davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1909-04-18

for the first time of this race OF giant
makes is that they are the Seri Indians
that they apparently sprung from the
soil; that they are. TO use the scientific
term autochtlonS. In their appearance.
their language. their habits. customs the
ology, there IS no trace of anything but
Seri Their nearest neighbors. the Papa
goes are not related 10 them either by
blood language or anything else They
are race alone: their language in all
its roots. is their own. bearing not the
least resemblance 10 the ton.ues spoken
by any other red peoples of the western
hemisphere. Their habits. their customs
their Guasi-religious ceremonies are all
their own. They are race apart; every
mans hand is AGAINST A Ser and the
Seri's hand is aga INST every man. A race
of physically splendid outcas bronze ei-
ants Of Incredible endurance. vitality and
muscular strength--hut a race Of scaven-
gers who rob even tie vultures and the
coyotes of their horrid focd.
A race so skilled in savage warfare
and the wiles of the marauder as to
make the Apaches seem the verest ty-
ros in the art of making war. according
to Indian methods, but race SO debased
as TO make the bushmen of Africa shine
by contrast A race even the women of
which are able to run down, kill and dis
member the wild steers Of the Mexican
Evening star., 1909-04-18
Collecting and Hatching
225,OOO,O0O Perch Eggs
Continued from Second Pageo

men are men OF substance. Some or them
have thousands Of dollars invested In the
business and make large incomes. The
reporter entered the department launch
the Sea Gull and in a short time was
within sight of Battery Island. which IS
located in the middle of the Susquehanna,
about three miles below Havre de Grace.
The island holds, as well as the hatchery,
a lighthouse. whose keeper has been in
continuous service at this point for twenty
seven years.
The hatchery and the living rooms at
the battery are splendtdly equipped Inc
hatchery is well built and has a greater
capacity than the one at Bryans point.
The living quarters for the men are very
comfortable. The building In which the
sleeping rooms are located is heated
throughout with steam, which is furnished
by the pumping plant.
Supt. Snyder suggested visit
to the mess hall, which was, indeed. an
agreeable one. The men pay for their
own food and live surprisingly well at
the minimum of expense. The dinner
consisted of white perch and black bass.
fried potatoes. boiled ham and turnips,
tomatoes. tea and custard pudding.
Feed like this all the timer the re-
porter asked the superintendent.
I've get the best food We can procure
in the market" he replied. 'One of
the men has charge of the mess and the
others pay their money over to him. 1t
costs the men about SO each month.
Our cook is a very competent one. When
men are isolated for a few months
as We are they should have good food
Evening star., 1909-04-18

"a, activi,ies For example, I've got a
bunch or programs for the theatrical sea-
son of 1S76-7T at Ford's National Theater
! had the prosramk keeping bug for that
one wear only, but l often wish that had
stuck To the habit of saving the theatrical
hills of fare for there's been Iot doing
alwavs in the theatrical line in this mans
town.
..During tile season / mention there
was stock company at Fords Ma
,ional Theater. and the old programs
a.ant over them after reading The Star
stur-contained lot of interesting stun
Cor middle-aged codgers OF my type who
f.u unconsciously into the habit Of liv-
ing more or less in the past.
..rhe stock company held the boards
most of the time. but when star with
his or her own company swung along the
n,ock company laid Off But there weren't
,,apv such fay-offS. The stock company
worked pretty steadily.
..,rhe head man in the stock company
was that corking good actor. VINO sun
ca the game I believe. Louis James He
ISN'T seen I'm the east much of late years.
hut he's best remembered for his per-
formance of the Jester in Lawrence Bar
rett's production OF Francesca dl Rimini
Ia called himself Louis l.. James on the
nroorams when he played In stock here
back wonder In the centennial year. and
he sure must have been studious ana
well occupied young actor person In
tboSa days l remember him in play
caIIed wanted a Divorce which was
caiied on the program the most success
fuI of modern comedies. MIR. James
n,ayed Monsieur Armand Fauvinard. an
advocate.
,ouadays III ever. he was the Prince Hal
to the Sir John Falstaff of Ben dc Bar.
who is appreciatively remembered by the
Evening star., 1909-04-18

even the mile and a quarter of water
lying between. and were forced to re-
turn to Cos Rica. where a rude boat
ported across the desert to Bahia Kun
kaak, the nearest point to the island and
the shortest crossing. From there We
explored the smaller islands adjacent 10
Tiburon Island. as well the seaward
parts of Serland and finally landed on
Tiburon Island itSelf-the first and only
party of white men who ever visited
that island and returned safely.
1.-THE strait between the mainland and
the island itself offers greater obstacle
than does a passage to Europe. No
where in the world is there such stress
full and stormy water. The tides ebbing
and flowing meet in this narrow pass
age. the ebb. running like a mill race
meets the flood, and the churning and
boiling of the waters is indescrihab!e.
Huge spouts and jets of water shoot
from the seething surface; the water is
lashed into furious waves ard biiloWS
that wrench and tear asunder the craft
that essays a passage. The winds that
sweep down through the narrow gut add
TO the fury OF the waves, and these
winds are almost never still.
"A party might wait for weeks on the
shore trying to seize a favorable moment
without an opportunity offering for the
mile -and-a-quarter trip. The desert
Evening star., 1909-04-18

Island and eXtermnate the Seris root
and branch. Every effort to civiliZe or
subdue them has failed. and for four
centuries they have been a constant
source of trouble. No means has ever
been found of suhduing them or bringing
them to a recognition Of civilized control.
No man or party OF men is ever safe i'm
or near Seriland. even in time of pro-
foundest peace tho Seri will siay il the
least opportunity affords. 1t is his ma
ture, Just il is the nature of the wolf
to tear the throats OF sheep.
There are perhaps no more than iJ0 of
the Seris now. and of these not more than
az to leo are abe-bodied warriors: the
others are women, children and old men.
Ceaseless warfare against every one with
whom they come in contact has reduced
the Seris to this handful Perhaps at
some not far distant day the remainder OF
the race will disappear.
NO man says DIR. McGee. '.can live
in Seriand whose gun is not always
loaded always in condition for qyick and
accurate work. always at hand-never
laid down for an instant. No man can
live there who is not always on guard
always on the lookout always watchful
always suspicious. With half dozen
men such as know how to use a gun. and
who always wide awake and on their
guard. | would go to Tiburon Island and
20 over Ii from end to end I'm perfect
Evening star., 1909-04-18

oId-timers, for there never was a Fall
staff to hold a candle to Ben de Bar
portrayal Of the old ;ys. soysterer r, u-,ns.or
James PLAYED Master Ford. while Ben de
Bar did Falstaf again Then to show
how the old-time actors had TO jump
around in parts, Louis James played the
leading part during that season in Ca
mille' and he was ripping fine Armand
Duval Camille was called on the pro-
gram at that time Camille; or the Fate
Of a Coquette.
Then James played the lead in what
was called the latest London success.
Married in Haste Afterward little
later OH in the season. when Mary An
derson-then a slip or a girl, only seven
teen wears old--came along, Louis James
played Romeo to her Juliet, the Mercutio
being the famous OLD supporting actoi'
George c. Boniface
I'm this same production appears lhe
name of r. l.. Downing-our BOP Do"i-
ing of the later years. he Is Gown Oh
tbe program for the part of the servant
in the piece - -
Miss Anderson, even then. at the age
of seventeen, was giving her portrayal OF
the character of Lady Macbeth, ana MI.
James. always as busy as pro uos'
furnished her with his idea OF Macbeth
when Miss Anderson switched TO what
was called on the program 'Shiefs Great
Five-Act Play, "Evadne; or the Hall Oh
Statues'' Mr.. James was the Colonna.
or some reason or otiCi MSS -1'iuS'
son struggled through the play OF Guy
Mannering' without Mr.. James services.
but when she did what was called lien
ri Bornier's Great Play, Ber,he, me
Daughter Of Roland the hard worked
James was on the job in the part of Ger
aid.
"A bit later that same season Nine.
Janauschek came along. and Mr.. James
continuing to show you how hard the
old-time actors had TO work-was ready
for her production of Schiller's Marie
Stuart taking the part of Sir Edward
Mortimer
Janauschek switched later in the week
to what was called 'Mosenthals Great
Drama, Deborah" but She couldn't {
switch too fast for the industrious Louis
James to be with her. for he played the
lover of Deborah i'm the piece.
''The next star to come along was the
renowned Dion Boucicault, and Mr..
James was ready for him. too. assuming
the part of Capt. Molineux i'm Boucicaults S
mellow old Irish play, The Shaughran.
Right atop of Boucicault came the
ever-happy John T. Raymond. even TO
think about whom is bound to get US old
Evening star., 1909-04-18

fogiesl more or less around the neckband.
as the saying is. Mr.. Louis James, the
program tells me. was ready and waiting
for him. too. and was letter perfect in the
part of Col. George Selby in Raymond's s
convulsins production of Col. Sellers.
Then. when Mary Anderson came back
for return engagement, Mr.. James was
ready with his Interpretation OF Col. Man
nering when she gave Meg Merriies.'
when Harry j. Montague, that matt
low of the drifted years-he is described
on the program as the glass of fashion
and the mold of form in New York. the
observed of all observers in Central Park.
an actor whose exquisite manner and
easy grace on and off the stage have
made him the fashionable favorite of the
stase-when Montague came along with
his production of q play called False
Shame Mr.. Louis James was right there,
as usual. playing the part of Capt. Brad
leigh. And I've mentioned. by way
of indicating the hard job of the old-timc
actor, only partial list of the parts
that James played during that season
But even the list I've given shows how
zea.ously actor folk had to be on. the job
for their wages in those so-termed palmy
days of the stage. 1t is easy to imagine
the gloom that would mount to the brow
of the average leading man of this period
il he were asked to do one-tenth the
same amount Of study and labor.
'"Then. Stuart Robson-his name is speit
'Robeson' instead OF Robson throughout
on the programs in my possession. which
must have been source OF woe to the
actor. for he was a compositOr and proof
reader. working on The Washington Star.
too, before the civil war-Stuart Robson
came along and appeared in a play by
Bret Harte called Two Men of Sandy
Bar and in his support were two splen-
did notables of the stage CT that period
Eben Plympton and Laura Don. the most
beautiful woman Of her day on the stage.
Following Robson came the original
Rice Il Goodwin's .Evangeline' company.
in which Nat Goodwin was one of the ac-
tors as well as a part owner.
mo theatrical season Of that period. or
of any time for many years before and
after for that matter. would have been
complete without an engagement by the
supreme favorite. as the program calls
her. Maggie Mitchell. She did 'Fanchon.
the Cricket Jane Eyre Becky Mix and
some other things.
..I'N bet that even a good many OF the
oldtimers will have difficulty. unless they
kept their programs. too. in recalling the
name or Miss Genevieve Rogers. 1t is
probable that she never got very far away
Evening star., 1909-04-18

from Washington as "A beautiful and tai
ented young actress as she is adverted
to on the program. She made her first ap-
pearance on any stage in the new four
act American society play written ex-
pressiy for Miss Rogers by the well known
playwright. Philip Stoner, esq. entitled
Maud Muller.
Il saw this performance and I can re-
member. too. that it was very sad and
very impossible from quite number of
angles.
'The relentless years, too. have covered
over the name of the talented author anG
actor, George Fawrett Rowe, who, after
100 nights at the Park Theater in New
York gave al the National Theater here
that season his production of the play
Brass. assisted as the program says,
by that talented actress, Miss May How
ard 1t will not be difficult for the old
timers to recall May Howard. however,
for she drifted to the variety halls in later
wears and had quite a vogue therein twen-
~ years or more ago, when she sang with
great effect the song The Letter That
Never Came
1t was about this time. too. that Alice
Oates. the idol of the gay dogs of thirty
five years and more ago. began the de-
cline which eventually took her TO the
most ordinary of the variety houses. In
1S16-17. however. she preserved a good
deal of her beauty and chic. and her en-
gagement at Ford's National Theater was
an extremely successful one. In later
years, when she began 10 go. she would
appear I'm despicable burlesques at the
lowest-class variety theater in Washing
ton, where the groundlings who saw her
never knew cared that she had at one
time caused the hearts of hundreds OF
clever men to futter. The comic operas
that she gave during that season-in No
vember. 1S76-were mighty tuneful. and
some of them witty, too. but they're
hardly known at all by the present gen.
eration-I.a File de Madame Apgot,
'Girofle- Girofa.' Princess Of Trebizonde.
La Jolie Larfumeuse.' The Grand Ouch
ess' and 'L'Archduc.
During that same season that eccen-
trio sybaritic tragedian. Charles Fechter
made his final appearance in Washing
ton. giving Hamlet 'Ruy Bias Monte
Cristo' and The Lady of Lyons
Another of the pretty singing women
of that day who, like Alice Oates later
drifted to the most squalid of variety
halls. was Emily SoIdene. She appeared
at Ford's National Theater in 1876 in the
usual list of comic operas of that day.
including Trial by jury 'Chilperic' and
'Genevieve de Brabant, pieces totally for
gotten now.
Then. too. remember. that. season,
Evening star., 1909-04-18

Ethnologist and Secretary OF the National Con-
seryation Con- mission.
plains by their very feetness of foot and
endurance and the strength of their bare
hands, without any weapon or tool OF any
sort. But a race that ShameS the very
buzZards in the responsiveness OF its di-
etetic habits. A race that gives to women
an equal share In all matters. save war
fare, of tribal government. but q race
that has developed; of and in itself. only
the bafests mort neager ruaimentS Of
manufacture or handicraft
= A race wherein there is no unmarried
man of 1narriageable age, wherein the
clan mother is second in authority only
to the war chief. where the bearing or
children is a sacred duty never TO he
Stunned or avoided, but a race wherein
the birth OF tw ms is on'y tolerated and
wherein the woman who brings trip.ets
into the world is slain. with her Offspring.
as one accUrsed- \ race never more
than Few hundred strong. at the mos,
but a race that for centuries has bid d.
fian:e to the armed forces Of Spain and
Mexico. as well as the savage h2rdeS OF
redskins from the countries lying near
Ser,land'f frontiers. until today the men
ton OF Seri calls forth tales of such in
credible ferocity and savage cruelty and
hard,hood as tc siagger the Imagination.
These are tho people of Seriand
Only their TieetnesS o. foot is called
INTO acflOn In capturn ng lneiT prey. wren
the animal IS finally run TO earth. the
Seris slay it barehanded, tear II limb
from limb. using no weapon, even Of the
crudest sort. in SO doing. Four or five
Seri women VII puii down forse o. a
steer in the open. tear its throat and
rend il TO pieces IN less time than skilled
butchers would require. Hands and
teeth-these are the Seri's weapons in
the chase. and he needs no others. DR..
MCGEE has seen a Seri warrior rip the
haunch from the body of slain horse,
hold il as easily civilized being
might hold banana. and tear down the
hide with his teeth with little more ap-
parent effort than would be required IN
peeling the banana.
<
There are no vultures or buZZar rdS in
Seriland: even the coyotes that skuIk
over the desert are lean and starving
creatures Their human prototypes leave
Evening star., 1909-04-18

the most treacherous the most blood
thirsty, the hardest and most enduring
of any known people.
He is one of the only two men who have
successfully led parties to this island. the
other being ARIZONA Charley" Meadows.
The wild west celebrity, who went there
in search of attractions and of gold. The
stories that have for forty years emanated
from the Gulf of California telling of the
strange people who inhablt these parts.
and unreliably of the gold to be found
there have been the inspiration of some
thing like a dozen parties from the United
States that have attempted to go among
them in search of wealth or romance, as
the case might be. .I-atteriy among these
was an expedition sent out by a San
Francisco newspaper in a launch; lis
members were overpowered by the ma
tives and murdered. The severed hands
of two American miners were found by
DR. MCGEE nailed to a crude sort of cru
Evening star., 1909-04-18
IN A SERI VILLAGE.

seemed to be the hands of a white man.
probably a member of the party which
DR.. MCGEE had refused to join. No
trace Of the remainder Of the body, or
other bodies could be found. 1t is DR.
McGee's belief that the men of that ill
fated expedition were slain and devoured
by the Seris.
No efforts to civlize these savages have
ever been. even in a small measure. sue
cessful The wearing Of APRONS might by
some be considered an indication OF a
sort Of impression of civilization. But it
Is not SO in truth. Practically every race
and tribe on earth wears some sort Of
partial covering for the body. and this the
Seris do They make mantles OF the
skins of pelicans. and these are priced.
but more as trophies OF the chase than as
articles Of apparel. They have, also. a
sort of religious significance.
In one single article of manufacture
does the Seri excel He makes a rude
sort Of pottery and Wcaves rough basket
and basketwork bowls. He builds sort
of waffle work howell generally r-ofed
with the shells Of the giant sea turtles:
but in all of these he is eXcelled beyond
measure by dozens of other tribes. But
in the construction of the canoes in which
he fishes and by means of which he trav-
erses the turbulent. stormy waters of the
straits that lie between Tiburon Island
and the mainland he is master. Accord
Evening star., 1909-04-18
DIR. MCGEE AND A SERI WARRIOR

safety. But without men qualified. ar
without a large, we'll equipped and well
armed party, it is simply suicide 10 go
there
Meanwhile the Seris hold their island
and the desert mainland as they have
held it against foes. red and white, for
centuries. A race indigenous to the soil
whereon they live. they tit into Condi-
tionS as do the lizards and the horned
toads and the cactus.
eggs they could procure. asked his
sistance in caring for the eggs and then
went away to their nets.
Along the river at hundreds of points
the seines and nets of the fishermen are
in evidence 1t is a great industry AMI
about the only one on this portion of the
Susquehanna. But officials of the federal
government contend that they can never
conserve the industry in a proper manner
while the control of the water is in the
hands of the game wardens OF the state.
In Maryland the state law forbids the
stretching of nets across the width of
river stream.
on the trip the launch had to fairly
jump over nets spread in places across
the river.
4 federal official at the bureau Of fish
cries ventured an opinion on this matter
when urged by the reporter:
The bureau" he said. knows that
there is scarcely A state in the Union
where fishing laws are enforced with
proper vigor. There is only one sure
method of enforcing the law and that is
to put every lake, river and stream thar
holds fish under the control of the federal
government. At present the waters are
controlled by the several states and the
laws are not uniform.
The fishermen who were visited by Mr..
Snyder on his trip were all looking for
ward to a great shad and white perch
season. They greeted the governments
representatives with consideration, and
showed disposition TO meet them more
than half way in any conservation plans
hoy might
Evening star., 1909-04-18
As bAlsA CANOE. sMIrHsoN1AM

stretches away for miles on the main
land with no water no food-nothing
but burning wastes arid and moisture
less as the most forbiddine stretches OF
the Sahara: ard this and the wave-torn
ard Nind-swept channel form natural
barriers that have maintained for CEN
turies the Seris isolation from mankind
and the world outside.
But the rude boat We made and la
boriously carried across the desert COM
passed the passage to Tiburon Island.
the final retreat OF the Seris; 1t carried
us safely back again to the mainland
after our surveys and investigations were
completed. and the world NAV know now
more of these savages and their habitat
and customs than it learned in the 4oo
years that went before.
Who are the Seri Indians, and whence
did they come?
This is the question that naturally
comes into the mind of one who hears
Evening star., 1909-04-18

ISLAND of Tiburon Is the
i Haunt OF These Cannibals
First Accurate knowledge
of a Race That Is Most
Bloodthirsty and the Most
Enduring of Any Known
People-Account of the Vari-
Gus Expeditions Made to Ex-
plore the Island Race Is
Skilled in Savage Warfare
No Unmarried Men of Mar
riageable Age-Capture Their
Prey by Fleetness of Foot.
Evening star., 1909-04-18

hands. or such ferocity and hereditary
eXclusiveness that no drop of alien blood
has ever entered their veins, and but few
individuals have ever gone among them
from the outside world and returned to
tell the tale. the public is wont to take
these reports with a saving grain of salt.
But when such things are recorded by
methodica scientists with international
regulations. working under such institu-
tions as the government bureau Of eth
nclogy. they must be believed. Further,
when these men detail stories of adven-
ture among such savage people that
shame the inventors of the most imas-
mary tales there is nothing to do but ac-
cspt them as being evidently below the
actual occurrence in factor these men
are more likely to depreciate than eXas-
gerate.
Turn to your map of North America
and locate the Gulf of California; trace
down the eastern shore of the gulf until
you come to a large island lying just
off the shore. This is the island of
Tiburon. 1t and the adjacent mainland
form the haunt. or the home, if it may
be called a home, for people-the Seri
1ndians-who are as homeless almost as
the coyotes. And the Ser Indians are
Americas only race of giants, and the
continents only tribe of cannibals.
Here in Washington lives the only sci
enlist who has ever visited the land Of
the Seris and escaped with his life. he
is DIR. w McGee, ethnologist. Others
have tried it and failed. Parties have
fitted out as for trip into the wilds of
darkest Africa, and voyaged to Tiburon
Island but somewhere on the island, or in
the desert wastes that lap the Seri. their
bones bleach under the scorching rays OF
a pitiless tropic sun.
Until DR.. McGee's expedition saw the
Seri in his native haunts the information
regarding this almost unknown race was
meager, conflicting and based almost alto
gether on hearsay, but the Investigations
and research OF his party have given to
the world a mass of data in regard to
the Sers that has given the race place
in anthropologica classifcations. DIR.
McGee's report gives to science its first
accurate knowledge. of race that is