davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24


ProteetiYn as eeiatlont business We
hunted through an The records we
could Grd and hear as we could
judge, ahoh once every twelve months
man ppered ID some small town
IS jenkins had appeared 10 Medialon,
ANA pat over about the same kind Of
a lob TIE man meyer had been an
pretended o. egen located Upon I'M
vostigaang these Ola cases We found
that the lli6er9 always used diF-
farout pne. tia he was sometimes
aha4ed, sometimes bearded, some
times snlargilg DRESSED md some
times quietly but always Re Wss q
coal man 81 ioreefal Character and
e9paFan succes ~ was OBVIOUS that
lie std our jenkins" were enc
and ne Same man
a hurriea Citing around The couns
thy placed nsnly possession the yaris
Gus specimens Of handwriting thai
had been lett ny the @kiter AZ first
j was amazed and disappointed 70 dis.
cover that they were all apparently
the work Of different men; but few
days gorl. On the part Of cur hand
writing e2pert. Demonstrated that one
man had written them an. but That he
had so akilfully d gnised his hand en-
each occasion a. t. make each speei-
men entirely different in appearance
from the others. NY respect Tor my
quarry grew immensely 81 this reveal
tion The man was absolutely the
cIeyerest forger J ever had heard Of.
Nov ! knew that the jenkins who
had fooled The banis in Medallion was
an Old and expert hand at crime, that
he had worked at il for ct least six
years. and that be seemed te do only
one job a year And still was as far
away from any apparent clew as when
| started on the case Somewhere
in America this forceful, clever fet
low was living on the proceeds Of his
crime. But what task to look for
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24
CUMMINGS Tenhps looked around wildly

him. For this jenkins was not Of
the criminal type. He would not be
found by hunting among crooks. lie
might be anywhere and in almost any
plane of society
The only physical proof that had
Of the existence of jenkins was his
variously disguised handwriting This
was the only trace that he had LETT Of
his presence. But this was enough, as
it proved.
will not tire the reader with tell
ing about the weary weeks OF futile
toll I spent at first en- the Jenkins
case. They were weeks Of searching
and researching without finding any
thing. Nothing interesting happened
In that time But in the end afser
the weariest sort Of digging, finally
uDeartned the salient fact that all OF
the coal men VINO had been the means
Of attracting the fatal Jenkins to their
towns had advertised their business
Tor sale in the same coal trade pub
location.
This publication was q small week.
" issued at Philadelphia. It went
only to retail coal dealers. It was
not for sale on newsstands, nor was 1t
to be found in any library in the coun-
try. 1t had 3,l52 subscribers, ana
these were about the only people in
the country who knew that such q
publication existed. Reasoning the
thing out i seemed possible to sup
pose that jenkins Tor years had been
a constant reader Of this paper.
The case for this theory summed
up thus:
Six certain men had published in
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24

glIckering with clawaon he agreed to.
buy the coal yard at $4,45o So $40 TO
be paid at once, and the remainder on
six months time, lie wrote check
as before Tor the $500.
"And by the way, claweonr esaid
@Wish you'd take me- down and I'M
trodace me to your banker Tn have
70 transfer my account here Ia few
days.
Clawson accordingly introduced
jenkins to tie Ola National bank IA
cordial manner. AS soon SIS he haa
been properly identified jenkins Pre-.
sented a draft Issued BY the Twenty
Fifth Street bank Tor si,625 The
cal bier paid It without murmur oil
suspicion.
From Clawaon, jenkins went to-
Cross, and within half an hour he mad
repeated his operation at the First
National. there cashing draft for $l,.
$40. From Cross he went to Fink,
and Fink accommodating identified
him at the Farmers and Merchants,
where he secured $1,000 on a similar
draft
Thst night Mr. and Mrs jenkins left
Medallion Next day the banks discoy-
cred that the drafts were an forgeres
The forms on which they were issued
were mere cheap limitations Of The
Twentyffth Street Banks paper. Iiur-
ried kilograms went to the New York
bank:
'dow much is Jenkins balance?"
The answer came Eighteen dol
lars and eleven cents
The Medallion banks had been cieY-
erly gtung
This was the story that gathered
thread by thread when | investigated
the trouble il MedilliOn.
To trace jenkins ] had specimens Of
his handwriting, excellent descrip-
lions Of him, and the knowledge that
he was an expert in the coal business.
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24

this paper ads Offering for sale coal
business, which jenkins had answered.
These particular ads had appeared
III a space covering six years.
In three cases at least he had as
serted that he had seen the advertise
ment in this publication.
lie was SO familiar with all the up
to-date news Of the trade that he could
hardly have obtained it any other way
than reading closely the gossip OF a
trade paper.
Against this Of course was the pos
siLility that jenkins had merely nit
nbcn these particular coal yards by
accident. AT all events, this was the
only clue that / had to work on.
In Philadelphia | found the publish
er Of tae coal paper to be a grabbed
cid fellow who would have nothing to
do with me at first. / looked around
and found that ne was head-over-heels
In debt, and that his bank held two
notes against him which they were
threatenirlg to call in, which action
would have put the old fellow out OF
business. The president Of the bank
on my request, wrote little note, and
upon its presentation the publisher
was glad to turn over for my inspec-
ton all his records. Together with
the handwriting expert ! set to work
on aI1 the letters that the old man mad
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24
cIarson renl up and heId oat hia

clawson went up and held out his
hand.
oHello, Jenkins" he said
aYou are mistaken was the Al.
swer Cummings is my name"
at is here" said Cross, 0tepping IN.
"but in Medallion it was Jenkins, All
right"
Eyes" said Fink. why didn't you
come back for your furnitureY
C,immirgs-Jenkins- looked around
wildly On every side OF him he saw
cashiers from the banks that he had
swindled in the last six years. They
greeted him by the different names he
had used in their towns. Then / step
ned M and showed him the letter he
had written to the coal paper.
"But for this said, we might
never have got YOU.
Cummings was smart enough to see
that the game was up. He made a
complete confession, clearing up a lot
Of mysterious bank forgeries, and took
* wears in Auburn prison. His wife
went tree. She fought the case, alleg-
ing that Jenkins had forced her to
help him by threats Of death She got
a young jury, and she was a pretty,
youthful looking woman.
We didn't care much about her.
however Jenkins-or rather Cum
mings-was the brains OF the outfit,
and we had put him where his brains
couldn't do our clients any harm.
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24

the possibility that he was a subscrib
er to the coal trade paper and that
he had written a signed letter to the
GATOR.
AS the expert was looking over the
1,300th letter he jumped up with 8
shout
Here's cur mani" he cried, and
threw over to me a letter signed "A
j. Cummings, Neria. Ohio"
To the layman this signature was
totally dinerent from any Of those We
had found left By Jenkins, but the ex-
pert quickly proved that it was from
the same hand.
The letter was written on Cum
mings' letter-head- ne was in the coal
and wood business in Neria-and was
tor q i've years subscription to the
paper. Trains didn't run fast enough
to suit me after that. raced up to
Medillion and got CIawson and Cross
and Fink together. wired the
cashiers Of banks in other towns who
had been feeced by Jenkins, went
to Neria, Ohio, a tiny town Of 1000
people, and got a spot on Cummings.
He was a coal merchant-but l found
that he was frequently absent from
Neria for weeks at a time. And no
body knew where he went on these
occasions.
wired my bankers and the trio in
AEedlIion:
come On to Neria and look him
over,
They. came as FAST as trains could
carry them. pointed jenkins out to
them as he walked down the street.
They recognized him, every man Jack
OF them, as jenkins.
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24
ADVENTURE WITH BIG SNAKE
AIqot Lange's Description Of His En-.
counter With Fifty-six Foot
Boa Constructor.

In his new book, In the Amazon
Jungles," (Putnam), Algot Lange tells
Of his encounter with a fifty-six foot
boa constructor: "On a soft muddy
sand bar, half hidden by dead branch
es. I beheld a somewhat cone shaped
mass about seven feet in height.
From the base Of this came the neck
and head of the snake fiat on the
ground, with beady eyes staring at us
as we slowly advanced and stopped.
The snake was coiled, forming an
enormous pile of round, scaly mon
strosity, large enough to crush us all
to death at once. We had stopped
at distance Of about fifteen feet from
him, and looked at each other. felt
as if l were spellbound unable to
move a step farther Or even to think
or act on my own initiative.
"The snake still made no move, but
in the clear moonlight I could see it's
body expand and contract in breath
ing; its yellow eyes seeming to radi-
ate a phosphorescent light. l felt no
fear, nor any inclination to retreat,
yet 1 was now facing a beast that few
men had ever succeeded in seeing.
Thus We stood looking at each other,
scarcely moving an eyelid, while the.
great silent monster looked at uSm
slid my right hand down to the
ster of my automatic pistol thd 81
Luger, and slowly removed the sa
lock, at the same time staring Int
faces of the man. In this mann
was less under the spell Of the mes
merism Of the snake, and could
some extent think and act
81 wheeled around while l sti
control OF my faculties, and, pen
ing a slight movement of the sn
coils, fired point blank at the.
letting go the entire chambel
nose bullets. Instantly the
woke up from their trance and
turn fired, emptying their Winch1
into the huge head, which bl
time was raised to a great
above us, loudly Kissing iD1
"Our wild yelling echoe
the deep forest The snak
itself and writing with
for the waters edge. BY thu
we were relieved Of the terrible s.
pense, but we took care to keep at
respectful distrance from the strugS
Cling reptile and the powerful lasl
ing Of the tail, which would hay
killed man with one blow"
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24
BELASCO STRONG ON
Theatrical Producer Insis
Everything on the STAGED
Be In Perfect HARMONY
David Belasco is famous /

David Belasco is famous
tention to minute detail in
of the plays which he prod
even passed on the kinds Of
tacks used in the building OF
cry. But he surpassed him
season when he put on "Tl
Becky, a play which dea
MOTTO suggestion. The fri
ond acts of the piece take p
office Of a sanitarium and
clan in charge is noted as a 3
thority on hypnotism.
Soon after the first produt
the play Belasco was showing
all the scenic effects Of
duction. On the desk of 4
stefan was stationery sta
the fictitious name of
tarium.
This, explained the p
merely a small detail to
impression in the minds Of
that they are in real sanicsl
stead of on the stage
He then threw open the dc
large bookcase which q
would have contained dumb
umes.
There" he explained in a
of-fact tone, SIS the best lib
this country on hypnotism Z
gestion. It contains 400 volp
those subjects, and I have b
lecting them for the past tw
1t is much better to have Il
books in the book cases. It m
man who plays the specialist
that he Teslly knows semethil
The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-24
A Serious one.

What do you think IS the real
vital problem of the race '
That's easy. To pick
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-24
By FREDERIC J. aASKIN.

been practically unanimous in &C
acknowledging Dr. Morton as the dis
Coyerer of anesthesia and celebra tion
OF the 5Oth anniversary OF his dtscoY-
cry was held in Boston in 1896. That
he himself believed in the justice OF
his claim has never been disputed ana
his fight for recognition won general
sympathy. There is no doubt but that
he was badly used. The United States
government infringed its own laws
and used ether in the army and navy
without regard to the patent rights
which had been granted to Dr. Morton
This encouraged other persons to do
the same and, as he had sold the right
to persons in different parts of the
country, he became involved In endless
lawsuits and be failed to secure the
recompense from the government due
him for what he had undergone
The booklet issued by the Royal
Medical society of England gives all
the details of DR.. Longs experiments
and the circumstances leading Up 70
his great discovery He began the
practice of medicine in Georgia in 1871
at the age Of rs. About this time the
knowledge that nitrous oxide gas pro-
duced eXhilaration was just becoming
known and a number of young men IN
the village asked the young physician
to prepare them some Of the Laughing
gas" He told them that he had not
the apparatu for preparing that, but
that he had an article, Sulphurlc ether,
which would produce the same results.
The ether was provided and the COM
pany inhaled it and were pleased with
the feeling it produced upon them
Ether parties" became a fad and DR..
Long noticed that while under the in
fluence of the drug the young men
seemed unconscious Of pain from
bruises from falls or blows In this
way the scientist turned boyish frolic
to account. for. Dr. Long conceived the
idea that anesthesia produced by ether
Inhalation would be applicable to sur
gical operations. Dr.. Longs populari-
ty, no less than his scientific knOwl-
edge and skill which were exceptional
for that period, led James n. Venable,
who had frequently been a member OF
the crowd of ether experimenters, TO
permit the removal of a small tumor,
of which he had two upon the back of
his neck Ether was given him in a
towel, and while under its influence,
Dr. Long cut out one tumOr. Venable
experienced no pain during the opera
ton. so that three months later he was
readily induced to submit to the re-
moval of the second tumor. In these
days Of enormous surgeons fees, il is
remarkable to note that the bill rem
dered by Dr. Long for the first two
anesthetic surgical operations ever
performed in the world was as follows:
James Nenable, to DIT. c. W. Long,
Dr.. 1872
Jan. 2S-SuIphuric ether. .25
March 20-Ether and exsecting a
LunlOr- z-VU
May 13-Sulphuric ether. IS
June 6-Exsecting a tumOT ..-.. zoe
TomorrOw-Women's Club Work.
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-24
The Herald's Daily
Short Story

the table. This causei Elizabeth to
stare at him in surprise.
Permit me to introduce my friend,
Mr.. SchOrmann, DR.. Mueller" she said
DR.. Mueller looked at the younger
man with his calm gray eyes, said a
few polite words and continued his
conversation with Elizabeth.
At last the long tedious meal was
over. In the beautiful moonlight most
Oof the people went back to the beach.
Elizabeth also suggested a walk. Karl
hoped TO be alone with her. not to tell
her of his love, but to reproach her
for her behavior towards him. But
Elizabeth did not seem to notice his
changed mood she took DR.. Mueller's
arm and let him walk alongside, feel
ing quite superflUous. He was mad
with anger and Jealousy.
In a little while they reached a path,
too narrow for three and he was forced
to fall in behind He could bear II
Good night" he said icily, and
strobe off.
The next morning a maid handed
Elizabeth a letter from the gentleman
who left by the early boat"
Elizabeth turned pale. She knew
that he had engaged his room for 4
week. She tore open the letter In
cold words he told her that he had
made a mistake, that he had probably
expected more than she WAS able to
give, and that he had gone away for
ever.
EIizabeth's features set
Let him goir she Whispered. crush
ing the letter in her hand. What
do 1 care2 l do not need anybody, not
even him"
But it was only for q moment. Then
she knew that she did need him, that
life without him would not be worth
living. She buried her :ace in her
hands and cried.
He is the same wild, reckless Karl
as of old she thought as she kissed
the crumpled letter. No she must not
let him 90 away ike this.
Half an hour later she was dressed
and went down stairs
Are you going away?" asked DR..
Mueller surprised. I had looked for
ward to a long walk with you"
4 have received letter which COM
Iels me to go awav, out I hope to &c
back on the afternoon boat"
During the journey she had one
thought, could she find him? He had
told her the name of mis- hotel she
would look for him there first. The
viii you kindly ask him to come
into the parlor?"
Elizabeth was standing at the win
dow as he entered He looked at her
coldly and bowed stiffly.
Karl" she said gently, It have come
to ask you to forgive me for being
impolite to you yesterday.
''ImpOlite" he exclaimed. If you
were only that"
With a little smile she took q book
from the satchel she carried.
Will you please read that name"
she said.
Edward Mueller & Col Yes, your
admirer Of last night" he said ironi-
cally.
DO try to be sensible!" as he ex-
claimed. Read this title page, but
stay I viii read it to you AT the
Crossing of the Roads, by Ernest STEM"
He stared at her so sheepishly that
she burst out laughing
Listen Karl and try to understand.
I am Ernest Stem, and Edward Muel-
Ter is my publisher"
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-24
ii Years Ago To-
From The Herald OF l..
Tais Date 1898 udy

The incoming G. H. passenger train
was one hour late yesterday.
One car OF fat beef arrived over the
S P. yesterday for local butcher.
The c. H. engine No. 716 has been
put back into the shop for repairs.
The G. H pay car arrived yesterday
and the boys were all celebrating the
event last light
The new window frames were being
placed in the new E P. & S. W round
house yesterday
The G. H. pay car went east after
distributing more money than on any
previous trip in the history of the
road.
All who can be possibly spared will
be allowed a holiday next Monday by
the G. H officials. Some few will nee
essarily have to work
A very exciting run was made by
certain T. P. freight crew a short time
ago. and If an engine would only go up
hill fast Is 1t is capable of coming
down it, they would have reached the
point intended before they were caught
by general manager Thorne's private
train. The crew is now enjoying a
80 days leave Of absence.
There seems to be some trouble at
present among the G. H. and S. p. en-
gineers over oil cans. What in the
name Of Dewey do you fellows do with
the oil cans?' said an s. P. fireman
speaking to a G. H brother. The G.
H. man answered that by saying they
disposed of them along the S. P. line
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-24
A MEETING
By Frederick Werner.

- HE ARRIVAL of the steamer
was the chief event of the day
to the summer visitors of the
little seaside place.
AS soon as the steamer was sight
ed all boats were launched and flocIed
around the arriving boat as it ap-
preached the landing
y young lady sitting alone IN a small
5kiff gaZed IDLY u the few passengers
Suddenly she opened he eyes VIDE
at the 5ht OF man who had
been the last to go ashore and who
now stood leaning against the railing
of the bridge evidently not knowing
whether to stay or go on to the next
landing.
1t was more than ordinary curiosity
which caused the young lady to stare
at his energetic, sunburnt features, for
she exclaimed Why surely it is Karl
Schormanni"
She blushed as she slowly walked
towards the beach. InVoluntarily she
turned away her face. Then she re-
membered that this was just what she
had done 10 years before when he was
a young student and she j fairhaired
flapper of 16. At that time she loved
to tease him by flirting with every
body elSe-chiefly because he was the
only one she really cared for. She
smiled to herself No, she would not
treat him that way now. With frank,
open eyes, she would welcome the
friend of her first youth. When he
passed quite close to her, she raised
her head and smiled. He looked at
her, at first a little doubtful then
his whole face be3ued with joyful
surprise as he stopped and looked Up
on her. In moment ,ne had move d
her boat and he jumped down into
1t and took both her hands.
'Elizabe is it really you? What
a happy omen for my home coming"
Welcome home, Karl" she said
Home, Do you know Elizabeth
that this meeting with you is of the
greatest Importance TO me2 am
tired travelling now and had resolved
to let chance decide, if 1 should re-
main here in my own country If for
tune favors you, 1 said to myself, you
viii stay, but if all ties have been
broken then you must look for rest
ing place abroad For three days I
I find you, the dearest memory Of
the past"
Then you have not forgotten"
No, I remember every little incident
Of my happy student days"
A dinner gong awakened them to
real life, and they quickly stepped
ashore.
As they were walking together on
the beach, after the table de hote,
Karl Schormann knew that one word
was all he needed TO say to make their
future relations quite clear That
word came to his lips time and again,
but he could not speak, surrounded
as they were by the crowd. But later
on, tonight surely, when they were
alone he would ask the great ques-
ton.
Full of happy anticipations, he &C
companied Elizabeth home and sat
down at her supper table. But his
joy did not last long. On her right
hand was an elderlV gentleman who
greeted her most effusively. Elizabeth
returned his greeting cordially, al
most Familiarity, while Karl had to be
satisfied with a word now and then.
feeling of bitterness arose in him
and he set his glass down hard against
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-24
THE PARTITION OF VIRGINIA
By REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY.

they laying their sacrilegioUs hands?
What state was it that was being thus
brutally dismembered by these vandals?
Virginia, the mother of presidents" the
grand old state whose Washington had
led her armies in the battle for indie
pendence; whose Jefferson had written
the great declaration, and whose Madi-
son had been the chief protector of the
national constitution.
Without Virginia's cooperation there
would never have been any United
states of America, to begin with, and
after the old commonwealth had so
materially aided in establishing the ma
Jlon, her very first act was the out and
out gift to the nation ofNthat superb
domain on the north side of the Ohio"
as the late Mr.. Blaine called it, from the
sale Of which more than SlOO,O00.OOO
were paid into the national treasury.
1t is true that at the time Virginia
was dcspOiled she was at war with the
government. But 10 other states were
at the same time at war with the gov
eminent and why should Virginia
alone be desDoiled? Was she guiltier
than the rest? Who will dare to say
that she was? Did she not for a con-
siderable time refuse to follow the Sc
ceded states. and was she not at last
forced into secession by the presiden-
tial proclamation calling upon her to
Join in the work of subjugatlng her sis
ter states of the south?
Virginia did not want to secede, and
but for that proclamation never would
have seeded. But she finally went
out with clear conscience and a brave
heart and wrought nightly for the
cause she had espoused-
And it was the thought of that work
that brought upon her the nate OF the
Washington statesmen, and that moved
them to the disgraceful act of the dis
memberment of her ancient and honor
able dominion.