davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-05-21

Willie-Pa, what is preferred
creditor" anyway
PA preferred creditor, my son, Is
one who doesn't bother us much with
his sbill.-Philadelphi Press.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
A uniaue Mail Boat.

The Scottish island of st. Kilda, the
most westerly of the Hebrides, lies
far out in the Atlantic, and is visited
only two or three times year by
mail boats. In the intervals between
these visits the st. Kildans adopt a
curious mode of sending their letters
to the outside world.
In the first place, a piece of plank
is got about one foot and half in
length, seven inches wide and four
inches thick. This is pointed at one
end like a wedge, and a hole is bored
sideways through it. while the other
end is cut like the stern of a trawler,
thus forming the rough model of a
boat. In the center of the boat" a
hole six inches by fou-' inches is cut.
All the letters, along with the cop
pers for postage, are then collected
and put into a flack, which in turn is
placed in the cavity of the boat" and
covered over with a hatch, the latter
being tightly nailed to the wood. so
that no water may get in. On the bow
is painted in large letters the word.
Open"
Hinaiy ouoS IS dlldcHeu W lHe
boat by cord passed through the
bow. When everything is ready the
little craft is committed to the sea,
which in due course casts it some
where on the West Coast of Scotland.
Whoever picks it up is expected to
buy the necessary stamps with the
money contained in the boat" and to
post the letters that they may reach
their destinations.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
ALLIGATOR AS A BOATING COMPANION
Spotsmn Have Exciting Experience With Had Apparently
Been Killed Several Times,
~~cN

A1ligators move rapidly under water,
are hard to see, harder to hit, and the
harpoon will penetrate only the least
accessible portions Of the body. Nor
does the title to the hide necessarily
pass with making fast the weapon.
One afternoon in the Cheesehowitz-
kee river l harpooned a large alliga-
tor which towed me up and down the
stream for an hour or two and then
sulked In its deepest part pulled on
the line until the boat was directly
over him and stirred him up with the
harpoon pole. He rolled himself up on
the line in the manner peculiar to
sharks and alligators, and banged the
boat suggestively. We rowed to the
bank and. making fast to some bushes,
hauled on the line until we succeeded
IN worrying him nearly to the boat,
when he rose to the surface and at
tackled us with open mouth. We re-
PEELED the attack with harpoon pole
and rifle. The former was promptly
bitten in three pieces, but the latter
apparently finished him. 1t was so
nearly dark that we decided to carry
MIN In the skin a mile down the river
to where our sloop was anchored. We
broke the seats out of the boat, and
together managed to lift the head of
the alligator aboard and tie it. We
then tied the other end, when the rep
tile came to life and landed a blow
with his tail which lifted me out of the
skiff into the saw grass, with the
breath knocked out of my body and
my hand and face badly cut by the
grass.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Heathen PRAYER for Rain.

The Chuvash, a Turkised Finnish
tribe, interesting as the former neigh
bors of the Hungarians before their
march south from the Volga, still cling
to their old heather faith. The priest
in one of their settlements (curious-
ly enough suffering from drought) re-
Gently performed the rain rite. The
whole population, with offerings of but
ter, milk, salt and meal, were gathered
a. spot where there was water. Por-
ridge for the gods was duly boiled. A
priest then caught swallow, smeared
it with butter and bade it Fly to God
and tell Him to send rain; if He do
not believe you, show Him you have
been anointed!" The bird set free, as
a matter of fact, flew to it's nest. But
the priests, nothing daunted, con-
tinued the service. The ceremony
concluded by the acolytes pushing each
other into the water and bountifully
sprinkling the crowds of pious laymen,
who were fully convinced the drought
would cease.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Strange Altar in Connecticut.

Curious was the find made in
Sharon, Conn, by a couple of youths
while hunting recently. They discov-
cred an old tree, into the hollow Of
which an altar had been built by ce-
menting the fiat stones at from ten to
twelve feet from the ground and piling
others at the base up to a height of
some three feet. A tablet was fastened
in the back of the hollow, about six
feet from the foot, which bore in
Greek the inscription which st. Paul
saw on the altar in Athens. ITO the
Unknown God" This use of Biblical
quotation was evidently made in a
spirit of mockery. The altar is sup.
posed to have been erected by an
irreligious sect or society which -four
ished in Sharon in the early years of
the last century, and to have been the
seat of their atheistic orgies and
revels. The altar has since been de-
faced by some curiosity hunters carry
ing off the tablet, but luckily a photo
graph of it had been taken before this
vandalism was committed.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Boat and boatman were cnpsized.
AS my rifle had fortunately been left
upon the bank. was able. to kill the
alligator again. We secured him by
floating the beat, under him and then
bailing it out. The alligator complete
ly filled the boat, so that my compan-
ion and | sat upon his back as we
padded down the river with gunwales
unpleasantly near the water
1t was growing dark and the water
around us was becoming live with alli-
gators. While we were rejecting
upon our overloaded condition, our al
ligator came to life aagin and shifted
ballast until water poured over the
gunwale. We quickly balanced the
boat, only to see 1t again disturbed and
to ship more water. A scramble for
the shore followed, which we reached
without capsizing and where we left
our victim for the night after again
killing him. In the morning our buz-
Zard friend from the Homosassa river,
surrounded by his family, was sitting
above Kim in the tree waiting for us
to attend to our carving duties.
There are drawbacks to hunting in
the Great Cypress swamp. Even ma
tives have been lost and died in its re-
cesses. 1t is bounded on the east
by the Everglades and on the west by
series of impenetrable mangrove
thickets, alternating with deep chan
nes. If lost one should turn his face
firmly to the north, and as a guide re-
marked to me ''he ought to get some
where in three or four days."-Country
Life in America.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
A Visitor From Space.

A shooting star" is by no means an
uncommon apparition; but it rarely
happens that one of these bodies finds
its way to the earth. They are most
ly dissipated as fine dust when their
contact with our atmosphere heats
them and renders them luminous. A
short time ago one of these meteoric
stones fell at Crumlin, County Antrim,
Ireland, within few miles of the city
Of Belfast. 1t was seen to fall about
ten O'Clock in the morning, by n Ia
borer who was gathering apples with
lin twenty yards of the spot. The stone
had buried itself eighteen inches IN
the soil, and when dug up was found
to measure seven and half inches in
length, and to weigh nearly nine and
half pounds. The stone, which was
quite hot when found, is the largest
meteorite that has been seen to fall
in the British Isles for eighty-nine
years. On hearing of the occurrence,
the chief of the Neurological De-
partment of the British Museum
visited Crumlin, examined the stone,
and purchased it for the national col
lection.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
PAWNBROKER SEES HUMAN NATURE
Comedy Pahos Strangely Mingled These Cy


In a pawn office on First avenue.
near Tenth street, a red-nosed woman
handed in a Marseilles quilt and a
pair of sheets which had evidently
been in recent use The pawnbroker
aung them back with crisp, Don't
want 'em; they amt clean"
You lyin' rogue an robber, they're
a blankety-blank sight cleaner than
you,' was the retort courteous.
Get out of here, madam and never
show you nose inside my door again"
he commanded.
Don't dare madam me-" she
sbrieked, "or I'll have the law on you.
l want you to understand that I'm
lady, an me mother before me was
lady, tool" Finally she was elected
and went her way protesting.
In the same compartment stood
bleary eyed man whose breath aroused
fears of spontaneous combustion. He
asked so cents on pair of small
boots, and clutching the coin, hurried
to the saloon across the way. No
sooner had he disappeared than thin.
frightened looking woman stole in. He
took the boots off the child's feet"
she explained to the pawnbroker, "and
followed him to ask how much he
got on them. While he's sleeping 1t
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
%R&1h'|:R||}|zg &h'|:||}|z 5r|1alzlR

specimens from this stump aggregat-
Ing many tons, 1t is still estimated to
weigh A tons. To give better idea
of its size 1t may be well to state that
1t is 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet
high. There have been many attempts
to dig 1t up and place it on exhibition
Owing to its great weight, however.
this had to be abandoned, and it still
lies half-buried in the ground at
Florrissant. as there are no railway
cars capable of carrying anything near
Its weight. What, perhaps. makes it
more of curiosity is the fact that
this Rocky Mountain region is coun-
try of small trees. and that there are
no giant redwoods within q thousand
miles of this stump-which goes to
show that Nature has changed the en-.
tire vegetable growth of this section.
as nothing requiring the semi-tropical
heat of a redwood tree would grow at
this altitude now.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Nebraska's Breathing Wells.

Nebraska's breathing wells" are de-
,scribed in a recent publication of the
United States Geological Survey. They
are driven wells which, after descend
ing through from so to 100 feet of
subsoil, penetrate layer of dense
limestone, about four inches thick,
which rests upon the water-bearing
gravel. Whenever an area of low ba-
rometer passes across the country the
breathing wells sigh and roar with n
noise audible, sometimes, at a dis
tance of several rods. They blow out
ward for several days, and then the
current is reversed and the air is
drawn in. the changes always follow
ing fluctuations of the barometer. One
explanation offered is that the porous
gravel underneath the limestone lay
er contains air, whose pressure huctu-
ates in sympathy with that of the air
above ground. But it is felt that
complete explanation remains to be
made.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

through vestibule. nave and apse. and
over $50 feet wide through tho tran
sept. The buff sandstone has lent
itself readily to the most elaborate
effects. Flying buttresses and ornate
columns help to beautify the exterior
of the most costly church in Cali
fornia.
The beauty of the interior defles de-
scription. The soft light floats down
from the windows in the great dome
aloft. The rich glass in the arms Of
the transept flashes out blood red and
royal purple against the neutral tints
of the natural stone and the yellow
brown of the woodwork. In the choir
gallery at the rear the massive silver
pipes of the great organ tower up on
each side of the little console-the
Instrument has nearly 5000 pipes and
forty-six stops.-Cecil Marrack in Sun.
set Magazine.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
CHURCH A MODEL OF BEAUTY.
Glory Of the Structure Known as STAN
ford Memorial.

Glory of the Structure Known as STAN
ford Memorial.
Across the quadrangle is the Mem
orial church. The original rudimen-
tary architectural design of Shepley
Rutan and Coolidge. who drew the
plans for tho inner quad, has been de-
veloped and ennobled by Clinton Day
of San Francisco. Although sur
rounded by the majestic buildings Of
the outer quadrangle, the church full
fills the original architectural con-
ception by Its dominating pre-emi-
nence. From every point on the cam
pus 1t Is the spire with its glittering
CT oss which first meets the view. just
as the notes of the great organ roll
out, and the sweet chimes of the
tower bells ring across the tiled roofs
and greet the ear. Tho architecture
ie a modification of the Moorish and
RomanesQue and the ground plan is
in the form of cross with rounded
anda. 1t is almost 200 feet long
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
STORIES OF LIFE IN VENEZUELA
Incidents That Break the Monotony
Republic
Republic.
~~~~
S~~~

in securing the restoration of my prop
erty."
Later in the day the Engllshman dis
covered cn anonymous package upon
his room table. Opening the cover he
found all the missing articles save the
gold-edged cigar case and one of the
charms-a little goddess in diamonds
and emeralds.
Mr.. Henry Labouchere went through
revolution in Venezuela some years
ago.
A battle took place on the Plaza one
afternoon" said Mr.. Labouchere in
telling his story. land | watched it
from a grass hammock on the terrace
in front of my hotel. The government
forces were put to fight, and l was
joined by my revolutionary friends
keen from the fight.
Later one of the fallen ministers
visited us and said he could show us
where 250,000 silver collars were hid
den. He was as good as his word, and
patriotism being sunk by my friends
in obedience to the comforting moral
OF the place, BE kind to ourselves it
was proposed to divide the swag.
Il said. No, don't do that; it might
offend the people. Play for it, Which
was agreed to. The government man
was allowed in, and we played and the
government man won it all to the last
dollar. So after all no harm was
done."-London Mail.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Two members of parliament have
quaint stories to tell of adventures in
Venezuela in times past.
An honorable baronet, while on
visit to the republic. had interviews
with certain members of the govern
ment. He dined with them in the
evening, and retired at a late hour. He
was awakened from his sleep by a
noise in his room, and saw. as he
thought, one of his hosts disappear
through the bedroom window leading
to the veranda.
Concluding that this was a polite
custom of the country, the visitor re-
turned to sleep, but in the morning he
found his trousers upon the floor, their
pockets turned inside out. His old
fashioned, highly decorated chain
purse was gone, but its contents were
on the ground. His gold-edged cigar
case and some gold charms attached
to his fob had also vanished.
The Englishman went straight to the
seat of government and complained to
one of the ministers, who expressed
his dismay, and was thereupon in
formed that the person seen in the
room bore resemblance to himself.
every strange" replied the minis
ter, for there is no ore alive who re-
sembles me-"
"In that case" rejoined the visitor
dryly, you should have no difficulty
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Renters Wanted for Farm Lands.

The amount of snow already in the
mountains makes 1t certain that the
sunny San Luis valley will have rec
ord-breaking crop the coming season.
We have about 1000 acres of the fin
est land In the vicinity of our new
town, Romeo, Conejos county, all
fenced and plowed. ready for crop.
We would like to find few good rent
ers for the portions of this land that
we shall not farm ourselves. We want
none but frst-class men, who have
teams and farming implements enough
to do the work. Very liberal terms to
the right men II taken at once. Write
to or call upon Zeph Charles Felt, GIG
Majestic Building. Denver, Colorado.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
A Curious Natural erldae.

Recently man, prospecting in the
mining regions of Arizona, found a
remarkable natural bridge. 1t spans
a deep canon forty-five feet in width.
The bridge is made by a great petri-
fed tree that lies across the gorge.
Scientific men say that, many ages
since, this tree was prostrated by
some terrific storm and fell across the
canon. By the effects OF the water
and of time it has passed through
many stages of naturalization and is
now a wonderful tree of solid agate.
And there it lies, making an agate
bridge over which men may pass from
side to side.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

off tonight I'll try and get the ticket
away from him, and maybe l can
scrape up the money to redeem them" !"
In one of the pawnshops that dot
Third avenue a man demanded S150
on family Bible. The pawnbroker
refused to accept it at any price, on
the ground that he already had stack
of Bibles. The man then offered a
gold pin set with imitation stone, and
a silver watch chain. The pawnbroker
said: well, as you're steady Gus
toner I'll let you have a dollar on
these, if you'll promise to take them
out again." "Ah, what's the use?"
was the sulky answer. "If you won't
take the Lords word for dollar-tifty
you won't take mine for dollar"
At loan office on Sixth avenue a
young fellow asked 81 on a wedding
ring. The attendant nodded and put
the usual question as to the name. The
man did not appear to hear him; he
was looking at the ring. and his lip
Quivered like girls. Suddenly he
took off his overcoat and said eagerly:
please take this instead. You see,
we're not long married and I'm afraid
she'd miss the ring" He went out
into the biting air without his coat
but with the ring.-New York Times.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
petrIfled stump of Redwood.

One of Colorado's greatest curiosi-
ties is the petrif1ed stump of gigantic
redwood tree. This stump. which Is
In an almost perfect state of petrifica-
Zion, is located at Florrissant. not far
from the great gold-producing region
of Cripple Creek, Colorado. Although
ever since the first exploration of Col
orado numberless people have taken
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Red Rose or White Rose.

Red rose or white rose?
But any rose is best
If Helen hath but worn 1t
A moment on her breast
Northlnnd. or Southland
All roses in eclipse
II Helen hath but leaned to one
The crimson OF her lips.
And the worlds n deathless garden.
For all the wintry gloom.
For Helen's lips have kissed the flowers
To mysteries of bloom!
Frank L. Stanton in Atlanta Constitu-
ton.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Brains well prepared are the monu-
ments where human knowledge Is
most surely engraved.-Rosseau.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

1t has been said that an Irish story
is always pat. We may add that 1t is
generally about Pat.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

which she paid 10
cents, Mrs. Frank
Mayer, BIS South
Morgan street, Chi
cago, found a gold
star and crescent
scarfpin, the for
mer containing one
and the latter six
small pearls.
The pin is two
inches long and
was found by the
astonished woman
while she was
cleaning the fish
for dinner. The
fish was purchased
from a peddler, and
Mrs. Mayer is at
tempting to locate
him, SO that she
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

PUTNAM FADELESS DYES colol
more goods. brighter colors, with less
work than others.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

isn't he II dear?' He may look like
one but he says he's an Elk"
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Bullhead scent cigar. II you have
smoked one you know how good they
arc. II you have not try one.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Miss Menard cured after doc
tors failed to help her.
"Lydia L. Pinkham's Vcge-
table Compound cured me after
doctors had failed, and l want
other girls to know about it. Dur
ing menstruation l suffered most
intense pain low in the abdomen
and in my limbs. AT other times l
had a heavy, depressed feeling
which made my work seem twice
as hard, and l grew pale and thin.
The medicine the doctor gave me
did not do me one bit of good, and
was thoroughly discouraged. The
doctor wanted me to stop work, but,
of course, l could not do that. l
finally began to take Lydia Il.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
and felt better after taking the first
bottle, and after taking six bottles
l was entirely cured, and am now
in perfect health, and l am SO CRATE
full for Miss GEORGE MENARD,
537 E. 152nd ST., New York City. =
$4,000 forfeit " original Of abooe letter proving
oenuineness cannot be produced
Lydia +. Pinkham's Vegetable
Compound cures female ills wheH
all other means have failed.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Swimming Feat.

At the aquatic exhibition in London
G. L. Newman swan two miles with
both legs out of the water, as shown
above.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Found in Fish's Stomach.

In the stomach of small pike,
weighing one-third of pound and for
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

may trace the fish and if possible find
how it came to have the scarfpin in its
stomach
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

TRUNKS TRUNKS, TRUNKS: Write for III
BAG CO.. 10th and Lawrence sts., Denvor. Colo.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Financial Contract Security Co.
We pay per cent interest DEPoSIr BY MAIL.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23
Fidelity Savings Assn '", aessans. sss, zoo \
SEND FOR PER CENT, DEPOSIT PA5S BOOK

STOVE hEpAIns or every known max! make Of
VI " ' ~ stove, furnace range. GEO. A.
PULLEN. 1881 Lawrence st. Denver. Phone 7l3.
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

DENVER NORMAL and fFSpara,ory sonoo @ Nor.
msrcinl Courses. I0tJ dlennrm. FRED DICK. Prin-
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

RANK nEFlCE RhR md STORE Fixtures.
hnntels, etc. Wrts j. y. zulson 1881 wazse, Denver
The Springfield herald., 1903-01-23

Ovrnnn unrrl 18th STREET, NEAR
Stslsly sil..-ol... Popular Prices. G. H. Morse Mgr
Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1903-11-28
The New Panama Canal Treaty
(Chicago Record Herald.)

Chicago Record -Herald)
The signing of the new Panama
canal treaty, negotiated by this gov
eminent with the representative of the
republic of Panama, brings the great
project for an all-American inter-
oceanic water way nearer to a realiza-
ton than it has ever been before.
The convention which was signed on
Wednesday by Secretary Hay and M.
-Varilla, gives this nation free
hand in the construction of the canal
tingency that may menace its useful
ness. The treaty gives the United
States exclusive control of a ten-mile
strip for the canal, instead of six
mile strip as provided in the treaty
with Colombia, In return for which
this government is to pay a bonus of
SIC, 000,0 900 down and $250,000 a year
after nine years. The United States
will maintain the neutrality of the
canal zone, and in case the local ad-
ministration of police and judicial af-
fairs at Panama and Colon are unsat-
isfactory will assume the discharge of
governmental functions in these towns.
AS this means full American control
and operation of the canal upon much
better terms than were offered by CO.
lombia, and as the international in
terests of commerce, which have prac-
tically united in assigning to the
United States this project of linkink
the oceans, are now greater and more
DESTROYS of a settlement than ever.
there is little probability that any
further distractions will be placed in
| the way.
Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1903-11-28
CLEVELAND AND DEMOCRACY

Cleveland is out in an announcement
which removes him from further con-
sideration as an aspirant for the pres
idential nomination. Personally this Is
O wise step for Mr.. Cleveland, for the
ascendency of Roosevelt and the utter
Generalization of the democratic party
are two factors which make the leader
of the next democratic campaign a
leader of a forlorn hope. But there Is
little doubt that from a party stand
point Cleveland's candidacy would be
the best thing for the democratic
party.
Cleveland stands for some thing, a
well defined and definite something,
which would place the democracy of
the nation upon solid ground once
more and give them a rallying point.
II the fight between the Bryan demo-
Gratis and the reorganizers ends in a
compromise candidate and compro-
mise platform the democratic party
will still be up in the air and lose the
advantage of one campaign fought I'M
der a banner and with a rallying cry
that has a permanent meaning.
with Cleveland as a leader such a
ground could be taken, but with an
artful dodger like Hill or German
democracy is only temparizing with
what is inevitable-the complete
breaking away from Organism and So
cialism and rehabilitation of the
democratic party along the lines of its
historic ideals.