davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

During my stay here I have examined two dozen of these weather bureau kites. They are not like the great paper shields with floating tails which I flew in my boy hood They are different from the dragon kites of China or the great aerial jisnes of the Japanese In fact, they have no tail at all. and they are mighty boxes, which soar and shoot through the ar. They are of different sizes and kinds, There is the high wind kite, the moderate wind kite and the light wind kite. The larger ones are about seven feet in height, over six feet wide and from two to three feet thick. I took one into the open, and Professor Henry and myself, both ot whom are fairly tall, were photographed beside it. It reached more than foot above our heads
 These great kites are made of sticks of straight grained spruce, put together in skeleton forming two boxes with sticks between. The boxes have neither tops nor bottoms, but they are covered with the finest and strongest of canbric and are braced with fine piano wire. Every bit of the kite is carefully studied. Al- most as much care has been taken In se- lecting the material as Edison takes in the making of a new filament for an clec-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

wire wrapped around it. The wire I am told, is so strong that a single strand of 1t will support 200 pounds. You could fasten two of those wires to the ceiling of the east room of the White House and President Taft could swing upon them and be safe from falling. Nevertheless the wire is not as thick as a darning needle, and it is so flexible that you can tie it like string.
 Balloon Investigations
 In addition to the kites Uncle Sam has now a system of balloon recording of the weather He makes balloons of different kinds and sends them up at the various stations over the United States to bring down records of the upper air. These are sent up from day to day and the results are telegraphed all over the country. It is partially from them that our weather forecasts come These balloons are filled with hydrogen of a quality which Is diff icult to obtain. Indeed, there are only one or two places in the country where it can be had, The result Is that the gov ernment makes it's own hydrogen, md it has a great machine for the purpose here at Mount Weather. Hydrogen, you know, is one of the two gases which form water. The other gas is oxygen. The oxygen has
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12
UNCLE SAM, KITE FLYER-By Frank C. Carpenter

to be taken out and only the pure hydro gen left. This Is done by means of elec- tricity the machine for the purpose hav- ing been imported from Switzerland The hydrogen is stored in little round cylin- ders, each about as thick and long as the leg of the average man. The cylinders are sealed so that they are absolutely tight, and are shipped by freight to the various weather stations.
 Returning to the balloons, many of those which are now being sent up arc equipped with parachutes which extend above them. As the balloon rises into the upper air it finally reaches an altitude at which 1t bursts. It carries with 1t one of these boxes containing the fine instru. ments. This is attached to the parach lte and for this reason 1t falls so gently that the machinery is not injured. Attached to the box and also to the box kites are pieces of writing. which state that reward will be given to any one who will send the box to the nearest weather station. For this reason the farmers watch for the kites. and carefully take them to the scientists when they fall.
 Forecasting the Weather
 During my stay here at Mount Weather I have been talking with Prof. A. J. Hen ry. the superintendent of this station, and with the other scientists here as to the weather forecasts and as to the experi- ments they are making along such lines. Professor Henry tells me some remarka- tle things about the winds and the changes which they have according to their attitude. These investigations are important in view of the aerial flights now being made. Tn order to get the percent age 2Soo observations have been taken of the winds at various attitudes, resulting in tables of value. The subject is too complicated to discuss in popular way, except to say that there is an enormous difference in the winds according to the layers or distance above the earth, and that each great storm is combination of many winds moving this way and that, but in the general direction of the storm.
 Dr. Willis Moore, the head of the wealth CT bureau, has recently published a mos. interesting book on the science of the weather. It is entitled Descriptive, Me teorology," and it came from the press of In this he takes up all matters relating to the atmosphere and how our weather Is made
 ing and the making of the daily weather charts which are put I'D in the postofflces and public buildings all over the country. According to this we find that observa- tions are taken every morning at the 9Np weather stations scattered throughout 'he United States and the West Indies and that the pressure of the air the temper ature, the humidity the rainfall or snow- fall. and the cloudiness at each of these localities is telegraphed to all the others.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

(Copyright, 1911, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
 Mount Weather, Loudoun County, Va. Y AM on the top of the Blue Ridge ! of the Potomac. at the foot of the George Washington monument, and just about 60 miles from our national capital. This morning the Shenandoah valley was a great sea of clouds and the Loudoun valley on the opposite side. was covered with mist as with a blanket. little later the clouds rose and in billowy waves seemed to come to our feet Yesterday there was a storm and we could see it marching across the valley of Virginia. Today everything Is clear and we shall fly some of Uncle Sam's weather kites to test the velocity Of the wind, the humidity of the atmosphere and the temperature and other qualities of the upper air. This is Uncle Sans great weather experiment station. He has more than POO other places at which corps of scientists sit day and night watching the storms and calms and predicting what the next days wealth CT will be. Mount Weather is purely ex- permental. It's business is to find out new things about this great envelope called the atmosphere which is wrapped around the globe, It IS doing this with all kinds of the finest of meteorological ma ctinery. It tests the changing tempera- ture of the bowels of the earth, and scars into the clouds with automatic instru- ments to bring down the records of the heavens.
 Uncle Sam, Kite Flyer
 It seems small for our great Uncle Sam to devote his valuable time to kite flying. but our patrlarchal relative does that every day. He is fonder If kites than Chinese mandarin, and he has great lapo- ratories filled with the finest of box shaped monsters which he sends daily towards the skies. He is not alone in the business There are other great nations which do the same. Germany has it's kite experiments and so have Trance and other countries. Of all tho world, now ever Uncle Sam's kites have reacheu nearest heaven. He has the record as high-hyer. In April and May. 1910. he sent two kites, each of which went higher han the topmost peak of this hemisphere. The highest of our mountains arc in South America and the loftiest of all is in Aeon cagua, which kisses the sky at the alti- tude of 22,soo feet. The highest mountain in North America is Mount Mckinley. which is little more than 2o,oo0 feet above the sea. Uncle Sam's highest kite has reached height of 2s,SO0 feet and his next highest was 23.1o0. Next to these flights the most successful has been one near Berlin, where in 1908 a kite was gent to height of 2i,320 feet, and next to that was a flight at Blue Fil, near Boston, where the kite extended only 15800 feet above the earth Twenty-three thousand eight hundred feet is considerably over fcur miles. and 1t is about . half milo
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

tric light. The elastic cord for the brdlos is manufactured especially for the wealth CT bureau, and it consists of thin strips of rubber about quarter of an inch thick tightly bound in cloth cover so that it forms a small rope five-eignts of an inch in diameter The elasticity of the rubber protects the kite from sudlen gusts of wind by allowing it to take a smaller angle and thus diminishing the pull. The kite cloth is often waterproof, consisting of a mercerized silk, which sheds the water better than the cambric. Such kites are used on foggy days.
 The pull of these kites is enormous. No ordinary string or cord will hold them, and the man who would attempt to fly them by hand might find himself soaring with them toward the clouds. The cord used here is the finest of steel wire, which is wrapt around a roller and feeled cut and in by means of a powerful elec trio motor.
 The kites are flown from the kitehouse, a little building which looks like Dutch windmill, save that 1t lacks the arms which excited Don Quixote and made him imagine the mill a demon as they flew about through the air. Inside the house is the reel with about 10 miles of this
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

higher than the top of Mount Misti in Peru, where is situated the highest of all recording weather stations. That station belongs to Harvard college, and it is con- nected with the great observatory at Areouipu which lies on the sides Of inc Andes, 13,o0O or 14,00o feet below. Misti Is so high that no one lives there, but auto matic instruments are placed on the top of the mountain and from time to lime are visited and the records carried away
 Flying Weather Bureaus,
 These kites of Uncle Sam are flying weather bureaus. They float on the wings of the winds and explore the atmosphere at a point so far from the earth that a man could hardly go there and come back to tell the tale. The head kite is equipped with automatic recorders. It has machines which note the temperature humidity and other atmospheric conditions. It mas a fountain pen which writes down the veloc- ity of the wind which blows it to and fro, and it Is equipped with other instruments so fine and so complicated and yet so offi- cient that they make one think of great
 lying brain which Uncle Sam has sent aloft to explore. This brain Is kept in an aluminium box which might be called its skull and which is so protected that when the kite falls it is not destroyed
 I made a careful examination of one Of these kite skulls today and was amazed at it's workmanship. Tho instrument wbicn tests the humidity is q human hair
 Not a hair as coarse as that of an In- dians but as fine and silky as that a babv. In fact it is the hair of woman S head, and one selected for its fineness anN strength The hair Is so treated that Ell the oil is taken out of it and it records tha changes in moisture by It's expansion and contraction. When it strikes ram cloud it loosens and when 1t reaches the dry upper strata it becomes taut.
 And then take the thermometer. This works also by expansion and contraction. It Is a little metal bowl with a liquid in side, and that of such Q nature that 1t will test the temperature from 40 degrees below zero to 100 degrees above it. The thermometer in the kite that reached the highest flight recorded a temperature of % degrees below zero, and this was sent ,,p from Mount Weather August 5. in inc face of the hottest sun of the dog days. Tho kite that went up in April of that year reechinc o31o0 feet. recorded a 4ein- nerat,lre of II degrees below zero, so that, s,nposlng other things to have been equal Inc difference of temperature in the 'o feet nf theee two kites showed falling off of fo leGrees The ink used for recording such flights has to he carefully made and Inc al whir', iuhrieates the machinery r,,,st work down ta 10 degrees of cold
 It is important that the weather Tcte11-
 lists know the conditions of the upper air. and the records made by these daily flights are telegraphed to the ether bu- resus all over the country as soon as the kite comes down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

will simply be obeying my instructions. Now" finished the young man in low tense tone, leaning across the table to- ward the mentally-squriming clerk, you get me, don't you, Sackett? I've never had any of the office work. You and Follonby looked after everything. Only you and Follonby have the combination to the big safe. I want you to open It for me when I am ready to quit Follon- by for good and all.'
 Tben he launched into details He in- structed Saekett to go to a trunk and bag maker and have particularly strong suitcase made of peculiar reinforcement and design. It was to be doubly claspad and to have a remarkable set of combina- tion locks. There was to be one in the regular place where a suitcase is locked, then there was to be a smaller combina- tion lock at either end.
 At first the clerk seemed worried, but as plunkett proceeded Sackett's eyes sparkled He showed keener interest as Plunbett went into the details of his plan, and when Plunkett ended Sackett was quite excited.
 "It will be the talk of the town" he said. "Old Follonby will be crazy. I don't wonder you want to throw the hooks Into him. I don't see how you have stood it so long. You are the whole firm, and everybody knows it. He has been getting rich on you I'm mighty glad you never showed me up. l was afraid once or twice that you would. If you protect ne in this thing, as you say you will and make good on the money, I'm to get, you can depend on me-to the limit"
 The following afternoon Saclett report ed to Plunkett in an undertone that he had given the order for the suitcase, and everything was all right. The price of thu thing was very high, but that didn't worry Plunkett. It would take several days for the case to be properly built. Very good.
 Those three days were queer ones in tho office Plunkett was in and out a good deal more than in all the years-he had been a member of the firm. He was very ,,a Caolxatt was narVO1S too. and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

 Plunkett's talent, and various diamond men were eager to do a little fattening themselves. But somehow they could not get Plunkett to accept their propositions. Plunkett frankly confessed to some of his intimate friends that he would like to end this wretched situation, but there were reasons why he could not He was hopeful, however, that there would be a turn in affairs, and if some plans he had in mind worked out all right he predicted that Follonby would get the shock of his life.
 Hell have shock enough when he loses you, the friend declared.
 Hell lose me all right" Plunkett an- swered.
 Thi.; was the situation when one day Plunkett invited Sackett to meet him un- town and have dinner. Thyy met, and Plunkett was particularly solicitous about what his guest ate and drank. Never was Plunkett so kind and considerate of the clerk. After the dinner Plunkett spoke plalnly and conhdentially to thim.
 You know, old man." he said, "that it IS cnly through my good nature that you are not in Sing Sing. There are very few men who would have kept quiet about that little speculation of yours. You know what Follonby would do if he had any idea you were a thief. You know I saved you. Now, l want to get you to do few little things for me that will balance our account. I will pay you well for what you do, but I want you to be particularly careful about how you do it. The condi- ton in The office is intolerable, and 1t has to end Follonby has treated me like a dog. There are reasons which it is not necessary for you to know why we ,an- not go through. a formal dissolution of the firm, but, nevertheless, we've got to part company. Now, I want you to do ex actly what I tell you to do, and exactly in he way tell you to do it. Remember, I will pay you well for 1t. You will hot be in the slightest degree involved or em- barra ssed and there is nothing really dis honest about it. The responsibility Is wholly mine. You are my employe, just a much q ynI ara EnllnnhX'S-and VOL
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

ward South Brooklyn.
 Within 20 minutes the two men and the woman were aboard vessel about to sail for Buenos Ayres.
 Sackett put the heavy suit case under the berth in Plunketts stateroom, re- eeved a fat roll of bills from that gen. tleman, together with his fervid thanks, The clerk stayed on board until the last moment. Then he went on the pier, watched the gangplank being hauled up, watched the ropes being cast off and waved to Plunkett as the big boat slid out into the East river.
 The taxi had been held waiting, and when the boat was on it's way SaclSett climbed into it. Once within the car, be gave great sigh of relief. He stretched himself out until his feet rested on the little seat opposite. Then he drew forth a fat cigar with the air of a man who felt he had earned reward, lighted 1t, puffed once or twice with great enjoyment-and l then he smiled. He smiled more joy fully, more naturally and for longer 1 time than he had done for many, many | days. The cigar was almost gone by the time the taxicab rolled back over the | bridge, down Park row and Nassau street to the Street of Diamonds and stopped in front of the office of Follonby & Plum kett.
 MT. Saclett got out, tipped the chauf- feur literally, went upstairs, opened the door and walked inside The electric light was on, but this did not surprise him. Neither did the fact that MT. Fol- lonby sat in a big chair in the middle of the room.
 "Gone?" inquired Follonby as soon as the other man appeared
 "Yes," answered the clerk, they have gone"
 Everything work smoothly?" pursued the older man.
 There wasn't a hitch.'
 Follonby walked rapidly up and down the room for q minute or two, showing for the first time the excitement under which he had been laboring
 "The scoundrels-the scoundrelsl' he exclaimed, clinching and unclinching his
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

The weather scientists have maps of the United States with these stations marked upon them, and they note at each sta ton the condition there. The same IS done here at Mount Weather.
 Now these men have been studying this business all their lives and, knowing what the weather Is In other places, they can determine what that of their own locality will probably be. It is the same with the specialists at Washington, where all the reports are handled in division known as the forecast division. At the Washington bureau the work Is divided so that one clerk makes a chart of the country showing the changes of tempera- ture In the various regions during the past 24 hours. He makes broad red lines to separate the colder from the warmer regions and narrow red lines about those areas in which the changes of tempera- ture are more than 10 degrees.
 How Storms Come
 Another clerk constructs chart showing the changes of the barometer during the past 24 hours He separates the regions of rising and falling by broad lines of red and uses narrow red lines to enclose the areas where the changes have been more than one tenth of an inch. He has another set of lines for those of two-tenths and tho result is that one can tell in just what parts of the country the barometer is rising or falling. That is to say just where 1t is cooling and contracting and thus allowing the warm winds from other sections to flow In. The baro- meter charts give some idea of the storm centers. and show you how the storms are forming.
 There is a third clerk who deals only with the water In the air and with the clouds, He makes two charts. One of these gives the humidity of water in the air at various places. The other shows where the clouds are and which way they are going.
 The last or fourth clerk makes what is called a general weather chart, com bining much of the information record ed by the others. This gives the air temperature and pressure at each sta tion, the velocity and direction of the winds, the amount of cloudines, and the rain or snowfall, since the last re- port The clerk then draws isobars or lines over the map through the places which have the same barometic pres sure writing the word high in the cen ter of the region of greatest pressure and the word low in the region of the things, moves by gravity, and 1t flows those of less. It is by means of these the winds will go and whether they work Is beyond description interesting.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

hands. "One has robbed me for years
 and the other has deceived me for years. They are well mated We are we'll rid of them both, Sackett. And-and to think that was the man who held one misstep against you for all these years.' Then, when he was calmer, he went over to a corner and brought out a dress suit case which looked remarkably like the one into which MT. Plunkett had load
 ed with jewels. Follonby had no trouble opening It. In fact he had opened it a short time before. Next he opened the | safe, and once more the gems changed | their resting place, this time going from | the little suit case into the big safe. | Again the great doors of thes afe were closed and the combination was sprung. 1 A week later there was a great sensa- l tion in the Street of Diamonds The story l was that clever, debonanir Bob Plunkett 1 had eloped with Folonby's beautiful | young wife, and that before going he
 had tried to loot Follonbys safe of every
 thing worth stealing; that Sackett. upon
 whom he had relied to assist him, had
 kept Follonby apprised of every move; i that a remarkable suit case that Plunkett
 had had made was duplicated by Follon- | by's order, and that when Plunkett had | loaded his case with the stolen jewels i Sackett had substituted the other one | loaded with some choice junk while Plum | ket was telephoning to Mrs. Follonby l that all was ready.
 l The street. which never Is a respecter I of persons, and which always finds an ex- cuse for jocularity in any development. | wondered what would be the color of the air along the coast when Plunkett. sen terced to nearly four weeks at sea, unable
 even to open his suit case because it did | not respond to the combination he had de-
 vised. should be compelled to get an ax 1 to open It up--only to find how sadly he 1 had been trieked
 l And then 1t wondered how long l Plunkett whose gambling propensities 1t l now was known had brought the wolf within a couple of jumps of his door
 mat, would cling to the lady-without the 1 loot.
 Copyright, 1911, by Richard spllane.)
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-21
NOTICE OF SALE OF
UNCLAIMED FREIGHT FOR UNPAID
FREIGHT AND STORAGE CHARGES.
(BY 'BUD, FISHERY

The Galveston, Harrisburg & Sam
Antonio Ry. Co., hereby gives notice
that on the 10th day of April, 1911, be-
tween the hours of 1000 a. m. and
800 p. m, 1t will sell at the G. H. &
S. A. coal bins, situated just east of
Oceavia street crossing. on the north
side Of the G. H. & S. A. Ry. tracks in
Ell Paso. Ell Paso county. Texas, at
public outcry to the highest and best
bidder, for cash, 1S6,700 lbs, more or
less, Of pump coal, the same having
been received in cars ". de M.-15s0s
and n. de M-16656. for the purpose OF
satisfying charges due said company
against these shipments for freight,
storage and unloading charges and the
cost Of this sale, the said property
having been conveyed by said COM
pany as a common carrier, and having
remained at its destination unclaimed
without payment of said charges for
the space Of three months. Shipped
from Dolchburg. Texas, by Interna
tiona1 Coal Mines Co. to Santa Fe Fuel
Co., FL Paso, Texas. This property
may be claimed by its lawful owner
any time before the date of the sale.
by payment of all freight charges and
cost Of this advertisement on appli-
cation to F. NJ. Lassiter, Agent G. H.
& S. A. Ry. Co. FL Paso Texas.