davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
TIMBER SEASONING.
Bureau of Forestry Experiments
with Telegraph Poles.


The bureau OF forestry at its new ex-
pertinent stations in Wisconsin and
Michigan will make seasoning tests Of
cedar and tamafack telephone and tele-
graph poles which have been submerg-
ed in water for varying lengths of
time. This is an entirely new line Of
experiment. That immersion in water
seems to affect the rate Of seasoning
has often been noticed. Rafting is said
by many lumbermen to improve tim
Der, and logs which have lain for a
long time in swamps are in some places
eagerly sought for their superiority for
certain uses. But just why this should
be true and what practical use can be
made of the fact in seasoning general
ly are matters which have never been
thoroughly ascertainCA
It is known that the sap of green
wood contains certain soluble sub
stances-albumen, starch sugars, tan
min. etc.-which undoubtedly are
leached out of timber immersed in wa
ter to a greater or less extent. In ordi-
nary seasoning these substances are
left behind as the water eYapOrates
and are deposited on the cell walls As
seasoning begins on the outside these
deposits must act as clogs, which yirtu-
ally bottle up to a certain degree the
water in the interior 1t is possible
also that chemical or physical changes
in the wood cells are produced by soak
ing.
Timber seasoning is at best tedious
and slow work. 1t can be done fairly
well in ten or twelve months, but thor
ough seasoning requires from eighteen
to twenty-four months, the time vary
ing with the different kinds Of wood.
If the bureau of forestry realizes its
expectations from these new expert
ments the time required for seasoning
poles will be reduced One-third and
possibly much more. This would prove
an exceedingly valuable economy. If,
in addition, the durability Of the poles
can be increased in this way the saving
both to users Of poles and to the cause
of forest preservation will be enOr-
nous, for every year added to the serv-
ltE VI IOlNo NAAAo OAA d NAblOA AANAAftAN W
mand upon the forests for their re
newal.
In these new tests the poles will be
submerged in water for different peri
ods from one week up to decide what
length of time will give the best re
suits. They viii then be placed on
skids about two feet above the ground
and left to dry. They will touch each
other but will he laid only one layer
deep. At the expiration of every thir-
ty days each pole will be weighed and
also measured to ascertain any shrink
age of its circumference. Unsoaked
poles have furnished a circumference
shrinkage of one-sjxteenth to one (
eighth inch in thirty days and Of one /
fourth inch in six months.
An important matter in seasoning is !
the loss in weight. Past experiments
with white cedar poles have shown a
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
A SEA SERPENT STORY.
This Marine Monster Was Fifty-iiVe
Feet In Length.

Feet In LenBtA'
Rudvard Kipling has seen his seeonu
sea serpent, according to a story winch
comes with some seriousness from cape
1,own People who read Kipling's frst
sea serpent story thought it was merely
a brilliant piece of fiction. This sec
ond sea serpent story is not told Dy
Kipling. but by the skipper OF tne
steamship Armadale Castle. The sea
serpent was seen-in fact, it was struck
by the ship and probably killed-whlle
the Armadale Castle was or her last
voyage to Cape Town, in latitude de-
erees south. Mr.. Kipling was aDoaru
the ship.
Commander Robinson is not sure
whether the creature struck was real
serpent, a queer whale or a greatly
overgrown shark. Whatever 1t was
tbe thing was hit by the bow Of the
ship where, in all properly regulated
fishes. the pectoral fin exists. The head
was doubled across the bow port, and
the tail trailed away along the star
board side. The violent struggles OF
the creature to free itself from its pain
full and embarrassing position led to its
striking the soft brown paint of the
boot topping on the ships side with
the powerful fiuke of its tail.
This was observed by the boatswain
and some of the men who were watch
ing the affair through the side ports
Immediately over the tail Of the fish
The marks enabled the commander
afterward to make fairly accurate
measurements. From mark to stem it
was forty-seven feet About eight feet
Of head over the port side brought the
whole length to ffty-fve feet. In
girth it was apparently about the vol
ume Of one of the ships lifebOats ut the
broadest part, say eight feet in diane
ter, very gracefully tapering away to-
ward the tail. The body appeared to
be of a greenish brown color withllarge
dark spots all over the back and sides,
the lower part being of dull white.
1t was first observed by one Of the
seamen, who heard a knocking against
the ships side. When the news was
passed along the decks all the passen-
gers, young and old, performed a mad
stampede into the forecastle to look at
the unhappy prisoner. The engines
were stopped as soon as possible and
reversed, but fully a quarter of an
hour elapsed between the first dis
covery and the final clearance, by
which time the creature was either
dead or completely exhausted, for it
sunk slowly, tail first.-ChicagO News.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
Ways of the Chinese.

According to the Rev. E. ]. Hardy,
long a resident of China, who has writ
ten a book on the Chinese, "the first
emperor of the Ming dynasty, A. d.
1868, prohibited all prayers but his own
to God. What a confusion he said,
there will be above, what intolerable
annoyance if you people all call upon
him. Should a common person pre-
sumo to worship his Father in heaven
he may be punished by Chinese law
with eighty blows, and even with stran-
gulation"
Another traveller in China, Mrs. Dor
othy Gator, brings forward once more
the grim fact that poverty in that
country leads to the commission Of ter
rible crimes. "The Chinese very sell
dom kill their sons" she says, "but
their girl babies they drown, If they
have too many. just like kittens. Any
day one may be seen floating in the
river"
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
SAND OF THE DESERT.
The wind sports with It and Works
Curious Effects.

The Wind Sports with II and Works
Curious Effects.
As mysterious, as uncomfortable, as
treacherous and as entertaining as the
vast ocean which lies only few
leagues west Of It's borders is the great
sea Of sand which forms a large por-
ton Of California's greatest desert,
known, because Of its proximity to the
river of that name, as the Colorado
desert.
This desert is the winds favorite
playground. He comes over the noun
tains from plowing the mighty deep
and works strange fancies in the pill
able sands; he duplicates the great
pillows of the turbulent ocean; he imi-
tates the ripping waves Of the placid
sea; he carves and builds and plays
at artist, sculptor and geometrician.
When he becomes weary of his sports
he lashes himself to fury and tosses
the sand a mile high in the air and
filings it broadcast over all the plain,
whirling and hurling the particles till
he obscures the sun and brings a suf-
locating darkness to the land.
On the east side Of the desert he is
at present busy engulfng a railroad.
Already he has buried many Of the
telegraph poles which stand along the
way, and he has invaded the right of
way of the road, and the company is
busily fighting to hold possession until
a new line, which is being built around
the intruding hills. shall be completed.
Then the rolling billows Of sand will
be allowed to sweep on undisputed.
In the southwestern portion of the
same desert is another range Of travel
ing hills. These are more wonderful,
however, than the ones which are men
acing the railroad, for upon these hills
the wind has practiced his skill at
carving geometrical figures. These
hills are known as the Crescent hills.
Each is the shape Of a true crescent,
the points of which are toward the
east A hill which is fifty feet high is
found to be 100 feet thick at the base
and 200 feet from point to point Of the
duplicate horns of the crescent. If
hill is twice that height its other di-
mensiOns will be found to have dou-
bled also. Little and big, they keep
their proportions as they move slowly
across the plain.
In crossing the desert one frequently
finds footprints of men and animals,
not indented in the yielding sands, but
standing above the level Of the earth
supported by tiny sand columns six
inches to one foot in height. This phe-
nOmenon is easily accounted for. The
so called sand of the Colorado desert
is really fine particles of silt, for that
region was at one time the bottom Of
the gulf of California when that body
Of water extended north couple of
hundred miles farther than at the pres
ent time There are certain adhesive I.
properties to this silt, and under the |
weight Of man or beast the particles |
together and become stationary
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08

instead Of continually drifting before
the wind, which continues its work Of
erosion upon the impressed soil about
the tracks, soon leaving them stranded
in the air. Thus the footprints in the
sands Of time" become monuments Of
passing events.
In Death valley the phenomenon is
reversed. There forty years after a
wagon party went to its death in that
valley the course Of the party was cas-
lily traced by the tracks made four
decades before Here the peculiar ma
ture of the soil was such as to prevent
erosion of the earth about the tracks.
The winds carried continually over the
soil sand brought from another part Of
the valley, often filling the ruts and as
often emptying thems again. 1t was
only few years ago that the trail Of
''the Pathfinder" John c. Fremont,
was easy to follow across a portion Of
the MOjave desert in a region possess
ed of similar formation. Many and
many a time was the trail covered
inches deep beneath drifting sands, on
ly to be again rescued from submer-
sion by the same tickle winds.
In many places in the desert has the
wind left his autograph in sand rifles
and sinuous, ripping waves, like the
waves of a sheet of water when the
gentle breezes set them dancing in
playful mood or like the rifles upon
the surface Of a pebble fretted stream.
New York Tribune.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
A Nrnrriage Tint Isn,t.

A certain count and a certain young
lady Of thirteen both French subjects,
were married three times in 1902, or
thought they were, but they now find
themselves bachelor and spinster still.
The first marriage took place at a
church in London, the second before
the registrar at Dover, but these two,
being only English marriages, do not
avail. Then came a marriage by a
French provincial mayor, which the
parties thought had at last safely tied
the knot. especially as the brides moth
er gave her consent. But it now turns
out that the brides legal guardian had
not consented also, and the flaw has
been pointed out by the brides repent
ant mother, who declares that the
bridegroom is not the nObleman, geog-
rapher. journalist and various other
respectable things he had represented
himself to be. If two French people
can come involuntarily united in this
fashion, after believing themselves to
have been triply spiiced, there is OBJ
viously more reason than ever for Eng
lish people who are contemplating in
ternational marriage to make certain
that all is legally cOrrect.--LOndOn Pail
Mall Gazette.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
The enamel Mt Annapolis.

One of the most interesting buildings
now under construction in this country
is the chapel Of the United States Ma
val academy at Annapolis. In its gen
eral plan the building is something
like a Greek cross. The main floor is a
circle eighty-three feet four inches in
diameter, with Transcripts increasing
the clear width on the main axes Of the
building to 116 feet inches. The out
side diameter is 13O feet. The main
building is sixty-four feet high and is
crowned by a double dome supporting
a lantern rising to a total height OF
1872 feet 8 inches above the ground.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
M cbinn Made In Dresden.

To those connoisseurs who evince
great pride in their collections of Dres-
den china it will come as a great shock
to learn that today there is no such
product under this name, although sold
as such. In the course Of a prOsecu-
ton in London, where a firm was pros
ecuted for selling ware as Dresden and
marking the goods as such, it was stat
ed that no china is manufactured at
Dresden. The name is applied to the
products Of the royal factory at Meis-
sen. Furthermore, many pottery dec
orators at Dresden work upon china
that is manufactured at different
places, is transferred to that city, re-
ceives it's imprint and is then disposed
Of as Dresden china.-Scientific Amer
lean.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08
London,s .1ion,, Sermon.

Canon Newbolt preached the annual
'llon" sermon before the lord mayor
and sheriffs Of London recently. The
ceremony came from the following in
cidents: Two hundred and fifty years
ago Sir John Gayler was pursued by a
lion in an African desert. He escaped
and afterward became lord mayor. In
his will be left funds for annual serv-
ice of thanks.
Milford chronicle., 1905-12-08

Billy Robinson
stoIsn a tree from Ia
Gays, the tree was saeS
ed off the ground bs
together. He has q chil
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
SUES FOR BREACH OF PROMISE
Damages Amounting to Quarter of
Million Dollars Asked From W.
Gould BrOkaw by Mrs. Catherine
PCilIOa.

New York, May 24-Damages aggre-
as compensation for alleged breach Of
promise of marriage are asked by Mrs
Catharine Pollion in a suit against
w. Gould Brokaw, the millionaire club
man, which was begun in the Supreme
court here today. Eminent counsei,
scores of witnes ;es, many of them peo :
pie of prominence from distant parts of
the country, and a packet containing
more than 20 letters alleged by the
plaintiff to have been written by Bro
kaw, will figure in the case. The aC
thenticity of the letters, upon which
the suit is largely based, is denied by
Brokaw's counsel.
That the case has attracted unusual
attention was apparent from the ap-
pearance of the court room at the OPEN
ing session of the trial. Not a seat
was vacant and among the spectators
were many obviously not accustomed
to court room scenes.
Former Governor Black and former
Judge Olcott appeared for the plaintiff
in the suit. While Mr.. BrOkaWS s coun-
sci was former Assistant District At
torney Mcintyre. Both the plaintiff
and the defendant were in court, Ms
Poillion accompanied by her sister and
Mr. Brokaw by four friends who arriv-
ed with him in a big touring autom3-
bile
Several of the letters in the case are
addressed:
my Dear Wife to be-"
Mrs Pollion came bere from Troy,
n Y, few years ago after being Ill
vorced from her first husband, Joseph
P Smith, to whom she was married
in 1897, while she was still student
in a seminary.
Exceptional care was exercised b.
the attorneys in examining taelsnlen
regarding their qualifications to serve
on the jury. When the court adjourned
until tomorrow, only one juror mad
been selected.
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
AFFAIRS OF THE EQUITABLE
Effort to Get the President to Take
Action i'm the Case.

Washington, May 24.-An effort was
made today to induce President ROose-
velt to take an active interest in the
complications which have arisen in the
affairs of the Equitable Life Assurance
Society. Clarence Whitman, president
of the Merchants Association, Of New
York, had a conference with the Pres
ident on the subject Details Of the
conference We're not obtainable. but it
is known that Mr.. Whitman urged the
President to take up the subject with
a view either to ordering government
Investigation or to making recommen-
dations to Congress on the subject OF
Insurance legislation.
1t can be said that ''up to this time
the President had not seen his way
clear to the taking Of aay action In
the case of the Equitable company
specifically.
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
GLAZE AT FIRE WORKS PLANT
Ten One-StOry Buildings DESTROYED bv
Explosion in Mixing Room.

Rockland Mass, May 24.-Ten one
story wooden buildings of the National
Fire Works Company's plant of sixty
similar structures, at West Hanover,
were destroyed this afternoon by an
explosion in the mixing ROOM
Of the hundred persons employed at
the plant, only one man, Arthur Cate,
was severely, but not fatally injured,
while four girls were slightly injured
by being thrown to the ground by the
shock of the explosion. The plant had
a similar explosion about two years
ago.
Cate was alone in the mixing room
when the explosion took place. Seeing
several piles Of explosives begin 10
smoke he started for the door. Just
as he reached it the explosion came,
which shattered the building and
threw him to the ground. A short dis
tance from the mixing room was a
room in which four girls were employ
ed making fire crackers. They were
barely able to get outside the building
when that, too, was blown to pieces.
Eight other buildings were damaged
by fire. The monetary loss is not
oraat
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26

Chicago. Nav 2s.-Final rejection
ct the union teamsters demands. es-
pecially those of the express drivers.
was officially announced today by the
EMPLOYERS. thus annulltng present set
tlement of the teamsters strike. The
employers demand unconditional sur
render. Neither side in the strike
made a direct step towards peace to-
day. and each was apparently waiting
the next move of the other The em-
ployers sent their goods all over the
encCuntering violence.
The strike in the lumber yards
spread with great rapiditv and nearly
all lumber business is at standstiIi
Some few lumber yards are still I'm
operation. but their volume Of busl-
ness is small. A number of planning
mills and sash and door factories were
compelled to shorten operations today.
and by Friday at least will be COM
Delled to close entirely. II the supply
Of lumber is not largely increased.
The lumber wards made little effort
70 transact business today and were
waiting for drivers to be seEt them by
the employers teaming company. A
number of these. it Is expected. will
be at work tomorrow and business
will be resumed in a small degree at
least.
One cause for the lack of energy
on the part of the employers in the
lumber yards today was that the city
was not able TO afford the drivers DO
ice protection. Mayor Dunno provid-
ed against this contingency tonight
by issuing a call for one thousand ex-
ira policemen who will be sworn in as
rapidly as applications are filed by
suitable men. This will be the second
one thousand of extra policemen
sworn in since the beginning of the
strike. Sheriff Barrett today swore in
several hundred deputies. the largest
number at any one time since the
strike began.
President c. p. Shea OF the team
sters union. James r. Parry. business
agent of the Express Drivers Union:
Bernard Mulligan. president OF the
Express Drivers Union. and John II.
Donshue. a member of the Express
Drivers Union. will appear before
Judge Kohlsaat In the United States
court tomorrow. Attorney Mayor.
acting for the EMPLOYERS Association.
will ask that the men be sent to Jail
on a. charge OF contempt of court I'm
refusing to answer questions before
Master in Chancery Sherman. which
questions they had previously beer or
dered to answer by the court
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
THE BENNETT WILL CASE
Rapid Fire of Questions Put to w. j
Bryan by Counsel StOddard

New Haven, Conn, May 24.-William
J. Bryan appeared in the prOba e
court here today at a hearing on the
accounts of the estate of the late PhiiO
S. Bennett, of which Mr.. Bryan is ad-
ministrator. During the examination
Mr.. Bryan submitted to a rapid fire Of
questions from Judge Henry StOddard,
counsel for Mrs. Grace |. Bennett, the
widow, and at times considerable int
patience was manifested by both The
questioner and the witness.
Judge Stoddard took up the item Of
$4,000 for Mr.. Bryan's own services.
Said he:
"Mr. Bryan, what did you charge
$4,000 for?''
For usual and extraordinary ser
vices as executor replied Mr.. Bryan.
What were the usual and what We're
the extraordinary services?'
'The usual services were those per-
formed as executor and the extraordi-
nary services were those in contestiEg
the attempt to remove the executor, and
in defence against the attacks upon
the will itself"
81 ask you again what have you
done in settlement of this estate?''
Mr.. Bryan replied:
Il have discharged the duties of ex-
ecutor to the best of my ability arG
while have allowed the attorneys to
put into the account what they thought
to be a fair charge for my services,
| intend to use a part Of that money
to carry out the desire of Mr.. Bennett
for which he set apart certain trust
funds. The inheritance taxes have re-
duced the trust funds and | shall use
about 81 800 to make up the deficiency ;"
The wish of Mr. Bennett was that
prizes be given in about forty colleges
for excellence in essays on the topic
Free Principles of Government" and
the money for the prizes was provided
for in the will
The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-26
RIVALS REACH AGREEMENT
Final Settlement of the Differences
Between the Hill and Hartman
Forces

New York. May 24.-Announcement
was made from an official source to-
day that fnai settlement of all the
difficulties growing out of the old cor
ner in Northern Pacific Railway COM
pany stock had been reached ard
henceforth there would be harmony
between the Hill and Hartman forces
1t is said that the details of the har-
mony agreement were worked out II
a conference held between the repre-
sentatives of the various interests in
volved, and of which also some of the
principals, including E. H. Hartman,
were present.
The deal is said to be in the form
of joint agreement between the Union
Pacific and Northern Pacific Railawy
companies for the construction OF d
connecting road between the Union
Pacific and Northern Pacific roads IN
the Clearwater district to be operated
jointly by the two companies.
There was pronounced advance in
the Northern Securities group of stocks
today as well as recovery in tie
Union Pacific ard other Hartman
stocks.