davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

Through the fog the little, though
deep and treacherous stream, ap-
peared soft and pleasing and COM
forting. A longing for rest for
sleep, came over him. He looked
about in the fog, seeing nothing.
The jovial noise from the night sa-
loon came as If from a great dis
tance-seeming to taunt him in that
somewhere, far away, perhaps in
the yesterday, there was joy. Far
above hung the silver moon of San
tone. To the front stretched the
river with its promise of eternal
sleep. The man shuddered and
drew hiss.coat more closely about
him.
There then came the song of the
soak" nearer and nearer and
wild joy long denied, the express
sion of a soul relieved of chains.
The man who sang was free No
cloud weighed upon his mind lie
saw no march of a drear II.
Nearer came the man. Wright
drew himself further back into the
shadows The singer stood in front
of him. With n sudden dive for
ward, Wright prasped him in his
arms. lie was king" Davis
drunk again.
The man was overcome with a
strange, uncomfortable happiness.
"Ah, Wright" he said 81 see
them now no more. They drove
me to it, They dogged my steps
by day. At night they tramped
about my room and climbed upon
the wall. They laughed and pointed
their scrawny fingers. I couldn't
sleep for nights and nights. weeks.
months, years. And now-well |
see them no more. | would sing
again. Let me-"
And Davis opened his mouth to
sing. but Wright checked him.
Go ahead" he urged. what did
you find to drive them all away?'
''Ah, h! One night again could
not sleep. Those fellows, some
young. some old, some sorrowful.
some devilish. trooped about my
room. / leaped to my feet, and
left. | didn't care what happened.
I longed again for the old day when
I was King Davis, the daring
gentleman of the road. the unafraid
and the death dealing. / walked
straight ahead until reached Jim
Kelly's bar. The girls were sing
ing and dancing about me, tempt
ingly: and the fog was without.
| noted neither. drank and drank.
The troop of spectres disappeared.
For the first time in years my
heart plunged forward as if de-
lighted in its work. My mind was
free, free. My soul expressed and
desire to sing, to give thanks. to
raise itself aloft. That was a week
ago. And now-you see."
Come" said Wright, Eve will
go together"
And arm In arm, they left. The
following night they spent in Hous-
ton. The spectres haunted neither.
They both were singing about the
streets and from the iron jaws OF
both. the deep-grown lines had
disappeared.
And that brother of Western Joe
prepared
He dispatched an emissary to the
pair "We will all drink a cup to-
gether and forget the enmity of
other days"
That was what he sent
I'VE will" replied Davis, and
Wright agreed.
1as.-e-
1t was 10 o'clock.
The moon hung so high above
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22
Ho1O This Strange Story Came to Light
Perhaps in this quiet, neglected spot is laid
Some hearts once pregnant with celestial fire. >

tives of the deceased reside In
Birmingham. 1t was finally as
certained that Mrs. Clifford Bat
tie, whose home is on the "hill-
side" near Ensley, is his daugh-
ter. She told the reporter enough
of the life of her father to war
rant the publication.
Wright was one of those men
who were called bad" There
is nothing, however, to Indicate
that he was other than a plains
man who was quick on the trig-
ger, and who killed his II men
in fair play He shot Western
Joe to death, as is related, after
that bad man had fired upon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

A flame of fire with sharp and
deadly thunder crash flashed across
the place. Davis folded up like a
Jack knife. Wright staggered back
ward, peering through the smoke,
trying to see the murderous enemy.
He crumpled up at the doorway.
olunging backward into the street.
The brother of Western Joe had
plotted well-but too well. A stray
bullet had found his thigh. He died
the following afternoon.
Warren Wright lies buried in ono
Of the oldest Birmingham ceme-
feries. ON the moss grown head
stone below the name is inscribed:
AT LAST HE RESTS
That line aroused reporters
ina,sination Later. it was found
that the pioneer had left a daugh-
ter. She is on the mountain From
her came the story as it is.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

barrel. None of these things were
dreamed. But Wright fulfilled the
bill-just how WE'LL remains to be
told.
AT any rate. the daredevil on the
morning following a wild night in
which he drew his gun and sent a
bullet crashing through the thigh
of a fresh young man from Ten
nessee, decided that the sight of the
cactus would prove efficacious for
sore eyes, and the fresh air of the
alkali plain a panacea for the ills
of his body. Therefore, without
bidding farewell to the meagre and
timid constabulary which protected
the young city of Birmingham.
Wright boarded train and shak-
ing the shackles of conventionality
from his legs, expanded his chest in
the freedom of the primitive man.
And thus he found the great and
limtless state of Texas in which
Knights errant strode abroad, maxi
ing laws for themselves and dis
regarding with impunity those
made by others. The Alabamian
in month felt at home. For his
proficiency with the revolver had
resulted in his first notch, and
he was generally regarded after
that kill as one as expert as the
most experienced in the fine art of
rapid drawing and deadly execu-s
tion.
And had it not been for king
Davis, the most daring and pic
turesque night rider and s>sse
coach highwayman of the lav,~ss
realm. there would be no means of
estimating the extent to which the
career of Wright would have ex-
tended itself For Davis, it is to
be related, played an important part
in the life of the Alabamian. For
one afternoon the "boys" gathered
in the breezy bar of Western Joe,
just following the most thrilling
raid of Davis, the king. Joe, him.
self, told the story how Davis had
appeared, ordered drink, drained
his glass, and drew his gun; how
Joe, himself bad man." was
caught unawares, and was forced
to hand across the counter the
rather bulky mass of cash and
dust that had long reposed as a
nest egg in his private vault
how Davis then required the angry
Joe to follow him to where his
pony stood, even made him hold the
stirrup while the devil climbed into
the saddle, and forced him to stand
and stare until the chance of TAX
ing a flying shot was gone.
= The boys-or all of them save
Wright-in silence heard the tale.
But Wright threw back his head
and laughed until the rafters re-
turned the echo of his merriment.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

and venom and longing for re-
venge. And Warren Wright him.
self was i'll at ease.
Those II men he had killed
though each had fallen honestly
danced before his restless eyes at
night.
There was the little miner who
had challenged him to mortal
duel, and fallen by the cactus
plant There was "Bedlam' Pete,
the terror of a county, who was
shot to death in Dallas. And Mex
ican Charlie, who had been tossed
headlong into the Rio Grande--he
too danced at night before him.
And "Red" murray who had emp
tied his IA, and folded his arms
expecting the deadly bullet which
did come-all these and more, and
even Western Joe, the seventeenth.
God, The long and horrid night!
Sometimes, the winds howled
without and the rain pattered down
to taunt him. Far out on the plain
lonesome, hungry wolf yelped
and betrayed himself And the
shutters ratified. The fiimsy cur
tain raised itself in the darkness
as IL the fitting, vanishing sha-
dow of a ghost And then
One by one the II marched by.
And sometimes a high moon hung
far up the sky and many stars.
Outside, the little river murmured
in its dismal winG:ngs about the
sleeping city. a night bird cried
and a giant bat beat itself through
the open easement And then
One by one the Ii marched by.
Sometimes, Wright would stop
them.
Hold there. 'Bedlam, Pete"
he'd say, ''why do you come here
to bring back other days? Have
you not a score of deaths for which
to make account? And did not
you meet your end in fair ex-
change of shots? Why, yes. Down
the road you came whooping and
shooting and swearing vengeance
against us all And we grappled
and fell to earth, you on top.
feel your greasy fingers about my
throat, cutting off the wind, with
your face close above me, smirk-
ing. hellish in the awful heat of
battle. And then, through luck.
/ tossed YOU off. We drew and
shot. You fell, not I, 'Bedlam'
Pete. Go, you devil"
But still unanswering the II
marched by.
And you. Western Joe. you little
fendish brutew
The spectre halted with the IS
others.
'"Why come you here. No coward
blow sent you 10 your doom. You
who were foreign to every impulse
of fair play. You who hid behind
your bar and shot scorching path
through my chest! see your pale
features hung with rounded beads
of sweat extended around the coun-
ter. And then l fired-and fell my
self.
And then the II. unanswering
still, move on again.
The tortured wretch left his cot.
Without. fog hung deep about
the river banks. From the night
saloon came the twang Of the gui-
tar and the patter of feet and
swish of dancing skirts. And then
the ringing laughter of girls and
the drunken wlloop of men.
Through the fog, Wright drove
himself, onward, where he cared
and knew not.
And soon the tinkling sound of
running water caused him to stand.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

And thus he made an enemy of
Western Joe-and sealed his doom.
year later. Joe stood within
his bar. A customer gave the news
that Wright had come again to
town. The little eyes narrowed in
the face of Western Joe, and at
that very moment he prepared to
slay. And soon, from far adown
the street he saw the supple form
of Wright approach. He quietly
slipped behind his counter and drew
his gun. And when Wright stood
six feet within the entrance of the
dim saloon, the proprietor from his
ambush fired.
The great form shook from head
to foot, but did not fall.
A silence of a moment-Wester
Joe quacked behind the counter. He
knew that he had not missed; he
fallen with a thud upon the floor.
His curiosity got the better of his
judgment. He pushed his face
around the counters edge.
Then flashed the awful fire OF
Wright. The pudgy body of West
ern Joe pitched forward.
In latter years, ranconteurs said
the bullet entered equi-distant be-
tween the eyes. There Warren
Wright had aimed
But the Alamamian only grimly
smiled as Western Joe lay dead.
For he himself had received fear
full wound. TIE dead mans ball
had shipped itself clear through
his chest. He, himself. sunk down
upon the floor.
joe" Warren Wright in after years
declared. For great had been the
change. The old mother of the man
had fastened across the plain to
nurse her son. The little girl of the
honest marshal of old Santone had
become his wife. And Wright
himself had reformed. No more. he
drew his gun save in defense or
law, no more he rode with broad
sombrero across the Texan plain,
no more he fought the fiery grog
that ran in every hosiery. And IN
time the marshal died. and Wright
was named to succeed him. And
he rode across the desert and
bagged King Davis, who for
Years had terrorized the sta4e
And he cleansed the town Of vag-
rants and grog peddlers and the
gpnmen. He upheld the law and
made all men respect it. No man
more than he was praised.
And five years passed.
King Davis had served his
term and he. too. had reformed.
And down in Houston there still
lived the brother OF Western Joe.
with all the hatred Of Western Joa
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

TARLY in the life of Bir-
mingham, probably as far
taker of the community was
forced to indulge excessively in al
eoholic stimulation in order that in
a single hour he might not behold
all the corpses which We're tumbled
on his tables in the course of a
fortnight
1t was wild life which the
pioneers led. and those who at the
present time believe that Birming-
ham is bad, would admit con-
trary opinion were they aware of
that period of loot and rapine
which continued unbridled and al
most uneheckable for many years.
1t is related that in the glorious
day of the bad man of the
western plain nothing more bold,s
or daring or romantic occurred
than in the infancy of Birning-
ham-romantic, for in all the an
nails of crime there is concurrent
with an idea of repugnance IA spir-
it of romance that enthralls and
gives to literature that spice which
delights.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

Well
Back in the early days there lived
In Birmingham, Warren Wright.
He was young and vigorous and
daring and reckless. But though
on one night he did push a police-
mans nose to the rear of his head,
and on the following day did gallon
through the streets of the city fir
ing a revolver in cadence with the
foot beats of his horse, none of
the villagers believed that Warren
Wright was of a calibre sufficiently
big to make of him a terror of the
Texas border, and gunman of
considerable merit.
Therefore there was surprise
a few years following the disap-
pearance of Wright from Birming-
ham and Alabama, to both of which
he was destined to be returned
feet foremost in a pine box of
conventional dimensions. when he
did acquire his fame. True, the
gossips shocks their heads follow
ing the departure of the young ad-
venturer, and many mother whis-
pered in neighborly conversation a
dire prediction as to the ultimate
conclusion of his wild career. That
he would be slain in a broil, was
forecast. But it was never deamed
that in after years, Warren Wright
would be reverenced by the youth
of his native state as hero of the
Wild west. as man with fine dis
regard for life and an absolute
scorn of death. as an individual
with charmed existence who
emerged from every thrilling ad-
venture with asSnew scalp at his
belt. and fresh notch on his gun
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22

King Davis had served his
term and he too. had reformed.
And down in Houston there still
lived the brother OF Western Joe,
with all the hatred Of Western Jos.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-01

throwing the caber. than which there
rs probably no more severe test of
muscle and skill. The game has been
played by the hardy Scots since the
earliest times and is still one of the
feature events on the programmes of
all athletic contests. The caber is a
long section of tree trunk, tapered so
that ii is notieeably smaller at enc
end than at the other. The man who
essays to test his strength by tossing
ii raises the pole to a vertical posi-
ton in his hands, smaller end down,
end then throws it into the air and
away from him. He must make the
large END of the pole hit the ground and
the mole fall in such a way that the
small end will describe a half-circle.
The prize goes to the man whose eaber,
having been thrown in the manner de-
sefibed, lands on the ground with it's
smaller end farthest away from the
throwing point.-Popular Mechanics
Ma gaxine
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-01


can not but be touched by such an
appeal; and yet there fingers the
haunting memory that the very name
of caddie is suffused in some strange
fashion with a shade of ne'er- do we'll.
The earliest known use of the APP
peliation, and then as ''caddie," Is to
be found in the London Morning
Penny Post, when George II was still
on the throne, and The Forty-Five"
was in very immediate popular re-
membranee. News from Scotland
had il that "one Duncan Grant dis
charged soldier, who has passed IN
Edinburgh sometimes as street
caddie.' had incurred heavy pen
atty for a rather trivial swin9le in a
transaction over behring's. He was
to be taken from the Tolbooth and
put in the piliory. TO stand for the
space of an hour, with half dozen
behring's about his neck. and there
after TO he banished To the City Of
Liberties forever"
1t was a rough sort of making the
punishment fit the crime which some
irate golfers would desire to revive
for their caddies even in this more
humane Observation-Disclosures Gazette.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-01
Toothache an Ancient M

We recently reported translation. of
a love letter 1900 years old made from
Babylonian cuneiform hieroglyphics by
DIR f. c. Eiselen of Chicago DR.. Eiselen
has also translated a very interesting
dissertation on the cause and cure OF
toothache from the same source, saws the
Pathfinder. The people of those days
could not understand why tooth should
ache, and go they attributed the ache to
worm. whose wriggling caused the
pain. This worm is no doubt what
the modern dentist Identifies as the nerve
of the tooth, for in fact the extracted
nerve does suggest worm. How the
worm got into the tooth is referred 10
in the following inscription. though the
medus operandi is not made exactly
plain:
Anu had created the heavens, the
heavens created the earth. the earth
created the rivers, the rivers created the
canals, the canals created the marshes,
the marshes created the worm Then
came the worm 10 weep before Shash
Before Ena came her tears
What wilt thou give me for my food.
What wilt thou give me TO destroy? and
bones and scented wood
What are these dry bones to me
and scented wood? Let me drink among
the teeth and set me on the gum that /
may desonr the blood of the teeth and OF
Their gums destroy the strength. Then
snail bolt of the door.
Among Doctor Eiseien's other trausta-
lions is letter of 300 years ago from n
Young man who had evidently left home
and taken a job on the canal He begins
MS letter thus. Il am stationed In Dur
Sin. on the Canal Bitmsikrims Every
letter In those days we find followed. file
nd n1n tp9
with. a blessing on the recipient MAY
the. gods Shamash and Marduck keep
thee alive forever. was the, wish OF. This
young man when whiting home to his cd
folks. -
Somewhat like the youth of this day,
he found when he wents out into the cold
world that the cooking was not equal 20
mothers. where live there is no food
that am able to eat" he complains. So
he adds: Here is the third part of
shekel which ] have sealed up and for
ward to thee. Send me for ais money
fresh fish and other food.
An interesting phase of the ancients
astronomical observations shows that we
today are reckoning time after their old
system. report written probably for
some observatory. about the year 625 b.
G.. says ION the sixth day of Nissan
tabout March 2D, day and night were
equal. Six double hours the day, SIX
double hours the night May Nabu and
Marduk unto the King our lord be gra-
cious''
The Babylonians had some proverbs as
apt today as they were in that dim age.
when writing was more laborious Some
OF their proverbs are translated from the
cuneiform as follows with disaa ca
that cannot be cured and hunger that
cannot be stilled, a Golfer of silver and a
trunk fun of gold are not able to restore
health or still appetite"
"A drunken man has the strength of a
worm
The life of yesterday, it is every day
the same, l. e., nothing new under the
sun. philadelphia Ledger
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-01
What's the Use?

a certain minister in one of Cleva-
land's suburbs is credited with having
made use of emphatic language in
critlclslng the manner in which the
women of today dress themselves Now
the women of his congregation are aft
or him with a big stick.
There is no more utter waste of time
than that devoted by men to fussing
about women's clothes. Tons of good
paper and barrels of excellent ink have
been sacrificed in inveighing against
French-heeled. shoes. eorsets. the hob
BILE skirt, the iow-cut waist, the cart
wheel hat and the long hatpin. Also
enough talk to supply several sessions
of Congress. And what has il awaited?
All these things we still have with us.
only more of them.
Lovely woman goes serenely on her
way and arrays herself as she pleases.
Probably she will continue To do so.
Which is as ii should be, for il she
dressed herself on plans and specitica-
tons furnished by the men they would
be even less pleased with the results
than they are now. So they might as
well not try to do what can't be done.
but accept thnes as they are and look
happy, even when paying the hills
Cleveland News.
Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-01
REPLENISHING WILD GAME.
Propagation Association Distributes
English Pheasants and Maliard
Ducks.

English pheasants and wild mallard
ducks have recently been sent to all
parts of the United States by the
American game protective, and propa-
cation association. according to an
announcement just made at its offices
in New York. The birds We're diStrib-
uted freely 10 members of the associa-
ton who agreed to protect them. These
shipments are the first 10 be made
in accordance with "A plan for restock-
ing the country with game through
the establishment Of sanctuaries on
which birds can increase unmolested.
The overflow from these sanctuaries
viii provide shooting on contiguous
lands. With the aid OF its members the
association hopes to start such refugees
III every suitable community by sup
rlying the birds to stock them.
Although only pheasants and mallard
ducks were reared last summer in sui :
ticient numbers for distribution. eXpe-
riments with quail, ruffed grouse, Wild
turkeys woed ducks and Canada geese
proved very satisfactory and resulted
in 8 supply of these birds from when
it is hoped that enough can be raised
next year to warrant sending them
out. special attention is being given
to the native upland birds. and If sue
cess with quail and grouse continues,
they will in time entirely supplant the
English pheasants at the association
far