davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
On the Atlas Plateau.

Wrapping myself in my blanket, with
my camera under my head as a pillow, l
slept ftfully all night and awoke on the
high plateau Of the Atlas mountains, be-
You'd which is the desert. l was passing
through a great plain Of yellow sandy soil,
covered here and there with stones, and
spotted everywhere with lunches Of dry
alta grass. only in one direction were
there any hills to be seen, and they were
bleak, barren and rocky
The alta was growing right in the sands.
1t is a long wiry grass. which ~ gathered
by the thousands Of tons and shipped to
Europe for the making of paper. II Is cut
by the Arabs and there are companies with
immense capital which handle II. II grows
to the height OF my waist in punches, some
OF which are not bigger than ones fist.
while others sprout out of mounds which
would nil a half-bushel measure. 1t looks
tough and dry, but nevertheless large
flocks OF white and brown sheep, black
goats and camels feed upon it. l saw such
animals scattered over the plains, each
flock watched by n shepherd in white gown
and turban who looked like a ghost as he
stood among his sheep in the early morn
ing,
We passed many tent villages occupied
by such shepherds and their families. The
tents are of a coarse black cloth woven In
stripes. They are so stretched out that
one has to get down upon his knees and
crawl In. The cloth is made of camels
hair and sleeps wool by the wives Of the
shepherds; It is used as canvas through
out the desert.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
How a Big C0ntiIeVer Bridge Grows

holds the record of 1880 feet-and the
Forth bridge, both in Scotland, and by the
bridge which spans the Ohio river at Cairo,
III.
The gauzy affair at Poughkeepsie, always
played as a headliner among Cantievers,
can boast OF Ne more than 6,765 feet. For
purposes Of comparison let it be noted that
the entire length of the Brooklyn bridge
suspension, from Park Row to Sands
street. is $3.50 feet, which makes that
esteemed structure compare with the
bridge at Blackwell island about as bush
leaguers do with the Giants,
Save for the bridges at Poughkeepsie and
Niagara, this will be the only Cantilever
bridge of consequence in this part Of tho
country II will be much wider than the
Poughkeepsie bridge. with room for a
5i-foOt roadway and four trolley car tracks
on the lower floor and four elevated tracks
and two llh-foot sidewalks above The
roadways are to be paved with wood
blocks, like those OF the Williamsburgh
bridge. Pedestrians will walk on cement.
The cantilever idea is pretty well under
stood, although ii has been of practical
use only since the middle SOS. Starting
from two shore piers, the builders anchor
their first trusses 70 the shore in the man
ner OF sprngboard and begin working
out over the water from both sides until
the ends meet
Tho old way, exempnfed at Poughkcepsie
and elsewhere, was to effect junction by
inserting a sort OF little Suspension bridge
hinged to the parent structure. Camel
back, the style has been dubbed.
For aesthetic reasons Bridge Commits
siouer IAndonthal and Consulting Architect
Henry Hrrnbostle cut out this feature in
planning the BlackweIrs Island bridge. \
hinged rocker has been found TO answer
the same purpose; which was to provide
room for natural contraction and expan-
sion. During a year there is a variation
Of an inch in every hundred feet Of bridge
steel
a plaza approach 70 the Manhattan end
is TO be secured by widening Second avenue
on the westerly side and razing the whole
block bounded by Second and Third avenues
and Fifty-ninth and Sixtleth streets No
body knows for sure yet what elevated or
surface lines win connect with the bridge,
either here or over across. In Rayenswood
the bridge will terminate In the triangle at
the junction OF jackson avenue, Jane street
and 'Stillman av~ Do.
The bridge Wi. not help the BLACKWELL
Islanders much, for It will be a hundred
feet above them with no way OF their
getting up AS It is, the guards have q
hard enough time in keeping prisoners ia
the various penal institutions from break
ing away. The lower roadway will be l3j
feet and the highest point Of the bridge
Sf5 feet above mean high water.
In money It is expected that the Black
wells Island bridge will cost $500 600.
In lives It has already est eleven
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

I understand that the Tuaregs are doing
the best work of all tho Arabs employed by
the French. They have been organized
into companies and have been given good
modern guns They have practically given
up brgandage, and they now sweep over
the desert mounted on camels, aiding the
French in keeping the natives in order.
The French captain who is chief OF the
Arab bureau here tells me that they are
by no means bad people, and that their
bloodthirstiness is largely a matter Of
imagination. II is true they have been
robbers in the past, but now that they are
employed by the government they make
splendid soldiers. They are paid from
twenty to twenty-four dollars month, and
this is a fortune 70 them. Each man owns
his own camel and takes care Of It and
himself; but as the food for both man and
beast costs practically nothing he con-
slders himself rich.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
Soldiers Who Wear Wells.

These Tuaregs are descendants Of the
Berber or white race of the Atlas noun
tains who have been crowded on into the
desert They have long been noted as the
brigands Of the Sahara. They are especially
distinguished by the fact that they wear
wells night and day Their wells are black;
and they wind them about their heads like
q tUrban and then pass them over tho nose
and mouth and across tho forehead 40
that only the eyes can be seen. ID Is said
that the yril was originally adopted TO keen
OUT the dust, but that II Is now a mark OF
fashion and modesty Another story told
me is that the Tuarcg men first put on
wells as a matter Of cowdrdice and shame.
They were surprised by their enemies ana
were 80 frightened that they threw down
their arms ana ran, leaving their families.
ThoreupoH the women picked up the
swords, spears and daggers, and defeated
the enemy. From that day until now the
men. 90 show their admiration for the con-
duct Cf thcit wives, have adopted the veil.
ana the Tuarek women suI 20 with bare
faces.
Many u the Tuarcgs live IN tent VII
lagos, moving about from place 10 place.
They have camuls and sheep, and some
Of them have gardens. AS O. general thing
they are miseraby poor, and the money
they receive from the French IS far mora
than most Of them made when their sols
profession was robhins the travellers while
crossing the desert.
FRANK G. CARPENTER
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
Remembers whom He Meets.

Congressman Charles Curtis Of Kansas.
who was elected 10 succeed Joseph r,
Burton in the United States senate, has
had a career out OF the ordinary. Not the
least interesting thing about him Is that he
has Indian blood in his veins
When "a he held his first ofice-prose-
cutting attorney OF Shawnee county. In
1890. ten years after his admission TO the
bar. he was candidate for congress. and
lost Two years later he tried again and
won. II is said he shook hands with a. 900
men in that campaign, and remembers to
this day the name of each. He has served
fourteen years in the lower house.
Yes, I know most of my constituents"
Curtis has said and ! have always made
II a point 10 do so. One day I was in the
home town Of a senator in the Fourth dis
trict and he took me around 10 introduce
me 20 some OF the men in the town. It's
fact that he'd forgotten the names Of some
OF the men he'd lived near for twenty
years and I had 20 tell him who they
were. lie enjoyed It. and so did his friends.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

to Morocco and as FAR south as the Soudan.
peaceful and now II Is possible to travel
almost anywhere through Il. They have
troops stationed at every large oasis and
have camel soldiers securing the country
and helioEraphing the least sign of disturb
ancc. These camel police are natives
mounted on meharis-bcasts which can go
100 miles day after day without firing.
Many OF the camel police are Tuaregs. who
find it pays better 10 10 employed by the
selves, as they did I'm the past; others arc
Targhis from n warlilye tribe I'm the east
crn part of the Algerian Sahara These
troops patrol the country all the way from
Tripoli to Morocco. They act ms scouts for
the French officers, and are ready TO fight
bravely in time Of trouble. A large number
Of them are now watching the pass here.
They go about at wide distances apart and
bring in reports Of the conditions existing
all along the desert frontier
The French have established a sort of
mail service for the Sahara. The Arab
postmen carry mail bags on these fast me-
harris. Every military station is thus served
and I'm some places such as Coomb Rechar
and Adrar, there are postoHlccs where
money orders are issued and a regular mail
service is given. Among the important sta
tions are those OF Tuat, which is a largo
series Of GASES several hundred miles south
of here. There are soldiers also at Tldi-
kelt, at lgeli and at many other places.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
On the Edge OF Morocco.

This is on the very edge OF the French
Sahara. Just west of It there are wild
rocky mountains as bare as the asphalt
Of Pennsylvania avenue, and as thirsty as
was Dives when he begged Lazarus to cool
his parched tongue. They mark the bound
airy between the possessions OF the French
and those OF the Moorish sultan; but the
desert goes farther westward. and at the
southwest It does not stop until 1t reaches
the Atlantic ocean.
came here on the military railroad, built
by the French, to guard their people from
the brigands of Morocco II is the road
which, It is thought may some day be con-
tnued clear across the Sahara to Tim
buktu, with possibly a branch going of
10 Lake Chad. The road starts at Orau
and carries one through the rich lands OF
the Tell, u country as fat as our Missis-
sippi valley which has grain fields and
orchards, and vineyards which make mil
lions of gallons OF wine every year. The
scenes there are like those Of the best parts
OF California. We left Oran in the even
ing, and as the night fell we were still in
the Tell.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

river, while the progress from BLACKWELL
Island toward New York proper has been
but $50 feet The Long Island and Man
haitian shores are S,7l5 feet apart at this
point.
Thirteen hundred and eighty feet Of the
bridge is done so far as the mere trusses
are concerned, and Of the 5000 tons Of steel
that will be required 10000 has already
been used. The gap once bridged, there will
still remain the long sloping approaches
and the laying OF tracks and roadways.
The contract for the Manhattan approach
is not let yet.
The idea of a Blackwelrs Island bridge
was Matched a long time ago. a company
was chartered 10 put it through far back
1861 The Long Island end was TO hit
the earth two miles inland, and there was
to he branch to Brooklyn. In Manhattan
two approaches were projected, one start
ing p. tn" Grand Central station the other
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

We soon left the Atlas and came on into
the Sahara itself. There was stiu some
vegetation, but II was only in patches. here
and there, or along the banks of dried up
streams Now the land was fiat, and now
Il rose into rocky mountains which were
black in the early morning, As I looked
out over the plains I saw the sun rise.
There was first faint streak OF yellow
away or in the east. This grew until it
became a sheet of light over the horizon.
few minutes later a pale yellow sun
could be seen through this veil As il
rose the ven disappeared and blazing
white ball jumped out into the sky. For a
time a thin fieecy mist lowered over the
sands, only to be followed by the clear air
Of the desert.
AS we went on with our Journey the
Sahara seemed always changing. We
passed for miles over bare rock. almost as
smooth as a floor, and then through re-
gions where the rocks We're ragged and cut
up into all sorts OF shapes. At times there
were boulders and again small pebbles OF
different colors red brown and black
Here about Benz Ounif the desert is largely
limestone. while farther south, along the
louisiana river, I passed through rolling
dunes and plains covered with boulders,
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
Mnrk Twnin,s Advice.

"It pays TO advertise" said Mark Twain
at an advertisement writer's banquet.
when l was editing the Virginia City
Enterprise, writing copy one day and min
ing the next, tried to force this truth home
in many ways.
"A superstitious subscriber once wrote
and said he had found a spider in his paper,
Was this good or bad luck? | replied TO
him in our answers TO correspondents col
umn as follows:
Old Subscriber: The finding Of spider
IN your copy of the Enterprise was neither
good luck nor bad The spider was merely
looking over our pages 10 find out what
merchant was not advertising, so that it
could spin its web across his door, and
lead free and undisturbed existence for
ever after
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

further north. Prof w +, Trowbridge is
on record as having suggested the can
tileVor scheme i'm 1870
Ground was broken in 1893 Plans missed
fire, though, until January e. 1901, when
a contract for piers for the bridge was let.
Steel workers were on the job by Novem-
bor 20. 1893.
Almost at the take of strikes began. The
worst one, that Of the Housesmith' and
BrdEemon's union. kept things al a stand
stil between January ! and the middle Of
May last year The union lost and the
bridge is now "opcn shop Six hundred
men are at work, not counting the great
force employed tn getting out the steel in
the shops Of the Pennsylvania Steel com
panv
Counting approaches, the BlaCkwell's
island bridge Is going 10 be the fourth
longest bridge i'm the world. It's $3.50 feet
will be beaten by the Tay bridge-which
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

Kaiser Wilhelm occasionally shows that
he has his own share of the milk of human
Kindness. One day he was walking in the
Thiergarten, Berlin, when he saw a soldier
of his own regimen. striding along ahead.
The soldier met his sweetheart, who pro-
ceeded to take her young mans arm after
the manner common to engaged couples in
all northern countries. The soldier, know
Ing that 1t was the time Of day at which
the emperor generally INDUCED in con-
stitutional along the very path where they
were, was afraid that so loverlikc an atti-
tude might be regarded as a disrespeCt to
the imperial uniform or some equally terri
bic military offense and be punished ac-
COrdingly. In shame-faced manner he
explained this to the young woman, who
rather huffiy withdrew her arm. The
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
A Thrifty ConErcssman.

William T. Tyndall. who ended a brief
career as a member of congress with the
session just closed as the representative
OF the Fourteenth Missouri district, prob
ably holds the record for thrift in the Fifty
ninth congress. reports the Washington
Herald Men who have been in his conf
dence declare that Tyndall has acknowl-
edged to them that he has saved $1,000 out
of his salary and emoluments for the two
years that he has been a member of con-
Eress Tyndall looked upon his situation
philosophically. lie said he did not expect
to come back to congress; that his election
was somewhat Of an accident and that
while a man could get into politics easily,
he could get out as easily. but he could
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

one of the first important cases Senator
Spooner secured after he had gone from
his home in Indiana to practice law at
Hudson, Wis, was the defense Of q
Swede indicted for criminal carelessness.
the penalty OF which was term in the
penitentiary. The case was an extremely
difficult one, relates the Washington
Herald, and the ambitious young
limb OF the law accepted It under many
misgivings. The senator believes that he
has never since had to work as hard on
any case, and he is certain he has never
made a more telling plea 10 a jury. His
client sat through the proceedings uncon-
cerned, and even when the jury retired to
deliberate on the verdict the stole Swede
showed no particular interest. When the
jury finally returned and announced its
verdict of acquittal, Mr.. Spooner rushed
excitedly to his client.
You have been acquitted" exclaimed
the lawyer you are now free to go
back home. Don't you understand what
I mean? I say you have been acquitted
-freed-cleared-and you can walk out
Of the court room to your home instead
OF going back to jail"
The Swede, still unmoved, calmly in
uulred to his lawyer:
Eff aye bane cleared, don't I get some
moneys from the court for my time In
jail?"
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
A Stumbling nIock.

Professed politicians who have reduced
public Office to an exact science find the
independent voter a sad stumbling block
a fact which is amusingly disclosed by
story found in the recent life Of the late
George Munro Grant, the eminent Canadian
educator and clergyman. Toward the end
OF Sir John MacDonald's life he and
Principal Grant then the head Of Queens
college. met at dinner at the house OF the
premier's brother-in-law, Prof Williamson.
How I wish" the premier said 10 the
principal. that you would be steady
friend of mine" My dear Sir John the
principal replied, Il have always supported
you when you were right" The premier's
eyes twinkled and he laid his hand upon
the shoulder Of the principal MY dear
man" said he. I have no use for that
species Of friendship
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
Not n Flat he'd of sand.

The old descriptions represented the
Sahara "a a dreary waste Of barren sand
as sat a. the sea, vast wilderness where
travellers must perish II they tried to go
,bropgb H. The real Sahara has vast OK
panses OF sand. Il has plains big as a
good-sized state OF the union, which are
co,,sred with stones, bu, great part OF il
a. rolling. II is largely a plateau, broken
mn IN, lofty mountains and cut up by water
courses called waddys which are dry the
greater mart OF the year. Its average
height above the sea is about as great as
that Of the Blue Ridge mountains OF Nir-
g,nia and I'm many places II is as high as
the AlIeghenies and higher
Tho sand dunes themselves are some
dimes GO feet high and they rise from the
desert. crescont-shaped. the horns OF the
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
ARcmnrI,nhIe Memory.

Answorth r. Spofford, librarian OF COM
gress from 1864 to 1897. has a wonderful
memory. Until the new system OF cata-
loguins was introduced he had practically
the whole library catalogue in his mind
ard IT. would astonsh visitors when they
asked for a book which might not be very
well known to have him say to an assistant,
"Go to such a stack and on such a shelf
bring me the book (naming its number)
from the end lie rarely, If ever, made n
mistake and he can give reference offhand
on almost any subject. 1t was due to Mr..
Spoffords persistent efforts that the con-
gressional library remains open on Sunday
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

squirting across at Blao kwcll's Island these
Gays. The long delayed bridge that is
eventually to link Ravcnswood, l.. l., with
Fifty-nnth street is now so far along that
tho sprouting green strip Of island is COM
pletely spanned by it, And cantilover arms
are nosing both ways as fast as truss can
be rivetcd to truss
The engineers say they're hoping to have
the Blackwelrs Island bridge finished by
the middle of 1908. but strikes have been and
may be again, and predictions are scarce
II looks. anyway. a II Ravenswood would
be connected with the island before Man
haitian Is.
The tip OF the completed section projects
500 feet svel he as. ranch % the Ea,
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

the grass will not grow there are some
times thorn bushes which furnish food for
the camels, and nearly every caravan stops
from time to time upon march for such
food Along the railroad from here to the
Atlas mountains there is I'm places a thin
growth Of tough grass, and I have seen
thousands Of animals feeding upon it. The
hocks are usually composed of both sheep
and goats, and strange to say they are
fat, although it would seem that most Of
them are grazing upon the bare stones
As to the GASES, l saw many on my way
here They are chiefly date palms with
mud villages inside or nearby. I have Wis
tied a number of them, and will make a
special letter about them in the future
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

crescent being turned away from the
winds The sand is rolled up by the wind
from the bottom to the top each grain go
Ing over and over until 1t falls inside the
crescent. As this rolling Eoes on the dUres
increase in size. They move along slowly
and IL railroad should be in their way
they would swallow it up. | have seen
similar dunes on the great Peruvian desert
at the foot Of the Andes. and have been
told that they were the chief obstacles to
railroad building in that region. These
dunes grow hard as the wind blows against
them. During my travels through them
here not far from Benz Ounif, l have rid
den up them on horseback and the sand
is almost as solid as that of the seashore
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

get out of money easier. and he did not
propose being out Of politics and money at
the same time. Accordingly he said he
saw no sense In spending money foolishlv
while here and he started in to lay up his
per diem for a rainy day. Now, it is said,
he goes back to Missouri to start a bank
and become its president.
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

kaiser was nearer than they thought. He
had overheard their conversation and
catching them up. said jokingly: Don't
be fool. Fritz. If you won't take her
arm I shall feel inclined TO offer mine
Then he passed on and carefully RETAINED
from looking back
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

Copyright, 1907, by Frank @ CarpenterD
ENI OUNIF, April us-(Special
Correspondence Of The BeeJ-1
am In one Of the widest parts Of
IeuFfa the greatest desert on earth. on
SaS@aS all sides OF me is the Sahara.
stretching to the west south and east, for
hundreds of miles. The desert, all told. is
larger than the United States. 1t is - big
that II you could lift up its sandy. rocky
surface like quilt and transport It to
our country, IT would cover every bit Of
IT, and hide n part OF Canada and the Gulf
Of Mexico. 1t is longer than the Medlter-
ranean sea, and bigger than all Europe.
In some places 1t is 1000 miles wide Where
! now am is moro than 400 miles south Of
the port Of Oran, and about 200 miles
from Timhuktu on the Niger. where the
great fertile belt of Africa begins
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
How French Control saharn.

As I have said, the road here was built
for military purposes. 1t is an absolute ne
cesslty to the French control Of the Sa-
hara. The stations along It are all forth
fed. and the country for miles about here
is one great camp. Every town has its
barracks, there are soldiers at every sta
ton, and troops on horseback and on cam
els are moving about everywhere Benz
Ounif has a garrison OF 700 few hours
ride to the northward is Ain Sefra. where
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
NeRetation 81 the nesert.

There are large regions in the Sahara
which have no vegetation whatever, but
many other parts have grass during parts
OF the year This is so everywhere along
the edges Of the desert, and also along the
dried-up water courses. the beds of which
contain some moisture. In many places
there is a slight rainfall during certain
months. The least water causes the grass
TO spring up. and the Arabs drive their
hocks to such places to pasture Where
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

When meet a man I put him and some
particular instance together. The next time
lay eyes on him can call his name and
tell the circumstances of the meeting.
don't forget faces or names"
Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14

and in the evening for the convenience Of
those scholars and lay readers who are
unable to visit It on secular days and in
Office hours.