davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
a RnttIesnase story.

In Life and Sport on the Pacific
Coast" Horace \. Nachell relates one
of his narrow escapes from a friends
bullet my cousin and | had been
camping and hunting for several days
In sort Of paradise valley. one day,
during a long ride on horseback, we
had seen a great many rattlesnakes
and killed few, an exceptional ex-
perioncc. That night my cousin woke
up and saw, by tho light Of the moon. a
big rattler crawling across my chest.
He lay for moment fascinated, hor-
ror struck. watching the snuous curves
of the reptile.
Then he quietly reached for his six
shooter. but hc could not see the rep
tiles head. and ne moved nearer noise
lessly yet quickly. dreading some
movement on my part thar should pre-
cipitate the very thing he dreaded. and
then he saw that Il was not a snake at
all-only the black and yellow stripe OF
my blanket which gently rose and fell
as | breathed. Had he fred-well, it
might have been bad for me, for he
confessed that his hand shook"
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
NATURAL HISTORY.

The pouch Of a pelican IS large
enough to contain seven quarts Of wa
ter.
For mountain climbing camels are
very inefficient and seldom used in
Abyssinia and other mountainous coun-
tries.
Sparrows begin housekeeping very
expeditiously. A pair Of them will
build nest and furnish it with an egg
inside of "a hours from the time when
the site was selected.
The female red grouse is said TO vary
It's dress according 10 surroundings. Ii
Is fact worth remembering that the
red grouse occurs in no other part OF
the world but the British isles.
No one has been able to give a salts
factory reason for the formation adopt
ed by the wild duck or maIlard in
flight The birds arrange themselves
In two converging lines. like huge V,
The leader occupying the point.
The ostrich is a descendant of
genus of bird which in prehistoric times
attained an enormous size In the al
iuvial deposits OF Madagascar evidence
has recently been found to show that
ostriches II and 10 feet in height once
lived on the island
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
The Life Line In Ones Hand.

There are three prominent lines in
the palm-the line OF life, that of the
bead and the heart line
The line OF life begins on the inner
boundary Of the palm. about midway
between the thumb and the forefinger.
lf we imagine the left hand to be a
map with the fingers pointing north.
this line runs toward the southeast,
then curves toward the south and In
some hands curves finally toward the
southwest Ii thus skirts the base or
"uprise" Of the thumb. known as the
uprise OF Venus. II ii is deep. broad.
of good color and extends nearly or
quite TO the wrist and If the rest OF the
hand indicates vitality and cheerful
less. the subject may be expected to live
to green old age; he has good dispo-
dtion and the qualities which good
health and good temper usually create.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
WHY She Wanted ,o Kpov

els this Hazel street, asked young
woman In one OF the back seats OF an
East Tenth street car who was carry
ing a dlminutive poodle dog under her
arm.
''No. madam" said the conductor. IL
will tell you when we come to IT."
Later on she repeated the question.
and the conductor answered with some
show OF Impotence. Finally when
Hazel street was reached. he rang. and
the car came TO a stop This is Hazel
street" said the conductor
"Oh. don't want to get OF at that
street. only wanted TO know where
IL was. go TO the end OF the line"
Then as the car started again she
looked down at the pug and said In
tones OF extreme affection. There,
dearle. there's where your muddy
lives. indianapolis News.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
How to Button n Coat.

The art of properly buttoning a coat
any COATS. do it the other way.
That is to say that nine out Of every
ten OF us button our coats the wrong
way. We commence with the topmost
button when we should commence with
the bottommost.
The frailest portion Of a coat, in re-
spect to shape retaining qualities-no
matter how we'll made-is the region Of
collar and lapels. The swagger mer-
chant tailor always cautions his Gus
toner to wear 1t buttoned few days
so that the collar may set properly"
Then. this admitted, 1t follows that
tugs and strains affecting this part Of
the garment tend to destroy its SYM
metry. Drawing the coat together by
the top button and buttonhole for the
purpose Of fastening exerts a pull all
around the shoulders and neck region,
which. by repetition, in time will give
the smartest coat hang dog appear
ance.-Chat.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02

One OF the queerest little pets ever
seen is the tame ant belonging 10 well
known scientist. This man keeps tribes
OF ants in nests which he has made
himself and feeds them with honey or
sugar through tube that connects
with the nests. One day he saw that
one of the ants kept coming into the
tube TO eat UP the honey In the glass
bulb at the end. When re took out the
cork thar closed the bulb, the insect
came To look for the food, and he offer
ed IL some honey on the point OF a
needle. says the New York Tribune.
The ant shrank back at first, then
drew nearer, feeling about with its an
tennn. until II reached the needle.
Soon II learned TO take the honey of
its keepers finger, although ants are
among the most timid Of living things.
and new odor or the least movement
outside their nests usually drives these
little insects away.
This ant is now so tame that Ii quits
the bulb as soon as the cork is removed
and goes To find the honey on the sci
entist's finger. When its meal is over,
1t does not try 10 hurry away, but
waits till its master lifts il on bristle
and carries Ii back TO its nest.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Negro SuperstitIOn.

Many OF the negro superstitions In
Kentucky are quite interesting. An
old philosopher told me with great
gravity: IF you want peppahs to grow.
you must git mad. My old oman an
me had a spat. an | went right out
an planted my peppahs, an they come
right up" Still another saying Is that
peppers to prosper must be planted
by a redheaded or by high tempered
person.
The negro also says that one never
sees jaybird on Friday. for the bird
visits his satanic majesty to pack kin
ding" on that day. The three signs
In which negroes place implicit trust
are the well known ones OF the ground
hogs appearing above ground on the
I'd OF February, that hoe must not be
carried through house or death will
follow and that potatoes must be plant
ed In the dark OF the moon as well as
all vegetables that ripen in the ground
and that corn must be planted In the
light OF the moon.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02

r. l.. Stevenson, writing in 1898 to
George Meredith. in an epistle quoted
ia new edition of his Letters" says.
with heart touching pathos:
''For IA years have not had days
real health. ! have Weakened sick and
gpe TO bed weary. and have done my
wsrk untlinchingly | have written in
bd and written out Of it. written in
hehorrhages. written in sickness, writ
teH torn by coughing. written when my
head swan for weakness. and for so
long. ii seems to me, | have won my
wager and recovered my glove. / am
better now-have been, rightly speak
Ing. since first | came to the Pacific
and still few are the days when | am
not some physical distress. And the
battle goes on-ill or well is a trihe so
a " IL goes. was made for contest,
al 4 the powers have so willed that my
battlefield should be this dingy. lnglori-
Odt one OF the bed and the physlc bot
It'd At least. | have not failed. but ]
winld have preferred place Of trum-
pdtngs and the open air over my
nak"
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
When Everything sticks.

'In muggy weather." said the retired
burglar. II always used TO stop work
not because work was unpleasant then,
but on account Of everything sticking
80.
"You couldn't tell what might hap
pen. Anything and everything was La
BILE 10 stick and make more or less
noise when you finally got 1t open. A
window might stick at first and then
go up with a bang. I've had door
open on me that way-hy open all OF a
sudden after I'd been pushing on IL a
long time and let me through the door
way on 10 the floor. There's always
danger, for instance. In pulling out a
drawer that sticks OF pulling II clean
out and letting IL drop.
There's constant danger OF some
thing OF this sort happening. and 1t
doesn't pay to take the chances. And
it's easy enough to know when to stay
home. My rule was never to try to do
any work In weather that would rust a
Jimmy New York Sun.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
insect. Become Intoxicated.

Intoxication from the nectar and pol
len Of plants has been a subject OF IN
vestigation by DR.. J. NJ. Weir, Jr This
affects insects, and ii appears that the
cosmos flower is specially potent as a
source OF drunkenness In bees and 9th
er nectar loving creatures. A bee so
drunk that II could scarcely get upon
It's legs was taken to the laboratory
and paced about two inches from a
cosmos blossom. IL Immediately stag
gered 10 the flower and began to suck
the nectar and In a few moments tum-
bled over, a senseless and almost inert
victim OF appetite. Drunken beetles
found under the blossoms prove that
the pollen must have the same effect
as the hectares.
The eXperimenter swallowed half
teaspoonful OF the pollen and in about
Is minutes experienced feeling OF ex-
hilaration, with acceleration Of the
pulse and warmth. An injection into
the arm OF half dram Of liquid dis
TILED from an infusion Of the hectares
caused exhilaration for half an hour.
followed by nausea.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Lord southey's GuiIIotine.

The most eccentric action Of an eccen-
tric man was Lord Southey's cool ar
rangement for suicide by means OF
guillotine He had magnificent one
erected in the drawing room Of his
house In the Rue du Luxembourg at
Paris. The machine was Of ebony In
laid with gold and silver, the frame
work carved with artistic skill, the
knife, sharp as a razor, was OF polished
and ornamented steel Preparing for
death. his lordship had his hair cut
close. and, clothed in robe Of white
silk. he kneeled upon the platform
under the knife before mirror and
pressed the spring which should release
the knife. But the spring failed to
work, and the would be suicide decided
TO give the guillotIne TO a museum In
stead Of making a second attempt to
end his life. 1t is said that he made
an annual pilgrimage to see the guillo-
tine until the end OF his life.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02

Humor has been credited with the
saving OF many things, but perhaps
never before has a ship been saved by
its judicious application. In a great
storm many years ago a ships crew
were all at prayers. when boy burst
into a fit OF violent laughter. Being re-
proyed for his iii timed mirth and asked
the reason for il. he said. why, | was
laughing to think what kissing the
boatswain's red nose viii make when II
zones I'm contact with the water" This
ludicrous remark set the crew laugh
ing. inspired them with new spirits,
and by great ctei1ion they brought
the vessel safely INTO port Liverpool
Post
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
From an I'D to Date Novel.

She came into the room where be
sat alone with a glittering knife in
her clinched hand amid the folds OF
her dress.
Her face was white and drawn. and
her eyes were wild and haggard look
ing.
He, the man whose name she bore.
sat by the fire deep In thought and
never heard the slippered football OF
the beautiful woman who now stood
behind his chair with a strange, cold
smile upon her lips.
Suddenly, with a gasp. she cast the
knife from her toward the glowing
Goals. but IL sank silently into a sofa
at the other side OF the room.
IL cannotw she moaned YEARLY. 81
cannot"
And she fell in a white heap upon the
floor a his feet
a plying. tender expression broke
across the Gothic granite OF his cheek.
and he murmured In deep tender.
heavy Dragon tones:
What is IT, my darlingY'
But she spoke no word. only raised
one white hand toward him i'm which
was clasped lead pencil.
She had been trying to sharpen IL
poor girl!-Pearson's Weekly.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Made Good Matches.

Sbe-I can't make out how 1t Is that
Mrs. Wise has fish for nearly every
meal Ii can't be for economy's sake.
for she must be fairly well off.
He-She has large family of I'M
married daughters, you know.
She-Now, don't be nasty and say
something about girls and their brains
That's so old.
He-Oh. no, hadn't the slightest in
tention OF doing so!
She-Well, can't you tell me?
He-I don't know, I'm sure. unless
It's because fish are rich in phosphorus.
She-I don't see what that has TO do
with Ii.
He-Perhaps not, but still it's good
Tor making matches.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Scotch Thrift.

The city council Of Auckland placed a
price on the head Of every rat In the
city. and a grocer's boy became per
feet Nimrod and slew about 30. At the
risk of contracting the plague he car
ried his dead along, obtained the scalp
money and came back jubilant to his
master and told him how much he had
made. The master cast upon him an
eye of Aberdeen gray. and then re-
marked quietly. "Weel. weel, ven just
pay the money to our cashier. for We
ken the rats Is mine. not yours."-Syd-
ney Bulletin.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
pro,...or On Rowing.

A story is told about a well known
Oxford don who knew more about the
travels OF Ulysses than about the boat
be sailed in lie went down to the
river one day to watch the eight prac-
ticing. He gazed for awhile in silence.
yes" he said at last, they look very
nice-very nice indeed. / may say-but
how extremely awkward IL must be for
them TO learn 10 row backward.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Lawyer,. Opinion 9th, .onrt

III
Tie lawyers inalienable and inesti-
ma He privilege OF "cursing the court
VII the decision has gone against
hin is marred. as most lawyers realize.
by Pc fact that the "cursing' must be
don In private. This animadversion.
ho7fver, sometimes takes the form OF
comhunlcation Of the lawyers opinion
TO Pc publisher OF the law reports.
Paff Of some Of these communica-
tom have been printed recently by a
law publishing firm.
on lawyer wrote. 1.-THE case is a le-
gal iriosity and seems to have been
decigtd by main force"
Arther, beaten In a highway case.
wroul OF the court, They do not know
a midway even when they stumble
over /"
Ant Per requests the publisher 10
chasIP the court, stating that lit will
be oIgreat benefit to the profession
that Is case be thoroughly aired and
the ~ pacy and danger Of 1t I'm it's far
reach z results exposed"
AD7her very prominent lawyer"
wrote r'rhe opinion OF our court is a
schod 10Y blunder. deserving OF moth
ing by \scathing rebuke. and a review
OF II siNuld run I'm that line" Most
seductive Or all the suggestions was The
statement. II should be very willing to
pay Tor such a criticism OF the decision
as hereinabove Indicated 10y me"
This comments the publisher. Ere
calls The Quaker chasing his hat in the
wind and who hired an archln TO curse
it"-New York Sun.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
NobIesse ObIIce.

what are you staring at. NellieY
"Oh. please. ma'am. with your hair
like that and your diamonds you do
look so like Lady Plantagenet Cling
ham that ] was own maid to! Are you
any relation. ma'amY
"No-at least no near relation. But
you can have that pink silk shirt waist
OF mine. Nellle."-Life.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
CRYING and Grooming.

According to French physician
crying and grooming in pain are ma
lures own methods of subduing tie
keenness Of physical suffering. he
thinks that men should freely relieve
their sufferings in this way and that
crying in children should not be re-
pressed. as in doing so serious conse-
ouences may be engendered.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
PRICES FOR ANIMALS.
sized Fortune Needed 20
Buy a Giraffe.

p N|.| hus N
|t aufe OF the difficulty OF getting 4
p9tica and OF keeping IL alive aft
~ Drives good giraffe is quoted a
txt 10 the giraffe I'm the arlstocracy
cpSt come the rhinoceros and thu
ppotamus, worth from $4,000 Il
- each. IL dealer could breed
20 animals. he could get rich, but
big mammals rarely breed in cap
H.~About the only place in America
tre hippopotami have been known
taise their young is in the menag
~ Central park. New York.
A chimpanzee OF size is worth $4,000
and when one reaches the intelligence
OF the late Mr.. Crowley, Chico or 10.
hanna be is beyond a fixed price. The
monlsey kind are most uncertain prom.
ertys The animal man says they are
certain TO die. But the ordinary ones
can be bought very cheaply.
One can buy nice young baby ele.
plant for $1,000 at times. but a really
good animal is worth from 81 800 10
$1,000 An elephant does not command
the maximum price because OF the
beauty Of his countenance, the ele.
gance Of his figure. his intellectual en-.
dowments or his size, but because Of
a sweet. sunny disposition. 4 mean
elephant is about the most evil OF liy.
Ing things. Sooner or later he has Il
be killed. usually after he has slain
two or three keepers and done mora
damage than he is worth OF two AMI.
mails OF equally good disposition the
larger and finer commands the higher
price. or course, but the most magnifi-
cent beast with an inclination for mu-.
der isn't worth as much as "A very COM
mon one that is trustworthy-that is,
ordinarily so. for the sweetest tenn
pered have days when they seem in
spired OF satan.-Junior Munsey.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
The Dictionary.

II you want to be really interested.
read the dictionary. 1t will tell you
how very badly other people spell our
language and. incidentally. what tiny
cupful of words we each dip up out nf
its ocean.-Mlnneapolis Timea
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02
Colonies ss Kingdoms.

Queen Elizabeth was commonly spo-
ken OF az queen of Virginia. Virginia
and Carolina were kingdoms under the
Stuarts Massachusetts was recognized
rs sister kingdom" by Cromwell's
z--s.ss- ".-..;--..,,.-..s.--= C=.=-s.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02

Lycurgus being asked why, In bis
laws. he had set down no-punishment
for Ingratitude. answered. II have left
II to the gods to punish"
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1902-05-02

Probably every child cherishes II
ngiinst his parents that they once gave
bill a calf. and kept the money when
TIL \ sold it.-Atchison Globe.
The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-04-17

ling it with molasses; he didn't seem to
know the difference. After that he ate
quarter of bale of hay day and 9U
pounds of sweet potatoes. That with the
salt composed his diet.
Il have tried for many years, said the
Captain, ito get gibbon through 10
America, but / have never been able to
keep one alive until the end of the voyage
Monkeys are the most sensitive and dell
cate of the wild animals. In the first
place. they become homesick. That takes
away their appetite. Then they are very
susceptible to colds, and the first thing
you know the monkey has pneumonia. Al
though monkeys will eat almost anything
the food which they receive in captivity
often dsagrees with them, and they nave
dysentery. In fact, The monkeys seem 10
have all the Affections of human beings.
The two gibbons and an Orang- outanS with
which | started on my last trip died after
we had been out about three weeks The
orangS are getting more valuable all the
time They are becoming more scarce and
the demand is increasing, because new
geological gardens are being opened. My
animals were always fed once every day,
and | always visited them to see that they
were getting along. One meal 4 day is
enough for them in captivity"
A difficult thing to adjust for animals on
an ocean voyage is the matter of tempera-
ture. The rhinoceros who came over on
the "Afridi'' had a special room built for
him and heated with stove. During
part of the voyage the animals which were
accustomed to cold weather, like the
Japanese bear. the fox. and red-faced cold
weather monkeys, who live in the snow
The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-04-17
GEORGE WASHINGTON

One might almost call Cecil Rhodes a
splendid pagan, for he derived his intellec-
tual stimulus entirely from Plato, Homer,
Tacitus, Horace and Pliny. AS for religion
he told w. T. Stead that he believed in
it fifty per cent" much as one would
speak of questionable investment.
His achievement was to set foot upon
dark continent penniless and sickly, to
make a fortune, to conquer the black man,
to build railroads and telegraph lines, and
to finally secure for his mother country a
new empire-all in a score of years. Dur
ing that time the man who watched, feared
and, up TO death, thwarted him is the aged
burgher who still lives that he may regain
liberty for his people.
The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-04-17
CECIL RHODES.
Sketch of the Late Empire Maker.
BY ALLEN SANGREE, OF RHoDEsIA.
Golfers Weekly.)

III
d.. -. a.. -, 80,
mart roarod r. m'.,u rar,, Ian I'm IT,, aI
-, =; IN 90 ri, MN 81
49, ~ a"t VI MN. inousn an NV anu al
ai' perSolan.y was 80 o'crpo"er'ps tnat
KING OF an emperor as wei as the
apolIeiie vi pioneer; uhcohSclousiy bo"eu
" ms presence. me ilehtaiity was Sc
coi9eaai tiiat II aIected the siliest mortal
anu ho one tiioushI oi engaging us OWNER
Win ~ sut IN ppPuiar INQUIRIES , as 10" are
!ou :Uoh lhe ram OF 10 you
'niIN NJ ~ Tii ne d pau w inter =,
pl IN Ensiihu man! persons Regarded Cecll
i.lloues as nero; IN other countries ne
vas aoilttiiiieS euloSlZeu Dut more OFTEN
CONTAMINATION as the very apogee OF VII
ANY
DO unusual was oecll Rhodess concep-
non OF the duties or rich man that an
American lnultl-iniill0nalre could scarcely
uluefslahd IT, ana IL would nave been IN
terestiiig 10 nave heard Rhodess comment
on on the recent lament OF Mr. Andrew
carnegie, VINO assured us that money is
pore ana tnat he himself IS IN n nasty
phght TO senslbly dispose of his capital.
Cecil rhodes, on the contrary, would
giadiy nave accepted million per day,
put he would not have spent 1t on libraries.
Employ humanity" he argued, land, at
the same time, civilize. Build n railroad
rL; M " =" i"NnH0 SNoPs III
China. There Is an immense population,
whole continents living in medieval or bar
barre surroundings. Have mt them! Make
the anglo-Saxon race predominant from
SpltZbergen to Cape Horn and around the
globe"
He said he recognized the power of the
press-which was undoubtedly true, as he
had subsidized prominent daily to boom
Rhodesia-but made it a point not to af-
| firm what he was going to do. He pre-
ferred to accomplish and then tell about
| it. lie remarked to myself and n colleague
that the Jameson Raid had set the Eng.
| lish in Africa back 20 years unless some
! important move was made" The import
The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-04-17
Story Told by John Rockefeller.

John D. Rockefeller recently told the fol-
lowing story:
II don't question the veracity of that
story, but 1 am going to tell you one that
know to be true. 1t happened down in
Washington. A negro was driving a
wagon and in going through a street ran
against funeral. With the superstition
of his race he thought it would be bad
luck to cross behind the funeral, so he
tried to cross ahead of it, but the driver
of the hearse whipped up his horse, and
the two went neck and neck for a time I'M
til finally the darby sang out:
Say, dab, pull up yOuah boss, Nah
boss is in hurry an yuah'n isn'tr