davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29

legs and arms as if they were straws, and hurI-
ing the men far To each side.
In Mexico l once grasped a three-foot isuana
by the tail, and | had my strength tested 10 the
utmost to hold for single minute. Then,
without warning, the grea lizard went one way
and l the other; his tail had parted company
in the middle and / had nine inches Of II lett
in my hand. Instead of being fatal To these
iguauas such occurrence is not infreiuent
and is of the utmost value 10 them in saving
their lives
When alarmed their first act is 20 dive for
their holes, but when an eagle is making the
attack the sWiftness of it's flight sometimes IN
tercepts the lizard and the bird of prey seizes
the long tail. which is the last visible part OF
the iguana. After brief struggle, the eagle
flies away with Ihe scaly. bony taitip, which
must afford but slight gustatory satisfaction
while the iguaHa seeks the deepest part OF IT'S
burrow The short muscles soon close the
wound and in a surprisingly short time Il new
tail shoots forth and grows 10 goodly length.
ready il need be to be sacrificed In turn. some
times tails grow out from the Old tan
stump-surely superiluity of blessings. A
weak spot in each tail bone is the cause of the
breaking. Thus we that the tail OF the
iguana is indeed an interesting One. William
Beebe in The Outing Magazine.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
TO WIN OPERATIC FAME
american Methods of Training Sing
ers Cofning To Be Considered Best.

That the United States is now the best place
to secure training in music is the opinion of
American singers of world reputation who have
studied abroad "Americany singing masters
are best but the young singer after getting
training here should go abroad to get expert
cnce in singing in repertoire is the consensus
of opinion among American operatc stars
This superiority in American training methoos'
which is matter of growing knowledge and
pride among the professionals. is as yet
scarcely guessed among the people generally,
who think of Italy, Germany or Paris as musical
neccas for beginners but it is coming to De
recognized by wealthy music lovers.
Should the American girl go abroad to learn
opera" the question put to Nine. Eleanor
tan Opera House. an American woman born in
New York.
YES" was her reply, but only after she has
completed her studies in America under good
teacher. There just good vocal in
sfr,Ictors in America, if one selects the right
ones. as there are in Europe. and an American
girl can have her voice and do all that merely
study can do for her right at home. Then. 1T
she finds that she has voice of operatic cal
ihre has the temperament has gained the cor
rect accent of the foreign language in which
she is to sing and has acquired the foreign
operatic traditions. she should go abroad to gain
repertoire and actual experience in opera. This
last she cannot gain in her own country. for
substitutes position at one of our opera houses.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
NO AMATEUR WORK PASSED.

American singers going TO Italy should not
get the idea that amateur operatic work will
pass Oh, that cruel top gallery in every Italian
opera house The admission is only 10 or 20
cents to this gallery. and 1t is filled with the
peasants and working people, but oh. what Just
but severe critics they are, They have heard
fine opera all their lives: have heard the great
est singers and woe to the beginner who does
not come up TO the standard. They will hiss
her from the stage.
@As there is also prejudice against Ameri-
cans. the American debutante must be particu-
larly capable. This prejudice has been eIsen-
dered by the fact that a number of foolish per-
debut with money. In one in particular I
of Brsnganc in Tristan and Isolde who was not
at all prepared for the role. She offered the
manager 1000 francs to produce the opera for
her. After weeks Of rehearsal she was told that
she could not sing the role and another singer
was secured as substitute. She sued the mana
ger. but he showed that he had provided the op-
portunity but that the singer was not adequate
and she did not regain a cent
"In another case a wealthy American woman
hired theatre to produce Lucia di Lammer-
moor She made failure but on her return
to this country advertised extensively that she
had made successful debut in another opera
in italy The Italian papers saw these notices
and printed them with scathing comments about
the way Americans misrepresented conditions.
AS q result there is certain feeling against
ali Americans. and even the most faithful singer
has to overcome this prejudice. When began
to sing. tnasmuch as I spoke Italian and Span
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29

here" The young German keeper was greatly
distressed.
returned in the morning to see how the affair
had progressed. Entering the FRANKFURT InleF-
garten / found the lion house. My friend stooo
in the empty corridor looking into the cage, seek
forms shifted restlessiy on every side, pale
light came from above. the place was close with
a heavy odor. -
ne oreeted me u1ournfullv THE little beggar
was too spirited She got him last night. JUST
a second in her Jaws and the taxdermist won
nies peered wonderingly at US from adjoining
cage the murderess paced in silence, Dut her
ewes were alive with strange fascinating ite''.
The tragedy had stirred the rows Of imprisoned
beasts An uncanny howl in a chilling key came
from the leopards the lions deep throated sut
turaI sent unwelcome quiYers through ohe !"
nerves. 49, ,.
left the building. relieved to feel the preeze
and see the sunlight Poor little chap OF Pulha;
he surely had tremendous puck-Ihe lfaNei
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
A PUMA BABY.

Kissing like sullen geyser. the great Puma
mother crouched with flaming eyes Ridge of
her tawny back brushed up in rage. tail aswitch
steel sinews rigid beneath soft skin. she glared
at her four pups in the cage corner fluffy
across toward her Out shot mighty forearm;
the baby was hurled suddenly back among his
covering brothers and sisters
NASTY temper" I remarked TO the keeper
sHas she been long like that?"
"Started this forenoon" he shook his head in
anxiety II don't like IT, III have to separate
them, I fear"
The unnatural mother commenced pacing her
nrison sparring viciousy at her offspring in
parsine Three hudded together in q pitiful
hean hut one stood up and def1ed her. A jungle
terror IN miniature his tiny rage was magnih-
cent Tensely alert before his trembling mates,
he sh,ffed warily to meet each blow. lodging
shifting striking out awkward paw at the
great thrusts. 49,. oa,,,
'They don't turn on their pups oiten. ohiy
rnew n once before. You notice. mein herr, ner
claws are not out when she strikes. That Liay
ooms-thsn We win lose soma pTomaaing peoies
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
OLD ITALIAN METHOD.

MY own preliminary work I gained here in
New York under Nine. Muro Cell. who is now
dead She taught the real old Italian method,
full voice without forcing 1t. She did not place
any dependence on sonsoof the vocal patents
hears otto sing with the tongue i'll certain
place. or TO throw the resonance to the soft
palate or other rubbish of that She taught
one to sing. 50 when | went 10 Italy | was pre-
pared and did not have lot of work to undo,
and within the first year | had sung in eight diff
farent opera houses. at Trieste Ravenna, Fer
rara, Spezzia and later at Parma of the
Later | sang also for two seasons at the San
Carlos Opera House, in Lisbon, and in ST. Pc
tersburg, and at Madrid. and gained a vogue
which enabled me to secure engagements at La
Scala in Milan
Il know of many American girls. however who
have gone to Italy, and not had such good fort
une They should never have gone at all, for
they had neither the voice the temperament, the
knowledge of tradition nor command of the
party being taken by a teacher who prom
ised them immediate debut. two had spent all
their sinf lives in church choirs. and while
good in oratorio. had operate style
and didn't know what Italian opera is. Another
poor girl L remember, whose brother had mort
gagged heaven knows how much property to give
her a chance at opera. She had neither voice
figure, temperament. She should have been
kept at home, where she might have done some
,,t in,
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
Foreign Resorts.

ish did not say anything about being Aueri-
can. Finally after months of successful work,
happened to sing in a company with Puri
Corsi a. barytone. who had sung with me when
was Miss Broadfoot, in America. In all kind
ness he Immediately said that was an Ameri-
can, and although 1 had been successfully re-
hearsing Tor two weeks and had had months or
successful experience in Italy my troubles I'M
mediately began The conductor at once took
the attitude that l could not possibly sing my
role without an sccent and if it had not been
for the fact that the manager of the theatre
believed in me l probably should not have ap-
nea red in 'Falstaff.'
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
CIrRIOTS TAIL LORE.

In whales have an entirely different sla'
OF affairs :he tail being set transverseiy Msted9
of vertically. The reason for this is conIeai9u
in long ages of evolution. Fishes nave ai"ayS
been as they are now, aquatic, but the ancestors
of whales and dolphins lived on dry land Where
they craWled about on four good teet. "heh
for some reason, these creatures OF Old TOOK TO
the water they probably did not plunge at once
into the open ocean, where their descendants
now live. but waded and padded along IN the
shadows and marshes of the shore. here a YER
ticaI tail would certainly be in the way. White
a horizontal might be used advantageouslE
We must not forget also that whales breathe
air as we do. and that it IS more necessary for
them to shoot quickly up from the dark ocean
depths to the surface than to turn hshlIife from
side 70 side.
The sting ray and certain other fishes have
a sharp poisonous spine in the tail with which
they can infiict a severe wound but in the case
Of the alligator it is by sheer brute force that
the tail is useful for defence The muscles OF
this organ are like springs of steel The great
saurian lies asleep in tho sun. seeming more dead
than alive but if half dozen men should seize
its tail with all their strength. with one terrible
flick the alligator could scatter them, breaking
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
TYPEWRITING RECORDS.

They have been holding ''dactylographic COM
petition in Paris. DactylOsraphy is a name
for typswriting. The competition was under this
auspices of the Automobile Club de France and
OF the newspaper Les Sports The test was to
write from dictation the greatest number words
with the smallest possible number of errors in
four consecutive hours. There were S14 con1peti-
tors. about evenly divided among and women
They were seated at typewriters in a semi-circu-
lar room. at the centre of which sat Aususte Bor-
dais. resolute champion of old fashioned writing
AT a M the chronometer keeper OF the Auto
mobile Club gave the word Co. the voices os
34 persons started dctation. and S.ID fingers
began TO wigSle. All began the same point in
Paul and Virginia.. the famous romance by
nardn de St Pierre. At midday the word to stop
given. and every competitor ceased on the
letter All the copy then turned over TO sew
enty correctors. The rules allowed three to
page.
The most rapid 'daetylographer' proved to be
Mr.. DuboSt. of Paris. who had typewritten fifty
nine pages. containing seventeen thousand words.
at the rate of about seventy words minute.
The old fashioned writer with the had writ
ten in the four hours. In a beautiful hand and
tanning nine thousand words--Tit- Bits.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
EDrsoN-s CONCRETE HOUSE.

HsT have constructed model for a Queen Anne
rattaee ard next spring l intend to build
house of This pattern says Mr. Edison. coat
less and hair tousled. at his laboratory IN
Ilev-eil,r1 Park " J. Tn going to put ner
,1p in twelve hours. try to do it-dont forget
thar, The expensive part of concrete construc-
ton today is the erection of wooden frames
Thai can't he used again With the aid OF
rno,JIds II is possible Cor any contractor 20 build
house s,F solid concrete. p feet wide. IL feet
reep three stories high. capable of housing TWO
ra miles for 81 .fsra. with plenty of room
-sTha most important feature lies IN the
If iron or the concrete is
avlyhodz-s Wooden framed concrete structures
are built section upon section. after each sec
t;on has been allowed time 10 soiidify. This
takes an annoying lot of time, varying accord
ing "a the size Of the building. Concrete in the
IRON frame can be stripped in six days. and the
forms erected another lot.
..Fsy no11rine in concrete, which is TO be hosted
IN the ton of the house and dumped IN from
there until the mixture fills the mould. II VIII
he possible to complete the structure in Twelve
hours Arc you on sxooo
.sT-he forms ere Of cast iron, and for Sl,opo
the entire house can be built. Thls ihcluoeS
beating pipes Of concrete. staircases OF CON
-rete rr1antels of the same roofs OF concrete
that won't leak plumbing wire condults ana
even tart1tuf,s Of concrete he said. spea aing
vigorously r, ,.o
.eS,,ch a house will stand forever. The houses
which witfastood the San Francisco disaster
,-o-e concrete Fire insurance will be thing
Of the mast with the dwellings, Chlioren
nav rllay with axes but, chop as much as tfaeE
ril,e fhev can't injure the structure There VIII
ne no need for rerairs. success
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
M1rck-RAkER,s cHRIsTMAs CAROL.

A MuCK-RAKER's CHRISTMAS CAROL
In Northern Iair-I shant say where
Resides magnate great, ,.+
Who mas a trust they cannot bust
OR probe or legisate.
OF whom you've heard them Ielnng'
Yet he won't shirk incessant WORK
For golf or simple spelling
He may be a religious prls-
All any rate he wears Wig
I told Miss Tarbell OF the man
Il thought she would expose h@.i,tJ; @
T3ut when / spoke she turned ana ran
By Jove I think she knows him:
rs awful to reflect that she
would shield big monopoly
oh he could spoil the Standard Oil.
ana Ana se1 se1d hi his freights at lower rates
Than there have ever been
And If he met a single threat
or Interstate Commission, ,
The waggish wight would claim the right
To stife competition!
In short, / verify oplne
He's ripened for a heaVv hhe'
saw the President about
This wealthy malefactor 81.
Since then ] own have no oount
The Presidents an actor.
.'T'd take the matter up, sald ne.
..BlIt what would Quentin think of me?
Most strange of ell this mystical
TbeTes oaSpe'S not a block of all its stock
that's owned by bulls or bears.
The kiddies hold that wealth untoio.
Each child must own d
Good Lord: And even on the BOARD
There's naught but Children there.
And as for graftins-Well. they say,
Those children could show us the way!
j hoped that Lincoln Stenens and
The able Mr.. Baker
Might take their implements in hand
And go to work and rake her
said they: I'VE fear such exploitation
would damage home circulation"
Yes, even these two had to pause
At Rotng after Santa CIans-
1Iulian Street In sThe American Magazine"
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
THE LONG AND SHORT OF STATURE.

Some interesting theories to the size and
weight of newly born children are being ad-
vanced by scientists Some claim that the sizs
of the child depends on the age of the mother.
that the older she is the bigger and stronger the
child will be. They say that in general the
children Of very young mothers are likely to be
small and i'll nurtured while those born To
women more than twenty-five are apt to be
large and robust. OF course. there will be
many exceptions. The woman OF twenty five
beins fully matured no nourishment is then ex-
nended upon her development and thus the
child is given all the better chance The ad-
berepts in support of the doctrine cite ths
Scandnaviaus who make late marriages They
have maintained high stature and robust
physiaue as national gifts On the other hand
in the south of France and of Italy very young
girls are given in marriage. and in consequence
the race has dwinded in height and frame and
even in energy and initiative. Hebrews in
Poland are pointed out a conspicuous en-
ample of the evil of early motherhood
Going further, they even apply the principle
to account for the smallness of the Japanese
and degeneracy of the Hindus. II causes tbs
average height and build Of city people to hs
inferior to that of the peasants and 1t tends
TO cause physical retrogressicn in the leisure
class, wherein girls marry young, as compared
with the class of workers, in which the young
women have to take up trades or domestic ser
vice for several years before they can marty
The Pathfinder
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
THE OPEN TITRRET A MENACE TO oCF
NAVY

The most important protection of a battlesnlp,
outside of the hull itself Is that given TO IT'S
r,agaztnes Never, since the use OF powder upon
fighting ships has there been such danger 10 tne
magazines as exists in every battleshlp ana ar
,nored cruiser in the American fleet II is d
first principle, recognized even in the Gays OF
wooden frigates, that powder must not pc pasSeu
directly up to the gun deck through Ferucd
shaft The open turret of the United states
hattIesip is the only violation of this prlncipie
fn tie practice of the world
The open turret is conical SHAFT leadihg
straight down into the hull OF the ship AT the
ton az This shaft the powder is loaded into the
heavy p1,n- at its bottom is the handling ROOM
where The potvder IS delivered from the maya
zine. around this handling room, and opening
directly into it are the magazines
The guns In the turret fired with charges
Of smokeless powder. This powder rs haLo
round substance Of q composition which LOOKS
not unlike celIuloid: ite grains-in the charges
for The heaviest gun-are cylinders ABOUT Ihe
size of spool of thread These grams OF pow
der when unconf1ned, do not explode IL they aie
set on IRE but consumed IKE nzAihs mr. :.
crackers Now, under present conoltions at
least "a certain number OF accidents IN loaIiils
and firing guns can be counted on When me. >,
occ1,r the burning powder grams VIII la
straight down into the handling room lne
charges in the handling room viii De SET on M
and fhe whole turret will be flied al once Wlth
. poisonous flaming gas that destroys iiie I'M
yneassteJv and even nnelts the softer netais
Three times already by q miracle, AmeIican
shins bsye been saved from the e1piosioI u
fheir rnaraz because Of this kind OF accioeh.
Henry Reuterdahi IN McClures.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29

even a debut in important role. does not
seem TO give her chance TO become real star.
She must gain her reputation abroad and then
be re- -enga ged for American opera through the
booking agencies of Italy or some other coun-
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
From the January Magazines.
Presidents Bear Hun-Heroes Liesavine
Edison's Concrete House.

Gated almost to infinity the carpets ceilings
ana china of the establishment. The retainers.
uniformed and numerous address the duke as
sire He has his chaplain and his chamber
laIn his master of ceremonies and his lord of
the bedchamber, while the people of the town
OF ENeSham, on the plea that such pageantry
is good for local trade maintain a guard of
honor IN uniform for the salutation of his
majesty on gala occasions like the wedding of
the other day. His majesty is something of
a sportsman He has stocked the parks about
MS DOMAIN with antelopes and a species of Eu
ropean deer There is the traditional court cos
tune al Wood Norton. which she Bourbons of
the continent of Europe regard royal pal
majesty on both cheeks Being royal. he leaves
no cards. The irreverent have affirmed
that if Wood Norton had a box office it would
be comic opcra--CuTTept Literature.
GUARDING AGAINST FOREST FIRES.
In almost any of the Western mountains the
traveller sees the fire warnings of the Forest
Service, and he is likely TO meet some of the
rangers You viii find them crossing the High
Sierras in California. in the Crazy Mountains
of Montana, among the OiympicS in Washing
toIl. or following the old Apache trails along the
lnesaS in Arizona Wherever he is. the ranger
keeps keen lookout for thc smoke o. forest
fires and in the clear Western atmosphere
even GtSe smoke column can he detected from
afar- As he discovers it the ranger
takes his and shovel and goes only
Western horse and rider can. Many small fires
stopped by this watchfuness. but there are
others which take many men many hours to
suhdue- 4 fire in chaparral SO thick that a
ifldh can harhfN i"Fce ms NdN ihtoueh IL anu
parched hy six months OF drouth makes nara
and irving lighting Then there are fires in the
his timber among the dead trees Of old wind
falls. and oveShead fires that spread faster than
a man can rnn. IF unchecked they viii burn
for weeks over thousands of acres of timber
And all this destruction may he Caused by a
carelessly left campfire or a match dropped from
horseback. The sheepmen used 10 set the for
est on fire purposelr. for the year after fire
the burned acres WELD fine forage. Happily TINS
practice is discontinued Sparks from iocomo-
tiveS set more fires within the national
forests than any other cause. Camping parties
are the next worst offenders. Indians, stock
men. miners and lurnDermPn. who travel con-
tinually in the forests. very seldom leave camp
fires to spread and do damage They know too
we'll the results. For time almost every year
the citizens of Portland. Ore. lose sight of some
of the great mountains around the city on aC-
count of the smoke from the burning forests
There is little doubt that. since the white man
settled in the West more timber has been use
iessly burned than has been cut and used--Ar-
thur w Page. in The Worlds Work
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
\ JUBILEE JOKE.

Everything that year was dubbed Jupilee'
from knights and babies TO hats and coats. Cod
Save the Queen heard ad nauseam on every
conceivable occasion until the tune became an
obsession. This led to practical joke at the
castle, which caused much amusement one
morning, speaking of the Jubilee craze l pre-
tended that ] had received as an advertisement
Jubilee hustle" which would play God
Save the Queen when the wearer sat down
This of course, created much curiosity ana
laughter Having promised to put 1t on. took
my hosts into my confidence. An aide camp
was pressed into the service and, armed with d
small musical box, was made to hide under
particular armchair While the company was
at luncheon / retired to don the so-called ju-
bilee wonder" and when they were all assem-
bled marched III solemnly and slowly sat down
on the armchair where the poor aide-de- camp
was hiding his cramped limbs. To the delight
and astonishment of every one the national an
them was heard gently tnkling forth Every
time rose it stopped; every time sat down, II
began again. / still laugh when l think of it
and of the astonshed faces about me.-Lady
Randolph Churchill. in The Century