davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
IS A REMARKABLE WILL
cry Unique Document Probated
SIn This City Wednesday.
CONTAINS BUT ONE SENTENCE
Is Brief and to the Point, and There
Seems to Be No Reasonable Doubt
About Its Validity.

One of the shortest as well as the
most unique wills ever offered for
probate in West Virginia was filed
with County CLERK Bender Wednesday,
the document being the last will aud
testament Of the late William Bear,
an aged and well-known resident of
Back Greek valley, who died at his
home near Jones Spring about 10
days ago.
Mr.. Bear left an estate of several
thousand dollars, comprising a good
farm on the other side of the mountain
and notes, household effects etc. 1t
was not known until a day or two ago
that will existed, aud a few days
after his death one of the SOUS secured
the appointment of Attorney Ward
b. Lindsay as administrator to settle
up the estate.
Later search of the papers of the
dead man was made. and among the m
was found a paper which lawyers de-
clare to be will, and which was
readily admitted to probate as such
by County CLERK Bender The instru-
ment is written upon a soiled sheet OF
paper, evidently torn from a small
note BOOK, and contains neither date
nor the names of witnesses. An exgct
copy of the Will follows.
rs |. Bear when j am dead see to
what is left devide it.
William Bear -
The S. l.. Beac mentioned is one of
the sons of the dead man, and he
brought the will to town and imme.
diately qualified as executor OF the
estate with the will annexed
There are four sons aud four daugh-
ters who will share in the estate &C.
cording to the terms of the will.
The will will not alter the division Of
the property, owing to the fact that
il IL executed in accordance with the
provisions of the laws of West Virginia
in such cases. The only change it
will make. the lawyers say, is that the
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
CONVENTION ON APRIL rs.
Republicans viii Nominate Candi-
date on That Day.
COMMITTEE MET WEDNESDAY
Ten Candidates Were on Hand and
Everything Passed Off In
Harmonious Manner.

At meeting of the Second congress
sional republics committee held at
Piedmont Wednesday it was decided
to hold the convention for the nomina.
tion OF candidate to succeed Judge
Dayton at Kevser on Wednesday,
April 26, at 10 80 a. m.
The committee meeting was attend
ed by representatives from all OF the
counties in the Second district. IL OF
the members being present and the
other two being represented by proxy.
1t was an entirely harmonious
gathering, and the 10 avowed candi-
dates for the nomination who were
present "got together and talked
over the situation in manner that
would lead one to believe that love
feast was in progress.
After fixing the time and place of
the convention the committee decided
that no proxies should be allowed in
the convention, and that only those
votes actually present in the conven.
tion should be counted. This is re-
garded as a move in the right direc-
ton.
There were 10 avowed candidates
for the nomination at the convention,
as follows: Berkeley county. Hetzel,
Evans, Henshaw Jefferson county.
Jeffords; Mineral county. Hood |;
Grant county. Forman; Tucker coun-
ty, Stallings; Randolph county. Keim
and Sutherland; TAYLOR county, Rob-
inson. Postmaster Clohan was also
present from Berkeley.
Speaking of the situation in Berke-
ley coanty well-known republican
today stated that in all probability
the call for the county convention
would be issueo on Monday next, and
that the manner of selecting the dele.
gates would be as follows: Each
district in the countY would be en-.
titled to 10 votes. based upon the vote
for president at the last election.
these delegates to be selected at Jude.
pendent meetings in each precinct.
This wonld give the county districts
60 delegates and the city 90. max ing
county convention of so votes. The
county convention will be held about
April 10, at the court house, when 25
delegates to the nominating conven-
tion will be selected These 25 votes
will make nice little nest egg for
the candidate fortunate enough to
capture them, and may prove the
neucleus for sufficient strength to
dominate the convention.
1t is probable that the delegates
from Jefferson county " i'll be selected
in the interest of Tracv L. Jetfords,
and those from Morgan county will
likely be behind Mr.. Hetzel. In
Berkeley county there Will be a
spirited hree-cornered fight between
Hetzel, Henshaw and Evans, and the
outcome will be watched with great
deal of interest.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
DESPERATE MAN ARRESTED.
GE0nGE PITTmAs. OF BRUNSWICK
AGAIN BEHIND THE HARs.
Served Three Years an the Pen For
Shoe Ing Man at Rrunswsck--
An Ugly Customer.

George pistman. regarded by persons
who know him as a dangerous and
desperate character, especially when
under the influence of liquor, was ar
rested at Hancock on Tuesday by
Constable Rhoades while s'painting
the town red. The prisoner was
putting up stitf fight when Deputy
Calvin Rhoades, arrived on che scene
and assisted his father in putting the
nippers on Pittman.
Justice Harrison sentenced Pittman
to four months In the house of COL
rection. He was taken to Hagerstown
by Officer Rhoades and lodged in jail.
On the way down on the train Pitt
man became very ugly several times
aud had to be qnieted by the officer.
Pittman was released about three
months ago from the Maryland peni-
Tertiary. where he served three years
for shooting man at Brunswick.
Recently lie has been employed as
blacksmith by one OF the snb-contract-
ors on the Wabash extension work.
He is between 90 aud go years old and
man of powerful build. II is said
one of his loasts has ALWAYS been that
no officer could arrest him without his
consent. On one occasion Pittman
compelled two officers to remove hand.
cuffs after they had been securely
locked on his wrists
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
KILLED HIS CHILD.
TERRIBLE CRIME OF DRUNK ZEN
MAN AT RIDGELY, w VA.
Fired a shot at the Mother and tho Bul-
let Passed Through the Head OF
the Baby.

A special dispatch from Cumber-
land says that William Woodrow, of
Ridgely, across the river from Gum
herland. in "a drunken rage about A
O'Clock Tuesday morning shot his IA
months-old child in his wife's arms
and seriously wounded his wife. One
shot WAS fired from pistol, which
was aimed at the mother. Woodrow
had beet on debauch for over a
week and the shootipg was the Gull
mination of almost inhuman treatment
OF wife and child.
During Tuesday night he attempted
to tear tine child limb from limb, and
at an early hour Tuesday morning
bis wife. with child in arms, fled from
the house for her life. The wife re-
turned about O'Clock for her shoes
and had just gotten into the house
when her husband came upon her and
fired pistol. The bullet passed
through the child's head. which was
in her arms. aud imbedded itself In
her right arm.
F. W. Cation. hearing the shot,
rushed in and disarmed Woodrow.
He was later arrested bv Constable
Barnes and taken before Justice Barn.
cord. who committed him 20 Jail at
Keyser. Woodrow was still intoxi-
Gated when, taken before the Justice
and denied the shooting. The child
will die. The mother received
serious wound Woodrow is employed
By the West Virginia Central railroad
at Ridgelv.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
DANISH PRESS is A POWER
"Free Speech of Newspapers Ac-
counts for the Many Privileges
of Scandinavian People.

Copenhagen.-The constitutional lid
erty enjoyed by the Danes, the Nor
wegians and the Swedes is the result
of free and outspoken press. Con-
versely put, this freedom of speech, as
expressed through the numerous Scan
dinavian newspapers and periodicals, is
the logical outcome where the people Of
the respective countries share complete
ly in the affairs of their government
AS matter of fact, it required not few
hard-fought battles with pen on paper
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
ron SALE.

One house and lot IL miles from
own on pike. Very desirable place.
11-.tf. See s. s. Felker.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
HE GOT THE GIRL.
Young Fireman Found Pathway to
the Altar Difficult.

William l. Ensminger. AGED 20
wears. a Baltimore 81 Ohio fireman
running between Cumberland and
Brunswick, found his pathway to the
altar strewn with thorns. wien he
made an effort to wed Miss Nellie M.
Linsday. pretty country lass resid-
lug near WilIiamsport. The young
lady's parents objected to the match
on the ground OF the youth OF the
prospective groom, but the latter se-
cured the written consent OF his
mother to the union and the knot was
tied. They will reside in Cnmber.
land.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
WAS TREMENDOUS BLAST.
WINDOWS IN. GREAT CAcAPON
WE'RE DEmoLIsHED.
Rocks Weighing Several Hundred
Pounds are Hurled Across the
River by Dynamite.

Rocks Weighing Several Hundred
Pounds are Hurried Across the
River ny Dynamite.
Nearly all the window panes In the
village of Great Cacapon. opposite
dam No. @. on the Potomac river, 10
miles west Of Hancock, were blown
out by the concussion from blast set
off on the Western Maryland connect
ing link on the Maryland side Of the
river Tuesday. A passing Baltimore
q Ohio accommodation train had
nearly every window pane on the
side exposed on the river broken. The
passenge were for moment panic.
stricken. The town Of 800 inhabi-
tants looks as IL 1t had been visited
by a violent wind storm. The WIN
dows of residences are stuffed up with
pillows, while the display fronts of
the stores are boarded mp.
Since the blasting for the Western
Maryland road bed has been In prog
ress heavy rocks have frequently been
hurled clear across tire river. Some
Of them weighed several hundred
pounds.
The contractors have a number of
steam shovels employed removing
from the bed OF the Chesapeake q
Ohio canal debris from the bluff
blasted away TO make the roadbed.
This is being dumued into the Poto-
mac river.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
DISASTROUS F.
HOUSE, BARN AND OTHER q
rNGs GO UP Ia SMOKE. =
a1r Charles w. Butts, Living North OF
HedgesviIIe, Suffers Severely
From the Blaze.

EEOm tnc DAhZe.
A disastrous fire visited the farm
owned and occupied by Mr.. Charles
W. Butts. north of Hedgesville, on
Tuesday afternoon, DESTROYING the
dwelling house and practically every
huldlne on the place. The blaze was
first seen in the roof of the house, and
was supposed to nave originated from
sparks from the chimney. Efforts
were made by the members of the
family to extiDguish the fire, bat
without avail. and Mr.. Butts was
compelled TO stand by helpless and
witness the destruction of his prop.
erty.
Before the house was completely
destroyed the blaze communicated to
the barn, then to the corncrib. and all
three buildings went up in smoke.
Nearly all the furniture was de-
stroyed, as we'll as quantity of hay
and corn. wagons, farming imple-
ments. harness. etc. The stock was
removed to a place of safety without
injury.
Tie loss will be about $1,000. Mr..
Butts had several hundred dollars of
insurance with Alexander q Tram
NELL on the house ana furniture. but
nothing on the other buildings or
their contents. The work of rebuild
ing will be commenced at once.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
APPEALS FOR AID.
Governor Starts Movement to Help
Families of Dead Miners.

Governor Dawson has made an APP
peal through the newspapers of the
state for help for the families OF the
miners who lost their lives in the
Rush Run mine explosion few DAYS
ago. Messrs. U. W. Swisher. @. W.
Atkinson. A. B. Littlepage. John
Nugent and e. NJ. Stanton have been
named as commissioners to lock after
the contributions.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
SOUNDS LIKE HOT AIR.
Selling Apples Before the Trees Put
Forth Their Buds.

The Hagerstown Mail says that the
ShepEerdstown Register gives cur
rency to the report that Robert
Stewart has sold the prospective crop
of apples from his orchard of SO acres
near Kearneysville TO Martinsburg
dealers for $4,000. Selling apples be-
fore the trees put forth their buds.
That sounds perilously near hot air
contract.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
GOT A BELLING.
Unseemly Uproar Greeted a Newly
Married Pair Wednesday.

The vicinity of Gainesboro, w. Va,
was in an uproar on account of a
"belling party" that annoyed Mr..
Bruce Sargent and his bride, who
was Miss Alice STROLLER. pretty and
popular girl of the neighborhood.
They were married Wednesday by
Rev. Thos Cooper. of the Southern
Methodist church.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
FOR SALE.

One new room house on Bovd ave.
nue., very desirable house for sale
Cream.
2il-tf. See S. S. Felker.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01

SON instead OF Mr.. Lindsay will settle
up the estate.
Mr.. Bear was a quiet, industrious
and respected farmer. aud accumulated
his property BY close application to
work and frugal habits.
Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-04-01
General Lees Daughter Dead.

Miss Mildred Lee, the youngest
daughter of General Robert f. Lee,
died at New Orleans Sunday night at
the residence OF Mrs. William Preston
John son. where she was visiting.
Her death was que to appoplexy.
The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-29
LOST IN THE AIR.

Boys are frequently lost in the
woads, and it is singular fact that
birds are sometimes lost in the air.
This might seem strange to almost
any one, but the average man is
superficial observer of little things.
In the far north, and particularly
along the ocean coasts, birds are fire.
quently storm driven and lose their
bearings, so that many of them are
lost at sea. They keep floating in
the air, aimlessIy striving to live un-
til exhaustion compels them to drop
into the angry waves, which engult
them.
There is a we'll authenticated case
on record of an ocean liner bringing
into New York on winters day
large white owl which had dropped to,
one of the forward spars in an ex-
hausted condition more than 800
miles oftthe coast of Newfoundland.
It was nearly dead from cold and hum
ger and almost too weak to eat any
thing. It had become much emaci-
ated and trembledin its distress when
it trid to swallow the first morsel of
meat which was placed within its
beak. The captaiu and sailors were
all interested in it, and under their
nourishing care it slowly recovered
and became entirely we'll and healthy
and strong. 1t willingly remained
with the ship afterward.
1t was evidently land bird which
had been blown off from the coast of
Newfoundland by strong west winds,
had become lost, merely drifted be.
fore the gales, kept out of the water
almost starved to death and made its
last intelligent effort to reach the ship
and there fell in exhaustion and col
lapse.
Old sailors narrate many other in.
stances Of finding birds that have been
lost in the air.
The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-29
DEEP SEA ANIMALS.

Naturally, the fish of the deep por-
tions of the ocean are carnivorous, no
vegetable life being found below 200
fathoms," writes w. S. Harwood in
Harper's Magazine. "In the Allan
tic ocean the vast Sargosso sea, con-
tanning 1900, 900 square miles of sur
face-a great marine prairie as large
as the whole of the United States ex-
elusive of Alaska and dependent is
lands-affords vegetable food for un-
countable animals, which in their due
time die and are precipitated to the
depths, their bodies in turn to be eaten
by the animals which live far below
all vegetation. So it is throughout
the whole ocean animal life is con-
stantly falling from the surface waters
for the support of the animal life OF
abyss. A very large number of the
deep sea animals are exceedingly
tenuous or translucent in form-so tc
put it-having no special organs oi
nutrition, but taking in their nour-
ishment through the walls of their
bodies, appropriating from the water
the food which. suits them. Some
of them have a bony structure, a
skeleton, which they form also from
the water, silica and carbonate oi
lime being the chief skeleton forming
materials"
The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-29
ANIMALS wANDERINGs.

The fable of the country mouse
and the town mouse has foundation
in fact. Mice occasionally migrate in
large numbers when foodgrowsscarce,
and travel considerable distances to
fresh houses. Farmers in part of
Perthshire had a good reason to be-
come aware of this fact when, a
couple of years ago, vast swarms OF
mice invaded their cornhelds at
harvest time.
But the mouse only travels when it
has to. The rat, on the contrary,
seems to take a yearly outing, in very
much the same fashion as do human
beings. Rats are the most migratory
creatures in the world. Whole troops
of rats leave the towns at the end OF
summer and spend month or two
in the country, apparently in order to
enjoy the change of food which the
country affords at that time of the
year in the way of fresh fruit and
grain. Before the cold whether sets
in they are all back in their old
quarters.
Renders migrate with the same
regularity as swallows. They move
south when winter sets in, but as soon
as ever the snow begins to melt they
travel steadily north, sometimes for as
much as thousand miles.
To end holiday by deliberate
suicide is so strange a phenomenon
that for long time naturalists looked
upon the stories of the migration of
the Jennings as an improbable fiction.
Yet the facts are beyond dispute.
At irregular intervals these rat like
creatures start out from their homes
in the fastness of northern Scandina-
via in huge droves, numbering tens
of thousands, and travel steadily
southwark. Death pursues them IN
hundred forms. Hawks and other
birds of prey hover above them.
Foxes, wolves and man deceminate
them. Thousands are drowned in
rivers. Yet the rest struggle on until
they reach the sea. They do moi
stop. They plunge in, swim out and
struggle on until at last their strength
fails and they drown. Not one evei
returns from this journey of DEATH.
The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-29

Dear friends, am grateful, and thank you sim
cerely,
For all the kind sayings you've linked with my
name:
They pass my deservings, but, frankly and
clearly,
I'll say there's one virtue feel can claim
boast not of speeches, addresses, Orations,
OF verses published or essays burned:
But proudly I'll state, in the face of the nations.
The books that borrowed always returned.
Some people there are who-with honest inten-
ton
Your favorite volumes will take "as loan:''
Perhaps the excuse for their final retention
Is that they regard them at last as their own.
If sometimes they think about due restoration
The date for that function Is ever adjourned
And this is the sum of the whole situation
The books that they borrow are never re-
turned.
My faults have beeu many-I sadly admit it
Deserving of censure to any amount:
Yet some folk may find, when this scene have
quilted,
An item or two for contra account;
Some lovable soul. touched with tender emotion.
May say that the loss of such man should be
mOurned,
And plead in defence of so startling notion:
1.-The books that he borrowed he always re-
turned"
The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-29
WOMEN MUST KNEEI TO MEN.

East Central Africa, believe that their
women are their interiors, and many
centuries ago, says the Chicago
Tribune, they made a law that has
worn itself into custom that women
must acknowledge this by always
kneeling when they meet man.
Duff Macdonald, who spent many
years as missionary in this country,
says that African woman hold most
degraded position, and are looked
upon pretty generally as beasts of
burden capable of doing all the hard
work. When woman meets any
man, be it her husband or a stranger,
at home or on the road, she is ex-
pected to ''taidiwala' that is, to
kneel and clap her hands to the lord
of creation as he passes. Although
a woman may have slaves of her own,
she observes this custom whenever
she meets them on the highway.
Macdonald adds: Whenever we
saw woman go out of her way with
the intention of kneeling before us,
though she carried a hundredweight
on her head, knowing that she would
have to get up with it, we shouted,
You are losing your way, this is the
path, and she took it glad that she
might dispense with this custom"
Certain it is that if the African
woman kneels before stranger or
slave she prostrates herself most
humbly before her husband-her lord
and master. He is her father and
she is his child; he commands and
she obeys he may inAict punishment
and she accepts it.
The title of father" is given to
all old people; man of 80 will say:
81 am only child, ask the old man."
The woman must submit, of course.
She is her husbands chattel he has
bought her for two skins of buck,
and this is fair price for one wife.
He often gets them in payment for
debts.
If girl is not a first wife she
counts for little, as these Africans
usually have one chief wife and three
or four minor wives. "A man who is
married a few years is expected to
have. junior wives. The chief wife
has the superintendent of the others
and looks after the household. The
punishment she inhicts for laziness is
to Danish the junior wife from her
meals until hunger brings her to her
senses. If a junior wife is obstrep-
erous she is put in slave stock.
The authority of chief wife is
not matter to jest with. If a Junior
wife gets unruly the whipping post
is made use of. This does not annoy
her lord, for African men have little
sentiment for their wives and feel
none for their Junior wives. They
are his chattels, having the same
value as his cattle-perhaps less.
When man is pressed for money he
usually sells his wife and not his
cattle. He expects them to cultivate
the soil and cut down the trees, and
when he finds time or has the inclina-
tion he helps them.
Mrs. Macdonald says that she
amused herself by taking the loads of
wood cut down by the women and
placing them next to those of the
men explaining that civilized men
try to relieve women of hardships,
but they shook their heads and an
swered that their lords would never
submit to this humility.