davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Monkey 0lnners, Mud and Distress on
The Route Across Nicaragua
Vanderbilt Establishes
for 0old-oeekers.

A Vanderbilt road that nobody
hears Of today IL that one which the
founder Of the Vanderbilt fortunes
and fame built In Nicaragua in '4s for
the transportation of California gold
seekers across that country. In oppo-
sition both to the Cape Horn route to
the gold fields. and Commodore VIII
lam r. Aspinwalrs route across the
Isthmus of Panama. which finally re-
suited In the Panama railroad. though.
at first, Aspinwall carried hts passen-
gers from Aspinwall tnow Colon) up
the Chagres river by native boats to
Cordona, and thence by mule across
the mountains to the port OF Panama
The Vanderbilt "cut-of" to Edo
\rado began at the Nicaraguan Attain
tic port Of Greytown. Shallow side
wheel boats took the passengers up
the San Juan river to a steamer which
carried them across Lake Managua
to Virgin Bay. and between that point
and the Pacific port Of San Juan del
Sur. across the twelve-mile wide strip
Of land separating ocean and lake.
ran the Vanderbilt road proper.
Transportation across this road was
by horses In charge of vaqueros. the
animals for the first six miles from
the lake struggling through the deep
black mud Of a wide graded and
etched road. and for the next six
miles following trails along creek
t-eds. through a mountainous country.
Those six miles were never worked
by Vanderbilt
One OF the surviving argonauts who
Travelled more than once over this
ten Vanderbilt road is a prominent
manufacturer in Little Rock. Ark.
Mr.. Dudley Jones.
In the autumn of 1852, Mr.. Jones
left the American river. near the
point where gold was first discovered.
and. reaching San Francisco. was one
OF rs persons to embark for the port
Of San Juan del Sur on tramp sail
ing ship. After 45-day sail down the
coast. during which they experienced
a terrific storm and ran short OF
food, the ship dropped anchor OF San
Juan del Sur Just before daylight.
"As soon as possible we all went
ashore" said Mr. Jones recently.
only to find that the passengers by
the regular Vanderbilt steamer from
San Francisco had landed the day be
fore and taken with them eastward to
the lake every animal in San Juan del
Sur and Whereabouts. AS we had sail
ed on a tramp ship. so we were
tramps, we had no claim on the Van
derbilt company, 80, with our blankets
ION our backs, and our little posses
Pions in carpet bags. and with more or
less gold dust apiece. we started of
to tramp over the mountains in a
Tropical rain that fell all day.
~K6 We Struggled over the trails
PIong the creek beds we became very
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
A Preaching Cross Restored.

The preaching cross in the village
Of burlington. situated amid romantic
surroundings on the northern side OF
the Mendip hills. has, by the generos-
fly Of Col Evan III. Llewellyn, been
restored. II Is recorded that early in
1906 the handsome fifteenth century
base of the cross-all that then re-
NAMED OF twas removed and uu-
lized in building "A new house for tho
then parish clerk. Happily, the orna-
mental dial stone did not share the
same fate. and this has been incor-
porated into it's original position In
the new cross Three broad and mas
sive steps carry the old socket upon
which rests tall monolith shaft
which is crowned by one of those
lantern-shaped canopies 80 peculiar 10
the west country the London
Standard.
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Carpenter Solves the Mystery

the mystery began to get on my
nerves. I had TO stay up half OF one
night TO nnd out where the eggs came
from"
WELL" came the chorus, where did
they come FROM"
"A couple of weeks ago I happened
TO break the brass knob on the kitchen
door and, wishing to nx IL at once. !
substituted q white china knob that
happened to be at hand.
Il found that one OF my neighbors
hens, installing the knob for a nest
egg. had been perching on IL every
night and laying a nice big egg for
my breakfast"
How does 1t happen that the eggs
were not broken by the fallr"
Does seem odd. doesn't IT," the An.
cient Carpenter grinned. Here's the
answer: Under the knob ID Q
nice soft doormat which receives
the eggs right In the middle where
they cuddle up against the very ap
propriate motto. Welcome. "-Youngs
town Telegraph
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Secretary Of State Could Not Conceal
His Dislike for ConkIino When
Sir Richard Webster Praised
the Senator.

Two famous men of yesterday who
were naturally repellant, and for no
good reason that was apparent 10 their
friends, were William NJ. Evarts and
Roscoe Conkling. and the intense an
hatred, that they bore for each other
was productive of at least one incl
dent illustrative of how small some
great men can be at times.
When, in 1872, MFR. Evarts acted as
chief counsel for the United States
before the celebrated Geneva Court
of Arbitration, he made the acquaint-
ance of Sir Richard f. Webster, who,
In 1900, was raised to the peerage
and the same year became Lord Chief
Justice OF England. The friendship
respondence after Mr.. Evarts had re-
turned home, and when the latter
learned that Sir Richard was planning
to make a trip to America he gave
the British jurist Q cordial invita-
ton to visit him at his home in Wash
tngton- Mr.. Evarts was then secrs-
tary OF state.
In due course the Englishman ar
rived at the Evarts mansion and was
taken by his host to meet President
Hays. Now, 1t so happened that the
next day Roscoe Conkling was to
make an important speech in the sen
ate chamber The president knew
this: he also knew of his secretary Of
states dislike of Conkling. and, half
in the spirit of mischief and half be-
cause he wanted the visitor from
tbroad to hear American oratory at
It's best. he volunteered the informa-
ton that Sir Richard ought surely to
visit the senate chamber the next
afternoon. The Englishman replying
That he would be pleased 60 do SO,
there remained nothing for his host
to do but to exercise his prerogative
al head Of the state department and
secure his guest a good seat in that
section Of the gallery reserved for the
use Of foreign diplomats.
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
McKinley's Campaign Methods

Burchard at the now historic recep
ton rendered to Mr. Blaine in New
York city just before election day OF
1884. Had Mr.. Blaine been provided
before the reception with a copy OF
Doctor Burchard's remarks he unques
tionably would have stricken out the
phrase. Rum. Romanism and Rebel.
lion." words that undoubtedly cost Mr..
Blaine the election. Yet long before
the Blaine Burchard incident occurred
William Mckinley had adopted thu
rule OF knowing beforehand what was
to be said TO him and of him by his
admirers and supporters. In fact, he
put this rule into effect during his
first campaign for congress.
Furthermore, Mckinley was prob
ably as careful I'm the preparation OF
campaign speeches as was Roscoe
Conkling. William II. Seward or Ho-
ratio Seymour. Like those great cam
paigners, Mckinley took the utmost
pains in the preparation Of q political
address Indeed, he went even far
Their than any of those men did. per-
haps because he did far more general
campaigning than any of them, fire.
quently speaking two and three times
day during an entire political cam.
paign.
Having thoroughly thought out the
argument I'm support of the Issues
which he represented, Mckinley la
bored assiduously over reducing his
arguments TO writing. That task final
ly accomplished to his satisfaction. he
all AfutA uh ha haA
written into sections. Sometimes q
section would consist OF two or three
brief paragraphs. Sometimes II would
be long enough to consume fifteen or
twenty minutes In delivery. Again II
would come perilously near to EN-
bracing everything that had been re-
duced TO writing
Never WAS section arbitrarily
given a certain length. Whenever Mo
Kinley made a campaign tour of aDy
importance he carried with him n
timetable OF HIS own making This
showed the places where he was 10
speak and the length OF stay in each
town. If the train schedule called for
a one-minute stop at the next town
Mckinley glanced over that portion
Oh Ills bDtFtn WHICH Dt hFIf-
cred. and was prepared. in fact. for "A
one-minute address. II a five-minute
stop was scheduled, then he would re.
fresh his memory of the five-minute
section OF his speech. A fifteen-minute
stop caused the fifteen-minute section
TO be brought forth: and where time
permitted the entire speech would. OF
course. be delivered. SO skilful. how.
ever. was Mckinley In varying his
phraseology that he never seemed TO
repeat himself. Practically every time
he delivered the five-minute section OF
his speech, for example, II would be
clothed In a new verbal dress. Yet
the meaning Of the section was nj.
ways the same, and as clearly pre-
scented in one dress as another
This, perhaps. was the most strik.
ing of the various tricks OF campaign.
ing that Mckinley employed which
led those who accompanied him on
his campaigns TO state with practical
unanimity that Mckinley was the most
skilful and economica/ user OF his
time. his voice. and his mental and
physical strength OF any campaigner
they had ever accompanied.
tcopyright, 1910 by r. J. Edwards All
Rights RoservedD
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Insisted on Knowing In Advance What
Delegations Were Going TO Say,
and Always Carefully Pre-
pared His Speeches

While the first presidential cam
paign for the election of William Nc
Kinley was In progress, Lieut.. Gov.
Charles III. Saxton of New York Wis
tied Canton. o., for the purpose OF ar
ranging with Mckinley for the visit
of delegation of New York Repub-
licans TO the Mckinley home. Nc
Kinley stated that 1t would give him
great pleasure TO receive any OF his
friends from New York state. adding.
a moment later, that he imposed only
one condition. IF anything is TO be
said of a political nature, anything
not purely social, then | shall expect
the remarks to be written cut and
submitted to me before delivery" he
said. This is a vital point. When ]
am going to address any delegation, |
always make ii point carefully TO
write out what ! am TO say"
This was a rigid campaign rule with
Mckinley. Lieutenant Governor Sax
ton thought that Mckinley had taken
a lesson from the unhappy experience
of James G.. Blaine, who did not In
sist upon reading beforehand the re-
marks which were made by Rev. DIR.
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14

! ity, II has swept from village to vii
lage. up one country road and down
another until ii seems that no part
of China is immune from its ravages.
As the black plague in the middle
ages swept down the valley of the
Nile, Transforming garden seat Of
the world into a valley of death; as
later in Spain there were none that
did not mourn; as in England but
half of all London escaped; SO in
some parts of China there is scarcely
a family that has not been visited.
The unsanitary condition of the
cities and towns in China where the
dreadful pneumonia plague is raging
is responsible in large measure for
the spread of the disease. The pres
ent pestilence is pneumonia rather
than bubonic, that is, il almost invari-
ably proves fatal. One of the terrify
ing things about 1t is that it spreads
through the air. In the bubonic
plague the microbe is communicated
by bites of fieas from infected rats.
In the pulmonary form the patients
themselves transmit the disease by
expectoration or fits OF coughing. in
which they scatter germs with which
their lungs are filled Several doctors
have been infected in this way and
have died.
The Chinese cities offer a fertile
field for the propagation of the dis
ease The people are crowded to-
gether like herrings in a barrel and
once the disease has appeared in
house it is almost sure to contain
mate all the inmates and to spread
quickly through the whole city. There
are many Chinese towns where pigs
are the sole scavengers and where
sanitation is of the most primitive
kind. Contrary. too. TO general belief.
which regards worship of ancestors
as the main religion of China, there
are many parts of the great empire
where the dead are not inferred at all
The collins containing the dead are
placed on the ground in places spe-
cially reserved for the purpose near
towns and villages and are proved
upon by dogs and wild beasts. Now
In the plague-infected regions the
dead are being burned. A wagon
driven by a man wearing a muffler
sprayed with iodoform, goes through
the streets and collects the bodies
from the houses. They are then taken
to great pits outside the city or town,
soaked with kerosene and burned
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Evarts Was Just a Plain Man

The evening following the great aft
ernoon of speechmaking in the senate,
the secretary of state gave a formal
dinner at his home. Nearly all OF the
leading members of the administration
were present OF course. Sir Richard
Webster was also present, and when
one of his fellow diners asked him
what his experience had been at the
capitol n few hours before he at once
began to voice his intense admiration
for one of the speeches he had heard
Then. turning to Mr.. Evarts. he CON
tinued:
The speech I have in mind was
made by Senator Conkling. / believe
he represents your own state. Mr.
Evarts."
The secretary of state nodded his
head slightly. while the other MEM
bers OF the administration struggled
to suppress smiles: for the antipathy
that existed between Evarts and Conk.
ling was well known to one and all
Il have never heard an ADLER speech
in our house OF commons" pursued
Sir Richard. innocently. Nor have
ever witnessed a more impressive de
livery. The man is magnificent AZ
an orator he is without a superior"
Again Mr. Evarts nodded his head.
this time ever so slightly
And. I should say" persisted the
Englishman. he should be your fore
most orator. | presume he is a very
able advocate. He must have many
clients In your courts. ID il not SO.
Mr.. Secretary"
This time there was not even an al
most imperceptible nocding OF the
secretary of states head Instead, In
words precisely spoken. and with Q
manner that was not lost upon Sir
Richard. his host replied:
II do not know whether II is or not
I never saw him in court, and ! never
heard of his being there"
For a moment there was sil0ce,
then Sir Richard. with commendable
tact, changed the subject. and a few
minutes later Mr.. Evarts was once
again the charming and entertaining
host. But the other members of the
administration still slyly smiling
Copyright. 1910. by E J. Edwards. All
Rights Reserved)
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Hens Mistake China Door Knob FOL
Egg and He Gets q Fresh One
Every Morning.

The high cost Of living was being
discussed by the Curbstone club when
the Ancient Carpenter happened to
stroll in.
Its almost impossible to get eggs
at any price," the Plumber was saying
just as the Ancient Carpenter entered.
Yes, and the oldest thing you ever
heard" the Carpenter exclaimed. lis
that / have been getting a fresh egg
every morning for nothing"
The Carpenters reputation for weird
yarns was enough to cause the whole
membership to gather about him to
hear his latest.
Its like this." the Carpenter con-
tinuod. when I got up the other
morning and found . nice fresh egg on
my doorstep thought someone might
have put II there by mistake. but after
IL thing happsDed time after time
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
The Ingenious
Miss Davis
By Bos-fsev Jones

The Ingenious Miss Davis came
aboard the Baltic at Southampton with
her father to make the trip to New
York She was a young lady Of Is.
and her father was a venerable man of
So. We all felt sorry for them the mo
ment they stepped on board First.
they had not secured their passage In
the regular way. and next. the father
had just received a telegram recalling
him to London. The steamer was full
up with passengers and for a few
minutes II seemed that Miss Davis
would have to go ashore with her
father or take quarters in the steerage.
Then Mr.. Edgar Greenleaf. a young
man from New York. who had been
seeing Europe and wasting a good deal
of money to bring back loud cloth es
and high collars. caught sight of the
handsome girl and the problem was
solved. He would double up with
some male passenger. and give her his
stateroom- She protested and her
leaf would have it SO. When the girl
smiled on him, the venerable father
patted him on the back and made the
necessary financial arrangements with
the purser. and the big steamer began
to pillow the waves
Miss Davis struck a good thing. She
had good stateroom all to herself
she was by all odds the best looking
girl on board-she made herself a
favorfte almost at once. and II the 20 or
more young men on the Baltic were in
love with her inside Of three days, IL
was nothing to be ashamed Of 1t is
to be doubted il any young lady ever
crossed the Atlantic alone who was
made more Of. She was nominally I'M
der the captains charge but bless your
soul. he would have had to lock her
up to keep the crowd away. She could
sing, recite. mimic. pitch quoits. play
ball and bring the sweetest kind Of
music from the piano, and you may
add a melodious voice, handsome
face and perfect figure 10 that. The
story she told was that she and her
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
Il ls just Green Grass In Summer and
Dry GrNss in Winter-6eautifui
Colors Are Overlooked.

The beauty OF the prairie Is not of
the sort that appeals directly to q
child. The bigness Of it. for instance.
l had been used to all my life. and
cant remember that II conveyed any
sense or responsiveness to me- In our
long drives over it-interminably
long they were.-my chief recollec-
ton il OF greenness and tiredness.
long succession of rolling hills and
hollows, and : little girl 90 weary of
sitting up on seat and watching the
horses 20 on and on. There was one
interest that did help to modify this
ennui, when l was very little- l sup.
posed, not that streams wore down
their beds BY their action. but that
the bed was there firBt and that when
! nice hong ditch was worn. al ready
tor occupancy. : spring opened rp.
and produced = stream So. - ue
drove up hill and down. eyed eNrs1t-
antly tAo deeply cut vagon-tr4c.-s
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14
How Re Averted a Duel.

The following IL told Of former Sen
ator Joe blackburn OF Kentucky.
In the days OF his youth the Ken
tuckian was asked by friend 20 SEQ
ond him in a duel. He consented. and
At sunrise the parties met 90 the APP
pointed place. Now, II was this Ken.
tuckian's duty TO say tho last words
touching the terms OF the duel. But.
although he faithfully performed this
duty. the duel never took place.
murmur of why not?" invariably
goes around whenever this story L.
told. whereupon the answer IS as fol-
lows:
For n very simple reason. When
Joe finished speaking f. was too dark
for a duel. Harper Magazine.
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14

OLLOWING close on the heels
Of the plague, a great famine is
sweeping over the Chinese en-
~ pire. and the victims of the
dual persecution are now num-
gered by the tens of thousands. The
plague is bad enough. but the famine
will be ten times worse. Already
hundreds are dying from lack of food.
yet these hundreds will number thou
sands and tens of thousands before
the first scanty rice crop furnishes
relief From the relief committees OF
the interior comes word that one mil
lion people will die before the first
crop IS harvested Even this will be
scanty. because the people have not
the strength to till the soil and no
animals remain for blowing.
II is estimated that 100000 people
are without food They are existing
on roots. grasses or anything that af-
fords the slightest possibility of nour-
ishment. Those possessing grain
guard ii day and night. Missionaries
who are distributing relief tell OF
many tragic occurances-a man on
his way to meet them. dying on the
road; another falling by the wayside
as he was returning to his family
with a packet of rice These relief
committees describe the people as
horrible skeletons, some with their
limbs hideously swollen. They suf-
fer all the pangs OF hunger until death
brings relief This endless relief is
coming to thousands daily from starv-
alton.
The pitiful condition of these starv-
ing wretches is well shown by the
recent food riot at Sha-Yang when 81
emaciated men and women fought
like demons for these few mouthfuls
OF food and the peril to the relief
workers who were distributing it was
great. A considerable amount of food
stuffs had been received by the mis-
sionaries. who planned a systematic
distribution Their work was hardly
begun when thousands of desperate
men, women and children, who had
learned that there was a chance of
their hunger being half satisfied.
swooped down upon the supply depot.
An uncomfortable riot followed. Each
fought for himself and the weaker
went down and were ruthlessly
trampled.
In some portions of the province
parents are offering their children for
The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1911-04-14

father had been to London to lay claim
to vast estate. Their claim had been
recognized, and there was every pros
pect OF its being allowed, when they
would nave millions at their command
They were merely going home after
some papers that had become neces-
sary to the case. No one doubted her
story, but it served to make some
young men rather shy of her. They
became afraid of those millions. With
them in her pocket she could have her
pick of lords and dukes and counts
and barons and sirs.
Young Mr.. Greenleaf naturally held
the best cards up to a certain point.
He had done a nice thing by giving
up his stateroom. and of course Miss
Davis was properly grateful In a
way he became her cavalier. That is.
he headed the list and monopolized
most of her time. On the third day
from Southampton, q notice was posted
up that Mr.. Greenleaf had lost a yalu-
able pearl and diamond pin Some few
questions were asked, but no one took
any great interest. The loser could
have told the purser that he missed
the pin half an hour after sitting In a
coy corner on deck with Miss Davis
at his elbow. but he didn't go into par
ticulars.
On the next evening young Mr..
Thompson, who had left his mother
alone. in order that no one should chide
him when he smoked too many cigar
cites and drank too many cocktails.
gave his arm to Mics Davis for a walk.
She had slight favor to ask of him.
Her dear father had left her plenty Of
money, but it was in 500 bills. Would
he kindly give her small bills in
change? He would. He went to his
stateroom and got the money. and she
thanked him. but did not hand over the
hundred II was case of absent
mindedness. OF course, and he did not
call her attention to ii. She played
the same trick on two other young
men before she left the deck. They
could have told each other of it and
arrived at a conclusion. but they said
nothing.
At noon the next day a whisper
went through the ship that a Mrs.
Graham. returning from Europe. and
feeling herself competent to take care
of her own. had been robbed of 5000