davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
O Captainl My Captain!

o captain! my captain. our fearful
trip is done.
The ship has weathered every rack, the
prize we sought is won;
The port is near. the bells L hear, the
people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the
vessel grim and daring.
But o heart. heart. heart.
o the bleeding drops OF red.
Where on the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
o captain. my captain, rise up and hear
the BELLS
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for
you the bugIe trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths,
for you the shores a-erowding.
For you they call, the swaying mass,
their eager faces turning
Here, captain! dear fatherl
This arm beneath your headi
1t is some dream that on the deck
You've fallen cold and dead.
My captain does not answer, his lips
are pale and still;
Ny father does not feel my arm, ne has
no pulse or will
The ship is anchored safe and sound. its
voyage closed and done
From fearful trip the victor ship comes
in with object won.
Exult, o shores, and ring. o bells,
But /, with mournful tread
Walk the deck, my captain lies
Fallen cold and dead.
Walt Whitman.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
The Thread Of Life

4 GENIUS appeared one day to lit
n tie boy, and presenting him with
ball of thread, said: Here, take
this; it is the thread of thy life; you
may be sparing or prodigal of it, as
you please So long as you are salts
fed with your condition touch not the
thread, and the hand Of time will stand
still for you; but when life appears
wearisome pull the thread and your
days will pass with the rapidity of
lightning"
The child received the mysterious
present with joy and it was not long
before he put its power to the test
He was impatient of the control of the
servants who had charge of him. and
was often out of humor, when his
parents, for his own good. opposed his
whims. How happy one is, said he,
when one has no longer a nurse,
when one is a big boy, when one is 10
years old!'' To be so he had only to
unwind a few turns of the thread.
But another kind of authority sue
ceeded to the superintendent of serv-
ants. The boy had no longer a nurse;
they gave him a tutor. Every day he
pulled the thread, imperceptibly as 1t
were, in order to shorten the duration
of his lessons. But his tutor accom-
panied him, even in his recreations
continual spy upon his actions, he
pulled the thread. till he felt he had a
beard upon his chin. Now I am
happy" cried he; "at length L am
free"
He was soon tired Of the enjoyment
of this liberty. He envied the lot OF
grown up men, who had a position in
society, d wife and family; he sacrificed
little bit more of the thread and
&
fee, owner of splendid mansion and
surrounded with handsome children
This is all very WELL said he
mighty well: my place is a capital one
but 1t condemns me to perfect drudg-
cry; my children are charming, but
they often fatigue me with their pratt
tie OH how / long for the time wher
/ shall have my pension, and when J
shall settle my boys and girlsn' AS he
made this reflection he happened tc
have his hand on the ball of thread
he could not help pulling 1t. The look.
Ing glass imm ediately reflected his
gray hairs. and his children, doubled II
number, jumped themselves around
him.
AS soon as he beheId his sons in Law
and his daughters in law. he wished Il
be q grandfather. What a pleasure
1t would be-, said he, 'to dandle upor
my knees the children of my children
He had again recourse to the ball o.
thread to satisfy his fancy. The littl,
boys and girls arrived, filing thei,
grandpapa's apartment with theil
cries. But, alasi gout, rheumatism ans
other infrmities came likewise.
The old man. confined TO his bed,
stranger to every pleasure, with hi
senses impaired, would often cry out
When will all this epd?" BY tn
slightest gesture he might have termi
mated all his woes, as he still possessed
the fatal ball: but for some time pas
he had become a niggard OF th
precious thread; he treasured 1t vi
without touching it. One day. however
overcome with pain, he pulled IL, an,
behold him at rest forever.
The poor man had not lived alto
gether more than six months since tn
visit of the Genius. Did heaven bu
listen TO our desires. the term OF ou
life would often be no longer.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
You're a Brick

No doubt you have often heard one
man say to another. when he is very
much pleased, You are a brick, old
fellow"
Perhaps you will think it is a very
queer thing to say, but will tell you
how such saying is said to have come
in use.
Many, many years ago famous king
sent an ambassador to another famous
king. The ambassador was much sur
prlsed to find that the king whom he
was visiting had no walls around his
city
In those days, of course. in order to
keep out enemies, nearly every city
was surrounded by strong and high
walls So the surprised ambassador
said to the king. why, you have no
walls for the city?''
I'VE have said the king.
Where, where?" asked the ambassa-
dor. more surprised than ever
The king then pointed to his large
army, which was not far away, and
said, with smile. There are the walls
of my city. Every man you see is a
brick!'
The king meant that an enemy would
have to defeat these soldiers before
they-that is, the enemy-could enter
the city.-North American.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12

An ingenious apothecary of Cron-
berg. Germany as far back as the
forties of the last century, organized
a carrier pigeon mail for the convey
ance of prescriptions from the sur
rounding villages to his shop. and the
same idea was taken up a few years
ago by his son, Doctor Neubronner.
who extended 1t to the transport of
small quantities of medioaments- Now
the fact that one of his winged mes
sengers was once delayed unexpected
" suggested the idea of recording his
route by means of Photographic views.
Doctor Neubronner accordingly provid-
ed the pigeon with a miniature camera,
effecting by an automatically opening
shutter some very satisfactory photo
graphic views, and this success induced
him to design special Photographic ap-
paratus which allows up to 80 views
of one and a half inches square to
be obtained at very short intervals.
The task of constructing an automatic
camera, the weight of which, includ-
ing all accessories, must not exceed
two and a half ounces, was by no
means an easy one.
One type of apparatus, says the Ber-
lin correspondent of the Scientific
American, comprises two seif-con-
tanned cameras with lenses pointing
forward and backward respectively,
so as to obtain at least one view of
the ground In any position OF the
pigeon. The TWO cameras are fitted
In a light frame of aluminium, attached
by straps and rubber bands to the
body OF the bird The shutter is re-
leased by a spoon shaped lever, the
cavity of which Is thrown out by a
rubber ball filed with air and per-
forated by minute opening. AS the
air escapes the rubber ball collapses
shutter. In the case of another form
of apparatus a single lens is used In
connection with film, on which a
number of successive exposures are
made by a rubber ball and clock mech
anism at given intervals of, say, half
a minute.
AS a carrier pigeon, after starting
at first describes a spiral line, 1t is
quite easy to take q number of views
of given portion of the ground from
different points of view After once
determining the position of its cote
which IL recognizes from a distance OF
upward of 20 miles-the pigeon flies
toward It's goal in straight line and
at the uniform speed of an express
train. so that the route to be recorded
photographicaliy can be readily deter.
mined in advance.
Photographer pigeons are likely tc
prove useful primarily for strategica
purposes. From besieged places the,
allow the positions of the beleaguers
to be ascertained, while the latter car
obtain information as to the tonoe.
raphy OF the besieged.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
he Pigeon as Photographer Little Old LADY Over the Way

When we were children together we
lived
In a quiet village, street;
And little old lady lives over the way,
With a garden of flowers sweet
There were bachelor buttons and four
oclocks,
And hoIIyhocks by the gate,
liked these old fashioned flowers the
best,
And so did sister Kate
This lady was queen of the garden, we
thought,
For she was as gracious and sweet
AS the scent of the blossoms waited
When we passed that side of the
street.
She picked us a posy whenever we
paused
And loitered there by the gate;
And often she said, Come in, my
dears,'
If the hour was not too late.
There were Ned and VIII, and Katie
and I,
And all of US loved to play
In sight of the cottage where lived
The dear, old lady over the way.
The morning glories climbed over the
porch;
The walk was so shady and cool,
It tempted us often to lirger and chat
When we were returning from school.
And Katie and / would initiate
Her gracious smile in our play,
And try to say, why. bless you. dears"
Like the sweet, old lady over the
way.
Sometimes we talked in the cleaning
and told
What each of us meant to be
When we had grown to women and
men;
And VIII was going to sea.
And-Ned would be lawyer, he said
He'd prove 1t to us some day.
But Katie and 1 both wanted to be
A little, old woman over the way.
Ella Martin.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
War

The hunting tribes of air and earth
Respect the brethren of their birth;
Nature. who loves the claim of kind,
Less cruel chase to each assigned:
The falcon, poised on soaring wing,
Watches the wild duck at the spring;
The slowhound wakes the fox's lair,
The greyhound presses on the hare,
The eagle pounces on the lamb,
The wolf devours the f1eecy dam,
Fen tiger fell and sullen bear
Their likeness and their lineage spare
Man only mars kind natures plan,
And turns the fierce pursuit on man,
Plying wars desultory trade,
Incursion. flight and ambuscade;
Since Nimrod, Cush's mighty son,
At frst the bloody game begun.
Sir Walter Scott
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
THE BIOGRAPHY OF A MOCKTNG BIRD

tering names, but suddenly he became
known to every one as Peter Pan and
Peter Pan he remained.
There could not have been a more
fitting name. Peter and I spent most Of
our time in a treetop house in the or
chard. 1t was far enough away from
the house TO take some of the edge off
of Peters voice culture squawks.
Cant you stop him. the family
cried. "Oh. take him away from the
house or make him stop"
So Peter and 1 camped in the or
chard Meekly I tied his treetop house
to a swinging branch near the ground,
and meekly I kept him company lest
some hungry cat from the neignbor's
should be allured by Peters mega
phone. siren voice.
1 don't know what might have hap
pened il 1 had not suddenly decided
to go on a strike. Peter must learn
TO put those worms into MS mouth for
himself-he must, Moreover, he must
learn to eat out of dish. too. I did
not propose to spend a summer tied
to Peter. all rights reserved. l stuffed
my ears with cotton and put a dish
in his cage. froze my feelings, took
q book and went of and hid.
From that time on Peters squawks
moderated. fl could Keep safely out
of sight all was peace and quiet, but
# I appeared anywhere in sight lac
air was rent with insistent shrieks
for worms, Strawberries. grated car
rots. nything-something 70 go down
that open void of rnroat-somethfng
10 be put into the gap at oncel
So Peter was banished to the region
OF the kitchen porch. Here during the
long bright days of spring Peter
turned his thoughts toward his great
est ambition. In low, soft. lisping
little tones, scarcely to be heard. he
practiced singing. We could hardly
believe our ears. This, indeed, was
Peter Pan, the little fairy of the wood
land.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12

was warm sunny day when I
first saw him. lie arrived suddenly,
unexpectedly. just at sundown. He
was the biggest kind of a surprise; in
fact, the idea Of mocking bird being
anywhere around was the last thought
in my mind when shrill squawk
smote the quiet air-and he was herei
Five minutes ago had been care
free, listening to the call Of the robins
IN the garden, and then-he arrived
without any warning. a present from
g little colored maid we had had with
US. a little maid who had gone back
10 school in the south.
I put my hand into the cage to draw
him out, when suddenly there was a
transformation His rufied majesty,
Tapping his two little wings. hoped
toward my hand with his mouth wide
open and a shrek that was a regular
carving knife
What do nocking birds eat? Surely
not seed! I carried him around TO the
kitchen 10 consult with our colored
cook
Yes, she knew all about mocking
birds. Thank goodness
While he sat on my forehnger with
his claws clasped tightly around il he
opened his mouth again and limited
broadly that we'd better hurry up; he
was most uncommonly, vociferously,
squawkingly hungry.
Mercy
As fast as possible we-stuffed bits Of
strawberry down his gaping throat.
Piece by piece they went down. and
still he cried for more. Then. unex-
pectedlv. he refused TO eat any more.
shut his black eyes and started to
take q nap as nonchslantly as a DOR
mouse.
After dinner the cook and I labored
further in his behalf, and he showed
such great partiality for Ida, the cook.
that when ne uttered his first little
confding note OF gratitude and recog-
milton 10 her I became distinctly jeal-
Gus. 7 confess.
7 put him TO bed on bit Of bloom
ing apple bough and in the darkness
be was quiet
But bright and early next morning
he began tos issue his regal commands
] rubbed my eyes and sought the gar
den 10 dig for worms. They had tC
be dropped adroitly down his throat a
Just the proper angle. The process Ne
quired art and twig. The worm. bal
snced on the end Of the twig. fell int
the squawking throat If dexterousIy
managed otherwise there was a ter
rible hubbub with much tapping o.
wings.
Really, I never saw such a greedy
think he could have kept it up foreyei
n I hadn't gathered him up out o.
the grass and put him back in his new
abode. a large canary cage.
look back with horror at the though
of those first days OF his advent. H
did make such q racket,
II I ventured so much as out of thi
garden gate TO the post boX.one squawl
from the cage, one squawk louder an'
hercer than all preceding squawks tina
had ever been. sent me scurrying hom
st the rate Of hook and ladder com
psuy on the way to a fire.
"Chuck-chuck." he remarked IN
hattering little soft voice when he saw
me. "Of course. you will kindly get m
two dozen nice curly little black gardel
worms THIS INSTANT"
oh. dear me. II was terrible,
AS these strenuous days wore on ",
decided that so marked an individualit,
should have a name. All kinds o
names were suggested We named hin
after the little maid who had sent him
We named him after her school. H
was called Squawk and other more fat
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
When the Birds Come North

Oh, every year hath its winter
And every year hath it's rain
But day is always coming
When the birds come north again
When new leaves swell in the forest.
And grass springs green on the plain.
And the a1der's vein turns crimson
And the birds come north again.
Oh. every heart hath it's sorrow,
And every heart hath its pain
But a day is always coming
When the birds coWe north again.
'Tis the sweetest thing to remember,
II courage be on the wane,
When the cold. dark days are over
Why, the birds come north again
Ella HigginSon.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
An Interesting People Whose
Origin Is Unknown

The BASQUE provinces lie in the north
Of Spain, and although for centuries
students have tried to trace the real
origin of the people and find a key
to their language, they have failed 10
do So
The race is a. Catholic one, and their
devotion to the Catholic faith is so
firm that it is commonly said the
devil gave them up as a hopeless object
Of his sinister attentions, simply be-
cause he could never understand or
master theiG language. All other known
tongues spoken by the sons of men
have been shown to possess a COM
mon origin. traceable to the Arabic and
Semitic But the Basque language has
entirely resisted the philologist. In
some aspects the vernacular shows
traces of a Chinese admixture; in
others it is clear that North American
Indian terms are native to it. 1t also
shows traces of barbaric languages
spoken on the east coast of Africa.
The people themselves bear physiolo
gicaI traits found in those who speak
the said tongues. The native name of
Basoueland is Eskuara, and their
motto is "Iruracbat." or Three in
one" Nor is their political structure
anything like that or any known po-
Iitical body, though they belong, of
course. to Spain. Each Basque province
is governed by a parliament composed
of representatives-s partly by
election, partly by lot-apaong the
householders of each country parish
or town Their laws are essentially
pecultar to themselves, and are con-
ceived on no known code, either Of
ancient or medieval times. They are
the puzzle among nations, and number
500 900, all told.
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
A Reasonable Request

ct have already told him that I don't
want TO say anything about the matter.
and yet he rings the bell persistently.
said a woman who was an important
witness in a celebrated case and who
had given a reporter the key OF the
street The doorbell rang again
and again and again. At length she
opened a window and called out Sc
verely, Young man, do not desire to
say anything to you. Do not disturb
me any more. Go away, young man.
$50 1 will roared the reporter, "if
you'll come down and release my coat
tails from the door,
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
Why Nothing Was Expected of
Scnflaud

Scottish laird overheard some Low
land cattle dealers discussing the use
of England instead of Britain in
Nelson's famous signal. England eX-
poets chat every man will do his 6uty."
According to one patriotic Scot. there
was no question OF the admiraPs for
getfulness, and when companion ex-
pressed surprise at the injustice" the
patriot reassured him. Nelson" he
explained, "only expects of the Eng
lish; he seid nothing of Scotland. for
he kent the Scotch would do theirsr'
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12
A Bank in a Depot

An idea as unique as the "all night
savings bank" has been carried out BY
the opening of a bank in the Union
station at ST. Louis. The bank IL
known as the Union Station bank. has
a capital of 100000. and is equipped
with safety deposit vaults. 1t is open
for business from a m. until 10 D. m
The San Francisco call., 1909-06-12

Estimates of the standing timber in
the United States range all the way
from S22.S62, 100000 to 2,000,0 600, 900
board feet, difference of more than a
trillion feet in the estimation of the
hegt qualified authorities
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12

on the opposit's side of tt @ river in each
 case from the lock beD jnrine thereto i Navigation of the river Is riRidly
 preserved In he bin. The company ts
 to pay for tho water power use of the
 river as It's es iuitahSse share of the cost of each of tn . thr se dams and of the cost of the ecess ary lands s1,OOo 900 for each of hree dams the bonds to be, secured by nr st mortgage upon the entire propert y at per cent interest and having ss sinking fund provision of z1-2 per rant. beginning ten years after the dp ,Ee of the delivery of the bonds to ss United States upon the 'completion lsof each of the dams suc- cessfveiy The entire property at the end of nh aety-nfne years Is to revert to the Un fled States to be paid for by the unit' Id States at Q price to be determin' Id either by arbitration or condemn ation. as the Secretary of War may def Ade.
 Thee ksapany Is also 10 pay annually to the United States as rental 30 cents ! ber horse power for each horse power of the cornpany's electric install. lation.g Alfred ]. Stofer.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12
EVENING MEETING

Be sure your sin will find you out''-- Mumpers xxxii. s23--was the text of pr. rorrey's evening sermon Yesterday Eas said that this Is an age of many perpiexities and uncertainties. but that wnhe people can be in doubt about ali o.her questions. public ana private .here Is one thing that is absolutely and sure, and that is that no man car nope to escape from the consequences he pointed out six ways that a mans slns md, him out A5 me nrst way Is by the execution of numan laws. Besides illustrating this way With several very interesting sto- res. pr. Torrey said:
 Che execution of law in human so- rIs.y Ia necessarily imperfect. ana vet
 astonishing how surely men who greak the laws are sooner or Iater brought to book. A man may suecess- Lully eiude the meshes of the law for aays. or weeks, or rsmonths, or wears. put ne is all the time weaving a naf snat VIII almost certainly entrap hin, The second way that mems sirs Ana mem out Is in their own bodiess tl,as .s. ih q general way, there is an intI- mate connection between morality ana neaitn Holiness" he said, .sneIls neattn; sin spells sickness. z In dis
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12

| disregard the day altogether. They will very likely turn out infidels and drunkards and rakes and all that Is bad. There is nothing like becoming a Christian when your are young. II
 is good to become a Christian In your
 old age. but if you are converted when
 you are young then God gets one soul
 plus all of these remaniing years a
 work for Him.
 "The sin of the adulterer will Ind him out In his own children. He may escape himself. but,let him take heed for his daughter. l. knew of q very prominent and wealthy man. an excel
 lant man fin a good many respects who
 was led into sin. Ills wife freely for gave him. but his own daughter fell prey to an infamous scoundrel.
 "The sixth and last place that sin
 will find you out is in eternity. This present life Is not all. There Is fu- ture life and our acts and their con- sequences will follow us into 1t. If your sin does not find you out here it will there. You may be absolutely sure of that. Sometimes 1t seems as if men go on here shining with im- punity some of them condemning oth- CT men and their families to beggary that they may increase their already too enormous wealth. God will call them 10 StrlcL account, anu a IeW thousands or a few millions of their ill-gotten wealth given to charity will not blind the eyes of a holy God. They shall suffer. Men sometimes lay traps for foolish girls who go down to ruin and contempt and an outcasts' grave, and no one seems to call the man to an account. He goes on perhaps load ed with honors and Is admitted and made a Hon of in the "best society,".
 It will not always be so. His sin Win find him out if not in this world, in the next. He will stand before the universe exposed to shame loaded with dishonor, cast out to everlasting con tempt. Men despise God. laugh at His Word. and trample under foot His Son, and God still let's live. He does not seem to. call them to account but 1t will not always be so. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels. in flaming fire. taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power'".
The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12
Some Blind Tigers Not So Blind, Either

Tt Ia the work of. the Holy Spirit to make God real to you and me. When you pray. look up to God and ask Him to send you His Holy Spirit. These are the reasons that make us really sure that we can .Eoffie Into His presence and know when we are in Ills presence.
 pr. Torrey laid special emphasis up- on the fact that. Real praying is the hardest work you have ever done" He said There is nothing the Devil Is so afraid of as he is real praying. and he tries to stop 1t. So we must fight our way through. and wrestle with ourselves untif we are in the spirit for prayer. I used to be fighter when l was boy, but the hardest fighting that have ever done, has been on my knees. k}
 There is a right way and wrong way. To deliberately work yourseif into frenzy Is af abomination Tn the sight Of Bod. It is wrong. just as wrong as praying mechanically. The right way to pray to get what vol, ask IS to ask God to send His spirtt 70. tell you how to pray and what to pray for. and then to pray unto God --pg the Son--in the Spirit.