davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
At the Sugar Camp. By Charles lincoln pnits+:

crullers, which Charley thought very good,
because the extra exertion had made him
hungry Mr.. Moulton dipped some sap
from one of the kettles and poured 1t
over slice of bread, and Charley was
surprised to find that this was very sweet
lie understood now how syrup was made
by boiling the sap down.
After luncheon the sap was to be gath
cred again. and then the boys took axes
and between them got ready a great pile
of wood
Once again that day the sap was gath
cred and poured into tubs for future
reference; and then the boys, thoroughly
tired. piled down on the pallets laid on
the floor of the hut. and drawing the
coverlets over their heads. passed into
the land OF dreams Once during the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

a Western territory while this youth
was still In his teens, and he became
the secretary of the governor. He went
over the famous Sante Fe trail. When
In the state where his brother was to
rule he had little to do, and this gave
him opportunity to go into the mining
country at the period when the romance
of its development was being wrought
out into curious fact.
Now the boy was ready for his work.
He understood America In her unusual as
poets, and he knew how to write. From
the river which he had followed he bor-
rowed a name, mark Twain" and made
1t famous, though his own, real name
Is largely forgotten. Can you tell it?
From his knowledge of mining con-
ditions he wrote the story of 1.-THE Jump
ing Frog" and "Buck Henshaw's Fun
eral," and these, touching the hearts
of thousands as true pictures of quaint
characters. gave him reputation. From
his own boyhood in the days OF river
traffic he prepared the stories of TON
Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn" and
these appealed to real boys everywhere.
Today the fame of Mark Twain is
worldwide. He has made more money
than any other American author. He is
reckoned as a humorlst But he Is more
than a humorist. He is great because he
understood a quaint period of American
development and pictured 1t as 1t was.
That which passes for humor In him is
merely an appreciation of the quaint
ness which has no counterpart in any
other nation or any other period of his
tory. Others have strained after humor,
but 1t does not live. Mark Twain merely
caught the humor of reality and 1t Will
live. No other man in America, per-
haps no other man in this age, had
such opportunities as he had to gather
material first hand, together with the
training which enabled him to utilize
the material Therefore he is the great
est humorist of this age, and Will IN
all probability remain the greatest OF
all ages since Cerventes. The reason
he is such lies in his boyhood-his OPP
portunities and his use of the chance.
In this day there may not be the
romance of pioneering to attract-no
"Roughing IT. or Life on the Missis-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

~oME 20 years ago there was born in
u little Missouri town a child that grew
~ to manhood and made for himself
name that was not his real name. As
a boy he was genuine. He liked to play,
and he liked to play practical jokes In
his birthplace they tell to this day of
tricks he played. He tells of them him
self In some of his books, and If you
have ever read TON Sawyer" and
"Huckleberry Finn" you have read many
incidents from the life Of this boy. Han
nibal, his birthplace, was a river town, In
the days when steamboating was at It's
height, and this youth naturally took to
the river. AS a child he learned to tell
the different boats that piled the stream
from the whistle, long before they ap-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

train to another boy. Not everything
that begins with an acorn and then dies,
in part, turns INTO as many things as l
did. Sometimes l could hear the squeak
of a hickory whistle another little boy
carried and knew it was part of me; but
1t did not seem like 1t was, and this was
the most wonderful thing of all.
After a long time the little boy lost me
In the grass, and l lay there the longest
time, nothing but a stick, getting drier
all the time. My, but it is lonesome, and
tiresome, to be lost and useless! con-
fess l slept good deal, merely to pass
the time away. Once, there was white
coverlet spread over me, and at first 1t
was cold and | thought l was going to
die; but after awhile l lay SO snug and
warm, and snoczed for ever SO long.
When / awakened grass was growing
partly over me, and violet nestled at
my side and sometimes spoke to me
with fragrant breath.
/ must tell you what / saw one day.
There came first a wagon, being driven
very slowly, and inside was a little white
box; and behind it followed another
wagon, In which there was a woman in
black, weeping softly, and man, and the
big boy, who had cut me from my stump;
and behind them was string of wagons
moving slowly, all in row. There was
something about 1t which made me feel
very sad.
Just then something passed me which
seemed only a shadow, and it appeared to
me that / could see the little boy with
whom l had had such times. He bent
over me and I heard him say softly, like
the voice of the violet, 'Oh, there is my
good stick horse. Come with me, Horsey."
think l shall go with him. l am
lonesome without him and l am getting
weak. Who knows what ! may be in
the place beyond?
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

greenbacks. just like sure enough money.
One day a boy tent over me with his
knife and began cutting me down. The
knife was dull and hacked me terribly,
and you may be sure l suffered. 1t is
not pleasant to be cut in two, slowly,
and to live through it all. But I had no
hands and SO was powerless to defend
myself.
The boy stripped off my limbs, and,
cutting off q piece from my body with
which to make whistle, dropped the
rest of me In the road to die. Here
was all cut to pieces, yet still living.
The leaves soon withered and felt them
no more, and in the course of a few days
the piece that had been skinned so as TO
form whistle dried up and ceased TO be
painful; but the body of me, in the road.
lived on and on In the dust and nearly
famished.
Before l died, however; that is, befora
the biggest piece of me died, a little boy
passed by, and, straddling me, went
praneing down the road. He called me
Horsey, and as ] looked, sure enough
did seem to be a great black pony.
"Geddup," he called. and We galloped
down the road, making the dust fly high
into the air.
I'VE are almost to New York." he said,
and, in the distance l saw haze and
countless chimneys and spires and sky
scrapers, tow erlng up like goods boxes
on the sidewalk.
Now" said the boy, I'VE are almost 10
the sea-" And could behold a stretch
of green, with birds careening over the
waves and sails and smoke in the dis
tance.
Then we raced to q train, and actually
beat it; and IT last, wearied with our
travels, he hitched me to a fence to feed,
and under my parent tree he went to
sleep.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

also were working at the zap of the
trees
''Why do the bees Gomez" asked Char
ley.
why, don't you know?" asked Simon
with an air of superior wisdom. They
make honey from the sap just as we make
sugar from it,
"Why don't we make honey out Of it
If the bees camp
This time Simon was puzzled. He pre-
tended TO be too absorbed to hear.
WELL why do the bees swarm In the
tops of the trees? The sap isn't flowing
there. is it?''
This time Simon heard. NO. he an
swered, but the trees are coming into
bloom there. They always begin to bloom
at the top and the end leaves first.
don't know why. because, of course, the
blood can't come till the sap flows, and
they say the sap is in the roots all win
ter so that it has to pass through the
tree trunk to reach the branches.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

Y7E ERE goin' to the Sugar Camp next
"A week. Want to go along, CharleyY
WV 1t was Mr.. Moulton speaking to his
nephew, Charley Moulton. one Saturday
afternoon in midwlnter as he was prepar-
ing to drive home after a call at his
brothers. house in town.
"Ot course I should like TO go. Please,
mamma, can't 1 go?' asked Charley.
II don't like to have you miss school"
al will give Charley half of the sugar
made from the sap he brings in said
Mr.. Moulton. at will do the boy good
to rough it a 1ittle.'
Mrs. Moulton reflected. She remem-
bered how once, as a girl, she had WIS.,
tied a camp and how she enjoyed it. de-
spite the cold. After awhile she said:
81 have a great mind to let him go.
"Hurrah I" shouted Charley, consider
ing the matter fully settled where's
my cap and overcoat and mittensT'
Mr.. Moulton laughed, and the mother
set to work getting ready the things he
was to take. In the meantime she was
giving him instructions and advice, not
half of which he could remember, and
telling the uncle to take good care of
him.
At last they were off, Charley and his
cousins, Jacob and Simon. They had great
times that night, sitting before the big
fireplace, popping and parching corn and
cracking walnuts. For supper they had
mush and milk, a great crock of milk
setting on the table to supply the sew
eral bowls: and they told Indian stories
after supper. The next day they fed the
horses. and tumbled in the hay In the
large NOW, and hunted hens nests. 1t
was SO different from the way Charley
usually spent Sunday, at Sunday school
and the Junior League. During the day
they packed kettles and pans and bedding
and various other things in the great
wagon, ready for the start to the Sugar
Camp the next morning, and the entire
household retired very soon after dark.
1t was so early Charley couldn't Sleep and
IS he lay in the attic where the rafters
were hung with strings of pumpkins,
sage and pennyroyal and other medicinal
herbs the aunt had prepared against a
day of need, he imagined all sorts of
uncanny shapes moving amid the shad-
owy outlines and was so frightened he
could hardly sleep at all.
But II they went to bed early they got
up even earlier. 1t didn't seem to Charley
like it could be much past midnight. He
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

peared In sight. He learned the river
tales that constitute one of the most
romantic periods of American history.
He saw and understood the poem of
pioneering. Later he went on the river
as a pilot, and here he learned more of
quaint and heroic phase of Americas
history. Then he entered a printing
office and partly learned the trade of
printing. He was too lazy to follow that
occupation, but all this was training him
for a place he was destined later to
take In American literature. And this
was not all the training that came to
him. 1t seemed that the genius of
American history had selected him for
her recorder and was giving him all op-
portunity to prepare for the work. His
brother got appointment as governor of
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
The Dying OF a Stick Horse.
BY PUSH.

~ on would scarcely believe that once
" was one of the finest horses that
II ever pranced along the roadway
am only stick now, and yet | was once
a beautiful horse, with flowing name and
tail. and sporting bride, which had
silver bangles that glittered In the sun.
No doubt 1t seems strange to you that
plain old stick could be thus transformed,
but there can be no question of the truth
Of 1t.
And before ! wa~s horse | was a
hickory bush, growing BY the roadside;
md before l was sprout was 49, OK
pry nut that had fallen fro& 70
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
81 don't see any flowers" objected

81 don't see any flowers" objected
Charley.
mo, naples have no flower leaves. But
they are in bloom all right. This means
that the sap will soon cease to flow and
the sugar season will be over
Sure enough, 1t was SO. By Saturday
noon the small drippings had been gath
cred and boiled down. and the spikes re-
moved from the trees. Then the utensils
were collected, the sugar and syrup load
ed into the wagon and the hut was aban-
doned for another year. Charley would
have liked to stay another Sunday with
his cousin, but his aunt, knowing a moth
er's heart, thought he had better return
home.
And he did, bearing with him stores of
syrup and sugar, and still sweeter men,
cries that will remain with him while life
lasts.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
LETTER ENIGMA.

My first is In simple, but not in fool;
My second Is in pupil, but not in rule;
My third Is in bright, but not in sun;
My fourth is In river, but not In run;
My fifth is In neat, but not In tidy;
My sixth is in good, but not In Friday.
My whole spells a time
To all children dear,
And they hail 1t most gladly
When 1t comes every year.
HIDDEN PET PUZZLE.
By taking the initial letter Of one
syllable word from each of the following
sentences and writing them together in
the order in which they come the name OF
a little pet will be SPELLED:
Strive to be good rather than to be rich.
Go to the ant for lessons In industry.
The world looks happy through bright
SMILE
THE fourth letter Is the same as the
third.)
doned.
Always turn aside from evil
BEHEADINGs.
"a Behead that which slgnifes empti-
ness and leave the gait of horse. ~
Triply behead the stem of a certain species
of palm and leave that which boys wear
on their faces In summer time t3) Be-
head a number of sea vessels ana leave
grain.
CURTAILINGS.
"a Triply curtail the horn Of an anil
mai and leave a small insect. (2) Doubly
curtail to bawl and leave hollow instru-
ment that rings. 49, Douby curtail a
horn used by hunters and leave an insect
CONUNDRUMS.
When are oysters like fretful wives7
When In stet0.
Why is an orange like church steeple
RecGwao p6 Get peel from II.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
Sketch OF an American Humorist.

sipi," no "Gilded Age" or "River Ia
demanding voice. but nevertheless, Il
are strange things happening now !
some boy or some girl shall see
transcribe for the entertainment and
struction of the future. when "even
has passed away" Which of you
In preparation for this work of record
what nature and man both want say
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

with oyerhanging branches. Oh | have
had an eventful life, even If | am young
and dear now.
remember as | stood by the roadside.
spreading out my leaves and branches
and watching wagons that ratified by in
the road near me, causing the dust to
rise and cover my leaves-how | longed
then to travel. But ! couldn't, because
] was rooted fast In the earth. Yet ] got
to travel
The boys, going to school, used to pass
and break of my leaves, peeling the twigs
and selling them as candy for the leaves,
which they called money. They were
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

The Way He Cleared the Court
An English gentleman relates this litl
incident: "In Cork ! remember SUI
numerary crier, who was substituting /,
a sick man. trying TO clear the court
a loud voice he cried: All re blal
guards that isn't lawyers lave the CO.
at once, or by the powers I'll make ye.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
Irish Wit.

A gentleman. seeing Patrick digging
the ground, stopped TO inquire: w
are you digging out that hole for, Pa
Sure" replied Pat with a grin. -
diggin out the dirt an LAWN the hole
look after itself. soir.''
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

Now. this was life Oh, the many
places we visited together! oh, the many
transformations made, from horse to
a sword. and from sword to a scepter,
and from a scepter to a train, and from
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

A pig with fondness for ease
Said, I'm dreaming; don't bother me, please.
/ can in my eye
A castle on high
Surrounded by June apple trees"
A raven who CHANGED to be nigh
Said, You'd better come down from the sky.
No castle for you
With June apples, too.
What you see is sly in your eye"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
! OUPuZZle Corner s

What flowers are always under pei
sons nose?
Tulips (tioo Hps).
ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS PUZZLEl
LETTER ENIGMA: Be Good
HIDDEN POET PUZZLE. Dryden
BEHEADINGS: (1) Braid-raid. Is
Service-pice. (3) March-arch
CURTAILINGS: "a Sunday-sun. G:
Chapter-chdp t3) Father-fat
The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-06-26
A Tart Retort.

A good story is told OF prominent
society woman at Newport whose
name cannot for obvious reasons be
given here.
1t appears that an extremely weai'
thy matron who has not always en-
joyed her present social prominence
was making certain supercillous rel
erences as to a young girl who had
been presented by the lady first men
toned. "By the way" languidly ask
ed the wealthy matron, who is your
friend Miss Blank?"
Miss Blank is a charming blrl,
was the smiling response, well bred.
as you see, accomplished, entertain
ing"
ooh, yes, of course" continued the
other. "but, my dear Mrs. so-and-so.
YOU know what mean-who is she?'
my dear woman" retorted the first
lady. Il can no more tell you who
Miss Blank is than l could have in
formed those who asked me who you
we're when you first came to New
port."-St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-06-26
PointIess Punctuation.

Massachusetts has a law, known as
the "semicolon law" under which
misplaced semicolon regulates the IL
ouor traffic in the city of Boston.
But this is not a circumstance to an
omitted comma as instanced in the
following act of the last Legislature
of Massachusetts: Whoever operates
an automobile or motorcycle on
any public way or private way laid
out under the authority of law reck-
lessly or while under the influence Of
liquor, or so as to endanger the lives
or safety of the public" etc. 1t is
now asserted that the reckless motor
list can go as he pleases on highways
which have not been laid out under
the influence of liquor. Albany Ar
gus.
The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-06-26
Day by day

asked him the reason. Day by day
she became more and more filled
with the conviction tb2t the sto"y OF
her life was to end in tragedy. But
she was no fatalis1. and SIC fought
hard against the feeling. Size told
herself that she he'd so much to live
for. She determined to live. She
resolved that when the next JUNK
called she would send a message to
Churgking. asking for relief and
leave of absence for her husband.
One night she awoke from the
sleeping mattress that served her for
a bed to find him absent from her
side. She sat up and looked about
her. Beyond the window the night
was calm and the moonlight streameG
upon the floor, lighting the further
room through the open door. in
that room their living room, she
could see the figure of her husband
going to and fro with stealthy foot
steps, peering through the chinks OF
the shattered windows ard drawing
back again with nervous haste. In
quick alarm she rose and went TO
him. At her touch he turned and
gripped her wrist fast, his eyes allght
with insanity.
"They are coming! They are COM
ing!" he whispered. Il hear them
whispering all about. They will be
upon us soon"
Dearest" she cried, anxiously.
there is nothing-no one. The
night is calm. There isn't sound. y
'Listen!" he said sharply, releas-
ing her wrist and lifting up his hand.
In the silence that followed she
strained her ears to hear what he
spoke of, but in vain. Not even the
gentlest murmur of the wind broke
the peace of the night. But his face
was distorted with terror He cast
his eyes upward and shrieked aloud.
''The smoke. The smoke!' he
cried. Look at it curling up there.
They have fired the house. They are
| devils-cruel devils with yellow
faces. Lucy, we must part. You
must not fall into their hands alive. y
She felt a pang at his words. she
had never heard the name of his first
wife before. But she had little time
to think. A revolver cleaned in his
hand. and he forced her upon he1
knees.
John! John dear!" she cried in
utter terror. There is nothing! AL
is quiet!'
The sharp sound of the shot shat,
tered the silence She pitched for
ward without a groan. She lay yer,
still, a little 'trickle of blood gather
ing in a pool upon the floor. Out
side in the night the unhappy mar
raced madly along, firing at imagin
airy foes, shouting and clutching al
the air. The wheel had come full
circle. He had passed back through
years of forgetfulness to the point
where memory had been lost.-Tht
| Sketch.
The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-06-26
RIVERS OF CHINA.
'.'s'-" Waterways to be Developed
New system Of Police Control.


The realization Of imminent perils
from the inland waterways OF The prov
lnCes has led China to adopt sUch
means as seem nest available ana
practicable for the more adequate pro-
lection Of her riverine system. Prov
inces that have hitherto had no spec
ial provision for policing by water
patrol are to have their rivers and 9TH
err naEieable channels inland guarded
alike for the suppression OF piracy ana
also with a view to prevent the SNUG
Cling into the interior OF arms and
munitions OF war.
We notice that the provinces OF HUI
nan and Hupei are to have prov
incial admiral" under whose special
jurisdiction will be the charge OF rlv-
crime defence. Thus far in the his
tory Of administration of the empire
this class of officials has, we believe.
held office only in the seaboard PROV
inees. When, however, the extent ana
excellence of inland waterways within
the bounds of the provinces under con-
sideration are appreciated 1t becomes
clear that on their proper control the
fate of the country in times OF emer-
gency may conceivably depend.
Human is drained by four rivers
which all empty into the Tung-ung
lake. A glance at any reliable map
will show that the basin of these nv
ers covers little less than half the
province and the fact that the River
Tsiang Chang and certain Of its nu-
merous tributaries are navigable lot
cargo boats is significant in relation TO
| facilities for easy transportation De-
tween the Yangtse and all the eastern
part of Human to the borders OF this
province of Kwang-tung. To judge OF
! the extended system, some OF its RAM
ifications, the journey across from the
Kwang-tung north river OF L1en-chau
| to a point in Human where navlgaple
stream is reached that connects Win
| channels by which the traveller may
go through to the Yangtse is quite
practicable, and has been undertaken
recently with fair frequency by persons
bent on getting views of three OF the
finest provinces in China.
AS for Hupei, province divided Dy
the Yangtse into southern and north
ern part, the means Of transportation
afforded by this river and by the Han.
which joins the Yangtse at Hankow,
are among the marvels of inland nav
| igation. We have indicated some OF
the circumstances leading to more
careful and complete control OF these
great waterways. Other causes are
presumably to be sought in the ten
dency recently manifested by western
nations to take upon themselves the
duty of patrolling Chinese rivers. jap
an has been the last to intimate an IN
tention of sending war vessels up the
Yangtse, and in view Of the situation
that now obtains between these TWO
countries the reasons for proper con-
troll and safeguarding Of their avenues
of access to her territory have recelV-
ed additional weight and importance
China Mail.