davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Difficult to Land.

Il remember a funny experience when
landed at Buenos Ayres. From the
steamboat we were transferred, with
our baggage, 10 a tughoat in the middle
of the river, because of its shallowness;
from there to small rowboats; from
there TO carts pulled by horses in the
water. and for the rest of the way we
were compelled to get wet feet by
walking ashore. But one gets used to
that sort OF thing down Thereon used
TO. anyway
i went to work at my profession as
a civil engineer. not finding it very diffi-
cult. for all that time men of special
training were in great demand In that
country, and / was not long waiting. l
dickered around for higher wages for
n while and then went at 1t for the
railroad contractors then constructing
the Bahia and Minas railroad The
name was a.; far as it ever got. as Tar
as the. completion of it was concerned.
for iti uatirneSY end WAS not long IN
coming
The road was being built directly
through a dense forest such as Is com
mon in the land OF ;he equator Those
who have seen the everglades or the
delta OF the Mississippi or the great
woods in parts of Canada can never
imagine the growth one witnesses there
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
A Worlds Record.

No other railroad train has Travelled
at such a rate of speed as did the west
bound Pennsylvania special OH its first
trip. On the run from Crestline to
Fort Wayne three miles Were covered
in eighty-five seconds, or al rate of
121 miles an hour. The whole distance
between these two points. 131 miles,
was done in ia minutes, in an endeavor
10 make up lost time due 70 hot
box.
This same train smashed all mountain
climbing records in q run between AL
toona and Pittsburg. Over a per cent
grade. around the Horse Shoe curve and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Continued from Sixth Page,

railroads The limit on American tracks.
which are not hearty so rigid and solid
as the permanent wa,-s Of England is
narrower than on English roads; but
II the Atlantic City trains may be
handled with great ease at the rate of
considerably over sixty miles an hour
for the actual runnina time. there is no
reasor WHY on a well-ordered railroad .
train may not be moved to Chicago over
g stretch of 90o miles at the rate of less
than nTty-one miles an hour
An important outcome of tbs clipping
of hours from the .raln time between
New York and Chicago Is the closer
correction established between the Pa
Cite and Atlantic oceans. The Rock
Island road has changed its schedule
so that its morning train Will leave
Chicago a few minutes after the ar
rival OF the Pennsylvania special. The
run 70 the Pacific coast thence will be
made in seventy-eight hours, making
the total time from New York TO the
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

metropolitan hotel in . large city, The
new Pennsylvania special Is good
instance OF the luxury which is provid-
ed for man who is willing to pay for 1t.
In the smoking car of this train are
to be found sdesks. shower baths and
barber. The dining car IS eIaborately
furnished. Perhaps the most pleasing
car on the whole train, however, IS the
observation car Hero the business man
may find a stenographer ready 10 take
his letters and to attend TO their post
ing at the first stop. The sleeping cars
are provided with lady's maids. as
well as the usual porters.
There Is no doubt but that other
roads between Chicago and New York
viii follow the lead of the Pennsylvaniz
in the establishment CT fast schedules.
There is no reason why they should
not Certainly there is a tendency all
over the country TO run Faster trains.
The New York, New Haven and Hart
ford road, which operates between New
York and Boston without the slightest
sign of competition. has under con-
temptation the reduction Of the time
between those cities by half an hour.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
A Year to Live.

Two weeks later he came to me
lookin' very glunl for him and told me
he was expectin' a few gintlemen TO dine
with him that evepin' and he wanted me
to serve in a private room He didn't
say much duriu' the dinner. but he kent
drinkin' pretty regular, not thot thot
affected him at all, at ALL But when cof-
fee was served he got UP and made a
speech. Sure. sor. it was the funniest
speech Oh iver listened to and the crowd
was roaTin' when suddenly he stopped
and said:
Olive just a year to live, me
frinds. Dim lucky If Oh live as long
as thot the doctor tells me"
They wouldn't believe him at foist.
but when they saw he meant what he
said they began givin' him good adj
vice and insisted upon his goia' home
and not drinkin Just tc please them
he went. Foist he made them swear
not TO say a word about what he had
told them. But before he left he told
me that he was givin' another dinner
party the next night in the same
room, and he wanted me to serve
Sure enough, the next evenin' he
turned up. This tonne the young
loidy was with him. Her mither and
father were there too. and enough
ithers to make up twelve, but not one
of the men he had dined the night
before.
"Msieur Billy wasn't Iookin well,
but he was handsome just the same,
and the light in hrs eyes when he
looked at the young loidy beside him
was the saddest thing OF ever saw. But
he didn't let down. Thot wasn't his
way. He was the life Of the whole
party.
When the dinner was about half over
OF saw a change come over him. lie
opened and closed his right hand.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

A japanese official who was on Toyos
flagship. the Mikasa, during the naval
engagement at Port Arthur, last Au-
gust, told, in recent issue of the In
dependent. how the admiral carried him
self during that battle. Togo directed
the battle from the bridge, refusing to
take advantage of the coming tower
When the Mikasa, leading the column
had intercepted the flight of the Rus
sian feet, the fight grew hot about the
flagship
"A 6-inch shell struck a chartroom
just under the bridge, killing every man
III it. The fragments few about Togo's
staff wounding four of them Togo,
after seeing that the wounded officers
We're attended to. went on using his
glass.
There was On board an old valet of
the admiral feudal retainer of his
family. This man. when he heard that
the admiral was in a place of great
danger. broke all Jap etiquette and
rushed to the gangway leading to the
bl1.ge. There he hesitated, but a shell
s'r,:ck just then. wounding Imperial
Prince Fushimi, who was aboard The
vaI. made rush and Frustrated him
II before the admiral. begging him,
for the good Of Japan, to go to the
ccnnirs tower. The admiral, with a
haiT-amused seriousness gave a kind
refusal
Just then the 6-inch shell struck the
chartroom and scattered the staff A
flying splinter wounded the valet on
both legs. He was carried to the hos
pital bowling protests. From his cot
he irnplored the surgeons to carry the
admiral away by force. Finally, the
deck officers surrounded Togo and al
most dragged him to the coming tower
Togo laughed induigently as they locked
him in.
This frst-hand observer of the jap
aneSe fleet in action made note of the
perfect GOODNESS which prevailed ON
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

were covered at the rate of -s17 miles
per hour
In England and France the trains are
much lighter than those In America,
the cars and engines weighing tons
less. For instance. the latest Pullman
cars IN America used on the fastest
trains here weigh over sixty tons, or
two tors to the passenger, almost an
absurd proposition from the engineering
standpoint. The advantage in the
heavy cars lies in the fact that they
are safer in a collision But he for
eigners argue that trains Were nor orig
inally intended for collisions. and pos
sibly they are right. Therefore, they
expend their energies largely on pre-
venting collisions. So well is this done
that in England. in 1902, there was not
a single passenger killed on any of the
roads In the United States during
that year there wero 345 passengers
killed. # the American traveller is not
as safe as the English he + at least
more cornfortable. TIE mo<-srn first
class car on American express trains
resembles more than anything else a
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Growts Almost 1mpenetrablc.

Great giant trees seem TO pierce the
sky. so hig,s 10 they go, and spread over
ali branches and leaves which make all
dark and mysterious beneath These
rank, luxuriant grasses bushes, flowers.
water growth and vegetation of every
kind maze Il mass almost impenetrable.
When the great rains of the tropics
swept over i one could almost see the
grow Oh Ding on.
well. L was through this mass that
we were going to build our railroad and
it was through this mass that We made
slow work. We moved the camp. the
rude camp of the road builder from
place to place as we moved along Birds
and animals of almost every description
were in abundance and wild fruits of
every kind were in plenty. yet most diff
ficult 20 conquer for the uses of man
But we had provisions supnlied'fronl the
rear at headquarters and with ample
material Of construction we proceeded.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

Then M'sieur Billy started maxim a
fool av himself, and he did it well. II
OF hadn't knowed what was goin on
OF could av split me sides laughin.
'Oi niver hope to see such another
look as the young loidy give him
when she realized thot he was drunk.
It was a toss up whether it was most
mad or sorry. But in a minute 1t
changed to plain mad. She was dis
gusted with him and she showed it.
Things went from bad to worse, and
M'Sieur Billy began mashin' the glass
That was too much, and the young
loidy jumped to her feet, and, niver
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

ago, but had since then dropped com
pIeteiy out of sight. So many persons
come and go in Washington that the
social world had long since ceased to
wonder what had become of him If
his name was ever mentioned, there
was usually some one a little better
informed than the rest, who re-
marked that he had gone West, prob
ably to raise polo ponies for song
to ship East for a fabulous price, or
for his health, or something
''Plaze, may Oh see the poiper for a
minute, sor2 OF knew him thot well,
sor He used TO come here lot, and
we all called him Msieur Billy
How did he happen to find you out,
Alphonso?"
ITS somethin' av a story, sor. and
If you'll just be readin' your poiper
lofke I'll tell it to We without that
s2aispeen av a headwaiter discoverin'.
The foist tonne Oh liver seen M'sie1Ir
Billy was at supper party roight here in
this room. which he gave after the
theater- Did We iver see him? Ye
should ave seen him then, tall and
straight and strong lookin' as the prize
winnfn' bull at the Dublin fair, but not
heavy He was well built loike them
gods thot We sees in pictures, divil q
place else. He come in the room lookin
loike real prince. Ye don't have many
av thin In this country. except those as
is lookin' for rich wives. There was q
young loidy In the party who it seemed
M'sieur Billy was givin' the supper for
She was thot young she looked now
and then just loike a Child. But she
was debutante-ye see. CT know F'rinch
when OF want to-and shs had the heads
of a good many Of thin turned thot win
ter.
And 1t wasn't long before Oh saw
that NJ sieur Billy WAS carried clean
off his feet livery tonne she looked at
him. She didn't moind either. but
seemed to loike 1t. Women always do
Oh learned d thing or two from that
Frinch maid.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
The Embarrassment of Alphonse.

AS far as IL is possible for hotel
waiter to look embarrassed. Alphonse
did. He locked first up at the ceiling
and then at the floor. His feet shifted
nervously like boys UNDERGOING the
Finally, however, q smile stole across
his face, chanei-,~ his expression from
one of polite Difference to roguish dew
iitry.
sure. It's yourself that caught me
that tcirne. sor.''
You're not French, then, Al
phonse?"
Whist now. be careful, sor, phase
or you'll let the cat out OF the bag,
and Old lose me job
How's that. A1phonse?"
Sure. It's foreign. we've got to be
these days to hold down a job in place
OF was born If County Cork, Ireland
But me grandfather was F'rinch, and
what with consarting with bit o a
F'rinch maid whin Oh was valet to
the gintleman who was maxim up to
her mistress OF picked up a smatter-
In o. the language. Enough, anyhow,
TO get me a job as waiter three
years back. In all. that tonne you
are only the second one thot has
found me out, scr. The other was
him." ard Aiphense pointed a long,
tapering finger---flis grandmother ap-
parentiy had something to do with
his physical get-up-at name which
per which the reporter still held in
bis HAND.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
EBII-TAssE, M'sieur?"

YES, ana Dring a sCdrOllDa
Perfecto and the evening
paper. Alphonse.''
'-Mais oui. Msieur" The trained
waiter moved across the smooth floor OF
the palm room in the New Willard
quickly and noiselessiy To be quick and
quiet and Freach is to be an ideal
waiter. There was no question about
Aiphonse's ability, and in consequence
he was the favorite of many patrons OF
the hotel His black mustache. cut and
curled in a decidedly French style, con-
trasted strangely with the severe pom
padour cut of his hair, which might
have done credit to Jim Corbett, of one
time pugilistic fame While The Times
reporter was still stirring his coffee in
an endeavor to melt the enc lump OF
sugar Alphorse returned carrying the
cigar and the last edition of a New
York paper. He placed the cigar on the
table and with a quick turn of the wrist
handed the paper ito the reporter.
Aphonse did not move away from
the table Immediately. but took up a
carane to fiji the glass. Suddenly he
paused, water bottle in hand, his eyes
glued 70 the parer. which had been care
1essly opened, and from his foreign
looking lips came an astonishing
phrase.
whist now"
The reporter looked up quickly. He
had caught the strange phrase and saw
the fixed gaze of the waiter. Alphonse
recovered himself Immediately.
Pardon, M'sieur,' he murmured.
'One moment. Alphonse. What was
that you said just now?"
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

came to the hotel, Oh remember there
was another supper party and both
M'sieur Billy and the young ioidy were
there. Oh noticed that the other young
loidies kept whisperin' to her and
laughin' and that M'sieur Billy looked
pleased as punch and l found out what
ii all meant when one ay the gintlemen
got up and proposed the health of
NJ sieur Billy and the young loidy to-
gether
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

even lookin at the man who was eatin'
out his heart for her, told her father
to take her home. The whole party got
up, inelutiin N sieur Billy. He steadied
himself with one hand on the table and
called out to them as they wus goin.
out ay the door:
Wait a riinute an hav' drink Don't
be such a damned lot Of poor sports
Drinks on me-
In a few moments they was gone.
Oh give the young loidy her cloak me-
self and Oh could see the tears runnin'
down her cheeks. but she had a terrible
proud look about her.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

western edge of the North American
continent just ninety-six hours, or four
days. If the trip from New York to
Chicago be clipped of four more hours,
as it is ,hintsd will be done, it will be
possible for a traveller to board a, train
in the Eastern city and reach the Pa
cific in three days and twenty hours
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
ADMIRAL TOGO UNDER FIRE

beard. the outcome of Togo's iron dis
cipline. From the admiral down they
fought like clock work without excite
bronze and blue statue. A shell killed
a whole gun crew in the secondary bat
terry. The men at the~next gun Were
SCATTERED with the blood of their COM
rades, yet they kept up their regular
ire without the loss OF Y second
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Buffers Both.

when Oh went back into the dinin'
room there was A1'sieur Billy sittin' at
the head av the table. his hand restin'
or the white cloth and one hand grasp
in his champaign glass He didn't move
for nearly fifteen minutes. Just sat
there, and all the tonne OF stood Ioike
a bump or a log. Suddenly he stood
VI. straight and steady as a rock, no
more drunk thar you are. sor He
raised his glass and said, just as
though she was In the room:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
STOPPED BY AN ANACONDA

But suddenly like ore Of the great
storms, there came a time of trouble
ana despair. from which I narrowly
escaped with my life. / think NE had
been leading the kind of life I have de-
scribed for some two weeks when we
reached place called Itapulco We had
started TO work in the morning as usual
and all of the 1.5ee men were enga yed in
the battle against the wilderness.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

which was lying on the table hard
and his jaw sort o. set for a moment.
and then he looked drunk. 1t was the
foist tonne Oh had liver seen him look
thot way, and Oh didn't understand.
OF knew he hadn't been drinkin' much
of anything, too
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

~ some years ago was pri-
/ marily a fight against rank
vegetation and labor trou-
tles," said Thomas E. Cassidy, formerly
an engineer there, and he told a siren
uous story of how an anaconda killed
two men and frightened 100 others to
such an extent that the building of the
road ceased forever.
Il was born III England and was there
educated as an engineer, he said.
- Way back in 81, nearly twenty years
ago, went to Argentina, and after re-
naming there q short time, went on
to Brazil, where the incident of which I
have been reminiscing occurred My
memory is fading now, for none of US
can remember distinctly the happening
OF time SO long ago, but as | look
back across the years I can Stin see
the horrible sight of those two men be-
ing ground to jelly by the great ana
conda OF the forest 1 can still see the
rioting of 1850 hungry men and the burn
ing of the Brazilian underground as it
made impossible the extension of a rail-
road.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Which Country Has Fastest Trains?

Probably there is no other question
which has given rise to bitterer argu-.
ments or been more difficult to solve
than which country in the world HIS
the fastest trains. The principal diff
Guilty lies in the conditions. It is very
much the same as comparing the times
of eignt-oared shells rowed on differ
ent courses when the wind and tide are
not the same. But this much can be
said conciusively. the United States has
the fastest long distance train in the
world-perhaps because none of the
other countries which possess top-notch
trains have distances to compare with
those of this country. England has the
highest average of very fast trains,
with France as a close second Indeed
for a few years France led the world in
fast trains. But recently England has
oYertaken her.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25
Polo Ponies or Something.

1t was the name of q young man
who had been prominent and popular
IN Washington little more than a year
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

Disillusionment of the "Loidy."
The young loidy's ouId man was
the foist to see that there was some
thing the matter with M'sieur Billy,
probably because he had had exper-
fence himself, and he looked worried
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

miles an hour from Crestline to Pitts
burg. and between Pittsburg and New
York, 80 miles an hour.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-25

ABROAD building in Brazil
some years ago was pri-
marily a fight against rank
ViÌnland. [volume] (Minneota, Minn.) 1902-1908, 1905-07-01
Loftskeyti til islands.

DAD P6ttu ti0indi ekki it'll, er 4. f. NJ.
kom til Reykjavikur fra Lundunum, ma6ur:
sendur af Marconif6laginu til az reisa loft
skeyta- viot0kust06 og halda henni uppi g.
manu0i, en- az svo st0ddu verour par ekki
reist afgreioslust00, Pvi Pao hefr miklum nun.
meiri kostna0 / f0rme0 ser. Afgreioslust0m
sd, er @tla0 er a6 senda skeytin til Reykia-
vikur er iPoldhua Kornbretal CornwalNg~
Half alt gengi0 as oskum, etti island MI. az
vera faro az ia skeyti utan dr heimi.
Tilteki Petta er. CERT an vitundar og sam
vinnu ndstj6Gnarinnar islenzku. Stj6rnar-
sinnar gruna mlenn ur Observation-Disclosures UNI
a6 hafa samie a laun UNI Petta vic Marconif6-
lagi0, / PENN tilgangi einum a0 spilla fyrir
simrita samningi Peim, er~ ra0gjafnn he6r CERT
vi6 ,,Norr@na sfmskeytaf6lagi6 mikla', og
hafa ut dr Pessu spunnist deilur miklar.
stj6rnarbl00in fara haouglegum oroum UNI
Petta fyrirteki, segja PAD vera brellu mot
st0ou aokksins til Pess ems az hafa ahrif q
Pingmalafundi og fella ra6gjafan og Aokk
hans q alPingi / sumar. Eitt stjornarbla0i0
skopast a0 sendimanninum enska, kallar ham
,,porstein stangarh0gg' og %,,manninn med
st0ngina". Bloc a~ndst@0inga hokksins ]ata
vel yfr Pvf a0 tilraun pessi Sc ger6 og pykir
PAD mikilsvar0and hvernig hun takist. Sjalf-
ur sendima0urinn, Mr.. w. Densham, segist
engum Aokki ha0ur og til landsins sendur a0
ems til a0 gera t%ilraunir Pessar fyrir felagid
sjalft.
ViÌnland. [volume] (Minneota, Minn.) 1902-1908, 1905-07-01
Akve5i6 var a0 halda nasta ping az Mountain,

AkVeolO var 40 halda nBSba ping 40 MOunIaln,
N. Oak.
Bamdalagsbimg var haldisHao kveldi prioju-
dagsins q. jdn1. Var par kosinn forseti sGra X. K.
Olafsson, en- ungfrl Theodore Hermann skrifari.
Ra6stafanir voru geroar fyrir 1tgafu s0ngbokar
fyrir bandal0gin og neutrality-suspicious.. Raour
rik Hallgrlmsson.
Sunmudugssk6habing var haldio fyrir hadegi
%. jdni. Var par a0al-atrioi fyrirmyndar kensla,
err sera Rdn6lfur styroi.
Eftir hadegi miovikudagsins %. jtn1 f6ru all
ir kirkjupingsmenn og fj0ldi snnara gesta / helm
boo til NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Iiaf0i s0fnu6ur sd
undirbdi6 h0f mikio bar di i landsbyg6inni 4
heimili s. S. Hofteigs. Svo 6heppilega t6kst pc
til az mikla regnskdr ger0i UNI daginn og vegir
voru illfarir s0kum langvarandi rigninga. Veitt
var par 4 samkomunni af mikilli rausn og skemtu
mem ser allvel. Eftir a6 slotadi 6veorinu voru
rmour nokkrar haldnar 1 skogarrjoori, og var par
ra6upallur reist:r og setubekkir umhverfs.
Flestir acknowledgements l0gou a stao helm
leiois fimtudaginn %. jdnl.
Tioindi fra pingi pessu varoa gefn ut serst0k.
um baklingi og fylgja par rae our par og fyrirlestr-
ar, sem tiuttir voru 4 pinginu. Verour pao rit all
miki6 og a az kosta so cent.