davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
pOCTORlNG A PYTHON.
The Big Snake Objected, but Would
Not Bite His Surgeon.

The Big Snake Objected, but Would
Not Bite His Surgeon.
Those who happened to be passing
a well-known bird store the other day
might have witnessed the unusual
sight of a surgical operation performed
on q large python, huge snake from
the West Coast of Africa. Mr.. Snake,
so the dealer states, had run counter
of a detached wire on the side Of his
cage and cut deep cash In his fore
head. This the dealer set about doc
toring, administering large applica-
ton of Balm of Peru, an old remedy
used a great deal by army and navy
surgeons and animal dealers for heal
ing purposes. The python was not,
however, in a humor for being oper-
ated upon and tried to dodge and crawl
away from the proprietor, who finally
caught him, and then the trouble be-
gan. The muscular and constructive
powers Of these snakes is surprising,
and the dealer had to call several 9TH
ers to his assistance before he could
hold the serpent fast. Not once dur
ing the time the dealer was cutting
away the loose patches of skin and
flesh from about the wound and put
ting on the balm did he offer to bite,
although he tried hard to get his coils
around those who were "a-doctorin' NV
him. Since the application Of balm
the wound has healed, and he is now
better snake.
A pet animal and bird store is often
the scene of peculiar accidents. This
same dealer in addition to his bird
and animal business, conducts board
ing house for birds of al sorts. When
ever a lady enters with a parrot, ca
nary, mocking bird or cardinal which
she does not care to take along to the
summer resort, she is certain TO ask:
"Now, Mr.. c., please don't put my
birdie in cage No. ID; something Will
be sure to happen to him if you do"
The dealer had no faith in the No. 13
superstition, but to humor his patrons
always consented, SO that for some
time past cage No. Is has remained
empty.
Several days ago, however the cages
became somewhat congested, and to
make room he placed one of his own
canary birds in the unlucky cage. The
bird appeared to be in good health at
the time, but he died before morning,
since which event the dealer has been
somewhat less skeptical about No. IL.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
QyEER yToRlE5


Paper was invented by the Chinese
1913 years before the Christian era.
The most thickly populated island in
the world is Malta, which has 1850
people to the square mile. Barbados
has 1854 people to the square mile.
While a fire was in progress in q
tenement house in Paris, poodle
dashed upstairs, and in few minutes
returned with q doll in its mouth.
This doll was then joyfully seized by
an eight-year-old daughter of the ten
ant.
A remarkably clever little woman Is
Miss Emma kellogg of Colorado. She
wants to be a game warden, ana
states as her qualifications that she
once lassoed q young bear and brought
it home alive, has hunted mountain
lions, deer and elk, and is well versed
is woodcraft
The skeletons Of dwarf elephants
have been found on the island Of
bones showed that they belonged to
full-grown specimen, was less than
two feet six inches in height, and
! could not have weighed over sixty
pounds when in the flesh.
Nine successful novels recently pub
sale Of over 100000 copies. Since the
average weight of each book sold was
probably twenty ounces, a little cal"
culation will prove that these 100000
books contained approximately two
million pounds of paper. A manufac-
turer Of paper asserts that the average
spruce tree yields little less than
half a cord Of wood which Is equiv
alent to about five hundred pounds Of
paper. In other words, these nine
novels swept away four thousand
trees, and they form but a small part
of the fiction SO eagerly read by the
American public.
The record of oId-time droughts
shows some extraordinarily protracted
periods. The longest drought that
ever occurred in America was in the
summer of 1852. No rain fell from
May 1 to Sept. 1, making 1913 day
without rain. In that year grain and
hay were imported from England.
Other serious droughts were los days
in succession without rain in 1749,
ninety-two days in succession in 1870,
eighty-two days III 1901, eighty-one
days in 1858 and eighty days in 1773.
In more recent years there were forty
two days without rain in 1871, twenty
six days in 1875 and the same in 1876,
and twenty-four days in 1856. In these
latter years the lowest and highest
| Chicago cash prices were in 1856,
$1.75; 1871, 99rD and $1.32; 1875, S3A
and $13O1A, and 1876, eighty-three and
$126A.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
A Bad Tooth.

It was toothache allied poor Jenkins, and
his jaw hummed night and day
Like a beehive in the orchard depths in
honey-making May.
He tried everything to stop it that he'd
heard or read about,
But he didn't try the dentist-for he
wouldn't have it out.
There it stayed, the hateful, twisting,
grinding torture in the jaw,
Like a grinning little demon with the
nerve clutched in his paw.
Jenkins couldn't keep from bowling; he
would groan and curse and shout,
Till the neighbors thought him crazy
but he wouldn't have it out.
Jaw and cheek and tongue were peeling
from the stuff that he applied,
And he couldn't sleep the imp off; for it
woke him when he tried.
He was sore, and weak, and wasted, and
his tooth jumped like a trout;
But he clenched his fists and bore it
for he wouldn't have it out.
So he languished wrenched and anguish
ed for a fortnight black with pain;
Then he rush ed to find dentist-and
turned weakly back again.
Awful visions rose before him, filed his
trembling soul with doubt,
And he skunk back to his torment-fcr be
wouldn't have it out
Deeper, blacker grew the anguish that
was eating up his soul,
Till his very life seemed ebbing through
that little angry hole.
And the imp kept twisting, twisting,
with the bitter spite of govt,
Till poor Jenkins writhed and whimper-
ed-but he wouldn't have it out.
ST will live it DOWN. he muttered; and
he went his feeble way,
Till the pain grew like storm cloud,
plotting all the light of day.
On the last verge of endurance, with just
strength to crawl about,
He went covering to the dentst--and
twas fun to have it out!
Brooklyn Life.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02

Not many weeks ago a strike fnvOlv-
ing several allied crafts took PLACE in
Newark, under the direction Of the
Masons' Union. It babe fair to spread
to other trades, and cause great loss
and much i'll feeling. Some one pro
posed arbitra ton, and it was finally
agreed that the union and the master
unions should each prepare a list Of
names from which the arbitrators
should be selected. When it was found
that one man was on both lists it was
voted to make him sole arbitrator. He
accepted, went into the case exhaus-
lively, rendered a decision that covered
the minutest detail, both sides heartily
accepted it, and the strike was ended
at once. This arbitrator on whom mas
tiers and men relied for absolute JUS
tice, SO far as human judgment could
define,"- phrase is quoted from
the letter of thanks signed by both
parties to the controversy the pas
tor Of one of the largest churches in
the city Probably there are still in
Newark, as there are elsewhere, per-
sons who would like to make US think
that working men are done with the
church" For the benefit Of people
who hesitate to believe, we record this
cheering incident.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02

they divide the spoils. The reason
may be found in the fact that the men
are almost womanly in nature. They
are quiet and gentle.
Religion seems to be species Of fear
among them. The wind is the chief
source Of evil and diseases are evil
spirits. To transfer the sickness to
some tree or stone is to effect a cure.
The Sakai, like the North American
Indian, has some knowledge Of hunt
ing ground after death and calls it the
Island of Fruit.
in their tree habitations, they spend
their days hunting with the bloWgun.
This implement of sport or war, as the
case may be, is a hollow stick some six
feet long with a quarter-inch bore, and
by a puff Of the breath the marl1sman
is able to send a nine-inch dart into a
bird, lizard, snake or monkey 80 or 100
feet away, with fatal precision. Snakes
and lizards are regarded as particular
~ tasty to the Sakai palate.
When fighting a foe the man with q
blowgun poisons his dart, and dis
patches the deadly missile into his vic
tim from an invisible ambuscade.
In hours Of leisure or in couTting g
sweetheart the Sakai plays on nose
flute The blowgun gives him such
strong lungs that he can breathe into
this instrument with sonorons results.
Our illustration is taken from Outing.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
Plague Prevention.

The government of the Punjab prov
ince of India has commenced an I'M
dertaking which when completed In
five months time will be the largest
archaeological enterprise the world
has yet seen-the. incubation of seven
million persons for protection against
the plague, the only beneficial course
vet discovered to insure immunity
from this disease, according to Scien-
tific American. The superintendent of
the laboratory at Bombay is to supply
plague serum at the rate of fifty thou
sand doses a day. The serum is being
supplied from England in fourteen
thousand TASKS, and will entail the
manufacture of four huge sterilizers
costing fifteen hundred dollars each,
the planning Of new system Of pipes
and sinks for extra gas, and water and
churns. A very good idea of the prev
alence of the disease in India, and the
high mortality that accompanies 1t.
may be formed from the fact that III
the third week of August there were
3,547 fatal cases. England has now
been combating this disease for nearly
six years, and no remedy attempted
has proved successful except inocula-
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
King and the Wise Man.

Reports had reg ched the king from
time to time that Mustapha Murphy
was a very wise man and was becom-
ing an oracle to play second fiddle
to anything on legs and one day sent
for Mustapha to make holy show Of
him before the people.
The wise man arrival by trolley car
and when he had come into the pres
ence Of the king he was asked a num-
Der of leading questions, such as: Why
does a crab go forward backward?
Why wasn't a hen born a rooster?
Why doesn't a man climb a tree feet
first? To all questions he replied by
shake of the head and by and by
the king rose and exultantly exclaim-
ed:
"You can all see how 1t Is. Instead
of being wise man, our Mustapha
Murphy is simply a fool. Let him
go hence"
"Why didn't you talkT' was asked
Of the wise man, when he had left
the presence of the king.
because wisdom kept me SILENT"
he replied.
Moral: He who disputes with king
loseth his head.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
AN EARLY GRIST MILL
It's Reputation Destroyed by a Reck-
less Coon.

a
less Coon.
Down in the city of Quincy the old
settlers tell the following story about
one Of the first if not the first mill for
grinding corn produced in that local
ity.
The mill was the invention Of a local
genius whose name has been forgotten,
though the mill and it's mechanism
are still remembered. The mill was
constructed near the waters edge at
the foot of bluff from the face of
which poured spring Of considerable
volume. In proper proximity to this
spring a heavy post with a natural
fork at the top was set firmly In the
ground, and balanced in this fork was
a long and slender but very tough
pole, probably a hickory sapling. At
one end of the pole was suspended
q hundred pounds weight and on the
other end was constructed a box large
enough to contain about fifty gallons of
water. The affair resembled an old
fashioned well sweep, tnus depressing
that end of the pole and eleyating the
end sustaining the bowlder. When
the water in the box reached a certain
height it was automatically discharged
by means of a float and sliding door,
thus taking the weight from that end
of the pole. The bowlder, relieved Of
its counterpoise. fell by It's own weight,
and with great force, into a sort Of
mortar prepared for it's reception on
the ground below. This mortar was
section Of a tree trunk followed to
hold bushei or SO Of corn.
The mill worked perfectly. The
water of the spring flowing steadily
into the box elevated the bowlder. The
water released, the bo<fdur fell into
the mortar, crushing the corn placed
there, and the box filling again, raised
the stone for another fall, and so the
grinding, or rather crushing, went on.
A bushel Of corn placed In the NOR
tar at night would be found thoroughly
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02

College authorities and others inter
ested in education have recently been
discussing ways and means of inter
esting the students in the practical af
fairs of life. The young man in col
lege who takes an interest in politics
is the exception rather tnan the rule;
and those who do study public Ques
tons devote more attention to their
theoretical than TO their practical
side One way to turn the at
tention of the young men toward
politics was recently suggested by
Andrew D. White, formerly president
of Cornell University, and more re-
Gently ambassador to Germany. He
said that at the anniversary exercises
of st. Andrews University in Scotland
few weeks ago lie sat beside An
drew Carnegie, and spoke of the great
things waiting to be done in the Unit
ed States. Name some Of them,'' said
Mr. Carnegie. The thing most need
ing to be done, in Mr.. Whites opinion,
is the education of young men for pub
lie service, just as they are educated
to be lawyers Or physicians or electri
cal engineers. He would have profess
sorships and scholarships bearing di-
rectly upon public affairs established
In about twenty-five universities. The
subjects to be studied would be com.
parative legislation, comparative adj
ministration, international law, the
history Of civilization and the history
of the United States. By means IF
scholarships and professorships in
these branches Of stHdy-for which
Mr. White thinks twelve or fourteen
million dollars would be needed-the
country would soon have a group of
young men capable Of assisting in
reforming many public abuses, and
qualified to do effective service in the
routine administration Of government
A few Of the larger colleges have al
ready made a start in the direction
done. The desire to do public service
must be fostered, and still more i'm
portant, the, ability to serve the public
must be developed by such courses Of
study as Mr. White has proposed.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02

gineer must learn how to swim. Such
knowledge is considered as practical a
part of q soldiers education as the
ability to scale wall. The empire
owns many natatoriums, equipped and
used for the sole purpose of teaching
it's recruits how to swim, completely
accoutered with clothing, rifle, and am
munition. The emperor does we'll in
making his soldiers swim. In time Of
war that ability might save a regi-
ment, or even a whole brigade, hours
of time on a forced march. Our war
department ought to take a leaf out Of
Germany's book, which on military
matters is pretty complete and up to
date, and teach American soldiers
how to swim. And, by the same token,
the States should see to it that swim
ming is part of the curriculum Of it's
militiamen. For the knowledge Of it
would be necessary only in times Of
war, and in times Of war the State
regiments as we'll as the regulars will
be in the field
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02

Thanks to the new immigration law,
Prince Victor Nackachidsee and his
wife, Russian anarchists, whose expul-
sion from France was recently decreed,
may not come to the United States.
The new law excludes all anarchists.
AS the prince has been expelled at
various times from Germany, Spain,
Austria, Belgium and Italy. as we'll as
from France, and may not go back to
Russia, where he would have to serve
Siberia, he will probably go to Eng
land, where anarchists are still allowed
10 live
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
Marie Cahin'S HurnOr.

The quality which Miss Cahill pos
sesses is the same as that which lifted
Lolita, Miss Vokes and Miss Irwin far
above the level Of their contempora-
ries. 1t is the power Of making friends
across the footlights, Of addressing
herself individually to each and every
auditor. There is a genuine humor be-
hind it, the ability to make people
laugh without the aid Of grotesque
makeup or violent physical exertion.
Miss Cahlll makes her points quietly
a little too quietly some think-and
conveys the impression Of a reserve
force of entertaining qualities that she
can draw on at will. But more import
ant than all is this rare gift of making
her own distinctive personality felt
even by those in the very last row of
the gallery.-Everybody's Magazine.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
FIVE MILLIONS PER MINUTE.
Greatest Speculative Loser ON Record
and Hia Pitiab1e End

Greatest Speculative Loser ON Record
and His Pitiab1e End.
In a grimy garnet in a London slum
there died the other day the only man
who ever succeeded in losing $25,O00,-
600 in five minutes time.
His name was Henri Thihault. For
years prior to his death he had eked
out precarious subsistence as a trans
lator and teacher Of languages. Yet
thirteen years previously he had been
the prime mover in the great copper
corner, the collapse of which shook to
it's foundations the French financial
world.
Thibault's idea was secretly to buy
up the worlds available supply of cop
per and wait for the inevitable rise.
He came near succeeding.
From his Office in Paris he controlled
through his agents the markets Of
London, Berlin and Vienna and in all
Of them he purchased every pound of
copper that was offered.
The result was quickly apparent. On
July 1, 1887, "B. G. BIS" (best Chill
bars) were selling at 5000 a ton. By
June l they had risen to $3.50 and the
rise continued steadily until the mid
die Of December, 1888, when the IN
heard-of price Of a fraction over $500
ton was being asked and obtained.
then came the collapse. Thibault
had sunk all his money in the venture,
all he could borrow, all he could beg,
and STILL from all sorts Of odd and
unexpected corners of the world, cop
per came pouring in.
AS soon as he ceased buying he had,
of course, to commense selling, and
this fastened and accentuated the in
evitable end. By March 1, the price
had dropped to less than it was when
Thibault commenced operations.
Altogether the gigantic gamble cost
aim $5O,OO0,OO0, of which sum fully
one-half was lost between noon and
five minutes past on February %, 1889,
when the bottom dropped out of his
corner.-Stray Stories.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
His Time for Giving.

Marcus DAILY, the mining millionaire
left a fortune of $11,000,0O0 and was
accounted one of the most generous OF
the rich mine owners. He had his own
ideas, however, about the time and
place of giving.
"a newspaper woman called upon
him one evening for a contribution to
a newsboys' home.
"These poor little flowers Of the
street." said she, couldn't you give me
a goodly sum for them:"
"There are only one kind of flowers
l ike answered the miner
what are they, Mr.. Daly?"
"Four o'clocks. They never collect
honey after closing time in the after
noon"
The visitor took the hint. Her next
mornings mail brought her good
sized check for the newsboys.-New
York Times.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
ground in the morning, and the mill

ground in the morning, and the mill
was never idle.
One morning a citizen went to the
mill to remove his grist, placed In
position the night before. He found
that some animal, probably a coon
had invaded the mortar, doubtless at
tracted by the corn, and had become
part of the grist, and had been
thoroughly ground and mixed with the
meal.
The story soon spread abroad and
the mill became unpopular, as did its
product. A Quincy man has never been
able to disassociate in his mind the
thought Of ground corn and ground
coon. So corn bread is to this day
unpopular in that city.-Chicago Inter
Ocean.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
HUNT WITH BLOWGUNS.
Primitive Weapons Among Dwel1er
of the Malay Peninsula.

In several Oriental lands tree dwell.
ers are frequently met with. In the
Malay peninsula these ''sky parlor'' in
habitants are called Sakai and are
really an interesting people. They do
not live in trees because of convent
ence or for scientific reasons. They
have chosen this sort of habitation to
escape the wild elephants, the rhinace-
ros and other wild beasts which haunt
the jungle, and which they are unable
to fight because of their primitive
weapons. Men and women are on the
same plane. The husband and wife
share both toll and pleasure. They 60
hunting together, and after the chase
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-02
Interesting Reading.

Miggins-"I wish all these country
houses would mention their rates when
they advertise"
Higgins-'1 didn't think you were
interested You told me you were GO
ing to keep your family ct home this
summer"
Miggins-"Exactly, and l like to
figure out just how much I'm saving"
Philadelphia Press.