davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09
Butler.

Butler, April 9.-Myrtle Bergman visited
last wee. at Mr.. Johnson's near Ottumwa.
Ed Mccormick and G.. w. IIarkins, of
Hedrick, were callers at A. j. Burgess
last Thursday afternoon.
Yves Arganbright and daughter Agnes
were in Ottunwa Monday.
Mrs. A. j. Burgess spent part of last
week at Wright.
School began at No. Monday. Miss
Alice Williams teacher.
Mrs. Mamie Curtis is teaching at No g.
j. w. Morrison, of Hedrick, Is instructor
at Union.
Frank Lindsey and A. ]. Burgess were
business visitors in Ottumwa Saturday.
Lily Palmer spent Saturday and Sunday
at home.
Jessie Eckley, of Martinsburg, visited her
sister, Mrs. Chas. Sheets, Saturday
James Burgess visited at Rose Fill FRI
day and Saturday.
Sunday visitors at the parental McAIickle
home in Ottumwa
Mr.. and Mrs. Chas. Newt and daughter,
Ettie and Nettie, were Sunday visitors at
Fred Bergman's.
Mrs j. C. Watts was calling in Hedrick
Monday
Mrs John Morrison, of Hedrick, came In
Monday for few days visit with her
daughter, Mrs John Palmer.
Fred Yenney, of Fremont, is papering j..
c. Kennels house.
Everett Watts and Charles Lawson are
going to attend the spelling contest at Sig
Quincy Friday.
Vera Beck and Fern Darner have the
| whooping cough.
| James Burgess was in ottumwa Tuesday
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09

King, also William King and family left
here Tuesday morning for Ranes, North
Dakota, where they expect to make their
future home
John Carter has bought the B. B. Brown
property, recently vacated by S. P. Chiles,
and will move In this week
Misses Lena oleson and Anna johnson,
of Conroy, spent Sunday at the l.. w
Butler home, north of town.
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09

Every miner should have a Mitchell
hat. 1t has nice picture of President
Mitchell. is union made, designed by
an Ottumwa man and considered by
the greatest hat manufacturer in
America as worthy of place in the
fornt rank of this spring hats. The
Hub.
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09
strinotown..

Stringtown, April 9.--Hugh, William and
Walter Lnrmore delivered hogs at@Ottum-
wa Tuesday
S. o. Wright delivered. forty head of fat
hogs to John Morren & Co. Tuesday.
, A. II. Dennis, of Highland Center, was a
caller at S. u. Woodruff's Sunday.
G. w. and James Davis and e. It. Van
nov were Batavia callers Tuesday.
Miss Cora Augustine, of Agency, com
mcnced three months term of school at
Smiths Rancho April 6.
Mr. and Mrs Fred Winner gave dance
to number of young people last Wednes-
day evening.
S. L. Woodruff and u. S. Hawthorne
were in Packwood Saturday.
Mr.. and Mrs. l.. F. Vanoy were Compe-
tine callers Monday.
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09

Attention miners! The John Nit
chell hat, with a picture of President
Mitchell, U. M. A., designed especially
by S. L. Graham of Ottumwa, is now
in stock at the Hub. Union made
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09
TEACHER APPOINTED.
School Board Meeting Yesterday Aft
ernoon in Office of Secretary.

From Tuesdays Daily.
The Ottumwa school board met late
yesterday afternoon in the Office of the
secretary and appointed teacher to
take the position made vacant by the
resignation of Miss Florence Enderle.
Miss Ada Lindquist. who has been EN-
ployed as assistant teacher was given
the place and Miss Thekla Estergren
was made assistant teacher.
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09

The ministers of the East Des
Moines churches have perfected an or.
ganization to combat Sunday concerts
Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09
Yanpa.

drnpd.
Yampa, April Oh. w. McGlassion and
sister, Mrs. Gilmore, were Batavia shop.
pers Saturday.
Mrs. Wright, of Batavia. delivered the
mail on route No. i Saturday.
Mrs. Maggie Smith in visiting at the
home of James Davis in Competine this
week. ~ NJ
Mr.. and Mrs. s. c. ellis visited at Perry
Yeager's Saturday
Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas Rifle visited lii,
Competine Monday.
Mrs. Mary Burnaugh, who has been Wis
iting friends in Competing for several
weeks, returned home Monday
Joseph Davis and son Miles accompanied
by their families We're in Ottumwa Mon
day.
Marion Whitmore was in Eldon Satur-
day.
Mr.. and Mrs. Linn are rejoicing over a
baby boy, born Wednesday.
II. NJ. Reno was in Eldon Thursday.
G. w. Giltner was in Ottumwa Thurs
day.
Avery.
Avery, April 9-Preparations are being
made for an Easter program at the Avery
Methodist Episcopa: church Easter day.
The Avery Methodist Episcopal church
is still without pastor. Rev. Hill, of Ag-
ency, will preach here Easter Sunday
school at Abba, spent her vacation with
home folks last week.
Lloyd Huston, of Abba, Sundayed with
Avery friends Sunday.
The Avery cornet band will give a band
concert and entertainment next Monday
evening, April 49,
J. 2. Evans was in Chicago on business
last week.
Mines Nos and did not run since
| April /, as they were undergoing repairs
but started up again Monday morning.
| al. Fuller, of Chicago, was here one
! day last week.
| The little infant daughter of Mr. and
| Mrs. Burt Fisher died Friday morning and
was inferred at the Covenantial cemetery
| Sunday.
| Miss Grace Everett is the new milliner
| here over, the l.. r. Pearson building.
| Chas. Grant is painting his new house as
well as putting new fence around his
| lot.
| Rev. l.. Il. Doud and family are still at
Chicago, where an operation was per-
formed on their daughter Lulu. Her recov-
cry is slow but anXiously awaited. 1t is
stated that Rev. Doud will sell his house
hold effects at public sale and as soon as
| Miss I.ulus condition is such that she can
4 be removed from the hospital they will go
| to different climate
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

From the bridge you look out over
an acreage bestrewn, every foot of it,
with rocks. It is a barren bit OF earth.
Hooded by the spring freshets, as The
drift brush il the branches Of the stunt
ed willow bushes shows. and 1t lies un-
shaded and hot in the blazing sun.
To reach It you go down, hama over
hand, on wooden ladder fastened per
pendicularly to one OF the buttresses Of
the bridge. Il is like going down a
ships SIDE. The first step makes YOU
aware of an ancient dshy smell like
that of wharyes. The rocks at the foot
OF the ladder are strewn with dead ard
decaying herring. which have been
thrown away for their insufficient size.
You make your way toward the rapids,
where group of men is gathered. Ad-
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

impression is strengthened when you
see blonde young German giant in
knickerbockers, wooden long hose. al
pine hat, and carrying a jointcd pole
standing in ono of them
The Georgetown Fishing Fleet.
Your first sight Of fishermen is just
above the Georgetown Aoucduct. where
rOwboats form actual fishing fleets. On
one morning last week a regatta OF
thirty-four boats dotted the river upon
one haIf-mile &C its length
To get to the Chain Bridge you 90 dowl
a glen. Beside the path tiny brook.
its water clear and cold falls from rock
10 rock and over the steep face Of 4
huge boulder. At its head is an ice
cold spring where. If you are providsnt,
you will lay in supply for he future
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

A moccasin eats a frog much as a cat
would eat 4 mouse. only with infinitely
more deliberation. He advances 10 the
slaughter lazily, opens his mouth leis-
urely. and draws nearer to his prey.
The head is the first thing grabbed. and
down goes the frog with never a sign
that he is suffering pain or does not
thoroughly enjoy the situation.
Fed on Dead Mice.
1t is remarkable that only the warm
FLOODED animals seem to have the same
uncanny feelings against snakes which
possesses most human creatures. Were
little mouse put into the cage of a
hungry garter snake he would set up
the most pitifuI sort of squeals until
released. He would realize his danger
from the very beginning Instinct
would tell him no good could come to
him from the mysterious, creepy crea-
ture in the far corner of the cage, and,
if allowed to remain in the cage. he
would be so paralyzed with fright that
eventually he would not feel the swal-
lowing operation nor show signs of fall
house what mice are fed to these snake
are first killed. The snakes do not like
this as well as otherwise; but mod
ern geological park is an institution
where all animals are protected alike
from the most recent one thousand dol
lar lioness TO the little mouse whose
feelings must be spared. even if it is
necessary to use him for snake food.
The King Cobra a Cannibal.
The favorite food of the king cobra
IS another snake. the blacksnake. al
most as large as himself, but not as
deadly. About once in two weeks he
demands a brother reptile, fat ana long,
and gorges himself thereon. But the
cannibalism OF the king cobra kind is
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

common among many other species of
snakes. The bIacksnake himself Is Il
cannibal OF the worst stripe. Garter
snakes he eats by preference. but if
nothing better offers he Will turn on
his mates aud eat the first one he can
>overpower. The garter snake in ner
turn is sort of a cannihal, having been
known to eat small snakes from time
to time. But the coachwhip snake, the
long, thin chicken snakes, and the bull
snakes are among the worst offenders.
Sometimes it happens in cage in the
reptile house that a snake disappears
mysteriously. During the night the
snake man will tell you two of the
snakes got to fighting and one swal-
lowed another bodily in the most ap-
proved merger" style and unconcerned
by recent anti-consolidation legislation
Tying to Swallow Each Other.
The most curious example OF the race
fratricide" is the phenomenon occasion
ally observed at the reptile house, of
the other. each beginning at the others
tail. Little by little each works the
other into his own throat and abdominal
a-ity, till, poof, both have disappeared
from view like the grin of the Cheshire
cat in Alice's wonderland.
Size Does Not Always Count.
a remarkable thing about snakes is
that victory does not lie always with
the larger OF a pair of fighters. Any
snake can swallow anothera consider
ably longer than himself IN q fight
therefore. capacity plays little part The
reptile which first closes her jaws on
the opponents head is The one TO whom
the laurels Will fall, for once caught
in the jaws of 4 snake the b2ckset teeth
clutch the prey and grind in and cut,
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

vance is really dangerous, for the rocks
are assured and split so that their tops
are all sharp ridges and there are few
fat surfaces that afford foothold.
A Wilderness of Rocks.
It is a wilderness of rocks. with a
few crevices foored with sand. an occa-
siOnal lifeless shrub, and no vegetation
the bed of the river at high water-and
it requires considerable agility to pick
ones way over them.
There are evidences of big catches IN
various sDcts; pools of blood-stained
water in the creyices of the rocks, and
on their tops scales. refuse, and even
whole fish lie rotting.
What lucl5?" is OF course the ques-
lion with which you hail the fisherman
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.

The world is sleeping. but I waking
lie
And watch the moonbeams creep
across the floor:
I hear the clock proclaim. mo
moreno more
VIII time return when once it passes
by
Yet l impatient wait the tagging day,
And plan to fill each hour with
busy care;
Too slow the moments pass, too
slow the fair
Faint light of dawn is moving on its
wa.
Yet in some coming night, how far,
how near.
cannot tell-it surely waits for
These lingering moments I should
End more dear
Than rain to mariners adrift al
sea;
For I shall watch and wait the
breaking day.
Knowing that I. with night, shall
pass away
New York sun.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10
FEEDING The SNAKES At DIE NAIONAL BIOLOGICAL PARK

IT. HE sunny weather Of the past two
Sundays in Washington. after
months OF invariably rainy sun
days. has enabled people to turn for
recreation to the Zoo Park Ever since
Mr.. and Mrs. Adam wandered in the
first geological garden the serpent has
been a fascinating object OF attention,
and the reptile house at the Washington
Zoo is sure to have constant crowd
OF visitors watching the terrible crea-
lures that move toward their victims
without feet. hands. or wings.
Some OF them. like the king cobra
the cobra di capello. the fer de lance
the rattlesnake, and the cottonmouth
moccasin, are of the venomous species,
whose bite would cause the death of a
fuIl-grown man within two hours, unless
the antidote for rattlesnake poison
which Dr. Stlas Weir Mitchell, the
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

when you have scrambled over to them,
but it hardly needs an answer. Fish
are plenty.
On the rocks at the rivers edge sit
an old negro and his grandson. They
are fishing with hook and line. with
nngleworm bait. The poles are short,
thick and primitive-looking. There
| seems no skill required in this phase
of '.thc gentle art" The hook does
not even need TO be flung out away from
the shore. The ordinary first requisite
for piscatorial success, silence, seems
| unnecessary, as everyone talks as much
as he Dleases.
By far the most picturesque, though
most unsportsmanlike. means is use is
the use of a dip-net. Dip-nets are about
four feet deep and fastened to an iron
ring about four feet in circumference at
the end of twelve-foot pole The fisher
stands on the shore or on the more I'M
certain footing of The stern OF his row.
boat. rising and falling with the fux
and reflux OF the water. He strikes the
net into the water as far as he can reach
upstream. and holding 1t two or three
feet below the surface, pushes it slowly
downstream the ring of course, being
held so that the net is open in front.
The fisher feels one struggling in the
net. he turns the ring so as to close
the opening and lifts his prize into the
boat. II no fish is entrapped, he dips
again with seemingly tireless strength.
arduous as the operation must be- There,
of 81 nd gray rIrgQiOu ar
the net shows that he has landed a
shad \ moment later, and it fops upon
the bottom OF the boat, a big beauty.
fully two feet long and over five
pounds in weight. He will prove de-
licious supper for some one. 1t is said
| that when the Almighty created this
| fish it had very few bones and made
the most epicurean of all dishes: and the
devil eating g shad steak, became so
angry at the thought that such de-
| Iicious thing had been made that he
Immediately filled it full of the bones
/ that are its one fault as a dish today.
Forbidden by Law.
Dip-net fishing in the District of Co
lumbia. is, however, forbidden by law,
and persons found using dip-nets are
fined $50 for every fish in their posses
sion caught by such means. The fish
wardens go out TO the bridge every day
al the same hour, between u and I
O'Clock. and persons knowing this fish
daily in the mornings with a dip-net on
the District side of the river till noon
and then cross in boats TO the Virginia
side where such fishing is lawful. On
Tuesday. last week. one man had taken
seven large shad in this manner for
which. had he been caught with them
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10
SwirIing Rapids in the Po-
tonlc Three Miles
Above the City Where
Migratory Shad and
Herring in Countless
Numbers Become the
Easy Prey of PiSCator-
ial Experts. =. =

A this time of the year the Poto
. mac River two or three miles
west of Georgetown is a gray
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

the rat even as does the house cat He
follows the rodent into holes and GREY
ices among stone walls, around deserted
buildings. and wherever the rat has his
abode and is likely to do harm to the
crops OF the farmer
This, and rarely any other food. the
rattlesnake is fed while in captivity.
Always the food thrown to him has been
killed. In an open field, where the snake
has all the room he needs TO maneuver,
and where the natural instinct of the rat
IS TO fee rather than to stand his ground,
a rattlesnake makes short work of his
prey. He can outdistance the fastest
and biggest rat that ever ran when It
comes TO a race One quick stab with
the deadly poison fangs and the little
animal is done for and wanders down
the throat of the hunter even before life
is extinct.
Rat VIII Fight for Life.
In cage, however. even the smallest
rat viii show fight He sees from the
beginning that fight Is his only saliva
ton, and on the narrow space of a cage
floor he is more than a match for the
quickest rattIer-for the rat himself is
no enemy to be despised. He would fight
something on the lines of a mongoose
when attacking a cobra. His aim would
be the backbone of the snake, close be-
hind the head, where the poison fang
has no chance to reach him. And quick
as the snake Is herself, the rat would
land on the neck of the enemy, and even
though he might be gashed while in mid
air, his teeth would sink into the neck
of the snake and both would lie dying
beside each other.
Vicious and dangerous though boa
constructors are, when in captivity they
are fed on nothing more formidable than
chickens As in the case of rats thrown
to rattlesnakes. the chickens are killed
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

author and scientist, has discovered and
about which he dfscoursed to his fellow
members of the National Academy OF
Sciences at their recent meeting in this
city, were at hand. Others. like the
boas and pythons and the anacondas
and the king snakes, are of the con-
strictor family. whose weapons are the
wonderful coils of bone and sinew and
muscle. with which the enemy is crush
ed in the most frightful embrace con
ceiyable.
Fed at Intervals.
It is interesting to watch the various
snakes at the feeding hour in the rep
tile house at the Zoo. Some are fed
only at intervals of days, if they are Of
the kinds that gorge themselves at one
meal and lie torpid for days after, di
costing the food All are meat eaters.
Varied as the different species of
snakes are, so they vary in the food
they demand. The rats fed to the rat
tier" would be despised by the king CO.
bra the long blacksnake which serves
as a fortnightly dinner to the king co
bra would remain untouched by the cot
tonmouth mOccasin, and the fish which
the cottonmouth moccasin devours
hungrily would be declined by the SPLEEN
did, 1.-THE king snake" that inhabitant
of the Carolinas. the long, yellow and
black streak of lightning that is the
friend of mine and the sworn enemy Of
every snake that crawls or crceps.
The Democratic Rather"
OF all we'll known snakes there is no
other that is more democratic and less
fastidious in his tastes than the rat
tier" Pieces of raw beef he viii eat
on occasion, but the treat of his life is
when he is fed an ordinary, everyday
black or brown rat Roaming in his
native haunts the rattlesnake hunts
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

drawing in tie enemy as reIentlessly
as II he were caught between the steel
rollers in a rolling mill.
One may be interested in snakes. one
may even have studied them, lying in
the little jungles within their cages. but
until one has seen the strange creatures
feeding one has missed their most in
teresting performance.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10

before being thrown into the cage, al
though they remain Gnplucked not even
the head or the horny feet being remov-
ed, for the stomach Of "A snake is equal
to any demand But the chickens are
killed aside from any humane reasons.
In most cases boa constructors and ana
condas and their kind are kept in pairs.
and in fight over a live chicken the
chances are there would be trouble be,
tween the snakes while the chicken
would sit in a corner and smile at the
helplessly knotted up ones. The instant
one snake would see the other getting
the better of the prize he would knot
himself about his adversary and a fight
would be on. IN the end no harm would
result. but the snake men would have
the job of entering the cage to unravel
the complicated knot Of snakes. for If
left alone neither reptile would let go
before he thought life extinct in the
other.
The Deadly MocCassin.
The cottonmouth moccasin is a dead
" reptile whose fare consists of moth
ing more formidable than dead fish and
frogs. He is about the only venomous
water snake known, but he rarely ven
lures where he can do harm in the fields
Of the South, and is content to lie in
swamps and gulp such small fish and
frogs as come his way. Curious to say.
when a live frog meets this snake he
seems to have no dread Of being de-
stroyed. frog would spend a cheer
full week right in the cage of the snake
who is going TO eat him. He lives az
unconcrned as if the cruel host did not
exist. He hops toward the snake and
on top OF him, for that matter. and even
when the time comes that the moccasin
draws hungrily nearer and nearer. he
makes no move showing fright or
alarm.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-10


II mac River two or three miles
west of Georgetown is a gray
snake flashing madly in the grip of the
rocks which bind it to its narrow way
At the Chain Bridge it chafes between
the desolate rocks which form its ted
during the spring freshets and the stony
cliffs which rise abruptly from it on the
Virginia side. Around the stone but
trCsses of the Georgetown Aqueduct and
the Long Bridge, and around the wooded
heights Of Analostan Island, it swirls
silently and hurries along, smooth and
olive green of surface, to the sea.
But at the Chain Bridge the water
course is cramped and constrain-
the Maryland hills racing swiftly like a
Northern river, little river of Can
ada.
The Rivers Wild Rush.
a quarter of a mile above the bridge
its current passes in travail over a
descent that is sharper and which lifts
three stubborn masses of riven rock out
of the wild food. Against these rocks
the river hurls itself and roars hoarse-
ly, ever increasingly, and sobs in the
eddies along the shore in impotent fury
that it cannot shake them. And the
three rocks crouch always. dark and
gray, with stiffened knees braced against
the unwearying striving of the stream,
silent dawn. And when the swift water
hurls itself against the rock it is shat
tered from its green and gray into a
burst of white and the whole length of
the rapids flashes with white at hun
dred places in one moment and at a
hundred others at the next.
At the foot of this tortured segment
of the river snake, the water snooths
Itself instantly blandIy. but leaping on
down stream with terrible, quiet swift
ness. There are no rocks before it. Only
those on either side, and it runs I'D the
gaunt. sharp sides of these and ticks
them with a slaveripg tongue and falls
again. and again has stretches of sur
face, gray and green, and smooth as a
firm floor, but which sink away inexpIic-
ably as swiftly as they are formed or
become pitted and scanned with whirl-
pools.
Stopped by the Swift Current.
And up to this spot every spring the
fish work their way from the sea and
blindly obeying the wonderful command
within them to go upstream TO spawn.
They work their way upstream against
the current until they reach this spot
and beyond it they cannot go.
What is the result?
Go up there and, standing on the
bridge, look up stream and down. Be-
ginning at the rapids, and extending as
far down as the eye can reach, the
rivers banks are dotted with men and
boys taking the fish in countless num-
bers.
1t Is the anr ual festival" or rather
Carnival" of the spawning shad and
herring of the Potomac. Driven by the
inexorable instinct which drives so many