davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-03-27
CHAPTER Ix.-Continued.

AS her strained sight stared out in
to the darkness it was borne to her
intuitively, it may be, that something
was creeping up on her. She could
see nothing and yet knew it to be
true. Every fiber of her being tingled
with the certainty of it. 1t was COM
ing closer and closer. She felt it like
an actual presence. Her eyes shifted
here, there-swept her half-circle
northumberland and stared. Still
nothing moved. And yet the nearness
of some unseen thing grew more and
more palpable. If she could not see
it soon she must scream aloud She
breathed in little quickened gasps.
Soon, very soon, she would scream.
All! A shadow down by the biggest
cottonwood! 1t bodily sought a nearer
and a smaller trunk. Another stink
ing shadow glided behind the vacated
position. 1t was CHASTITY presenta-
ton of observation-disclosures" played
in nightmare. But at last it was
something angible-something to do
away with that frightful sensation of
that crawling, creeping, twisting
worming, acknowledgements and
nearer. so near now that it beat upon
her-unseen presence. She pressed
her finger to the trigger to shoot at
the tangible shadows and dispel that
enveloping, choking, blanket horror,
when God knows what stayed the
action of her fingers. Call it instinct,
what you will, her hand was stayed
even before her physical eye was
caught and held by blot darker still
than the night, over to her right, farth-
est from the spring. 1t lay perfectly
still. 1t came to her, the willy plan,
with startling clearness. The blot
was waiting for her to fire futilely at
grinning shadows among the trees
and. under cover of her engrossed at
tention insinuate its treacherous body
the farther forward. Then the play
would go merrily on till-the end. She
turned the barrel of her rifle slowly
and deliberately away from the NOV
ing shapes among the cottonwood
clump, sighted truly the motionless
blur to her right and fired, once, twice,
three times.
The completeness of the surprise
seemed to inspire the attackers with
a heIlish fury. They returned the fire
rapidly and at will, remaining under
cover the while. Shrinking low at
her window, her eyes glued on the still
black mass out yonder, Mary wonder
ed If it were dead. She prayed pas
sionately that it might be, and yet
Il is a dreadful thing to kill. Once
more the wild firing ceased. Mary re
sponded once or twice just to keep the
deadly chill from returning-if that
were possible.
Under cover of the desperadoes
fire at obtuse angles with the first
attempt. a second blot began its tor
tuous twisting. 1t accomplished a
space. stopped; pulled itself its length
STONED. waited, watchful eyes on the
window whence came Mary's scatter
ed firing still into the clump OF trees
They had drawn her close regard al
,last. Would it hold out? Forward
again. crawling fat on the ground
ever advancing, slowly. very slowly
The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-03-27
Answered TruthfuIIY.

During the late financial furry a St.
Louis business man was called to
serve on a jury. What is your
name?" asked the attorney. John
Smith," the business man replied.
your color?" the attorney continued.
white" said John Smith. your
age?" "Forty-eight," quoth Mr..
Smith" Your business?" Rotten
said John Smith.
The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-03-27

it for what it meant; but tonight.
this evil night-she gave but one
quick, bewildered glance into the
sinister face above her and in a soft,
shuddering voice breathed, please
don't" and tainted.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
LITTLE GIRL A HEROINE.
Waves Red Shawl az Signal and Saves
Two Rushing Trains.

Benton, Ark.-Frantically waving
little red shawl, Millie Tarver, IL years
old, daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Milton
Tarver, saved two trains from running
into a burning trestle on the Hot
Springs & Western railroad and re-
ceived what she asked for, a Christmas
tree, loaded with presents from Santa
Claus, as reward for heroism.
The Tarvers reside in modest
house four miles from town. The "a
ther and daughter discovered the
burning trestle, which had been on fire
all night. In his excitement Tarver
rushed back home to summon aid,
forgetting that two trains we're about
due. The child was equal to the emer.
gency, however, and, running around
the curve, stood in the center of the
track and waving her red shawl caused
Engineer Allen to reverse the throttle
The tot then turned and ran home.
Superintendent H. e. Martin, Con.
ductor Loomis and Engineer Allen re-
gard the child as an 18-karat her.
oine. Everything she asked for and
more was provided for her Christmas
tree. -: .-<
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
Home PATRONAGE Lesson.

The west is the section that pro-
duces the wheat that supplies the ma
tion with bread. In almost every
wheat-growing section there are -four
ing mills. Yet how often do we find
that people of these districts demand
-four made in foreign place. This
principle is wrong. There is a loss
70 the district. When wheat is shipped
from one state into another or from
the district where it is grown to some
other district and then made into
-four which is returned to the people
for their use, there is a considerable
loss to the community. There is the
commission to the grain dealers, the
freight paid on the wheat, and the
freight paid on the -four back to the
place, and not least Is the employment
of labor in the manufacture. There is
much to be gained through the pat.
ronage of every home Institution,
whether It be manufacturing enter.
prise or 4 mercantile concern. The
community is made Weather by
keeping in it all the dollars that are
the result of the labor of the people.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28

There was some delay, and MIR: 'Al-
bertson went to ascertain the, reason.
The noise above, ,trifling at first, so
increased as, to draw the rem mainder
of. the family to the scene of action:
They found young Albertson and
the monkey circling rapidly about the
room, doing wild west stunt, the
monkey trifle in the lead, while be.
hind him came Mr.. Albertson hurting
the family clothes line temporarily
converted into a lasso.
The monkey instead of the SOD be.
ing the pursued, the family joined il
the chase, and though all agreed that
the lariat throwing of Mr.. Albertson
was excellent, It took some time to
capture the brute, for as fast as the
clothes line whizzed around his neck
the monkey raised an agile paw and
removed it. But his capture came
when he mounted shelf in the
clothes closet, and In an unguarded
moment allowed the moose to tighten.
From the time Of his Introduction
to the household there had never
been minute when the monkey was
not busy. He made himself one of
the family and helped himself to the
delicacies. of the tahlA when no one
was looking. He slid down the cellar
door and swung on the screen door,
his abode being the screened-in back
porch, with sleeping apartments in
the basement. He ate fruits, pies
and jellies, and, being fastidious and
unprovided with a napkin, wiped his
face on his hands and his hands on
the screens.
But his doom was sealed so far an
his new home was concerned when
he began to hurl cups and saucers
of Haviland china at the children
This showed a lack of discrimination
that was not to be endured. Had the
animal chosen tinware he probably
would have been basking in the CON-
forts of the Albertson home to-day.
But his tastes were too expensive.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
Snake in Christmas Tree.

Philadelphia.-Mr. and Mrs. George
Miltenberger had an exciting. exper-
ience the other day before they killed
big blacksnake which came from
Maine in a Christmas tree.
The tree had been bought at the
Reading freight yard, snugly bound
with cord. and slowed away in the
cellar. The dormant snake came to
life. and, while, on an errand to the
cellar, Mrs. Miltenberger discovered
it crawling from the tightly bound
tree.
Mrs. Miltenberger gave a scream
and tainted. Her husband rushed to
her rescue, revived his wife and as
sailed the snake. They. used a live
coal, set the tree on fire. and had to
abandon the snake hunt to save their
home from destruction.
The blaze finally was extinguished
and the half cooked reptile was killed
With poker. ....
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
Ghost Of SUICIDE :.
'R{EAAC:1si.. TRAGEDY. Y.
APPEARS BEFORE NEW TENANT
OF sUkeALow IN INDIA AND
:, : SHOOTS SELF.
STRANGE SEQUEL OF STORY
Woman Sees and Hears speeter While
Husband, 10 Awakened by Re.
port "ef Revolver, But No."
body 10 Found.

Bombay.-An amazing spook story
told by a contributor to the Indian
Daily Telegraph has aroused much in
terest here. It is the tale of a ghost
who shot himself The woman who re-
lates it had accompanied her husband
to Tfrzapur. He had been sent there
to undertake the duties of an agent
who had been sent home ON sick leave.
The only accommodation they could
find when they arrived July 20 was an
inspection bungalow. ::..,'
They retired about ten o'clock, but
Mrs. s. remained awake for some
time reading novel by the light of
q lamp. She was just thinking Of
turning it out when suddenly a man
holding a revolver appeared in the
room. She continues:
Before I could move or speak, he
said: Don't stop me, I am going to
shoot myself AS he put the revolver
to his head l shut my eyes and was
nearly deafened by the report that
followed. My. husband Jumped, >, up,
wide awake at once, with a cry Of
Who fired? and opened my eyes ex-
pecting to see a CHASTITY heap on the
floor: - :::"5~ -
ITO my; amazement the room was
.mpty-there was no stain on the
matting-and no sign of the tragedy
that had just taken place in front Of
me. My husband said that he had
been. Wakened ont Of a S0t1nd. s1een
by the noise of the shot, and when I
told him what had seen we searched
the house together. Neither the pun
kah coo1ie, who was sleeping on the
veranda, nor the servants, whose
houses were close by in the CON-
pound, had heard anything. Even the
dogs chained in the veranda had not
been disturbed. 1t all happened so
suddenly that had no feeling Of
fright or terror. The man seemed to
come from the direction of my hus-
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
MAIL ORDER HOUSE EVIL.
System Keeps Many Agricultural
Towns from Advancing.

There is no use in claiming that
mail order houses are fllegitimate,
concerns. They are entitled to exist
can be no doubt as to the perfectness
Of the system that they are conducted
upon. No use in denying that now
and then they fail to give satisfaction
to their customers. So do the ner-
chants in all lines of trade. He who
believes that these great concerns are
not injurious to the merchants in the
smaller cities and towns knows little
about their operations. Then how is
it that the mail order houses are in
furious to the people of the land?
Great economists agree that it is the
concentration of capital and power in
the large cities wherein rests the dam
gers that threaten the people. The
mail order houses are great factors in
this concentration. They are suckers
of the blood of the country, the
mediums that take from communities
where 1t is earned the money that
should be retained by the people for
the development and enrichment of
their own communities. Herein is the
mail order house evil. On these
grounds all wise people will do what
ever lies in their power to head of
the greater growth of the system. Any
system should be retained within it's
limits for the greater development of
its resources and general enrichment,
is bad system and should be decried.
It is not sufficient that the consumers
retain the profits that should go to the
tradesmen of the place. BY this there
is little development of industry. The
towns and cities lose the business that
is necessary to employ the people,
while the wealth to an extent may be
retained.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
CATAC0|NBS OF ROME
EURlOSITlES OF THE EARLY
CHRISTIAN Cemeteries.
Their History and Purpose Made
/. Clear, by Modern Research-Gai.
!: teries Extending :Hurdreda off,:
Miles Under Ground.

Rome.-Modern research: hae es}ab-
l1shed beyond d0ub: the original ex-
elusive use Of the catacombs BY the
Christians as places OF burial and Of
holding religious assemblies. and the
ya<toussother. theories put forth to ex-
plain the origin Of these cemeteries
have all been proved to be unfounded.
, The Christian mod. of burial In the
,catacombs seems to have been cop
led from the Jews. A short time be-
fore the birth of Christ sudea was
made tributary to Rome by Pompey
and many thousands Of its Inhabitants
were transferred to Rome, where a
special district on the right bank Of
the Tiber was assigned for their hab-
1tation.
These first Jewish settlers adhered
to the customs of their forefathers.
especially in matter so sacred As
funeral rites. and they laid their dead
in rocky sepulchers out side the gate
nearest their quarter. Here, in fact,
was discovered in 1860 the so-called
Jewish catacomb, which it may be as
sumed was the prototype of later
Christian sepulchers:
The earliest Roman Christians were
very probably converted Jews, were
naturally familiar with the Jewish
mode of burial, and in. all prob
ability adopted it for: themselves. "A
grayestone discovered in. one Of
the Roman catacombs bears the date
Of the third year of the reign Of
Vespasian, A. d. II. and thus affords
proof of the antiquity. of the cata-
combs as places of burial.
In early times Christians were
probably buried on property, . garden
or vineyard, belonging to private fam.
lilies, and in fact nearly all the an.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
.MtSCAIEv0US APE SOON
WEARS OUT HIS WELCOME
INTENDED PET yPsETs HOUSE:
HOLD AND CAUSES WILD. -
! ~ WEST CHASE.

Denver.-When the family Of n. J.
Albertson was presented with a mon
key of an exceedingly lively disposi.
ton a short time ago. the little brown
guest was made welcome and petted.
He quickly wore out1his welcome and
became such a nuisance that adver.
tisements were inserted in the local
papers offering him Is a gift to the
f,rst comers. TWO email boys, TO- the
::znti1y unknown; ans.ered: the adyer-
tisement, and were made happy DOS
SCISSORS Of the simfan. ''l :
When it was decided to dispose of
the unruly guest young Albertson was
sent upstairs to bring him: down.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
Princes Many Honors.

The prince of Wales has had one
more added to his long list Of &C.
ademic honors, the University of Glas-
gov having conferred upon him the
degree of LII, D. The prince prob
ably possesses the right to wear q
larger assortment of university hoods
and gowns than any other Englishman
Of our time. Apart from his diplomas
from the great seats Of learning in
England and Wales the prince is an
LII. D. Of Melbourne, Tasmania, Mon
treal, Toronto and Kingston: he il
an alumnus OF the Indian universities
and chancellor Of the university In
the principality from which he takes
his title,
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28

cient names of the catacombs were
taken from those of the owners of
the land.
With the passing of time and the
Increase in the number of Christians
the original cemeteries were extend
Cd, excavations on larger scale were
undertaken and gradually the cata
combs were formed. g.
The catacombs originally were usec
exclusively as cemeteries. but later
they provided places for religious as
sembly and in some cares worship
In apostolic times they generally net
In the house of some wealthy mem
ber Of the community. Later they
built churches. After oiocletian in
303 ordered the churchc. to be de-
stroyed the Christians evidently then
took refuge in the cata:ombs, which,
although known by their prosecutors
to exist, could not be reached or
entered, as neither their precise po.
sition nor their entrances could be
ascertained.
The catacOmbs were AFRO USED occa.
sionally as places Of concealment
Several popes used tbt.n as hiding
places from the beginning of the sec.
ond century onward. ST. Stepten was
murdered in the cataco,nbs, where he
had lived for some tin.n during the
Valerisn prosecutions. End his sue.
cessor, St. Sixtus, was xiso martyred
In the catacombs.
For several centuries the cata-
combs were used as places Of devo-
ton. The entrances of the cata-
combs we're rendered public. Shafts
or air holes called lu>ninaria were
opened for purposes ct ventilation.
About the middle of the fifth cen.
tury a portion Of the e:ataconbs was
rifled by the barbarian in hopes of
finding treasures, and thus began the
devastation which led ultimately to
their neglect and ruin,
From the thirteenth 10 the fifteenth
century all knowledge Of the ancient
cemeteries seems to Aave perished.
The accidental falling IN OF portion
of the high road outside the Porta
Salaria in 1873 led f. the discovery
of the Catacomb Of st. Priscilla.
Public interest in th. subtarranean
Christian cemeteries vas awakened
and arohaeologists t:rned their at.
tention to their examination and
study.
The name catacomb is, compare.
lively speaking, mode:n. The Chris
ton cemeteries were named either
after some saint buried in them OF
the person who originally owned the
land where they were situated. The
use of the present, nsme dates back
to about the sixteenth century.
Almost all the catEcombs are out
side the walls Of the city. The az
gregate length Of: th,ir galleries. is
said to be about 587 miles, and they
are excavated on different levels and
cross and recross eaca other. Hence
although the area which they under
lie is not considerable, yet IL the
galleries were stretched in a continu
GUS line they would extend through
the whole Of Italy, w.: -. ..
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
Riuht Kind Of Advertising.

Not long since in western town
Of some 1000 population the mer-
chants had an illustration Of what can
be done by judicious advertising. The
proprietor Of clothing and dry goods
store decided that he would add a
grocery department. This was met
with the disapproval Of other mer-
chants in the town. particularly the
grocers. They combined and COM
menced an advertising campaign d.
-rected chiefly against him. Small
space was used. They were greatly
surprised one morning to find that the
object Of their attention had In the
daily paper four-page advertisement
They were further surprised when the
weeklies Of the surrounding towns
came out with one and two-page ad-
vertisements. Offering wonderful bar.
gains and to pay the railroad fare Of
those who would purchase a certain
amount Of goods. For miles around
the town large posters announced the
great sale. Other merchants of the
town looked upon the venture - fool
ish, and predicted that = there was
something wrong. q failure or . llre In
sight. Neither happened, but in two
weeks time the. ,enterprising store
keeper, who advertised to sell rs
pounds Of granulated sugar for . dol
lar, when the jobbing price was more
than nve dollars q hundred, provided
the purchaser ordered other goods, did
4 business amounting TO more than
$4,000. d g much busmeas Is the
average small storekeeper does In Z
year. Not alone that, but he IL sdll
doing the biggest business in the town.
He advertised rightly.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
An ORGANIZATION Era.

This is an age Of Organization
The farmers combine to regulate tho
markets for their products, the grain
dealers and the stock buyers combine
to keep prices down, the flour manu-.
facturers and the meat packers COM
bine to keep prices up, and the job
bers combine to hold the combined
manufacturers In check, and the re.
tailers combine. to carry ON their basi.
ness In 4 way to gain q living and
mske light the exactionssdemanded BY
the manufacturers and the ,jobbers.
The working man combines to protect
himself in his work and against the
cutting of wages, and 90 It goes. The
struggles Of life are many, but caA-
not they be lessened by having fewer
combinations? Will not the practice
Of home trade principles act in pro.
veatative way against combinations9 !
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
A AwEALTH.sAPPlNe SYSTEM.
New Public Utilities Managed In .
Way That Retards Progress.

1t should be borne in mind that the
investment of outside capital, tho
ownership of public and semi.public
utilities by others than residents of q
community, Is q serious thing for the
people residing In the place. >In7 west.
ern cities there are hundreds of illus-
trations of the working out of this
plan of securing public utilities. Theirs
is need Of . water:works. Outsiders
come into the field with a proposition.
The city or town council is approaches
and the final result Is that franchise
covering Is to so years IL granted.
The works are built. People are them
compelled to pay highest rates to
meet interest on bonds and watere6
stocks. The company perhaps pays
taxes less proportionately than tho
residents of the town are compelled
to pay. and the only money left in
the community that is earned by tho
operation of the plant are the taxes
paid, the wages of the few laborers
employed, and the salaries that a few
''straw" officers draw. All the profits
afe drawn to the owners of the plant
In some other city, generally Wall
street, New York. Thus is built up
q system that draws the money earned
in the community to some other place.
1t is the same with street-car sys-
TENS, electric and gas lighting plants
and all other semi-public and public
utilities under private ownership, and:
II, which tol ;c; nh "a In
vested.
Should these utilities be owned by
home capital, all the earnings would
be retained in the community, to seek
investment in other improvements and
the people would receive general
benefit. There is no argument that
can prove that foreign ownership OF
any enterprise is good for a commit
nifty. Any system, it matters not
whether In commercial line, financial
or other branch, that takes from a
community the earnings Of the people
and alses them for the enrichment Of
other sections, is a wrong system.
Let business men of every town get
these facts fixed indelibly,:. in their
heads. Let commercial club enthusi-
asts settle down to the fact that when
through their work any enterprise IS
built up that means continual drain
on the resources of the place, it Isl
better there be no commercial club.
II there are any enterprising citizens
enough In place to invest in their own
town in this way, the town should
have no difficulty in stimulating a
municipal ownership sentiment and
have the good work carried on. Com
mercial clubs are all right, but it is
often that they are operated all wrong
than all right.
The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-28
DEBTS OF THE NATIONS.
South American Republics Have the
Heaviest Liabilities.

The recently issued annual repor:
of the British Corporation of Foreign
Bondholders for 1905-06 is an extreme
ly interesting document, showing, as
it does, the appalling burden of debt
under which some of the South and
Central American relAblics are labor
ing, as well as indicating the fact that
hope is long abiding in the British
heart. Among the bonds listed as out
standing and in default are the items:
Confederate States, bonds in the sum
of $12,0s0,0O0, interest $35,533,070;
Mississippi bonds (the repudiated
"carpetbag" issue), 100000, interest
$24,420,0O0, as well as about $4,000.
900 charged against Louisiana and
West Virginia.
The report further shows that there
are just three countries in the world
which have totally defaulted in the
payment of their external debts-Cos.
ia Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. The
bonds and interest of these republics
unpaid are as follows: Costa Rica,
bonds $4,000, 900, interest $3.50, 900;
Guatemala, bonds $7,414,000, interest
$2,372,4S0; Honduras, bonds $26,992,.
$50, with the enormous unpaid interest
of $7S,771,995.
During the last 30 years the prog.
ress of eliminating defaults has, on
the whole, especially among the Latin
American republics, been steady. The
total approximate amount of loans In
default exclusive Of interest res III in ar:
1906 the sum had been reduced to $70,.
10000, unpaid interest Id each case
almost equaling the principal.