only
the lower, perfectly clear, free-splittina
portions Of the giant pines are used-per-
haps ten TO twenty feet from tree 25t
in height; all the rest is left a mass OF
, ruins. 81. Id. 5SA5
Over nearly an of the more accessible
slopes Of the Sierra and Cascade noun
tains in Southern Oregon, at height OF
from three to six thousand feet above
the sea, and for a distance of about 6OC
miles, this waste and confusion extends.
Happy robbers, dwelling in the most
beautiful woods, in the most salubrious
climate, breathing delightful odors both
day and night, drinking cool, living
water-roses and liliesiSat their feet in
the spring, shedding fragrance and ring
ing bells as if cheering them on in their
desolating work. There is none to say
them nay They buy no land, pay no
taxes, dwell in paradise with no forbid
ding angel either from Washington or
from heaven. Every one of the fraiI
shake sI1anties is a center OF destruction.
and the extent OF the ravages in the ag-
gregate enormous. I.
Not wit hist ndir immense OII9
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

take Venice is growing, like other Eu-
ropean cities, in population, wealth. in-
dustry and commerce, and three Of the
most beautiful palaces On the Grand
canal have been erected within the last
two years. One of them remains untrp
isfled. Pr ~ : . lax -.
There has been a. large amount Of o,laer
building also much to the regret OF the
aesthetic cult. who fear the revival Of
commerce and industry will injurei and
perhaps destroy the artistic beauty Of the
city. Similar complaints have been made
In Florence Apostles of the picturesque
VIII ten you THAT modern enterprise hSe
ruined some of the most admirable spots
N the Old capital of the Medicfs; that
palaces of wondrous beauty have been
torn down to give place to ugly edffices.
in the designs of which utility alone has
been considered. and that the quaint old
narrow streets have had their attractions
DESTROYED by the municipal council.
which insisted upon tearing down facades
that Were erected 800 years ago in order
to MAKE room for o,nnibuses to pass. H
= Doubtless there is more or less ground
Tor these criticisms, and perhaps the
fears concerning Venice are well found
ed. The smoke from the tail cIs:1nneys
of the new factories will no doubt pollute
the atmosphere and injure the beautiful
tlnts which age has given to Che marble
carvings; and of course. alterations viii
be necessary toSmake any Of the old PAL
aces convenient for business purposes.
Many people believe that Venice should
be preserved untouched as a great inter-
national museum and school of as-chirec-
5ture and art; that commerce should be
suppressed. and that no one should be
allowed to live here except people Of
leisure and refined tastes. Grain eleva-
tors. flour mills, iron foundries and other
practical enterprises which are being In
troduced Into Venice are certainly OBJ
stacles to artistic growth, but the people.
OF this city are actuated by mercenary
motives like the rest of mankind, ana
are not content with the income they de-
rive from tourists.-W iI1iam E. Curtis, in
the Chicago Record Herald Ss
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
Bachelors
and I(pinsters

eH Il last there are more bachelors
than spinsters in this country.
A The feminine portion of our con- on
~ munities will be interested in this
fact, which has resulted from the
census of 1900. Now, it has always been
pvpu'ar1y supposed that the spinsters pre-
dominated, and this current belief has
been as thorn in the side of woman. for
the mere existence of a bachelor REQUIRES.
Tor the intelligent curiosity CT the sentler
sex, an explanation. Without the ey-
planation he is in himself, as it were. an
eloquent reflection upon the charm Of
Womanklnd. and every woman in her own
person resents a slight to the sisterhood.
NOW that the census has clearai the
question Of false statistics, and the resi-
dual fact remains that the bachelors pre-
dominate, it becomes incumbent upon us
to inquire why this is so. And the in
quiry having scarcely proceeded beyond
the first statement of the case, we find.
as ever, that woman is the guilty party!
For, with the known inconsequencez Of the
sex, 1t is she who is consciously and VOL
UNFAIRLY responsible for the predominance
or the unmarried man.. We learn that
the fashionable matron deliberately makes
him her pet-that she has SO systematic
cally performed this rite over him that
his species has been separated into kinds,
of which 1.-The corner man. 1.-The dancing
man. 1.-The dinner man. etc, are the
best known. and most carefully cultivated
varieties
So highly considered and so actively in
demand, so dined and wned, are these
popular unmarried men, that their per-
sonal expenses are reduced to minimum,
and they become among men even as the
lilies of the field. They are, SO to speak,
the supernumeraries in the drama of life,
to be engaged as occasion requires. And
woman, dear, delightful, in,Hetuous, gen.
erous but unref1ecting woman, is the stage
manager who is hoist by her own petard.
While, therefore, the census Of 1900 pos
sesses for woman, as we have intimated,
| unusual interest, it is also replete with
threatening possibilities which must give
her pause.-f-arper's Weekly.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

polling them to ooze ana perculate anu
flow gently through the soil in streams
that never dry. All the pine needles and
rootlets and blades of grass and the
fallen, decaying trunks of trees, are dams,
storing the county of the clouds and dis
pensing it in perennial life-giving streams,
instead of allowing it to gather suddenly
and rush headlong in short-lived devas-
rating floods. Everybody on the dry side
IF the continent is beginning to find this
out, and, in view of the waste going on.
Is growing more and more anxious for
government protection. The outcries We
near against forest reservation come
mostly from thieves who are wealthy and
steal timber by wholesale. They have SO
ong been allowed to steal and destroy
n peace that any impeachment to forest
..obbery is denounced as a cruel and ir-
religious r interference with vested
rights. .' ..'s. T. ~.'s
1nasmuch as all sorts of local laws and
regulations have been tried and found
wanting, Mr.. Muir says the fate CT the
remnant of our forests is in the hands OF
the federal government, and that if the
remnant is to be saved at all, it must be
saved quickly. He adds:
Any fool can destroy trees. They can
rot run away; and if they could, they
would still be destroy and
hunted down as long as fun or a dollar
could be got out of their bark hides,
branching horns, or magnificent bole
backbones. Few that fell trees plant
them; nor would planting avail much to-
ward getting back anything like the noble
primeval forests. During a mans life
only saplings can be grown, in the place
of the old trees-tens Of centuries old
that have been destroyed. 1t took more
than three thousand years to make some
of the trees in these Western woods, trees
that are still standing in perfect strength
and beauty, waving and singing in the
mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all
the wonderful, eventful centuries since
Christ's time-and long before that-God
has cared for these trees, saved them
from drought, disease, avalanches, and a
thousand straining leveling tempests and
floods; but he cannot save them from,
Argonaut.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

However, Mr. Muir says that notwith
standing, all the waste and use which
have been going on unchecked for NOR.
than two centuries, it is not yet too late
though it is high time-for the govern
ment to begin a rational administrator
of its forests Ih
About seventy. million acres it still
owns-enough for all the country. if wise
~ used These residual forests are gen
orally on mountain slopes. just wher,
they are doing the most good, and where
their removal would be followed by tn,
greatest number of evils: the lands the.
cover are too rocky and high for agricuE
tllre, and can never be made as vaiuabl.
for any other crop as for the presenr
crop of trees. 1t has been shown ovei
and over again that if these mountains
were to be stripped Of their trees anf
llnderbrush and kept bare and sodles,
by hordes of sheep and the innumerabL
fires the sheDerds set, besides those O:
the mill men, prospectOrS, ake-makers
and all sorts of adventures, both loWland;
and mountains would speedily become lit
tie better than deserts, compared will
their present beneficeEt fertility During
heavy rainfalls and while the winter ac
foundations of snow were meltfls:, tn,
larger streams would swell into destruc.
tive torrents. cutting deep, rugged-edget
gullies. carrying away the fertile humu.
and soil as well as sand and ricks, films
up and Overlooking their lower channels
and covering the lowland fields with raw
detritus. Draught and barrenness woul6
follow. 3s E s33 55
In their natural condition. or under wise
management, keeping out destructiv,
sheep, preventing fires, selecting tree.
that should be cut for lumber, and pre-.
serving the young ores and the shrub.
and sod of herbaceous vegetation, these
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
THE GMOx1 Az 6R VENICE.

Cid Palaces Converted 10 Husinest
PurpOscs-New Buildings.
1t is the prevailing impression that Ven
ice got it's growth centuries ago; reached
the zenith of its power, wealth and pros
perity in the fifteenth century, and since
that time has been in a state of gradual
decline I have heard people who ought
to know better assert that the latest new
building was erected 200 years ago, and
that since then there has been no work
in Venice for carpenters, masons and
members of the other building trades ex-
cept to repair adaptations and restore
crnnAied l.c-ls. - - l-c-.s@--4 mis-
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
1.a.ea.. n.x,rx In Russia.

Influenza Is raging in Russia with such
virulence that the operations Of the gov
eminent department have been graVely
obstructed, and the overworked physi-.
clans Of St Petersburg are almost In de-.
SPAR. THIS has been an exceptional year
for destructive epidemics in many coun-
tries. and the resources Of med cal science
have been bafYled by this mysterious prev
asence OF certain maladies. War and
IestIsance have been busy In checking
tie Increase Of population. aud the aisci--i
fscs ST Nautilus lave renewed their faith,
IN his tEfsories-Sew York Tribune,
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

The superintendent of the schools at
kokomo, Ind, publishes statement in
which he says that he can prove that
scholars who are addicted to the cigarette
habit are two years behind those who are
not victims of the habit. He says that Of
the 1900 boys in the schools 400 are con-
firlned smokers.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
Gs44zs SO
FAar1ka

IN the dance I trod upon my beioved,s
.sStupid!' she hissed.
'Alas!' Qu0th i, profoundly shocked at
tbis display Of temper. Are then my
idols feet OF clay ~ @
We'll. they're not cast iron. I tell You
lhosef exclaimed the beautiful girl, with
heat In her voice. ~ IS S
tried to laugh, but there was chill
at my heaTt-Detroit Journal. ia
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

Mark Twain was recently calling on fr;ena
nred gun under the animals neea without tI1s
beasts moving. What do you mink of that Pr
{ asked the host r think ID. horse is dear. ~
said the humo<ist, S. I. tF.1ss-ss-. ~
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
: SLOW CONvALEsCENCE.

Z Oh. war is rude and impolite.
It quite upsets a nation:
lis. made effseveral months OF fight
And years OF conversation
- -. = Washington Star.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
ALWAYS BUSY.

The CONGRESSMAN confronts a task
.f8 That's like an endless chain.
/! When here. he has to go to work
On getting back again.
ashington Star.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12

u last there are more bachelors
than spinsters in this country.
khl The feminine portion of our COM
~ munities will be interested in this
fact which has result ed from the
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-04-12
The tanning 4.
Of >>'ataln

HaEa HE boys of the Carlisle ranch in
sa1zfzssa Southern Utah will never forget
their introduction to Buckskin
Al or, rather, Buckskin likes intro
0uctiGn Of himself aloor in The