davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
|(|NPLE ISLANDERS PuzzEk tfEAY
p)| BY WALKING WITH BARE FEET UPON
8WA|T[ not LAVA B0ULDERy

Tahiti to America. They are porous,
these rocks, andS il they were not
porous they could not withstand the
fierce heat they undergo; ordinary rocks
would crumble in the heat. but this
basalt, lava product, these powders OF
volcanic origin withstand such heat as
would melt steel and destroy granite
When the stones are made so not
that there can be no question OF their
condition. then the priest and his wife
prepare to make their journey over the
stones. They chant prayers, and as
they move toward the bed OF red not
stones their incantations increase In
intensity. Reaching the stones, they
whip the air and the ground three times
with banana leaves they have carried,
and then the march across the awful
bed of fiery stuff begins.
The feet of the islanders are bare.
They have not been prepared for the
ordeal with any appliances. No medi-
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

foreign complement contains forty-three
flags, each twenty-five feet long and thir-
teen feet wide. Certain of these are full
of animal shapes. curious designs and
marine landscapes. They are, therefore.
difficult 10 make and require surprising
length of time to finish.
This flag manufacturing establishment
Is under the supervision of Thomas Maloy,
officially termed master fagmaker. and
Miss NJ. A Woods, quarter woman nag
maker. Besides critically inspecting the
finished output. they also test all the
bunting. This comes from Lowell, Mass,
in lots Of several thousand yards at a
time. One day sample lot of bunting
is soaked and washed in soap and fresh
water. The next day the same proce IS
is followed with salt water. 1t is then
exposed to the weather for ten days,
thirty hours of which time must be in
the bright sun. This is for the color and
fading test.
The last test is for tensile strength
For this test a strip two inches wide Of
the warp is placed in machine and
must Withstand pulling strain of sixty
five pounds, while two inches of the fill
ing must sustain a forty-fve-p pound
strain.
The flags are cut out from measure
ments arranged on chalk mark lines and
metal markers on the floor. Large stripes
and certain designs can be more con-
veniently stitched in this way. Daily this
checkered section of the floor is covered
at all hours with several different flags.
with the men and women cutters at work.
The final sewing is done on the machines
by the women. Each machine is swiftly
run by small electric motor Some of
the women excel In sewing on the stars.
others are skilled in finishing other parts
of the flag. Nearly all have been many
years in tile establishment The pay runs
from 81 20 to 81 day. With the bright
colored, fantastic flags OF all nations
dangling from their machines, the long
row Of flagmakers presents a picturesque
sight
The thousands of white stars used ON
the flags are cut out by an ingenious
machine, specially devised for this pur-
pose. operated by electricity. Only few
years ago the stars were cut out by hand.
Now plunger. fitted with steel knives
the shape and size OF the star wanted.
with a single down stroke cuts out from
fifty to hundred stars at a time Press
ing the foot on a pedal operates the ma
chine. Some eight different sizes of stars
are used, each having special cutting
die. Running the machine for only an
hour day furnishes enough stars for
several days. In the same room work -.
veterans They sew the binding and tie
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
Mice a. Ordinary seamen.

1t seems strange at this late date that
these much despised and maligned little
animals should be made to earn their
daily bread in a very curious way. yet il
is fact nevertheless They are now
being used as signals in submarine boats.
Should there be the least leakage of naph-
tina the little animals give warning by a
series OF incessant squeaks, for they have
great dislike for the irritating odor of
that article. They are rated on the books
OF the British navy as ordinary seamen
and are paid at the rate of one shilling
week each, which is used to provide
them with food.
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

wooden knobs to the finished flags. Az
terward the border is stamped with the
name of the ship. flag and date of con-
tract.
The largest flag made is the U. S. en-
sign No. l, thirty-six feet long by nine
teen feet wide. which costs $40 to turn
out. The Presidents flag requires the
longest time Of any to make, as 1t takes
one woman whole month to nnish it.
This consists of a blue ground with a
coat-of-arms OF the United States in the
center. The life-sized eagle. with long
outstretched wings. and other emblems
are all hand embroidered and involve the
most patient work The flag is made in
two sizes-ten feet by fourteen feet and
three feet by FIVE feet The embroidery
silk used on this and other designs costs
SO a pound.
The foreign flags are the most shouy
and difficult to make. This is notably
true of the South American ones, two OF
the worst being those of San Salvador
and Costa Rica- The former has for a
center piece a regular landscape consist
ing of belching volcano and a rising
sun, set In varied design Of draped
banners, cactus branches. cornucopias
and swastika on the ground of a rayed
diamond. with the date OF the independ-
ence of the nation inscribed on the ton
costa Rica has two ships in full sail
on each side Of the dividing chain OF
mountains rising from the sea, with the
morning sun just appearing in the back
ground. The whole Is surrounded with
draped hags. with stats surrnounted with
spears, battleaxes, swords, trUmpets. etc
From 100 to 200 different pieces are in
these different ensigns, all Of which are
patiently appliqued by hand A separate
corps of hand embroiderers do nothing
but this kind of work. and il occupies
the time Of one woman sixteen davs to
complete the San Salvador design. The
cost Of making the Costa Rican nax is
$40: that of San Salvador s52. 50. the most
expensive foreign emblem made. The f,a1
OF Siam. containing the big whita a.
phant costs $38
Another record breaker in noi,t "a
trouble to make is the dragon aar oe
China. This huge neurological nonstsr
is the prominent feature of the Chinese
standard, and its fantastic scaled hodv
with claws and open mouth. is worlxss
out on yellow ground In hua ~-ss~,
and white. Over 100 seperate piecss 49,,
tne grotesque figure. ten feet long
Iweive to fourteen DAYS are taken -
nnish this nag, which costs s51.75 Tns
cheapest foreign flag made Is the Moorish
which costs S21. Each shin Is enfifl.s -
new supply of flags every three wears.
'housh some wear out IN less TINA.
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
What John | Henry Thinks of Courting

but seven giggles. something like those
used in a spasm.
Then she would reply: mo, oscar; it
cannot be. Fate wills it otherwise"
Then Oscar would bite his finger
nails pick his hat up out of the coal
scuttle and say to Lena False one.
You love Conrad, the fioorwalker in
the butcher shop. Curses on Conrad
and see what you have missed Lena.
l have tickets for swell chowder par
ty next Tuesday. Ali farewell for
ever"
Then Oscar would walk out and hunt
up one of those places that Carrie Ma
tion missed in the shufle, and there
with one arm glued. tight around the
bar rail, he would fasten his system to
jag which would last for a week
Despair would grab him and he'd be
Oscar with the souse thing for sure.
When he would recover strength
enough to walk downtown without
attracting attention of the other side
OF the street he would call on Lena
and say: Lena, forgive me for what
l have done. but love is blind-and. be-
sides, ] mixed my drinks. Lena, | was
on the downward path and 1 nearly
went to hell"
Then Lena would say: why, Oscar
l saw you and your bundle when you
fell In the well, but / didn't know II
was as deep as you mention"
Then they would kiss and make ur
and the wedding bells would ring jus,
as soon as Oscars salary grew large
enough TO tease a pocketbook.
But these days the idea is altogether
different
Children are hardly out OF the era
die before they are arrested for but
ting into. the speed limit with q smoke
wagon.
Even when they go ccurting they
have to play to the gallery.
Nowadays Gonsaivo H. Puffenlotz
walks into the parlor to see Miss Imo-
gene Hoffbrew.
VIE gents. Imogene." says Con
salvo.
"slmlichw says Imogene, standing al
right angles near the piano because
she thinks she is a Gibson girl.
Imogene, dearest" Gonsalvo con.
tinues; Il called on your papa in
Wall street yesterday to find out how
much money you have. but he refused
10 name the sum. therefore you have
untold wealth.
Gonsalvo pauses to let the Partisan
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

fore and after the fre-walking cere-
mony, and declared that nothing in the
way of herbs or unguents or any such
thing had been used. He found the feet
of the priest unharmed by the ordeal.
He confessed himself at a loss to ac-
count for the thing.
Stranger than all is the declaration
of John Thomas, a wealthy Englishman.
who accompanies the Tahitians as a
sort of patron. that white men are
able to duplicate this feat of the fire
walkers, If the w-.te men make the
journey across the stones in the wake
'of the priest and his wife. If this
order is followed, all is we'll Other
wise. death is the portion of the white
man who attempts such a thing
Captain Richards, of the steamer
Alameda, has done the trick, with the
priest said Mr.. Thomas, and Consul
Doty. at Papeete. the American repre-
sentative in TaL.-l, has done the same
thing. They were unharmed. They
would never dare to try it. however,
except while following the priest over
the hot stones"
The custom of walking with bare feet
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
How the Nation Makes Its E.mblems

One of the most picturesque and in
teresting departments in the Brooklyn
navy yard, little known to the outside
world, is the naval flag-making estao-
lishment. To supply the hundreds of
vessels. ranging from the great battle
ships down to the tiny launches. with
their prescribed pro rata requires the con-
slant manufacture of many thousands
of flags To cut out, sew and complete
these Uncle Sam maintains an extern
sive plant, going at full blast all the
year round and employing nearly half
hundred skilled needlewomen and few
men.
The flag room is on the third floor of
the bureau of equipment building On
entering the large room the visitors
first impression is a blaze of color. Rolls
of bright bunting are heaped up waiting
to be cut; while long lines of electrically
driven sewing machines. with women
operators, are reeling off and putting
the finishing touches to American and
foreign ensigns of many diffrent hues
and patterns.
Especially difficult and tedious is the
hand embroidery of the peculiar and in
tricate designs and centerpieces used by
the flags of most of the South American
countries and other foreign nations. Last
year this flag factory cost the Govern
ment 100000; 5000 of this amount was
for material alone and $1,000 for labor
The number of flags turned out was over
$4,000. These included 300 distinctive and
special kinds.
A good idea of the number of flags that
must be carried by single ship can be
gathered from large pile. shoulder high
and fifteen feet long. just finished for the
new battleship Connecticut. About one
half of the lot is composed of the foreign
flags. ,incased in thick paper bags The
name of the country is stenciled on the
bottom. The remainder, including those
for ordinary use. signal sets and the in
ternational code, etc., are not wrapped
but tied in round bundles and iettered
the regulation number every ship of our
navy has to carry, the material and MAX
ing of which cost Uncle Sam just $500
for each ship. This sum. multiplied by
the number of ships in the service, foots
up to many thousands 1t is necessary
to equip them for all forms of ceremonial
and official occasions, saluting and signal
ing, both at home and in foreign waters.
With an extensive array of flags stored
on board, the ship is prepared to meet and
show the proper naval etiquette to all
high-rank officials of any nation who
should come aboard or whose waters the
vessel enters while on cruise. The
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
Pawns Poker His
Hand.

Many queer things have been offered
TO me as pledges for loans,' said the
pawnbroker, and stories behind them
would fill book. There was one man,
Tor instance, who put up & $40 gold
piece for loan of s5. The coin was a
keepsake and he wouldn't part with it.
But the oldest loan I ever made was on
a poker hand
Ut was late one afternoon when
three men came in. They we're I'LL mo, q
or less excited and asked to see he
privately. The spokesman was "A city
employe and knew him slightly lie
explained that he had been sitting in
pretty stiff game guess - kno w
where 1t Island there came big Jack :
pot IN which, after lot of play, Il Q
oettlng had narrowed down to hi n ara
a prominent poli,ician. My visitor VS.
all In. The game was table stakes, MT
the politician offered to waive the rules
and wanted to bet $500 on his hand.
MY visitor asked for and received ff-
Teen minutes time to raise the money.
In the presence of the other players the
remainder of the deck of cards had
been wrapped and sealed. Each player
nad tnen shown his hand to commit
tee TO guarantee against substitution or
pay, ana the SCdi SA Aoi
the necessary $500 began.
MY visitor had gone after one or
two friends, but they were not to be
round. AS last resort he came to me.
II l would advance the money on the
strength OF the hand he would pay anv
interest within reason With that lie
drew his FIVE cards from his inside
pocket He held straight flush of
hearts. king high. There was only one
other hand that could beat it, and that
was an ace-high flush The first ques-
tlon asked was, Who dealt the cards 2
Ny visitor had. / considers the propo-
sition Tor half minute and decided to
run the risk. There wasn't one chi nee
IN thousand that tho other fellow had
straight flush also, so, putting $500
IN my pocket, 1 went around to the
place where the game was being played.
ioun1 matters just as my visitor had
oescriped. The sealed cards were pro-
duced and found to be intact The pol
iucian wanted to raise the bet then to
thousand, but l declined to go that
rar Ihe cards were then shown The
politician held the four aces He was
game, though, and never batted an eye
iid as my man gathered in the stakes.
MY 80 30 was handed to me with the rate
OF interest agreed upon
how much was it?" asked q listecer.
That's professional 7ecret." said
<ne pawnbroker with chuckle.
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

clock on the mantel tick, tick, tick!
He is making the bluff of his life,
you see, and he has to do even that on
tick.
Besides. this furnishes the local
color.
Then Gonsalvo bursts forth again.
"lmogene. oh, Imogene! will you be
mine and l will be thine without money
and without the price,"
Gonsalvo pauses to let this idea get
noised about little.
Then he goes on: BE mine, Imo-
gene! You will be minus the money
while I will have the pricem
Gonsalvo trembles with the passion
which is consuming his pocketbook,
and then Imogepe turns languidly from
right angle triangle into more of a
straight front, and hands Gonsalyo a
bitter look of scorn.
Then Gonsalvo grabs his revolver
and. aiming 1t at her marble brow, ex-
claims: Marry me this minute or 1
will shoot you in the topknot, because e
l love YOU"
Then papa rushes into the room and
Gonsalvo politely requests the old
gentleman to hold two or three bullets
for him for, a few moments.
Gonsalvo then bites deeply into a
bottle of carbolic acid. and just as the
Coroner climbs into the house the pic
lures of the modern lover and loveress
appear in the newspapers, and fashion
able society receives a jolt
This is the new and up-tk date way
of making love.
However, I think the old style of
courting is the best, because you can
generally stop a jag before it gets to
the undertaken.
What do you think?
Copyright, 1906, by G. w. Dillingham;
Z Company)
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

prlestesses who were delegated to per-
form this weird, uncanny act.
OF all the many generations who per-
formed this walking rite in the
South Seas only a meager handful sur
vive. The very last of the race are
now on these shores. Their power to
tread the flames unharmed is still
potent in this foreign land, and they
are prepared to demonstrate to skep-
tical America that fire has no terrors
for them.
With Priest Puhia is Prince Salmon.
a cultivated, clever Tahitian, the head
of the tribe in which Puhia is a priest.
The priest is old, wrinkled, type of
that which is all of the past. Prince
Salmon is modern, suggesting civiliza-
ton, and all of its concomitants. Prince
Salmon is attired in clothes of fash
ionable cut Priest Puhia wears the
garments of the native islander. The
priest still venerates the Prince, how
ever. and obeys him as did the tribes
people in the olden days, when the head
of the tribe gave the signal for action
to all of his people.
1t was under Prince Salmon's direc-
tion that the trip of Priest Puhia and
his wife was made to America. The
Prince will attend to the details of the
journey throughout America. If he
should die or be harmed, the exhibitions
would cease, for Priest Puhia will move
on on his journey over the red hot
stones. only when his Prince gives the
word of command.
The first exhibition of the power Sof
the Tahitians to travel over the stones
revealed to curious Californians just
what the modus operandi of the affair
is. There is nothing about it to sug-
gest a magician's art or any of the
tricks Of the illusionist. On an open
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
BY GEORGE V. HOBART.

Are you wise TO the fact that every
thing is changing in this old world of
ours. and that since the advent of fuss
wagons even the old-fsshioned idea of
courtship has been chased to the
woods?
II used TO be that on Saturday even
ing the young gent would draw down
his six dollars worth OF salary and
chase himself 10 the barber shop, where
the Dago lawn trimmer would put a
crimp in his mustache and plaster his
forehead with cents worth Of hair
and a dollars worth OF axle grease.
Then the young gent would go out
and spend 80 cents around among the
tradesmen for mess OF water lilies
and bag OF peanut brittle
The lilies Of the valley were to put
on the dining-room table so mother
would be pleased. and with the peanut
brittle he intended to I'LL in the weary
moments when he and his little geisha
girl were not making goo-goo eyes at
each other.
But nowadays il is different. and
Dan Cupid spends most of his time on
the hot foot between the Coroners Of
nee and the divorce court.
I've got a hunch that young people
these days are more emotional and like
10 see their pictures in the newspapers.
Nowadays when a clever young man
goes TO visit his sweetheart he hikes
over the streets in a benzine buggy,
and when he pulls the bell rope at the
front end he has rapid-fire revolver
in one pocket and bottle Of carbolic
acid in the other.
His intentions are honorable and he
wishes TO prove them so by shooting
his LADY love IL she renigs when he
makes a play for her hand.
! think the old style was the best
because when young people quarreled
they didn't need an ambulance and a
hospital Surgeon to help them make up,
In the old days Oscar Dobson would
draw the stove brush cheerfully across
his dogskin shoes and rush with eager
feet 10 see Lena Jones. the girl he
wished 70 make the wife of his bosom
'.Darling" Oscar would say, Il am
sure TO the bad of love of you Pipe
the downcast drop in this eye of mine
and notice the way my heart is bub-
bling over like a bottle OF sarsaparilla
on q hot day. Be mine Lena, be mine.'
Then Lena would giggle. Not once.
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

on hot stones is one of great antiquity
and is undoubtedly of Oriental origin
and probably practiced as religious
rite by the worshipers of the princi-
pies of heat and light as seen in the
sun and in his emanating fre-
once praeticed by the devotees of
BaaI and MoIoch IL is now only oeca-
sionally followed in Japan; in one OF
the Fijian Islands; and in Kalatea,
Tahiti. The religious significance has
been lost in the mist of ages and even
the words used in the ceremony have
lost their meaning TO the performers,
but the belief still exists among those
who practice it that it is only by the
direct favor of the presiding genius or
spirit of fire that they are preserved
from harm during the rite.
At Huahine. near Kaiatea, in the
Society Islands. the goddess who pre-
sided over the ceremony was Tetuanui
Taharia, who was worshiped at the
Marae or altar of Faretai in the district
of Parea Her first priestess. ages ago.
was Hina-te-anpu. and at the time OF
Captain Cooks visit in 1777 the priest
in charge Of the altar was named Maod.
Under the influence of the Mission work
the fire walkers became dispersed One
priest named Faraa went to the little
island of Maupiti. and another, Tapau.
to Kaiatea- There he has still pre-
served the cult and has instructed a
few disciples in the ceremonies, among
these being Priest Puhia.
There can be no doubt that this Gus
tom is survival of a form of sun
worship; probably the first cult Of
primitive man.
1t is interesting to note that the
special function of the HuahIne goddess
named was the giving of information
through her priests of the Whereabouts
Of voyagers in canoes and of lost prop
erty; the sun being, of course. all
seeing.
The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

: turned home to tell skeptical folk
around the hearth fire about the won
derful doings of the re.walkers of the
South Seas
Naturally. the folk at home have
been more than incredulous They
had not seen. with their own eyes. the
miracle-working islanders as they de-
fed fire and all the power OF the de-
stroying element in the journey across
the red hot stones, and it was to be
expected that incredulity should be
written on their faces when the trav-
elers told their tales of wonders seen
abroad.
Now. however, the islanders them
selves have come to America For the
first time in the history of the strange
tribe which walks on fire, representa-
tives of the cult, are in the white mans
territory, prepared to demonstrate
that their mastery over the demon of
fire is complete. perfect.
California is hrst to be visited by
the fire. walkers. The people of the
West are TO be privileged to see this
strange thing, and some already have
witnessed that which is so strange as
to completely puzzle not only the plain
people who witness the spectacle. but
also the cold. calm men Of science, the
physicians and all savants who, are
accorded the privilege of studying the
phenomena.
Five hundred persons watched Priest
Puhia and his wife go through the
FIRE, a few days ago. at a sort of
dress rehearsal performance" given
in Berkeley by the Tahitian Wis
itors. These all were skeptical
before the simple islanders made
their journey across the bed of
white hot rocks. After the trip
had been made and the islanders, in
bare feet, had shown their ability to
defy the laws that govern fire. or sup
posed to govern fire, there were no
skeptics left. There were. however, a
large number of greatly curious peo-
pie, and their one cry was:
How in the world is it done?"
And in answer to that question
which has been asked a myriad times
there is but one thing to say:
Nobody knows"
With the islanders who do the trick
it is a matter OF religion. They have
absolutely no doubt that in their ter
rible journey across the white hot
stones they are under the special care
of their goddess, whose might is shown
when she keeps her devotees safe
from harm as they walk through the
FIRE.
The three Hebrew children who went
unharmed through the fiery furnace
converted old King Nebuchadnezzar. by
i.-eir act. into a worshiper of the God
Of the Hebrews Nowadays the Tahi-
tian hre walkers make no converts. but
in the elden time. it is easy to dream
and guess about what must have been
the effect upon strange tribes of the
spectacle of human beings walking
through fire as a religious act TO show
the power of the God the fire walkers
worshiped Conversions of tribes and
nations. through the spectacle. surely
were numerous and great must have
been the power Of those priests and