davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25

Voice Quickly: II am no stranger; you
know me-"
Vent: II am sure / do not"
Voice: Eyes, you do; you owe me quar-
Vent: "oh, but you make a mistake"
Voice (qgickly): mo. don't. Give me
", VENT MT; e II have not one in my pocket;
Voice: Down stairs?'
Vent: Yes. IN the room below
Voice: Then I'll 60. down and fetch it.
Vent: very well, be careful"
Voice: All right"
(Here the man is supposed to 60 down
stairs: talking as he goes. The voice should
therefore gradually roll back in the mouth
till it Is taken up by Voice No. 2. When he
reaches, the room below. the instructions for
the cellar voice should be obserNed.)
Vent. (shouting) "Have you found it,"
Vent. "But it is there. Look again.,
Voice: ..fNo, ,shan't; I'm coming up"
Vent: mo; look again
(Here the man comes up stairs again, angry
at not having found the money, and grum-
bling all the way up, the voice getting grad
ually louder. until it is taken up by Voice
No. II
Voice No, loudly: "Now then. give me
my quarter"
Vent: II have not got it."
Voice: Eyes, you have. am. coming in. =
Vent: mo. you will not, SIR
Voice cloud and angry: eyes, SHALL
(The ventriloquist is now supposed to strug-
gle with the man. He should pretend to
push the door with great force, and kick it
occasionally, at the same time. changing from
his own voice to. the mans with great rapid
ity, and in loud, angry tones, finally, with
apparent effort bang the door to-, when, in
Voice No. 2. the man is heard outside grum-
bling.)
If this little scene is carried out carefully,
and the acting is natural and easy, it will
have marvellous effect. Continue the dia-
logue:
Voice No. 2: GIVE me my quarter"
Vent: az have not got it"
Voice: "Phen open the door,"
Vent: mo; stay where you are"
Voice: "Open the door. l want to speak
to you"
Vent: well, will you promise to behave
yourself if I do?"
Voice: eyes. will"
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
fGhe NsYt f NGn17IzOQzzzzWz
IS Voice" May be acquired in q Few Weeks

to know if you go straight home. and l
should like you to shout goodnight as you go
along and keep shouting till you get out OF
hearing. Do you understand"
Voice: Il understand"
Vent: 'Well, shake hands," Pretends to
shake hands, by. passing arm through tine
partly open door)
Voice: IAN right, sir; goodnight"
keep shouting"
(Here the voice gets fainter. passing from I'm
Voice No. l. to Voice No. 2, until it gradually
dies away in the distant voice, which con-
cludes the performance)
POLYPHONISM.
Polyphonism differs from ventriloquism in
this way. In ventriloquism an illusion is
certainly intended; the sound or voice is not
supposed to originate with the performer. but
to come from some distance, more or less re-
mote as the case may be.
,Polyphonism is only imitation without the
illusion, such as the imitation of musical in
like.
Very little instruction %, be given on pa
per with regard to this art. 1t must be
studied from nature, and initiated in the way
that suggests itself to the student, who after
he hen has ACQUIRED proficiency, in ventriloquism,
will find very little difficulty in the way.
He. should remember that to initiate a
sound correctly, the original sound must be
thoroughly known and understood Many
an otherwise talented person gives bad imita-
observer. and does not really know the ma
ture of the thing he is trying to mimic.
Let the student remember this, and take
particular notice of the peculiarities of the
various sounds that he hears, and he will
have very little difficulty in inimicking them.
1t only remains for me to give little part
ing advice to the student Let him begin at
the beginning. and advance step by, step,
taking care to be perfect in one part before
he commences the next
If he fail in his first attempt, he should not
be disheartened. but "try again" Perse-
verance will overcome any obstacle, and if
natural taste for mimicry, which most per-
sons possess more or less, he will find that In
a few weeks he will be able to do things that
he little imagined he could do, and he will
have it in his power to delight and amuse his
friends with that seemingly wonderful ac-
complishment, the art of ventriloquism.
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25

by-half- breeds and Indians-came a most de-
licious and savory odor of roasting meat,
which set opr appetites going at a great rate.
Fastening oyer, we found the scouts were
having regular feast of roast prairie dog.
A French half-breed invited me to taste a
bit, and although it was a little fat and
greasy found the morsel most palatable
one; and here comes lesson.
Why should it not be good eating? Prairie
dogs are not carniverous, but snbsist upon
herbs, roots and grass, and were it not for
the white mans sensitive palate, the flesh
would be no ways objectionable as an arti-
Gle OF food. In fact, | found the flavor much
like that of Virginia wood squirrel
Prairie chiens' are terribly destructive to
a country. They dig and eat away at the
roots OF plants and grasses, and in little
while, if unchecked. will turn fertile spot
into barren waste. 1t is good thing, then,
to destroy the pests, which multiply at an
alarming rate.
! was crossing wide prairie one day, when
heavy rain storm came. on, in half an hour
deluging the country and leaving great pools
of water here and there that looked like like
miniature lakes.
As it happened, near one Of these lakes
was quite large prairie dog town, and the
inhabitants, after the storm had ceased, came
out in vast numbers, squatted on their
mounds, and proceeded to discuss the situa-
ton in q most lively. manner.
Here's chance, said one of our party
"tc clean out nest of these little rascals
Suppose we turn one of these rain lakes
loose upon them"
No sooner said than DONE A few busy
spades, the opening of gutter here and
there, and then great body of water went
rushing and splashing in upon the surprised
dogs.
Down went the smooth. round heads out
of sight into the holes, but the wafer was
then upon them. 1t poured into the openings,
and went tearing along underground, and
then came spouting up out Of others like SO
many geysers throwing to the surface with
each burst dead or half drowned dog.
In few minutes the village was entirely
under water. on which foated thousands Of
dead dogs. while the carcasses of others were
continually coming to the surface. 1t was a
tremendous clean out, and virtually depop-
ulated that village.
"a good thing" muttered one of our party.
gazing out over the remarkable sight-"a good
thing, and for one am glad of It. Now the
cattle will have a chance to get something
to eat
He was stock raiser. and prairie dogs. by
undermining the roots, kill off the grass. and
thereby cause exceeding damage in cattle.
grazing country.
The catteman was right. for it was good
thing to destroy the dogs.
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25

keeping up an incessant chatter, that re-
minded me of an immense colony of sparrows
CT magpies.
The village / mention was perhaps the
largest of its kind on the North American
Continent, containing, as near as | could
judge, more than hundred thousand dogs.
1t was situated somewhat back from the
river, on high, barren plateau, and the dogs,
subsisting on the grass roots and grubbing
for other shoots of plants, had virtually
killed all verdure and turned the country into
a desolate waste.
How the inhabitants of this village, and of
Others, too, obtained water was puzzle to
me- 1t was too far from the river for the
journey to be often made, and as the country
was hard and dry, the only solution can be
that the CANNES either dug to water or else
supplied their wants from the fall Of dew.
indeed, Crow Indian once told me, and
it was afterward repeated by an Apache of
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
~ P9NZRZkr Docs 20

the Far Southwest, that-at points along the
subterranean passages underlying dog villages,
wells are sunk by the knowing little animals
for a water supply.
This may be true, but have never heard
it substantiated by reliable white men or
others who were in a position to know.
During the winter campaign of 1S79S0,
when the troops were chasing Sitting Bull
all over the Northwest, l was member of
that expedition, and one cold day in Novem-
Der, when the snow began to fly and dark
ness was coming on. we found ourselves
travelling through a large prairie dog village,
which seemed as if it never would come to
an end.
As it happened, we were entirely out of
fresh meat--nothing but bareback and bacon
in amp-and some one proposed we should
buffalo.
just then, from the camp of scouts near
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
S ny So a r K $

-Bess- "Oh, Ned! have you seen the round
oak dining table papa has bought? :.
Ned Round? Pshawl Then We shan't
have any more square meals, shall weT
whats the matter, Wiliew asked that
young mans uncle.
'sGrandma has swallowed her false teeth"
ooh, dear!" chimed in his sister Mamie,
won't that be nice? Now she can eat COM
Portable ike chicken"
First clerk-"B Business pretty good at your
Second clerk-"oh, yes! 1t has been so
rushing that they have not had time to pay
the hands for three weeks"
-Governess -"Oh, Fred, I'd have been
ashamed to write like this when was your
age" 49,
You was always older'n me. You was born
first"
Johnny" said his teacher, 'swho were
the two strongest. men of olden timesw
"Samson and Hercules"
"Can you tell anything about them?"
ooh, yes Samson was regular Hercules"
New Boarder-'But / can't lie ON such
bed as that I've always been used to a
'p Landlady we dress our beds to suit
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25

the seasons. This is sumner mattress. II
you had come here in the spring you could
have had spring mattress, too"
You cannot cure hams with hammer,
Nor measure dram with drama;
Stew plums with a plumber,
DO sums with a summer,
Nor yet shear ram with rammer."
Tutor" Corned beef is one of our famous
exports. Now, who can tell me what stands
next to corned beef?
Bright Student-"Cabbage."
S.
-.I'll send my boy to boarding school,"
'fWhat for%
ooh, he asks such puzzling questionsl Last
night he wanted to know if shoemaker could
breathe his last"
Old lady-"See here, sent my little boy
down here ten minutes ago to get porous
plaster. and you sent this thine home by
him."
Drug erk-"Yes. ma'am; that's porous
Old lady-"Well, you can't palm off an old
plaster that's full of holes on me. IF We
arnt got good one, I'll go somewhere else"
y
--Grandpa's Birthday Six-year-old =
"Grandpa, we have come to wish you many
happy returns of your birthday. And mann
ma says, if you give us each gold dollar, we
are not to lose it on our way home"
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25

dams w 1Sn-LQn-W1S1.
| II is astonishing the vast number Of these
little creatures that are found in some parts
the West; and, instead of receding before
ne advances of civilization, the prairie
hien" actually comes forth to meet it half
tay.
4 Draw line from the Red River of the
North, near the British border, trace it
&uthward through Nebraska, Kansas In
Han Territory and Texas. and we have the
Resent boundary of prairie dog encroach-
Hents; but they are on their way east of
Dis line, and will soon, no doubt, be bring
be trouble and loss to farmers and settlers
y the Mississippi Valley.
The "prairie CHEN" is a curious creature,
nd endowed with wonderfully social dis
Sbsition. He is from twelve to fifteen inches
b length, and dark brown on the back, fading
d lighter shade underneath, and is the most
EVERLASTING digger one can imagine.
I'll caught young specimen short time
To-, and placed him in barrel. He whined
nd begged piteously for long time, until
IA Indian, passing by and noticing this fact,
Old me to fill the barrel with dirt or sand
This | did and the little dog was supreme
VI happy from that moment; He. would dig
nd paw away at the dirt, hiding himself far
meath it. and as fast as it would cave in
HON him, he would poke his way serenely
b the surface, chatter few times, and then
Is back to work again.
NThe bottom of the barrel in some way be-
anne loose, anQ> CnlS was CHe uCtle 1ellOW s
nance. One night he discovered the fact,
kd Immediately set to work to dig down
% the earth; so that when morning came
Here was no dog in sight, only pile of loose
III heaped around and above the barrel, and
marrow subterranean passage leading down
Ito the ground:
but of curiosity set couple of men to
jbrk to see if we could spade him out; but
Ter excavating ten feet OF more, and finding
D prairie dog, we gave the thing up as a
seless job.
AS remarked, the prairie dog is of an ex-
edingly social disposition, and never builds
T. home In solitary places.
Many Of the villages are very extensive
Id quite as populous as large city. In
10, while, travelling through the valley of
SHder River, in Montana, I encountered
Io dog town which required me, although
ohnted on good horse and going at a
dnging pace, many hours of rapid riding
\ Htraverse
I For miles in every direction could see the
| lie creatures sitting on top of their mounds
running from place to place, and always
Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
Copyright BY James Elverson

NE of the most interesting little
animals in all the great West is
the prairie dog. The French call
him prairie CHEM" and the In
dams "Wish-ton- wish"
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08
VANISHING FORESTS.
A Billion Feet of Lumber Wasted Every
Year in the Northwest.

In the Pacific Northwest, nearly 200
900 men are employed in cutting down
the last primeval forests of this country
and slicing these stately armies or
spruce and fir and cedar into 5,O00,O00,-
900 feet of lumber and 6,0000 100000
shingles every year.
This timbered area is the richest natur-
al treasure of the American continent,
compared with which the gold mines OF
Alaska and Nevada are of picayune val
use for this and for coming generations
1t is so wonderfully rich treasure
that, according to Ralph ID. Paine IN
Outing, it's owners are squanderlng. II
like drunken spendthrifts. A billion
feet of lumber is wasted every year;
enough to build 100000 comfortable
American homes.
It is characteristic Of western men
and methods chat the ways of logging IN
the east should have been flung aside
as crude and slow. The giant timber OF
the Washington forests on the slopes OF
the Cascades is not hauled by teams or
RATED down rivers. Steam has made OF
logging a business which devastates the
woods with incredible speed, system ana
ardor.
The logging camps of the Cascades
differ as strikingly from the numbering
centers of northern New England as the
electric gold dredgers of the Sacramento
valley contrast with the placer digglngs
of the Forty-niners. In other words, the
greater the need of preserving the Tor
ests. the greater is the American lngenu-
ity for turning them into cash as fast Us
possible.
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08

held on (date) the two receiving the
highest number of votes for each office at
such preliminary election to be such can
didates."
completed within twenty -four hours after
the closing of the polls. and the results
thereof posted on the front door Of the
office of the city clerk and published with
a notice of the general election at least
once prior to such election.
Section 35-10. The names of two per-
sons receiving the highest number Of votes
for each Office and none others, shall be
placed upon the ballot at the general city
election, and no vote shall be counted at
iuch general city election except when cast
ior one of such candidates.
Section 35-11. If no such petition Tor
I preliminary election be filed, the clerk
hall Immediately upon such determination
+ the order of the names on the ballot,
i've notice of the general city election,
Thich notice shall he given and the election
ED and conducted and the results can
assed and certified as provided by law.
Section S5-12. The secretary of state
lall prepare and furnish to city officials
3r their guidance, forms for all nomina-
on papers, petitions, notices, ballots ana
Their blanks required for such elections:
Section 35-13. Whenever petition
lerefor, signed by a number OF the quail
d electors equal to more than ten per
ntum of the number of votes cast there
for governor at the last general election,
all be presented to the clerk of such city
least thirty days prior to the holding
any regular munici pal erection, Such
ERIK shall submit the question OF the
ioption of sections 35-f to 35-12, in
usive, Of the statutes, to the electors at
Oh regular municipal election, and give
'tice thereof and publish this act In the
inner required for the notice OF such
ection. The question submitted snail
ad: 'Shall sections 35-1 to 35-12 of
9 statutes be adOptedP p
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08
OIL AGAIN AT SPINDLE TOP.
Abandoned Wells Flowing Once More
Since the Recent Earthquakes.


Spindle Top, Tex, the one time IA
nous oil field, is awakening to activity
again. 1t was thought four years ago
that it was exhausted and the larger oil
producing concerns abandoned operations
here.
A few producers continued to bore
new wells. At times the production got
down to a very low ebb. During the last
two or three months the oil flow here has
increased remarkably.
Some of the oil men hold the theory
that the recent earthquakes may have
had the effect of stimulating the flow.
Whatever the cause the gain in produc-
ton during the month of January was
more than 1900 barrels daily.
In the early days of the fields his
tory, shortly after the bringing i'll OF the
famous Lucas gusher, land values went
is perhaps the highest price ever paid
in the world for wild, undeveloped land.
1t did not sell in acre tracts at that
price, but each acre was divided into
quarters or eighths, and sold readily at
the rate of 100000 an acre.
Some of the men who made big for
tunes during the oil boom here are now
down and out, financially. Most of them
lost their money in wildcat speculation.
A few held on to their enormous profits
in the Spindle Top field and have added
to their fortunes since.
There are scores of abandoned holes
in this field, which in the boom days
were gushers of oil. A few of the old
gushers are still being worked as pump
ing propositions. Instead of yielding
thousands of barrels a day as they did
when they were first finished they are
now considered to be doing we'll If they
produce 100 barrels of oil a day.
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08
AS to Spinach.

'Ze broom of re stomach" exclaims
the Partisan. One of the most expert
restaurateurs ever turned out by Charles
Delmonico land the turned out many
made a short culinary speech. The most
abused of all American dishes is spin
ach. The French call it 'epinards." The
favorite breakfast of the Parision cpl
cure is ''oeufs aux epinards"-eggs with
spinach. 1t is the creates restorer in the
world after a night out. While it is not
an absorbent like celery, and in no sense
a nerve tonic, it is the ''yade mecum" of
Monsieur Crapand.
II see men day after day, when the
finest American spinach is set before
Them take up a cruet and shake a whole
lot of vinegar over it, Now, the very
thought of vinegar on spinach is enough
to give a man the scurvy. Spinach,
properly cooked is not a salad. 1t is a
sort of vegetable meat. Some epicures
like it chopped very fine after boiling,
with few slices of hard-boiled egg on
top as a garnishment. Others want it
served exactly as it comes out Of the
pot-hot, natural, like turnip green's or
dandelions-and season it with a little
salt, pepper and butter. The only trou-
BILE with spinach is that it is so hard to
clear of the grit the farmers sell with
it. As it grows very close to the ground,
every shower loads it with mud and
sand, which are not good for the appen-
dix vermiformis. New York Press.
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08
Secretary Taft az a Reporter.

Like Chief Justice Fuller, Secretary
Wilson and other men high in the public
service and confidence, Secretary Taft
began his career as a newspaper man.
The first money earned by him after be-
ing graduated from Yale was as court re-
porter on a Cincinnati paper, the old
Commercial Gazette, then edited by
Murat Halstead. Mr.. Taft started at So
a week, and when he quit had worked up
to twenty per-" Ali the time he was
thus engaged he was studying law at
night under his fathers direction. Neces-
sity did not drive him to the work, as
his father was man of ample fortune,
but the secretary chose it because it was
the readiest entrance to active employ
ment that brought him daily in contact
with lawyers and court proceedings.
The secretary likes to discuss news
paper work with reporters. He uses the
shop terms with a familiarity denoting
his former experience in the business,
and understands how to outline ''story"
for the ''boys" better than any member
Of the administration, barring only the
man in the white Washington
HproI id
Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-08-08
CHARACTER IN THE FACE.
Points for the Manageable Worked Out
by an English Woman.


The face as a map of character and
disposition is the subject Of an elaborate
study by an Englshwornan. She holds
that the reading of the features can be
reduced to an exact science
There is an elaborate classification of
eyes. Among the broad deductions is
the dictum that dark eyes invariably in
dictate a strong, passionate nature, while
light blue ones show calculating, cool
and resolute character.
Light brown eyes are signs of intelli-
gence, fancy, fckleness in love and
rapidly tluctuating temperament. A sure
indication of oratorical gift is projecting
eyes and they also betoken literary skill
in the use of language.
A strongly developed nose is mark of
superior endoWments. The owner of a
big nose has more energy than the owner
of a small one.
The majority of men who have be-
come renowned as rulers and leaders, it
is pointed out, had big noses-Caesar,
Wellington, Napoleon and Nelson, for
example. A man with modest intellect
and big nose can always be reckoned
on to make more of mark than man
with a great brain and a little nose.
The nostrils also have their signii-
canoe. Large nostrils indicate courage;
little ones, c0Wardlce. Long narrow
ones show activity and bodily vigor.
Broad nostrils opening toward the sides
show a prediction for horses.
Mouth and lips are full of suggestive
ness. The man with a hanging underlip
is apt to lack perseverance and concen-
tration of purpose. The modest individ-
uaPs lower lip is habitually pressed close
against the upper lip at the center.
The sentiment of hate causes a hard
dropping of the lower lip SO as to show
the teeth. Persons who habitually show
the teeth in this way are apt to be male
VIOLENT.
The chin and lower jawbone are inn
portant indexes of character. True love
is evident in q face in which the jaw
bone broadens clear back to the level of
the wisdom teeth. This is true, both
Of men and women.
The youth who seeks an amiable spirit
in his sweetheart must choose girl with
gently curving lower lips and full and
we'll rounded chin; her eyes must be
soft and brown. If he desires great con-
stancy, he must look carefully to the
spread of her lower jaw. Economy is
promised by a widening of the nose just
above the wings of the nostrils.
On the other hand, the young woman
who desires an Industrious husband
should choose a man with long upper lip.
If she desires even good temper in her
spouse, she had best choose one with
round face and curly hair.