davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1912-09-29

had lived in that neighborhood a long
time
Il came here just after emancipation, -
he said. Il used to belong to Capt.
Sherburn, who kept store at Newport
Charles county, Nd. and if you go down
that way tell 'em old Henry Speake is
livin' an happy. After you go up this
road a bit you come to Fort Meigs. The
land up there used to belong to the Trim
bells and William Marshall Their old
homes are up there now"
Anybody interested in the family his
tory of people who once lived in the
Benning neighborhood before they got
watermains and gaspipes and fire en-
gines and policemen out that way should
hunt UP George Chase. Henry Speake or
old Aunt Caroline Harris
Continuing up the Benning road to a
point about two miles beyond Minnesota
that in the COS was called the Ridge
road. and here was built Fort Meigs
Part of 1t remains. but population is in
creasing In this highland country, and
homes are being built. Travelling west
wardly from this point brings you to Fort
dupont. Its tangle and jungle grown
ramparts showing through the im-lighted
Woods which overspread this neighbor-
hood. trifle over half mile farther
along you come upon the ramparts of
Fort Davis. Near these breastworks a
florist has howery acres, and fields of
radiant dahlias bloom close to the para :
pets or the grim old fort. Here also
stands an abandoned chapel-Faith NJ. E.
Chapel. When the grade of Bowen road
was cut down this chapel was left on the
top of high clay bank This point
marks the present eastern terminus of
Pennsylvania avenue
x X
Another mile of travel along this road
will bring you to the site of Fort Baker,
The site is now covered by Overlook Inn
"a place reminiscent Of brighter days and
nights. The garden Of the inn. somewhat
weedy and seedy, though not unbeautiful,
extends over the land covered by Fort
Baker. but here and there about the
place. because of a pretty sentiment. the
landscape architect preserved bits Of the
old works. Half mile more brings one
to the site of Fort Wagner. or, as it's first
name was. Fort Good Hope. This fort
stood in the southwest angle of the Good
Hope and Hamilton roads, but all trace
of the works has been erased.
The next earthworks you will meet with
are those of Fort Ricketts,, sometimes
called Battery Ricketts,, an outwork of
Fort Stanton, which was the fort Of most
commanding position in the environs of
Washington. Ricketts, is pretty we'll sur
rounded by the village of Garfield, but
its hard, steep red and yellow clay and
gravel banks feebly shielded with
snaEled and struggling trees are a con-
Evening star., 1912-09-29
HE government has

HE government has
just completed a
long and exhaus-
tive still hunt for
those magic seven
league boots that
would enable it's
fighting men to go
into the field and
tramp e n d ! e s s
miles with no dis
ability from foot
sore n e s S - that
Evening star., 1912-09-29

Fort Snyder stood between the He
brew cemetery, the land for which my
father sold, and the tract that in the
early 7Us was made into the National
race course, which was also our land.
The fort was called Snyder because
Lieut.. Snyder, who laid out Fort Carroll,
on the Giesborough road. was just about
to lay out d fort here when he died and
they called it after him.
That henhouSe out in the back yard
is built out of the flooring of the old
Eastern Branch bridge which was burn
ed to keep the British from crossing it in
August. 1914. Father built it as a fish
house, but we have been using it about
sixty years as henhouSe.
Before the war the big landowners
around here were DIR. Schofe, who owned
all the Giesborough lands. He died in
1888, the year after the cholera plague
swept over the District of Columbia
Schofe, before he died. sold the land to
man named Dement,, a relative of the
Dement'S of Charles county and of the
Bryans of Surrattsville. and from De-
ment it went to the Young family WASH
ington Young owned Giesborough when
it was a cavalry depot. and ]. f. Young.
Or Fen Young, owned all the land
around Fort Carroll. William Berry
owned the land Fort Greble stood on, and
Evening star., 1912-09-29
HERI IS WHAT MODERN SHOES Do To
To TtE HUr1AN foor- ToRBoNEs Iw1s TED IN

tically no individual was competent to fit
his own shoes. The first obstacle was
the universal desire to make the feet ap-
pear small and a consequent wearing of
shoes that were not large enough. Aside
from this was the inability of the person
who was not a specialist to determine
just what size shoe a given foot called
for.
The members of the commission even
visited shoe stores and witnessed the
manner in which shoes We're fitted to
customers. Here the customers usually
prevented the clerk from providing the
proper fit The methods of the clerks
were also at fault
In the first place. the foot was improp-
erly measured. But an approximate idea
of the length of the foot can be gotten
by measuring it as it is measured in a
shoe store. The foot is an arched spring,
and when weight is put upon it the arch
depresses and the foot Iengthens. 1t may
lengthen from quarter to three-auarters
or an inch. The amount of this, lengthen-
ing can be aScertained only by measur-
ing the foot with the weight of the body
upon it. In the case of the soldier who
marches with forty pounds on his back
the effect of this weight must also be as
certained.
SO the commission fitted foot measure
IN board in such d way that the SOL
dier might stand upon it as on a level
surface. When being measured for a
shoe he was required to appear with his
pack and to stand with all his weight on
one foot. The shoe was fitted long enough
Evening star., 1912-09-29

to prevent the end of the toe reaching
the end Of the shoe when the arch was
most depressed.
In the same way the size of the foot
around the ball was measured when the
weight was upon it. These were the two
important measurements. Having taken
them, the soldier was fitted with the shoe
for which they called and observation
was made of any failure to meet his
needs in the actual trial. When the shoe
was on the tightness across the ball
was tested by running the thumb across
the shoe and attempting to pinch up the
leather If it could be induced to form
an actual wrinkle ahead of the thumb
the shoe was too loose. If wave ap-
peared ahead of the thumb the width
was right, and if no wave appeared the
shoe was too tight. These are the official
army tests of a right-fitting shoe.
The soldiers opinion as to whether
his shoes fit not was given
no consideration. The fitting is under the
direction of his company commander,
and that officer is held responsible for the
comfort of the men under him, and he
sees to it that the shoes are the sizes
they should be.
At present there are three sorts OF
shoes used by the men in the army.
There is the regular marching shoe de-
vised three years ago, and held fairly
Evening star., 1912-09-29

lagos are spreading themselves over the
land. When one considers the lapse Of
time and the development Of the trans
Anacostia region it is remarkable that SO
many Of the old earthwOrks may be
traced. In some cases the parapets and
bitches are well preserved; in others. the
parapets have been worn down or leveled
and the bitches filled in part. In some
cases Identification IL not easy. A few
Of the works, have been obliterated and
another reason for the difficulty of iden-
tification without recourse to the en-
giEeering records Of the War Department
is that the extract of the military map of
northeastern Virginia, made in 1885.
which shows the defenses of Washington.
shown and the batteries which were
thrown up to command the ravines by
which the forts might be approached.
Not all are indicated on that map.
Crossing the river at Benning there is
d rapid rise in the land east of the East
ern Branch road-an olden way which in
colonial days was called the River road
and in present days is called Minnesota
avenue. The Benning road follows ra-
vine marked by the course of a small
stream. In places this ravine widens till
IL might be called vale, and along this
road many small houses have been built.
Directly above Minnesota avenue and
south OF the Benning road, topping the
nrst highland after crossing the bridge.
are earthworks upgrown with stunted
pines. but with their red clay face re-
vealed here and there either because
vegetation has refused to grow or because
the children of the neighbOrhood and the
wear of many feet have worn the en-
bankments bare.
Southeast of this ruin few hundred:
yards and on still higher land-land that
js under tiiiage-are the remains Of two
1orts' one OF which Mas Fort Chaplin.
Evening star., 1912-09-29


1881. Levin Talburtt bought the land
from Daniel Dulany Addison in 1904, re-
moving to it from farm of two tracts
called Pasture and Cleaning, on Oxon
run, about three miles to the south. The
old Talburtt home-one of the Oldest
houses in that neighborhood-is still
standing, close to the bank of the river
a mile from the fort. This fort property
is still owned by Talburtt heirs
Turn back to Garfield and then travel
southwesterly along Hamilton road or,
as it is now, Alabama avenue. A dis
tance a trifie short of two miles will
bring you to where Fort Snyder stood
Congress Heights has overgrown the site
Living back in a wide field on the ridge
overlooking the beautiful valley of OXon
run is lady with rosy cheeks and
bright eyes who was born there in 1S4S.
She was the daughter of Thomas Jen-
kins of Thomas. who owned most of the
land in that neighborhood long before
and during the war. Her name is Mrs.
Annie HOyle. She has a remarkable
memory, SO let her talk for a few lines:
Evening star., 1912-09-29

Funny. amt it. that these touts never
pull anything original on a man? No
wonder their profession has decayed until
it takes a fuli-hedsed rube to fall for the
game. Their system never changes and
they use the same stall now that they
used when We were boys. Oh, yes. I'll
admit that Sheepshead Bay. Gravesend
and Jamaica have all seen some pretty
clever boys in the touting art, but l mean
the rank and file.
Speaking of the artists of the game.
have, you ever come in contact with
Smooth Sammy? Well, Sam was a IA
miliar figure around the tracks about fif-
teen years ago. He made touting an art
and played the game with system from
start to finish. No five and ten dollar
tips for him. He always went after the
big money-and he got it, too. Sam was
a wonderful judge of horsefiesh. and
early each morning, rain or shine, he
Was among the rail birds timing the
Evening star., 1912-09-29

in a day or two. After that the tout Is
back at the same old game, trying to
find a sucker to follow his tips and net
him coffee and sinkers.' He lives in the
dreams of the great killing he is going
to make some day. and every day that
finds him with a few dollars in his pock-
ct will find him thoroughly believing that
the day of that great killing has arrived.
"He possesses one thing in common
with every one connected in any capac-
ity with the race track. He loves to see
the horses coming down in the h0me
stretch to the music of cheers from thou
sands of throats, ard, like us boys, broke
or flush, he will follow the lure of the
track until he makes his own finish and
waits for the judge to hang out the num-
bers telling him whether he has won or
lost.
Evening star., 1912-09-29

Another colored man was saunteriny
along TO church at Jones' chapel. He
said his name was Henry Speake. He
Evening star., 1912-09-29

"All that land covered now by the Gov
ernment Hospital for the Insane and
Hillsdale belonged to Thomas Barry, an
English count, whose house was down on
Poplar point. After his death there was
a sale of some of his furniture. and at
that sale l bought that mahogany sofa
you are sitting on. Barry had two sons.
James and Dave, and a daughter, who
became Mrs. Broadhead. James Barry
moved up and built that house on the
hill close to the north wall of the asylum,
where the Eatons lived SO long. Dave
Barry moved down and settled near Sur
rattsville. James Barry sold a tract of
the land to Thomas Blagden and he sold
it to the government for the Insane Asy-
lum, which later became the Government
Hospital for the Insane.
This is a log house-that is. the timbers
are squared. The logs were cut at Wash
ington Young's mill on his farm called
Nonesuch, not far beyond Good Hope.
The best house in this neighborhood when
Evening star., 1912-09-29
hE EooT Is A SPRING
That fLONGATES WHEN
WEIGHT Is Put iron IT

son of the Medical Corps. Capt. w. J.
Glasgow of the general staff. Capt. J.
r. Hannay of the 22d Infantry and
Lieut.. B. F. Miller Of the 27th Infantry.
All these men had worn army shoes
and done army work under all condi-
tions. All had been injured by them
and had seen great numbers of troops
suffering from them. All knew to
what extent an abrasion of the foot
incapacitated a man. All knew Of the
sympathetic effect that such an abra-
sion, though trif1ing, had upon the gen.
eral condition of the sufferer. All
upon the department and spirit Of
troops in action. All appreciated the
Importance Of the task in hand and
set about its proper solution.
AS result Of the first year of activity
on the part of this commission. a march,
ing shoe was devised and manufactured
that was unquestionably better than any
thing that had been in use before. This
product was designated the marching
shoe of the infantry and has served that
purpose for three years. While 1t has
been a useful article, it has had it's de-
fects, and the commission has been stead
lily at work to remedy these. 1t has been
steadily studying the shoe problem in all
it's ramifica tiOnS.
This year it got together and elaborated
of photography in determining just what
different shoes did to different feet. AL
ready it had established the normal,
model foot through studies that included
much of interest. 1t was able to deter
mine what was the normal foot of the
races from which the white man sprung by
studying the feet Of the statues Of old
Greece. made in marble before the time
that man began to wear shoes. The foot
of the famous statue Of Hermes was
taken as a model of the unspoiled foot
Of the European. From the feet of, all
savage peoples were still further ideas
to be gathered. The feet of the children of
the present generation show little tendency
to inherit the deformities Of their par
ents. 1t is even possible to find an iso-
lated AnglO-SaxOn today who has gone
barefoot and whose foot may be taken
as a model of what a foot should be-.
The commission had formerly worked
upon the idea of adapting a shoe to the
foot of the army as it found that. foot
This was a deformed foot. 1t was deter
mined to make a shoe which would be
more nearly like the foot as it should be.
thereby allowing the foot Of the wearer
to readjust itself to the normal. The
new shoe is built for a foot that is not
deformed.
The universal fault Of shoes is that they
seek to point the toes. Even sQuare-tOed
shoes bend the great toe outward. The
heel, the union Of the great toe with the
foot and the end of that toe should all
be in a straight line. A bending of the
great toe outward is called hellux valgas
and is the universal fault with the mod
ern foot Any one who walks across the
floor and notes the working Of his foot
will be able to feel that final push that is
given the body toward the end of the
step by the great toe This push is a very
important part of walking. If the toe is
twisted in such a way that it is out Of
alignment and the pull Of the muscles is
disarranged. this force will be greatly
Evening star., 1912-09-29

ever-preSent enemy that cduseS ~
gaps in the ranks than plague or bullets.
The government has had an omciai
commission at work on shoes and their
effect on the feet for many years. That
commission has just reported, and the
things it has found out about shoes
should lead to solace. not merely for the
men Of the army. but to the ninety mil
lions. For, says the commission. the feet
of the people are a national scandal. and
the shoes that they wear are decreaser
of efficiency fr which none escapes
nor many escape.
Here. for instance are a few of tine
things that this commission discovered:
L. That there is not a foot among all
the sturdy and relatively unspoiled men
Of the army that has not been deformed
and weakened by footwear.
=. That the average shoe is so built
that it deforms and weakens the foot
of the wearer.
). That all the world is suffering from
heelux valgus. which means turning in
and weakening of that spring Of the step,
the great toe.
4. That there is no shoe built that is
wide enough in the toes and narrow
enough in the heel at the same time.
). That no person is competent to fit
his own shoes, but that this task should
be performed by an efficient third person.
8. That the army must. build its own
shoes and that the officers must person.
ally attend to the fitting.
.. That each individual should wear
constantly shoes off of the same last.
g. That light woolen stockings worn
winter and summer are advisable where
Since the beginning of organized war
fare there has always been great trouble
with the foot covering Of soldiers. Wher-
ever great numbers Of troops have found
much marching necessary there have al
ways been large percentages Of suffering
because Of injured feet. Napoleon said
that an army marched on its stomach
but In the view of Wellington an army
fights with its feet, and the result at
Waterloo Is a recommendation of the
latter authority.
This government tried for many dec
AIDES to buy shoes in the open market
for its army. Manufacturers made
something Of an effort to build a shoe
especially fitted for army use, but
never did SO in a satisfactory manner.
The government finally began writing
its own specifications for shoes, basing
them on measurements Of thousands of
feet. Finally, four years ago. it an
pointed a commission to investigate
the question Of shoes in all its bear
ings and to report its findings
On this commission were very select
and competent army men, for the de-
Evening star., 1912-09-29

t is the work of day to visit and
explore the remains and the sites of
the civil war defenses of Washington
that stretch along the high ridge east
and south of the Eastern branch. Grea.
changes have come over that section of
the District of Columbia within the half
century since this ridge and its many
spurs and ravines We're cleared of the
timber and earthworks thrown UP
through fear that Washington might be
taken in reverse. or that an enemy might
gain possession of these heights and hold
them long enough to wreck with gunfire
the navy yard, the arsenal. perhaps the
Capitol and certainly the bridges that
span the once broad, bu, now rapidly
narrowing river.
Evening star., 1912-09-29

TN the Army There Is of
i Necessity Much March
ing and Shoes Are Conse-
quently of Great Importance
The War Department Has
Been Endeavoring to Have
an Ideal Shoe Made-Re-
searches Have Revealed
Many Things of Interest
to All Shoe Wearers.
Evening star., 1912-09-29
The NoDE1 SHOE l
A1Lows TIE Toor To Cor1E BAcK To NoRr1A1

satisfactory. 1t is in tan. There is the
garrison shoe, more nearly the average
tan of the civilian and more pointed at
the toe. There is the dress shoe that is
worn with the blue uniform and which Is
black. All are on different lasts.
The commission was anxious to try out
the shoe it had devised i'm competition
with the old marching shoe and the gar
risOn shoe. To that end a series of
marches were arranged at Fort Leaven-
worth in which nearly 400 men partici-
pated. and in which they marched III
miles in these types of shoes
Every man was scientifically fitted in
shoes The first man got the garrison
tan, the second the old marching shoe,
the third the experimental shoe, and SO
on throughout all the companies, thus
distributing the shoes equally. After
being fitted each man was required to
stand for five minutes in three inches of
water until his shoes became wet. Then
he walked three miles, by which time
they were dry and set to his feet. The
men were given these extra shoes as
means of increasing interest in the
marches that were to follow. They had
them for two weeks before the actual
marches began that they might get them
thoroughly broken in.
Then the series of hikes began. The
first and second days the men marched
eight miles each. On the third day they
marched ten miles. the fourth
twelve. on the fifth fifteen miles, on the
sixth twenty-one miles, on the seventh
sixteen, eighth fifteen and ninth twelve
miles. This made an aggregate of III
miles in nine days, which is pretty good
marching.
Before each of these marches the feet
of each man were carefully examined
After. each march they were as carefully
examined and card was made for each
man each day showing just what effect
the shoes he wore had upon his feet. The
percentage of the men who came through
this hike without blister was surpris-
ingly large. There was hardly anything
on record to compare with 1t. Not faif
the men showed any foot trouble what
ever. even when. using the least salts
factory of the shoes This fact was at
tributed to the fitting of the shoes in
accordance with the method devised by
the commission.
OF the 400. not man was forced to
give up the march because of foot injur-
les caused by his shoes. OF those who
wore the tan garrison shoe with the
somewhat narrower toe there We're 10
per cent more injuries than shown by the
old marching shoe or the experimental
shoe. Both these latter shoes We're
shown to be fairly satisfactory, but the
general result from the experimental shoe
were most striking and to it is attributed
the additional advantage Of the opportun-
ity that it offers the foot to get back to
normal.
Evening star., 1912-09-29

So satisfactory was the new shoe that
the commission has reported it to the
War Department and recommended it as
the shoe for general use with a few fur
ther corrections, such as stiffening the
box in the toe. The commission will also
Evening star., 1912-09-29

down to the mouth of OxOn run and
across the run was the big estate or
Thomas Berry.
Evening star., 1912-09-29
NopE1 SHOE :.
DESIGNED BY Army ExPERTS

weakened. The shoe should allow this to
to resume a straight line.
The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-10-05
For Sale.

The Davidson Hotel, in
Guiding the lot and buildings.
A going concern and doing
good business. Reason Of
sale is that the heirs desire a
settlement. Price $1,000
one-third cash and the bal.
ance in l, 2, 3 and 4 years.
Apply to
BEVERLY J. MEQUET,
or HENRY MAYER,
Franklin, La.
Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1912-08-08
NORWAY.

The Norwegian whaling expeditions
to the South Sea islands brought back
about 100000 barrels of whale oil,
guano and other products, to the val
ue of about 100000 which is looked
upon as very satisfactory.
Wild berries VIII be plentiful in
Norway this summer, especially in the
northern part of the country. The
strawberry crop WIS very large, and
the whortleberries blueberries, and
tytteberries Swedish lingon) also
look fine
B. A. Ovren, OF Lekshvs, Faaberg,
Gudbrandsdal, has Just closed his so
years service as g, school teacher A
festival was given in his honor by the
people of the coIamunity, and he re-
ceived many valuable presents. Mr..
Ovren is 70 years old.
The members Of the South pole ex-
petition, excepting the leader, ROAD
Amundsen, who is writing his book in
South America. called ~on the starting
the other day to thank the storting for
being so generous to the expedition.
PRESIDENT Berner replied in an ad-
dress of thanks to the FRAN Men,"
as the explorers are called. "You
don't need many words" he said. ION
your way home and after having put
your feet on Norwegian soil, you have
felt the hearts of the whole Norwe-
gian people beat towards you. The
minds and thoughts of the Norwegian
people burn with feeling Of joy,
thanks, fullness and pride. We. as
the representatives Of the people, are
animated by the same feeling. We
rejoice in the grand achievement. We
are proud because it is our country
men that have manifested the pa
tience, strength, and courage that
conquered all difficulties. We wish
you welcome to this country, and we
wish you success on your new expedi-
tion."