davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Won Out by Bluff

He remained sitting. Silent and sui
len he only stared at me: | slapped
him patronisingly on the shoulder. I
protested to be most anxious to ex-
plain to him the mysteries of the
deadly rifle. even showed him how
] took aim. This maneuver led to
the younger savages making a pre-
cipitate movement to the side to get
out of the line Of aim. But the old
sullen rascal remained unmoved.
When l had done enough of this dumb
crambo business, shaping his shout
der and occasionally shaking him up,
! assumed an authoritative tone, and
hoisted one of the loads of meat on
to his shoulders. This made him
bulge; and as he pointed out a young.
er man sitting near to him, soon had
ell the meat shouldered again. Then
we moved off in single file, leaving
he other savages squatting under the
tree.
In about two hours we came upon
my hartebeest's head. / heard after
wards that my boy, having lost his
way, became tired and nervous, and
then chucked away the trophy. MY
friendlies, for at last felt convinced
that my savages were dealing honest
ly with me, lifted up the hartebeest
head and carried II along. The sun
was getting low when we ente red the
caravan road. Then my boy met us.
He was accompanied by two or three
Of our caravan porters, and he brought
my riding donkey. My friend.Iies car.
ried the meat right into camp for me,
where shared it with them, they grin.
ming with pleasure and satisfaction.
Copyright, 1909, by Benz. b. (Hampton.)
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

1t made for the open plain, the pur-
suer after it. The pursuer gained
steadily on it, when the Grantii
doubled magnificently in the nick of
time to escape the fatal bite. l be-
lieve if it had not been wounded and
somewhat tired by my long pursuit, it
could nave escaped. But the pursuer
again drew nigh, and though the Gran
til STAYED of the fatal moment for a
while 1t was seized at last by the flank.
Both animals rolled over and over.
The Grantii having shaken itself free,
once more dashed across the plain.
But its minutes were numbered and
this exciting pursuit ended in the
Grantii being torn down to the ground
and lying helpless.
Three of my Swahilies, who had &C.
companied me, declared that only a
lion could have captured the Grantii;
and felt inclined to think so too as
the scene took place in full, bright
daylight between IL and IL in the
morning. l now fastened down hill to
dispute with the lion, or whatever the
animal might be, the Grantii which
l considered mine. At the same time,
there was the hope of bagging the
other. animal as well. AS l drew near,
| saw that it was not lion, but a big
brown hyaena which sneaked off when
We advanced. AS this hyaena had done
me good turn, did not hurt 1t, but
gave my attention to the Grantii
which had its flank ripped open and
the intestines protruding. The poor
beast staggered up and tried to show
fight. We seized it's horns, threw it
down, and saved it further suffering by
cutting its throat.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

often happens in such case, it seem
e. as If they knew it. At last | did
succeed in giving the buck a bullet
1t then left the herd, but it led me a
fine chase over hill and dale, through
bush and brake. More than once |
got within range, and several times
more it was hit. We followed it
through a forest and up to a river.
Owing to the reeds and bushes at the
waters edge. We only got a glimpse
of it, as it plunged into the river and
tried to swim across. But the opposite
bank was very steep and as the buck
swan along it, looking out for an open
and convenient spot to land. We fioun-
dered through the reeds along our side
of the river, trying to get a sight of
the animal
AS it swan, it only exposed its head
and horns; even the neck was i'm
mersed. had two more shots. The
first grazed one of the horns and
struck off a splinter; the second went
into the head. Instantly it sank head
downwards, as if trying to stand on
its head, and the hind part of the body
came for second into view. 1t took
some time before one of my men
found spot where we could cross
over to the other bank, and then we
had the further trouble of fishing the
body out. The horns reached England
safely, and are in my collection; but
when | look at them the whole scene,
as it happened in the solitude of the
African wilderness passes before me.
Hitherto had placed the utmost re-
lance ON a native finding his way
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Shooting for the Pot"

Shooting for the pot" adds addi-
tional zest to the days enjoyment.
cartridges and guinea-fowls are pref
ty frequently met with. and a very
delicious and acceptable addition to
ones fare. The very last one shot
and meat or no meat for dinner de-
pended on it-were a partridge and a
brace OF guinea-fowls. | got them on
the wing with No. shot. which is
good all-round article. when one has
not the means of carrying a variety
OF cartridges like No. for guinea
fowls or No. for snipe. The different
species of cartridges are very inter-
esting. 1t is worth while to skin the
bird and to preserve the skin: one
may thus collect some very rare speci.
mems. The bird certainly tastes bet
ter with the skin on: but il is a mis-
take to imagine that the bird is MOI
mt for food because 1t has been skin
ned. On Christmas eve, | shot a par.
fridge at Monde in Uganda The bird
had for my Christmas dinner. The
skin sent home to England; it turned
out to be very rare species and only
the second specimen of the sort ever
sent home. A similar thing happened
with a very handsome partridge | shot
one day near the SANTA hills in Kavi-
ronda. The skin is now at the South
kensiEgton museum, and the second
one there of another rare species the
hrst of which was shot near Mount
Elgon. At Campi-ya-Simba | shot
sand-grouse, and at Kikuyu spur-fowl
But the wild guinea-fowl is the bird
Tor the travellers table. IL is surpris-
ing what varieties of wild guinea-fowl
are met with along the caravan route.
to mention but three; the horned"
the crested, and the vulturine. This
bird gives the best return for the shot
expended on it; there is a good deal
OF meat on it and what there is is
good. Snipe and quail are very tasty.
but yield so little that very few tray
eiers can afford to waste a shot on
them. Egyptian goose fills a big dish.
but, as rule. it is tough and there
fore not 2 favorite
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
ToIstoI In Peasant Garb.

was the ideal hospitality which al
ways reigned supreme. In his early
life 1t was Tolstoi's pleasure to en-
terrain lavishly for his aristocratic
Russian friends. Later, when fame
came, bringing with mighty literary
and philosophic following. Tolstoi
opened his doors and was at home"
to the whole world. Believers from
every land travelled the intervening
miles to become a guest at his
patriarchal home. People who doubt
ed. but admired. nevertheless made
The pilgrimage in order to become con-
WINGED. And they were convinced,
many Of them, and returned home to
preach the faith that Tolstoi taught
them-the faith of the true life. What
this faith is 1t would take volumes
to tell. Tolstoi occupied many volumes
in giving it to the world.
His mode of living. which was as
varied as it was eccentric. created
very nearly as much discussion as his
literary works. BY gradual and not
entirely consistent evolution he came
to the life simplified." as he called It,
and 1t was through the peasants
jacket and the peasants hoe that he
thought to find the life simplified."
With advancing age his eccentric
ideas and habits became more pro
nounced. and finally eliminated in the
foolish and apparently aimless pill
grimage which precipitated his final
illness.
Tolstoi's hold upon the people OF
Russia was beyond calculation. A
constant thorn In the side of the
car, Siberian exile would have been
his but that the reigning autocrat real
lied that to harm a hair of his head
or to interfere in the slightest degree
with his liberties would mean a revo-
luton on the part Of the adoring
masses which would have drenched
the country in the blood of the nobili-
ty and have sent the throne of the
Romanoffs crashing into oblivion. De-
FAINT of the government, he was as
scornful of the denunciations Of the
church and accepted accommodation
as the empty and harmless protest of
a false and barbarous religion. And
great as he was in Russia he was
greater in the worldwide realm Of
thought and literature.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Warning of Lions Approach

AT kariandus the guinea-fowl-it
was on my third journey-gave us
once useful warning of the approach
OF man-eating lion which infested
the neighborhood at the time and ha6
carried off more than one porter frorr
some of the other caravans. The
scream OF the frightened birds at.
.racted our attention to the spot. some
lour hundred yards off. on the slope
vi the hill. only caught a glimps
vi huge tawny animal disappearinr
win bound behind some busher
whist lew more of the frightened
oirds flew up out of the grass into tn,
trees All my men declared it was
NON we did not stop to investigate
as IL was getting dusk, we hurried CT
70 get within the protecting circle G
The camp-fires.
swahili porters are very fonu of r.
ora meat. Some travellers have .
natural prejudice to eating an ANNA,
'eionsing to the equine species: blu,
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
COUNT As A PEASANT
Tolstoi, Born of Wealth and Title,
Preferred Poverty.
Remarkable Man, Who by Word
Could Have Hurled Cars Throne
Into Obiivion-Hated Blood
and Loved Peace.

Astapova, Russia.-In the passing Of
Count Lyoff Nicholaievitch Tolstoi.
the aged novelist and philosopher, tho
world lost one of its most remarkable
men. Born of wealth and title he
came to prefer the coarse garments
and the scant fare of the peasant;
having served heroically in the
Crjmean war. he became the apostle
OF peace and non-resistance; in a land
OF despotism he preached a doctrine
of defiance to authority. and even the
mighty car dared not arrest him; his
heart torn by the poverty and suffer
ings OF the peasantry of Russia. he
would have given away every cent OF
his Inheritance. every acre of his vast
estate, and become a bare -footed wan
derer on the face of the earth had 1t
not been for the influence of his fam
lily aided by the power of the govern
ment; entitled to be an honored figure
at the glittering court of st. Peters
burg, he preferred the mental COM
partnership of revolutionary thinkers
and the physical companionship of the
crude peasantry.
Tolstoi, who when he assumed the
PEASANTS costume assumed his work
as well. was accompanied in his jour
neys over the country and at his work
in the fields by one or more of his
daughters who wore the rough clothes
and did the rough work which he had
chosen for himself In the last few
years, owing to a gradual decline Of
strength with advancing age. the field
work gradually lessened, and several
times during the last year it was an
nounced that Tolstoi would give up
his farm work and his country homo
for the easier life of the city.
The 'predominating and characters
tic feature of Tolstois life and home
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

the length of any chop-box in my pos
session. 1t was left, therefore, for the
night on the top of the boxes under
the awning of my tent. ! woke up in
the night. hearing a crambling noise
| close to me, but too late; some hyenas
had carried of my bird. although a
night-watchman was on duty a few
yards off. 1t was no comfort to know
that the hyaena must have made it's
last meal, as | had freely used arse
nical soap in preparing the skin.
My third hippo was a pull: shot
1t in Lake Albert. On a subsequent
visit to Fajao | got my fourth hippo,
female, and exceedingly fat. I
wasted a number of cartridges, miss
ing time after time; but at last. one
successful shot below the eye sent
the huge animal splashing and strug-
Cling. with its feet in the air. The
hippo sank mid-stream; after three
hours the body rose from the bottom
OF the river and floated. The current
carried it more than a mile beyond
where we expected it. Owing to the
serpentlne curves the river makes at
this pot. we should have lost our prize.
had 1T not been for a friendly native
who happened to be fishing lower
down the river at the time. He saw
the body float past and stopped it for
us. There was a convenient inlet at
hand, where We succeeded in rolling
the huge body on to the grassy bank,
as seen in the illustration.
Some of the hippo-fat, melted down
and strained, l filled into two large
gourds, holding a gallon or two. This
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
The Foolish Hyaena

The "hoo-yee-hoo" of the 5yena every
traveller is sure to hear along the
greater part of the caravan route.
heard it already on Mombasa island
close to the hospital. Swahili porters
hate the brute, and not ihfrequently
they dread it quite as much as a lion.
The hvena has very powerful jaws and
can inflict most severe wound. Oc-
casionally it is bold enough to venture
within the caravan lines and to seize
one of the sleeping porters. More
than one of my men has thus been
dragged along. but owing to his
screams and the general hubbub has
been relinquished by the brute. 1t
seems more than a coincidence. that
the men thus seized have invariably
been the most infirm and emaciated in
the caravan. | have a personal griev-
1rce against hyenas, besides the one
of wOunding some of my porters.
Three and half years ago | shot at
Gilgil magnificent bustard. quite diff
.erent to the common great bustard so
constantly met with between Mach
lkos and Muani. might mention here
hat the great bustard as a culinary
lelicacy has been greatly overrated,
nor is it such a very difficult bird to
shoot. OF course a rifle has to be
.sed. The lesser bustard or pao is a
;omewhat better bird to eat; it is
much smaller. and shot gun is pref
2rably used for it, The huge bustard
shot at Gilgil must have been rare
bird. as | have never met with another
specimen like it. 1t has an enormous
~eddish ruff around the neck, and.
lext to the ostrich, it was the largest
bird ] have seen. got it with Mar
mi bullet by lucky shot through the
eek. at 200 yards. The skin from tip
)f beak to tip of toe was nearly twice
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

high. Then she began seeking an out
let for her great joy. She smiled at
the tired laborer who had to stand
Next she said pretty darling" to the
fretful baby across the aisle. Pres
emily she turned her attention to the
man opposite. He had an evening pa
per and was trying with his one avail
able hand to turn the pages She
leaned forward alphabetically.
Cant | help you?" she said.
Without waiting for a reply she
took the paper. deity Strengthened out
the pages and handed 1t back.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Adventures In the Hunters Paradise
By DR.. w. J. Ansorge M. A., LID, M R. C. S, L.RCP

the first Zebra-steak | tasted | thought
rather nice; perhaps the animal | had
shot was not a particularly old one.
A tough old stallion is certainly not
very inviting dish.
/ once saw on the Athi plains a herd
OF zebras, which must have numbered
a hundred thousand; for. as far as the
eye could reach, they presented a
dense unbroken phalanx, with young
ones by the hundred amongst them.
have never come across any other
species but the one known as Burch.
ellis zebra. There is no greater risk
of discriminating the zebra by shoot.
ing one now and again for caravan or
personal need. than there is of wipinp
OF the hartebeest antelope by occa-
slonaliy bagging one. But | once came
across Eurasian on his way to the
coast, who shot zebra apparently for
no other purpose but to brag that he
had shot one. | asked him whether
he required the meat fer food for him.
sell or his caravan. He answered,
no; and when | said Perhaps you
wanted it for its hide?" he again re-
piled, No" Such men must have a
very callous conscience. The zebra
has a peculiar cry which sounds like
zap, zap, yap;" it has neither the
horses neigh nor the donkey's bray.
The hide makes handsome mat; but
| found in London that, next to the
giraffe hide. it is the most expensive
to dress and mount. One moonlight
night at Campiya-Simba it was almost
TO get any sleep, owing to
the incessant call of the zebras.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

about by sort of instinct | was
therefore taken aback when my boy
could not discover. where the dead
hartebeest lay. began to be anxious
about our finding our way back to the
camp, when | noticed some birds at a
distance alighting on the grass. My
boy promptly pronounced them to be
guinea fowls, but l felt convinced
they must be gigantic guinea-fowls,
to be seen at that distance. Then the
thought flashed through my brain, that
they might be vultures at the harte-
best. This proved to be the case
and they had already pecked out one
OF the eyes devoured the tongue, rip
ped open the abdomen, and polished
of most of the entrails. The empty
water bottle, however. assured us that
it was the hartebeest which I had
shot
My confidence in the native topo-
graphical instinct was restored. by see
ing that we were after all so near the
dead antelope. though we had discov-
SASN ~ W al oSCiucut. AS we were
both under the impression that the
camp was pretty near, perhaps, at the
utmost half an hour OF, we held a
short consultation and decided that he
should hurry back to the camp with
the hartebeests head and horns in or
der to guide sufficient number of men
to carry the meat to the camp. /
was to remain on guard lest vultures
or hyaenas should quite devour the
carcass. AS my rifle was useless, ex-
cept that in an emergency could use
1t as club, told the boy to leave me
the kitchen knife which, in the hurry
of starting from camp, he had taken
with him instead Of my hunting knife.
The boy went, and ! was left alone.
The brofling sun drove me to seek
the shelter OF the meager shadow
cast by a thorn tree, while the vul-
lures, score or more. perched pa
tiently few yards or At last the
amount Of shade barely sufiiced to COW
er my head, while l lay stretched at
full length on the ground. The vul-
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Sleeping at Great Risk

Some sense of approaching danger,
curiously enough. must have entered
into my dreams. l awoke with a start,
looking for the enemy. So sure was
!, that was not surprised to see some
naked savages approaching swiftly
and silently in the distance. They had
not noticed me, being attracted by
the dead hartebeest, which was being
devoured by scores of vultures. The
savages were well armed; they carried
bows and arrows and long knives. l
certainly thought my fate was sealed.
Ii seemed the best thing to play up
bravely, if the worst was to happen.
| jumped up and shouted, attracting
at once their attention. | waved my
rifle. slapped the barrel. pointed tri-
umphantly at the dead hartebeest and
beckoned to them to hurry up. 7
could see they hesitated. This made
me more friendly and pressing in my
invitation to them to join me-
When they had grasped the fact
that | did not intend to harm them,
they cautiously drew nearer. After
a long parley, carried on in gesture
dialogue, | got them to cut up the
meat and to load themselves with it.
The vultures, while / slept. had de-
voured heart, lungs and liver, and
picked the bones of one hind quarter
perfectly clean. | am sure, they would
have polished off the whole harte-
beest at one sitting if left undisturbed.
i never saw again such a variety of
vultures and ether carnivorons birds.
While the savages were cutting I'D
the meat, | kept reminding them of
the presence of my rifle could not
divest my mind entirely of all fear of
foul play on their part. This made
me display my handful of five useless
cartridges. and flourish the kitchen
knife in my right hand. Fear of los
ing my life and determination to sell
1t dearly were struggling for mastery.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Lost Art Discovered.

Pittsburg, Pa.-Embalming that will
maintain the human body a hundred
ages-the lost art Of Egypt-is said to
have been discovered by Homer ].
Paar. graduate Of the school Of
pharmacy Of the University of Pitts
burg. Paar has been experimenting
on rodents. and has number of mum.
my rats which he uses as paper.
weights on his desk, and one large one
which he uses for a door check. He
claims that body properly protected
can be rendered immune to the disin-
tegrating influence OF time and would
carry thousands Of years into the fll
ture its beauty of today.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

Thank you, miss" said he, but
even though he held the paper at the
proper reading angle it was noticed
that he did not rea2
At One Hundred and Sixteenth
stree the girl left the car. Then the
man with the injured arm began to
rattle the paper once more. That
time another passenger who had been
interested in the little pantomime vol
unteered assistance.
Let me help you" he said. Per
haps you want to turn to a particular
pager
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

Il do" said the disabled man. 81
was reading a rafting good article
on the sporting page, and was dead
anxious to get to the end of it, but the
young lady turned to the fashion page
instead. That, see. contains three
illustrations of wedding gowns and
other articles belonging to a brides
trousseau. / don't take much inter-
est in such things any more. but I
couldn't hurt her feelings by telling
her So"
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Not His Kind of ReccIiy,g

ated They said good-by regretfully.
The tender radiance of the girls face
slightly dimmed when the young man
left the car, but her detection was
only momentary. Happiness such as
hers was buoyant even under the
strain of few hours separation.
BY the time the train was racing
past the Fortysecond street station
her ebullient spirits again scared
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Chase of a Buck

On my fifth journey had an excit-
ing chase after a buck at Campi-ya-
simba. Time after time the watchful
eyes of the does prevented my getting
within range of the buck. l could
have shot one of the does more than
once, but l did not want to, and as
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
'ouns LADY Meant Well. But Sport.
ing Man Was Not Interested
in Her Selections.

Ihreadbare clothing. one arm in q
SNhs-that was the first impression
gained Of the man. Good looking
wei dressed. very much in love-that
was the impression gained of the
Soune couple opposite. At the Grand
~'n'rai station the happy pair separ.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30
Atavism.

Mrs. Carl found out; that that
careless servant girl discharged this
morning had grandfather who was a
brakeman on your road.
Mr.. Carr-Grandfather a brakeman.
Ell! Well, from now ON / believe in
heredity.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

broken every now and than b. the
mufiled growl of some lion; the lions
were evidently chasing them. Once
on the Athi plains came upon dead
zebra with two hyenas devouring II.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

lures seemed to know to nicely, how
long ! remained awake Not one of
them ventured near to my knowledge.
Then the heat and fatigue overpow.
cred me. l fell asleep
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-30

me get nearer than a quarter of a
rocky hill; l followed, when suddenly
it descended again to the plain. leav.
mile. Finally it went up a steep and
ing me exhausted and out of breath
about half way up the hill, | gazed
down at the Grantii with a feeling
OF disappointment at LOSING it after all
my energetic perseverance. when a
novel and unexpected scene was en-
acted before my eyes. If | had been
in the plain, | should not have seen
this scene, but owing to my position
half way up the hill. had ID capital
view of the plain and of what was
taking place at the foot of the hill.