davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
THE BIG GAME OF THE WEST.

our big game ought to be preserved. On
the former subject he says:
"As regards the nomenclature, we
share the trouble encountered by all
peoples Of European descent who have
gone into strange lands. The incomers
are almost invariably men who are not
accustomed to scientific precision of ex-
preston. Like other people, they do
not like to invent names If they can by
any possibility make use of those al
ready In existence, and so in a large
number Of cases they call the new birds
and animals by names applied to en-
tirely different birds and animals of the
Old World. to which. in the eyes of the
settlers, they bear some resemblance
In South America the Spaniards, for in
stance, christened lion and tiger the
great cats which are properly known as
cougar and jaguar. In South Africa the
Dutch settlers, who came from a land
where all big game had long been ex
terminated, gave fairly grotesque names
to the great antelopes, calling them af-
ter the European elk, stag and chamois.
The French did bu: little better in Can
ada. Even in Ceylon the English. al
though belonging for the most part to
the educated classes, did no better than
the ordinary pioneer settlers, miscalling
the sambhur stag an elk, and the leop-
ard a cheetah. Our own pioneers be-
haved In the same way. Hence It is
that we have no distinctive name at all
for the group Of peculiarly American
birds of which the bob-white is the typi-
cal representative; and that, when We
could not use the words quail, partridge.
or pheasant, we went for our terminology
to the barnyard, and called our fna
grouse fool-hens, sage-hens, and prai-
rie chickens. The bear and wolf our
people recognized at once. The bison
they called a buffalo, which was 10
worse than the way in which everyone
in Europe called the Old World bison
an aurochs.
'The American true elk and reindeer
were rechristened moose and caribou
excellent names, by the way, derived
from the Indian. The huge stag was
called an elk. The extraordinary ante
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
THE MAKING OF THE WEST.

| 1.-The History of the Louisiana Pur-
chase" by James X. Hosmer, is book
which Will be of especial interest in
connection with the st. Louis Exposi-
tion. Mr.. Hosmer is first vice president
of the American Library Association.
and has already written short history
of the Mississippi Valley. His present
work is full of fascinating historical de-
tails, and will be valuable to anyone
gathering reference library. The per-
sonal element in this momcntous trans
action has been made much of, the book
being intended to appeal to popular
taste. without being superficial.
In the preface the author mentions
some of the sources of his material, and
among them is complete set of the
"Moniteur," the French official journal,
from its establishment In 1888 to the
present day. This file is in the possess
sion of the public library of Minneapolis,
and, of course. contains the daily record
Of events during the Revolution and the
First Empire.
The French point of view is taken
through great part Of the book, French
records and characters occupying the
attention. There are some interesting
| reflections in the first chapter on France
as a colonizing power. which are in part
as follows:
"Mr. Walter Frewen Lord points out
that the driving force in French COL
onization always has been the spirit of
adventure. Until the present day a
series of brilliant adventures can be
traced, vividly imaginative. intrepid, in
defatigable. often of great capacity;
types of the class are Champlaln, and
in our time Marchand of Fashoda. BY
such men everything possible to indi-
vidral prowess has been done repeat
| edly. The reason why results have been
SO meager and so often not permanent,
says the English critic. is that the ex-
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

movements of the butcher. Hence. when
heads OF the great slides and washes that
broke in ragged seams from the tur,-
bling hills. There. where the pine
sprung in lusty life from the chinks in
great layers of conglomerate that looked
as If they could support nothing, and
giant ferns choked the spaces between
the fallen trunks that could not lie save
for their erect brethren which held them
in place. the elk lay down to ruminate.
One would suppose this fine place to
slip upon him and take him at disad-
vantage. And SO 1t was, but not exactly
like Slipping upon an old COW under q
tree in the pasture.
In the first place, the eye becomes so
used to the big timber that after while
it begins to look much smaller than it
really is. But in the meantime you have
not had your eye fixed on elks' heads
so as to see how they dwindle on such
a landscape. On the contrary, they in
crease in size in proportion to the time
you spend without seeing one. So that
when you do see it you may not notice
the tips of pair of mere sticks that
like a thousand odd bits Of dead
branches. rise just little over the level
of the fallen logs. If you do, and recog.
nize the points by their sheen, you may
have an easy task, for the elk, with all
his care to keep man at a distance. IL
a great fool when he fails. When man
is near the elk is an idiot compared
with the deer and the antelope. About
all you have to do is to avoid his nose.
You need trouble yourself little about
those senses that make the deer so dill
cult to circumvent-sight and hearingt
Yet il he does see you and takes no.
ton to go, it may be but one plunge
into the dark depths and your hunt Is
over with that one"
The chapters dealing with the moose
and caribou are more strictly descrip-
tive. and illustrated with innumerable
pictures of the horns of these animals.
1t is not much to be wondered at that
they should have been SO recklessly
slaughtered for their heads. for moro
decorative things than moose and Carl
bou horns are hardly to be found in
nature. Altogether the book is most
interesting one from any point OF view.
(Ncw York: The Macmillan Company
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK.
Some Ancient History.

THE Gate of the Kiss" by John w
Biblical history, but not on essentially
religious lines. There is no especial
moral to the story, more than to the
usual historical romance; but King Hez,
ekiah, Isaiah the prophet, and Senna-
cherib, the Assyrian King, appear as
minor characters, and the scene is laid
partly in Jerusalem. The author has
evidently made a study of the customs
and ways of the period, and the plot
shows considerable originality and skill.
The only really serious fault In the
style is the authors habit of allowing
his characters to use idioms and phrases
which belong to a modern period and of
using the same sort of language himself.
To speak of political DEVELOPMENT in the
tribe of Judah as chauvinism is, while
not actually inaccurate decidedly objec-
tionable from the literary point of view.
because the author Of a historical novel
should strive TO make his reader forget
that there has been any history since
the days of which he writes. and to in
troduce French phrase into the discus
sion of ancient history causes the mind
to mix recent historical developments
with those far older. and destroys the
Illusion. When one of the characters
uses phrase OF yesterday. like my fool
heart the effect is still worse. 1t may
be that the Oriental idiom could be ac-
curately translated by this phrase. but
the effect on the readers mind and not
technical accuracy, Is the thing to be
considered in fiction. The slips of this
sort are simply innumerable. (Boston:
ID. iothrop {; Co..
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

Some Of the objections which were
n'aae N Congress both to the purchase
snd to the admission of the new ter
ritory are most amusing in the light of
To-Day Josiah Quincy, OF Massachu-
sets, made speech which Is espe-
c!ally curious. He said:
Suppose the population of the whole
world beyond the Mississippi were to he
brought in to form our laws. control our
rights. and decide our destiny. Can II
be pretended that the trainers of the
Constitution would have listened to it9
Ihey were not madmen. They had not
taken degrees at the hospital of idiocy
"hy, sir, have already heard of six
states, and some say there will be. at
no great distance of time, more. have
also heard that the mouth OF the Ohio
VIII be far to the east of the center OF
the contemplated empire. You have no
authority to throw the rights and liber-
ties and property of this people into a
hotch-potch Of the wild men on the Mis-
souri,, or with the mixed, though more
respectable, race of Anglo Hispano-
Gallo-Americans who bask on the sands
at the mouth Of the Mississippi. The
whole extent OF Louisiana is to be cut
up into Independent States to counter
balance and TO paralyze whatever there
is of influence in other quarters of the
Union"
Queer as this speech sounds now, It
must have seemed very reasonable to
many members of the Congress which
listened to 1t. and which also heard the
reassuring account offered by jefferson
OF "a great mountain OF roci-salt" In
the new possessions, which lifted its
glittering height in the sun and might
prove extremely valuable.
The book is illustrated with numerous
portraits OF the men concerned in the
history Of the Purchase, and there is a
map at the end. New York: d. Apple
ton & Coz
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
A BREEZY BOOK OF TRAVEL.

''Those Delightful Americans" is the
latest work OF Mrs. Everard Cotes, bet
ter known as Sara Jeanette Duncan;
and 1t is likely to be referred to as
"that delightful book by everyone who
reads it. 1t is simply bubbling over
with fun and jollity and subtle but
mirth- provoking characterjzations. The
central characters are young English
woman travelling with her husband in
America, and II is the former who tells
the story. The fact that she tells IT
with a. nafvettc and humor which no
Englishwoman ever could show in the
circumstances does not matter at all.
The book is The best kind of vacation
reading.
The adventures of the couple are not
exciting. They stay In New York for a
time. and then they visit at a country
iionaire, the rest OF the house party con-
s.sting OF two young couples on the
point OF becoming engaged. The point
Of the story, so far as there IS one, is
the difference between English and
American customs in courtship and
other things. and most people will not
have realized how many differences
there are, and how important and yet
how trivial they seem when fairly OBJ
served. II Is always interesting to see
ones self from the outside. even if not
always agreeable, and IN this case there
Il no criticism worth mentioning, only
grn;ic satire now and then, and naive
appreciation. The custom house. the
&c" Yori; street cars. the American
aired man. and the servant problem. all
come in for share of this harmless
,uu,naking. and there is not hacaaeyed
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

page in the book. 1t is all fresh, breezy
and amusing.
One of the funniest chapters deals
with the advent of trained English
butler into the family Of the millionaire
Another comical episode Is the dinner
| given to the visitors by q young New
York clubman. at the Waldorf-Astoria
The New Workers. air of proprietorship
and pride in the big hotel was only
one of the puzzling things about that
dinner. TO the innocent young English
matron. Even so simple thing as get
ting on cable car was a complicated
undertaking to the visitors at first This
Is the Kind OF time they had:
Presently Kaye was stirred to en-
bark upon a bold adventure; he would
ride in cable car. Other people got on
and got OFF. he pointed out: it was prob
ably not as perilous as it looked there
was no reason why we also should not
essay 1t. For some time IL seemed
as II the drivers themselves thought we
ought not to get on. They dashed past
in numbers, taking not the slightest
notice. and Kaye had just decided that
there must be z signal code which we
should have to learn, when lady very
kindly told us that we must hail them
from the opposite corner. The next car
stopped and we ran at II, but not fast
enough to satisfy the conductor, who
spoke to Kaye as ne got in. Get a
hustle on he said to Kaye. Kaye turned
upon him. DO not address me in that
way again. he said. But at that in
slant the car leaped forward, and | fell
into the lap of a large Jewish gentleman
with diamonds in his shirt front. and
Kaye sat down very suddenly upon n
little girl. Why replied the con-
ductor. before we had fiHe TO recover
ourselves, don't y like it?' "
And these two Babes in the Wood cx-
plored New York. (New York: .. APP
pletoI & Coz
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

to preserve our material resources, In
the effort to keep our forests and our
game beasts, game birds, and game fish
indeed, all the living creatures Of prairie,
and woodland. and seashore-from wan
ton destruction.
above all, we should realize that
the effort toward this end is essentially
a democratic movement. 1t is entirely
in our power as a nation to preserve
large tracts of wilderness, which are
valueless for agricultural purposes, as
Fairgrounds for rich and poor alike.
and to preserve the game so that 1t
shall continue to exist for the benefit
Of all lovers of nature. and to give
reasonable opportunities for the exer-
else of the skill Of the hunter. whether
he Is or is not a man of means. But
this end can only be achieved by wise
laws and by a resolute enforcement Of
the laws. Lack of such legislation and
all of us, but most Of all in harm to
the nature-lover who does not possess
vast wealth. Already there have sprung
up here and there through the country,
as in New Hampshire and the Adi.on-
dacks. large private preserves. These
preserves often serve most useful
purpose and should be encouraged within
reasonable limits; but it would be a
great misfortune II they increased be-
yond certain extent, or If they took
the place Of great tracts of wild land,
which continue as such, either because
of their very nature, or because Of the
protection of the State exerted in the
form Of making them State or national
parks or reserves. 1t is utterly foolish
to regard proper game laws as undemo-
cratic, unrepublican. On the contrary,
they are essentially in the interests of
the people as whole, because 1t is
only through their enactment and en-
forcement that the people as a whole
can preserve the game and can prevent
its becoming purely the property of the
rich. who are able to create and main
tain extensive private preserves"
Mr.. Roosevelt further goes on to ex-
press the hope that the practice of
shooting for a record may be discour-
aged by all sportsmen's clubs, and that
the market hunter may be restrained
from destroying game unnecessarily.
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
HIS views on big game hunting are

HIS views on big game hunting are
also briefly given in this introduction,
and he points out the fact that the quail
tiles needed In this sport are much the
same as those needed by the soldier in
modern warfare. and that their develop
ment tends to sane and healthy life. He
advocates the study OF nature without
gun, as well as with one. and the use
of the camera by all who have a taste
for it; and he advises the use of note
books in which each hunter, whether he
possess the literary faculty or not, shall
make records of the important facts in
regard to game which he may come
across.
The succeeding chapters are mainly
descriptive, though there is good deal
of the authors own experience mingled
with the description, as is Inevitable in
treating subject of this kind. Per-
sonal observation Is about the only
thing that counts in nature book. The
habits Of birds and animals cannot be
easily described at second hand.
Although the first chapters of the
book will naturally attract the readers
immediate attention, on account of both
their place and their authorship, the
succeeding papers do not yield to them
in interest, and there are fascinating
pages all through the book. The de-
scription of the elk OF the Pacific Coast.
by Mr. Van Dyke, is particularly delight
full, though most people would rather
read about the elk than to hunt him in
the places where he is most at home.
This is part of the story of an elk hunt
in which the author participated:
"On this coast are still millions OF
acres where the ak has left no scar,
some of it too rough even for our great
Government to survey, but where nature
has done all she could to pile sublimity
on high and yet leave soil enough for
the shaggy robe of timber that makes
the mountains still the home of the elk.
In other places she has substituted
shade and silence hedged about with
such vast tangle Of green. brown. and
gray from great trunks and broken
limbs that you feel still more as if you
were living in different sphere.
Though no white man penetrated
these shades except at intervals OF
years, the elk took no chances on the
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
An Irish Romance.

'The Wager" by l.. McManus. author
of ''Lally Of the Brigade is a love story
of Ireland in the days of King James, the
hero being young Irish officer and the
heroine beautiful damsel variously
known as Ethne og. Ethne Nj Brien. and
Ethne of the hearts. There Is plenty OF
fighting, excitement. and incident In the
tale, and good deal of historical atmos-
phere. while the local coloring is
throughout as Irish as shamrock 1t is
very good story Of its kind. (New
York: +. NJ. Buckles & Col
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
A Souvenir.

An attractive paper-bound volume has
been issued under the title "a National |
Souvenir of Prince Henry's Visit to the
United States" containing copies of the
addresses made during the princes stay,
and an account of his doings while in
this country; also portraits of the lead
irg actors in the festivities and pictures
OF various parades and other demon
strations in honor of the distinguished
visitor. The look is printed in both
English and German, and is a dainty
memento of the visit which 1t describes.
New York: The German American
Publishing Company. 80 centsD
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
"The King in Yellow

A new edition of THE King In Yel-
low" by Robert w. Chambers, has Just
been issued. in response, it is said, to
numerous requests for the book, the
first editions having been for some time
out of print. The book contains the
stories which made Mr.. Chambers repu-
tatio1, and are still among his best: and
they have lost none of their bizarre
Drilliancy in the seven years since they
first appeared New York: Harper &
Brosl
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

lope OF the high Western peaks was
christened the white goat; not unnat-
urally, as it has most goatlike look.
The prongbuck of the plains. an animal
standing as much alone among rumi-
nants as does the giraffe, was simply
called antelope. Even when We invented
names for ourselves. we applied them
loosely. The ordinary deer is sometimes
known as the red deer, sometimes as the
The Washington times., 1902-06-22
An Irish LAWYER.

"Tho Barrister" Is a collection of anec-
dotes of the late Thomas Nolan. of the
New York bar. They are collected and
arranged by Charles Frederick Stansbury.
Nolan was the man. according to this,
who described certain judge in the fol-
lowing words:
Hes good judge, a foine Judge, but
he thinks livery man ought to go to prison
at least vance" New York: The Nab
Press.l
The Washington times., 1902-06-22

Virginia deer, and sometimes as the
Whitehall deer-the last being by far
the best and most distinctive term
On the other point, he says:
Every believer in manliness, and
therefore in manly sport, and every low
er of nature. every man who appreciates
the majesty and beauty of the wilder
ness and of wild life. should strike
hands with the far-sighted men who wish
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-05-16
THE DANISH WEST INDIES.
rincfpa1 Islands, Population and
Climate OF Uncle Sans New
Purchase.

These islands are small in territorial
extent, in popula ton and in resources.
but they have a strategic value, and
our government has preferred that
they should not pass from the control
of Denmark to that of an ambitious
European naval power. The harbo1
of Charlotte Amalie is probably the
most frequented port in the West
Indies, many vessels of various ma
tionalities using it for coaling pur
poses, says a writer in the American
Monthly Review of Reviews. The
group consists of the three principal
islands of st. Thomas, ST. John and
Santa Cruz, with numerous smaller is
lands and rocky points. The total pop
ulation of the group is said to be about
80, 900, of whom perhaps only one-sixth
are of pure white blood. The negro
population, however, is said to be ex.
ceptionally intelligent. The English
language is commonly spoken in the
islands, and general conditions are rep
utable and orderly, the climate being
healthful and the productions those OF
the West Indies in general. The island
of ST. Thomas is important solely on
account of the great excellence of the
harbor of Charlotte Amalie. The is
land of Santa Cruz, however, has an ag-
ricultural character, and at one time
its sugar plantations were prosperous
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-05-16

Davidson deserves an especial place IN
river history as being the first boat to-
carry an electric light on its waters.
Electricity has been an important fac
tor in lessening the rate of river
freightage by doing away with the
necessity of tying up at night. This is
especially true of towboats.
Some Famous Pilots of the Past
Of the famous pilots of the old days
volumes might be written. They were
a distinct class, of marked individuals
t., with the common characteristics
OF great courage, decision and sense
or locality. Their handling of boats
and knowledge of the river were so
marvellous as TO seem intuitive, almost
supernatural, to the lay mind. Tt is
mistake, however. to suppose tina t
in the essentials of their craft they
were superior to pilots of the present
day. This common supposition no
doubt arises from the fact that the old
veterans were in the lime light of pub
Lefty, and that their successors are
comparatively unobserved. Now the
pilots of the rafting boats receive the
highest wages, their maximum of COM
pensation being in the neighborhood
of $3.50 month.
When, however, the river was in its
full glory, the "crack" pilots who
ranked with Scribe Harris, Smith Har-
ris, Grin Smith, the brothers Ludwig,
Ed. West, and my own boyhood hero,
Dan Wright, received from $500 to
$500 a month, and lived the lives of
nabobs. Many of them We'd with the
owners and masters of the boats, and
some of them were graduated from
the wheelhouse into the captains
cabin. In the main, however, pilot
lived exclusively in the atmosphere of
his craft; he thought plotting, talked
plotting, breathed plotting and knew
no other element of existence.
Of the terrible disasters which at
tended river navigation on the Mis-
sissippi history has made abundant
record. Certainly one of the most dra-
matte incidents which took place on
the river was the picturesque rout
of the Indians by Capt. Throckmorton,
in the Black Hawk war.
After the engagement of Battle-Ax,
when the warriors were swarming on
the river between the shore and Battle
Island, a little below La Crosse, this
captain drove his steamboat into their
fleet of ca?oess the huge paddles of his
wheel crushing their fFai1 craft and
creating greater havoc among them
than the guns of the enemy.
The fierce engagements of the civil
war which took place on the river and
along its shores may be left to his
tory, with the observation that the
outcome of that long and bitter strug
gle might have been far different had
it not been for this great waterway.
and th&facilities which it afforded to
the army and navy of the north.
The first steamboat to thread the
Mississippi to- its upper waters was
the famous old Virginia, which accom-
plished this significant feat in 1928, or
16 years after Fulton had astonished
the world with his invention.