davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1905-09-03

Nv. brother is OF opinion that tho
highest place In which no has seen me was
) pair Of very snugly fitting Bedford cord
Hiding trousers, worn by me upon certain
Houring. wet day In California, dried on me
Under O semi-tropioal sun, and hauled
S6 me by the united efforts Of three strong
heni In my own .opipion, however. /
lave been In . yet tighter place, although
b 10 certain that did not suffer 80 much
physical discomfort.
We-my brother and myself-had been
shooting In the San Emigdio foothills Of
the santa Lucia Mountains: tho Coast
Range Of California. Hore, In the early
'Sos, grisxlies were still to be found.
But, although we SOW tracks and sign, the
hunters will testify that even II you dis
cover the very lair OF the monster whom
Caliiomians call .Unole Ephraim" he IL
almost invariably not at home.
Finally. we gave UP our quest In despair;
cut OF heart and out Of grub. My brother
suggested that we should find venison at
e ranch, the nearest to the wilderness in
which We had been wandering for the pre-
Vious three weeks.
We knew the boss and the foreman; and
,aftef long days travel were delighted to
find both men at homo. Living as they
were, some hundred miles from the nearest
Atore, with no companions other than half
. dozen cowboys, you may be sure that we
received a hearty welcome.
A ve were putting our horses into the
barn; our host said abruptly:
Got any whisly9'
a big demij john-nearly full" replied.
Fits yours, II you want it.
'Shush-h-h! Want it2 Not I! We must
hide IT,
Then he explained that his cook saw red
after taking ono drink Of alcohol Accord
ingly. We hid the poison--for poison It is
70 such fellows--under bale Of hay.
The sun., 1905-09-03
The Ti8htest Place
y ,y Was Ever In".' .-."
p@e@as1 s%s@~Hu@H0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

After supper we smoked In the sitting
room, which occupied the middle OF the
house, long, low room, with a big fireplace
at one end OF 1t, our bedroom at the other
end, and doors facing each other on the
sides; through each door one passed on to
q rough veranda.
Garden there was none. Encompassing
these, the huge ranch stretched for leagues,
q sixty thousand acre grant Of foothills
and valleys untouched by the plow.
The cowboys squatted about the fire and
told stories as they smoked, The four
chairs were occupied by boss, foreman, my
brother and myself.
The foreman, John; was a big, loose
limbed fellow, extraordinarily skilful with
the lariat and one OF the finest horsemen
In southern California. His brother, Char
lie, one Of the cowboys, was half his size,
but wiry as an Apache and Of much the
same complexion. Both men said little,
answering such questions as We put to them
curtly but not uncivilly.
At that time our county-one Of the last
In California to be reused from sluggish
stock raising uses into agricultural and
horticultural activities-had become sort
VI sduCJuhTy lOT CAttlc tuleNcS anu ueb-
peradoes. Stage coaches were robbed fire.
quently; banks were held up and looted /;
hardly month passed without its shooting
ARRAY.
The conversation turned naturally enough
into these encarmined channels. Some Of
the bad men were known to US; John, the
boss. had taken prominent part, so IL
was whispered, In the lynohing Of train
robber, the terror Of the s. P. company.
who had worked as cowboy on this very
ranch, had sat, as we we're sitting, about
the fireplace and had been reckoned by
his fellows quiet, peaceable citizen.
Suddenly the foreman said In a slow
drawl:
Let's quit this talk about bad men
The sun., 1905-09-03
Airship Man

sRoy Knabenshie Is looked upon as a
pretty smart youngster out in our town.
said q man from Toledo. He can have
about anything the Toledo folks have got.
His aerial exploits are watched with good
deal Of pride by old and young in Toledo,
where Roy Knabenshue was born and
brought UP. The older folks are proud Of
the Kid Knabenshue,' as they advert to
him, on account Of the youngsters dad.
who has been known to every man, woman,
child and dog In Toledo for more than forty
years.
y sRoy Knahenshue has brother who
Is also an aeronaut, but this Knabenshue
has confined himself up to the present timo
to the round balloons, and no he hasn't
attracted such wide attention, although
he Is q mighty gritty customer, at that.
'Roy Knabcpshue Is 20 years old. but he
looks like q stripping Of twenty. He's a
slender, beardless chap. who talks in very
quiet tone, and he's pretty taciturn, at that.
But he's there when II comes TO mix,
- he has shown on several occasions In
Toledo. He's got muscles as hard as tire
rubber. and be knows a. much about boxing
as any man needs to know who isn't In
the biting game professionally. Tho boy
The sun., 1905-09-03
World Wanderers Tell
OF Their Adventures.

70 srei'
Obviously Hugh had enou gh Wit to per-
oeive that the men outside might be slow
to shoot 30 long a. W sat In the line OF fire.
But II this madman began tho battle, what
thenf
Afterward three excellent ways Of es-
cape occurred to me; at the time, however;
nv mind seemed blank. We eat perfectly
still.
Then the unexpected happened.
Hugh was standing bstween two open
doorv, and the autumn wind blew In upon
him.
Charlie he shouted. 'oh; Charliel'
An invisible Charlie answered quietly:
.What is 1t. Hughi'
II want my coat, dye heart Fetch me
my coat"
awhy, certainly, said Charlie
wondered whether he would obcy this
queer order. It might so easily prove a
ruse to get an opsn shot at an enemy.
Charlie walked In, carrying the coat.
All In all, take this to be one OF the coolest
and bravest actions l have ever witnessed.
slightly derisive smile upon his lips.
Here's yer coat he said, holding 1t up.
Somehow, I OWNED what was in the cow
boys brain. As he held out the coat saw
Charlie measuring the distance between
himself and Hugh.
The rife was pointed straight at his head.
Hugh, holding the rife with one hans,
reached for the coat. At that momelk
Charlie ducked and jumped. and jumpd
and my brother jumped.
Hugh crashed to the floor with three men
upon him. Boss and foreman fell upon our
bodies.
When we disentangled ourselves saw
that the boss had the King by the, ears
and was sitting astride his PROSTATE body.
He raised his Majesty's head and pounded
the floor with 1t.
"Hold hard" said John. AThis flooring
Is kinder rotten"
Next morning Hugh was led to the ranch
fence and told politely that II he valued his
health he would seek other pastures, He did
The sun., 1905-09-03

SEATTLE; Wash; Aug. 2e.-An expedition
IN search Of the North Pole will start from
J Dawson, Yukon Territory, In the summer
/ Of 1905 II the plans Of the international
; Society for Polar Research and Experiment
arc carried out Gov. w. B. McInnes OF
! Yukon is one Of the leaders in the move
.nent and Gen. Greedy, U. s. A., thinks the
plans OF the society feasible
4, The main difference between the plans
of the Yukon explorers and those Of expe-
ditions in the past is that the Yukoners
expect to utilize their knowledge OF ways
and means of existence and transportation
IN the Arctic. They point out many mis-
takes made by persons unaccustomed to
the Arctic climate who have tried to reach
the Pole.
The International Society for Polar Re-
search was organized recently IN Dawson
with 200 members. One thousand persons
attended the public meeting. Among the
patrons were Gov MoInnes; DR.. Alfred
Thompson; member Of the Canadian Parlia-
ment Justices Dugas. Craig and Macaulay,
the three highest judges In the Territory;
Major TT. Wood, commander Of the North
west mounted police; ;and the foreign oonsuls
IN Dawson. ~ --..
The scheme for the expedition was origi-
mated by DR.. Anthony Varcle, who came to
Dawson from Paris. In lecture Charles
Macdonald, clerk Of the Territorial Court Of
tho Yukon. explained the plans for the expe-
dition. -t
Expeditions Of ali former Pole seekers
! said Mr.. Macdonald. 'have been conducted
on lines that would never be approved
~ norths9 travellers Of experience
sThe most familiar example of polar
endeavor IL the Nansen expedition. In
that expedition 1t is shown by Nansen's
own book that he understood little OF equip
ping and handling long distance ,expedi-
lions. Yukoners handle them with much
more simplicity, ease and skill.
: ANansen worked in heavy skin robes and
, wes Immersed in sweat, then chilled in the
Ice thereof. Yukoners travel in the light
parka, and never permit themselves to
sweet . ,.. L., -,,
{ifty pounds. Yukoners never use dogs
weighing less than 100 to $50 pounds.
sNensen drove his dogs with each hitched
10 q single strand and they always were
entangled and caused interminable trouble
dogs in tandem harness, and have scarcely
5Nansen had no handles to his sleighs.
Nandles are q great and Indispensable
Essential to the Yukoner in helping right
HE sleighs.
Nearly every expedition sent to the
4rctio thus far has been composed OF sailors,
hen who are useless on land or anywhere
Iut aboard ship. Those expeditions not
Military were largely semi-military.
ysAn were headed and composed Of men
not acquainted with or experienced in
the North. 1t is the object and plan OF
Or, varicle to draw the great contrast right
here. He will have none but the most
The sun., 1905-09-03

has got peculiarly hard, steely gray eye
the eye Of desperate, told him once.
In his case it's just the eye Of man built
and devised to do remarkable things. When
1t comes to that, believe that man has
got to have just bit Of the desperate in
his makeup who attempts to do the kind
OF things TINT young Knabenshue does with
his big, fish shaped gus bag.
@Knabenshue has been fddllng around
with the balloons Of all shapes since he
quit the Toledo High School. I suppose
no knows tho ins and outs Of the gas bags
better than any living man, not excepting
little Santos-Dumont. His experience in
aerial navigation has certainly been much
more varied and extensive than the little
Brazilians. The navigation Of the air be-
came a bug with Knabenshue from the
time he was flying kites as a boy. The
cigar or fish shaped contraptions weren't
out when he first tackled the game, and
so he went In for the rouod bags, making
many ascensions and parachute drops all
over the country. In this sort Of work
he never had an accident for he IL an ex-
traordinarily careful workman In his aerial
stunts, and never takes q chance that he
knows to be Q chance before going up.
The sun., 1905-09-03

things up bit. understan'? We may paint
this sheebans pale shrimp pink before We
quit. And ws don't want TO be disturbed
sci Mako that plain TO tho boss and John.
Because II ono o. them doors moves sha'n't
wait TO aak who's pushin' II, but propose
ter Hre-through II. Seei That's ALL
Tho cowboys won't out, carefully closing
tho door. There were no windows, for tne
doors In tho daytime served - such. Hugh
laughed. staring hard at mo.
SAY he began. y heard that son OF
gun tell you to hide tho demijohn, and saw
wisvs you hid It.. sCone on, let's celebrate'
IN stand hero and watch thsm doors. One
must bs kperful. You drink first. boys.
Tahs good wad-with my regards.
Il seemed expsdient to hunor him, espe-
cially a By no doing We gained Possession OF
the whisky. was putting the demtjohn
to my lips when heard Hugh say sharply:
sJeeroosalemi"
Whom I looked up both doors were wide
open, They opened outward. Hugh glared
norosly through each In turn into the void
beyond. Nobody could be seen.
At once I realized, what was about to
happen. Tho men had armed themselves,
and would have - little hesitation In shoot
ing down this rebel as In killing cur that
had snapped at them. Tho expedience OF
taking up position on the floor occurred to
me.
The room was small. With the best wish
In the world not to injure us these cowboys
must take that risk II the shooting began.
sWill you surrender, Hugh1' John spoke.
sSusrenderi He'll"
A figure, pistol in hand, fitted across the
open door; Hugh raised his rife. Another
figure appeared at the opposite door. He
turned swiftly: the figure slipped out Of
sight. This happened half dozen times
with uncanny nnonotony. Then Hugh said
to US:
Don't be scared, boys; and sit where
The sun., 1905-09-03

ever be developed into contraption that
will permit Of all hands taking q whack at
the air navigating buAiness Is something
that no man who has ever been UP In one
Of them believes for a minute
AT that, bonshue il firmly Of the
conviction that human beings will be navi-
eating the air within a few decades. He
believes that the aerodrome will eventually
prove to be ths thing.
"'Prof. Langley has got the right idea,'
he told me. and the fact that his intricate
machine plunged into the Potomac few
times on its trial trips doesn't prove that he
isn't on the right tack His unsuccessful
experiments brought the learned old gen.
tleman an amount OF ridicule that his efforts
didn't deserve. lot OF great scientific
minds, in this country and across the water.
are studying the air navigating problem
nowadays, and they're virtually united in
the belief that the aerodrofhe is the thing
None Of them takes any stock in any kind
Of an airship Us a solution Of the riddle.
individual flying machines are thing
OF the very near future, in Knabenshue's
opinion.
81 know several fellows who have been
he said, run by. the power Of elbow grease
and by motors, for years and at least three
OF these chaps have got machines already
perfected that they can actually fly with
| not In little no-account aerial sprints,
/ but through distance of ether. Com
morcially practicable flying machines arc
only little way of. But the flying machine
while It will furnish plenty Of sport when
1t comes. isn't the thiny-it isn't the solution
! Of the problem Of aerial navigation-to
repeat that phrase of which most OF us are
becoming e. bit tired. Aerial navigation
means the ability to take your wife and
mother-in- law, OF your girl and her mother.
and the fox terrier pup, so to speak ont
little spin from here to Chicago and back
whenever you feel like It.. That's going 10
come, too, when the days ripe for It. But
TIN never come II the gas bag is depended
upon to do the business. So, !
The sun., 1905-09-03
{. A Western Windiammer on Wheels.

fields, and when #agoning was the only
way to get there. Horses and oxen wers
too slow for the fellows who had acute cases
OF gold fever.
"A genius Of what is now q suburb Of Kar.
cas- City figured and worked until he finally
turned out q wagon which was to Go on
land what . schooner does at sea. He
rugged it up with calls and an upper deck.
The navigator operated the eails from the
deck, and the mast was twenty feet in the
air. The wagon was Of ordinary dimen-
sions.
when the wagon was completed the in-
ventor-his name was Thomas. gave an ex-
hibition of its powers. A lot of people fol-
lowed him in his venture.
sThe machine operated beautifully. It
went out on the prairie for ten miles ana
returned. Thomas couldn't get away from
the people. Edison in his greatest triumph
was never as big a man as Thomas was
that day.
THE Santa Fe Navigation Company,
composed Of capitalists, wanted to buy
the thing and offered big sum. Thomas
was not quite ready to sell all his interest,
but he let enough Of it 60 to help him get
out an improvement on the first wagon.
"When the second machine was turned
out there was another exhibition. The
Santa Fe people came up to blow them
selves. The machine fairly sailed. 1t was
the talk of that part of the country.
Then Thomas got smart. just as you
fellows who have these devil wagons have
done. He had lot Of fancy stunts which
he said the wagon could do-surprises he
called 'em-and he turned the wagon loose.
II started OF all right. Thomas was at
the wheel.
.'Watch me!r he yelled to the Santa
Feans as he undertook to run the machine
In the face Of the wind.
you've seen a ship shiver when 1t has
struck something unseen3 Well, this wind
| wagon OF Thomas did more than that. 1t
leaped like frightened gazeIle. 1t climbed
like stirred up rattier. 1t butted II went
zigzag. 1t went ahead. then backed and
veered. 1t jumped gulley and went over
rail fence; 1t then took a cut ahead and
disappeared.
doctor had gone out on a mule to see the
machine go. When the wagon disappeared
the doctor started his mule to overtake tho
windjammer. The others remained to
| await Doc'A report.
Late in in the he day the they sppied M him coming
effort to overtake Thomas and his wagon
| tho mule had broken down.
"A few weeks later Thomas got back to
town. a detected man. The Santa Fe Navi-
| cation Company disbanded, and tho first
and only, attempt in that country to get
Then you think had better stick to tho
automobileP" said the New Yorker.
y think that is what we are doing now
said the Kansas City man.
The sun., 1905-09-03

and whole lot Of the women In the auto
mobiles and buggies and traps on the
grounds set up mighty screaming, while
those Of the ladies who were 6xed gracefully
for II, tainted. The strong wind carried the
fish shaped bag, sort Of half broadside,
out Of the fair grounds and over forest
Of very tall trees on one side Of the grounds
An airship with the propeller baking
isn't Of any more use than an ordinary
balloon, IL as much, In a tight sorape, and
the best that Knabenshue could do was
to come down, ka-biff, In the topmost
branches Of the very tallest tree In the
dump. The jar knocked him through
the framework from which he operates the
propeller and the rudder, and 1t looked
like he was due to make Brer Coon fall
Of It. But the young fellow showed the
agility Of monkey, reaching out and
clutching q swinging bough that just about
supported him and that's all. From the
bough he olambered back into the frame-
work OF the airship, which had become
mixed up with the branches and was sway
Ing back and forth on top OF the tree like
some gigantic lummox Of baby rocking
itself to sleep.
'The contraption wasn't damaged ex-
cept for . bent rudder, and Knabenshue
ooolly disentansled the framework from
the boughs, whereupon the big bag settled
to the ground In clearing. Knabenshus
still holding on to his position In the frame
work, BY this time all Of the men on the
fair grounds had raced across fields and
over fences to nee what everybody present
figured was going to be tragic finish, and
when they got to the clearing they found
Knabenshue tinkering with the sparker
and looking ~ unoonoerned - Q man TAX
ing an after dinner smoke on front porch.
The airship was out Of oommisaion for the
day, however, and 20 about thtse hundred
Of tho men put their shoulders under the
framework and actually carried Tho big
The sun., 1905-09-03

n this fataliAtio fashion with the slightest
air Of bravado, for he Is, as a matter Of
fact, an extremely modest, even difident
young chap, and he has less Of the swelled
head for q youngster who has got him
there are few participants than any man
I ever met up with. He's simply weighed
all the chances, that's all, and he Is level
headed enough to know that the odds are
away against him.
"Only an hour or 30 after Knabenshlle
had mentioned these things to me at the
Booty House In Toledo he got into mess
with his airship out at the Toledo fair
grounds that looked pretty bad to the eight
or ten thousand Toledo folks on the grounds
while 1t was going on. few days before
Knabenshue had ascended from the fair
grounds, made his way In the teeth Of q
twenty mile breeze to the top Of the Spitz-
ler building the tallest office building in
Toledo, where he alighted ON the roof,
and then leisurely sailed back to the fair
grounds, taking all OF the points Of the
compass for 1t on the way back, 30 that
there was big crowd out at the fair grounds
on the following Sunday afternoon, when
1t was announced that he was going to
make another ascension.
'There was twenty-five knot wind
blowing at the time he made his ascension
but that wasn't what caused the bother
Knabenshue says that he can beat against
virtually a gale Of wind II all Of his ma
chinery works right. He rose from the
middle Of the fair grounds all right, got
about 500 feet in the air, and then, all Of a
sudden, the sparker Of his motor baked
on him and refused TO work, and the pro-
pellor stopped dead. When the crowd
noticed the cessation Of the 'chug-chug'
Of the motor operating the propeller.
which makes from s7S TO 500 revolutions q
minute. thsy knew that young Knabenshue
was IN msss with al Of that. wind s-goinR.
The sun., 1905-09-03

bag, framework and all, with Knabenshue
still sitting In It, across fields and gulches
and ditokee. back to the grounds, and
slowed II In the canvas tent where II was
kept.
.Knabenshue isn't laboring under any
delusions about the airhip business. He
can't see how the gas bag idea Is ever going
to solve the problem Of aerial navigation,
After the ascension that landed him In the
tree the story got around that he was going
to make . stab at sailing from Toledo to
Detroit, distance Of about seventy-six
miles, In his airship.
1'yee,' he replied when asked him about
that, and I'm presently going to establish
an hourly airship schedule between New
York and san Francisco and another one
between Detroit and New Orleans, carry
ing passengers, freight. the United States
mails. and 80 on-when there's pink snow
In August.
These old bags are never going to solve
the riddle,' he went on. Nobody that
knows anything about the game ever makes
any such imbecile claim a. that comes
to. There's no way that that matter OF
weight will ever be overcome. unless they
Az up framework made Of spider webs
and motor made Of silk threads. I've got
q margin Of only five pounds weight with
the machine I'm using, and that's mighty
small wi,eIi you begin 10 figure on it. Not
only that, but an airship motor OF the kind
that can be carried within the weight limita-
tions can only keep tho bag In the air for
two hours at tho outside.
\ never claimed anything for the airship
that II viii ever be practical vehicle for
navigating thA air; that Is, except by special
lists purely for exhibition purposes. I've
simply got . big, hsh shaped bag rgged
up 20 that can move II around at will In
The cir for . little while-that's all I'm
claiming. That the gas allsd bag win
The sun., 1905-09-03
~ X A SCRIMMAGE IN CALIFORNIA -
as~~eBY
HORACE. ANNESLEY VAcHELL
aahv Of
Aathor Of "Brotber,," &c.

We answered solemnly "You're the king
Hugh
.fown this sheebang -hey'' he addressed
the boss.
Looks like IT,
sThat bein' 30, I mean ter choose my
comp'ny. I've nothin' agen you. boys.
he addressed my brother and me. You
sit right there. an make yerselves to home
But you,' he turned furious eyes on our
host, you swine, you've made 1t hot for
mo more'n onoe. STAN up!'
The boss rose slowly.
sNow-maroh! Skin out o. thh-an'
don't come back tonight I'm s-goin'
tor sleep In yer bed, wear yer pyjamas
and play I'm you. Gitl' ~
Tho boss marched out Of tho room.
John and Charlie-stan' upi'
The foreman and his brother stood up.
One could see the sinews beneath tho skin
rigid with rage and humiliation. The
bead Of tho rife covered first one, then
the other.
-Ths bacon and beans didn't suit 70.
yesterday said Hugh, playing with tho
trigger. 1An' las Sunday, when over
slep' myself, both Of ye made remarks,
insultin' remarks. Now, down 70 60, on
yer knees-an' apologize. Quick"
NO. said John quietly. Shoot an be
d-dl"
Hugh didn't shoot. but he laughed loudly
sJohn, old socks, ye've q nerve. Well.
you two skip out! An don't come back!
II ye do, by the living Jing', I'll bore
hole through ye. Gitl'
They got. .
Three cowboys were left. Hugh eyed
them rehectively.
pore white trash, he eaid slowly. sYou
amt At ter associate with me an these yere
gcn'lmen. Mosey!'
They moeied.
Hold onl Don't forget to shet the door
Me an these gen'lmen(air a-goin' to whoop