davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
THE COST OF BAD ROADS.

The sun and the wind-nature's
great road workers and repairers-
have done wonders in the last few
months in restoring our roads, and
with these great agencies, supple
mented by the efforts in some places
of our road machines we now have
fairly good roads throughout the
county, But our road workers, and
the people too should remember that
the power of the sun will be with us
only for few months longer this
season; that the water, the cold, the
slush, the wind and mire of last
winter are likely to be with us again
ere long. 1t behooves our Supervi-
sors. and our roadwoi kers therefore
to be up and doing-to be making
roads now-while the sun is shining
Ito make roads while it is called the
summer, for the winter will surely
come when no roads can be made.
We say make roads, perhaps it would
be better to say drain them-for in
that process lies the great secret of
roadmaking in this country Of ours
and we are of the opinion that q
dollar wisely spent in drainage is
worth two spent in piling up dirt on
sodden, rotten road beds. No man
scarcely estimates the cost of bad
roads. The taxes that we pay for
road purposes are but mere trifle as
compared with the cost of our
present roads in other ways--in loss
of time, worry of mind and body,
wear and tear upon horses and
vehicles, depreciation of land values,
ETC., etc.
Upon good roads, both vehicles
and team will last twice as long and
do double the service in half the
time, than can be done upon roads,
such as we have in the winter. Our
roads cost the county yearly about
$4,000 in taxes, while in loss of time,
wear of vehicles, horse flesh, etc.,
they cost us over 100000. 1t has
been estimated by competent author
ity that bad roads cost the people of
this nation over six hundred millions
of dollars yearly. What a waste this
is when we consider that two-thirds
of that vast sum could be saved by
an expenditure of one-tenth of the
amount applied judiciously in road
building-what u "penny wise and
pound foolish policy" indeed, we
are now pursuing in this respect
AccOnl0c NeaoS.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
is BLUODCURDLING LETTER

IL letter received by Marshal
farnan could be taken seriously, one
might imagine that Baltimore was a
hotbed, beneath the surface of which
negroes were plotting a concerted
rising for the murder of the white
people. But the Marshal doesn't
take the letter seriously. All he
says is that he would like to get his
hands on the fellow who wrote il.
The letter purports to come from
baltimore Lodge, No. 97S, of the
Black Brotherhood" 1t is dated
Baltimore, July 4th, 1904, and is
written in a very good hand, which
looks like that of an educated woman.
although the spelling is poor, and
there is no attempt at construction
OF sentences or punctuation. The
letter is as follows:
You little think what animouscity your
so-called whites are starting up. What
hatred you are bringing on you little
'nink. what we are and going to do
not only will We kill men, but we are
teaching our wemen 10 kill white babvs
II necessary to kill the whole family.
You do not know but will soon find
out how we shall work. Our brother.
hood has at this present time 99I lodges
with membership 394, 800 determine men
and wemen. We are not yet completely
arm that is, the Southern lodges are NOT
but by the next 4th you social white
will Petty well feel our sting wich vou
al VIII have cause TO tremble, at
tue negro. When we shoot or cut il
means but one thing, Death. Our wemen
Will attend to the children and so call
white wemen our lodges in Ga, Miss.
Tenn. are getting their arms as fast as
we Can spare the money to buy them our
lodges In the North and Eastern parts
mas sent good words of announcement
and such so call negro hater are already
mark aud watch and their time Is very
short.
Ben Tillman, Montague Of Va A p
German of Md Smith and Warfield do
not be surprise to hear of theas people
dropping off of the earth.
Then a great many of your police we
have also spoters out, so forewarn is fore.
arm We mean to strike just like our
Brothers is striking in the South.
We are getting tired of this one sided
business and we stop this lynch law SO
quick that your Low Cast OF so call
whites both wemen and men, high or
low we kill and sweep them o q the Earth.
You can make light of this but we have
warn you before now. We shall not
writ again but you soon find that words
and orders has been sent TO the
Black Brotherhood
to begin work.
Our Motto Is Death.
Our Aim is Justice and Vindication.
Our Field is the South.
Death to All
Negro Haters
Death All
Familys
Death.
Ihe Marshal has never heard of
the Hack brotherhood, but he will
investigate the matter. The envelope
In which the letter came was post
marked Baltlmore.-BaltimOre San.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
PLAYED "DIXIE" AT FUNERAL
Author and Composer Madf
Famous by Twenty Minutes
Work in War Time.

Author and Composer Made
Famous by Twenty Minutes
Work i'm War Time.
Daniel Decatur Emmett, author
and composer of the famous wal
time song, "Dixie," who died al
Mount Vernon. o., Tuesday, June
2sth, was carried to his grave to the
time of the air that made him ia.
nous. 1t was played softly by 8
brass band.
Although "Dan" Emmett was moi
member of the order of Elks, the old
minstrel participated in so many en-.
tertainments of the local lodge that
special dispensation wss obtained
whereby the order conducted the
funeral. They engaged a band of
music to play "Dixie" ell route to the
cemetery and at the grave.
The death of Daniel Decatur En-.
met, near Mount Vernon, O., has
revived stories of that wonderful old
song, "Dixie," which electrified the
South in 1859 and furnished inspira-
tion for her soldiers throughout the
civil war.
1t is one of the musical marvels of
the age that this song, written by En-
mett-words and music-in twenty
minutes, should become a national
anthem,to be passed down to posterity
as long as there is a brass band to
play it or voice to sing it.
Emmett's own story of how he
came to write "Dixie" is as follows:
ain 1859 l was playing in Bryant's
Theatre, New York. One Saturday
night as was leaving the theatre
Bryant stopped me and said that we
would have to have "a new walk
around for next week-the kind the
band will play and the BOYS whistle
in the Streets
"The next day, Sunday, it rained
pitchforks, and inasmuch as there
was nothing ] could do out of doors.
l thought / might as well get to
work on the song. / sat down at a
table with paper and pencil and tried
10 think OF something to write about,
but my mind seemed to be blank.
"After while / got mp and went
to the window to look at the rain
and the people splashing by in the
street.
"The sentence, Il wish | was in
Dixie kept flashing through my
head. When | travelled with the
circus the Southern negro laborers
we used to carry with us you'd be
utterly miserable on cold, rainy days.
and they would always exclaim at
such time, 81 wish / was in Dixie
We joked them good deal about it.
"I wish / were in Dixie land /
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
EDUCATION A FAILUREo

When recently at Atlantic CITY a
boy dropped six white mice on the
boardwalk Vassar athlete jumped
over the railing to the beach beneath
aud all the other women near by
became frantically excited. One
VINO was an invalid, and being unable
to walk. was being perambulated in
rolling chair, leaped out and ran
up an adjacent avenue, while another
weighing $50 pounds, rolled over
when she started to run, with fatal
results for one of the mice. Even a
bride on her honeymoon forgot her
husband and ran away and was not
round by the disconsolate "hubby''
till after three hours search. Mere
men In view of this incident express
pessimistic ideas about the nerve of
the SEX If a Vassar athlete of WELL
developed muscle shrinks in terror
from an innocent mouse, what is
to be hoped for from those of the
sex who have not had the advantage
Oh Sandow training? Where is the
grit that modern education has
promised to impart to the female
mind! Will no amount of study of
zoology aud logic enable " girl grad
uate 20 confront white mouse with
calmness and decision? Panic under
the circumstances here mentioned
seems to show that the male curricu.
lum has not so far impaired a yiriIe
tone to her mind.-Bayimore ,Sun.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
WE'D WHILE YOUNG
fhysicians Say Higher Education
Units Girls for Matrimony and
Duties OF Life.

81 am opposed to the highly devel
oped intellect of girls, as now seems
10 be an American notion" said DR.
A. Lapthorne Smith, of Bishop Col.
lege, Montreal, and of the Universit,
of Vermont.
ut units them for married life. i,
prone to make them unhappy be.
cause it makes them oyer-sensitiye
and generally fails to give the result:
which were claimed for education
for females.
sit is my observation that men
marry late in life because women
have been crowding them ont of
positions. Women marry late be-
cause they find they can support
themselves and are unwilling to
undertake the responsibility of
motherhood. Then again they are
made physically weaker through
their training.
"Overstudy saps their Vitality
1t is study day and night, and IN
addition there are social duties and
music and dancing lessons to learn
after school hours. l cannot see
the use of over-educating the girls
which makes them dissatisfied and
In the more important feature gives
them an education which is of no
practical value to them in life.
"Cut out Latin and Greek, alge.
bra and mythology, and let them
have more hours of recreation. They
should be sound and healthy in
their youth and ready to become
wives when is instead of %. In
Canada and New England 1 find the
young people marrying later and
later in life, the men at 40 and the
women at 80.
81 am sustained in my position by
the history of our grandparents.
They were healthier and happier
than are our girls today. 1 ascribe
it all to early marriage. Earlier
will make healthier chill
dren. 1t will strengthen the repub.
lie in stronger humanity.
"The older the sexes when they
marry the more difficulty / see in
them getting along together smooth
ly in life. They have become set in
their ways and will not merge into
that condition of love and affection
which is to be observed in couples
which mate younger. We must
have stronger children to fight the
battles of life, and we want more
homes founded by the younger ele-
ment."-hiladelphia Inquirer.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
"KETcK.AwLS" FROM EvERYwaERE,


1t is wonderful to watch batch of
lawyers worrying and harrying an
ignorant and timid witness. These
learned and astute practitioners take
up simple question and by twisting
and comforting it into many shapes
and garbs, for the egotistical purpose
OF lmpresslng their own personality
on the jury, as much as to trip and
betray the trembling witness into
giving conflicting answers. often
succeed In amusing themselves and
wearing threadbare the patience O:
busy jurymen who are contributing
valuable hours to a trivial contro-
versy. To the impatient man of
affairs who has to wait and watch
until the game ends, the scene is
about as instructive as it is to watch
the patient and ase-loving child
squatting in some shaded dust pile
calling the doodle-bug forth from
his hole.-Potonaac Progress.
The story has reached London of
the American Judge who at the close
OF a recent trial severely reprimanded
the fair defendant for flirting with
the jurors. The Chronicle makes
the following poetic comment:
We often grieve
To think of Eve,
And all the ills our race inherits
because she managed to deceive
A man OF somewhat doubtful merits
But could it be
That even she
Possessed sufficient guile 10 cozen
a really up-to- date Yankee?
Perchance she might, but not dozen.
1t seemed a sort
OF childish sport
10 her. but wrought the Judge to fury.
To know that she hoodwinked the court
BY merely winking ct the Jury.
We know not why
The judges eye
Minded; the papers DO not tell US,
but were we asked to guess, our try
Would be: Because that Judge was
jealous"
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
WARTIME POETRY.

The following, handed us by E. Il
Davis, a Lancaster veteran, we pub
lish because it was written more
than forty years ago, the paper an(
ink being still well preserved. 1
was an effusion from the gallan
Confederate's Lancaster sweetheart
and schoolmate of 1850, and sen
him while in camp at Brook 8 Station
Stafford county, in 1861:
Remember me, my youthful friend,
When DER this little boo k you bend.
Ii is sign of love to thee,
And in return remember me.
Remember me though far away,
For with these pages love will stay,
And round thy heart beacon be.
And when wipe the silent tear
Der some sad story-sparkliug clear,
Or pleasure blent with sorrow be,
Within thy heart remember me.
Think not that you and apart
Must live heart from heart,
But twined like oak and ivy be
Thy thoughts and mine-remember me
Rejoice-O, word of bope-I may
When you indeed return.
Although your look and tongue, so iar
away,
In solitude mourn and groau.
Let others fancy never forget
The light of those dear eyes.
Love, oh how l love thee yet,
For true love never dies.
Remember me is all l ask;
would not ask for more
Than to be cherished by heart
So tender and so pure.
Accept, dear one, these lines from me;
They show that | remember thee,
And hope you will some thought retain
OF me until we meet again.
OF but II no more on earth we meet
l hope you will this slight remembrance
keep
Keep IL rs long as you have breath
And remember 1t when l sleep in death.
Remember me while life is sweet,
Remember me till next we meet.
IL friendship has its charms for thee
With all thy heart and Joys remember me
They tell me that am happy,
And try to think il Is so;
They tell me l have no cause to weep.
My SORROWS are. so few.
IL may be SCI cannot tell
What Others have to bear
But sorrowful would I he
To give another heart my share.
When this you see remember me,
Although many miles between us be.
But / hope the time is yet TO come
When you and shall be as one.
Farewell-it is a solemn word
And thrills through every heart
But oh, IL Is the will of God
That dearest friends should part.
Farewell, but never from my heart
Shall time thy image blot;
Though dreams OF others days depart
Thou shalt never be forgot.
But when / reflect on what is past
And think that we must part at last.
Oh how it grieves my heart to tel!
That must say To you farewell.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
SCORES OF GRoUNDHOGs,
DR.. Minors Place, In King George,
Invaded by Hosts OF Weather
PrOgnOsticating Yarmints,
(Com0rn Corr. Tunes. DisDntcA


(Comorn Corr. Times Dispatch
DR.. Michael Minors "Strawberry
dIll' farm, one mile from Comorn.
is attracting more attention just now
than other plantation in King George
county. 1t has been invaded by a
great multitude of monacks-better
known as "groundhogs," the proven
bal "weather prophets''-and these
unbidden "varmints" have "settled
down." established homes and appro-
priated fields of clover as if they
have "come to stay"
No such veritable invasion by
"varmints" was ever before known
in this section of Virginia; and why
these intruders came, and where thew
came from, cannot be even con-
jectured. "Strawberry Hill" is as
public as large plantation can we'll
be. Two sides of it are bounded by
public thoroughfares. All adioin
ing farms are very thickly settled,
and the plantation home and stables
overlooked greater part of the
farm. There is rarely time in any
day, except Sunday, when a number
of men and teams are not at work in
and moving about the fields; and
nearly every acre of the plantation
being open and in corn, wheat, peas
and hay, there are no patches of
woods, bushes or jungle to serve as a
hiding place for varmints. Yet it is
hardly possible to look out upon the
fields at almost any hour of the dav
without seeing a number of ground.
hogs quietly feasting on the tender
green clover and such other crops as
suit their appetite.
DIR. Miner is not at all elated over
this vast "colony" of weather prog,
nosticators, and has generously in.
vited men and boys of all "colors
and creeds" hereabouts to shoot. kill
and carry away his fat monacks "ad
llbitum'; and for two weeks past
many table has fairly groaned
under the extravagant spread of this
choice Wand. With many ground
hog is the most popular of all fresh
meats, and when scare here, fat
monacks have often been sold at
fabulous prices.
pr. Minors many friends are
having no little fun at his expense,
suggesting that he will have a huge
monopoly on weather forecasts" at
noon on the second day of next Feb
ruary, when his ground-hogs-per-
haps thousand strong-will emerge,
in concert, from their winter quarters
in quest of their shaggy shadows, to
foretell what kind of weather the
next succeeding six weeks hold in
store. But the amiable bachelor
physician is much displeased at hav.
ing so gigantic "weather bureau"
established on his premises, at his ex-
pense, without his consent.
10 say the least, herds of ground
hogs graSing in clover-fields, in full
view of men and boys, teams, wagons,
plows, ETC., is most un usual spec
tacle. But DR.. Minor says the
weather varmint must either Quit
Strawberry Hill or be shot. That is
the edict sent out today.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22

pleasant just now.'
"Then 1 said to myself, why not
write about Dixie?'
"I hurried back to the table and
began to write as fast as my pencil
would 60. In twenty minutes the
words and music of Dixie as it is
sung today, were completed.
cit made an immediate hit, and,
as Bryant wished, the bands played
it and the boys whistled it. The
South took it up right away. !
believe that the song prolonged the
civil war. giving inspiration to
the Confederates, when everything
seemed to be against them, and nerv-
ing them to the ordeals which they
endured. 1t was frequently played
by order of the commanding officers
before battles, on the march and in
camp"
Such was the success of the son 7
that jealous composers all over the
country laid claim to it, and several
wrote rival verses, which are still
extant, but Emmett's title is beyond
dispute, and the words he dashed off
in the New York hotel that rainy
Sunday forty-6ve years ago are the
words that were sung most generally
through the war, and sung to this
day.
General Albert Pike, Yankee,
who fought with the South, had one
version, which started off thus:
Southrons, hear your country call youl
Up, lest worse than death befall youl
To arms To arms! To arms in Dixie
Lo, all the beacon fires are lighted
Let all hearts be now uuitedl
To arms ! To arms To arms in Dixie :
Advance the flag of Dixie
L. NJ. Cooley's version started after
this manner:
Away down South In de fields of cotton,
Cinnamon seed and sandy bottom,
Look away, look away,
Look away. look away,
Den way down South in de fields of
cotton,
Vinegar shoes and paper stockin's,
Look away, etc.
But the only version generally
Snown is Emmett's original draft.
the first stanza and chorus of which
follows:
| wish | was ia the land oh cotton;
Old times der am not forgotten,
Look away, look away, look away,
Dixie land,
in Dixie land, whar was born in,
Early on one frosty mornin.'
Look away, look away, look away,
Dixie land.
Den wish was in Dixie,
Hooray, hooray,
In Dixie land I'll take my stand
To lib an die in Dixie,
Away, away, away down South in Dixie.
Away, away, away down South in Dixie
Emmett was a famous minstrel
and he wrote many songs. "Dixie"
Is the only one that has outlived
him. 1t was the one thing he did
to immortalize himself. In twenty
minutes out of a lifetime of 80 wears.
he wrote his name on the scroll of
undying fame.
lie died in his little three-room
frame house over Cemetery Hill, at
Mount Vernon, Ohio. Four years
ago he made his last appearance at
an amateur minstrel show there.
singing "Dixie."
The chief amusement of his old
age was to gather the children of the
town around him and tell them
stories of how he sang in a circus
from 1885 to 1s42.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22

~ would cough nearly all night long
writes Mrs. Chas. Applcgate. of Alexandria,
Ind, "and could hardly get any sleep, 1 had
consumptio so bad that if walked a block
would cough frightfully and spit blood. but.
when all other medicines failed. three Sl.OO
hotties OF DIR, Kings New Discovery wholly
cured me and gained Is pounds" It's abso-
lutely guaranteed to cure Coughs, Colds. In
Grippe, bronchitis and all Throat and Lung
Troubles. Price soc and Sl.OO. Trial bottles
free at t. j. Hayden & Sons, Irvngton; L.. G..
Richardson's, Kilmarnock
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
iSrutaIly Torfures

"A case came to light that for persistent and
unmerciful torture has perhaps never been
equaied. Joe Golobick, OF Colusa. Calf.
writes. "Fori5 years endured insufferable
pain from rheumatism and nothing relieved
me though tried everything known. 1 came
across Electric Bitters aud it's the greatest
medicine on earth for tha. trouhle- A few
bottles OF it completely relieved and cured
me-. Just as good for Liver and Kidney
troubles and general debility. Only Soc.
satisfaction guaranteed by n. J. Haydon a.
Son, lrvingtOn; E. q. Richardson, Kilmarnock.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
Chesterfield Co., Va.
Catarrah Cannot he corea

with LOCAL APPLICATIONS. as they cannot
reach the seat of the disease. Catarrh h :
blood or constitutional disease, and Ian order
20 cure tt you must take internal remedies
HaIi's Catarrh Cure is taken internally and
acts directly on the blood and mucous sur.
races. Halls Catarfh euro is not a ouack
medicine. IL was prescribed by one OF the
best physicians in this coun try for years and
the best tonics known, combined with tho
Dest blood purifiers. acting directly on the
mucous surfaces. The perfect combination
OF the Two ingredients Is what produces such
wonderiui results III curing Catarrh. Send
Tor teStimon malls free.
~: j. CHENEY Il Co.. Props, Toledo, o.
sold by druggists, price 75c.
Hall's FamlIy PIlls are tho Dest.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
No Pity shown.

For years fate was after me continuously. 4"
writes +. A. Gulledge, Verbena. Ala. "I had
terrible case of Piles causing "a tumors.
When all failed Bucklen's Arnica Salve cured
me; Equally good for Burns and ali aches
ana pains. Only 25c at II. j. Hayden & Sons.
irvington; IL. q. Richardson's, Kilmarnock.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22
Working Night nnI Day.

The busiest and mightiest little thing that
ever was made is DIR. Kings New Lite pills
These pills change weakness into strength
nstiessness into energy. brain flag into mental
power. They're wonderful in building,ip the
heaith. Only shc per BOY. Sold hy 4. j.
Hayden Il Son, Irvington, f, @. Richardson. n.
Kimarnook.
Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-22

The Marshal has never heard of
the black brotherhood, but he will
investigate the matter. The envelope
in which the letter came was post
marked Baltimore.-Ba7tiD1Or San.