davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
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Canada ThiStle3

Probably there is no plant that has
~orse reputation as pest than the
Csnada thistle, yet there are others
that are far more troublesome. The
reputation of the thistle has caused
legislation against it while more dan
gsPous weeds have been overlooked
This plant is called the Canada
thistle. both in this country and in
CAnada, as it was supposed to have
been brought from Canada at about
the time of the Revolution. But it is
not native Of Canada. 1t was well
known in Europe at least as early as
TIE sixteenth century and was
:ught from Europe to Canada by
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
An Eqq Record.

At the Cornell station last
year 2bO hens laid an aver
age Of 1897 eggs. The cost of feed
ing hen year was put at 99.6
cents. The average cost per dozen
OF eggs for the year was 80 cents.
The returns for each hen over the
cost Of food was s1.31. That is
pretty good record considering the
large number of hens being kept as
it is doubtless true that some OF the
hens laid very few eggs.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Our Butter,

The United States produces
annually about 100000, 900 pounds
of butter. which is made ON
about four million farms. The peo.
pie that take part in the production
of this butter number about 100000.
100000, as it is approximately worth
20 cents per pound. About SO per
cent of this butter is used in the
United States, and only 4 per cent
goes to other countries. OF the but.
ter that is exported very little is OF
high grade. the inferior qualities only
being exported at a profit.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Big Cheeses.

Now and then big cheeses
are made for exhibition at
great fairs and expositions. Canada
sent large one to the Columbian ex-
position and at one of the world 8
fairs held in England three English
factories combined and made ton
cheese. Now the New Zealanders
regard it as their turn and have
made ton cheese which has been
sent to the Crystal Palace, London.
where it is to be on exhibition this
summer.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
English Butter Imports,

The importation of butter into
England last year amounted
to total of over 212.OOO
tons. received from foreign coun-
tries as follows (tons): Denmark. S5.-
43O: Russia. 20.235; France, 1853:
New Zealand l4,749; Canada, 13 43O:
Victoria. l2,7S5; Holland, 1868;
sweden. lo.S$s; New South Wales,
1881; United States, 3.437; Queens
land, 2.sl3: Germany. 2Ot. oi.sr
countries. 9,315.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Under the auspices of John Hays

Under the auspices Of John Hays
Hammond. professor Of mining at Yale
University. the mining students in the
Shefield Scientific School, attached to
Yale, will visit Silverton and Ouray
this summer. to inspect mining and
milling at the Silver Lake and Camp
Bird mines. In both cases they will
nnd graduates Of the Colorado School
OF Mines In charge of the work. Two
better examples Of properly developed
mines cannot be found in any other
section. The lead mines of Missouri
VIII "lso be visited by the students
from the East
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
GRAIN.

Wheat. choice milling, per 100 lbs.
$1.55. Rye, Colorado, bulk, per 100 lbs.
85c. Oats. bulk. Nebraska, new, white,
SLIP; mixed, $1.10; in sack, Colorado.
white. $1.18. Corn, In bulk, 96c. Corn
chop, sacked. $1.03. Bran, Colorado.
per 100 lbs. $1.07k.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
DENVER MARKETS
Cattle.

Comparative receipts:
Month to June 16............. S6.v4S
Same period last year. 36.bSS
Year TO date ................14 .143.296
Same period last year. .1O4, SIS
Increase .................. Ss,os4
The following quotations represent
the range of prices paid Oh this mar
ket:
Beef steers, cornfed. good to
CnOlC6 4.ouVo.VV
Beef steers, cornfed, COM
mon to medium. .4.0O04.50
Beef steers. hayfed. good to
choice Observation-Disclosures .4.250475
Beef steers, hayfed. common
to medium .s.5o042s
Cows and heifers. cornfed.
good to choice ...........s.75@4so
Cows and heifers, cornfed.
common to medium .3.00@3.75
good to choice. .s.25@a.75
Cows and heifers, hayfed,
common to medium. 49,. .2.25@s.25
Gamers ................. .25@ @2.OO
Calves, veal, good to choice. 4.5O@5.25
Calves, veal, fair to good. .3.50@4.50
Bulls, stays, etc. .2.OO03.60
Feeders. F. P. R.. good to
choice .4.oO@4.ss
Feeders, F. P. R., common to
medium .3.25@4.Oo
Stockers, F. P. R., good to
choice ................... .3.75@4.25
Stockers. F. P. R.. common to
medium .................. ..S.OOU5.lo
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Eruption Of Mount vesusv,us.

Naples. June 17-Mount vesuvius
has entered upon a new phase Of &C.
tivity which has resulted in widening
the recently made openings next to
the crater. From those openings an
abundant quantity of burning material
is constantly elected, making a mag
niticent spectacle. especially at night.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Butter,
Assistant Secretary Resigns.

Washington. June 17.-Assistant
Secretary Melville w. Miller Of the De-
partment OF the Interior has presented
his resignation to the President and
1t has been accepted. In succession to
Mr.. Miller the President has appointed
Jesse Wilson of Indiana.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23
Hay.

Upland, per ton, $14.50@15.50; Sec
ond bottom. $1O.O0@11.0O; timothy.
s14.00@15.00; timothy and clover,
s13.O0@14.OO; alfalfa, prime. $6.5O@
700; straw, $4.5O@5.OO; South Park
wire grass, $16.5O@17OO.
The Grit-advocate., 1905-06-23

The we'll should be often cleaned
out. Some wells are never cleaned
till they get to be SO foul that the
water reveals it in an offensive sraail.
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
ROLLS OF WALLPAPER.
They Are Not All Made of One Length as Is the General Sup
 position.

Most persons have an idea that all pieces of wall paper are necessarily os enc length remarked wall paper man. according to the Philadelphia Record
 Sometimes when I receive orders from distance I wonder just what tho ratron is figuring on. He may get enough to paper two rooms and he may get only half enough-some figure ever economically and some over gen erously.
 Our domestic papers run eight wards to the piece. Those from France and Germany measure nine yards, while the English make their rolls so lengthy that they contain quite F yards. Then, of course, there's the re- peat. On some of the new papers with the smallest figures this is next to nothing, and on some others, notably thatl ong-tailed b I'd pattern, if a pit over the figure is required for each
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
TIE VERY OLDEST VESSEL.
Built in Philadelphia in 1764 and Probably Still in Service
 in England.

Speaking of the life of ships the other day. George F. Sproule, secretary of the board of port wardens. said about the oldest vessel he knows of is the True Love. which if she is afoat today is l49 years old, says the Phil. ndelphia Record.
 The True Love was built in this city in i764. and though she was only 96 feet and eight inches long, and of 26 feet beam. she was the largest ship that had been in these waters up to that time. She sailed from this port in 1765, and did not return until 1873. when she was 109 years old She came in with load of cryolite from Ivigtut. Greenland. Then she sailed again and was no longer heard of until discovered in 1899 in the Thames river. England. where shorn of her glory, she was and possibly still is doing service as coal barge.
 There was proposal among ship
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

dirt broadcast and then covered the top with pieces of sod. very carefully pressed down.
 UT course during all this perform ance NIT. "Grafter" and MT. "Rummy'' were fairiy staring their eyes out and speeuiating as 10 what the fellow could be doing and where he came from
 Having finished filling up the hole the man cautiously looked around. then hid his shovel in a clump of bushes, and climbing the fence. started back through the woods near enough to the blind to enable the hunters to See that he was an Indian in full buck skin suit.
 When satisfied that the Indian was safely out of the way the grafter sug- sested as investigation. The farmer oyeriowing with curiosity, was only too ready to look into the matter and the two started for the spot.
 or course the first thing to do was to procure the shovel and dig. Very soon they came upon hard substance wrapped in gunny sack. Opening it. what did they find but an immense
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

frequentirg gambling houses, and this brought him in contact with the sport Ing element. He lost his position, and being without funds or influence to pro cure another he had recourse to gam t!ing as a business.
 For many years l supposed. as did many others of his old townsmen, that he had turned out to be an all-arocnd sport, frequenter of race tracks, a bettor on baseball games. pugilistic encounters. etc. However, we were al mistaken.
 While I was in the jewelry business Tn Chicago he made frequent calls at my store. and on different occasions purchased watch and several dia- mondS
 On one of his visits he was accom- panied by bright looking fellow with whom happened to have few mo ments' conversation. In reply to a
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

Copyright. 1905. by Joseph B BawIesD
 The old-time gold brick scheme !" although familiar in name, to almost everybody, nevertheless is a game of whose inside workings few people have the vaguest idea Even men buncoed out of thousand of dollars by it have been unable to understand or explain every phase of the play.
 The sharpers engaged in this risky work are careful. educated men; in fact just the class one would suppose would keep clear of such danger ous and atrocious work.
 In my investigations of all sorts of bunco schemes, it was many years be- fore l was able to understand how it could be possible to sell an intelligent farmer gold brick for from s3,500 to $7 900.
 A man might stop at the same hotel with dozen of these confidence men Tor six months and never suspect what was their business, or even that they were interested in one another
 Always supplied with money, well dressed and educated they disarmed suspicion, and for that reason were the more dangerous.
 Even while working up a gold brick job. no two of them were ever seen to- gether Nothing would be known of their work until some farmer had been swindled out of several thousand dol lars. The newspapers could give only vague account of the affair. because of the farmers inability to explain how he had been duped. Besides not one in ten victims would let it be known that he had been gold d-brieked
 Had I not accidentally discovered that an old acquaintance was in the gold-brick business and had been for years. l never should have fathomed the mysteries of the game
 Having naturally a good physique this grafter developed into a magniti cent specimen of manhood. When 24 years of age, he weighed 230 poun Is. was handsome, well proportioned and a fluent talker with the vocabulary of a college professor After leaving col lege he was first with large St. Louis tobacco house, as a travelling sales man. While on the road he began playing poker and eventually neg lected his business. Later he began
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
brass and placing a orop os the acid

DFdSS auu piaclng drOD Cs ths aC10 upon it let them see how quickly it be- gan to boil and turn green Then hs tried piece of copper and piece of low karat gold with the same results. Then. picking up the chunk of gold" he placed the acid upon il without affecting it in the least
 Now" said he. we have tested tn, outside; suppose we drill into the in. side After drilling into the metal an inch or two he filled up the hole with acid. which did not in the least affect 1t.
 Gentlemen. you needn't worry about this, it's all right" he said.
 What is the value of thai chunk?" asked the High Mark
 T can tell by putting the needles to it and weighing it, said the assayer. and, after moments figuring. he said.
 That is worth little over slG.000. :"
 How much do we owe you?" asked the farmer. excitedly
 Oh, about DO cents." the accommo- dating assayer replied. We never charge much for information.
 Thanking him for his kindness. the "Grafter' and "Rummy" placed the
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

chunk of what appeared to be gold Why should the man have hidden i If 1t were not gold?
 With such a prize in their posses sion, what course should they pursue Who was the Indian? How had ht come Ey the gold?
 Should they report the case to tho authorities? Neither the grafter nol the farmer suggested this course Possession being considered nine points of the law, they felt no disposi- ton to give up their extraordinary "fcd"
 Finally the grafter proposed buryine it in the farmers wheat bin for the present.
 At this point Charlie explained that under no circumstances did he call it a gold brick" but always a chunk of gold"
 The wheat bin suggestion was fol lowed. and after filling the hole a',d placing the shovel where it had been found they carefully concealed the gold underneath three feet of wheat in the barn The farmer now became anxious to make certain that it was really gold The grafter felt no doubt on this point. but agreed it would be best to have it tested.
 At last che farmer suggested inst what the grafter had been waiting for-that they look up an assayer, pro- vided it could be done with safety, and let him test it. So the next day they drove to town, left the team at liv- cry barn and together went by train to Columbus to have the material tested.
 Having reached Columbus they started uptown. and very soon met an intelligent looking man, who, oi course. was one of the gang. Stepping up to him in a businesslike way, the High Mark" asked If he could tel him whether there was an assayer $ office in the city
 "Oh, yes" said the man, and di. rected them to certain building where an assayer's office was on tet top floor.
 All this looked plausible, and wher they reached the top floor sure enough there they found sign over one of the doors: "U s. Assayers Office. A man, in short sleeves, with no col lar. and wearing duck apron-anothel member of the gang-greeted them pleasantly.
 Could we have piece of metal test ed9" asked the grafter.
 ITO be sure said the assayer Can you positively tell us whether or not il is gold?'
 Why not? That is what l am here for
 NOW" said the grafter, producing the chunk of metal, T wish you woul first show us how you test metal, and then test this in our presence.
 Very well" said the assayer "Te give you demonstration, will produce three or four pieces of brass and copper then piece of gold of such low karat that it will not stand the test After this, will test pieces of gold Here E some acid that nothing but pure golf can stand
 So saying, he picked up a piece oi
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

question from me as to the direction in which they were going next he sass that they had plans all laid for a iob up in Wisconsin.
 What are you fellows working now?' l asked.
 The gold brick" he replied.
 Charlie has been working the gold brick game long time, hasn't he?"
 Yes; and he is one of the finest Tn the country. No doubt he has turned the trick for bigger money than any other gold-brick man in the world"
 A few moments later invited Charlie into my private office. and surprising him with my knowledge of his business. got him to tell me the story of his life, from the time he had left college.
 He and his gang. of which he was considered the head. never played for small stakes s7000 being the maxi mum. and S5.0o0 the minimum. They mad three plans of putting up the job. one of which he explained in le- tall, as being very successful.
 Their first step was to locate their victim and this required skillful work on the part of the advance man. When substantial farmer, with plenty of property and a good bank account. had been selected. the High Mark" as the head man was called, would visi' the locality. Calling upon the farmer. or "Rummy" as he was known to the gang he would explain that he was a business man from Massachusetts and was looking around with a possi- bie view to buying small farm. u,on which to spend his remaining days
 They had turned their last trick m southern Ohio. working it as follows:
 Charlie" as High Mark. called upon the farmer who had been care fully selected by the advance man After giving the above explanation to account for his visit he inquired whether there was any kind of good hunting in that section. When in formed that there was excellent squir- rel hunting and that the season was then open, he became enthusiastic and asked the farmer if he ever hunted
 The reply was that he scarcely ever did. principally for the reason that he had poor gun.
 Now, see here" said the graftpr. Il have at my hotel several fine guns and plenty of ammunition. and I wan to have little fun. Ii you will give me board for week or two, I'll bring out my guns and will pay you s20 oi' S25 week with the understanding that you are to give up your personal time to go out with me. What do you say"
 To this the farmer agreed. The iol- lowing day the grafter returned. bag and baggage
 The first day they went to the woods to erect a blind under which 10 hide while waiting for squirrels. After the blind was finished the grafter hinted that he had bottle of good stuff in his pocket and producing a guar. bottle of choice wine and whisky mixed, took drink and passed it to the farmer, who also took social smile Then. to make the blind mors attractive. he hid the bottle under a log, remarking that it would come in good play hereafter.
 Being an experienced sportsman the grafter's success in bringing down a fine mess of squirrels every morning made things doubly interesting be sides swig from the bottle created q good appetite for breakfast.
 After the High Mark" had estab- lished himself in the good graces Of the farmer and his family. one of his
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

1 'gold bar" Gas the assayer had called 1 it, in the bag. They returned to the farmers home in high spirits. and again buried the gold bar ill the wheat bin
 In the estimation of the grafter tho most feasible way to dispose of it was for i one of them to go alone to some large city and have the bar made into several ferent dealers. He even hinted that he would be willing to do it.
 Two men together" he said. would be likely to create some suspicion. as of fering the gold for sale is different from calling upon an assayer for infor- nation.
 This suggestion was intended to mako the farmer suspect that his partner was working scheme to beat him out of hls half of the gold
 The following morning telegraph messenger came to the farmers house with telegram for the grafter, which read:
 Mother very sick given up to die. Come immediately
 (Signed) Mary"
 iidil DtSiht iliIISfils tilf Si dltel showed the telegram to the farmer, and said:
 See here, I haven't the money to buy your half of the gold bar, and haven't time to wait to have it melted and d- vided so I'll tell you what I'll do. If you will give me s7,500 you can have my half"
 Naturally the farmer hesitated. if for no other reason than to get better deal whereupon the grafter showed him that by accepting his offer he would be getting $500 the best of the bargain.
 Well the farmer said, If can raise s2 ,000 more than l have on hand. I'll give you s7000 cash for your share" All right" agreed the grafter. Take me to town and settle with me and I'll start for Massachusetts on the | first train for the east The cash was, of course, forthcoming. and would have been had the farmer | been obliged to mortgage his farm.
 Now. Charlie" said I, Suppose should step into another room and call the chief of police, and turn you over to | him. what would be the outcome?"
 Well" said he, T haven't given you the name of anyone we have buncoed. and as none of the 'rummies have kicked or made any kind of squeal, what could they do to me? I'd simply say that had lied to you, and that would end it.
 A small piece had been taken ou: of the brass or copper brick, and d suffi- ciently large piece of gold inserted, upon | which to enable the supposed assayer to place his acid. With the exception of this small piece of pure gold. the whole brick was nothing more nor less than brass or copper. It will be remembered that the Indian, instead of burying the metal in the tim bered lot, planted" 1t on the opposite side of the fence. on land owned by some one other than the farmer. This gave the farmer no chance to claim the whole chunk of gold, on the ground that 1t was found upon his property
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

pals appeared This accomplice was a full-blood Indian. who had been etu- cated by the United States govern ment. He had joined the gang in the west and had been with them for ser- eral years. He was a shrewd. foxy fellow, quick to detect a weak point m the game, or to appreciate a strong one.
 On going to the blind one morn'Ee the grafter happened to notice, a shor; distance away beyond the fence inclos- ing the farmers property. man who seemed to be digging a hole in the ground. He immediately called the farmers attention to the stranger and both watched the outcome with much curiosity.
 When the man had dug hole. abou: three feet deep. he placed a chunk of something in it and covered 1t up; after which he scattered the surplus
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
length 1t means a loss of five feet on every strip put on the wall"
Schema Didn't Work

Il see Blank is back from the south. He said it was too hot for him down there.'
 "Yes. He tried to build row of flats with gold bricks. and 1t got to be a good deal hotter for him than 1t waas for anybody else,'-Detroit Free Press.
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
Bats of Panama.

A traveller in the Panma country has this to say of one of his boatmen: "The negro limped from a sore in his foot. He explained that his toe had been at. tackled the previous night by a vam- plre bat. which paid him frequent wis its. though he was never conscious of the blood-sucking process until he awoke"
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
Poor Housekeeper

To-day the English lady Is the worst housekeeper in the world Two hundred years ago she was the best !" This is the essence of a striking in dietment of modern women by Mrs. Huth Jackson in an article on house. keeping and national we'll being in the nIneteenth century.
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
THE GOLD BRICK GAME.

An Old But Successful Method of Swindling Wealthy Farmers - Plan So Intricate That Few Have Understood It-The High Mark" and His "Gang'-An Indian. a Cit- izen and an Assayer Play Their Re spective Roles-A Small Part of the Brick Pure Gold-Haul of s7,ooo for the Gang
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
DurablA Wheels

Paper car wheels made by pressure from rye straw paper are usually good enough to take a second set of steel tires after the first set has been worn out by a run of 900 miles
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
Cacti Ponular

fin England and Germany A German wriier maintains that cactus blossoms excel all other variety and In beauty of form and color
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13

ping men here to purchase her and bring her over as relic of bygone days and honest workmanship, but it never came to anything.
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
The Choice Soul.

We can all be sympathetic, but the sympathetic man who gives assistance Is the choice soul.-Detroit Free Preas..
The Forrest City times., 1905-10-13
Cur Age.

Every dog has bis day. and even . cur may possess courage.