davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06
HUMoR OF INDIAN BATHING
Original Way of Massaging and Using
 Water by Prisoners of Jail

From the Wide World Magazine.
 One of the humorous sights of India is the daily bathing parade in native prison. In the one we witnessed were youthful habitual criminals, varying in age from 3 to i5 years taking their daily dip in Agra jail. While the governor watches proceedings from the shade of a tree the prisoners. each man fettered and carrying a bowl of beaten brass or steel are led out in double file to a stone &venent. on each side Of. which runs 4 shallow trough of water At the com mand of native wander bowls are washed. At a second order the prisoners scoop water over themselves and thea sink smartly to their haunches. one be- hind another, in parallel lines. Again comes q snappy order from the warden. and each man begins vigorously to rub the back of the fellow in front Of him. When the warder judges the massage" is complete his voice brings the two lines to q smart right about face. still on ther heunches. and the vigorous rubbngs be- gin again. each man doing for his fellow what his fellow did for him The prO- cess. while comical, is genuine llustra- ton of the saving, "You scratch my hack end I'll scratch yours, except. of course. Co the prisoners whose fate brings them to the head or tail of the line, whtre they receive only half the "treatment'' of their fellows.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

we had l<uhne under lock and key, said Froest, and the sheriff of his town came over to take him home Oddly enough, though he came from Primrose City, he declared he never had seen a primrose in his life. and 1t seemed to be the thlng-after Kuhne-that he most wanted to see over here. Well, tt wasn't the season for prlmroses, so , sent him some seeds, which refused to come up Then I sent him some young plants but they died en route, so the best I could do was to send the sheriff some dried primroses, and he was pleased most to pieces"
 Telling this story recalled another American sheriff-a Kentucky one thls time--to Froest and incidentally the his- tory of the Smith & Wesson which keeps company with Tom O'Briens Colt on his mantel.
 q got man in London for this sheriff., said Froest, ignoring the de- tails of what must have been another exciting capture who had killed some body in a lunatic asylum in Kentucky and the sheriff gave me his gun as a souvenir. This murderer was one of the deep. silent kind, and 1 warned tEe sheriff and his assistant to look q fter him carefully when they got to ire states If he jumps overheard while you're going across I said, well, hell be dead and that's up to him. But look out when you touch landp Well. do you know, that in spite of my warning thers he gave them the slip at New York and what is more. got away with two bags belonging to the sheriff. and theg never saw him again." The bury super intendent chuckled at the recollection. What happened to them when they g lL home" he added God knows"
 Frank Froest probably comes as nea- to being fearless as 1t is possible for man to be. The biggest part of his life has been spent in the hourly danger. if not expectation, of getting either plugged" stabbed. As a raw young policeman, the first beat" assigned to him was in the delectable region of Saffron Hill, which is the Italian quarter of the metropolis. and he had been on duty barely 20 minutes when he was in the thick of nasty set-to. Half a dozen dagoes had set on a Britisher and Froess
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

ries of next-of-kin frauds ever pulled off in the United States. His invariable bait was an allurlng sum of millions awaiting American heirs in England. The millions in ehancery myth is one that dies hard at home, and Moore found dupes by the thousand. These he bled white and then vanished. He was the leading lawyer in the state of Tennessee when this bright idea struck him. and, of course pillar of the church.
 But he was an Englishman by birth, ' said Froest adding. Have you read Ouida's novels?''
 "Only Under Two Flags, was the reply
 That's all you need to have read 10 see Moore" said the detective "for he was for all tho world like the hero of that novel-the beautiful Life Guards man, you know. He stood over six feet and must have weighed IT stones, though he hadn't bit of a stomach He had a magnificent tawny beard thing you rarely see in the states, and his manners were those of nobleman. He came over here and 1 went to see him, more or principle than with any definite object, and then I looked him up bit. Finally when your government decided to stor his game for good and all they sent ior me It took three trials to convict him-the first two juries were fixed sure-the last being held at Jackson Tenn. And do you know" said Froest "eyen after l got home 1 got letters from hundreds of people in America ask ing me to ind out if there really weren't a few millions belonging to them over here"
 Ii was in the United States. too, and in the service of the American govern ment that Froest first went up against Tom OBrien who eventually came oveG from Paris to London with the express object of murdering the Scotland Yardet' William Pinkerton described this bis American crooks career from his begin ming as q newsboy on the trains between Albany and New York to his end in the French convict settlement at New Gale donia as we sat in Froests den at tfe Yard. He told how he began to go wrong by selling 10 cent shin-pasters to rubes for Sl0 bills, and how he climbed up to be a big bunco- -steerer-"the king of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

able to roll an umbrella with an art na- approached by any known person now engaged in rolling umbrellas in these islands
 The last time, by the WAY. that sar torial experts had a chance to draw comparisons between the royal "togs'' and those of the dandiest of sleuth- hounds was at Ascot when the King sent for Froest. shook hands with hirn and voiced his regret at his coming re- tirement. The royal favor already has been manifested in a more substantial way for on New Years Day last, si simultaneously with the eonferment Of cer- tain peerages, knighthoods and other honors the much-coveted Distinguished Service Order was conferred on Froest, whose decora tions for one thing and another would make a double row across even his bread chest if he cared to wear them all at one time
 "Debonair'' is the word that best de- scribes the superintendent The Iron strength and bulldog grit that have car ried him-not without some nasty stabs and slashes-through life and death tus- sles with thieves, murderers and man. iacs are masked behind the sleek, well fed appearance of a jovial club man, and this effect his rancing blue eyes, which, however. can harden pitiessly, ms cpGhS iitIlt DluSldtfltf dHu HIS tipG1- iy shaven chanium combine to heighten. His hands are manicured as carefully as those of a Fifth avenue dandy, but they are as deceptive as the rest of hls ap- pearance of careless bonhomie, for the strength Of steel is in them and they can bend a sixpence or tear a pack of cards in two almost as easily as yours or mine could shatter a peanut. Yet it
 is wrong to say that Frankie" Froests air of an out-and-out good sort is de- captive, except as appearing to indicate soft-lving man who would be easy b get the upper hand of, for even the big, bad snen he has landed in ''qued' Will tell you that he is one of the best.
 My. the fights the man has had Ire tough customers who have had to knick under to his Porthos-lke strength, He finally nut the bracelets on one man after a Titanic struggle all over a t'st- class compartment of an express train. and even after he was handcuffed this
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

went to his countryman assisiance-itii1 i1 got stabbed for his pains. He just man aged to get his man out of the mess safe and sound. and then things got black When he came to he was in q hospital ward. but he was well in Eo time and ready for moro trouble.
 Here Is a typical stotf of one of his many close calls: Aftyk shadowing 8 French cook-who eventually was guillo- tinel for murdering a palm London for several days. Froest who was an inspector at the time, arrested him just as he was getting into hanson on the embankment. On the way to the Yard the FrencEman said You were never nearer to death than when you were shadowing me in Piccadilly the other day, NJ Froest l saw you behind Iae and 1 was desperate. l made up my mind to shoot first you and then my self So I turned into q doorway ard pulled out my revolver, intending to get you as yon passed. But fortunately fnr you, you turned up Vine street toward the police station. That saved your life.''
 Yes" laughed Froest "I had aa- other plain clothes man 10 pick you up at Piocadilly Circus. We weren't losing sight of you"
 Froest has made three visits to the United States-and means to pay another after his retirement, which takes place in October He first went across i'm 1884, having been 'borrowed' by the United States government In connection with the prosecution of William Lord Moore, By this time his name was well known, chiefly as result of his smart solution of big mystery which he unravelcl with the aid of a photograph he had stolen-yes, stolen deliberately. from a matrimonial agent whom he visited md sent out of the room on some pretext the while he purloined the picture from his desk. He got a lot of praise for hls work in this case. and followed it mp hv exposing lawyer from the Midland nam ed Marshall who declared that S60,0O0 had been stolen from his room in a London hotel E'roest demonstrated that the money had not been stolen at all, but had been appropriated by the lawNef, and the latter went 10 do time
 William Lord Moore. you may remem- ber was the author of the biggest Sc
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

Creeping out into the sunlight that shone warmly on the high plateau that formed part cf the stockade of Little Round Top prison chet Hatfield, 'lifer' from Rowland county for murder convict with whom the authorities had had more trouble than any other in the mine, grew amazed as he noted the many, many changes in the stockade during the last tow weeks.
 \ veritable metamorphosis had taken place in his world since. unconscious bleeding, broken, but unconauered still, he had been dragged from the whipping post after punishment for murderous as- sault on guard and flung into his cell
 That had been six weeks ago His strength crushed by the heavy task iin- posed by the warden his spirit broken by the constant brutality of the guards with no hope in life. he had yainly wished for death during the weeks that lie had lain in the hospital helpless from fthe fever brought on by the beating he had received.
 No whisper of what was going on n the prison had reached him. Save for the shift of guard and nurse. there had been no change In the hospital. Ills new nurse taciturn but kinuiS, had spoken little.
 Again he rubbed his eyes. II was tl- most unbelievable. His gaze first went toward the corner where he had been whipped. A glare of hate filed his brown eyes and his thin ip5 drew back over yellowed teeth as memories of that last day returned to him. Silently he registered a VOW that the guard would Euffer for his treatment. With start he returned to the present and saw that forge filled the corner now
 He sniffed the air. It was clean and sweet, speaking faintiy of the odorous pines that fringed the surrounding ;nuun- tains. The foul smells that had made the atmosphere unbreathable were gone, The stockade. was clear of rubbish and the buildings had an air of nes tness they had never known before his sickness.
 sudden burst of shouting drew his attention to the bottom of the slope He looked again before he could believe rthe testimony of his eyes A baseball -rafne was in progress in the. sfoeSade. -yes. there was the pitcher just ready te -deliver the ball. And it was 'sug sBirdweil pitching. And Molly Houser shehind the bat X figure in. blue was unlpirng.
 Tn fact that was the only thing that appeared unchanged to his eyes The silent figures pacing the top of the stockade wall. rife hooked under one arm. and keen eyes ceaseless in their vigilance were familiar.
 Hatfield rose weakly and hohblei down s.1,e slope toward the bell game As he slowly approached the group a figure lrew apart and came toward him with
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

time he could smell the damp in the air and knew he had seant margin to get out
 Al last he reached the final entry and sent the last frightened convict sellrry- ing to the surface before him. He fol- lowed more slowly. His superhuman ef- forts were beginning to tell on him.
 He had difficulty in running. Once ths men saw him fall and his lantern dropped He picked himself up with an effort.
 To end this story right" it would Do necessary 10 tell how Hatfield reached the surface barely in time and was dragged 10 safety by his grateful si- lows, that he was pardoned by the gov ernor for his heroic conduct; that hs lsse the prison and spent the remainder of his life in peace and happiness.
 But he didn't Thirty-six hours after the explosion the first rescuing party found him at the foot of the auxiliary slope. lying face downward. with sraie of ineffable content on his lips.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

thug maBaged to raise an iron foot warmer between his manacled wrists and tried to brain the detective with t.. Perhaps the liveliest fight of Froests s whole life, however, was against an American cowboy. who already had six murders to his credit and who did his level best to make the killing of Froest constitute seventh.
 This was early in the detectives career, but he already had tested the mettle of Americans-or rather Irish-Americans-- for under Inspector Littlechild he had fought the Fenians in Ireland and gone up against them in Paris C'those people you were kind enough to send over 70 us he said describing them), so he knew what to expect in a real bad man from the states
 This bad mans name was Kuhne, and he hailed from Primrose City, Wis. The murders he was wanted for were partic- ularly brutal ones. and after commit ting them Kuhne signed on cattle boat bound for Liverpool. At Queenstown, Froest, who then was unknown to fame, put off in a small boat, met the cattle boat and climbed up over her side. There were men on deck and one of them was a giant, inches taller than Froest, who is not much over medium height.
 ''ls your name kuhne. said froeSt to the big man. drawing his bow at ven- ture.
 "what?r was the answer. ''Oh. noi' But Froest saw that he had got his man. 'gm police officer" he snapped, and instantly the giant drew bowie knife and jumped at him. Over on the deck they rolled, clamped together struggling furiously. Up and down they went. the cowboy jabbing his knife through the detectives clothing and try- ing to grip his throat But gradually the Scotland Yard mans iron strength wore down his man. and that's why there isn't seventh notch in the hilt of the sticker'' that now lies on Froest's mantepiece
 It was characteristic of him that I had to drag the details of this affair ont Of him. bit by bit. He was much more in his element when describing a pctir- esque little sequel to the adventure.
 We let them know in Wisconsin th lt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06

eruff salutation and outstretched kana Hatheld's surprise grew when he noted that it was Bully Davis who thus greeted him.
 He was drawn into the circle and began to watch the game half-heartedly. His eyes swung around the ring of silent. ia- tent faces and again he wondered. The faces, while undeniably those of con victs. were alight with interest They were heavy. it is true. but not with the snllen hopeless despair that marks the ..lifer"
 As the game ended there was A sub dued cheer from the men and general movement toward the dormitories. The guard took charge and marched them over picking up his rife from the ground as he fell in behind the marching cor victs.
 Hatfield walked slowly behind the others, his mind series of interrogation points What had happened to change these men and conditions so in six short weeks? When he reached the cells he was a little at loss what to do and start ed back to the hospital when Da~ia sought and obtained permission for Hat field to share his cell until a permanent tIt ndd bttii dSSlS0C1 U Difli- IihAheAA walked into the cell and the two were silent until the bolts clicked behin1 them.
 Davis son'ber eyes had noted his com panions bewiiderment and he asked:
 "A little surprised eh? Does Seem kind If queer to be playing ball games in here. Want to know something about it?''
 Yes. responded Hatfield briefly
 About a week after you got sick some big bugs came down here from some where and they didn't seem to like things much. 1 was working outside then and saw 'em snoopip' around About two or three days after they were here .ae old man went off and we ain't seen hins since
 Things rocked along for several days with Moseley in charge. and then one day the word went around that we ha,i new warden. Of course we all wanted to see him and kind of get a linc on what to expect.
 sThe day after he came we all went over to the chapel and he made ITS . talk lie said he believed in giving us some show and that he had heard how things were and intended 10 chance them. He said if there was beatin' going on he wanted us to tell him about 1t and he would stop It. He said he wa going to clean up the place 50 if would be fit for folks to live in.
 T didn't take much stock in what ne said. only saw that his eyes were Kind of steely and l says to PirdwelI: Here's where we get it again. We'll. the next day he took lot of us fellows out of the mine and put us to work on tie buildings fTonst. l liked to have choked. It sure was fierce. He difnt say anything. hut his face looked kind of funny. Next day he looked over the stinxs and said that all of US ought rot
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06
BY JACK BETHEA

amount of leisure. II won't do you any good to brood over the past. You say you have TO future. That rests with you That win do Go back to your corridor and think il over.
 Hatfield rose and went out. Harding looked after him. "A hard case" he muttered to himself 'but if ! could get him interested in anything that problem would be solved
 As Hatfield reported to the corridor guard and was assigned to cell he was thinking of TIarding's last words. Was there more to his life than the mere di8- ging Of coal? He had not thought so.
 When the iron gates of Little Round Top changed behind him he had given up all hope. And he was justified. Dantes words over the gates of the in- ferno might with equal pertinenee, have been inscribed over the entrance to the prison.
 When he lay down that night he was stiIl thinking of Harding and his prom ise. He was thinking about 1t a week later when he was put to work doirs light tasks around the mine until he re covered his strength He did his HDrN thoroughly, but silently.
 The turning point in Hatheld's career came one afternoon when he heard the man working next to him coughing and saw him sway. Hatneld saw that the lad could not do his work and he did it for him. forfeitipg his pay for extra woils. If the boy did not bring up the neces- sary amount of coal he would lose his liberty privilege on Saturday afternoon. The boy had tuberculosis and needed tie air, Hatfield concluded. worse than ne needed the money He continued to hll in for the boy until the latter was placed In the hospital several mcnths later.
 After tha- Hatfield N as never the same He was still silent and reserved but there was rot the hopeessness about him and inc useiess rebellion against fate that had marked him before He had learned in part the lesson Of Hard ing words
 And then came his application for per- mission to take the examination for rhine l foreman before the state inspector. near Iv two years later. He made 1t to Ierd-
 ing and after a long talk with the con- ] vict his application was indorsed and
 forwarded 10 the superintendent of rris-
 ons. The application bore HardinS's rec i ommendation that 1t be granted. l Hatfeld's request was the first of it's i kind that ever came before the governor and in fact was the first ever made by 1 a state convict Acting on Harding $ l strong endorsement. the governor grant | ed permission and he was taken to Law renee to stand the examination. l To Hatfield that trip was memoraeia one. Tn 1t he had his last sight of the outside world. It was his farewell. ts | they aIighted from the train at Law renee his eyes filled with tears as he thought of the last tine he had seen
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06
A Man Ren1ade--A Story of the Mines

what had caused the disaster, The dust in the mine. unsettled for two days. had been exploded by the first comparatlN ely small explosion In five minutes one whole quarter of the mine WAS filled with the deadly after damp.
 The men at the head of the mine di- rected every effort to get those out wno were still alive, Messengers were ee- spatched. The man who was sent 10 Hathelds division lost his nerve and failed to give the warning The others were never heard from
 Consequently when Hatfield came to the surface i5 minutes later he found everything in wild confusion. He knew nothing of the explosion and had re- turned to speak to Harding about some blasting
 As Harding saw him coming out of the mine he gave sigh of relief.
 Where are your men, Hatfeld24
 "My menY' returned the amazed Hat field, lin the mine working sir" Didn't you know of the explosion? demanded Harding.
 'No. sir: has there been one?" asked Hatfield. thinking that 1t was merely T small disturbance confined to a pocket of the mine
 He was quickly enlightened as to the state of affairs. Without a word he started at top speed for the mouth Of the slope.
 What are you going 10 do?' demanded Harding, as he raced by his side "Get 'em out"
 "But man, 1t means death 10 go back in the mine See. there are some of them driven batck now,' he exclaimed, as n party of men reeled out of the mine | and lay exhausted. i Hatfield made no answer Dashing into the mine he left Harding staring after 1 him.
 Hatfield lnew tliat the damp had not ponetrated his section yet and if he could warn his men in time they could get out | by pushing through the comparatively good air in the auxiliary slope To de- ! lay meant the death Of @ men for whom { he was responsible. They were forbid den Co come 10 the surface except UT fer his orders. He must give those orders | He did not hesitate. | He dashed down the slope at run. falling several times and bruising him | self painfully Nothing daunte1 he kept lup his flight. picking his way down the slippery track as best he could. As ne | reached the function of the slopes he paused for an instant and shifted tine air. The damp was plainly perceptible. He resumed his riin down the passage way. paused at the first entry, gave his warning and proceeded
 There has been an explosion Go to hurry. Minutes mean your lives. Nc panic now
 The men dropped their picks aud dashed ouf He kept up hls mad fpl down the slope It seemed to him tie ] passageway would neges end By thts