davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
THE CITY OF GOLD


I around which are the sordid tea shan
ties Of John. But 1t strikes you imme-
diately that nobody is asleep. In fact.
| everybody Is wide awake. A dozen
Cinnamon of all sizes and ages are sit
| ting around red-hot brazier, on
which some mess is stewing, and all
| the little houses that have not lights
have smoldering wicks-which is sig
nificant.
Somebody flashes an electric torch
over the deserted hovel. The hastily
extinguished candle still CLOVIS, and its
/ smells filled all space. There Is q
closed door in enc corner of the apart
ment. The sergeant puts his shoulder
to it, and the sergeant, being man OF
many pounds, it gives. There Is pas
sage, and there are some steps leading
downward, and there is another door
outlined in light. This yields to a
push.
We-that is, you, the police, and l.
do not apologize, even though we have
obviously broken up what promised to
be successful evening. The curl
ously-colored board supported on a
trestle table. and the weird, pawnlike
pieces scattered at our unceremonious
intrusion, are implements employed in
the game of fan-tan. 1t is an institu-
ton that Ho XII, the Chow, carries
away from his fatherland; 1t is the
outward and visible demonstration of
his patriotism.
John Ho XII, Wunhi, ,Ho Ku and
Chow Ke, in no wise perturbed, sit
around the wall Of the dug-out in
which this classical game is played
There are four vacant places at the
board, and there is trap near the
roof to which ladder ascends. The
banker has departed. Gambling is, a
crime, even in johannesburg, and the
players fall in, outside, from whence
they will march to the police station
with great docility.
There is another door leading from
the gambling den. 1t is locked, evident
ly from the other side, but the SER
geant's shoulder Is better than skele-
ton key. Crash! The room is bare
except for frame bed and table. On
this is candle spluttering in its sock.
ct. On the bed lies a man who does
not move, his eyes are half closed, his
hand grasps pipe, and the sickening
stencil of opium fills the room. a
wake up, Johnny, where's your
pass, eh?"
Leave them to arouse him, and fol-
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Curious Prediction.
wings.

Nostradamus, who lived some GEN.
turtles ago, is well known on account
of his curious predictions, and now
his admirers claim that in one of his
celebrated quatrains he clearly fore
told the exact date of the death OF
Leo XIII.
In this quatrain, as M. Henri Dou-
Chef, French occultist points out,
Nostradamus predicted that during
the twentieth century a pope would
die on the same day that "a hairy
star" vanished from the sky.
M. Douchet maintains that Nostrad-
anus had a comet in mind when he
wrote, and that the prediction has
been literally fulfilled, since the Bo-
relli comet, which was discovered at
the observatory of Marseilles, van
ished from the sky on the very day of
Pope Leo's death.-New York Herald.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
HAD WINGS LIKE A BIRD.
Colorado Mans Plans to Solve Aerial
Navigation.

Colorado Mans Plans to Solve Aerial
Navigation.
every Man His Own Balloon; or,
Flying Made Easy" ought to be the
title of the patent papers in the case
of Reuben j. Spaulding of Rosita, Col
Columns and columns of space have
been devoted to the "buZzard' Of Prof
Langley, which does buzz but doesn't
fly, while the wonderful invention of
Reuben J. Spaulding, patented in 1889,
has remained unheralded and unsung,
although his invention was as sue,
cessful as that of Prof. Langley.
Spaulding was an observer of the
flight of birds. He attributed their
remarkable flying abilities to wings
alone. He figured that no matter how
much man might know about aero
planes, angles of resistance and wind
currents, the first essential to fight
was wings.
Much studying and working by
Spaulding evolved pair OF wings,
which were evidently designed to car
Iy Hldu lulO tlC CtHSiCdi iSiohe'
with a movement something like that
of pigeon. He drew up an applica-
ton for patent and submitted mod
ell shown in the accompanying illus
tration.
Among all the thousands of models
in the Patent Office none Is more re-
markable in appearance than this fly
ing machine of the Colorado genius.
A rough model of man with head
disproportionately large and with eyes
ghoulsh green is provided with pair
of wings of a brilliancy of hue that
would make a parrot wild with envy.
These wings are not made of solid
piece, but consist of planes stuck into
a frame exactly as the wing feathers
of bird are arranged.
A bird without tail could not steer
itself, and neither could man bird, so
the inventor attached tail Of gener-
GUS proportions, also made OF feath-
ers, so that it could be spread out like
that of turkey or folded neatly and
modestly into small space.
Attached to the arms Of the man is
a series of levers. so arranged that
when he flaps his wings he rises into
the air and is on his way. Once clear
of the ground, he may facilitate his
flight by working his legs up and
down with motion like that used in
treading water, and the energy thus
expended will be conveyed to the
wings by an ingenious set of ropes.
Neither Mr.. Ireland nor anyone else
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Deathbed Thieves,

In France persons who live at the
expense of others have discovered a
novel and shameful method of thiev.
ing. They practice it only at funerals,
and hence they are known as death
bed thieves"
When they read in newspaper that
a well-to-do person has died, some of
them go to the house an hour or two
before the funeral takes place and
coolly mingle with the invited mourn
ers. Of course the members of the
family do not know them, but they
naturally assume either that they
were known to the deceased and have
come to pay their last respects or that
they were invited to be present by
some aunts or cousins who are unable
to attend in person.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

Senator Dubois of Idaho, during the
days when he was practicing law in
Boise City, was on certain occasion
sternly reprimanded by the Judge OF
a court in that city because of alleged
contempt of court, and in addition was
fined in the sum of $50.
The next day, according to a custom
followed in the Idaho courts, the
judge called upon Mr.. Dubois to &C.
cupy the bench for him during the
transaction of some comparatively lin.
important business. After the judges
departure from the courtroom Mr.. Du.
bois exhibited an instance of that re-
markable presence of mind for which
he has ever been noted. The future
senator said to the clerk of the court:
Turning to the record of this court
for yesterday, Mr.. Clerk, you will OBJ
serve recorded a fine of $50 against
one Frederick T. Dubois. You will
kindly make note to the effect that
such fine has been RENTED by order
of the court. Saturday Evening
Post.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

needle and dreaming alone ot-who
knows what? Then he will draw a
filthy blanket over his greasy form and
sleep till the morning sun awakens
him, and then again the needle and
the day-long dream and the candles
successor.
But our business Is not with him !;
only we must pass the road in which
he dwells before we get to the east.
He sits in his filth and his toll, and the
memory of Poland is boundary post
between east and west, between Orient
and Occident.
Beyond, the houses grow bewilder-
tngly various. Shops, leisurely started
with some dim Idea Of being beautiful,
have finished by becoming patchily
tin. The builder has never finished.
Unsentimental necessity grasped him
by the throat, thrusting him aside to
make room for hundred aliens.
We are out of the range of the
white merciless arc light-that disciple
of truth that emphasizes our wrinkles
and traces the patches on our thread
bare coats. Here the light is more
mellow, more pleasing. 1t is yellow
light, and none too bright, and here
enough. There is music here. Vice,
gilded thinly, has its votaries, it's high
priest and it's temples-little tin tenn
pies, scented with Florida water.
The tin town continues beyond this,
but the lower end is silent. So silent
that you might think you had by acct
dent happened upon colony living up
to the standard set by the moral Mr..
Franklin. Early to bed they apparent
ly are. No sound breaks the silence
of the quiet night, no light CLEANS in
any window, no smoke rises from the
crazy courtyards. Early to rise you
know they are, for daybreak sees this
little colony alive, with bamboo rod
and laden baskets, chattering, running,
loading and trading. For this is the
Chinese quarter.
Knock softly on one of the iron
gates. There Is no answer. Here is
a door, "The Hoki Laundry" Knock
here, and II anybody comes invent
some laundry urgently required by a
fictitious client. But nobody will come.
But have not brought you here for
the pleasure Of knocking at an unre-
sponsive door. knew all along that it
would not be opened to you. But in a
few minutes the gates of Chinatown
will be opened to us, and Chinatown,
obsequious and smiling, will greet us
with injured surprise and lamblike
innocence.
For the police are close at hand;
all the while we have been walking
this way they have been shadowing us
on either hand. You may not have
seen them, but they have been close
enough. And now-watch. They ap-
pear like magic from side streets and
unsupported alleys. In ones, in twos,
in threes. And they are coming to-
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
SHOT sEAeuLL WITH CANNON
Remarkable Proficiency Of American
Naval Gunner.

Remarkable Proficiency of American
Naval Gunner.
An interesting illustration of the
excellent craftsmanship of Uncle
Sans men behind the guns, as devel.
oped during the recent inspection trip
of the naval committeeman on the
United States ship Dolphin, has just
come to light. Representative Roberts
of Massachusetts was OF the party. APP
preaching Gunner's Mate Spoer Of the
ship, Mr.. Roberts offered him 81 to hit
seagull. Spoer took 40-pound g.
millimeter Colts automatic gun, and
after trial shot he popped seagull
on the fly at four hundred yards. One
of the representatives was firm in his
declaration that the shot was an acct
dental one, whereupon Spoer shot an.
other gull at three hundred and fifty
yards. The crowd of astonished wit.
nesses to the feat finally came to the
conclusion that Spoer was the crack
shot of the ship. This Spoer modestly
disclaimed, saying, We've shipload
of 'em, SIR" Spoer got his dollar
Washington Star.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Boer and British, Artillery.

In his testimony regarding artillery
firing during the South African war
Gen. Butler told the British war COM
mission an interesting story. 81 think
The foreign system Of intercepting the
recoil, which was adopted by the
Beers, was far superior to ours; that
is to say, big Boer gun would fire
at an extreme range-I saw it happen
mysolf-a shell and that shell fell and
made great hole in the ground. A
native got into the hole to see how
deep it was and the next shell that
came went into the same hole and
killed him. do not think we had a
gun that would put two shells running
into the same hole"
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Junole Duel to the Death.

A little while ago. in Kulu, India, a
few hill wood cutters watched, from
an overhanging rock covered with
underground, duel to the death be-
tween a full-grown leopard and bear.
For half an hour the leopard feinted
round. the bear, half springing at him
and striking him, until, finding he
could get no "forrarder" by this
means, he launched himself full at
his adversary and the two rolled over
together. The result was instructive.
Having got the leopard's head I'm
chancery," Bruin made the most OF
his advantage, and was soon able to
walk away not much the worse. The
woodmen then cautiously examined
the leopard, who was quite dead, bis
head badly mauled and crushed, and
his neck bitten clean through. The
moral to those who go bear shooting
is pretty ovious. 1t is in this simple
and effective manner-the strongest
destroying the stronghold in the
Jungle the social question has been
solved.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

One Story Is Good till Another ts Told
There's a maxim that all should be will
Ing to mind
IT'S an old one-a kind one-as true as
tits kind;
IT'S worthy of notice wherever you
And no worse for the heart II remem-
bered at home!
II scandal or censure be raised 'gainst
a friend,
Be the last to believe 1.-THE first to de-
fend!
Say tomorrow will come-and then time
will unfold
That ,ene story's good till another is
A friends lend LIKE like ship. when with music
The tide of good fortune still speeds him
along:
But see him when tempest hath left him
wreck,
And any mean bllow can batter his
deck.
But give me the heart that true sym
pathy shows,
And clngs to a messmate whatever wind
blows:
And says-when aspersion. unanswered.
grows bold
Wait-"one story's good till another il
told!"
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Curious Prehistoric Pipe.

A remarkable object discovered was
a stone pipe with bird head and wings
in a grave not far from Simcoe. 1t
may indicate that smoking is a much
more ancient pastime than has been
supposed.
1t raises question of where those
prehistoric people got their weed, SO
far from the places of tobacco culture.
Later was found many pieces of broken
stone pipes. This particular bowl finds
its nearest resemblance in the modern
metal mounted carved stone pipes Of
the Haidas.
Chief Moses of this region possesses
the modern carved pipe. But the point
is not so much in resemblance of
pipes as in the fact of the great antiquity
of smoking on this continent Pos
sibly these prehistoric smokers mi
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

low the police captain to the joss
house. The priest opens the door of
a tin shanty, in no wise differing from
the dozen about, except that the in
terror resembles for all the world a
large-sized tea-chest turned inside out.
Here, gold on black, certain moral
precepts Of Confucius crawl up the
walls like so many auriferous spiders.
On the altar is a small image of a
black-bearded god. Before the altar,
joss sticks. wooden swords. spears,
and tinseled baubles. Not so very in
spring and certainly nothing to JUS
tify the unpleasant scowl of the priest.
ly custodian.
Now back again to the opium room.
There is group of policemen round
the bed of the dreamer.
Cant you rouse him?" ask.
Then l look and see how unneces
sary was my question. The Chinese
have pretty little cemetery of their
own near Braamfontein.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

Take my arm and come with me-
Swiftly through the streets of Johan'
nesburg, past the shops ablaze with
tight, past the lettering crowd that
saunters idly, past the thronged thea
tiers where bursts Of melody and spas
modic cadences of applause reach the
ear through open doors.
Keep out of the light-the cold
white steadfast lights that line the
mlle-long streets; let us creep away
into the sideways where are the tum'
ble-down tin shanty of Ramsammy and
the dirt-begrimed windows of Petrifski
Isaac, the son of Joseph-behind
which this very man is threading a
needle by the light of Pickering can
die.
You will see him still at work when
you return, this same Petrifski; we'll
into the night he will work, plying his
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
BEGAN Preaching at Four.

James l.. Washington, the colored
boy preacher, land his blind father
who is jubilee songster, made their
first appearance in Boston last night
at the Ebenezer Baptist church, says
the Boston Globe. 1t is claimed that
this bright and original boy has never
been to school. Last night he i'm
pressed his audience wonderfully with
his address on "Unbelief."
He was born at Big Rock, Ark, in
1883. 1t is further claimed that he be-
gan his religious work at the age of
years and has constantly been fol-
lowing the same ever since then. He
is natural-born penman. He can
name and read any passage of the
Scriptures and can recite 531 chap
ters in the Bible by heart.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Has Twenty.four Children.

John Lawyer, living at Daviess coun-
", Indiana, is the father of twenty
,our children. He has been married a
number of times, the second time to
his first wife's sister. His son Fred
was married, land after the death of
his first wife married her sister. Now
comes John Lawyer, Jr, who has mar
ried his first wifs's sister. Three in
one family have married sisters of
their first wives.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

There is nothing she cannot explain;
The thought which she used to besto 4
on her heart
She will henceforth devote to hel
brain;
Housekeeping, with all of its duties and
cares,
She has wholly discarded, and so.
Since she's now quite beyond all domes'
tic affairs,
The old-fashioned baby must go.
So, now there's real "crying" need (gei
the pump
OF a self-rasng baby. a child
That can fix its own bottle and bake its
own bun,
A kind that will sort of grow wild;
A real self-made baby who never need
know
Such thing as a mother about,
A tough little brick who can hoe his OWE
row
From the day the sun matches him out
Hank Sphinx" in Boston Herald.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
in this vicinity usually, this is counted
as a rare specimen.

in this vicinity usually, this is counted
as rare specimen.
The tree is about so years old and
has a spread of branches from east
to west of nearly "a feet. The spread
from north to south was nearly as
great, but as the southern branches
were very heavy and extended over
the extreme length Of the house, they
were cut away about year ago to
prevent possible damage to the house.
One limb, running to the east, Is 5o
feet in length.
The wood of the poplar is soft and
usually is counted as of little value.
but in recent years it has been found
to make good floors when sufficiently
dry, and is much used for floors In this
region. The average poplar is rarely
more than IL inches in diameter.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Students Tramp to College.

Two students at Amherst college,
Vernon s. Clark. '04, and Robert c..
Powell, '06, whose homes are in Bing-
hamton and Poughkeepsie, N. Y, re-
spectively, performer novel and
rather arduous journey from the latter
city to Amherst on foot at the opening
of the college year. In search of spicy
adventure, they tramped the whole dis
lance along country roads, living upon
meals offered them by the hospitality
of the farmers.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Tea Raising in India.

The half million acres cultivated in
tea in India produce 100000 900 pounds
the investment being about $100 an
acre. The labor required is thirteen
persons to the acre. One pound of In
dia tea will produce TX gallons of
tea of given strength, while the tea
of China will produce but five gallons.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Bear Was Unfortunate.

William and Frank Pecu killed a
bear weighing las pounds near More.
town, VT, recently. One popularity
about the animal was that it was
minus three claws, which indicates
that the animal is the one which left
three claws in trap Whereabouts sew
eral months ago. The bear was in
fairly good condition.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
In the Bottle.

Senator Spooner relates converse.
tion he heard last summer in street
car in Milwaukee
do you have pale beer at home 2"
asked young lady Of her companion.
"Oh, no." replied the other; papa
always gets his bottled. "-Milwauke
Sentinel
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

ward us. Did tell you that we have
one Of the chiefs of police with us?
There is no noise, no melodramatic
whistle A whispered word of COM
mand, and two men have scaled the
ron gateway and have dropped into
darkness on the other side. A second
more, and the gate CRATES open on
rusty hinges, and we are inside.
1t is rather disappointing at first.
There is nothing suggestive of the
Tlowery land-no pagodas or tea
iouses or joss-houses, only three sides
VI a garbagestrewn square, ranged
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Remarkable SiIver-Leaved Poplar.

There is a remarkable specimen OF
the silver-leaved poplar on the lawn
of Mrs. Kate Wolcott, Claremont, N.
H., that has lately become known to
naturalists and is being visited daily.
1t is nearly 20 feet in circumference,
and its largest diameter is 6N feet.
From the base rise three prominent
limbs, the smallest of which is TX feet
and the largest 1-6 feet in circumfer.
ence.
AS no member of the "populus" fam.
lily is large growing and the "populus
abele," silver-leaved poplar, is one Of
the smaller members of the family
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
PROMISED 10 BE GOOD.

Unique Contract Drawn Up Between
Father and Daughter.
Miss Eleanor Lawrence is the young
woman whose father demanded an
ironclad contract binding her to he
good" before he would allow her to
go on tks stage. She lives at South
Bethlehem, Pa. Following is the con-
tract:
81 promise, in consideration of $50
advanced and backing in my theat-
rical venture. to continue my French
and German studies, at opportunity;
not to take midnight suppers and sit
up late with frivolous company; not
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Names Smallest Man.

Probably the smallest man along the
Kennebec river is Adelard Audet of
Augusta. He is % years old, but no
larger than boy of -. He is forty
inches high, well built and weighs AZ
pounds. =.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Wears Straw Hat All Year.

There is man in Hampton N. H.,
who wore straw hat all last winter
and he says he is going to do the same
thing again this winter. He does this
because of his belief in the old theory
that it is well to keep the feet warm
and the head cool.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
JOSEPH NORTH,
Bootblack with one leg,
City Hall Park,
New York City.

.......... ........... ....'..'
There is bootblack whose stand is
near the rear entrance of the city hall,
and he has lost leg.
"Is your name Joseph North!"
asked letter-carrier.
Sure" replied the sinner.
"Well, here's letter for you," said
the postman. And it was.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Auto on the Farm.

In the absence of horses, both a pillow
and a mower were used tied behind his
automobile by Mr. Raser, an Ohio
farmer. The machine was geared to
fast 70 give the best results.
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
A ".sEM BABY" WANTED.

Following the Lines Ct the "NeW
Man" and "New Woman"
Every day brings us something quite new
and unique.
Old idols continually fall:
The customs once loved have grown sad.
ly antique
And to-day are not followed ut all.
But of all innovations that ever vert
known
Since the dawn of creation began,
The new woman" so we must earnest.
ly own,
Is by far most important to man.
She has taken up politics, science and ar
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06
Climate Must Be Healthy.

Washington township Berks county
Penn, has within its limits eleven per
sons whoi ages aggregate 80 years.
Seven of -em are women
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

grated hither from Mexico or else
where and brought the habit with
them. Archaeology has not yet enough
data to determine either where these
races came from or what became Of
them.-New York Tribune
Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-11-06

70 associate unnecessari'7 with the
side door youths; to climb toward
the top OF my profession and to ele-
vate it.
81 promise to be conciliating and
agreeable to my employers and every
body else; not to play cards nor dance,
except in my profession; to carry
along my prayer book and read it, and
to live so that dad can always say
Good" Eleanor Lawrence"
Jan. 8, 1903"