davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

clean sidewalks paved with cement. and
Its roadways are macadamizod
1t has a fort and public buildings. but
now the streets are practically deserted
Many of the good houses are vacant. ana
others have been turned into the homes
of coOliesand petty trading stores. Tle
bazaars in which the slaves were expos
for sale have passed away ard the town
is practically dead.
The city Of p eirl is not as prosp arous
as it has been in the past. It's popula-
ton has fallen off since the Beer war;
and IL now has go or 700 whites. bout
1.5Go negroes and considerable number
of East Indians. II s a town OF banks.
stores and hotels. It has a street car
line. but the cars are little four-wheeled
affairs. each sarge enough to hold bit
two persons. and they are pushed over
the tracks by negroes who run along be-
mind.
Lourenco Marques. on the other hand.
is rapidly growing. 1t is lighted by cleo
tricity. and there are lines of electric
rarnways which connect its various sec
tons. 1t has a new post Office. new
railway staten md many rev buildings.
The great marsh at the back OF the city
has been drained and the mosquito
plague is practically wiped out. The town
is rapidly becoming the chief port for the
Transv2aL and it is where our Am eri-
can goods for that region are now landed.
The city has one of the best harborS
on the African continent. Il is known as
long and about fourteen miles wide, and
It reminds enc of Manila bay in its ex-
tent Indeed. it could contain at one
time all the ships which come TO Africa
and have room to spare.
Lourenco Marques began to grow when
the railroad connecting it With Johannes
berg was built. This was about thirteen
years ago. and its progress has been
steady from then until now. 1t is by far
the nearest route from the sea to the
gold fields. The distance from Johannes
berg is only 3at miles. while from Dur
ban. the chief pert of Natal farther south.
it is Asa miles. and from Cape Town
more than 1000 miles. The Portuguese
government has been doing much to i'm
prove the harbor. They have built quay
almost half a mile iong and have
equipped it with all modern conveniences
for loading and unloading vessels They
have built great WAREHOUSES and have
also constructed 4 dry dock and o-her
marine works.
FRANK G. CARPENTER
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

pies from neighboring states whose rigid
laws withhold matrimony from infants
that are eligible in Tennessee. However
there Is slight difference in the price
as the license in Bristol, Va, only costs
81. while in Tennessee, just across the
street, the same document sells for $3.50
In Bristol hundreds of persons work in
Tennessee and sleep in Virginia. or vice
versa. To the stranger this is very I'M
usual, but those who have lived there for
years think nothing of 1t.
The fact that the principal thoroughfare
is directly on the state line permits men
in business to choose the state in which
the laws are more favorable to their
business in which to locate, and yet rot
sacrifice advantages of being on the prin-
cipal street. For instance, if the state
license tax in Tennessee on a certain
business is $500 per year and it is 800 in
Virginia, man entering this business
can be in Bristol, Va, to the same adj
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

they work out by giving their la
Dor to foreigners. This is known as
the prazzo system. The country is d.
vided up into districts known as prazzos.
These are put up at auction: the sue
cessful bidder having the right to col
lect the taxes of his prazzo for term
of three years. He is allowed to levy a
tax of much on each native and he
must pay that amount in cash or work.
The contractor has also the right to force
the people to do certain amount on the
public roads and on house building for
the officials. He has also other rights
which make the system little more than
a legalized slavery. The taxes are often
paid in goods. and the value of their
work is measured by American or Eng
lish cotton cloth. the price of which
can be regulated largely by the collector:
A part of the labor is the hunting of ele-
plants and the gathering of rubber, both
of which are exceedingly profitable. 1 am
told that the abuses of such men. in the
faraway districts, are terrible, and that
the people have comparatively few rights
that the tax collectors are bound to re-
spect. 1t is said that slavery is still com
mon in some regions, although 1t is not
recognized by the government and is con-
trary to law. The conditions are not as
bad as in Portuguese West Africa, where
slaves are still bought and sold, but they
are bad enough.
The cities of Portuguese East Africa are
changing 1t used to be that Mozambique
was by far the. most important Situated
on q little island, in the wide chanel be-
tween Africa and Madagascar, it was for
years one of the great ports of the con-
tinent. 1t was a center of the slave trade,
and the residence of the chief Portuguese
officials. The country has two capitals
one at Mozambique at the north and the
other as Lourenco Marques at the south.
Mozambique is still the Headquarters of
the Mozambique Company, and its opera
lions are conducted from there. Louren-
co Marques is the chief commercial GEN.
ter, and. with its magnificent harbor and
its short railroad to the gold fields, it is
fast becoming enc of the most important
cities on the east coast of Africa.
Lourenco Marques.
Mozambique lies on little island only
quarter of mile wide and not more
than mile long 1t is close to the MAIN
land and canoes are always moving back
and forth carrying food and supplies. The
island Is covered with houses It has
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12
!1XVENNzl

not work after that he is put in jail and
another man is sent in his place.
What punishments are used in such
cases."
THE most common one is slapping the
man on the hand with a web strap. which
sucks up the skin. The suction is like
that Of piece of leather pressed against
a fiat stone. 1t is very painful, but 1t
does not usually lay a man up for more
than day at time"
What hours do your men work.
From sunrise to sunset. They work
hard. and l should say they are as good
hands in the cotton fields as our negroes
at home. They are much like our negroes,
but they the whole better formed
and. if anything. more muscular.
Portuguese East Africa is now one of
the chief sources of the labor supply of
the mines of the Transvaal Before the
Chinese were imported four-fifths of the
negro workmen were brought in from the
outside, and mostly from this region. The
miners paid about So head to the Por-
tuguese authorities. Within the past
year it has been decided that the Chinese
must be sent back home soon as can
be- and large number of natives will be
required to take their places. There are
white labor contractors now going
through Portuguese East Africa and Brit
ish Central Africa looking up men to
work in the gold mines.
A Night at Bamboo Creek.
We took a great gang of such laborers
on the ship at Chinde, the chief port for
Nyassaland. as we came down the coast
to Beira The landing there is rough We
anchored far outside the bar and the
negroes were brought to the ship in a
steam launch and loaded by means of a
great basket. This basket was about as
large around as hogshead and about ten
feet in height. There was a door at one
side The negroes. to the number of a
dozen at a time, stepped into this. The
door was closed and then the basket, ne
grces and all. was raised by means of a
derrick to our steamer. The human freight
howled out in unison as 1t rose, and the
men thought they We're killed when the
basket came down with thud on the
deck
During our stay we took about two
score such basketsful of ebony humanity,
making something like 200 negroes in all.
l was told that the men would be taken
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12


ment. a city divided against
ITSELF can stand is shown most
strangely in the peculiar case
OF Bristol, Va.-Tenn. The town
is literally divided in half by the state
line that separates Virginia and Tennes-
see. One side of the main street is in the
Old Dominion and the other in the Volun-
teer state.
IF a city be divided against itself that
city cannot stand"-but without intention
of disproving the statement in St. Mark s
Gospel it may be stated that Bristol does
stand Its existence, though. has been
most stormy and all civic questions are
fought out stubbornly by the various fac
tons Aside from the troubles innumer-
able of this unique township. however. a
condition unparalleled, perhaps, in any
other city in the country exists.
For example, man may commit mis-
demeanor in the Virginia half of the town.
step across the street into Tennessee and
be immune from arrest, for Il time at
least. Or. couple may get married on
one side of the main street after having
been refused a license on the other Bristol
has two municipal governments and two
mayors, and two sets of other officials.
re state line uliS III tIlc center u TIC
street car track on State street for more
than mile. A novel plan Of evading the
Tennessee Jim Crow laws as affecting
street cars was devised when the leg.sa-
ture passed statute requiring negroes to
be seated in the rear of the cars and
apart from the whites On State street
half of car is in Virginia and e-half
in Tennessee To evade this law it is
only necessary 10 have the colored pas
sengers ride on the side that is running
In the Old Dominion, and by so doing they
may ride with passenger who is in Ten
nessee. but who is powerless to compel
the conductor TO enforce the Jim Crow
law.
A drummer who had forgotten the diff
ference in the laws of the various states
found himself on one occasion in Bristol.
He walked into drug store on the west
ern side of the street
Give me a package of Turkish ciga-
rettes please he said.
I'VE haven't any cigarettes was the
reply, but we can let you have almost
anything else you want from morphine
up.
The drummer was puzzled for a mo-
ment but decided he must have misunder-
stood the clerk.
II want some cigarettes he repeated.
NO cigarettes in Tennessee answer
cd the clerk. but you can get them across
the street That's Virginia.
Some Cigarette Trouble.
Thanking the clerk for his information.
the drummer crossed to drug store OPP
posite and laid in supply TO last him
on his trip across Tennessee. He had
reached the door when thought struck
him.
Have you any morphine?" he asked,
turning to the clerk
Sorry SIR" replied the .Yirsinian, ''out
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

broker, who is making a pleasure tour of
Africa, an English commercial traveller.
and a South African miner on his way
to the Transvaal. We soon got acquaint-
ed and after dinner We had little enter
tainment in the tin shack, away out here
in the wids. The chief engineer played
the organ and gave quite a concert. in
Guiding among his selections number
of American songs One of the best OF
these was Sweet Marie,' which was writ
ten by Cy Warman when he was the en-
gineer on railroad near Denver. The
song was composed by one engineer in
the wilds of the Rockies. and now far off
here in the wilds of Africa, it was sung
for us by another engineer.
After the songs We had big game Stor-
les, including those of lion hunts. ele-
plant hunts and struggles with hippos
and rhinos. Among these was a surpris-
ing tale about d crocodile which the Cen
trail African engineer had recently shot
He said the reptile was an old one, and
that 1t had evidently been a great man
eater, for he had found forty-eight native
bracelets and anklets in its stomach. His
presumption was that the crocodile had
to say nothing of numerous others who
had left off their jewelry when they went
to battle.
This is my first taste of Portuguese
East Africa. l saw the country first at
Chinde and sailed for miles along the
d.
ritcry is enormous. 1t extends along the
borders of the Indian ocean for as far as
from New York to Omaha and at the
north it goes inland as far as from Wash
ington to Boston. 1t is larger than Texas
and it would make considerably more
than six states the size of Ohio, Ken
lucky or Virginia It's native population
is estimated at two or three millions, but
no accurate census has been taken: and,
although the Portuguese have owned the
country for more than 300 years, they
know almost nothing about it. The
greater part of it. as l have said. has been
leased to the Mozambique Company and
another part to the company OF the Fam
best. Beira belongs to the Mozambique
Company and that company fixes the
taxes and pays Portugal for the privilege
of exploiting the town. 1t runs the post
office and sells its own postage stamps.
The Prazzo System.
1t farms out the natives and makes
them pay taxes, which in some cases
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

we are not allowed to sell it in this state
You can get all you want at any drug
store across the street. That's Tennessee"
In Bristol the police and other officers
of one side of the city have no jurisdic-
ton in the other. 1t is a frequent thing
for persons to commit crime on one sid /,
or the street, step a few feet across the
line on the other side of the street, laugh
at the police and be immune from arrest
without requisition and extradition papers
A Few years ago conditions became so
bad with the criminal element who
lodged from one state to the other and
whose crimes were not grave enough to
justify requ!sition papers, that the police
resorted to an unusual method
Fugitives from one city were arrested
in the other by the officers of that side
apparently without authority During
the first night in Jail they would be kid
MAPPED and taken to the other city About
the only thing they could tell the next
morning was the fact that they had been
carried across the state line
Troubles of the Police.
The officers. however. are careful in the
matter of making arrest in most cases
where they have no authority, and it is
only in minor cases and with professional
criminals that the KIDNAPPING practice is
resorted to.
The authorities were put to a great
disadvantage in running down persons
charged with the Illicit sale OF whisky,
known in common parlance as "boot-leg-
Ging, when the city was finally voted
dry about a year and half ago. Tn
scrupulous persons have waxed rich by
coming into one city and selling during
the night and going into the other city
ard remaining immune from arrest dur
Ing the day However. the United States
authorities have about broken this up.
1t was several years following the rise
of the prohibition tide in the south be-
fore the cities could secure unity of &C
ton and abolish saloons. Temperance
sentiment predominated overwhelming
ly IN both cities. There were about
twenty-five saloons in each paying enor-
nous revenues to the city. The state
laws, under which it was possible to
vote dry" were different Virginia had
the local option law providing that in
corporated towns could vote on the ques-
ton every two years. Tennessee had
the Fendleton law, which is opposed to
local option, the latter having been de-
clared unconstitutional by the supreme
court Of Tennessee.
A Question of Drinks.
Neither side desired TO vote dry" lose
the revenue from it's saloons, without be-
ing absolutely certain that the other city
would do likewise. This situation Operat-
ed to prslong the life of the saloons in
Bristol at least four or five years. Twenty
years before Bristol, Va, had voted dry.
with the assurance that her sister city
would follow but the latter decided to
retain the saloons and did SO. leaving
Bristol Va, dry four years, without the
revenue from the saloons. yet with the
evil In her very doors and just across the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

was done with the assurance that the
other city would do likewise. In a bit
terly fought contest, six months later,
Bristol, Va, went into the dry column
and has remained there, though it has
the power to vote on the question every
two years If desired, while the sister city
Is "hopelessly dry in the language of
the whisky faction.
Difference in Marriage Laws.
There is also difference in the mar
rage laws. In Bristol, Tenn.,~ the only
prerequisites to the issuance of marriage
license are that the prospective bride be
sixteen and the groom eighteen, while in
the city just across the state line it is
necessary for all applicants for such Ii
cense. where either party Is under TWEEN
ty-one years old, to have the written
consent of their parents or guardians.
The result is that Bristol. Tenn, is a
sort Of >Gretna Green for clipping cou-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

terry, and it was necessary for surveyors
to rerun the state line before it was
determined that Tennessee had jurisdic-
tioh of the case.
On the occasion of his first visit to
Bristol. Lew Dockstader. the famous
minstrel after rubbing the burnt cork
from his pleasing countenance, inquired
of the peculiar conditions IN Bristo', and
the following morning wrote a postal
card to an actor friend in New York as
follows:
Lew Dockstader's Opinion
Bristol, Va.-Tenn.-Half of this town
is in Virginia and the other half in Ten
nessee. Everybody drinks half-and- half
half water and the other half-water The
state line runs right through the center OF
the city Everybody hangs their washing
on the line. In some places they arrest
you if you are the least Bit out of line.
They don't here. unless YOU are all in.
Lots of twins here-they call it the Twin
city. Bristol has two fine sanitariums
one on either side. They operate for
appendicitis on both sides. Have found
this to be a fine place Eleven seventy
in tennessee and 81 in Virginia-or ten
days Will be here at least ten days"
Until a few months ago when a pan
for doing such work in common was
adopted. it was a frequent thing to
one side of State street we'll swept and
sprinkled. while the pavement Tn.
other side, being in the ether city. re-
manned dirty and dusty However. many
of these handicaps have been overcome
and there is unity of action on almost
all matters. At times feeling between
the police forces has been bitter and
few years ago resulted in the killing of a
member of the Bristol. Tenn, department
by Bristol. Va. blueccat. but these OBJ
jectionabe features incident to the pecu-
liar geographical situation of the city are
being rapidly minimized.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

state line. 1t was put up to Bristol,
Tenn, to take the initiative. therefore,
and abolish her saloons. Under the
Tennessee laws saloons are abolished
in all towns surrendering their charters
and being reincorporated. Under it sa-
looms can never be returned to a city
that once decides to surrender it's charter.
If Bristol. Tenn. should go dry under
this law, it's hands would be tied and
probably Bristol, Va, would not do like
wise. The whisky people realized that
their hopes of continued existence in
Bristol hinged on this. They agitated the
question until 1t became to be generally
understood that Bristol, Va, was anxious
for her sister city to go dry, then to re-
tain saloons and retalia.-.
Finally. in 1907, the temperance senti-
ment became SO pronounced that Bristol.
Tenn, took the lead and voted dry
overwhelmingly and surrendered her
charter under the Pendleton law. This
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

vantage. and save 500 per year on H.
cense. The result is that some lines of
business are represented almost exclu-
slVely in one city. on account of cheaper
license tax or some other consideration
OF that character.
Where the Laws Conflict.
The Tennessee law which prohibits the
sale of revolvers and other small fire
arms within the state is robbed of its
effect in Bristol for the reason that Vir-
ginia has no such law, and hardware
stores and sporting emporiums in that
part of the city which is in the Old Do
minton carry them regularly in stock.
A few weeks ago a couple applied to a
Bristol, va, preacher to be married, and
when he questioned them he found that
the girl was too young to be married in
Bristol, Va, and that the ceremony must
take place in Tennessee. The minister
did not wish to lose the fee, SO after the
couple had obtained license in Ten
nessee he informed them that he could
not lawfully perform the rites of matri-
mony out Of Virginia, but added that he
mad struck upon plan whereby he could
marry them. He stationed the couple
just across the state line in Tennessee,
and standing in Virginia himself he per-
formed tie ceremony. The best legal au-
thorities held that the marriage was legal
ami binding. though outside of Virginia
the minister would have had absolutely
no authority to perform the rites of ma,ri-
mony.
While there is considerable rivalry
mostly Observation-Disclosures the two
cities. their interests are common and
they are for al! purposes one city. The
chamber of commerce and other civic
organizations are composed of citizens of
botu
Pioneer History of Town.
1t was on the spot where Bristol now
stands that Gen. Evan Shelby the famous
Indian warrior, the father of Gen. Isaac
Shelby, the latter first governor and
father of Kentucky" settled and built
the first white mans cabin west of the
Alleghanies. The little log hut, which
was preserved until a few years ago,
stood alu,~-. directly on the state line
and in en-. Isaac Shelby, who won
fame at Kings Mountain, was born. The
body of Gen. Evan Shelby now sleeps on
the state line between the two great
commonwealth, in Bristol.
Daniel Boone. the famous pioneer set
tier also settled near Bristol and the state
line. and the inscription he carved upon
a beech tree not far from Bristol is still
plainly visible. 1t is as follows: Daniel
Boone ciIled a bar,
BY reason of the state line it is often
difficult to determine questions of juris-
diction in criminal and civil cases. few
months ago a young girl was found in
East Hill cemetery in a dying condition.
with a mortal bullet wound in her breast
Her sweetheart was charged with having
murdered her. She was within ten feet
Of the state line, which divides the ceme-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12
If |! !

D IPLEY HITCHCOCK, the brilliant
IN editor and critic, said of literary
popularity az a dinner in Philadelphia:
ITO win popularity it is only necessary
to write with sincerity on a taking SUD-
ject. To hit on the taking subject, though
that is the difficulty Mr. Upton Sinclair
hit on it in The. Jungle but that shot
was accidental, mere luck; for, Mr..
Sinclair says himself. he aimed at the
public's heart in The Jungle and his
bulPs-eye in the publc's stomach was a
mistake.
Taking subjects are abundant. but
they are very hard to hit on. The writer
in search of them resembles, indeed, the
lady with the moths.
There was, you know, a suburban lady
whose house, summer was quite
overrun with moths a tramp told her
that. in return for a square meal, he
would give her an inSallible moth cure
She set square meal before the tramp,
he devoured II, then he said:
'''AN you need TO do. ma'am, is to
hang yer moth-flled clothes and carpets
and things On lire and beat 'em with
a stick. Goodbye to yer moths then
"'Will that kill them?' asked the lady.
"'Ies, if ye hit EN-, said the tramp"