davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

cold in war dance last night"
The Lakerimmers never called them
selves fellows any more; they were
braves. They no longer said Hello"
when they met; they said Howl"
Pretty got a sore throat from granting
all the time, and went around with a
red flannel round his neck which led
the girls to call him "Diphtheria."
The girls did this out of spite because
it made them mad to be called
"squaWs."
Reddy and Heady We're sent away
from the table one day because they
insisted on having raw meat for din
ner.
Any boy who was unpopular was
threatened with being burned at the
stake.
So you can see why the people of
Lakerim were not so sad as they might
have been when they saw the war
canoe disappearing from shore.
Eleven men did not balance the
canoe very well, but since the only
thing Hist'ry could do with the paddle
was to mix up the others. they man
aged better than they expected
Behind the man-of-war they towed
the little single canoe, in which B. j.
had won so many races, and which
he had willed to the club. For who
could tell?-perhaps they might lind
oh, of course they would not meet
him-but accidents will happen, and,
anyway the canoe was a great con-
venience for carrying their supplies.
And such supplies! The canoe was
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

make these civilized gentlemen real
Indians, so they used to carry toma-
hawks (home-made) and to wear
feathers in their caps. If you want
to know where the got those feathers
ask any of the sad-looking roosters
of Lakerim, that now go around bob
tailed and miserable. Every rooster
in Lakerim blushed when he thought
of that club.
B. j. had said one day before he alb
seconded:
IF we want to look like real In
dams 1 think we ought to have some
scalps."
This idea pleased the club greatly,
but it made everybody in town I'M
easy, except a few men who never be-
fore had realized how lucky they were
to be baldneaded. But scalps were not
on the market in Lakerim, and the
club gave up the idea with regret
Instead, they decided to have a club
pin shaped like an arrow head. The
town jeweler thought this a fine idea
until the boys desided to get the club
pins made at the tin shop.
The school teachers of Lakerim were
the next to be driven to despair, for the
warriors used to go about forgetting
all their lessons in grammar for talk
like this:
Me no have my lessons this morn
ing Arithmetic for palefaces, not for
heap big Injuns," and me no can
come to school yesterday. Me catch
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

loaded till it almost sank, and you
might have thought they were going
to pull up the North Pole by the
roots. A few of the things they car
ried were these: A waterproof tent,
days and nights without leaking;
waterproof canvas bucket that folded
up; a waterproof canvas wash-basin
that folded up: camp packs that car
ried the necessary changes of clothing;
extra shoes, tooth brushes, sleeping
bags in which a boy could fold himself
up as If he were two bushels of pota-
toes or a very large sausage: COM
plete cooking outfit, with frying pan,
soup bowls, cups, plates, steel knives,
pewter forks. and teaspoons, a bean
pot and several other cooking uten-
sils which all folded into one large
cooking pot two or three cushions
filed with air, useful as mattresses, or
life preservers, or pillows; a camp stove
that folded up; a large assortment Of
evaporated and compressed foods,
evaporated potatoes, concentrated
eggs compressed beans and erbswurst
sausage made out of meat and meal
and vegetables; not to mention a
great number of things that looked
very much like pills until they were
put into water when they turned out
to be soup; a waterproof matchbox;
a small waterproof medicine case;
guns; and finally a table that rolled
up.
(To be continued)
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

time?" asked Nebuchadnezzar anx-
iouslY
"Why, that's the interesting part of
the game said Nanny delightedly.
Then the crocodiles bite you. Some
times they bite your foot Off
shouldn't be surprised if they could
bite you right in two. Say, that would
be splendid fun! Let's run to the shore
and try"
mo, thank you," said Nebuchadnez-
Ear politely. IL have to take great
care of my health. It's so delicate that
I'm sure it would be injured if 1 was
bitten in two"
Then" sighed Nanny, II really
don't know what to do to amuse you
We might play Toe Steps" she added
doubtfully. You try to step on my
toe and I'll try to step on yours, and
the one who does it oftenest is the
winner"
1T wouldn't be nice for boy to try
to step on a girls toe, Nanny" SAID
Nebuchadnezzar, who suddenly recol-
lected the lessons in good manners
that his parents had been trying pa
tiently to teach him for ten years.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10
THE QUEER CASE
OF ZEKE HIGGINS
PART NO. 3.
A Wonderful Box Kite Which
Brought Joy and Terror to
the Town of ZekeSville.
BY HARRY BAXTER MASON.

For a long time after he had swal-
lowed a music box and led a big pro-
cession through his private town, Zeke
Higgins felt a soreness in his stomach;
but as the balmy spring days came
along he forget the incident and decid-
ed to make a kite which should be the
wonder Of the state.
Without saying a word to any one he
shook a lot of pennies out of his bank
and bought load Of lumber and roll
of red cloth. After that he spent all
his spare time in the barn, carefully
locking all the doors and keeping the
small boys away.
The neighbors heard sounds OF ham,
mering and saving for many days and
Zeke gloated over the surprise which
he had decided to spring upon the pub
lie.
One bright Saturday morning his la
bors were at an end.
The great kite had been completed.
Then, and only then, did the young
ster make the horrible discovery that
in his desperate endeavors to beat ev-
cry other boy he had made the kite so
large he couldn't get 1t through the
barn door
II was a severe shock to the poor
boy. who at FIRST decided TO tear the
roof of the barn. He did rip Off a
few boards before he happened to think
he might displease his father. So he
rolled up his sleeves. took the kite
apart and In q short time had IL an TO-
gether again. but out In the yard.
And such a kite ss Il Was!
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

bait and pretends to place it on the
hook AS the spectators are watching
him bait the hook he closes the bait
box with his left hand and at the
same time secures a fish.
1t is the work of only a moment to
fasten the snap hook on to the line,
slide the fish between the two halves
of the float and close the float with
the ring, being careful to double the
line under as shown.
The weight of the sinker and hook
at the end of the line are sufficient to
give the jerk necessary to pull Off the
ring when the line is cast This re-
leases two sides of the float.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

work, and the pony, with the rope pull
ing around his neck, found himself I'M
able to stop. Mr.. Higgins caught the
beast by the tail to help stop him, but
it went along just the same, taking
Mr.. Higgins and Zeke along with him.
Catch on and hold hard" excitedly
shouted Mr.. Higgins.
Mr.. Green, a neighbor, took hold of
Mr.. Higgins coat tails and pulled for
all he was worth-but on went the kite
and the pony, now at a trot.
Mr.. Green caught hold of tree with
one hand, but it slipped through his
hand just as another neighbor, Mr..
Brown, caught Mr.. Green by the belt
and all pulled back. But this didn't
stop the kite. Then others Joined in the
tug-of-war.
Out of the yard and into the street
dashed the dumb beast. with nine men
holding fast to his tail, and away they
all went down the main street of the
town. You could tell from the actions
of the men that they didn't care to go,
and all of them were yelling for some
sort of help. One merchant clutched
the last man by the coat tails and
shouted:
Come on. men. Save them
There was a grand rush to join the
AdPlQiy illONil6 illEg anu OtlOTG II 0dU
gone another block more than sixty
strong men were pulling and Juggling
on that ponys tail. Then the wind
seemed to die down a minute, for the
pony slackened and almost stopped.
"Hurrah Hurrah!" shouted the ex-
cited thousands.
But they laughed too soon.
The kite made a circular dive,
caught a new breeze and went away
with the pony, the boy and the sixty
odd men.
Swiftly the trot changed into a
gallop. Not a man dared let go, for
everybody knew the kite would take
the boy and the pony a mile in the
air. So everybody hung on and other
brave men rushed up and attached
themselves to the line.
BY the time the kite had reached the
far side of the town IL had a tail con-
sisting of one pony one badly scared
boy and eighty-seven breathless and
leaping men.
Then the wind shifted and back
came the kite. II was like a great
game OF crack-the- whip. and the tail
enders who were cracked" went
humping and rolling straight down the
road, leaving eighty-three men 10 the
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

Being a box kite and half as large
as a barn, it appeared at a distance
like little. red brick house. After
gloating for awhile, Zeke hauled down
his mothers clothesline and soon had
IT fastened to the kite
Taking hold of the end of the rope
he started to run, but was brought
back by sudden jerk, for he was not
strong enough to get his new toy up
in the air.
Well" he said with a sorrowful
smile on his jovial face, "Tll be plumb
fingered If / haven't overreached my
self. Here / have made the greatest
kite the world has ever seen, but it's
it,"
Out in the orchard the pony was
eating things he should not eat. Zeke
figured that he could tie the rope to
the pony, the animal could do the
running, up would go the marvellous
toy-and all would be we'll
So few minutes later the innocent.
dumb brute was tied to the rope and
looking with goo-goo eyes at the thing
which seemed to be red school house.
with a hurrah Zeke jumped from his
back.
"Whoop la! Get up there" and
Zeke dug his heels into the ribs of the
pony.
But the animal wouldn't bulge. He
wanted to look at the kite.
"Whoop! Gelang!" and again the
heels were dug into the ribs.
Finally the beast started and up went
the kite with a rush. Then the pony
stopped. The pull on the rope was so
great he couldn't move. All he could
do was to plant his feet in the grass
and try to keep from being pulled
along. Zeke was delighted. BY this
time great many persons had entered
the yard to get good look at the red
house in the sky.
That's a great kite, all right, my
boy" said Mr.. Higgins proudly, as he
shaded his eyes and gazed skyward.
Il didn't think you could build one
half so good. But you must he careful
not to let It get the best OF you"
An right, father; ! guess pony and
I can Just about handle IT. Can't we?"
and he patted the animal lovingly on
the neck.
Unfortunately the beast didn't have
sense enough 70 distinguish the diff
ference between a love pat and a blow.
so he mistOok the pat for an order 20
move. A couple OF steps settled his
case. The kite began 70 set IN iks
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

little sister beyond utterance If she
could have seen it.
1t was not as comfortable as 1t
might have been, for every time Nan
ny struck the earth she shook 1t so
that it jounced Nebuchadnezzar sad
ly. After she had jumped fifty times,
he feared that his teeth were beginning
to loosen, so ne attempted to change
the subject by asking her what other
games she played.
"Oh!" said Nanny. splendid games.
Come with me and We'll play one
right now
What kind of a game do you want
to play?" inquired Nebuchadnezzar
suspiciously.
I'VE will jump into the river and
then We'll bite each other and see
who can hold the other one under the
water longest" said Nanny eagerly.
We'll" said Northumberland, maxi
ing believe to reflect, II would enjoy
that a lot. But I can't go into the
water to-day because I've got a sore
throat"
Sore throat?" repeated Nanny Hip
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

could, but I guess every other human
being can if he will try"
This touched HiSt'rys pride, and
then Tug said to him solemnly'
We'll l will tell you one thing, HIST
'ry, if you don't learn to swim you
can't go with us on our cruise. Ihese
canoes are wobbly things, and the
lake is too deep for wading IN some
spots"
Before they knew what was up
Hist'ry had peeled off his clothes and
was running toward the water. Ihey
all gave three cheers and followed
him. Into the lake they dashed with
such a mighty splashing as would
have been made by so many hippo
potamuses-or hippopotami, as HIS
try would have said. When the rest
of them had dived under, and come up
with hair all sleek and shiny and neat
ly parted in the middle, they looked
up to see Hist'ry only ankle deep, ana
shivering as if he were walking INTO
ice water
They tried to COAX him in, ana
Robbles sang out, "A tadpole couId
not swim where it's as shallow as
that
But Hist'ry still hesitated. Then they
tried splashng him with water, ana
sent long well-aimed rainbows' OF spray
all over him, but this only drove MN
back TO the bank. Then Sawedon ana
Punk ran ashore after him, ana hnal-
~ caught him, when they had chased
him as far as he dared TO run. All
three came limping back on bruised
feet As they were hauling MIN INTO
the water in spite of his resistance,
Tug spoke up:
You can never teach man TO swim
by soaring him TO death. Let MN
alone"
So they all stood at a distance and
proceeded 10 pelt him with jokes ana
ridicule This was harder for him 20
bear than douses OF water, 50 IN the
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

tie bit relieved to have the boys go
Now for two weeks at least they might
walk down the street without having
to step over marble rings, dodge base
balls, and dance to keep their toes
from being pinned to the ground with
top pegs. Besides, the Lakerim Ath-
letic Club had a way of practicing its
new yell at very early hours in the
morning.
In the old days they had been salts
fed with a yell which came near
breaking all the lamp posts in town.
They all began together on the first
part of the yell, and divided their
voices into different kinds of noises
for the grand conclusion. The old
yell used to go like this:
"Lay-kriml
Lay
krim!
lay
krimt
ROW!
70!
ri!
Hoo
root
rayi
rahi"
Eut now that the club, at least the
most important part OF It, had organ
lied itself into a tribe of Indians with
a war canoe. It had seemed best to get
something still more savage. SO they
worked up an imitation warwhoop
that would have given any tribe Of
Indians the earache. The citizens OF
the town thought II was bad enough
while they were practicing. but when
they had perfected 1t. there was not a
grown man or woman in town whose
hair did not rise on end when he
heard H. And IL was reported that
the few policemen Of Lakerim used 10
climb trees whenever Il began
But the yell was not enough 70
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10
CHAPTER II.
A LONG CRUISE BEGINS.

A LONG CRUISE BEGINS.
The club canoe was a beauty, and
that, too, on a large scale. for it was
built on the lines of the old Indian
war canoes, in which bands of red
skins, disguised as rainbows, used to
20 on long picnics-the palefaces fur
nishing the picnic.
But the Lakerim war canoeists had
not planned to scalp anything except
pies, to burn at the stake anything
except potatoes, or massacre anything
except their own rations; and so when
they left the reservation, there was
no need to call out the United States
army to corral them.
The canoe held the twelve of them
comfortably, and each had his paddle
1t was ever SO much better than row.
ing in a shell, because you could see
what was ahead of you and watch
where you were going without taking
nine stitches in your neck.
The Dozen had looked forward sc
eagerly TO the cruise that even Hist'ry
had laid asid., his beloved books long
enough to learn to swim. For it was
laid down as a rule in the Lakerm
Athletic Club, that no member should
be allowed to go near the water until
he had learned to swim. 1t looks as
if the rule must have been written by
an Irishman, but that is the way il
read. And it meant we'll.
The time they had making a duck
of that bookworm Hist'ry is worth
telling you about
By the time the school term was
over and the summer vacation had be-
gun, most of the boys had taken tC
the lake as if they We're ducks. Hist'ry
was content to sit on the bank and
watch their clothes while he read a
book. When the book was interesting
and almost anything that was print
ed was interesting to Hist'ry-a band
of robbers could have stolen the
clothes of the swimmers. and Histry
hat and shOeS-in fact anything but
his SpectacleS or his bOok-Without
ever attracting his attention. Once IN
a while when he finished the book
before the boys came out of the water
he used to amuse himself tying various
kinds of knots in their cloths, and
it was wonderful how innocent he
could look when they came out al
dripping and shivering, and asked who
had been guilty of such base con-
duct.
One day Hist'ry said very solemnly:
IN bet that if you fellows spend
much more time in the water, you'll
find webs growing between your toes
like ducks-leastways if the theory of
evolution is good for anything"
What revolution you talking
about?" said Quiz. 1.-THE American
Revolution?"
oh" said Quiz. and after a long
silence he asked, well, what is the
difference?"
Your ignorance is shocking" said
Histry scornfully. Il didn't say revo-
luton l said evolution
Obi" said Quiz, and after long
silence he asked. We'll, what is the
difference"
Hist'ry felt like Mr.. Silas Wegg, the
gentleman with the wooden leg whom
Charles Dickens wrote about, and he
thought it was better to change the
subject than to confess he had used
a word that was several sizes too large
for him. So he said:
II wonder if 1 could learn to swim.
Jumbo said, 81 don't suppose you
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

tail of the pony and the tail of the
kite.
The innocent and wondering pony
was going at his highest rate of speed,
foaming froth flying from his mouth,
the frightened Zeke was hanging on
like grim death, and eighty-three men
were rolling, leaping and yelling, but
not daring to let go.
AS they reached the town park the
pony gave a bigger jump than usual
and his heels went into Mr.. Higgins
stomach with a thud which was heard
for a block With a howl of pain that
gentleman let go of the now we'll
worn tail and fell to the ground.
The others, unable to stop suddenly,
were upon him in a second, and soon
eighty-three growing and grunting
men were piled in one heap, strug-
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

to take his bait, but he might at least
have succeeded in capturing a gold
fish.
A good Hindu trickster can catch
gold fish without the aid of a pail.
He makes a cast with his line into an
empty box or simply throws his line
out from him into the air and present
ly he has a live FISH wriggling at the
end of 1t.
II the float shown in the diagram Is
examined, it can be readily seen how
the magician produces his fish.
Gold fish, il they are kept cool and
wet, can live out of water for ten or
fifteen minutes with no inconvenience
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

The line below the float is doubled
up under the ring as shown. 1t can
be seen readily that a slight jerk on
the line C will pull the ring from Its
position and release the two sides of
the float
AS it would be cruel to actually
hook the gold fish, the creature is en-
closed in small network bags. The
bags are the same color as the fish
pink mosquito netting makes an excel
lent net-and when the little animal
is wriggling around at the end of the
line it is quite impossible to dis
tinguish the netting.
Just before the trick is to be per-
formed, the fish, inclOsed in nets, are
placed in a box marked bait" such
as is shown in Figure 1. At the top
of each bag is a small snap hook.
The magician informs the audience
that, of course he cannot catch fish
without bait. To procure the bait
he opens the bait box, with his right
hand and apparently takes out some
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

Cling and fighting in their efforts to
escape being killed
But the boy and the pony?
On the instant when Mr.. Higgins re-
ceived the dig in the stomach Zeke
and his pet left the ground and began
to go towards the blue azure sky, and
a groan of horror went up from the
thousands who witnessed the sight.
The pony just grazed the tall trees
and went for the church spire. Zeke
wondered whether the wind arrow
would stick him through the heart or
liver and which would hurt the most.
Just as it seemed as If nothing could
save him, the wind Shifted a trifle and
twisted the clothes line around the
church spire.
The awful strain broke the clothes
line, and away went the greatest kite
that ever was, whirling and whilring
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

mo, I suppose not" said Nanny
regretfully. It's too bad. because
that's about all the games 1 know.
Suppose we go and eat something.
know where there's lot of lovely
hay"
Il don't seem to be hungry" replied
Nebuchadnezzar quickly. Besides, I've
got an appointment and 1 must run
away now"
So saying he scampered off without
stopping to comfort Nanny, although
he could hear her bawling and wailing
behind him.
When he had put a safe distance be-
tween her and himself he looked back
and saw her still sitting on the ground
weeping so hard that little brook
was running down the hill. However,
Nebuchadnezzar had no time to feel
sorry, for he ran spang! into a
strange character. He will entertain
you next Sunday.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

popotamus. "Oh, yes! I know My ma
had one once. She was coughing for
three days and she kept saying that
she had a tickling in her throat, and
when Doctor Flamingo came he look
ed in and saw that she had a canoe
sticking in it. She must have swallow
ed it one day without knowing it,"
Say" began Nebuchadnezzar. He
was about to say more, but luckily he
remembered the smile just in time.
well, if you don't want to play
that let's play hide and seek with the
crocodiles," said Nanny. You know
how to play that, don't your
No" said Nebuchadnezzar.
Well" said Nanny, Its an awful
easy and interesting game. You wall
along the shore and when you see a
crocodile you step on it's tail. Then
you try to run away and hide before
the crocodile can turn"
But suppose you don't get away in
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

81 don't know exactly" said Nanny.
but think I'm about one ton old
now
Observation-Disclosures thoueht this was
very likely, but he did not say so.
won't you play with me?" asked
Nanny Hippopotamus with a sweet
smile, that made Nebuchadnezzar
shrink away. Just turn my skipping
rope and will show you how 1 can
skip"
ACKNOWLEDGMENT did not care to play
with a girl, and still less did he care
to turn a skipping rope. But the
memory of the smile haunted him and
he considered it prudent to say moth
ing. So he turned the rope with an in
dustry that would have amazed his
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-10

to themselves or i'll effects upon their
health Professional magicians often
keep the FISH out of water a much
longer time than this without killing
them and apparently without even In
juring them, although 1t is not prob
able that the hsh enjoys the expert
ence. However, five minutes is more
than sufficient time to perform the
Hindu trick.
The float as indicated by the dotted
line. is made In two parts or halves
which NJ closely together. The two
halves are hinged together at the top
at A. y Is a ring which fits closely
over the lower end OF the float and
holds Il together.