davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

terconnecting wires within telephone
central station is Indicative of the ampli-
tude of connections possible in that Sys
tenn
I'm popular literature we hear much of
gray matter but little of white y brain
made up of gray matter only would be
as useless as a telephone system with all
of it's interconnecting wires destroyed.
There is a great preponderance of white
matter in the brain OF man as compared
with that Of any inferior species. and in
that of the intellectual man as compared
with that of the ordinary man. Yet the
bulk of white material i'm the brain sig
nifies elaborate gray matter. Hence the
significance of brain weight in relation
to brain power
You think, then. that heavy brains
are superior to those which weigh less?"
''Of course every rule has its exception,
but in general I believe that intellectual
status is in some way reflected in the
mass and weight of the brain. In our
tables of thousands of brain weights
drawn from all the social and intellec-
tual classes, it is noted that men of the
kind who never remain steadily employed
and who usually fail to learn even
them come the mechanics and trade
workers. clerks, ordinary business men
and common school teachers. Highest
of all We find the men of decided mental
abilities-the geniuses of the pencil,
brush and sculptor's cnisel. the mathe-
maticians, scholars and statesmen.
The tabulated range of brain weight
within the human species is Very wide
one. stretching. from that of an author
weighing 2O12 grams TO that of Zulu.
weighing only 1850 grams
WHO had the heaviest brain on rec
ord?"
'-Turgenev, the Russian poet and nov
elist. who died in Paris in 1883, at the
age of siXty-fiVe. 1t weighed 2,o12 grams
and was notable for the symmetry of its
convolutiOns. Next to him ranked Jo-
seph BOuny, the French jurist, who
was noted for his great intellect and re-
markable memory. His brain weighed
1895 grams Then followed Cuvier, the
naturalist Il $50 gramsi.
THE largest American brain of record
was that of +. H. Knight u.S14 grams }.
He was a mechanician, possessed Of a
phenomenal memory. and was the author
of the Mechanical Dictionary He was
employed by our patent office and was
one of our commissioners to the French
exposition of 1870. Three years later
he died at the age of hfty-nine.
THE next heaviest American brain was
that of Gen. Benjamin +. Butler. weigh
ing 1,15S grams. And following him. i'm
order among well known men, are Thack-
1.51S; Napoleon III, 1,5o0 and Agassiz,
1895.
But age and disease are factors in
brain weight. The physician VINO report
ed Daniel WebsterS autopsy stated that
his brain probably weighed as much as
1907 grams at maturity, which would
rank him second in the American tables.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

with mold They are mill stones and the
ditch was a mill race fed by Oxon run.
Long before the civil war the mill that
ground grain here was owned and oper-
ated by John Surratt. who lived in lit
tie frame house close by the mill with
his wife Mary and three children, Annie,
John and Isaac.
The miller's house burned down and
the family took refuge in house still
standing at Congress Heights and still
Surratts after their misfortune-Mrs. An
ME Hoyle. Soon after the fire the Sur
rats moved away to keep little tavern
at crossroads that came to be called
after this family, SurrattSville. Now
and for many years this crossroads. with
it's house of entertainment and blacksmith
shop. has been officially called Clinton. 1t
is SO set down in the Postal Guide and on
the maps of the geological survey, but
it Is almost invariably spoken of by the
people of the region as Surrattsville, or
simply as Surratts. 1t has developed
within recent time into a little village
with two churches, school, three stores
and a string of dwellings by the roadside
The Surratt house is still standing. though
remodeled, and is again an inn where the
wayfarer may find refreshment.
The Surratt mill near Congress Heights
passed into the possession of new
conner about the time of the outbreak of
the civil war. His name was Condor, and
this name may be found on the engineers
topographic map of the defenses of Wash
ington published in 1863. Condor built
the brick house on the ridge to which the
sandy and weedy little road leads 1t is
a two-story house, with outside chimneys
at the ends, hip roof covered with moss
green shingles, a dormer window and a
collapsing porch The mill decayed and
passed away during the war and the prop
orfx me In ha nf mil
Waller. New subdivisions are crowding
around it now.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13
Nothing Doing.

Upton SINCLAIR. at a vegetarian
~ banquet i'm Philadelphia. talked
about the fast cure" that he has done
so much to popularize
Il heard a story recently, he said.
that illustrates the strong hold which
fasting has taken on the public mind.
"A beggar stopped "A man and said
Excuse me. sir but nothing solid has
passed my lips for eight days.
Eight days. said the other Excel
lent Let me congratulate YOU on the
success of your interesting fast. Ii must
be a great saving to You. and | assure
you you're looking the picture OF
health. q"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

MCGEE, have since been received. Besides
these brains of members have also here
those of Mai. J. w. Powell. Maj. James
3. Pond and George Francis Train
The professor added ,.at the brain of
Dr. Horace Howard Furness. the noted
Shakespearean scholar. who died recently.
had also been willed to him. but that his
sons had refused to carry out his wishes
and had had his entire remains cremated.
DR.. Furness, before he died. warned DIR.
Spitzka of these objections and instructed
him to fight vigorously for his brain ii
the need arose. In letter written TO
DIR. Spitzka last February. DR.. Furness.
commenting on this opp osition OF his
sons, said:
My hand will have been stayed, my
eyesight gone. my thoughts interrupted
forever. and for the life of me L cannot
see why my boys should object to my
giving my brain to science for the pur-
pose of research and investigation
This letter further cautions DR.. SpitZka
to watch the newspapers carefully for
notice of his death and then to go i'm
mediately to his house and claim the
brain.
IF my boys still object" he wrote,
make a vigorous attempt to get the
organ, and If you still fail, bribe the
undertaken and steal it from him..
Commenting upon another serious loss
to his collection. Dr. Spitzka told me:
THE brain of Walt Whitman. together
with the jar inwhich it had been placed.
is said to have been dropped on the floor
by careless assistant. Unfortunate
ly, not even the pieces were saved.
"All told, we now have in this institute
about $50 brains including over fifty of
criminals. Here are two human brains
which are unique to collections of this
kind. One is that Of All Andamanese and
the other that of a NicObarese.
when 1 first saw this brain of Mai.
James B. Pond. the we'll known lecture
manager and soldier the doctor con-
tinued, something in it's general physiog-
nomy suggested that it was from left
handed man. Subsequent inquiry ELECTED
the fact that although Maj. Pond wrote
with his right hand, having been prob
ably taught to do so in school, he used
left-handed shears and tied his cravat
Mechanically.
This. of George Francis Train. the
celebrated American merchant, promoter
and traveller, is in many respects one of
the best developed brains on record
What peculiarities Of brain indi-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

and is popularity called The Emancipation
monument.
The inscription which tells the story OF
the monument follows:
''Freedom's Memorial In Grateful
Memory of Abraham Lincoln.
This Monument was Erected bv tic
Western Sanitary Commission Of -.
Louis. Mo. With Funds Contribute
Solely by Emancipaied Citizens of the
nfted States. Declared Free 10y his Proc
lamation, January l. ISIS.
THE First Contribution OF 81 Was
nrade by Charlotte Scott "A Freed Moman
of Virginia. Being Her First Earnings in
Freedom, and Consecrated by her Sur
gestion and Request on the Day She
Heard of President Lincoln's Death, 10
Build Monument To his Memory"
On another face of the pedestal of the
monument is this inscript ion:
And Upon this Act, sincerely Relieved
to be an Act of Justice Warranted hv The
Constitution upon Military Ne ,ssity
Invoke the consid rate Judgmo nj ~
Mankind and the Gracious Favor OF Al
mighty God A. Lincoln, Enanc patton
Proclamation. January /. l>i53
Western Sanitary comm ssion. James
f. Yeatman, president 9. = Greeley.
treasurer: George Par,ridge. Dr. J. ID.
Johnson and William =. Eliot"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

bly, was the same as that passed in Mary
land except In the matter Of the man.
ayers and places where subscriptions
might be received. The company was
Alexandria and Winchester under the
management of Jaquelin Amber and
John Beckley at Richmond. John Fitz-
gerald and William Hartshorne at Alex
andria and Joseph Holmes and Edward
Smith at Winchester.
All through the Maryland act Potomac
is spelled "PatOwmack'' and all through
the Virginia act the spelling is 'Potow
mack
The capital Of the Potomac Company
was fixed at S2JOOOO, divided into 800
shares. The charter was to be forfeit
able if work did not begin within one
year from the date Of the organization
of the company. and if the work were not
completed between Cumberland and
Great Fails in three years and between
Cumberland and tidewater in ten years.
The act enumerated the tolls that might
be collected by the company. From the
mouth of the South branch at Paynes
Falls to Great Falls the tolls were:
Pipe of wine. three shiliings; hOgshead of
rum other spirits. two shillings six
pence: hogshead OF tobacco. two shill-
ings: bushel of wheat. peas or beans. one
pence: bushel of corn or other grain or
salt half pence; barrel OF pork. one
shilling; barrel of beef. eight pence; bar
rel of -four. six pence: ton of hemp. hOur.
potash, bar or manufactured iron, five shill-
ings; ton of pig iron castings. one shilling
eight pence; ton OF copper. lead or ore
other than iron, four shillings: ton of
stone or iron ore. ten pence: 100 bushels
of lime. two shillings six pence; chaldrOn
of Goals. ten pence: 100 pipe slaves. four
and one-half pence: 100 barrel slaves, two
pence; 100 cubic feet Of plank or scant-
ling, one shilling six pence; 100 weight OF
all other commodities in packages. three
pence.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

II. - of -, recognizing the need
of studying the brains of educated and
orderly persons rather than those Of the
ignorant, criminal or insane. in. order to
obtain the weight. form and fissural pat
tern, the correlations with bodily and
mental powers of various kinds and de-
grees. hereby declare my wish that at
my death my brain shall be intrusted to
the American AnthrOpometric Society
for scientific uses and for preservation
as a whole or in part, as may be thought
best.
Il earnestly hope that my near rela-
tives by blood or marriage may inter-
pose no objection. l ask them to notify
the proper person promptly of my death;
if possible, even of it's near approach.
(Signature) - -.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13
Witnessed and approved:

"(Notify DR.. y
I'm the order Of their acquisition the
list of members brains in the collection
now includes those of Prof. Joseph Leidy.
Dr. Philip Leidy, DR.. ]. W. White. Prof.
Andrew ]. Parker. Walt Whitman. Prof.
Harrison Allen, Prof. Edward Drinker
Cope and DIR. William Pepper, which
were placed at my disposal about ten
years ago. and those Of Prof. H. H.
Scudder, Dr. Persifor Frazer and DR..
John II. Musser, which, with that Of Prof.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

But it was not 10 refresh your mind
upon the prosector of the American
Anthropometric Society, for that is the
name of this aforementioned. association
of men who Will their cranial contents
To science. / had what, in press par
lance, might be termed a news motive
for making the call.
Upon reaching this city the other day
good friend, the distinguished anthro-
pologist and geologist, Prof. w Me-
Gee of Washington, had just been re-
ceived at the Baugh Institute Prof.
MCGEE was in many respects remark
able genius. During period of nearly
twenty years / have discussed with
him. often for publication and often for
private information. nearly every prob
lem which within that time has vexed
the public mind. / never approached
him with theme upon which, without
d moments hesitation, he did not pour
forth in language elegant as it was
concise u wealth of fact revealing not
only wonderful fund of information
and surprising memory, but definite
opinion disclosing recent study of all
new phases of the problem. / have
known other men who had such a grasp
upon the themes of the past, but none
ether whose hold included so much of
tie pdst and present together.
II was this personal interest in McGee-
= Seif-tdught genius, who schOoled him.
self in the learned sciences while work
.uS at the plOw, the forge, the bench; a
man VINO was "a physically fearless as an
explorer as he was intellectually alert as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13
The Surratt Mill.

TRAVEL a mile south and west of Con-
sress Heights along the main road that
leads into Maryland. 1t is a smooth and
oiled road and a large volume of traffic
passes over it. When You have Travelled
the distance mentioned you will come to
a fork of the road. In the angle of the
parting ways is vegetable and flower
garden run on commercial scale. At
this season the place is radiant with CO.'S
mos, dahlias and other autumn flowers.
Turn to the left. You will then be on
the Livingston road and in few rods
will begin the descent of Swallow hill
Here the road passes down the east slope
Of the high and long ridge that rises to
the eastward of the Eastern branch,
parallels the Potomac for about three
miles and terminates opposite Alexandria,
A third of q mile from the rOad-fOrk one
will come to a stream swiftly flowing in
it's narrower reaches over bed of peb-
bles and larger stones but widening out
in places and forming pools still enough
to reflect the greenery growing on the
banks. This Is Oxon run.
The road crosses the stream in two
ways-by bridge and ford. AT the south
end OF the bridge a sandy weed-grOwn
road leads to the left and points the way
to an old brick house on the northwest
slope of the ridge easterly and southerly
Of Oxon run. The valley of the run is
broad and fiat and through 1t the course
Of the stream is traced by line of will
lows and birches. On the left of the
sandy and weedy road is a thicket of
young silver poplars sprung from the
roots of trees long fallen. All around this
place the weeds are of riotOus growth.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

\ insight into
eighteenth CEN
fury canal traf-
fc III this region,
the classes or
FIR & hit $. tolls
charged and coin
current may be
gained by a read
ing OF the Mary
land and Virginia
acts of assembly
chartering the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

to accept the facial expression of pilgrims
an index. Persons of no degree of
culture, and of all degrees of culture.
pass through the bronze doors of the en-
trance and the marble arches of the YES
thule into staircase hall. Note that
rarely does a man enter that hall of mar
bles, paintings and, sculpture without I'M
covering. 1t is public place and there
is no such sign as Hats off, or Gen
tlemen will please remove their hats"
Yet. about the first thing a man does,
accompanied by ladies or not, is to take
off his hat.
There is usually a touch of reverence in
the simple act Then. there is no gar
rulity in that hall. There are no signs
enjOning silence, yet when people speak
they do it in low tones or perhaps i'm
whispers. AS a rule, they stare, often in
amazement and mental confusion, at the
wonders wrought in colored marbles and
of things appear TO bewilder them One
sees groups of men and women staring at
the floor. The tourist seems to have his
attention riveted to the floor before get
ting through the vestibule. The white
Italian marble with bands and geometric
patterns of brown Tennessee marble and
edg1ngS OF yellow mosaic catch his eve
at the start. In the staircase hall he
seems stunned by the floor pattern which
is designed to echo the pattern of the
ceiling. He goes to the central brass in
lay, the large rayed disc representing
the sun. with four points among the rays
indicating the cardinal points of the COM
marble from Verona and yellow from
Sienna deeply attract him. The brass
lnlayS of the zOdiacal signs embedded in
blocks of dark red and notified French
marble seem to keep the average tourist
entranced.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

organized. Before any one can join il
he must agree to Will away his brain
To the members who survive him.
| went down into the brain vault with
the ''proSector' of the society, DR.. Ed
ward Anthony SpitZka. professor of
general anatomy at the Jefferson Med
zeal College, this city, and also director
of the Daniel Baugh Institute of An
dtomy, a new branch of that great med
zeal school. You may remember that
during the famous trial of Guiteau, the
assassin of President Garfield. learned
neurologist, DR.. Edward S. SpitZka, testi-
ned that the defendant was insane. That
professional witness was the father of
the Prof. SpitZka whom l have just Wis
tied. 1t is an interesting coincidence that
this younger Spitzka performed the
autopsy upon and dissected the brain of
CZolsOsZ, the assassin of President Nc
kinley. lie showed me casts OF these
two famous assassins heads, the one
made by his father of Guiteau during
iIfe and the other made by himself of
CZolgosz after death. The brain of the
latter. by the way. was pronounced nor
NAL by Spitzka the younger.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13
In Staircase Hall.

TIL HE staircase hall of the Library of
! Congress is perhaps the most impress
sive place in Washington il one IL willing
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

coin Casey, Chief Of Engineers, l. s y,
and this: Bernard L. Green, Supt. and
Engineer: John l.. Smithmyer architect
Paul ]. PelZ. architect: Edward Pearct
Casey, architect
After struggling with this legend the
tourist walks over to the staircase. and
stares, in most cases rather blanklY. al
ing Africa and America. Asia and Europe.
and at the balustrade figures typifyns
Comedy, Poetry and Tragedy, Painting.
Architecture and Sculpture.
The tourist finally gets to the ceiling
and his eyes ramble from the tablets of
LongfelloW Tennyson. Cbboh. Cooper.
Scott Hugo and CervanteZ and then To
those inscribed to Dante. Homer. Milton,
Bacon, Aristotle, Goethe, Shakespeare,
Moliere Moses and Herodotus.
BY this time the gaping, studious. eye
straining stranger is sloating on flying
geniuses, the pipes of Pan. Mercury
staff, cymbals. bows and arrows. shep-
herds crook. tambourine. palette and
brushes, torch. bundle of books, Tyre,
tar. compass and block OF paper symbol
zeal of architecture censor, scythe and
hour glass.
1t is fine question how much or how
little of all this library detail the tourist
carries away with him. 1t must be little :;
perhaps only blurred memory of
myriads of beauties and the impression
that the library building is a maze Of
marvels.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

an eXpOunuer-Wnlcu turned my IOOtStcpS
toward the gray and gloomy building in
which DR.. SpitZka conducts his select
morgue and brain repository.
As the accompanying photograph of the
young prosector of the AnthrOpometric
Society is speaking likeness. l need
not describe him further than to say that
he is thirty-six years old and that he
must stand over six feet in his stockings.
The Baugh Institute. in which l found
him. is despite the apparent age of Its
severe. three-story building. but twenty
months old At a cost Of $4,000 it has
been equipped and dedicated to science by
Daniel Baugh, wealthy fhllaoeiphia
manufacturer of phosphate.
In the basement of the institute ProI-
AJcGee's body was, on the day OF my
visit, reposing in what DIR. Spitzka caIieo
the "cadaver bOX-a cell Sixty Ieet fohe
and thirty feet wide, which is refr1ger-
ated by an ammonia gas plant and lnsu-
lated against exterior heat by walls.
ceiling and floor Innings OF concrete. CORK
and waterproof paper. This 1reeZng
at one time $50 bodies. One OF Its
heavy. insulated doors opens into mod
ern crematory. where bodies are reduced
TO ashes after they have been dissected.
brain but his entire body to the An
thropometric Society, of which he was a
member. His brain had been removed
before my arrival. and after being
weighed had been placed in a jar upon
one of the shelves of the fireproof vault
in which the brains Of the sOciety's de-
ceased members are stored.
This chamber we entered after Prof.
Spitzka had thrown open a large steel
door similar to those upon bank vaults
and bearing a combination lock. With
the brain of Prof MCGEE reposed that of
another genius who had poured forth his
knowledge to me in various interviews
his near friend and confrere, Maj. j. W.
Powell, the discoverer of the Grand Can
yon of the Colorado, who became director
of the United States geological survey
and later of the bureau of American
ethnology; also that of Prof. Persifor
Frazer the noted geologist. chemist and
bibliote of Philadelphia. who shortly be-
fore his recent passing described to me
at length his ingenious invention for ana
lying and comparing upon paper the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

THE recent articles and exercises COM
memorative of the fiftieth anniver-
sary of the proclamation of emancipation
suggest that very few persons have read
and. of course, fewer have remembered
the inscription on the Lincoln statue in
Lincoln Park. the bronze effigy of Lin
coin, bidding a crouching bondman arise
The monument was erected by contribu-
tionS from freedmen and freedwomen
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

Joannes, half-Joannes. moidores, Eng
lish guineas: French guineas, doubloons,
Spanish pistoles, French milled pistOles
and Arabian chequins.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

In this tangle may be traced an old
ditch and by the side of this ditch are
several big stone discs cut with radiating
channels. Once they were clean and
gray. but now they are green and black
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

| . y - y NA@I AAt~A th-N
uncanny expert
ence of going down
into a gloomy. un-
foreground vault
and of there view
ing the brains of
some dead friends.
They were exhib-
tied to me by an
officer OF one OF
the most remark
able societies ever
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

an expounder-whch turned my footsteps
toward the gray and gloomy building in
which DIR. SpitZka conducts his select
morgue and brain repository.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

The act also gave the value In pounds.
shillngs and pence sterling of the fol-
lowing coins which were then current in
this locality:
Spanish milled pieces-of-eight; English
milled crowns: French silver crowns;
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

Next, perhaps the stranger will lift his
head. and often with open mouth will
take in the commemorative arch and the
sculptured figures in its spandrels, and
will try to read the git-lettered inscrip-
ton which sets forth that the new library
building, Erected under the acts of Con-
gress of April II, 1856: October 2, 1888 and
March 2, 1889. by Brig. Gen. Thos. Lin.