davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
75e Times Daily Short Story.


Going back to the pinnacle, he asked
the man at the wheel if he had seen or
heard anything queer Tile man re-
piled that he had seen something like
a shadow beside the mate, and he had
also heard q laugh TINT made his flesh
creep. The mate poohpoohed and bull
dozed 70 make light Of the affair, as 1t
was polite to do; but, though the man
was reduced to silence, it was evident
that he was fully satisfied that a spook
was aboard
Next morning the mate related his
experience to the cabin. and as he was
a man whose word could not be ques-
toned no one thought OF ridiculing
him. on the contrary. we began fish
ing for some natural and plausible rea-
son to account for the thing Various
theories were raised, discussed and
abandoned for others for the next
week, and we found ourselves no bet
ter of than when we began.
Two weeks had gone by before we
got another scare. This time it came
to the captain himself. as he hoped II
would. at 10 o'clock at night be SAT
reading Ia his cabin when a chill pass
ed over him, and he felt two ice cold
hands on his neck. 1t was at il a
strong man had put his thumbs to-
gether on the back Of his neck and
clutched with his fingers The cap
tain started up and shook himself clear
Of the clutch and whirled to strike al
whoever was behind him.
No person was there, but ais il In
answer TO the captains oath Of as.
constituent there was the same low,
sarcastic laughter as had been heard
by the others. His stateroom door
was open and had been Ia two hours
and the laughter died away in that d.
rection, aud the door gently closed Of
itself.
The captain came On deck and call
ed me and whispered that man had
passed into his stateroom. Together
we descended and made a search. and
Of course. nothing was found NJ
man could have been more upset His
experience had been even more trying
than the others, and al his argu
ments had been torn to shreds Some
thing had gripped him, though ns
marks were left to prove IT, Some
one or something had laughed. though
the captain was an alone in bis cahir
and was sure that the sound could not
have come from his own lips.
We saw nothing more of the ghosi
business and reached port SAFELY will
All well. but the yarn got into th'
papers and was circulated among ths
taverns, ana when ready to sail agar
we found ourselves without crew
By paying double wages we secured
one after d long delay. and the Graf
was seventeen days out when thl
ghost appeared again and laid Its cox
hands on one Of the men.
The entire crew before the mast seiz
ed the boats and abandoned the ship
and, though her officers stuck by he
and eventually got her into a port, shi
had received such bad name. that sh'
never made another voyage She coulC
not be sold at any price, but had to b
broken up. "a. QUAD.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
"A GHOST
ABO AR D

copyright. 1904. by T. c. McclureI
We were bound from Liverpool to
South American port in tie new clip
per ship Danube, and one night. when
seven or eight days out, we lost the
ereeze and lay idly on a CLASSY sea.
4 sailor named Charles Jones was
on watch as lookout at 10 o'clock He
was sober. dignifed man and the best
seaman Of the crew. As second mate
Of the ship had charge Of that watch
at the time, while the captain and chief
mate were lounglng about on the fore
ana main decks.
or d sudden Jones yelled out and
came running aft In state Of great
excitement lie was in such a per-
turbed state that It was five minutes
before he could relate his story. He
was pacing to and fro, he said, keeping
a bright lookout and not thinking Of
anything 10 particular when he sud
denly found something walking beside
him. He heard no step or sound, but
a something stood shoulder to Shout
der with him. 1t wasn't man nor
was II vet shadow. The sailor felt
fits breath 90 his cheek and turned to
seize it. but the something" laughed
at him and glided away.
was greatly provoked with the man
and charged him with having slept on
his post. though l knew that ! did him
injustice In this. It was cloudy
night, with the moon breaking through
now ana then, and / contended that
his something was but a shadow
ana ordered him back to his post.
Nothing further happened that night,
and the next morning the captain call
ed the old man aft and gave him to
understand that IL he felt or saw any
more ghosts ii would be bad for him.
The crew would talk the matter over
ana, Of course, side with Jones, but
that ANYTHING further would be seen Of
the something" no man believed.
When ten days had gone by and
nothing more had turned up we began
to look upon the ghost as good Joke,
ana the two men who saw It were the
butt Of rldicule. At O'clock Of Ger.
kiAN UiOAAAN-t ADNtASit tit btSNAc bS'
ing small and the night without o
moon, though fairly light the chief
mate stood looking to windward over
the port quarter at what he believed
was SAIL Ills watch were an wide
awake, and he could bear the footsteps
Of the man on lookout as he paced.
The officer had been standing still
for perhaps five minutes when he felt
d hand laid on his arm and icy breath
on bis cheek, and as be wheeled about
there was the sound Of low laughter.
To his surprise and CONSERVATION no
one was visible His Impression as be
turned was that | had softly ap-
preached to test his nerves. Tor a few
seconds he was as sure that he had d
human being to deal with as that be
lived, but when he found nothing be-
fore him and yet heard the knocking
laughter his flesh began to creep.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
USE FOR AMERICAN RATS,
Rodents Killed to Furnish Ear and Nose
FLAPS for Japanese Troops.

A use has been found for American
rats outside OF forming an Ingredient
for chop suey, says dispatch from
Seattle. wash They are being used by
the Japanese to keep their ears and
noses warm while they are lighting
Russians. Only its hide is pres sed into
service, and a large number of these
hides come from Seattle
According to the japanese authori-
ties, patriotic rat catchers of Seattle
have method Of obtaining the hides
of the rodents peculiarly their own,
They first catch the rats in a trap, then
tap them on the head with monkey
wrench, skin them and hang the hides
over 4 radiator to dry. After this the
hides are shipped 70 the orient, where
they are made into ear flaps for the
japanese soldiers.
Nearly every japanese ia Seattle has
developed into rat catcher. Probably
the cause OF the decrease la the rat
population would not have been dis
covered for a long time but for Harry
Key, a porter in a saloon. upon whom
devolyed the duty Of freeing the place
from rats. a few months ago Harry
was not anxious to catch rats. but OF
late 1t has become d mania with him,
He would rather catch rats than eat
1t was thought that the rats caught
were being disposed of as was any
other refuse. But one Of the employees
happened 10 find Harry busy making
wild lunges at imprisoned rats with a
monkey wrench. The Japanese was SO
intent on his work that he did not
know anybody was watching him.
When all the rodents In the cage had
been killed the japanese started to
skin the biggest one When the opera
ton was completed the hide was care
fully hung over the radiator to dry
Then the employee began TO question
him.
Every japanese who has any loyalty,
Harry said. has developed into q rat
catcher The rodents are being killed
By hundreds. SO fixed has become the
habit IN the minds Of the Japanese
that If they see a rat on the street they
start for 1t for all they are worth, and
several Of the little brown men, IN
their zeal to get one more ear flap for
soldier, have almost dived into a
sewer after one Of the elusive rodents
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
ruture 81 the AutomobIIe.

After 4 time perhaps the automobile
win cease to be fad as II Is now.
says the Columbia State Millionaires
and those who think themselves mil
lionaires viii no longer use the ma
chimes for amusement purposes alone
The horseless carriage will be put tq
practical. sensible uses and will fill d
now vacant place in our domestic econ.
0my.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30

Only the very rich have fences
around their farms in Japan, says the
Philadelphia Public Ledger The Jap
anese do not like to spare the square
feet a fence would take up. II bor-
der around a field is necessary it Is
made Of mulberry trees. the leaves Of
which are good for silkworms It IS
said that 10000 acres that would 9TH
erwise be taken up with fences are
thus used
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
H. H. Rogers III.

New York Dec. 20. II. H. Rogers,
who was at his Office yesterday for the
first time in week, is not in the best
Of health, according to several Of his
personal friends. Last week he was
kept at his home three days by order
or his physicicm, and yesterday he did
not stay downtown long. His friends
have advised him to take a rest from
business for the time being, but it is
understood that he is not willing to
do SO.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30

1t has been shown that out Of a list
of 1850 sovereigns 900 have been over
thrown l34 assassinated. 123 taken
prisoners OF war, Jos executed. 100
slain in battle. "a forced TO abdicate,
% died BY their own hands, % were
tortured 10 death, while 23 became
mad or imbecile This gives total
Of 905 whose reigns have ended misera-
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
GOV. BELL MAY ATTEND.
States Executive Planning to Go to
RooseveIt's Inauguration.

Ii Is expected that Gov. Charles J
Bell and his staff win attend the inau-
guration Of President Roosevelt in
Washington, March 4. The details OF
the arrangement for Vermont's partici-
patton in the inaugural exercises and
parade are now in the hands Of Adit.-
Gen. w. H. Gilmore, of Fairlee. All or
CARNATIONS, societies, and other com
panies Of yerInonters that may desire
to participate in the parade should com
municate with General Gilmore.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
DROPPED DEAD.
Mrs. Ann Eagan Of Montpelier, Mother
of T. W. Eagan.

Montpelier, Dec. so, Mrs. Ann Eagan
aged rs years, widow Of the late Thorn
as Eagan, dropped dead yesterday at
the home Of d neighbours Mrs. Eagan
was engaged in washing for awhile, af-
ter which she sat down To rest Then
she went over to the residence Of a
neighbor on Mortified street Here she
remained for few minutes. Starting
for home again she took three steps and
fell dead
The deceased was born in Ireland and
came to this country 81 years ago. Two
sons survive her, ]. J. and T W. Eagan
the latter being the well-known stone
dealer He went to Albany yesterday
and did not hear Of the death Of his
mother until he arrived in tat city.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
AGREE WITH ADDrcKs MEN.
Regular Delaware Republicans compr
mise on Legislative Offices,

Dover, Del, Dec. 29.--In the organi
cation Of the Delaware legislature today
the Union, or Addicks, faction and the
Regular Republicans reached an agree
ment on the temporary officers of the
two branches
In the House, Representative Boggs,
Union Republican, was elected temporary
speaker, and Representative Armstrong,
Regular Republican, temporary clerk.
After the senators-elect had been
sworn in, the Senate elected Senator
Sparks, Regular Republican, temporary
secretary. Lieut.. Governor Cannon pre-
sided over the Senate
Both branches endeavored to effect
permanent organization, but failed a
recess was then taken untn later in the
day.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30

The custom Of Chinese wearing pig
tails is not so very ancient. It dates
from 1927, when the Manchus, who
then commenced their conquest Of the
Celestial empire. enforced this fashion
Of doing the hair as q sign Of degrade
ton.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
HOPES HE Will DIE.
Sheriff Peck's Demise Before Execution
Of Mrs. Rogers Desired by Woman.

White River Junction, Dee. 2S.--Sher
i'll Peck received from Boston on Mon
day an anonymous letter in a feminine
hand, in which the writer expressed a
hope that he would drop dead before
the ime set for Mrs. Rogers execution,
and that after death he might 60 to the
lower regions,
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
NAMES NEW Law ENFORCED.
Man Indicted for Killing Man Mis-
taken for a Deer

skowhegan, Me, Dec, 29 The grand
jury Of the supreme court arose today
and reported indictments against Mau.
rice w. Gaylord Of Cornville, who was
arrested for killing Fred Butler Of skow-
hogan By installing him for a deer.
There were two counts, one for alleged
manslaughter and one for earelessness
in killing man while hunting If a
conviction in the latter count is made
~ the court it will be the first under
the recently enacted statute.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
FIVE COWS DROWNED.
Animals Wandered Onto Ice at West
Ferrisbure and Broke Through.

yerpenncs Dec. 2s.---Five COWS owned
nv William Kimball Of West Ferris
burg broke through the ice on Lake
Champlain Tuesday and were drowned.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
BAD CORPLE XIONS

Can be covered up With Lotions,
Washes and Powders Containing
Arsenic, Lead and Mineral Poisons.
But These Always Make a Bad
Matter Worse. How to Obtain 8
Good Complexion in Natures Way
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
]. HAMProN MooRE APpoINTED
New chief Of the Bureau Of Manufact-
ures in the Commerce Department.

ures in the Commerce Department.
Washington, Dec. 20. President
Roosevelt has appointed J. Hampton
Moore Of Philadelphia chief Of the bu-
reau OF manufactures OF the department
Of commerce and labor
Mr.. Moore is president Of the National
League Of Republican clubs and was for
merly city treasurer Of Philadelphia.
lie has accepted the appointment mad
will enter upon the discharge of his
dutis about The first Of the year.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

The decline of author-worship in
this day and generation seems to have
made Mr.. Howells wriggle bit in his
October Easy Chair. Certainly, 1t is
a fact that that alteration with which
we used to regard Longfellow and
Tennyson. Emerson and Carlyle. Haw-
thorne and George Eliot. does not so
out to the writer's of to-day. The more
dignlfed Of these we look upon merely
as competent workmen. the more SEN
sational as butts for cheap jests. Not
even for whose books are most awful
do we feel awe. Perhaps. to essay
an explanation. the decline of author
worship is the outcome Of decline of
authorship.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

The American young man who is
worth counting in anything more I'M
portant than census table is not,
and probable never will be. content to
lose his identity and his individuality
in n weapon of defense clothed In
khaki. II there is any fighting to do.
he is the first In line. ready. and anx-
ious to offer his strength and his life
to the service of his country. but when
the fighting is ended he wants to get
back into the greater army Of live. en-
ergetic, restless. tireless private citi-
gems who do things. So long as Ameri-
can men are distinguished by these
characteristics there will be difficulty
in reducing the ratio OF assertions in
the regular army.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19
A writer in the current Harper

A writer in the current Harper
Weekly, discussing NJ. Urban Co
hairs recent book, Tho People of the
Twentieth Century" wonders If
american energy" is not a legend.
Do we. as people. possess large re-
ceryes Of energy. because we spend SO
little of it? Europeans. on the contra
~, are constantly called upon to spend
it. They know the difficulties Of life,
and are STEPPED in strife, struggling
continuously against such obstacles
as family tyranny. tyranny of social
prejudices, bureaucratic tyranny. But
here in America, he says. there are no
prejudlces. no irksome traditions; and
the American genius consists in spar
ing the expense Of energy; everything
is made to work as in fairy palace
mechanism and electricity perform
prodigious things. that man may take
his ease. ut is the triumph Of human
genius; 1t is not energy"
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19
p,s,.... !. Europe.

A German scientist asserts that pig
my races have existed In Europe. This
conclusion Ia arrived at from the ex-
animation of numerous skeletons
which have been found in the region
of Breslnu, In SllesIn. Their height 10
considerably below the ordinary aver.
age, being about four feet ''ine inches.
which represents the mean figure for
4 whole group Of skeletons. Similar
remains have been found In other parts
Of Europe not far from the above re-
gi0n; thus Kollman, of Bale describes
the remains Of pigmies which have
been found In Switzerlarl. In this
case the average height reached as low
as four feet six inches. Gutman has
also described the pigmy remains
which were found in lower Alsace.
near Colmar. These are still smaller.
and the height of many of the speci-
mems is but four feet. The pigmies
of Silesia appear to have been contem-
poraries of the Romans and slave races
and to have existed until the year 1000
A. D. At present no specimens are
to be found in Europe.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

The late William y. Pepper used to
take great delight In telling the follow
Ing story on himself:
II was bought up in the country, but
from very early period in my life !
determined to go away to the city some
day to become big man there. An
old neighbOr. a great friend OF my
father, protested strong liking Tor
me and always declared that l was
going to be n successful man. He told
it all over the country that Billy Pep
per had good stuff in him and was
bound to succeed. -
"Time wore on and did go away to
the city and met with measure of
success. MY old friend, when he heard
that owned a hotel, remarked that
he had told folks 30. and announced
his intention Of paying me a visit.
"He had never been in town. so
wrote him when he got here to ask
for the City Hall, and to come right
down here from the station. He did
30. When he reached the City Hall
he entered and roamed about the big
corridors and up and down the steps
In perfect amaxement. Finally he re-
marked to himself, as he afterward
told me, Well, always knew that
Pepper would get ahead in the world,
but I'm blamed II L thought he'd ever
own anything like this Baltimore
Sun ~,
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

Sir Evelyn Wood is distinguished by
Witness In which he has very few
equals. He gave specimen of this
during the operations following the In
dian Mutlny. He volunteered to carry
dispatches through the enemy's coun-
try. and disguised himself as an itin-
Grant merchant. being fairly familiar
with Hindustani. Travelling by night
and day. he got too close to rebel
camp. and was arrested and detained.
After being somewhat carelessly ex-
amined he was allowed to spend the
night in tent. AS he expected, during
the darkness some natives crawled IN
der the canvas and stealthily searched
his saddle-bags and wallets, but found
nothing except sundry light articles OF
commerce, the dispatches having been
taken by Wood from slit in his tur-
ban and buried underneath the spot
where he slept. Next morning he was
permitted to go, and reached the Brit
ish camp in safety.-Men and Women.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

Nature seems to have intended that
the densest agricultural population in
the world should live in the United
States. No country of equal size is
intersectcd by so many brooks. creeks
and small and great rivers whose wa
tiers are. AVAILABLE for irrigating. We
may be sure that when the time comes
for the American people to take adj
vantage of these immense natural re-
sources they will not be slow to do 50.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19

DR.. o. L. Bagby, of vinita. who has
hunted game in Indian Territory for
nearly twenty years, said lately that
woodcocks were practically extinct in
Indian Territory. He had not heard
of one for I'VE or six years till In 1902
a boy caught one alive in marsh east
of vinita. DR.. Bagby had formerly
hunted woodcock in the same marsh.
This bird. true to its family instinct.
had returned to the marsh to breed.
Wild pigeons once existed in untold
thousands in the Goingsnake district
Of the Cherokee Nation. but none has
been seen in years. DR.. Bagby once
bought 5000 Wild pigeons for shoot
ing tournament at vinIta. - Kansas
City Times.
The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1904-03-19
THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.
Interests of Every Town Require That 1t
shall Be Supported.

Interests of Every Town Require That 1t
|. shall Be Supported.
1t is to the interest of every town TO
support good newspaper, not through
local pride alone, but for practical
business reasons. A newspaper Is con-
stantly doing ten times as much for
Its town as 1t could ever hope to get
pay for-more than it could charge for.
II it would.
The more prosperous paper is the
more 1t IL able to do. Show us good
weekly paper. full of live local ads.
with a general circulation throughout
the county. and we will show you an
up to date. prosperous, progressive
community.
Show us community that persist
emily proceeds on the idea that the ed.
ltor of the home paper can live on the
'.pl'' that accumulates in the office.
whose official bodies think 1t a waste
of public money to throw him n bit of
public printing occasionally at living
prices, whose citizens have come to re-
gard 1t as one of their inalienab BILE
rights to work him for long-winded
obituary notices and ''in memOriams,"
with three inches of hymn book poetry
ut the end, to shy nothing about an oc-
casional notice of lost cow or some
cotton seed for sale. and We will show
You community that is living from
hand to mouth and is always on the
ragged edge OF adversely.
People ought to stop to think about
these things. 1t is an important mat
ter. 1t Is their own good that is In
voIved, the welfare and progress OF
their community, therefore Of them,
selves.
A local newspaper is absolutely nee
essary to any community. No mer-
chant, no grand jury. no town council
that spends every year all it can afford
with the home paper, whether that ex-
penditure Is actually necessary or not.
makes wiser, more profitable invest
ment.
They are not giving" the home
paper something. On the contrary. 1t
is earning every cent it gets. and more.
providing 1t is n paper worth picking
up in the road.
And II 1t isn't that sort of paper 1t Is
usually the fault of the town In which
1t Is published.-Atlanta Constitution.