davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
WITCH DRIVES YOUNG
 MAN TO SUICIDE GRAVE
By PAUL VILLlERs.

ter of fourteen, who are at college in his native town of Ancona.
 As the authorities absolutely refused tc grant balls the slowness of justice ir Italy renders it probable that the famous singer will be constrained to cancel his engagements for some time to come.
 A wealthy French lady has just been victmized by a cellarer who. under the name of the Count de Beurggard, made her acquaintance in fashionable cafe. The lady who had recently obtained a di- vorce took such a fancy to him that she invited him to her house. He then con fided to her that he had recently lost nearly his entire fortune and would be without means until certain question of inheritance had been settled. If she did not help him he would be obliged to sleep under the trees In the Bois, as he did not dare to tell his friends.
 Of course the lady sympathized with him to the amount of hundreds of pounds but an anonymous letter opened her eyes and convinced her that the man was an mposter She sent him about his busi- ness at once, but afterwards discovered that he had relieved her wardrobe of faimily jewels worth some f4OO. where upon she lodged a complaint against him and secured his arrest
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16

You see, sir he went on, it's this away I ain't got but one leg. One morn- in when I was on eHth I got run over bv a milk wagon. Right out in front n this house it was, sir. An they brought me in here, an doctor took my leg away from me when I wasn't lookin' an they buried 1t. they said, somewhere in the hack yard. I don't guess you was here then. We'll as long as I was Twin,
 sir if didn't bother me much, for I got a wooden leg. But when l came over here. sir, I couldn't bring my wooden leg with me, an where I'm stayin' now they don't have any wooden legs, nor any crutches. Wouldn't do any good, you know, sir. A ghost can't lean on stick.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16

face. The wood was soft with age and it wasn't any trick at all to get the lid off. All could see in the box was bunch of bones and a handful O dust but the ghost could see better than l could, for with a howl of joy he grabbed something from the box, clapped his hands to the stump and 10 and behold, he had two as fine legs as man could wish to see, even if they were ghost legs; and as soon as he got It on he commenced to dance a hornpipe. Talk about dancing. Say, I never saw anything on the stage that would touch a candle to that dance out there in the moonlight You've heard of the ghost dance. Well, this was certainly the real thing. He kept it up at least five minutes and then he suddenly stopped. pulled off his old hat and commenced bowin' to me-
 'Thankee, sir he says; 'thankee. I'll do as much for you some time. Thankee, sir; thankee-thank-'
 And there I was, gentlemen, all by myself, shivering in the winter night. But there was a hole in the ground and an empty box at my feet. We haven't been bothered with queer noises since."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16

Stick goes right through, him, sir. So I just got to hop on one foot, sir, till | can find the ghost O my lost leg. Put it to yourself, sir, aint it purty tough to have to hop through eternity on one leg?
 1T had to admit that 1t was. Indeed, l felt that the word tough was altogether inadequate.
 But says I, how can I be of any service to you? You can count on me, my poor fellow, to do anything in my power to help you out of your singular predicament.'
 'Thanlkee, sir he says. T thought as how YOU was that kind, sir. I been tryin' to get a chance to tell you about 1t Tor a long time, sir. But I didn't want to scare yous missus. Women folks are so skittish about ghosts. So I had to wait until l could ketch you by yourself sir. You see' they puts my leg in box, nailed It up an buried 1t in your back yard. If l was fin the box I could get out without any trouble at all, sir; but the ghost or ieg ain't got any sense, sir, and it's 1asteneo up in that box, and unless somebody gets the box open for me 1t never can get out an I'll have to keep on hoppin' on one foot for 100000 years an then some, l reckon. It's sure tough And the poor fellow buried his face in his hands.
 Brace up, old man., says I. If that leg of yours is anywhere around this sbanty we'll get it if we have to hire an excavatin' machine. Do you know where it's buried?
 "'Yes, sir, says he, strengthening up with A grin that was as narrowing as his sighs; yes, sir, I got the place spotted It's under that little juniper tree over in the northwest corner of the yard, sir Hurry up, sir won't you, please. It's been 20 years since I seen that leg, and IA Of lem I've been over here goin' hoppety- hon. There'll be couple O toes missin' sir: lost 'em in a sawmill, but l won't mind that
 well, I put on my overcoat and went down into the basement, MT. Ghost hop ping along behind me, happy as boy at a Fourth of July celebration. l got the furnace shovel and hatchet and to- gether we went out into the yard and over to the little juniper tree.
 That's the place, sir says the ghost, jumping up and down on his one foot Hurry up, please. It aint very deep. My, my my Won't it be great?'
 "It was a cold night, but l dug until the sweat broke out on me before I struck anything. Sure enough, there was a box about three feet long. Luckily the moon was shining and I could see how to dig in order to get 1t out. But it was a hard job all the same, and I was pretty well used up by the time l got it to the sur-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
would supply 1ss of these.

would supply 169 of these. Oklahoma can supply seven more. That would leave Bryan short 67 votes. If the East, including New York; goes for Taft. Bryan would have to capture a large number of the western and middle states to win. Elmer Dover, secretary Of the Republican National committee, thinks the middle states are to be the real bat tle-ground in this campaign IT Bryan can capture Ohio and Indiana, and also the six western states which gave him a majority in 1896. namely, Idaho. Mon tana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Washington. he can win, provided he holds the solid South. which he did not hold in 1900 Look at 1t how you will" says the New York Evening Post
 New York Is practically indispensable
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
Bryan's Chances of Success.

FTOIn CuTTeIt Literature.
 What are Bryan's chances for cleo tion? That he is much stronger with the democratic rank and file than he was four years ago was evident at Den yer. Has this strength increased outside the democratic party? Henry Waiter son thinks it has. He is not much of a Bryan man, but he thinks that the lat ter is stronger than ever" and has a much better chance to win. Since the election eight years ago, when Bryan was defeated overwhelmingly in the electoral college, there has been new congressional apportionment which car ries with it change in the electoral col legs. In the new apportionment the South has gained ten votes and the North has gained twenty-six, seven of which are in the democratic state of Oklahoma. It requires 2lS votes in the electoral college to win. The solid South
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
A Lucrative Nose.

From the Tatler.
 Mile. Lubia Behrend, one of St. Peters burgs most popular actresses, adds fif- teen pounds a week to her income by devoting an hour or two day to smell ing the perfumes manufactured by a leading firm of Russian scent makers.
 Mile. Behrend is gifted with an ex- ceedingly delicate sense of smell, which renders her assistance invaluable when determining the proper proportions or the various ingredients in a new per fume.
 Much of Queen Alexandra's favorite scent-violet-is distilled in Russia IL costs ten pounds per ounce bottle, ana it has to run the gantlet of Mile. Ben rend,s nostrls as well as those of four subordinate professional "smellers pe- fore 1t Is passed as being correcty blended and ready for her use.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16

to the success of any democrat this year." It thinks, however, that even Bryan's stoutest opponent may as well frankly admit that he has a chance. "The 30o00O idle freight cars may prove to be more effective spellbinders than any orators that the republicans can send out"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
ImpracticabIe.
rom the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Your husband smokes his pipe in the house, does he? I suppose there is no way of getting the odor of tobacco out of the rooms, either'
 Yes, there is one way-but I hesitate about resorting to it. Our house and furniture are only partly insured"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16
Notice.

The barber shop Of Loftin & White, recently burned, at Second avenue and Twentieth street, will be open the lstn' with everything new and up to date. We will be prepared to serve our patrons and the public in a frst-class manner Prices same as before.
 8-14-4t-fri-su-tu-we
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-16

Consign your Horses and Mules to our Auction Sale, Tuesday, August IS. Fies C Sons.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
Turning Water Into Power.

rom the New YORK Tribune.
A power plant in eastern Connecticut
now approaching completion deserves
notice. not because it is big one. but be-
cause it represents a class of opportuni-
ties not yet fully utilized In the rural
town of Scotland the Shetucket has been
damned. and provision is being made to
get 900 horsepower from the stream. The
output is to be transmitted in the form of
electricity to the small manufacturing
city of Norwich, eleven miles away. 1t
will there be employed for lighting streets
and for the service of private consumers.
In order to diminish the loss by transmits
sion a high pressure (23.OO0 volts) will be
adopted, but as the pole line carrying the
current is to extend along purchased
right of way, no harm to any one except
meddlers is to be expected
Connecticut Is the home of an extra
ordinary variety and number of manufac-
turing enterprises. requiring anywhere
from eight or ten to several thousand
horsepower. Many of them rely partly or
wholly on steam. but for considerably
more than two centuries use has been
made of water power. Indeed, at half Il
dozen places below the new dam at Scot
land the Shetucket has already been har-
messed for Industrial use. 1t might be
carelessly supposed. therefore. that no
chance yet remained to employ what 1t rec
ogniZcd as the cheapest means of operating
a. mill, but it is probable that in the Nutmeg
state alone scores of such opportunities
are still available. to say nothing of the
rest of New England and the Atlantic
states. And. of course. in addition to the
needs of small shops and large factories,
a great demand for power mas been
created by such modern enterprises as
trolley roads and electric lighting.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
The Earliest Man.
From the New York Times.


The skeleton just dug up of genuinely
ow-brOwed citizen of Europe who
shaped his stone weapons and slew the
hairy mammoth in southwest France a
matter of 10000 years ago. was pro-
nounced by the French savants Tuesday
to be. of a kind with the Neanderthal
skeleton, discovered shortly be.o Mr.
Darwin published his 'Origin Of Species
These skeletons, and one or two others
exhumed in the glacial deposits of Bel
GUM, are of stunted men with progna-
thous jaws. broad shoulders, crooked
thighs, slightly bent knees, and of a
semi-erect posture. But Prof. Kemp Of
Columbia spoke bit carelesSly Ii he
said that science is looking in such re-
mains for evidences OF the missing link"
Science no longer believes in the miss
ing link'-that is, in midpoint of de-
velOpment between man and ape. The
ape is higher type than its evolutionary
paratively low In the scale. sprang Il
man. That is the prevailing belle.
Prof. William u. Ripley speaks in tho
current Atlantic Monthly OF a reverslon
to the Neanderthal type of man which
may come sporadically from the mixture
of races in the United States. Indeed.
he does not hesitate to say that the
spectacle of a reversion to a much more
ancient type-that of the ancestor from
whom the differently colored races sprang
is conceivable from this abnormal inter-
mixture. But a better type of man than
the world has seen may also proceed
from his mixture.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
OESPoNDENT GIRL, A SUICIDE
MAN FRIEND WAS GOING TC
ANOTHER CITY.
He Finds Her Unconscious in His
Room-Tells of Their Parting
Conversation.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
DAILY, young woman supposed to have
come from Rochester, n. y. for the last
few weeks employed in a department
store and who lodged at % Hancock
street died today from the effects of an
overdose of a drug.
In her room was found sealed letter
addressed to Julia Jaynes, IS Locust street.
Rochester.
Miss Daily was of a retiring disposition.
Abraham Bernstein worked in the same
store with her. AS they lodged few
doors from each other they We're together
quite Il little after business hours.
Mrs. II. Z. Taylor who runs the lodg-
ing house, said man called with bun
die for the girl Christmas morning and
that in the afternoon she went out.
1t appears that she called on Bernstein
and that they spent the afternoon to-
Sether.
to go to New York She wanted to know
If he could secure j position for her there.
They separated on BoylSton street.
Returning to his room at $3.50 O'Clock
Bernstein claims he was surprised to find
the girl there unconscious. The police
were notified
1t Is thought that the girl took her own
life because of encouragement. From an
examination of the girls effects it was
found that she probably had lived at o.,
Orchard street, Rochester. From refer
ences in letters, she had mother step
father and brother named Richard.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27

Of the air supply that owners Of towering
structures cannot obtain air in the open
market. but must pay fancy prices for II:
The air bought and sold Is not pipe0
in from great tanks. like gas, nor Is "
furnished In condensed form. like oxygen.
in small cylinders Ii is simply the open
air between the roof and the sky. which
New York operators, having already pos
sessed themselves of the earth. have
learned to control and put an arbitrary
value on. In order to obtain the where
Withal To breathe the owners OF sky
scrapers are obliged To pay a heavy con-
sideration 10 their neighborS 10 prevent
/ their blocking up the windows of their
apartments They rent the air. paying
80 much for period OF years. The cove
nant being that no impeachment shall he
placed in the way of free circulatioa OF
the atmosphere The English law gives
an owner of property the right TO case
ment for light and air along the party
line of a lo.. hut there are no such legal
provisions in this country, and the lack
OF them has led 10 this most curious Of
modern traffic
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
POOR FAILS FOR MILLIONS
LIABILITIES SUPPOSED TO BE
AT LEAST 100000.
Publisher of Manual of Railroads
and Important Financial apd
Social Factor.

NEW YORK, December 26.-Henry w.
Poor. wen known as a banker and broker
of Wall street and for years the pub
Usher of Pcor's Manual of Railroads,
failed today.
His banking and brokerage firm, known
as H. w. Poor & Co., with offices at
80 Wall street, made an assignment to
Mark r. Cox of the firm of Robert 7.
Winthrop & Co, without preference. No
statement regarding liabilities or assets
was forthcoming
|. AS Mr.. Poor has been prominent in the
street and has influential connections, 1t
is believed that his liabilities will reach
at least X5,OOO.OOO The entire brunt of
the failure is borne by Mr.. Poor, his
former partners having withdrawn from
the firm.
The former partners included Mr.. Poor S
on-in-law, William n. Phoenix, Franklin
W. Hunt, Charles +. CuShman and Fred
crclS A. Farrar.
The failure is probably one of the largest
that has occurred in the financial dis
trio: in some time. Mr.. Poor was looked
upon not only as very wealthy man,
bu. his family has long held "a high So
cial position.
Two Magnificent Homes.
He has two magnificent homes, one the
old Cyrus w. Field mansion, at l Lex
ington avenue, and the other stone
chateau at Tuxedo, gathering places of
the ultra-fashionable for years. AS the
stock exchange was closed today. the an
nouncement of the failure could not be
reflected in market conditions
|. An effort was made by lawyers for
several of the large creditors to present
a bankruptcy petition to a federal Judge.
None could be found sitting.
Recent incidents in the affairs of Mr..
Poor are given significance now because
OF the failure. 1t is recalled that six
weeks ago Mr.. Poor began the sale of the
| magnificent library he had been thirty
years in collecting and regarded as one of
the best in the country.
Five thousand works We're included in
the sale Purchasers included j. p Nor
gan Mrs. John ID. Rockefeller, Senat or
Henry c. Lodge and George and Howard
Gould.
Another development was the institu-
ton of suit by Howard Wlletts of
WeStchester. against Henry w. Poor &
Company for more than s3OO,OOO on ac-
count of a deal in railroad bonds into
which Mr.. Willetts says he went because
of the advice he received from Mr.. Poor.
This suit Is still pending.
Transactions Extensive.
The transactions of the IL. w. Poor con-
Germ. it is said were on an extensive scale,
including big syndicate operations.
Mr. Poors connection with Poor's Man
ual of Railroads. has been that OF pres-
dent and director He was also presi-
dent and director of the Postal Telegraph
Company of Texas.
BOSTON. December 26-H w Poor &
Co. of New York has maintained
branch Office In this city for many
years. dealing exclusively in bonds.
Local banks hold considerable quanti-
ty of their paper. secured by various
bond issues, which are being carried for
the firm. The local manager is Freder-
lex A. Farrar.
The firm was heavily interested in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
GRAND NATIONAL
PIGEON RACERS
Washington Heads Movement
Among the Larger Cities
Represented in the At
Iantic Combine.

Prizes running into the thousands OF
dollars for the successful pigeon flyers
will create unbounded interest in the sport
of pigeon racing next year.
On Friday. December II. the Atlantic
Combine was launched In Philadelphia.
This is the latest organization of pigeon
flyers and bids well to become the lead
ing one within the next Ave years. 1t
has for its object the flying of national
races, the competition of which will repre-
sent q greater area Of territory and upon
more equal conditions than any OF its
kind ever attempted.
At the meeting of the organization repre-
sentatives were present from Washington.
Baltimore. Lancaster. York. Philadelphia,
Newark New York and Boston. and
letters Of admission read from Brooklyn.
Paterson. Elizabeth. Lynn. Providence.
Bridgep TT, Fall River Springfield, Nal
den, Woonsocket. South Manchester, New
| Haven. Staten Island. Upper Falls. Low
| ell and NorriStoWn Pa.
The following officers We're elected for
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
Stopping the Locust Pest.
From the Youths Companion


Algeria and Tunis have this year suf-
fered from an extraordinary invasion OF
Iocusts The locusts arrived from the drec-
ton of the deserts in swarms so thick as
to hide the sun. They cover the ground
as with yellow carpet and sometimes
render the railways so slippery that trains
can hardly run. AT this stage they a e
not vOracious, being engaged principally
in laying their eggs. But forty days later
the young locusts. not Yet winged, begin
To run about, devouring every green
thing, including not only leaves, but even
the bark and tender shoots of trees. The
horGies. advancing in body. sometimes
cover an area of several square miles.
Barbados of cloth, surrounded with wax
strips. erected in line OF march, arrest
the progress OF the insects, which are
unable to crawl up the smooth surface.
Passing along the line of the barricades,
they fall into bitches dug for the pur-
pose. where they are killed with corrosive
liquids. Another method is to smooth
Descending paths. ending in poisoned
bitches. The insects follow the descents,
and thus go to their deat!.S.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
Chinese Women in Politics.

From the Chicago Journal.
Associations OF Chinese women. orig
inaliy formed TO suppress the Gripping
OF girl childrens feet. succeeded in OBJ
tanning a government edict making
this absurd practice Illegal. Now they
have turned To politics as sphere OF
usefulness. and their voice is 10 be
heard whichever any question arises for
discussion. Their idea OF government
seems extremely practical. Recently tho
province Of Che-ki lang undertook to
build railroad. and proposed to hor-
row from England the funds for con-
Struction. The young women's societies
protested. insisted that the local in
vestors he given a chance to put money
into the project. and showed good faith
by purchasing Sloo.ooo worth of the
railroad stock forthwith.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27
Last Sword Duel in England.


1t is said that Maj" Salisbury, whose
dead body was found the other day near
ST. Asaph, was d principal in the last
duel that was fought with swords in
England. He was debater at Cogers'
Hall. and on one occasion he was lin
suited by another speaker named Har-
rlson, who offered u give Salisbury sat
lsfaction in the old English style in Cough
Square. Salisbury insisted on having :.
out with swords. The pair and an Irish
man named Byrne (who volunteered to
act as second for both parties) retired to
Saiusburys fiat in Chancery lane. Salus-
bury took down two sabers from the wall
and he and Harrison fought it out, the re-
suit being that Salisbury got q compound
fracture of the thigh through falling over
the furniture. Salisbury had been out to
the Congo Free State, but whether any,
body else than himself gave him the rank
of major" is doubtful. He was more
than d fair speaker. He seemed to ue-
lieye in himself, and casual visitors TO
Cogers' Hall believed in him-until the
duel. when his sun set for good
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27

deep thought. much argument and sue
cessful experiments of the Washington
Federation of Washington. d. c. nation
ally known as the Washington District of
the National Federation OF American
Pigeon Fanciers. and the suspicious
launching of the Atlantic Combine is
another link to the long chain of i'm
provements of which 1t has been the
originator. To it's secretary. w. r. Dis
mer. must be given the credit OF real
izing the Importance Of changing the old
southerly course of pigeon flying in order
to insure its development in America.
and for the possibility of concourse rae
ing. but the bringing together of such an
august body of fanciers from SO widely
scattered area for the sole purpose of
organization. and for the absolute perfect
system for the working out of the most
intricate points, the very highest com
mendation is due to Americas most pro-
gressive racing fancier. d. G. Buscall. a
popular member of the Washington feder-
alton.
The idea OF racing pigeons from points
west dates from last January. When
the subject was first taken up at the
weekly meetings the obstacles of the
course were discussed pro and con at
great length. The trials Of 1898 at the
time of the Chicago worlds fair had been
so disastrous that further attempts were
carefully avoided. In that Inflated year
week after week waterloos were the order
or the DAY, ana the returns from the
Windy city from all the cities Of the
east were less than those OF the seventeen
liberated in Chicago this summer belong
ing to the Washington federation. For
this reason 1t was resolved to make eX-
periments upon a limited scale. However,
the interest became too rampant to be
checked. and before the season opened
the full racing teams were in training
over the new course.
While thus counting disaster it was no
wonder that the outcome was so eagerly
watched. The general pr x joined the