davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
Y Twas long after John Rice Jones

Y Twas long after John Rice Jones
was commissary general at Vim
cennes; long after Pierre Gamelin
A was commander there, but still all
Of sixty or seventy years ago that
'Tom" Mckinney rode the Southern
Illinois and Indiana trails, and, haV-
Ing evil intent In his mind, came to
where Life and Death meet and turned
not back. 1t might have gone different
with tom Mckinney IL he had chos-
en- not to kill his enemy, but the blood
wrath was on him and he was strong
In his own courage, and what mattered
a life when the law was young and a
summers wind would obliterate a
trail. So "Tom" Mckinney left a stark
form and cold face looking upSto the
skies and rode away. So, too, we all
riding to the Darkness by right or
wrong.
.
The men Of the early days IN the
Wabash, Bon Pas, White, Little Wa
bash and other South streams were
big of bone and muscle, hard In their
passions, drunk with the license of be-
ing masters Of a virgin soil, an I'M
touched forest, an u~ngoverned land.
The Pottawattamies fled before them.
Their place was taken by settlers,
and some Of these were strong and
brave, and many were weak and
F. owed. atom" Mckinney rode among
them and worked his will. just as "An-
dy" Graham did and "Gentleman
Dave" Walker. candy" rode his gray
mare, Twilight, and, drunk as the mas
ter might be, she swerved from
ander him when carrying him over the
hills to his home. There a pale-faced
woman led the master to his bed
and stalled the beautiful mare. and
sighed, for she too was going her way
and no hand reached out to turn her
back. Wild, almost heroic desperadoes
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

o. p. Austin states in the National
That while our exports to Canada have
sn the ten-year period increased nearly
l5O per cent, those Of the United King
dom TO British North America show a
Blight decrease; while exports to
British Africa have increased over 400
per cent, those Of the United King
DOM have increased but about forty
per cent; while our exports to Aus
tralia have increased more than 125
per cent, those Of the United Kingdom
have slightly decreased, and while
cur exports to Japan have increased
&75 per cent, those Of the United King.
dom have increased but about 100 per
sent.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
Fire Signals.

Al O meeting Of Hope Hook and
Ladder Go. No. l., held on July 8,
1901, the town was divided into Fire
Districts and q Code of Signals was
adopted in order to facilitate the looa-
ton of fires in the future. The town
was divided as follows:
District No. ALI that portion OF
eewn bounded north by Bellevue
street, west by Union street, south
and east by corporation line.
District No. 2-All that portion OF
town bounded by Bellevue street OF
the SOUTH Union street on the west,
and corporation line on the north and
east.
district NJ. 3-.he portion Of town
living west of Union street, and south
of Bellevue street, with the corpora
ton line as the south and west boun-
dairy.
District No. 4-Tle portion of town
bounded on the south by Bellevue.
east by Union, north and west by COR
poration line.
The Signals adopted were short taps
to indicate the district in which the
fire is located, followed by rapid
alarm. same to be repeated until gen
eral alarm is given.
To illustrate, should an alarm be
sounded for District No. 8, first three
taps, one, two, three, followed by rap
III alarm. and repeat.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

from his first days. Highway robbery,
pillage, murder, had all ben charged
to his account before, andpthe father
had wondered often, dumbla. what the
end wsG1d be. Now it was In sight.
"And," said the talebeareA Toms
in the Jail now, but when9 they put
the rope OF him he'll be out insehe oGSn,
and they're going to have a JoflInca-
ton in Vincennes. They tells me when
I was there that the doctors are oil
after Toms body and that when
they're sure he's dead they're going
to take it and cut it up, so as to see
what made him so powerful strong"
'"rhey be-" asked old man McKin-
ney.
"Yes. The Sheriff has said they
might have "Tom,' and he won't get
any coffin nor a grave"
"I'll be blamed" said the old man,
and still held the oxen to the furrow.
The next day he was back in the field
and the next, and each day was n
nearer to '"Tom's" end.
. = Q
An OK could not travel fast in those
days. The roads were only partially
broken trails and If the rains We're on
almost impossible. The yellow clay
Of that land makes a fine bottom In the
dry season, but when it is wet it Is
deadly to progress. Old man McKin-
ney sat by his cabin door and calcu-
lated the forty miles to Vincennes and
the number Of days it would take
his oxen to make the journey. He
wrinkled his brow many times, but at
last he was satisfied. The next morn
ing he yoked his beasts to a rude
wagon, climbed in, laid his rifle across
his knees and took the Vincennes trail.
He figured he should reach there In
three dayE, and If this proved true he
would arrive ON the day of Toms"
death and several hours before his ex-
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

were these men Of the beginning days,
and none more bold than atom" Nc
Kinney. His people were scattered all
e the Wabash country. Some toiled,
some were shiftless, but none as dar-
Ing or law-defying as he. He knew
the run of the bottom lands, the ways
Of the twisting streams, the hidden
hollow, the densest timber growths.
and there were men here and women
there to keep his hiding secret. Yet
when he killed his enemy the law
found him and he was brought into
old Vincennes, where he laughed at
the courts and the people, and he was
tried and sentenced to be hanged in
the public square-by the neck until
he was dead.
y y . Q .
'Tom'' Mckinney did not believe
that he was to die until almost the
last moment. The word went out to
all the settlements that hang he must,
and the settlers made great prepare
lions to attend. His name had been
q terror to them, and now they would
be with him where they might laugh
at his terror and be secure from his
wrath. Down to ShaWneetown, over
to Albion. south to Mount Carmel, east
to the Muscakituk. travelled the mes.
sage:
There's to be a hanging at Vim.
cennes. Tom McKinney's goin' to
be strung up"
Forty miles west Of Vincennes, old
man Mckinney, father of 'Tom," re
ceived the news that his boy had final
ly been convicted Of murder and must
suffer the extreme penalty Of the law
The old man raj blowing in the fields
with his oxen when he learned Of this
BE held the beasts In the furrow fO1
an instant while he listened, and tAeI
without a comment said:
sect up, Buck"
he had no particular reason to fee
Ca 'sTqouaa The boy had bran wtlt
F
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

ecution. That was all he wished to
do.
Over in Vincennes no n expected
any member of the Mckinney family
to be present. The people were poor,
far removed, and "Tom" had chosen
his own way. The scaffold rose in
the square. unprotected by barricade.
The night before the hanging the OK
teams from the settlement began to
come In. The wagons rel ranged
about the scaffold, and there the cat
tie fed, while the men fingered in the
taverns, drinki3 and smoking and
listening to many a tale of what Nc
Kinney had been when he was free.
Women came with their husbands and
little children, and the one topic Of
conversation was the coming death.
"Ill bet" said one, Toms wishing
now he had his mare, a gun and an
open road"
"Gosh, no." said another. "He's
playing pitch and wishing his jig was
done. He amt no coward, Tom
amt"
The morning came and the stirring
| Of the town. The cattle were fed In
the shadow Of the scaffold, while the
| Sheriff joked with his prisoner and
| told him he would make things as
| easy as possible. By 10 o'clock the
crowd was thronging the square and
jostling up to the edge Of the scafold,
fixing many a curious eye on the
dangling rope.
On the west bank of the Wabash
appeared a dusty, foot-sore OK team
that slowly made it's way across by
ferry and then numbered up the street
to the scafold. A grim-faced old mar
sat on the wagon seat, and a rife Lay
across his knees. Some in the crowd
knew him. They called out:
tits Toms father"
The people made way for the old
man and oxen to draw near to the
scadold, but MsKiunsy did not stoS
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

There are 100000 people in the
United States. One-half Of them are
Old enough to dream. Say they dream
900 nights In the year. then we shall
have 5000, 100000 dreams yearly to be
accounted for. Out Of that number a
few score are reported to the Society
Tor Physical Research, as seeming to
have some relation to events that fol.
low. The wonder is not that so many.
but that so few, dreams cross the track
OF actual occurrences in such a way az
90 suggest a connection between them,
observes the Christian Register.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
STAMPS Favored TO SUIT.
A Druggists New Way of Pleasing His
Customers.

A Druggists New Way of Pleasing His
Customers.
When q druggist tells about the I'M
pleasant features Of his business ne
never fails to mention the stamp GUS
toners, They ask to be waited upon
at times when there Is more prohtaDle
business in sight. and many Of them
demand more attention and lake up
more Of the druggists time than peo-
Die who come to buy fancy articles or
to have prescriptions compounded
The stamp customer is looked upon as
q nuisance until the rival drug store
! becomes a ~sub-station of the postoHce.
Then the druggist begins to realize
that the person who buys a stamp
may want a piece Of soap or a tooth
brush, or a bottle Of something on
which there is a druggists modest
profit. Then he often puts assign in
his window by which his neighbors
NAV see that he carries a full line OF
postage stamps and postal cards, that
his directory is always at the service
/ of the public, and that incidentally he
compounds prescriptions carefully.
One enterprising druggist in the up
Der part of the city has introduced q
novel feature in his postage stamp
business. He keeps the stamps in
compartments which have been fla
vored in various ways, and when a
customer asks for a stamp he inquiries,
what favor will you have; lemon,
vanilla. wintergreen or peppermint?
The customer usually looks mystiied,
but soon discovers that the stamps are
really favored, and the druggist thinks
he has hit upon a way to retain his
stamp business.-New York Tribune.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

there. He kept on until he was Oh
rectly under the structure, ana uleie
he sat looking toward the Ja1I' Ihen
the doors opened and "Tom" came OUT
tall. rugged, handsome, fearless. hls
throat was bare, his arms bound. lie
held his head high among his eualus'
and laughed at the peoples faces. 4he
eyes Of father and son net
"Hov, pa" said "Tom."
GLOW. "Tom,'" said the old man
d d o
Standing under the moose. having
one moment Of life left, "Ioln" MIC
Kinney began to sing:
"When shall I see Jesus,
And reign with Him above:"
The old mans voice, dry with dust
broke in:
"Mighty soon, Tom,' If ever"
A second of silence and the drop
fell. McKinney's body shooting down
almost In front Of his fathers face
The old man sat there lingering his
rifle and looking at the doctors crowd
ing about. They, too, noticed his ner'
vous shifting Of his weapon. When
they pronounced "Tom" dead, they
drew back. The Sheriff cut the body
down and 1t fell in the dust Old man
Mckinney was off the wagon instant
". and had lifted his dead son high
in the air and stretched him out In
the wagon. Then holding his rifle
againaH9d looking toward the doctors
tine had counted on having the body,
he said:
"This is my meat. Get up, Buck"
And across the Wabash passed father
and son to be seen no more.-H. 1.
Cleveland. in the Chicago Record-Her-
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

The atumpAge Of the old pine for
ests in Minnesota, Michigan and Wis.
consin is now selling at S. and 50 per
1000 feet, the price at which the best
lumber was once selling in the indus.
Try when stumpage was only worth
nifty cents per 1000 feet. These three
States have been nearly cleared Of the
pine timber, which almost covered
them at one time. Nothing is practt.
eaIly left except the stumpage, and
that will loon disappear. Neither State
made any provision for reforestation.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
A Fatal Meal.

a E0G&A MEAL
"Saw a curious, ching in California
last winter" said the man who trav-
els about. 81 had stopped for a mo-
ment to chat with a man who was
blowing, when he called my attention
to a large centipede that he had just
plowed up.
"'Come along with me q few feet,
said he, and let's e what those crows
will do when they find it.
"There were several large carrion
crows that had been following the
farmer and picking up the insectl
that We're turned up, and they were
now a few feet away, waiting for the
Dlow to start again.
"We went on a few feet and the
crows, followed. One big, black fellow
soon saw the centipede and swallowed
him at one gulp. Then, in the ex'
-pressive slang Of the day, there was
something doing in the neighborhood
Of that crow. With a cav Of despair
| he mounted into the air for perhaps
100 feet, then fell heels over head I'm
| til he was a few feet from the ground
| Then he managed to catch himself and
few upward again and away for the
hills, cawfng wildly. He had not gone
more than 300 feet, when he lost al
| control Of himself, and fell like a shot
to the ground. We went over to where
he had fallen, and found him on hi
back with his feet in the air, stone
dead.
"In a way I know how that CROW
felt when he awoke to the situation
I hadn't forgotten my first spoonful
Of tobasco sauce that a joking friend
once talked me into sBalloWing,"-De
! trett EC0e Pyeaas
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

When Benjamin Franklin pro
posed the scheme of starting a news
paper, his friends dissuaded him, say
ing there was already one paper pub
lished in Boston, and that the countrJ
would not support another. Today
there are 20.879 publications Of which
215S are dailies, 1887 are weeklies
2791 are monthlies, and ITS quarter
lies. Canada has a total of $50 pub
M~cations.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
Town Residences For Sale

In a desirable neighborhood in Ope-
lousas, with an entire square 'of land.
we'll shaded with live oaks, magnolias,
cedars, pecans, etc., about 8 squares
from the Courthouse, 5 squares from
High School, 2 squares from Catholic
Church and convent. House is two
story, brick basement, 8 rooms, four
frpplaces, out-buildings, etc., all IN
der good fence. Will be sold cheap for
cash, or part cash and balance on tine
10 suiA Apply as this ofase. #
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

The value Of q newspaper as an
advertising medium consists I'm
It's circulation.
When you can secure the com.
bined circulation Of two papers
for the price Of enc, it is neney
savedl
"GErhe st. Landry Democrat"
was consolidated on the Sd Of
March, 1894, with " The Opelou.
Gas Courier" The advertising,
rates have not been increased
while tho price of subscription
has been reduced to 81 O year.
THE COURIER being by odds
the best paper In the empire Par.
gsh Of St. Landry 10 therefore thu.
ahaaRsass.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

Santos Dumont distributed his flying
machine prize money among the poor
Sf Paris. This is the first time on rec
srd that a flying machine has devel.
pped any practical advantages.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

Speaking of tunnels. the n which
% to be put through the Sierra Nevada
Mountains will be the largest n in
the United States. 1t will be $1,000
Ieet long, and Is estimated to cost
rom So, 100000 to $4,000, DOC.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
Didn't Know q Good Thing.

"I put In three weeks this summer
in Northern Michigan near a small
lake." said q Woodland avenue mer-
chant, "and I never saw such fishing
in all my life. I simply pulled them
out until ! was tired Of the sport. There
was a summer house there, but 1t was
closed, and I was told that the owner,
who was also the owner OF the lake,
lived in Boston. When I was East
this fall I happened to run across him
and told him about my fishing.
"'Indeed, but you surprise me- he
said, when I told him Of the hve-pound
pickerel and bass.
"'But you must have known there
was good fishing I replied.
"sI never even suspected it.
"'When did you begin to summer up
there?'
"'Why, about fifteen years ago.
".And you never fished?
"sNever. So they bit freely?
"sThey surely did,
":And you caught 'em by the barrel,
almost?'
".Almost. I believe I could have
filed O. barrel any day. There was also
fairly good hunting in the woods. I
never saw so many squirrels and rab-
bits
"'Good hunting? Dear me, I never
dreamed Of such q thing
"T beg your pardon I said, but Ii
you didn't hunt or fish, how did you
pass your time up there?'
"'Pass my timer he replied in an
absent way. oh, yes. Why. I think
I always sat on the veranda and
looked out over the lake and wished 1t
was frozen over, so 1 could go skat'
ing. '"-Detroit Free Press.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

Greater guns will not make war
impossible. Wai was to be made i'm
possible when spears and roy gave
way to firearms; but there has been
more or less killing right along, just
Ihn Same
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

There are in the United States 5000
lighthouses on the Atlantic. Pacific.
Gulf Of Mexico and the lakes, exclu-
i've Of beacons, whistling buoys, and
log signals operated either by steam
1r clockwork.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

Who Goes mot fad A@
v9E-tAastsag profitable
Am hieu ebsaaai I'M &sassse 0KeG DIR
6W@1m9 8S I'D I'M " u y 81 q
able.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
oPRLoUSAs. LoU1srANA.

Never look a gift automobile-but au"
somobiles still cost far too much to
sall for the formulation of any adages
Rpon this head, muses. Puck.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
ACADEMY
OF 9Em-
IMMACULATE : CONCEPTION

OPELOCaAB, La.
WnAss the Direction Of tAs Sisters Aazss
Of Holy Gross.
Offers TO yoang ladies every ss'laI
for acquiring o thorough ohrissssa \ !
uoation. Constant attention 10 pas
home and social culture. Lessons i
given in music, painting and esa-|
useful arts. The sistsra also saN|
charge Of the boys school. The o0ass
.: instruction 10 wo-fold-Pssps,a'%
and Commercial. Frsneh 10 sauga' !
the two courses. For particulars; ss'
dress SISTER SuPESi0~ :
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08
FOR SALE.

A house and lot in the town OF
Washington, La, in the square bound.
ed by Carriere, Wilkins, Ewes and
Dupre. Frame building made Of
choice cypress, ceiled inside, weather.
boarded outside, 20x3O feet. Will be
sold cheap for cash, OF part ossh and
balance on time to suit. For particu.
lars apply at the Courier Office, Ope-
lousas, La. Il
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

Opelousas Courier
Zs the advocate Of Democratic
principles and the friend Of the
people.
Their welfare ID Ito welfare, and
It will ever be found defending
their rights with all Of ia
ability.
The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-08

It is stated that 39,S72 persons
shed at the hands of homiciu'' =.
United States during the ~"
ending with 1900.
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-22

The
story
|TeAlo
MargGref'S Masquerade

&c Ay, little girl, does your mother want
- to hire a girl?" I heard some one
say in high, shrll voice as entered the
yard. I turned and saw two women
standing in the road. I told them that I
didn't know, but would go and see.
They followed me until I reached the
porch, and then one of them said, oval,
shall we come in?' They were the worst
looking old things you ever saw One
of them had lost two Of her front teeth,
and they had on the worst old clothes
Imaginable. Apparently the older one was
Eery round shouldered. She wore little
black bonnet on one side of her head and
it wabhled every time she moved. All
that held it was a black veil that came
Just across her nose and eyes, not reach
ing to her forehead or to her chin. The
other one was very fat but had bonnet
that stayed on the top of her head and a
veil that covered her face If you have
any idea of what they looked like from
my description, you will not wonder that
/ was not very cordial to them, and NUT
tered between my teeth, II suppose you
can, if You want to-"
But they didn't. They sat down on the
porch steps and waited while went into
the house and calico to mama. AS she
passed ME / told her what they. wanted,
and added, But you don't want her;
she's freak"
Mama sat down on the steps and talked
to them. She admitted afterwards that
she was afraid to ask them into the house.
She told them that she didn't believe she
wanted girl; that she had been doing
her own work for while and that she
thought she would keep on with it. We
really wanted one very much. One of
them gave an awful sigh when mama had
finished, and then she giggled. -.
Margaret Roberts, mama exclaimed,
and then she looked scared, for she wasn't
sure then that it was Margaret But
4. then Margaret laughed out loud, and I,
who had been listening to the converse
ton from the front hall. rushed out and
pretty nearly shook her off the porch. In
deed, didn't stop until mama spoke to
me. She was afraid l would hurt her
To think that Margaret would try to play
such trick on me. Margaret was my
chum. Mama looked relieved and told
them that she had been wondering whether
they had come from the poorhouse or had
escaped from a lunatic asylum We did
not yet know who the other girl was, and
the mystery Of the missing teeth was
still unexplained. But Margaret intro
duced her as friend from down town,
and to our exclamation about the teeth
explained that she had covered them with
court plaster, which, by the way, fell off
from one while. she was talking to us. q.
After we had nearly laughed ourselves
sick, we sent them on to one of our neigh
bers, for we didn't want to be the only
ones sold. Florence c. Cowles,
"A 9th Grade, 2618 W seth st.
East High School,
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-22
sMOKELEss POWDER.

American smokeless powder rivals all
others. In a recent trial test of this pow
der, which had been stored for two years,
the ballistic qualities showed no signs of
the chemical changes which have some
times occurred in this powder. Smoke1ess
powder is now taking the place of the
black, slow-burning powder, which is
likely to be used in the future only for
saluting purposes, and in the sunrise and
sunset guns. The navy is being literally
supplied for the magazines Of all ships
by the new factory at Indian Head, and
that at Newport with large quantities
received from private concerns.
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-22
AN ENGLISH FAD OF 1901.

An extract from the London Times q
1901 gives an interesting sidelight on tho
fads Of our great grandfathers. cit ID
now the high fashion to run, or at least
to trot, through the streets at the rate Of
six miles an hour. A running walk To
absolutely necessary to any young man
who has the least conception to tone. You
must lounge in hurry and saunter with
expedition 1t is an old proverb the more
haste the worse speed but Bond street
daily shows US the more hurry the less
to do When we see our idle youths rid
ing race horses, walking for wages OF
boxing for fame, we must agree with Hor-
ace that 'strenua nos eXercet inertia.
This must have been the most passing Of
the fads, and the reason is easy to find,
for it was only a few years later that tho
dangerous dandy of the Brunmel type
was the only acceptable one.
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-22
THE "coRNcRAcKER STATE

Kentucky is known as the "corncracker
state, from game bird enjoying the
same name which was formerly found in
great abundance in most parts OF the
state. 1t is also called the bluegrass
state from the belt Of land running
through the center in which this variety
of grass grows to great perfection. In the
early days of our history it was known as
the dark. and bloody ground being so
termed by the Indians. 1t was then de-
batable land between the Indians living
north Of the Ohio and those living in
the mountains of Tennessee and Georgia,
a sort of battle ground for these tribes,
which fact gave it the name long before
It was settled by the whites.