davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

zation possible to the Indian unaided,
was here reached.
Environed by conditions like these,
the Spanish commander was much af-
fected, favorably concerning the Indian,
but unfavorably respecting himself and
his men. This advanced condition of
the Indian suggested to him a prob
lem which he had not anticipated, for
he was now to deal with a class of
people not before met, and for which
he had not planned. This was accom-
panied by a suspicion, inseparable from
Spanish character, that these manifes-
tations of embassies meant for him a
trap and by this he was controlled
ever afterward. much to his disadvan-
tage as we shall see.
He was now within the dominion of
the chief of Coosa, great monarch
in these far interior wilds. His do
minion was vast, his people loyal and
brave, thrifty and numerous. His cap
ital city was Coosa, and to DeSoto the
chief sent an embassy of welcome,
which was coldly greeted by the sus-
picious Spaniard. When DeSoto came
near the capital he was met by the
Indian monarch himself attended by a
thousand painted warriors, stalwart,
tall, erect. 1.-THE and dignified of move
ment. They walked the earth like
princes. Around band about the head of
each were nodding plumes of varicolored
feathers. With lofty port and evident
pride, they. escorted their chief into the
presence of the Spanish invader. The
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

trees and shrubbery are covered as with
purest foam. My beautiful little flower
garden lies under the snow. You would
not know that it existed. My budding
rose bushes and my blooming jonquils.
and all are invisible, and over them
all lies the thickening. cold snow But it
is a pleasant thought to me that the
jonquil blooms are there and that after
the melting of the snow they will ap-
pear in all their yellow beauty.
Jonquils under the snow. In actual life
among men, in the characters of men, in
the homes of men and in the habits of
men, these words constitute a parable
They mean to me that under the most
unfavorable appearances, and where we
would least expect to find them, beauti-
full flowers of fine virtues and gentle
graces are living and blooming. The ex-
terror life and the surroundings may
appear bleak, cold and unattractive. and
we may see only the wintry snow; but
beneath the surface there are tender jon
quils of love. sympathy, sacred memories
and implacable virtue that all the boreal
blasts that ever blew cannot freeze and
kill.
There are lives and conditions in which
certain men live in which we expect to
find only moral qualities and characters
that at once commend themselves to the
master of ethics. These are found in a
sphere where the jonquils from their
earliest state have been tendery tended
they have known no winter nor adverse
conditions. over them the cold snow
has never lain. Many people are good
because they have never had an oppor-
tunity to be bad. Who cannot be good
7ynen plenty surrounds him? Who can
not be pious when temptations to be
otherwise never assail him? Who cannot
be happy when the sun shines, and when
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

years the 1onauils of love and fidelity
had been growing.
There is one popularity that generally
characterizes the people of whom L write
They ''profess' nothing. With them,
''the heart knoweth its own bitterness"
and is not worn upon the sleeve for
DAVIS to peck at" and their gentle and
heroic virtues are equally unknown. ex-
cept as some chance reveals them. They
say nothing OF them. The jonquil grows
thus as do the flowers by other names
They send no trumpeter before them to
announce their coming. They make no
noise nor music But under the clod
and under the snow and ice they are
silently maintaining their beautiful life and
preparing to bloom in all their yellow
beauty when sister flowers are few and
await the coming of the warm south
wind to break their slumber.
These people whom / am describing.
I say "profess'' but little. They are
not always found among religious peo-
pie at the churches. Their names are
not enrolled among "the professors"
of religion. They Will tell you that they
are not good enough" to make such
claims as church membership presup-
poses Yet all the while they are liy-
ing the life and practicing the virtues
which Christ taught when He stressed
self denial, love, honor and forgive
ness. the while finding His friends
among those who "professed" moth
ing but their unworthiness and whose
presence in the synagogues and tenn
ple was occasion for expression or
scorn, OF one of this class poet wrote,
"IIis life grew fragrant with the inner
soul
And weary folk who passed him In the
street
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

and some are found to be quite able to
engage an attorney in the ordinary way
But fully third are entirely worthy
and the other third questionably so. 1t
is. of course. the function of a legal aid
society to do its utmost for the worthy
And as already pointed out this aid ef-
fectively given at a critical turn in the
affairs of lowly citizen helps to give
him that respect and confidence in our
institutions which produces law-abiding
members of the community. Recourse to
acts of violence inspired by methods OF
personal revenge can thus be lessened
and the efficacy of legal procedure DEM
Onstrated.
The timely help given a 14-year-old boy
in the following case may easily have
affected his whole future point of view to-
ward the law. He came to the legtl aid
society office with his mother and tod
how $50 had been deducted from his
pay because a certain tool had dlsap-
peared from his employers factory lie
declared that he had not stolen 1t, but
had seen a workman wrap it up and take
It from the room An inquiry directed
to the employers ELECTED the surly re-
sponse that the boy would be paid his
$3.50 IL he returned the tool, but that IL
he should fail to do this they would
proceed against him criminally The SUI
perintendent of the factory said the boy
was bad boy anyway-he had once
climbed In a trolley car window, ne hau
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

to crown. She is not known outside Of
her own little circle of friends. Her
husband went wrong BY her diplo-
matte and ingenious questions she at
last made him confess to her. And for
years she has kept their little home to-
gether eeonomizing here, saving there,
and so conducting the affairs of their
home that the children have never known
that an awful shadow worse than the
pail of death lay upon their home. one
who shall be nameless here, did this Tor
a period of years. Her sole thought had
been to pay her husbands obligations
and save the children from the disgrace
of having father in prison. Exactly six
years to the month, not to the day, pass
ed A visitor came to the little home in
whose windows there were pretty flowers
blooming. She was not vigorous nor
WELL and was lying on her bed Be-
tween her and the visitor two papers
were passed. Hers was check; his was
a receipt. That afternoon when the chill
dren returned from school, they found
their mother asleep. At nightfall the
husband entered the home. She was still
asleep. At length the awful fact burst
upon them. She was sleeping her long,
long sleep In her hand lay the re-
ceipt, firmly held by her stiff, cold fin
gers She had paid every dollar that
the firm had lost through her husband
She had saved the home to the little
ones. and had saved her husband from
prison. When she was buried her cold.
dead hands held a cluster of violets just
over her still heart. But several of
us knew that under the violets there
was a piece of paper which had been
placed there by the heart broken hus-
band 1t was the receipt, which she had
won by years of self sacrifice and self
denial. Under the cold bitter SHOWS of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09
What Would You Do?

From Tit Bits.
Here is an anecdote told by Andrew
Lang:
"a man and his wife In town were con-
graduating themselves, Just before din
ner, on dining for once alone and at
home. To them enter another man ana
his wife. who were neither known nor
looked for, and had obviously come to the
wrong house--a thing that will happen In
London. The hosts dissembled and well
coined them-a thing that. as a matter of
fact, does occur-and all went smoothly
till the ladies' left the drawing room.
Then the guest turned to the host and
said, with emotion:
Now. do tell me tho whole story about
poor Sophia. Il alter the nama)
What was the host to do? With pres
ence of mind. he replied:
1T is really too painful. hope you
win excuse me-
oh. certainly, certainly said the
guest. L would not be curious. And he
changed the subject.
when the guests had gone, and the
hosts were wondering. a servant brought
an envelope which the guests had left 1t
was addressed In pencil, For Sophia and
contained handful of bank notes. Now,
tho hosts knew neither the name nor adj
dress Of the guests, and they vainly ad-
vertised for them.
"Puzzle for Sherlock Holmes-to find QUE
the adventure of poor Sophia F"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09
Y-INGRATITUDE AND CRUELTY-By B. F. Riley,

DeSoto was in no haste to quit tho
Coosa capital and with lavish hand he
fed his horses. COWS and hogs on the
housed corn and provender of the saw
ages while his men were refreshed by
long needed rest. When he at last
took his departure he left with the
Indians some of his most undesired cat
tie and swine. besides a negro slave,
who had fallen sick and was unable to
travel. The Indians were delighted to
retain the African as they were great
ly impressed by his thick heavy lips,
his black skin and his woolly hair.
Long afterward It was noted that the
Indians in that quarter We're of dark
er hue than were the neighboring
tribes. which was attributed to the re-
mote ancestry of this son of Ham. After
lingering for full month in the In
dian capital. DeSoto took his leave, but
not without crowning his cruelty by
taking with him the proud. young
chief as a prisoner of war. The most
that can be said In extenuation of this
infamy is that he treated him with
kindness. Realizing that it was futile
and perhaps perilous to protest, the
chief bore the indignity with becoming
calmness. showing that of the two men
he was the superior. Though kindly
treated. the chief was closely watched
and guarded, lest he might escape and
produce havoc Taking up his line OF
March, DeSoto still moved toward the
south.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

him for her support, she said. Incident
ally. she told how when he enlisted at the
age of 16 he declared his age to be 81
IT was found that the boy was stationed
in the Philippines. The war department
when informed of the situation, promised
that upon receipt of evidence that the boy
was only 16, action would be taken. But
II was added that his discharge would
he without honor on account of the
fraudulent enlistment, and would involve
forfeiture of all pay and allowances, in
Guiding travel pay. In the meantime, in
vestigations proved that the mother had
two older sons who were already con-
tributing to her support; that smaller
contributions came from three daughters
and that the enlisted boy had made sew
eral remittances of money to his mother
in the amounts of ten dollars and over.
n became apparent that the boy was not
wanted solely for reasons of support. If
the boys release We're obtained, the
stigma of a dishonorable discharge from
the United States army would handicap o
him for life. The mother was then shown
Row unfortunate would be the effect II
she persisted in her course. even though
actuated by a deep sense of mother love.
Many applicants, perhaps a third Of
those who come to legal aid socfetjes
are unworthy Of the help they seek. sone
are Of ain unduly litigious character. some
are dishonest or have shown dishonorahle
conduct IN connection with their cases,
. 7
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

kept the chief near him and retained
him as a sort of hostage near his quar-
ters While the Indian is revengeful, he
is kind even unto death when a friend
The chief had exhausted his ingenuity
in providing entertainment for his dis
tinguished guest and that guest now
requited that kindness by placing the
chief under arrest. The man of the
woods showed deeply and keenly the
humiliation felt, but the supercilious
Spaniard cared not for that The un-
tutored warriors were enraged by the
untimely treatment of their chief and
gathered In knots and groups about the
settlement with a low hum of MUIR
mur. Their savage blood waxed hot,
and they began to foment mischief.
DeSoto cared nothing for savage
amenity and hospitality and was con-
eerned alone for his own safety. Graf
itude is not an element in the Span
ish character and DeSoto had not
crossed the seas to indulge in diplo-
matte palaver, but had come In search
of the yellow gold
Stung by revenge. the Indian war
riors by thousands slid away to the
woods by different ways to plan for
the extinction of the invading host,
the intruder, the migrate Apprised of
their movement, DeSoto summoned his
forces and sent them in pursuit, and
scattered the warriors before they
could assemble and by concerted ac-
ton attack him. A large number of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

tai paraphrase Of the worst form of the
oriental dances. The degradation
that IS forced upon the chorus girl who
must perform such dances as the turkey
trot and the bunny hug cannot help but
become pernicious in the end. The Hippo
drome this season press-agented its new
offering as Fit for the family to see; a
Broadway attraction without a turkey
trot.'
Thus speaks Mademoisele Dazzle IN an
interesting article entitled. Turkey Trots
and Chorus Girls" which appears in the
February Green Book. Read the eiitire ar
ticle and see III what contempt these
vulgar dances are held by the higher
class stage dancers.
So the turkey trot and the bunny hug
are too mclean for chorus girls, yet the
guarded and sheltered young daughters of
our aristocracy-God save the mar<-may
indulge in them at society dances to their
hearts content.
or course. they understand that 1t isn't
nice: that they are straining every tenet
in the code of deceny.
But then. 1t is so attractive to be risqui!
So cute, you knowl
Heavensl
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

YAM sitting at the south window of my
study and as I look out see
4 a. vast expanse of snow. The
feathery flakes are still falling. and the
air is filled as with an infinite shower
Of apple blossoms. Now and then the
whirl of the wind catches the fluttering
flakes and tosses them wildly hither
and thither like a miniature tempest in
a mass of plucked swans down. There!
The hand of the wind dashed a mass of
snow against my window, as il it envied
my warmth of comfort here behind the
glass barrier. I am sorry for those
people who have no barrier between them
and the storm.
/ have seen but few birds this morn
ing. 1t will be hard for them to find
their breakfast, fancy. so l went out
and scattered grain here and there for
them. They will not thank me for my
thought of them, but they will enjoy
their breakfast. Most men are like
the birds, in that, they receive many
little kindnesses in life and fail to think
for a moment whence they came. There
are birds nests hanging to the boughs
of some of the trees, last years nests.
They are now filled with snow, the for
mer occupants of them having gone. /
have seen homes OF which these snow
filled nests remind me- Those who once
dwelt there are gone, the homes have
been broken up, and from them the love
and music of other days have departed.
Still the snow falls. Now again the
flakes dash against the window, but
are as harmless as so many rose leaves.
There is not a track around the house.
Not a path or roadway is visible. The
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

serves a place in the Hall of Fame. He
was once in the legislature, at a time
when issues of the most vital Importance
to Virginia were to be decided by the
votes of the assembly. He and three
others thought the measure would inJure
the state He was appealed to. fiattered
with promises of future preferment ana
finally a fortune was actually promised
him if he would cast his vote for the
A check for an immense sum OF
money was drawn and proffered him. But
he withstood the bribe, and like KING
among men, he maintained his honor ana
integrity. When I saw him on the street,
poor and unkempt, the flowers of virtue
beneath the snow of clothing approaching
rags, were blooming. His honor was his
own. No man could buy it: I felt like
taking off my hat to the man. had
somehow fallen into the popular error of
not expecting heroism to be found under
rags But l have since changed my mind,
for I believe that we may discover the
most brilliant examples of devotion to
honor under humble roofs "and in Sc
cluded lanes where men most suffer" The
Persian philosopher, Omar Khyyam,
who wrote about 700 years ago, said:
'I sometimes think that never blows
so red
The rose, as where some buried Caesar
bled;
That every hyacinth the garden wears
Dropt in her lap from some once lovely
head"
1t is where the blood of trial and
temptation have been shed that the vir-
tues have come off the field of conflict
most triumphantly.
There is many a noble woman upon
whom the world looks as living quiet.
prosaic life, who is in reality heroine
whom the angels of God are impatient
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

"HIRTEEN months of hardship and
of Indian warfare had changed
i the original picnic appearance of
the Spanish troop. The uniforms were
not now SO lustrous. and the young
Erandees did not disport themselves as
they did more than year before on the
shore of Tampa bay. The elements had
dimmed the luster of their equipments,
the hot southern sun had bronzed their
complexion, their uniforms looked much
the worse for wear, and while the pots
and ladies of the refiners were still un-
used, there was yet the undaunted flash
of hope in the Castilian eye. 1t was a
resolute legion under resolute leader.
The Coosa was crossed, that stream OF
crumpled surface, to which the indian In
his native sense of poetry had called
Ripping Water which is the meaning
of Coosa, and now the cavalcade turned
toward the southwest, as one would look
from Rome toward Blount Springs and
Tuscaloosa. 1t seems that from the Geor-
sia side, the Indians had sent runners
to the tribes on the thither side, warning
OF the advance of the strange cavalcade
of invasion, for as DeSoto pursued his
way he met one embassy after another
Offering every concession in order to pla-
cation.
The line of march was through the
present counties of Cherokee, Calhoun,
Talladega and Coosa Like Caesar, IN
Csaul, DeSoto jotted down his observa-
tions and impressions, for he was a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

spoken lady. You see, my dear, it Is Of
decent society am speaking. not of that
peculiar social element whose dances re-
quire the surveillance of the police"
CONSERVATION reigned, and the hand
soonest young man with difficulty sup
pressed his Inward JOY. The plain spoken
lady did not attend any more dances dur
ing her visit, nor did she carry with her
any girl visitors on her return home.
And truly It seems strange that so un-
lovely a thing as the turkey trot should
have invaded the precincts of our exelu-
sIve society, when it is unfit even for the
stage.
a high class premiere danseuse would
scorn to portray it. Listen to the words of
Mile. Dazzle, the artistic little premiere
danseuse with 1.-The Merry Countess"
She says: ''rhere Is nothing lovely or ar
tistic about the dance (spealling of the
turkey troD. 1t calls for series of move
ments that are positively debasing to the
dancer. That chorus girls should
be forced daily to rehearse and nightly to
perform in dance which is neither ar
tistic nor clean. but decidedly the re-
verse, to me seems atrocious. Bald
ly phrased. the turkey trot is an occiden-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

"HE modern movement" has been
yariously described Perhaps tho
i most apt description is that
which calls it the religion of democ-
racy. Everywhere for 140 years this
movement has been like heat in the
vast cauldron of the world. sending up
bubbles of steam, forcing the bottom
waters to the top and pouring vast
volumes of explosive power, seemingly
all going to waste. as demonstration
of the mighty sub-aqueous fires In
that same huge boiling cauldron much
OF mankinds dirty linen has been get.
ting itself washed. Moreover the
gigantic world laundry has had mar
velous wash ladies called reform
statesmen, rubbing the worst places
and subsequently "a-hanging out the
Clothes" while that traditional black
bird, Conservative Criticism, has sys-
tematically haunted the garden and too
often succeeded in "nipping off the
nose" of the busy and progressive Bet
ty. In some striking instances the
blackbird went further and nipt off
the head. too!
We in these days hurl rocks at the
-blackbird and glorify the wash ladies
Of the past. and even the wash ladies
Of the present, If they operate not in
our own back yards. suspect that
when "the king was in the counting
house, accounting out his money" he
also swore vengefully at the incidence
of washing day and suborned the
blackbird for the historic rape of the
poor maids proboscis. Ever since that
simple day man has been the same He
would rather hide his ancient uncouth-
ness than have 1t washed and aired.
starched and ironed into something fit
F,,1 fcr1 nj 1uyax a W.
an, gets the cauldron going. however,
and boils the foulness out of our in
stitutions and makes them not only as
good as new, but a great deal better.
1t seems a poor reward that even in
Washington. d, c.. the solitary black
bird becomes q whole flock and goes
for the women with the instructive
accuracy which recognizes the danger
of too much washing on the line at
once.
On the other hand these days are
trying to the nerves of blackbirds; for
everywhere there are noses to nip, ev-
erywhere national and institutional
raiment. much Of 1t in great need Of
repair. is hanging out to dry or boil
ing in the cauldron with vast outpour-
ings of soda in the steam. Washing.
and securing. and boiling, and pound
ing, and putting In Of prepared soap,
and every conceivable chemical expe-
dent for '1oosening the dirt" are go
Ing on apace. The heat blows down
bridges. makes chaos where order
seemed to reign, upsets theories and
Snug comfort, arms class against class.
knocks out the props from beneath an
cient good and established interests,
sets the poor on high and drops pal
aces into the mire and the slough. One
cannot but sympathize with the king In
his counting house, counting out his
money and with the poor queen in the
Kitchen eating bread and honey be-
cause the parlor and dining hall are
upside down. King and queen are like
y 70 land n the penitsntiary IN these
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

HIiE ways of the law often seem intri-
cate enough to the average man.
= But TO the poor, unfortunate and
oppressed victimized by loan sharks.
employers CIR ordinary swindlers,
the methods Of legal redres sare not mere
ly strange, but out of reach financially.
Few people realize how much distrust, Bit
terness ard cynicism toward the law is
CT eated by unjust treatment of the poor
who feel helpless owing to poverty or
smallness of claims.
Legal aid societies, organized<in many
cities and recently federated into q ma
tional alliance, were started to provide
for those too poor to engage lawyers. an
agency through which they could effec-
lively seek to secure justice. But the
very general impression that these socie-
ties exist solely as charity whereby
individuals may be given legal help, is
very Inadequate conception of their
function. Not only must effort be made
to protect the applcant-sometimes by a
service quite different from that which
ne seeks, but the interests of the COM
muntty must also be kept in mind II the
legal aid society Is to render the social
service it should. For it has the oppor-
4unity to do much more than merely dis
pense benevolence, through bureau OF
legal advice and assistance.
Take, for example, the cause of Mrs.
K, who wanted her son discharged from
the army. She had been sick aud needed