davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
A MUROEROUS WEAPON.
The Explosive Earpoon, the Whale
Limnlcr,s IhIef ReIinnce.

/ The Explosive ERrpoon, the Whale
hunters chief Reliance.
The explosive halpoon, which is the
modern whale hunters chief reliance
is a truly murderous weapon, six feet
In length and strong in proportion,
made chiefly Of malleable iron and ad-
mirably designed for the Staying Of the
Immense creatures Its most striking
feature next TO the bomb head, which
IS operated by time fuse and explodes
In the yltals of the whale, is the anchor
like device that prevents the harpoon
drawing out Of the body again under
the terrific strain of the wounded mon
ster'S frantic efforts to free itself This
consists of four hinged barbs, which
lie along the shaft before 1t IS fired, but
which are forced apart and imbed
themselves IN the whales body after he
is hit, SO that II the prize escapes,
which sometimes occurs. 1t is only by
breaking the rope
When fish" are numerous and there
is chance Of killing more than one In
day a novel method IS adopted with
the first victim. When II is seen to be
dead a hole is bored through its back
into its stomach and air is pumped into
It by a pipe from the steamers engines
until it is inflated like a great balloon.
The oritice is then closed with a wood
en- plug, and a man is left alongside in
small boat to establish ownership,
while the whaler SteamS off In quest of
other prey. As many as five whales
have been killed by a ship in one day,
four is not an unusual bag" and
threes and twos are commonly got A
single ship killed twenty-five In a week,
and the record years work for one Is
25S, an amazing number when II Is re
membered that on stormy days it is i'm
possible to cruise at all, as the sprays
bury the gun, and that during the win
ter months fishing is abandoned. Dur
Ing that period the whales strike off,
the coast to escape the ice foes, TO
which the rOrquals are not partial, be-
Ing In this respect unlike their arctic
congeners, whose habitat Is now the re-
hottest section of Hudson bay and the
channels which strike north from its
farthcst bounds into the polar sea It
self eChniCal World
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
SNAKES OF SARAWAK.
the PythOns Are Enormous and Feed
on Pigs nmd Children

In the Sarawak Gazette is an article
on the snakes of that part of BOrneo.
OF the poisonous reptiles It says: The
cobra (Naia tripudiansJ is a black
snake which raises its head to strike
when irritatcd. at the same time ex-
pauding the hood at either side of the
neck. 1t splits at intruders and Kisses
like a cat whence it is known as
"ular telong puss;' in some parts, too,
as "tedong mata hari." The word "te-
dong in Sarawak is apparently APP
piled TO all large snakes which Malays
consider To- be poisonous, and, as our
Malays are but i'll acquainted with
these animals. quite Il number Of large
but harmless forms are designated by
this term The hamadryad (Naja bun
garusJ is Il brown snake considerably
bigger but rarcr than the cobra. 1t is
rather shy, but when cornered, like
the cobra. it raises its head and ex-
pands the hood before striking It's
food is chiefly other snakes.
LESS dangerous than these najas
are the vipcrs, of which the most
common species is the green viper,
which reaches a length Of two feet or
more. The head is large and shaped
like an ace OF spades This creature is
Il tree snake and very sluggish. The
bungaruS' are of several species, one,
Bungarus fasclatus, of length up to
four feet, being black with yellow
rings. 1t is called the 'ular buku tebu'
Sugar cane joints by natives. There
are also sea snakes Of many species.
The tail of sea snake is fattened
and oarlike."
Sarawak has other snakes: "Of the
pythons there are two species. Py-
thon reticulatus grows to an enor-
nous size, over twenty feet. 1t is
very fond of pigs, but varies its diet
by various animals, including even
children. The oil of this snake is used
by MalayS as an S&mbrocation for
bruises. The other Species Of python,
Python curtus, is interesting In that
its flesh tastes like that of fowl-at
least, so Dyaks say, and they are au-
thorities on snake flesh, for they eat
Il number of the large snakes"
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
AN ORAN IL GROVE.
hOdern Methods In CuItivating the.
Gold of the Orchard

You are certainly entitled to look
through that wire fence and see all that
constitutes an orange orchard There
are 200 round headed trees. about
twelve feet in diameter. The fruit
looks Immensely aS if it had been arti-
ficially put III place. Really those
would pass for 200 Christmas trees
Does nature do this sort Of work any
where else? Yon forget the cherry trees
In your northern orchard You have be-
como 80 familiar with the scarlet glob-
ulc- tIat hang all over those trees,
Will orioles and robins shouting ap-
proyal. aud tanagerS with indigo birds
sitting in the apple tree overhead, that
you cannot fully see and appreciate the
charm. But you certainly have not for
gotten the glory Of Mcintosh red ap-
pie trc" in October or indeed a whole
orchard II ripe Northern Spies, Spitzen-
bur, and Kings. Yet the orange has a
glory all its own. 1t IS the gold of the
orchard You thought the trees grew In
groves. but here they are In long, reg
! ular rows That was Il word borrow
ed from the wild oranges that in Span
ish days came mp whore they might
and were SeliO.l tur .slAnted. They
grew as those Wi.i pa jmmons grow
at the edge Of the orchard or as pines
and manes grow. Rut your modern
orange trees are grown in long rows to
be cultivated with plOws and horses.
The real orange tree should stand
about twenty-five or thirty feet high,
with trunk of five or six inches Its
foliage is dense and Il rich green. II is
grand tre" TO sit beneath at midday
and drink the Juices Of the fruit instead
Of water-lt is distilled perfectly But
these trees are round and low headed
and one must stoop to get beneath
them They are made Of the CRATER
shoots that cam" IN around the old
trees after the freeze. They are more
convenient TO spray. to protect from
the blizzard. while the fruit is more
easily gathered You can walk all
about that orchard and reach half the
fruit without d Ladder It is good IL
lustration OF how good sometimes
comes out Of evil
different shapes" To be sure.
There are quite rs many varieties of
oranges in This orchard rs there are OF
apples or rlumS IN most Of your north
crn orchards - fifteen or twenty. at
least. The grower knows them all bv
name and can tell them all by the
shap" and the quality. He does not go
nt random anI pick any fine big orange
for h'S own eating. hut he takes his
selection-the King. or the Homosasa,
or the Jaffa. or the Ruby, or Parson
Brown. or SatSuma. or possibly the
tangcrine. lie fills his pocket with Sc
lected varieties and then goes to that
pine grove over there and peels them
as he lunches. It Is very much as we
do with our pippins, and Swaars, and
Princess Louise. and .Till.dowers.-In-
dependent.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
who Were the Next of KInt

\ curious ease was tried in England
about century ago To decide the ques-
tion Of next Of kin. Job Taylor, quar-
termaster Ia the Royal artillery. was
drowned. with his wife Lucy. In try
ing to save her after shipwreck He
had made a will leaving all that he
possessed 10 her, but as she did not
live 10 give the Will effect a dispute
arose among their next OF kin as to the
proper disposal Of the estate. which
was valued at $4,000.
1t had been ruled. in conformity
with principle Of the Roman civil
law, that when two perished together
In common calamity and II was un-
certain which was for time the sur
vivor the decision should favor which
ever was the more robust In this case
the wife had distinctly the better con-
stitution, but as against this ii was
urged that, as he plunged in to save
her, she probably expired first. After
lengthy arguments the Judge held that,
though strong IN constitution. the wife
would probably have been more tirnid
than her soldier husband and granted
administration to his next Of kin.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

The giving Of a character" to do
mestic servants is one Of the severest
tests Of the employers character An
Irish master, being called upon to
write testimonial for Il groom whom
be was discharging for drunkenness,
gave him good character, but omit
ted to mention one trait. The groom
returned the letter, objecting that 1t
did not say he was sober. The master
added sometimes sober" and the man
was content.
The woman who had TO recommend
the inefficient cook she had kept for
seven years only because she was
afraid TO give her notice went one bet
ter. She had covered three pages with
undeserved concentrations. She had
placed II in an envelope and addressed
II, and her conscience pricked her bad
ly. Then she had n happy idea and
broke open the seal, adding to her let
ter as postscript God forgive me"
Ii satisfied her conscience, but history
does not relate If IL satisfied the other
woman.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
SIBERIAN HOSPITALITY.
4 Charming Visit, with IA Somewhat
TerrifNimE CIimax.

Detained AT the Siberian village OF
Erivochokovo. NJ. Jules Legras re-
mcmbcrcd that he had letter TO
notable Of the place and hastened TO
present it. NJ. Gautier in his book on
Russia describes IN NJ. Legras' own
words the cordial hospitality with
which he was received anC also tells
Of the difficulty which concluded his
charming visit
They had detained me till 10 o'clock
In thn evening" b" writes, ''hy repeat
!lg. Why age YOU in a hurryP and
was on The POINT Of making my depar-
turr when ! hoard the mistress Of the
house say in low voice to her hus-
band. Shall send for the carrlageP
TO which lc Dlied. No At this word
shivcr passed over me Doubtless
This host, who had made me send away
he coachmIu was unaware of what
: refusal meant. else he would have
said - me, Here is sofa; sleep here
My situation was perilous but what
'0uld | dDf At the end Of few mo-
mcnts | rose to take my leave, and,
having asked if | could get a cab, was
met with the reply that at this hour
none could be obtained.
"kriyochokovo is a village whose
population constitutes the very fiotsam
ami jcts.l Of Siberian civilization.
The village has neither streets nor
lights nor police. 1t is considered a
cutthroat spot, where honest people
shut themselves light ut night.
II had neither stick nor revolver, and
| had on me Il large sum Of money.
Finally, | was ignorant of the exact
position of my inn, situated over
mile away First Of all, dogs threw
themselves upon me | shook them of
and started rs hest | could.
The night was inky black Amid
the irregular c.u5ters of houses there
was no regular street by which to
guide myself. As | heSitated | heard
Who is that| 1t was Il watchman Of
a pile of wood who hailed me. He di-
rected me. and. giving me large
branch that would do as Il stick, he
said: You are wrong barine. to go
about this way without a revolver.
The place is not safe May God pro-
tect you
AS | approached another cluster of
houses q Waterman sounded his rattle
menacingly and dogs flew at me saw
agely. When this Waterman approach
ed | induced him 10 accompany me.
He informed me that the evening be-
fore a traveller who was staying at my
hotel, having started early to catch a
train, had been aSSaSSinated about ten
PAGES from there. Finally we reached
the inn. 1t took Il long time to make
them open the door, but finally got in
side and reached my room. trembling
with fever and fatigue, and fell down
helplesSly. only conscious of having
passed an hour and half whose re-
membrance will remain with me long.
AS for my SO amiable host. whose hos
pitalty might have cost me my life, he
will doubtless never know Of this ad-
venture"
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
The lee OF Greenland. Il

The largest mass of ice in the world
IS probably the ore which fills up near
ly the whole of the interior of Green
land. where il has accumulated since
before the dawn of history. 1t is be-
lieved to now form a block about 600-
600 square miles in area and averag-
ing a mile and half in thickness. Ac
cording to these statistics, the lump of
Ice i, lIrGer in volume than the whole
body OF water in the Mediterranean.
ard there is enough of it to cover the
whole of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain aud Ireland with layer about
oc, miles thiCh. IL 1t were cut into
two convenient slabs and built up
equally upon the entire surface Of
gallant little Wales" it would form
pile more than 120 miles high There
IS ice enough in Greenland to bury the
entire area of the United States q
quarter of mile deep.-London Globe.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

old woman up the stairs. On the sec
ond floor they passed a bright room,
hung with rosy chintzes, with a jolly
fire rollicking in the CRATE
Il wish ! might take you in there"
she whispered But that is intended
for Mrs FrankIyn, who is coming to
stay here You shall have her chicken
broth, though" said the girl determin-
edly. "She can't need II any more than
you do
And when she had tucked the feeble
body into her own narrow bed she
brought the chicken broth But that
night when the dishes were washed the
girl climbed to her room she found
her protegec very ilL She was feyerish,
and the pain i'm her side was worse.
Occasionally She lapsed into delirlum.
Nan was frightened. and as the wo-
man grew worse She sped down the
stairs and across the street for DE-
Meeker
pneumonia" ne said. Exposure,
eh? | thought so. Practically hope
less What's that, ch? You want a
lawyer He bent to listen. Poor
soul, what have YOU to will?"
John Mceker," she painted, don't
you know me?"
I'm young DR.. Meeker. John Meek
er IS my father. I'm trying to be as
good a man. IC / can build up his
practice that had fallen off l hope to
make home for this little girl here"
The old woman smiled and nodded.
You'll get me II lawyer maybe II
you know that | am Ellen Franklyn.
No, don't call the others Helena Is
Ike her mother. cold and selfish. |
heard her for myself today"
The physician did what he could and
FASTENED away. His experienced eye
told him she had been i'll several days
and that the exposure Of the afternoon
was Fastening the climax. The law
yer returned with him, and the house
hold was aroused The old woman
chuckled, exhausted, but triumphant.
as she fell back after signing the will.
i've left Helena Il hundred dollars
TO buy hat mourning she was SO set
on" she whispered You can get
your learning while he's making the
home for you Twas tue fine fellow
his father was, mind WELL
And not all the wrath or lamenta-
tions of Helena Burnet and her moth
er availed 10 impeach the validity of
the will, which left the property Of
Ellen Franklyn to Nancy Goodwin
Il shan't hold YOU to your promise
now, dear" Charlie Mceker said when
he came to see the girl cn to the uni,
versity You are an he,ress now.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

grew very rosy She turned 10 him
slowly
"Our condition She began
Let me tell YOU something" he said
Il am NOT q tuberculosis patient. Ger
tain mSayory hints regarding the gross
ml~managcmcnt of this place have
been whispered abroad | was sent
here 10y the Daily Star 10 investigate"
She looked across the stream 10 the
pines and the flaming Sky behind them.
THAT clears you. hut how about
meg' she asked very quietly.
Il love Won" he rppcated simply.
and To love nothing matters.
Not even my-mv being here?" she
said.
..Not even Your hciug here" he as
serted.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
American Hotel Life.

AT heart Americans still enjoy hotel
life immensely. in spite Of much re-
proof from foreigners who consider it
in bad form. The American has not
really acquired the country house habit,
although he is trying to do so 1t does
not as yet satisfy his longing for
constant change OF scene and entire In
dependence Hotel life, condemned as
1t is by the finely discriminating as un-
homelike, Haunting and too public, still
appeals to the average American as a
very diverting lnterlude to domestic ex-
clusiveness. They even prefer 1t In
reality to entertaining or being enter
tained after the hospitable. but some
what responsible, European fashion,
London Tplp3rtph
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
THEIR
INVESTIGATION
BJ Cram Osocn
,.nrr h. E9..g Douglas

O.m~t.aG stood pu the uneven plat
f5rm ur rh- dr~oiate little station
watching rA, rrd lights ou the rear end
- ilr incal grow fainter and fainter in
'Br hIeak twilight At regular intervals
up aud down rHe platform smoky kero-
>eue lanterns made dull splotches Of
yellow m the gloom, and here and there
tn, target lamps sf the switches show
81 feeble colHrIuE> of resi- and green.
The lights ou the local disappeared
around d curve. and Olmstead swung
about 10 survey the barren little sta
ton. turning up his coat collar as he
dld 50. for the night wind had chill
breath of frost in 10.
Drawn up hy the station was sorry
looking barge. near which stood a shah
by man hawiug Justify: Carriage for
the santarium' This way for the sani-
tsriUm
Olmstead made hiS way thither. smiI-
ing Srlmly The four other passengers
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
Asked md Answered,

In the "Reminiscences of Sir Henry
Hawkins" N.ord Rramptonl story Is
told concerning Jack. The pet terrier
which always accompanied the famous
Judge wherever he went
On one occasion. when on circuit and
driving 10 the cathedral Of a certain
city for the preliminary religious serv-
Ice. Jack sat beside his master in the
sheriff's CoICh. The sheriff and his
chaplain. most solemn look Ing, ascot
ic high churchman. occupied the oppo
site seat.
His lordsh'p in relating the story says
that the chaplain eyed the dog for a
long time with great uneasiness. Then
rs they nearCd the cathedral, he seemed
to get alarmed and, IN state of grcut
agitation, stammerIngly said:
'My lord, may I-ah-er-ask il the
dog is going 10 divine service?"
We'll, don't know" replied his lord
ship. Il shall ask him. Jack, would
you like to go to churchT'
Jack growleh and lifted his head to
howl
No" went On the judge. Jack says
that he doesn't like dry sermons"
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26
A PUGET SOUND NAME.
PuyaIIup and the Experience of the
Man Responsible For IL.

The name Puyallup is of Indian orr
gin. rs old as the memory Of the white
man In Pioneer "reminiscences Of
Puget Sound" the author, Mr.. Meeker,
says that he accepts the odium of In
ficting that name on suffering genera
tions by plating a few blocks of land
into village lots and recording them
under the name Puyallup. He men,
tions incidentally that he has suffered
from il.
The first time | went east after the
GOWN was named and said to q friend
In New York that our town was nam
ed Puyallup he seemed startled
NAMED what"
"Payallup." said l.
That's a Jawbrcaker," came the re-
sponse How do you spell it?'
"Pu-y-a-ll-u-p," said.
Let he see, how did you say you
pronounced it,
Poutng out my lips like q veritable
Siwash and emphasizing every letter
and syllable so as TO bring out the
Peuw for puy and the strong empha-
sis on the al ana cracking my lips to-
gether to cut off the lup, | finally drill
ed my friend 50 that he could pro-
nounce the word, yet fell short Of the
elegance Of the scientific pronuncia-
ton
Then when crossed the Atlantic
and encountered the factors OF the hop
trade In London and was bidden as
guest to Il dinner to introduce me to
the assembled hop merchants, when l
saw troubled look overshadow the
face of my friend who was to intro
ducc me | knew what was troubling
him, and my sympathy went out TO
him.
Let Inc introduce to you my Ameri-
can friend from"-he began boldly and
then hcsitated my friend from Amer
lea lie continued. and then turned to
me with an imploring look and blurted
out.
Il say, Mr.. Neeker, | cawn't remem-
Der that name What is itY'
But when letters began to come to
me addressed "peulope," 'Polly-up,"
"Pull-all-up. 'Pewl-a-loop" and final
ly "Pay-all-up," then 10y cup of sorrow
was fun am sure, however, that
there will never he but one Puyallup.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

1t does not seem very clear at what
period the legal age for members of
parliament was fixed at twenty-one.
1t is, however, certain that I'm the
reigns of Elizabeth and James /. boys
of sixteen and seventeen occupied seats
in the house of commons The poet
Waller took his seat as an NJ p. before
he was seventeen. Charles James Fox
took his seat at eighteen and Chester
field before he came of age This, how
ever, was clearly irregular, because II
Is recorded that Chesterfield was
threatened with a penalty Of $500 for
sitting and voting in parliament while
under the legal age II he did not cease
his attacks upon the government Lord
John Russell also sat before he was
twenty-one. and he seems to have been
the last Of the parliamentary minors
An act Of William Ill, passed In 1896
made the election of a person under
twenty-one void, hut the act was not
very stringently enforced. - London
Standard
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

During the South African war an Inn
meNsc stone monument was removed
Mt Cape Town during the night, and no
one knows to this day by whom or why
1t was taken. Some years ago, in broad
daylight, u clever and bold gang Of
thieves carried off a valuable fountain
fourteen feet high from Uxbridge with
out exciting the suspicious of any one
and quite recently an omnibus was
calmly removed, horses and all, while
standing unguarded outside a public
house in London and has never been
seen or heard of since. 1t would seem,
indeed, that it Is often far easier to
steal big thing than a little one
London Telegraph.
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

The tents Of the Kurds. in which
they seek the pasturage of the noun
tains IN summer, vary much IN size,
though in appearance and shape they
conform throughout to one plan The
covering of the tents consists of long,
narrow strips Of black goats hair ma
terial sewed together lengthways
Along the center Of the tent this roof
ing is supported on three TO five poles,
according TO the size. ana stretched
out by ropes which. made fast to the
edge of the roofing, are pegged secure
ly 10 the ground The poles within the
tent being Of some height. usually
eight 10 ten feet the edge Of the tent
ing does not nearly reach the ground,
but walls are formed Of mating Of
reeds held together by black goats
hair thread. which is often so arranged
as to form patterns on the yellow mats.
-BlackwOod' Magazine
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

81 suppose You viii marry when you
grow up, said the visitor pleasantly.
No" replied the thoughtful little
girl; mamma says papa Is more care
than the children, so guess the care of
my children Will be enough for me
without the care Of husband."-Chi-
CagO Post
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

An Intimate friend of Prcsiden,
Grant said to BIN one day. General,
my little boy has heard that all great
men write poor hands, but he says he
believes you are great man in spite
of the fact that you write your sigma
ture so plainly that anybody can read
IT."
The president took card from his
pocket, wrote his name on It and hand
ed II 10 him.
Give that to your boy" he said.
and tell him II Is the signature of a
man who is not at all great. but that
the fact must be kept a secret betwees
him and me."-Eoston Christian Regis
ter
Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-04-26

"Woodby declares his grandfather
descended from one OF the greatest
houses In England"
"Ah, yes. G.d hear a story about the
old man failing of n roof he was re
pairing once for Lord Somebody OF
other"'-Philade!ph,a Ledger