davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

to hold the spike from working up
out Of the tie. The wcdgc-shaped
lock is a thin, tapering piece Of iron.
When the spike Is driven into the tie
it leaves a slight channel alongside
OF II, into which this wedge is driven.
following the channel until it strikes
the shoulder Of the spike. when it i'm.
mediately turns out and enters the
wood along the line of least resist
ance.-which is with the grain-some-
times turning upward a little If the
wood Is soft. 1t then becomes prac,
tically impossible to draw the spike
without first drawing the wedge. If
Tor any reason it is desired to pull
the spike, the wedge itself, being thin,
is easily drawn from the top. although
II cannt be pushed up by the spike.
After the wedge is drawn the spike
can easily be removed, and, what is
OF great advantage, can be replaced in
the same hole and locked with the
wedge as securely as before. As the
ties become old and the spike becomes
loose, a tap of the hammer on the
wedge will set it up tight against the
rail again, The Atchison, Topeka &
Fee railway recently had a mum
Der Of them made at its shops and put
into its track for a test. We under.
stand that more than a million of
these have already been ordered"
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
TRIBUTE TO AMERICA.
Liberal Aid Given to Science Elicit,
Comment from Abroad.

American generosity to science re
ceived hearty recognition at the an.
nual meeting Of that notable body. the
British Association for the Advance
ment Of Science, at York. The presi
dent, Edwin Ray Lancaster, in his ad
dress gave a highly interesting review
OF the progress made by science. par
ticularly within the last Is years
which he said would stand out ~foreye,
for the achievements In this line, es
pecialiy with regard to the discovery
OF new chemical elements possessing
astounding properties. He paid trib
ute to the work Of astronomers, in
Guiding the splendid accomplishments
OF Prof. Pickering, of Harvard univer.
sity, and then alluded to the liberal
assistance given to science by wealthy
Americans, specifying the gifts Of
great telescopes and other equipment
as indicating the interest taken by our
millionaires in such work. He added.
In the United States this Is not in.
frequent, while in this country 1t Is
rare" The gentleman Is correct.
There Is no other land, remarks the
Troy Times, in which money is so
layishly paid out by rich men In behalf
education and philanthropy as In
the United States.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

obituary with portrait to Paris La Ma.
ture, and which was translated for
the Literary Digest, notes that il is
quite proper to be somewhat indefi-
mite on the subject of brakes exact
age. He says:
There is nothing to prove, in fact,
that the Testuda abingdoni that gave
up the ghost the other day had really
attained so abnormal an age. All
that we may say certainly on this
delicate subject is as follows . .
The tortoise was captured in the
Galapagos islands toward the end of
the eighteenth. century. At this time
the scanty inhabitants of this wild
archipelago regarded him as a bicen.
tenarian, relying on a date cut into
his shell with a knife, which. though
half etfaced, appeared to begin with a
l6. From this it was inferred that
he had been first captured in the sew,
enteenth century by some of the
hardy English or French pirates who
were then disputing the passage of
the Spanish galleons between Mexico
and the Philippines, and who made
The Galapagos their rendezvous. One
of these tilibustcrs, in a vein of pleas.
antry, or perhaps to furnish data for
the benefit of future naturalists, NAV
cut on the prisoners back the
date of his capture, and then set him
liberty. Perhaps he even added
his name, which has been obliterated
by the growth OF the shell.
From this vague date undoubtedly
comes the name of the tortoise,
Drake from the famous chief of the
buccaneers, Sir Francis Drake, the
llustrious and sangulnary s~ea.rover
If the New World.
THE tortoise was not brought TO
England till IS years ago. After sew.
9ral changes Of ownership, he finally
lound comfortable quarters for his
I'D age in an enclosure of the garden
It Regents park"
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

ton Of things, There are many hap
ny exceptions. Fashionable snobbery
has not taken possession of all towns,
and there is very little of it in coun.
try villages, but there Is too much
ambition to W a large, SNOWY house
In all communities.
The desire to own a big house. how.
ever does not always spring from OBJ.
joctionable motives. There are plenty
OF largc-hcartcd women, and men, too,
Who love to entertain their friends
and lavish hospitality at times upon
strangers. America Is peculiar in
THIS respect, European business men
entertain strangers at their club.
II Is difficult TO obtain admittance to
an English or French home, The home
Is reserved for the family and init.
mate friends. Strangers are looked
upon, in a sense, as intruders, and as
such they are not encouraged. But
.upen-hcarted Yankees extend tho
hand of good fellowship to every well
appearing stranger that comes along.
tramps are fed out of sympathy,
and not by hard charity methods, as
are in Europe. Sometimes we
suffer loss, annoyance and i~nconven-
.ence because of entertaining rascals
present themselves In the guise
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Shot Panther in BungaIou

the animal had sat down. Eventually
we Il the beast In a spare room
u again having taken shelter behind
a o Of mating. There was a win.
COW or skylight Is feet from the floor
OF this room and to this I climbed
Looking down ! saw my friend sitting
IN a corner ready to make a spring.
unfortunately it saw me before 7
could get my rifle up. Taking fright.
1t bolted out, this time passing
through the house and close to st
Macan Ia brother oficer). who fred
at 1t as 1t passed under a bed and
again a second later as it went
through the door. Neither shot prov.
ed fatal, except to certain portions Of
the furniture. But they had the effect
CT driving 1t out of the house, badly
wounded, across the tennis court into
the mess compound, which is lust on.
poSite my house.
Just at this moment an inoulsitIve
sweeper emerged from his house IN
see what the commotion was. Quick.
~ sporting him, the panther mazda
for the man. A race ensued between
the two. Too feeble to do harm. the
beast merely made two or three
clutches at the mans clothes and
then turning into an clubhouse. It was
killed with a shot from a SIT. with.
IN a radius of six miles of Jubbulpore
panthers are common and a three.
lu~arter-grown tiger cub was accom-.
ed for on the present golf links"
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
To Measure Molecules.

An apparatus for measuring the
seVenty-millionth part of an inch has
been made by DR.. p. Shaw, Of Not.
tingham university, England, says
Technical World Magazine. It works
upon the principle Of electric touch.
and consists Of a fine micrometcr
screw and six levers. The apparatus Is
so sensitive and delicate that IT. Is i'm.
possible to manipulate 1t before an
audience. 1t is hung by rubber bands,
covered with thick felt, and must be
worked at dead Of night, when there
is no traffic or factory working. The
smallest distance that this mechanism
Is about the distance be-
tween a solid and a liquid molecule.
DR.. Shaw's invention was first made In
1900, but its great improvement Of
late has made 1t the wonder of physi.
throughout the world.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Light Attached to a Life Buoy,

ment the life preserver strikes the
water the light gives out a bright
flame, showing its location not only
to the person overheard, but marking
the spot for the crew, who put back
in a small boat. As the average pas
senger steamer cannot be stopped in
much less than a mile when unde,
full Roadway, the importance of the
light In finding the spot is evident
The signal burns with 300 candlepow
er for a full hour. These lights arc
already In use in the American navy
Another type is the ~projectIle which
is fired from a gun and will carry as
far as an ordinary shell will 90. These
lights can be set to burn as they leave
the gun, or not until the strike the
water, where they Will float and burn
from one to two hours.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

Of gentlemen. but such instances are
comparatively rare.
Frank, open American confidence in
humanity is seldom misplaced. We
may occasionally waste good sub.
stance on sCalawags, but In the ma
Jority OF cases we are encouraging
genuine hospitality and good viii
among men. We are continuing the
precedent established by our fore
fathers when the country was new
n ac%quaintanCes were necessarily
fewer than they are now, but the
principle Is a good one, and 1t should
be fOstered. 1t may require more tact,
but there are ways Of entertaining
our friends besides placing at their
disposal a lot of air space inclosed
with expensive walls' and fancy
drapery, There are many arguments
in favor of building smaller houses.
1t Is not necessary to tie up q great
deal Of money in a house and homo
unless a person has the fashion
craze, and in that ease It Is better
to take treatment and try to overcome
the disease.
A great deal of comfort may be
taken In a little cottage like this. It
Is better to display good taste In
making 1t Just as attractive as pos
sible than to spread ones energy over
a large structure and worry about
the Interest coming due on the mort.
gage.
This little house Is fitted with
double outside doors for winter.
Screen doors are fitted to take their
place In summer. Not ordinary nlmsy
affairs, that rack to pieces In a week
or two, and never shut tight, but
good, solid screen doors, with well
frames and springs Mficlently
leaYy to keep them shut both at the
.op and bottom, and If each window
s fitted with a fly screen the full
lie OF the opening. so that both
may be moved up or down. the
probabilities are that the house will
% airy and comfortable in summer.
md the inmates will not be pestered
o death with flies.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
MISSISSIPPI NEWS
Member Of Posse Killed.

John Hays, the young negro who as.
sassinated John A. Cotton near Macon,
was later shot to death by w. NJ. Du-
gan, but not before he had inflicted a
mortal wound on Dugan. The posse
which vas searching for him learned
that be was in hiding in NoXubee
swamp, and going there closed in on
him. Armed with a Winchester, the
negro threatened to kill any one who
came near him. Dugan was among the
irst to approach him, and. true to his
word, Hays fired, the ball penetrating
Dugan's vitals. Dugan returned the
fire, killing the negro instantly,
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

Mr.. William A. Radford will answc,
questions and give advice FREE az
IoSl on an subjects pertaining tn tn,
SUBJECT OF building for the readers of mi,
paper. On account Of his wide rNra.
rlence as Editor. Author and Alanufrr.
turer, he is, without doubt. Inc htrhns,
authority on all these subjects. Address
AZ inquiries 10 William A. Radfurd, No.
iva Firth Ave, Chicago, III. and only
enclose two-cent stamp for reply.
A cottage house "a feet wide by 46
feet long is shown in this plan. 1t is
a little house for a small family, and
may be built for $1,000, If the owner
does not insist on too many fancy I'm.
lshtngs. There are a great many
similar houses in the smaller towns
all over the country, There is a de.
mand for o houses of this charac.
ter where lots are not too expensive.
1t is not customary to @ cottage
houses on high-priced lots In any
community The value Is not In har.
mony with the land. According to
real estate men a low cost house ia
an incumbrance to an cxpeu-
Btve lot. 1t very often happens that
a vacant lot viii sell for as much as
A similar lot with n house on It, If
he house IS small or old. Fashion
has a good deal to do with the value
houses and real estate. Fashion
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Machinery to Roll Glass,

An invention for drawing molten
glass out of the furnaces and rolling
1t mechanically has been sold to a
syndicate of plate-glass manufacturers
for $4,000. The inventor is a Bel
sian, Mr.. Fourcault, and the pur-
shassrs of his patent rights are Ger.
man, French, Belgian and Bohemian
manufacturers. Only high.priced man.
labor has been able to do the work
heretofore.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Heavy Criminal Docket.

The supreme court criminal docket,
now in course of compilation, will be
the largest in the history of the States
highest tribunal. The heavy increase
in the docket can be attributed only to
the marked increase of crime, es-
pecially among the negroes. In fully
30 per cent of the pending cases the ap-
pellants belong to the lower race.
What is true of the criminal docket is
also true of the civil docket. The
court is simply overwhelmed with new
litigation.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
British Officer Tells Of Exciting Time
with Wild Animal.

Here is a tale Of a panther shot by
Col. Rumble in his W bungalow In
india. The incident occurred in the
middle Of the day. The colonel says:
I was sitting writing in my yeranda
when my wife came out and said that
she had seen the tail of a panther
p%rotruding from behind a very large
coil OF mating which was standing
on its end in a corner of the room. /
prepared the ground by removing all
the furniture from the adjoining room
and closing the doors of the room in
which the panther was apparently
soundly sleeping. / took a rife my.
self and armed my wife and a battery
rough rider, also with rifles. We de-
cided on shooting the panther in the
room. Opening the door just sufH-
GENTLY to get my rife through, I fired
through the grass mating roll at the
spot which | thought most likely to
be fatal to the panther. The crack
of the rife was followed by a whough
and a growl, and out came the beast
straight for the door behind which
/ was standing. The angry brute
passed me within a foot or two and
| had Just time to see It was badly
wounded in the stomach. 1t immedl-
ately proceeded to bolt into an ad-
room.
Each room In turn was carefully
reconnoitered, the blood tracks being
very copious, showing exactly where
It had gone. In one room a halt had
been made opposite a large mirror, in
which the panther, which afterward
proved to be a female, must have
seen its image, as the presence of a
large pool Of blood showed that
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Cannot Slip Off,

Vide a strong clamp, when NOUS che
clothes securely to the line, without
possibility of tearing or iniuring them.
The old-style clothes pins have a ten.
dency to spring away from the line
unless they are forced very hard
against the line, which often tears
garments of fine texture. 1t will be
obvious that there is no danger of this
happening with the clothes pin shown
here.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
s~NEn,--gs -
A ouAORIcENTENARIAN.
Story Of a Tortoise Whose Age Was
Probably Nearly 400 Years.

A living creature that has trod the
earth, however sluggishly, since the
days of the Spanish Armada is an oh.
ject OF no common degree of interest.
Such a creature has Just passed away
peacefully in London, in the person
of Drake, a venerable tortoise of the
geological Gardens, supposed to be
nearly four hundred years old. Mr..
V. Forbin, who contributes a short
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Bronze Tablets and Doors.

The bronze tablets containing the
names of the $4,000 officers and privates
of Illinois who participated in the siege
of Vicksburg, together with the mas.
sive bronze doors for the Illinois Memo
rial Temple in the military park at
Vicksburg, have arrived and will be
placed in position at once. With the
exception of this bronze work the mon
ument is complete. 1t cost $780, 600.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Shiloh Park Road.

The Corinth and Shiloh Electric Rail-
way Company has been financed and
the construction of the twenty-five
miles between Corinth and the National
Shiloh Park will soon begin. The com
pany will supply power to the road, as
well rs light and power to Corinth and
towns along the route. By special act
of congress the company has secured
the right to run cars directly into Shi-
lob Park and erect q modern ten-story
hotel or the grounds.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

doesn't prescribe the shape Of the lot
or the lay of the land, but to be
high priced it must be in a fashion.
able neighborhood, and the lot must
be decorated with an expensive struc.
ture. Fashion will smile pleasantly
an ugly house, providing only that
1t Is expensive. If the house is cheap,
matter how pretty it may be, the
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Ten-Cent Cotton,

Ten cents per pound for cotton is
the slogan of the Mississippi branch OF
the Southern Cotton Association, which
me in semi-annual session at Jackson,
with nearly every cotton-growing Gun
ty in the State represented by one or
more delegates, Mississippi is a strong
hold of the Southern Cotton Associa-
ton, the organization in this State
having reached a high state OF perfec-
tinn
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Examination of Applicants.

The Mississippi State board of health
will meet in Jackson to examine appli-
cants for license to practice medicine
on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 8
and 10. All applicants are requested
to be present at 8 o'clock on Tuesday
morning. Examination will be held in
the new capitol building.
]. T. HUNTER, NJ. D., Secretary.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Grenada Fair,

The Grenada Fair Association will
have its annual fair Oct. II, is and 10,
and it will undoubtedly be the best ex-
hibition of blooded colts and fine horses
that has ever been held in Grenada
county. Not only have arrangements
been made for the exhibition of the
farmers stock and the products of his
toll, but ample provision has been made
for the artistic work of the ladies and
the result of their labor in the culinary
department.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Central

The central presbytery of Mississippi
held a two days session at Jackson.
The most important feature of the ses-
sion was the adoption of a resolution
declining to take part in the movement
to promote union between the Southern
Presbyterian church and the other
branch of that communion.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Mai. Bolton MickIe Dead.

Maj. Bolton Mickle died at Holly
Springs in his 10th year. Maj. Mickle
went out with the first troops in the
civil war in 1861, and served faithfully
until the close of the war. He was a
lifelong communicate in the Episcopal
church, and one of the earliest citizens
to make Holly Springs his home.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
The seed-Crushing Season.

The seed-crushing season in Missis-
sippi is well under way. Every oil mill
in the State is running at full capacity.
The prevailing price for seed is $12 per
ton, as compared with $13 per ton at
the opening Of the season. Mill man
ayers state that the quality of the seed
Is very unsatisfactory.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

lronclad fashionable conditions are
not fulfilled and the lot is not as
valuable as 1t would be If topped out
with an expensive pile Of stones
heaped up In some sort of a grotesque
shape to meet the fancy of ignorant
Bnobs. This ia the general condi.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
NEW SIGNAL. LIGHT.


A marine torch or signal light. that
burst into a brilliant fame the in.
slant it touches water, is a recent
invention. These signal lights can be
used in many ways. One method Is
to attach one to a life buoy; the mo.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
State Pension1

Auditor Henry states that though
the pension lists have come in very
well there are still a number lacking.
and it will be necessary to have all in
hand before the pro rata can be made.
He urges the clerks to send in their
lists at once.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Mississippi synodical College.

The Mississippi Synodical College
opened its fifteenth annual session at
Holly Springs with $50 pupils enrolled.
The present session promises to be the
most successful in the history of the
college.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Negroes to GIVE Fair.

No time or money will be spared to
make the Colored State Fair to be held
in Vicksburg from Nov. l to 10 a fnan-
cial as we'll as an educational success.
A number of prizes are to be offered
for long and staple cotton, horses, cat
tie, sheep, pigs and poultry of all kinds.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Women In Business lifs

A number OF women, both in this
country and Europe, are successful
heads of large manufacturing estab.
lishments, although there are said ia
be more in proportion in France and
Belgium than elsewhere,
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
CLOTHES PIN.
Just the Right Shape to Hold the
Clothes Firmly.

The old'styIe clothes pin has been
In use for a long time, and has proven
so satisfactory that a change would
seem undesirable. Nevertheless, an
Improvement has been made by two
North Carolina inventors, as will read.
lily be seer by referring to the illus.
tration. These clothes pin are made
of galvanized iron to prevent rusting
and injury to the clothes and are bent
to form double jaws. These jaws pro-.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05

hub magEesia on soiled spots and
1ainty light colored goods. Put plenty
On both sides, and when wanted for
Use again brush well and the spots
will be gone.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Tillnau Jecture Off

Owing to the severe illness Of his
wife, Senator Tillman of South Caro-
lima will not be able to keep his lecture
appointment at Am, ~.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Good Record.

According to an official report there
aas been only n case of corporal
punishment in the prisons of Ireland
or 13 years.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
A Body Blow.

An eastern paper says bridge whist
is now played by stout old ladies' only.
II this doesn't kill the game 1t can't
be killed.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
I. I. and G. Openine.

The Mississippi Industrial Institute
and College at Columbus opened with
900 pupils present.
The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-05
Popular British Namec

Out of every 100000 girls and boys
n England and Wales, $500 are called
Mary and $3.50 William.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-07-11
COMPANY RESISTs A TAX
Would Restrain Michigan from Col.
Letting on a Valuation That Has
Been Increased.

Lansing, Mich, July 1O.-The Wis
consin and Michigan Railroad company
has begun suit by injunction against
the auditor general to restrain him
from collecting the tax based OH the
valuation of $1,S0OOOO arrived at by
the state board Of assessors. The COM
pany contends that it was originally
placed on the rolls at $55O,OOO, and as
this was a satisfactory figure, no con-
test was made.
On Feb. 10, the last day of the hear
ings, the valuation was increased to
$1,OOO,OOO, and hence the company had
no opportunity of being heard. To pro-
coed to collect the tax on this basis
would be a violation of the constitu-
ton of the United States, the COM
pany complains. The difference in the
taxes between the original and final
valuations is So, 228.