davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

The track builders of the Iowa &
Illinois road. now under process of
construction at the eastern edge of
the city, are having hard work. They
are in the Davenport limestone, and
drill and giant powder is the only
thing that loosens the material. EX-
cavation for the track has moved
along that street from the eastern
end of the paving to the first turn
about the front of Camp Mcclellan
property. 1t is coming along as fast
as such work can be pushed, but that
is not very rapidly, owing to the hard
character of the material upon which
the force is engaged. The ties are on
the ground, and some of the rails are
there.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

p. Il. King, who has been superin-
tendent of the glucose works, was not
allowed to get away from Davenport
without friends of the Davenport and
Pellin branches joining with him in a
final session of good cheer. Mr.. King
came here from Pel<in and goes to the
Syrup Refinery's big starch plant in
indianapolis. both changes being in
line of promotion. Saturday evening
group of his Pel<in and Davenport
associates gathered at Turner hall
and enjoyed banquet in his honor.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

in taking up both the local and for
eign advertising work of the Journal
he will be thoroughly at home.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

Next Friday 40 or more of the mem
bers belonging to the young Peoples
society of the Mission Tabernacle
church will attend the first annual
convention of the Young Peoples so
cieties of that church throughout the
state which is to be held at Rockford
Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01
DAVENPORT DOTS

Peter Foess, the Greek who is work
ing on the c., II. /. & p. section, and
who lives in car at the west end of
the city, is still at ST. Luke's hospital
suffering from the frightful kick de-
livered in the groin by Charles Fisher,
another workman, early Saturday
night.
At Mercy hospital Sunday, at the
age 10 years, occurred the death Of
Edward McGann, native of Ireland,
who had been a resident of Iowa 40
years, and of Davenport IS years. De-
ceased was born in Ireland in Oct. 1924
and has long resided at S2S West
Fourteenth. street. For over five years
past, however, he has been board
ing patient" at Mercy hospital, spend
ing his declining years at that institu-
ton, retired from active duties and
relieved from worry and want. Mr..
Mr. McGanns death was sudden he
having been Frustrated by paralysis
of the heart and death followed with
in 10 minutes of the first attack Mr..
McGann was n member of Company
+, Sth Iowa infantry, enlisting in 1864
for one year or until the end of the
war. being mustered out in June, 1865,
at Fort Gaines, Ala. He was married
Sept. IL. 1890, to Rosa Dunn, of st.
Louis. and his wife died July "A. 1891.
Both their children had died in in
fancy. Deceased is survived by n sis
ter. Mrs. Anna Dunn, of this city, and
two brothers in Ireland.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01
Chicago Dental Company

II you are in need of dental work
call on US before going elsewhere as
we can save you money. We use
nothing but the best of material and
our work is guaranteed to be first
class in every respect. II you are in
need of set of teeth call and be our
thin elastic plate. We guarantee it
to fit in all cases and when all others
have failed. We never ask you more
than our prices below.
CLEANING FREE.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

At Mercy hospital, of dilation of the
heart, at , o'clock Sunday morning,
occurred the death of Mrs. Mary Mol
10y, in the s0th year of her age. She
was a. native of ireland. and had lived
in Independence. Ia, up to short
time before her death. Her daughter,
Sister Mary Xavier, attended her
while at the hospital. The remains
were taken back to independence.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

Mr.. and Mrs. Roy Entrillin have re-
turned from their wedding trip and
are now keeping house on Twenty
ninth avenue. The employees of the
Moline Heating and Construction com
pany have presented them very pref
~ dinner set of Haviland chinaware.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

- ECee sd fs CO.. 5Sssso
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

Robert y. Carson is in receipt of
kilograms from James +. White, SUI
perintendent of the railway mail SER
vice at Washington, ID. C., and T.. l..
West. superintendent, of Chicago, to
the effect that the extension of the
railway postoffice service trains from
West Liberty to Des Moines, would
be made at once. This is the second
extension that Mr.. Carson has secured
for this mail car, which formerly
stopped at Rock Island but which the
postal department some time ago. at
Mr.. Carson's solicitation through Con-
gresham Wade. ordered extended to
West Liberty Now the service is eX-
tended to Des Moines. making several
connections north and south through
out Iowa and greatly improving the
handling of mail to and from Daven-
port at all points between here and
the Iowa capital. Davenport business
houses will welcome the improvement.
The negotiations for the extension
were handled by Congressman Wade
and successfully, as have been most
of the affairs he has taken in hand.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01
TRAINS.

THAINS- LEAVE. I q
ISL Louis Springfetd
GAleSburg, Peoria and
Quincy. ................ *7:SO am $685. am
Chicago. .......... "a 30 am 1885 am
s - Louis, Kansas City,
Denver and Pacific
Coass. .:............. s"7:S5 pm "7:lo pm
termediate ............ t7:25 pm +7:Io pm
D IbuSue, Clinton, Ls
Crosse, So Paul, MINI.
and n. W...,..,........ s "7:40 pm 200 am
Clinton, Dubuque, and
La Crosse. .............. 200 am 400 pm
Clinton and Intermediate ss7O0 am 100 pm
s. Stop at Rock Island - minutes for meals
sDaily. fDafly except Sunday.
Telephone 1850.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-01

Mr.. and Mrs. Theodore Fogelstrom
returned Sunday evening from their
wedding trip, and at the home of the
brides parents they were surprised
by number of friends who dropped
in to spend the evening. \ merry
time was enjoyed and refreshments
were served.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

i saw a lot of queer things during
my wandering through Morocco, Alge-
ria and Tunis," said man who re-
Gently returned to America from long
tour in the North of Africa, but the
queerest thing of all was the multitude
OF centenarians. They were as COM
mon as blackberries here in August
and man or woman had to be at least
hundred and fifty to enjoy any sort
oI local reputation.
1t is quaint and refreshing to step
aside for a moment from the hustle
u modern life and make acquaintance
With men whose fathers or grandfath-
ers were Barbary corsairs; to drop into
coffee houses where public story-tell-
els rivet the attention of a crowded
eSuuience, and where the jars Of Ali
Daoa are still in common use: to ire
Hueht public squares where snake
mariners barbaric musicians and 9TH
81 story-book delights are a common
pace; to meet Kadi riding to court
"a ~ white mule; and to mix with peo-
~ tle who tell you stories of djinns as II
icy were everyday occurrences
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

unconcern.
It is the same even in business, as
anyone may see by a walk through the
bazaars.
1.-THE venerable merchant will sit
and smoke in the recesses Of his
shop" said Herbert Vivian, an Eng
lish traveller who knows the people
of Tunis well, satisfied that custom
ers will come to him If so be that
Fate shall decree it. When they do
come, he requires much pressing to
induce him to take the trouble to dis
play his wares, though you may be
sure that he will drive very hard
bargain before parting with any Of
them. He appears to be rejecting all
the while that he would be far better
pleased If the world could only be in
duced to leave him alone"
In the country districts the CEN
tenarians are even more in evidence
than in the cities, and many of them
are of the softer sex. Some OF the
Berber tribes yoke their women to the
pillow with the OK and the ass, and The
blood of the foreign traveller boils at
the sight of aged grandmothers and
great-grandmothers being treated in
this manner. But they trudge along
the furrow cheerfully enough. The
work is not really so hard as It APP
pears, and they do not realize the de-
graduation, because they have never
been used to anything else.
A Berber chieftain who was remon-
strated with for putting his own aunt,
a woman of over ninety, to work in
the fields, replied calmly:
Women are bestowed by Allah for
pleasure and profit. When they grow
too old and ill-favored to give pleas
use, we turn them to profit"
This is the prevailing sentiment
throughout North Africa, except with
some of the Bedouin and Kabyle
tribes, among whom there is a moro
chivalrous feeling towards women.
Many of the "marabouts," or holy
men, who are to be found at the
sacred shrines and tombs which are
scattered so thiokly all over the Bar
barry States, live to incredible ages.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

brothers, and gain much glory and
honor"
The others applauded. Habibullah
gave sharp order. and Immediately
the murderous mob formed into a dis
ciplined battalion again. With the
Prince riding at their head, they
marched to the palace, where the trern-
ling officers were awaiting news.
Here are your men," said Habibul-
1ah. "Why could you not control
them, as l have controlled them? Now
I will inquire into this matter"
He spent the rest of the afternoon
hearing both sides fully, and then gave
judgment. 1t was a bad day for the
officers of that regiment. They were
proved to have Systematically robbed
and maltreated their men. Habibul-
lah ordered that the colonel and two
other officers be taken into the court
yard and forthwith hanged. The 9TH
ers were reduced to the ranks. Nor
did the men escape. Those who had
killed officers were hanged, and the
ringleaders were imprisoned for a short
term; but the rest were pardoned in
consideration of their provocation.
When Abdur Rahman heard this
story he said:
"Praise be to Allah! My son will be
a great king. Now I can die in peace,
for I know my country will not miss
me-"
When he returned to Kabul. after
his two years absence, the Ameer
conferred two decorations upon his
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22
rdered them back to their camp.

ordered them back to their camp.
They refused to go, saying that their
officers had treated them like dogs and
they would not return to such life.
They would rather die.
Your grievances shall be inquired
into, and if wrong has been done to-
ward you, you shall have justice" said
Habibullah. "By the beard of my
father, l swear it. But if you go not
back, you shall surely die
Awed by his reckless courage and
kingly bearing. the mutineers waver-
ed. Then one of the ringleaders cried.
go forward brothers! Shall we be
ruled by this son of a slave-woman?
Kill him!"
At this insult, Habibullah cast diplo-
macy to the winds. He drew his sword
and spurred his horse towards the
man. The mutineer fired, but the bull
let tore harmlessly through the Princes
turban. Next moment the Princes
sword shaved the mans head from his
body.
The audacity of the act held the mu-
tineers spellbound. 1t passed their I'M
Outstanding how this young man, alone
and at their mercy. dared to slay one
of their number. While they hesitated,
Habibu1lah calmly wiped his sword on
the dead mans turban and put it back
into it's sheath.
Then a gray-bearded veteran shout
ed:
Truly he is a kings son, and great
ruler of men! We will serve him,
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

son-one for his bravery in REFRESHING
the mutiny, and the other for having
governed the country so wisely,
cleverly and so entirely in accordance
with my wishes"
Habibullah, having been carefully
tested and found to be of sterling
stuff, was given a degree of power
unprecedented in Asiatic kingdoms
Usually, an Oriental monarch fears
to trust his son with authority, lest
that son should conspire against him.
Abdur Rahman, on the contrary,
trained his son to carry on his own
great work after his death.
The building of the public audience
Cor durbar), which hitherto had been
done in person by all the kings of
Afghanistan, was entrusted to the
Prince, and he was made the Supreme
Court of Appeal. All the judges,
whether ecclesiastical, civil or crimi-
nal, were placed under him; there was
no court over him, save the Amer
Every official in the kingdom was
placed directly under his orders.
When giving him this great power,
Abdur Rahman asked him:
when you are called upon to do
justice between men, by what light
will you be guided?"
Accustomed to the fiattery of an
Oriental court, he expected his son
to answer, by your example," but
the young man replied:
"By the light of the Koran"
"And If there is nothing in the
Koran that bears on the case, what
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

will you do then? VIII you refer it
to me?"
mo. 1 will do as think right I
am appointed to judge, and 1 will
Judge"
The stern old Ameer applauded the
answer and said that his son was fit
to be ruler and a king.
The procedure of trials before Habi-
bullah was simple and patriarchal.
There were no lawyers and none of
the laws delays. Anybody who want
ed to see him had simply to walk into
his court and state his case. The beg
gar and the prince were equal before
his throne of justice. Both stood
shoulder to shoulder before him and
stated their grievances for his judg-
ment. Once he punished his own
brother, Nasrullah Khan, on the COM
plant of an artisan.
All the high officials of the kingdom
and most of the government depart
ments were placed under his control,
and the other princes of the royal
house were taught to pay homage to
him as they did to the Ameer. He
proved himself to be a fine soldier, a
just judge, an able administrator, and
a ruler in every way fitted to succeed
his great father.
So it came about that when Abdur
Rahman died in 1901, Habibullah
quietly assembled the throne by gen.
eral reclamation of the Afghan chiefs
and people. Such a peaceful success
sion was unprecedented in Afghan an
nails. The death of other kings had
always led to civil war. but every
body had been taught to recognize
Habibullah as the greatest man in the
country after his father He was the
logical king.
During the lifetime of Abdur Rah-
man there was continual plotting
against Habibullah by the Sultana
Halima, the principal Queen. She
naturally wished her own son, a little
boy named Mahomed Omar JAM to
become king; and she had very pow
erful following, as she was the
Ameers favorite wife.
She is a woman of royal blood, and
thought that her son had a superior
claim to the throne, Habibullah's
mother having been simply the hand
maiden of one of the other queens.
This Queen had no children, so, fol-
lowing an immemorial custom Of the
East, she said to Abdur Rahman, as
Sarai said to Abraham, "go in unto
my maid. that I may have children by
her"
BY Oriental custom, Habibullah is
reckoned as the son of the Queen,
not as the son of the slave-girl but
naturally Mahomed Omar JAMS
mother insisted on regarding him in
the latter light.
She is a remarkable woman Once,
in her youth, a revolt broke out in
Kabul while the Ameer was away.
She left the harem. dressed herself
as a soldier, put herself at the head
of the loyal troops. and led the charge
which won the day. When the Ameer
hurried back. he found that she had
hanged the principal rebels, restored
law and order, and gone back to the
harem. He gave her a jeweled sword
as a reward.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22
BY HOWARD Vaudeville.

"All this. and more. you can enjoy
in Morocco, Algeria and Tunis-though
the French are doing their best to
spoil the Old World charm of the last
two countries. But of all the strange
things / saw there, the strangest were
the old people. There are so many OF
them, and they are so strenuous.
Every traveller in the "Barbary
States" as they used to be called, is
impressed by this remarkable album
dance of centenarians. A graybearded
old man of 20. who is trying to sell
curios to a tourist for thrice their value
exclaims:
'By the beard of the Prophet, may
my grandfather die If what tell you
is not truel"
Looking at his gray beard you think
he Is nuite safe in calling down that
curse upon himself. but when you
make inquiries you find that ne really
has a grandfather living, aged about
one hundred and ten. and that the old
gentleman is still going about DONG
business on market days.
Life is not wearing in Moslem arr
ca. A man never does anything IN
a hurry there. Naturally, he does
not even grow old in hurry. When
he is 20, he is beginning to get
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

over the first hot flush of youth, he
is no longer counted as one of the
boys. But not until he is at least 80
does he expect people to pay honor
and reverence to him as a veteran
and even then he must take a back
seat and listen deferentially when the
hale and hearty centenarians APP
proach.
The Arabs and Moors of the Bar
barry States are strenuous only In
their religious exercises. The Excess
siVe zeal of the various confraternities
which give vigor to the Moslem faith
in that part of the world must be very
wearing. But even among these con-
fraternities many very old men may
be found who go through the exhaust
ing ritual just as easily as a mere boy
of 80 or 40 can.
OF all these confraternities the best
known and most interesting are the
Aissawa, who may be met with all
through Morocco, Algeria and Tunis.
Unlike most of the other societies, they
delight to display their fantastic rit-
ual in public, even to the unbelieving
eyes of the 'infidel dogs of tourists.
It is an undisputed fact that they
eat snakes and scorpions, chew glass
and transfix themselves with swords
without being any the worse for such
injurious habits. Opinions differ as to
how they manage it, but the favorite
explanation is that they are under
the influence Of hypnotism. They do
not attempt their dangerous exercises
until they have wrought themselves up
to the highest pitch of exaltation by
a series of wild gyrations and much
frantic beating of drums And many
Of these dancing dervishes, who whirl
around like top for a quarter of an
hour and then swallow snakes and
thrust swords through their bodies.
are white bearded old men of 80 years
or more. Some are even contenarians.
One would think that such fierce ex-
element would be fatal to them, and,
indeed, their faces oftentimes take on
the chastity pallor of death during
their performance. But soon after II
Is over they are all right again,
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

Their fantastic emotions are very
Catching An English resident in
the city of Tunis once induced a num-
Der of them to perform at a garden
party which he gave Many of the
guests, Europeans and Americans. con-
fessed to a strange impulse to join in
the various exercises of the Aissawa,
as If they had caught something Of
the religious infection. zone of the
native servants was so far carried
away" said a man who was present,
that he suddenly fancied himself to
be a camel, and retired to a remote
part of the garden to eat cactus
leaves"
But most Of these .graybeards Of
Barbary are very different from the
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

Copyright, 1903, by William Thorp }
Several years ago an English physi-
clan rode up to the entrance of the
Ameer of Afghanistan's palace in Ka-
bull. He had been engaged to act as
court surgeon to the Ameer Abdur
Rahman, and had called to pay his
respects to that potentate on arriving
in his capital.
The Ameer was away, SuppresSing an
insurrection-a familiar occupation to
the ruler of the turbulent Afghans-
but the doctor was told that his eldest
son, Prince Habibullah Khan, would
receive him.
He had never met an Oriental prince,
and he expected to see stout, indo-
lent, ignorant, bejeweled creature re-
Ginning on cushions and sleepily smok-
ing an opium pipe. He wondered
whether he would be expected to grovel
on the floor, and mentally resolved that
he wouldn't.
When he entered the reception room
a dark-skinned, clear-eyed, athletic
young man. dressed in an European
looking military uniform, stepped for
ward and shook him heartily by the
hand.
How do you do, doctor?" he said
in excellent English. I'm awfully
glad to see you. Hope you had good
journey! I've been looking for you
anxiously. I'm in a fix. and you can
help me out. Do you know anything
about the water supply of London and
other big cities? want to provide a
good water supply for Kabul, and I've
been reading up the subject. but there
are some points 1 can't understand"
This was not the kind of Oriental
prince the doctor had expected, but as
soon as he had recovered from his as
constituent he discussed the subject
and was surprised to discover how
much Habibu1lah knew about it., and
about thousand other points of West
ern science and polity.
However did you manage to learn
so much?" the doctor finally asked in
aInazement. You never studied
abroad, did you?"
No" replied the Prince, but l
ASeNAACN Wlldl COQlQ my LdlI1Gl
and from Europeans who came here,
and read a great many books and
newspapers. 1t is my duty to work
and to study, night and day, to fit my
self to rule my people and make them
a great nation. That is what my faith
er has taught me since I was child,
and he teaches the other princes the
same"
Abdur Rahman Khan, the Ameer
OF Afghanistan in whose stead Habi-
Dullah now reigns, was one of the
worlds few great men. Competent
judges ranked him with such SUI
preme statesmen as Prince Bismarck,
Cavour, and the present Emperor of
austria. He found the Afghans a tur-
Dulent horde of barbarian tribes; he
Ieit them a strong, united nation, for
whose alliance Russia and England
eagerly compete Out of chaos he
created law, order, justice and the be-
glnnlngs of civilization. And Habibul-
IAN who now carries on his great work,
was his right-hand man.
Europeans called Abdur a barbar-
GUS tyrant, and certainly his methods
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-22

Juggling fanatics of the Aissawa.
They are distinguished by a calm,
courteous dignity which 1t seems i'm
possible to rufffe-the dignity that
naturally springs from the fatalism of
Islam. In the streets of Algiers, Fee
or Tunis, you have only to stand for
a moment to watch an old Bedouin
crossing the street in order to realize
this. He may be a man of ninety, who
in America would have to be carefully
helped across by the policeman, but in
a Moslem city he never seems to take
the faintest notice OF traffic until he
is absolutely obliged to do so. He will
not step aside for horses and carts
until they are on the point of running
him down, and then only with utter