davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

speak of that evening with enthusiasm.
Vera sang song after song and still.
though the night heightened into morning.
her listeners had not enough. They COW
cred her plate with gold and begged her
to sing on.
Next evening all the frequenters of the
'1sles'' were clamoring to hear the new
singer and fabulous sums were offered by
rival supper-givers to obtain her services.
Before many weeks were past Vera sang
with her bodice covered with jewels. All
Petersburg was at her feet Grand dukes
We'd with each other for her favor, and 1T
was whispered that the car himself had
heard and was enamored. Wialsew be-
gan to be jealous of his rivals. He begged
Vera to leave all this and go away with
him to some quiet place where they would
be alone. She consented and for a while
Vera disappeared from her old haunts.
But her gypsy nature could not bear the
monotonous life of Wialsew's country
house, and she was soon in Petersburg
again. Some say that he then followed
her and married her: others that they
had already been married for some time.
He settled all his fortune upon her and
begged her to leave the restaurants. She
refused, and he went back to the prov
inceS.
Threw Jewels at Her.
But not for long. For him. as for so
many others. she acted like magnet He
could not keep away from her. though
she still sang at supper parties and even
In the public dining rooms of fashionable
restaurants. Poets composed verses for
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

in a gypsy chorus in Petersburg. The
girl, who felt restless in the manor.
agreed. They went to the capital to-
gether. and Wialsew paid for her to have
singing lessons. Then he got her a gypsy
chorus and asked his friends to supper
in certain restaurant in the '1sles," a
part of Petersburg given up to pleasure
where night is turned into day and for
tunes spent and made in a very short
time. When a fashionable young man
wants to entertain his friends he invites
them to a private room in one of these
restaurants and engages the services of
a gypsy chorus for several hundred dol
lars. The best singer in the chorus-gen-
orally woman-sngs the solos and the
others join in the refrain, playing on a
special kind of guitar. only used in Rus
STA. The effect of their beautiful love
songs and romances. written with Sla-
vonic simplicity and set to wild. strangely
sung music, is heightened by the cham
payne which forms the principal item of
these feasts
Begged Her to Sing On.
When Wialsew invited his guests Vera
was the principal singer. She was beauti-
fully dressed in gypsy costume and her
dark hair was then undyed. People still
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

her. begging. as favor. tina. she would
sing them. Great musicians felt honored
if she accepted song composed by them.
People threw jewels at her feet that she
might repeat one of her songs
In the midst of all this success the
Russo-Japanese war broke out. The
singers husband was ordered to the front.
For few weeks she stayed behind in
Petersburg. where the festivities of the
''Islesawere as brilliant as ever, in spite
of serious defeats to the Russian forces
in Manchuria. Suddenly Vera Wialsewa
disappeared. She was on her way to the
seat of war. Some of her admirers i'm
medately overlook her. ordered a mag
nificent train to be fitted up for her and
declared they would accompany her.
Lavish Wealth on Her.
She travelled across Siberia with all
the magnifcence and homage that could
be accorded an empress. At every town
she stopped in she gave a concert. Rich
Siberian merchants. who had been signing
for the joys of Moscow and St. Peters
burg fer decade or two, lavished gifts
Of gold and jewels upon her with real
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
HNG4 H07Ez AD ITS R0oF G4RDEM

One evening this porter refused to go
farther. He squatted down on the edge
of a log and said he would not move.
l had my men stretch him out and i
flogged him again and again in vain. At
last the fool put one of his arms behind
him to save his back from The blows of
the kuboka. and I struck his wrist and
broke 1t. OF course. / could no nothing
with him after that. He could not hold
the load on his head and I had to leave
him there in the swamp.
These were the words not of Belgian.
a German or Britisher. although 1 have
heard equally bad stories from men of
each of those nationalities, but they
uttered as though breaking the mans
wrist and leaving him to die in the
swamp were of no consequence whatever.
Another man. who pretended to be a
Maltese. but who looked like an Euras sian.
told me that he had lost several porterS
by death from exposure during recent
trading trip. and that he had f1ogged one
until he dropped. The wages of such por-
tiers Is about cents day and they feed
themselves. They carry loads of about
seventy pounds each, and they trot along
all day with such loads on their heads.
l am told that they are cheated by the
| traders in every possible way. Their
wages are paid in cloth. and short meas
ure is usually given, three yards being
made to go for four.
The cloth mentioned in the contract is
often Americana or American sheeting.
but the traders will try to palm off Indian
cottons. which are little better than
cheesecloth. instead. Indeed. the English
and Indian traders make no bones of
telling how they cheat the natives, and
they laugh over 1t as they do so.
Forests and Elephant Grass.
Not far back from Tanga is one of the
greatest forest regions of this part Of
East Africa. The government has re-
served several hundred thousand acres.
but the remainder is open to exploitation.
and prospectors are now going over 1t
with view to shipping the timber out to
the coast. l understand that there is a
great deal of fine hard wood. as we'll as
cedar and other timber of value.
Much OF the country near the coast OF
German East Africa is covered with man
go trees and cocoanut palms. Higher up
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
Wialsew.

Russian recklessneSs Her train was be-
sesed by crowds who wanted a word
or d smile and would wait patiently for
hours to catch a glimpse of her face.
Her arrival in Manchuria was hailed
as if it were some victory oyer the Jap
aneSe. All the wealth she had gained on
her way she Immediately gave to be dis
tributed among the sick and wounded
soldiers She went to the hospitals and
sang to the men there. Foreigners, who
did not know the ways of Russia. used
to ask. on seeing her train arrive. whom
all the staff was going to meet and what
member of the imperial family had ar
rived. They were much surprised to hear
that a gypsy singer from ST. Petersburg
was the cause of the hustle and en-
thusiasm. Generals said that her presence
near camp did more to raise the morals
Of officers and men than anything else.
These same generals threw ali the money
they had al WialsewaS feet.
Wialsewa retained for herself but little.
If any, of the gold that poured in on her.
The bulk of it went to the soldiers and
she returned from the war far poorer
than she started. The enthusiasm with
which she was greeted on her return to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
Travels With Gypsy Chorus.

Travels With Gypsy Chorus.
Her husband died from the effects ~ a
wound received in the war. but left her
a large fortune. wialsewa cannot. how
ever. settle down. She goes from town
to town. singing with her girsy chorus
or forming the chief attraction al some
grand ducal entertainment. She has
dyed her hair the fashionable color ard
wears dresses of golden tissue when sac
sings. But her charm is the same as
when. dressed in gypsy costume. she
tonished the supper party in the isles"
Every soldier knows her name-and wor-
ships ii. The majority of the officers in
the Russian army would marry her II she
would have them. Yet there are hundreds
of pretty singers In Russia who have not
n fourth of the success which has fallen
to her lot. People declare she will dc
beggar and that is very likely. FOR she ~
as cpen-handed a woman can be. pos
sess:ng the Bohemian incapability OF
thinking Of the morrow.
Those who have heard her i'm the con-
cert hall only know half her charm. Size
is at her best after supper. when tie
glasses have been filled and empticd many
times. Pushing her chair a little from
the table. she takes her guitar and sings
the Gypsy songs she knows without end
There is not only melody and the softest
OF the Dealtlful RUSSIAN WORDS IN ttFIn.
there is sonnet hing clse-the untamabie
wildness of the Russian heart and the
longing of the Slav nature that can
never be satisfied and can only find eN-
preston in some of the most beautiful
ronances the world has ever produced.
Stories About Her.
Many stories are told of Wialsewa-of
the hearts she has broken. OF the acts OF
kindness she has done. Once. when her
train was standing at some wretched
Siberian station. somebody asked II she
was not afraid to sleep with the doors I'M
fastened and the windows opened during
the hot northern summer
There are bands of bandits and rob-
bers here who would do murder for a
ruble. let alone for your jewels, he re-
marked. But Wiaisewa only laughed.
They know l am their friend, she
said land a wanderer like them.
How many soldiers she comforted IN the
field hospitals. how many gave her keep
sakes for those left at home. how much
trouble she took TO deliver them with last
messages from dying lips-are not written
on paper Bat from the tales ono hears
from rich and poor of her bounty and
Kindness and the blessings that the hum
bla heap upon her head. one knows that
they are recorded on the strange, emo
tional heart OF Russia and understands
something of the reason for the beautiful
gipsyS charm.
And Wialscwa. with her slim, graceful
lines and her dark eyes with her soft
Russian tongue and her indescrihahle
smile. came nobody knows whence. a
nameless waif in half-starved village.
and, one short decade ago, washed up
dishes on a farm.
Copyright by Curtis Brown)
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
Wialsewa.

beautiful voice. 1t is intangible. indie
scribabe But it is there. She is the
sort of woman one reads about in novels.
but rarely meets in lifetime. She has
something magnetic in her eyes her
smile her voice. something so strong that
even other women say that they under
stand why men have flung all away for
her.
Started Life a Domestic.
Ten years ago Wialsewa was a servant
on a country estate in the province of
Moscow Nobody knows exactly who her
parents were. She had grown up in the
village without either mother or father
and when sixteen years old went to serve
at the manor house. The inhabitants
were old-fa shioned ladies who used to
teach the more capable village girls to
sew. They took a fancy to Vera-as
Wialsewa was then known-and liked her
to sing to them in :he evenings. She
had a beautiful voice and sang the Rus
sian folk songs.
One day young officer came to see the
ladies. His name was Wialsew and his
regiment was in Petersburg. He fell in
love with Vera and asked her If she
would like to make a career as a singer
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

their fields, carrying the water from
| level to level by means of canals.
A little further up, Kilimanjaro is COW
cred with dense vegetation. The trees
are full of orchids and other air plants
and there are lions. leopards and all sorts
of wild beasts There are some elephants.
and the hunting is said to be very good
| Higher still the vegetation changes and
! becomes more like that of the temperate
zone. At the altitude Of Pixies Peak it
ceases entirely, and from thence on the
| perpetual snow begins.
The topmOst peak, known as kibo Is
| always snow covered. This was first
assembled by Hans Meyer in 1889. He
says that 1t has a crater more than mile
in circumference. and over 800 feet deep.
the walls of which are covered with ice.
| The lower peak is known Kimawensi.
1t is just 1880 feet high. or about as high
as Popocatapetl. in Mexico.
! l wish 1 could show you this little Afri-
! can town of Tanga. 1t lies here on the
seacoast just opposite the Glove island Of
Pemba. which belongs to Great Britain.
1t is in German East Africa few miles
| below the Umba river. which is part Of
the boundary between this country and
che mouths of the Pangani river, which
rises on the slopes of kiimanjarc and
carries away the greater part of its
SHOWS.
The coast here is low and tropical. and
the vegetation is so dense that the noun
tains cannot be seen. Indeed, there are no
hills anywhere and the eye wanders over
| cocOanut palms loaded with nuts and
grass lands spotted here and there with
| fat baobab trees. whose skeleton like
branches reach out like great white fin
gers clutching the air.
| Tanga has a beautiful harbor. The
mouth Of the river is such that it forms
bay Of thousands of acres. well protected
from the storms Of the Indian ocean. At
the entrance to the bay is a point on
which stands a white lighthouse. and far
Their inland is a big white walled, red
rooted hospital of two stories. At the end
of the bay the buildings of the city be-
gin. They are composed of European
structures and matched rooted huts.
which are the homes Of the Hindoo mer-
chants and of the Swahll natives.
| The town has a bona or fort. and a
large iron shed. which serves as a native
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
NuNANLARO. N17YEs

and he predicts that we will some day
have little Germany away out here in
the heart of Africa. under the shadow
OF its highest mountain.
The day will probably come when the
ascent of Kilimanjaro will be one of the
regular stunts of the world -mountai
climbers. and we may have cog railroads
running up to health resorts in and about
Its mighty peaks
During my stay in British East Africa /
saw this mountain several times far off
in the distance. 1t looks like a great
cloud of snow floating. as it were, in the
blue SKY. 1t ends in two peaks like
saddle back. and 1t stands upon great
pedestal. which Is more than half mile
higher than the top of Mount Washington.
Worlds Mightiest Mountains.
Kilimanjaro is on the roof of the
African continent and it is one of the
half dozen or more spires which rise high
above the roof of the world. With the ex-
ception of Mount Mckinley and certain
of the Himalayas and the Andes it is by
far the highest mountain on the globe
We have nothing to compare with it
In North America. and if you could put
the Alleghenies on top of Mount Blanc
they would not reach so high l have
gone along the Andes from Panama to
Patagonia and have seen all their great
peaks. ChimboraZo in Eucador is Just as
=
the Washington .honument added to it.
Mount SoratO in Bolivia is something like
2oO feet higher. and Aconcagua on
the borders of Chile and Argentina
is 23 900 feet. or 1900 feet above this top
most point of Africa.
One of the greatest sights of the world
is Mount Everest, which rises out of the
midst OF the Himalayas to a distance of
almost six miles above the sea. Its actual
height Is $4,000 feet l have seen it from
near Darjiling in the bright sun of the
early morning. and l can tell you it does
not compare in beauty with this mighty
kilimanjaro. Everest has so many other
mountains around 1t that you cannot
realize its size. Kilimanjaro stands al
most alone. and its double dome of frost ed
silver fairly floats in the blue sky. In
deed, the natives living near it believe
that the top of the mountain is made of
silver. They are too far down to know
what snow means and in region so near
the: equator that all the lowlands are
steaming.
During my stay here j have talked with
German travellers who have explored large
parts of this mountain. They tell me that
the land is rich at the foo.. and that it is
inhabited by number of tribes each
governed by an independent sultan or
chief There are Nasal among them, who
have large focks of cattle and sheep, and
many other tribes who engage in farming
having little fields of grain surrounded by
hedges. Some Of these people irrigate
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
+ -ff-f ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WIALS E w A, Most Fa-
nous of the Gypsy Sing
/: ers Who Inhabit the Gilded
Restaurants of St. Peters
: burg. Has A Thousand Titled
Adorers, and Sings in a Cor
e. sage Loaded With Precious
tStones-Went to the Front
+, in the Russo-Japanese War
With the Ponp of an En-
press, in Magnificent Train,
! With Noble Admirers Dane
ing Attendance Upon Her,
and Nursed and Sang to the
Wounded in Hospitals in
Manchuria Collected Mil
lions From the Rich and
Gave 1t All to the Poor
Left Immensely Wealthy by
the Will of Her Husband,
She Refuses to Retire, But
Still Sings the Russian Folk
Songs in Public - Mystery
Surrounds Her Marriage.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

the top of Mount Kilimantaro. where dom
mating all Africa. it kisses the sky at an
altitude almost four miles above the sea
The rock was cut off by one of the Ger
mans who climbed to the top OF that
mighty mountain. 1t was ground smooth
and made into a paper weight. and 1t
now lies at the Kaiser's right hand on
his library table in his palace in Berlin.
/ understand that the kaiser is proud
Of owning Mount Kilimanjaro. and there
is no doubt that his subjects out here
feel the same way. The mountain lies
Just back of this part of Tanga almost
ON the border between British and Ger
man East Africa. Its lowest slopes are
now reached by railroad. and some of the
richest regions of German East Africa
lie at it's foot. These now being
settled by Germans who are planting out
coffee and hemp There are some plan
tations which contain tens of thousands
of coffee trees. and large tracts are be-
ing set out in rubber or planted to grain.
A colony of Beers has located there. and
there are also many Jews. who have
been driven out of Russia by the per-
secutions of the Car. The land Is high
and the climate is healthy. The railroad
has now been extended about seventy-two
miles westward and IL is to go up the
slope of Kilimanjaro itself. The governor
general who has recently made a trip
through that region. tells me he is we'll
satisfied as 10 the progress now making,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

there are acacias, sycamOreS and ba-
mans There are vines and trees which
produce rubber and also valuable fiber
plants. Down along the coast the Ger
mans are now setting out cocoanut plan
tations. and are experimenting with
cacao. tobacco. vanilla and the cinchona
tree. from whose bark our quinine comes.
Much of the interior of this region is
not unlike the country about Lake Vic
toria and many of the plains are covered
with elephant grass. This grows twice as
high as ones head. l have seen stalks
fifteen feet tall, and a recent trip
through the interior l had myself photo
graphed to show YOU their height. In the
rainy season this grass often grows a
foot in a night. IT is much like a bamboo
fishing rod. having joints Ike cane. 1t Is
usually burnt off at certain times of the
year. and l have Travelled over roads with
great flames on one side of me where, if
the wind had changed. | should have been
in serious danger. When the grass is
set afre the flames roll up in great
masses. AS the canes burn they burst
apart, each making noise like the shot
OF a pistol. The fire is accompanied by
continual crash. and the scenes are
grand to an extreme. In German East
Africa many of the trade routes go
through grass of this kind. They consist
of mere paths which wind this way and
that over the country. When it rains
the grass holds the water. and after a
shower it is often hours before one can
keep dry.
Training Zebras.
have written of the experiments which
the British are making in attempting TO
raise the zebra for agricultural use.
They are being carried on at Nairobi
and on the government farm near Lake
Navaisha, in British East Africa. The
Germans are making similar experiments
in their territory. and so far they have
been quite successful. They are trying
to train the zebras as riding animals. with
the idea that they may eventually be able
to outfit the native cavalry with them.
In the barracks at Oar es Salaam I was
shown a half dozen zebras tied up in
the stalls side by side with horses. The
officers told me that they had been
broken to riding. and that they were
easily tanned. In another stable l was
shown the results of some crosses be-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

THE Mighty Mountain of
Africa and the Rich
Lands About It's Foot-A
Look at Tanga, the North
ern Port of German East
Africa-More About Flog-
ging--1n Africa's Tall Grass
How the Germans Are
Training the Zebras Big
Game Hunting-Queer Pets
of the Black Continent,
Lions, Leopards and Whale
headed Storks.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
Flogging the Natives.

You can never tell whether these ras-
Gals are shamming or not. remember one
of my porters who was always playing
off sick. and whom / had to whip almost
from the start. None of my men like to
walk through the swamps after nightfall
1t is rather dangerous, you know; but
had to hurry and ! pushed right along
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

Il u You are quite sure to get your
answer in the light which comes
into his eyes. His face will assume an.
expression of mingled longing and pleas
ure and his voice will hum the weird
strain of a gypsy song. If your Russian
be rich, soldier and of a sentimental
turn of mind. he will probably offer you
q considerable sum of money if you can
lead him to the feet Of the woman you
have mentioned.
For Wialsewa, a few years ago hum
BILE servant in the province of Warsaw.
without known father or mother, is to-
day the idol of Russia, the most famous
of the gypsy singers who provide enjoy
ment for the gilded youth of the land of
the car in the restaurants of ST. Peters
burg and possessed of Il thousand titled
lovers. More than that. Wialsewa is the
heroine of the Russo-Japanese war. and
therein rests her popularity with the Rus
sian soldier.
To the ordinary foreigner in Russia
the worship which great and small accord
this gypsy singer is ineXplicable. He sees
in her nothing but the most talented of
her class who sing to the diners at the
fashionable restaurants of the Russian
capital But Wialsewa is more than this,
for she has charm which has made men
offer fortunes to have her repeat a song.
II is not in her graceful figure and pretty
face, in her golden dress studded with
stones, or in ner dyed hair, or even her
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

AlSER WILHELM, the Emperor
of Germany. now owns the
scalplOck of this African CONT
nent. II is a bit of rock as big
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

Europe was as great as the Joy with
which they had hailed her in Manchur.a.
She wen. on giving concerts for tho VIC
tins o. the war ard IL is no exaereratis n
TO say that she collected millions fer tAis
purpose.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

ST. PETERSBURG. June 10. 1908.
SIX Russian. no matter in what
quarter of the earth you may
\ meet him, if he knows Wislsewa.
y You are quite sure to get your
answer in the light which comes
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21

Copyright. 1908. by Frank G. Carp ,rte...
Special Correspondence of The Star.