davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
A unique 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 a 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, piece of plank
is got about one foot and a half in
length, seven inches wide and four
inches thick. This is pointed at one
end like 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 fiack, 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"
Finally a buoy is attached to the
boat by cord passed through the
bow. When everything is ready the
little craft is committed to the sea-
which in Cue 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
A Visitor From snace.

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 la
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 tac 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
pg42fk!iR!!|ZIgI'IpI|n |[ ; pInI1R

specimens from this stump aggregat-
ing many tons, it is still estimated to
weigh "A tons. To give a 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 it up and place it on exhibition.
Owing to its great weight however,
this had to be abandoned. and it still
les 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 a coun-
try of small trees, and that there are
no giant redwoods within a 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 redwood tree would grow at
this altitude now.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
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. Tho
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
matter of fact, flew to its 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 laSmen,
who were fully convinced the drought
would cease.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
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 piiing
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 q Biblical
quotation was evidently made in
spirit of mockery. The altar is sup
posed to have been erected by an
irrellgious 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 photo
graph of it had been taken before this
vandalism was committed.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Boat and boatman were capsized.
AS my rifle had fortunately been left
upon the bank. | was able to kill the
alligator again, We secured him by
floating the boat, under him and then
bailing 1t out The alligator complete
ly filed 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 it 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 linn 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
a series of impenetrable margrove
thickets. alternating with deep chan
nels. If lost one should turn his face
firmly to the north. and as guide re-
marked to me 'he ought to get some
where in three or four days. Country
Life in America
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
ALLIGATOR AS A BOATING COMPANION
Sportsmen Have Exciting Experience Had Apparently
Been Killed Several Times,
~S~~

Allfgators 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 | 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
Dank and, making fast to some bushes,
nauled on the line until we succeeded
IL worrying him nearly to the boat
when he rose to the surface and at
tackled us with open mouth. We re-
peiled the attack with harpoon pole
and rife. The former was promptly
bitten in three pieces. but the latter
apparently finished him. 1t was so
nearly dark that we decided to carry
him in the skiff 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
PAWNBROKER SEES HUMAN NATURE
Comedy Phcs Strangely Mingled These Resorts the Ciys

Unfortunatcs.
~~~N~.S

In pawn office on First avenue.
near Tenth street, a red-nosed woman
handed in Marseilles quilt and a
pair of sheets which had evidently
been in recent use. The pawnbroker
dung them back with crisp. Don't
want 'em; they amt clean"
you lyin' rogue an robber, they're
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!
want you to understand that I'm a
lady, an me mother before me was a
lady, tool" Finally she was elected
and went her way protesting.
In the same compartment stood a
bleary eyed man whose breath aroused
fears of spontaneous combustion. He
asked SO cents on a 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 land
followed him to ask how much he
got on them While he's sleeping it
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Two members of parliament have
quaint stories to tell of adventures in
Venezuela in times past.
An honorable baronet, while on a
visit to the republic. had interviews
with certain members of the govern
ment He dined with them in the
evening. and retired at 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 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 it's contents were
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 a resemblance to himself.
'Very 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
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 a
noise audible, sometimes, at 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 fuctu-
ates in sympathy with that of the air
above ground. But 1t is felt that
complete explanation remains to be
made. tf
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
Renters Wanted for Farm Lands.

The amount of snow already in the
mountains makes it 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 a few good rent
ers for the portions of this land that
we shall not farm ourselves. We want
none but first-class men. who have
teams and farming implements enough
to do the work. Very liberal terms to
the right men if taken at once. Write
to or call upon Zeph Charles Felt, GIG
Majestic Building, Denver. Colorado.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
STORIES OF LIFE IN VENEZUELA
"~~@
Republic.

in securing the restoration of my prop
erty."
Later in the day the Englishman dis
covered IN 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
a revolution in Venezuela some years
ago.
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 dollars 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.
II said, No, don't do that; it might
offend the people. Play for it, Which
was agreed to. The government man
government man won it all to the last
dollar. So after all no harm was
done."-London Mail.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
A Curious Natural sridqe.

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 Frustrated 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 psss from
side to side.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

through vestibule, nave and apse, and
over $50 feet wide through the 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 defies 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-t1e
instrument has nearly 5000 pipes and
forty-six stops.-Cecil Marrack in Sun.
set Magazine.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
CHURCH A MODEL OF BEAUTY
Glory of the Structure Known as Stan
ford Memorial.

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 the 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. The architecture
is q modification of the Moorish and
RomanesQue and the ground plan is
in the form of cross with rounded
Anda It is almost 200 feet long
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

off tonight I'll try and get the ticket
away from him, and maybe l can
scrape up the money to redeem them" I"
In one of the pawnshops that dot
Third avenue a man demanded S1.50
on a family Bible. The pawnbroker
refused to accept 1t 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
silver watch chain. The pawnbroker
said: "Well, as you're a 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 user"
was the sulky answer. "If you won't
take the Lords word for dollar-fifty
you won't take mine for a dollar"
At loan Office on Sixth avenue a
young fellow asked 81 on 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
Petrified Stump of Redwood.

One of Colorado's greatest curiosi-
ties is the petrified stump of a gigantic
redwood tree. This stump, which is
in an almost perfect state of petrifica-
ton, 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Miss Menard cured after doc
tors failed to help her.
"Lydia Il. Pinkham's Vege-
table Compound cured me after
doctors had failed, and | want
other girls to know about it. Dur
ing menstruation | suffered most
intense pain low in the abdomen
and in my limbs. AT other times
had q heavy, depressed feeling
which made my work seem twice
as hard, and i grew pale and thin.
The medicine the doctor gave me
did not do me one bit of good, and
Twas thoroughly discouraged. The
doctor wanted me to stop work, but,
of course, l could not do that. l
finally began to take Lydia Il.
Pinllham's Vegetable Compound
and felt better after taking the first
bottle, and after taking six bottles
/. was entirely cured, and am now
in perfect health, and am so CRATE
full for it."-MIss GEoRGIE MENARD,
537 Z. 152nd St., New York City. =
$4,000 forfeit If original Of abooc letter proUfng
oen1ineness cannot be produced
Lydia f. PinlSham's Vegetable
Compound cures female ills wheE
all other means have failed.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
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.
Northland, or Southland
All roses in eclipse
II Helen hath but leaned to one
The crimson of her lips.
And the worlds deathiess garden,
For all the wintry gloom,
For Helens lips have kissed the flowers
To mysteries of bloom!
Frank L. Stanton in Atlanta Constitu-
ton.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Brains well prepared are the monu-
ments where human knowledge is
most surely engraved.LRosseau.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

1t has been said that an Irish story
Is always pat. We may add that 1T Is
generally about Pat.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

isn't he a dear?" "He may look like
one. but he says he's an Elk
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Builhead scent cigar II you have
smoked one you know how good they
are. II you have not. try one.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
Found in Elsh,s Stomach.

In the stomach of a small pike,
weighing one-third of pound and for
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

PUTNAM FADELESS DYES color
more goods. brighter colors, with less
work than others.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

which she paid 10
cents, Mrs. Frank
Mayer, 311S 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 Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
Swimming Feat.

At the aquatic exhibition in London
c. l.. Newman swan two miles with
both legs out Of the water, as shown
above.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27
Fidelity Savings Assn li", sesssas. sssf 1000
SEND FOR PER CENT. DEPOSIT PASS BOOK

STOVE E EEpAIhs or every Known 5p.. make OF
PuLLEN. 1881 Lawrence 81. Denver. Phone rs.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

TRUNKS TRUNKS, TRUNKS. Write for Ill
suoNNS cGtalos The A. L. MEEK TRUNK
BAG CO.. 10th and Lawrence SITS. Denver. Colo.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

Financial Contract Security Co.
We pay per cent interest DEPOSIT BY MAIL.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

may trace the fish and If possible find
how it came to have the scarfpin in its
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

pANK nEFlcE RAR and STORE Fixtures.
pHNhI VI lvl, uRn Wall cnses, Show Cases,
Mantels, etc Write j. r. Aulson. lSil wakee, Denver
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

AGENTS. wants to sell QUO Nursery stock.
NOINi0 ~ specini Inducements 10 local agents.
NORTHERN NURSERY CO.. DENVER, cJt-O.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

| nENvER HnRMhI and Preparatory School, Nor
pIHtlH NUninHl NAL. kindergarteu AMI Com
meiciHi Courses 100 Glenarn. PRED DICK. Prin-
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1903-01-27

0XE0RD H0TFI i7sh nss1s sGsEpTj prpoT. s1AH
Strictly firstolsss Popular Prices u. Ii. Morse Mgr.
Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1903-05-08
AVARICE Is HEALTHY.
Keeps One Cool, Encourages hala-
try, AbstemIousnsas and
Steadluess.

1.-THE passions effect on the health
Is not sufficiently regarded" says n
physician in she Philadelphia Record.
THE passion which i best for the
health is Hvarice. Ii keeps one cool,
encourages regular and industrious
habits, leads TO ubstcmiousness and
makes against all excess. And hence
the avariciUus, the miscrs. live 10 a
great age. The misers Of history were
all noted for their longevity. Rage is
very bad for one The passion causes
an irregular. intermittent beating of
h heart. and the intermitteucy in
time may become chronic. Hatred
creates fever. If we hate we grow
lean. This hot passion eats us like n
hame. Fear is bad for the nerves. the
heart and the brain, and. therefore,
we should never permit ourselves to
be afraid. But the straTuest effects OF
oil have been caused by the passion Of
grief. The medical books record
cases where, coming suddenly, in a
violent shock. il has caused a loss of
blood from the lungs in one person
paralysis of the tongue in another. and
n failure of sight, or temporary blind
ness in n third.