davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1914-12-27
Treasury's Broken Fence.

g t,EARHEADS are still missing from
~ the Treasury fence. Many months
ago, the time has now run into years
the Rambler called attention to the
missing spearheads. He wrote: Run
ming south from the southeast corner
of the Treasury building is tall iron
picket fence of twenty panels, the divi-
sion between panels being marked, not
by granite posts as in the south fence
of the Treasury, but by iron posts
thicker and taller than the pickets.
These posts are hollow, have IL dame
ter of four inches and each is sur
mounted by a heavy spearhead. mark
ed with a design suggestive of ASsy-
ria. Three of these spearSheads have
been broken Oft and one has been bent
almost to the brea king point
The Rambler addressed letter to
the supervising architect of the Treas
ury on this highly important and tragic
subject and received from MN the 1ol-
lowing letter:
"In reply to your communication of
the 3Oth ultilno. in which you request
certain information regarding the IRON
picket fence on the south Side OF the
Treasury building, this city, you are
advised that there are no records avail
able giving information when TINS
fence was built nor what design OF
fence the present superseded. In re1ef-
ance 10 the three broken and one bent
snearheads you are advised that the
in Jury was probably occasioned by the
erection and demolition of the lnaugu-
ration tTaft's4 stands. steps VIII pc
taken TO repair the damaged portion.
Evening star., 1914-12-27
Chestnuts and Chestnuting.

wHE Rambler recently wrote OF Two
u famous chestnut trees-or the
st,mps of two famous chestnut trees
in the environs o. Washington. one oil
these was the chestnut tree in the home
grounds of Conway Robinson, called the
Vinevard. under which Daniel Webster
and pious John Agg of Rock Creek
Church were wont to indulge in toddies,
and the other was the chestnut tree on
tho hanks OF the Anacostia river, be-
neath whose spreading branches john
Howard Payne and George, w. Ialpurtt
of chichester used to drink Juleps 1hese
reflections in chestnut trees prlne 10 'iie
Rambler':, memory some very pleasant
,Snnpbts on the chestnut season now
some weeks gone. 1t is well understood
that the lure of the chestnut IS widely
felt and has called many persons
into the woods. There is fascination
which a large number OF men ana WON
en- cannot resist. or will not resist. not
SO much in the chestnut as in chestnut
ing. They like to scratch among the
fallen leaves for the rlch, brown, Vel
yet-smooth and fuzzy nuts, or prs them
out of their. spike-armed ana satin,
lined chambers. and one chestnut fouhd
is to these persons OIL grea,er Naiue aug
and swceter flavor than hall pint
bought at the corner stand.
On the walk which the great WASH :
inston family of wanderlustcrs mace
10 the summit of Sugarloaf mountain
the Rambler noted an incident which
illustrates what has gone before II
was a long and dusty road from Dick
erson to the base of the mountain, ana
the 'hikers," as they have come gen.
for a mile. Near the base of the noun
tain. OH its southerly, side, is cross,
roads with a store and house called
Mount Ephraim. A little beyond that
Evening star., 1914-12-27

full, and then another, and proceeded to
fill one of his coat pockets out of the
bounteous store from the old straw nat.
What is your name? the Rambler
asked.
"Oh, it is a hard name and you won't
be able to say it, she said in very
clear, ~clean-cut English, but with an
accent not of this land.
'"German?, guessed the Rambler:
No" said the little maid, with
trace of indignation in her tone. Il am
Dutch l was born in Amsterdam. My
name is Henrica du Fries.
That is. the name sounded very much
like "Henrica du Fries" Just then one
of the Washington women came along.
She was tired and sunburnt and her
tailored skirt was yellow with dust and
her shirt waist, which was so fresh
that morning, was no longer fresh.
Little girl, may l have some chest
nuts?" she asked, and her tone indi-
Gated that she was prepared for re-
fusal. But little Henrica came forward
with smile and that big straw hat
full of chestnuts, and was going to
give the strange lady as many chest
nuts as she wanted. Then the strange
lady said. in a voice that had grown
twenty years younger in minute:
"Oh, little girl, l don't want to take
your chestnuts, but if you VIII just let
me come i'll there and help you to find
some and find one for myself / Will be
SO glad"
The child laughed and the woman
laughed, gayly, and climbed through
the old fence separating the dusty road
f; ON the chestnut trees, and was soon
scratching among the leaves and Civ
ing out reXultant little eXclamations
when she found a chestnut.
The Rambler sat UP on the top rail
Of the fence, and with satisfaction
cracked and chewed the chestnuts
which he had not found, and in the
course of half an hour he saw the in
cident of the woman and the chestnuts
Evening star., 1914-12-27

thousands of chestnut trees through
out the eastern states, but the trees
that survive bore an extraordinarily
large crop last season. 1t has been
great season for apples and chest
nuts. Europe supplies many tons
of chestnuts to the United States each
year, but this supply has been visibly
diminished by the war and Americans
are eating native chestnuts just as
sweet but not SO large as the European
variety. The European chestnut, or
Castanea sativa. is variously called the
French chestnut, the Italian"
chestnut and the Spanish" chestnut. In
England they call it the sweet chest
nut 1t is native to the mountain for
ests in the temperate regions OF west
ern Asia Europe and North Africa
and has been an important article of
food with the people of those regions
since recorded history began. With
them it is not 4 titbit to be merely
munched as with us. but a food off
which meals are made.
This chestnut is grown to some eE-
tent also in the United States. 1t was
introduced into this country by 1renie
du Pont at Wilmington, Del, in 1903,
and there is record that the French
chestnut was grated on a native chest
nut tree by Thomas Jefferson at Mon
ticello in 1T73. The native chestnut is
formally known as Castanea- Ame-i-
cana, and in some American chestnut
groves it has been improved hv graft
ing from selected forms. There is
another chestnut grown in the United
States which was introduced from
japan into New York state in 1876.
Evening star., 1914-12-27
SC5HE PAMBLERz

boys of my time did. 1t seems to ME
that they do not. OF course. they are
farther away from the days when In
dians lived along the shores OF the
Potomac river and the Eastern branch.
but the boys of my time were a good
way removed from the Indian period in
the matter of years, yet Indian stories
were very common tales. The old peo-
pie of my day told them and this was
not because they had any personal
knowledge of Indians, but because OF
Indian wars in the far south and the
west the Indian was more in the pub
lie mind than he is today.
The boys of the present have some
books about Indians. but we used to
get the real stories from grandfathers
and grandmothers, and from old un-
cleS and aunts as we sat around the
open fireplace or even around the
kitchen stove on winter nights These
recita1s made the Indian period seem
not so far away and the frequent find-
ing Of Indian relics helped US boys to
believe that Indians might still lurk
in the deep and dark woodlands around
the city or in the shadowy laurel
grown ravines in the great range Of
hills westward, northward and east
ward of the city.
x x
Il believe that most of the old boys
are in the same fix. We all collected
collection in our pockets. Our minds
ran so 20 Indian relics that many
strange stones worn into unusual
forms by time or water We're accepted
as Indian relics. We smoked the pods
of the cat&1pa tree, not SO much be-
cause we liked the smoke, but because
they we're Indian cigars. and the act
of smoking them stimulated our fancy
toward Indian things. To sit around in
u circle anu smoke these things SEEM
ed Indianesque. The imagination of
the average boy Is Il very active thing
and the Indian cigar helped along the
visions.
"piney branch was q great place for
hunting arrowheads, but, as l remem-
Evening star., 1914-12-27

. IN York avenue and 18th street
< = and continues along New York
avenue for eight numbers. The first
two are small frames of different pc
riods of construction and both those
periods were of the long ago. In line
with them, and, of course, in the di-
rection of 18Th street, is brick row OF
six small houses. Their width is that
of a window and door on the street
level and of two windows upstairs and
they are two stories high. Here and
there the front of one of these old
dwellings has been altered by the con-
struction of Il balcony or by the widen
ing of Il window for the purpose of dis
playing goods or by the widening of a
door to facilitate trade.
The ground floor of each of these
buildings has been converted into Il
shop of one sort or another. and III
Que, the eaSternmost of the row, old
Washingtonians note change and
perhaps feel Il tingc of sorrow. The
"toy shop is not there. 1t had been
called by people since the early days
of the civil war the Lincoln toy shop,
though its proprietor or its proprietress
never put forward that association to
advance the interests of the place.
1t was a relic of long-gon years and
one of the landmarks of wartime
Washington. Much literature has been
written about this place, and good
deal of attention was paid to it during
and directly preceding the celebration
of the Lincoln centenary, an occasion
which invested with human interest
nearly everything Immediately or re-
motely associated with Abraham Lin
coin.
The little shop was called the Lin
coin toy shop, not because it really
was a toy shop, but because when
Lincoln was President he walked often
from the White House to this place
and bought ranks of clumsy wooden
soldiers and batteries of little wooden
cannon, and with the bundles in his
arms would walk back to the White
Evening star., 1914-12-27
RS OF THE EUROPEAN WAR

You desire, ] understand, to take
.Figuig to pay visit to nis master
in the parior of that hut" he said. II
you're sure it is GeSlrea. all rlSnt- IL
may do good"
"All the troop thinks So, answered
Claude, and he hurried OF.
So, the affecting interview, Whfcn
has been pictured everywhere. was
brought about. the horse being led INTO
the ground floor room, to srtt ms
wounded master, pallid on his pallet
Again and again it was repeated
Strong men weep as they tell 1t.
major, boasting:
"He is bully-fit for fighting"
"Quoi, quoi, he is getting on fine,
will not deny it," said the doctor. "but
what's this of bully, fit for fghting"'
"He eats like four men,.
Eats. eats; has he lost his senses?
Who has tampered with the patient?
Now well have the fever back! Eats
WHAT
Oats" answered Claude. He was
completely off his feed. wasting. dying
The army doctor laughs, now. After
all, he's not veterinary. In the 1oea
of the men, il was tiie norseS, " 40 iiau
no DOCTOR who was ianguishing from the
masters face to lift him from the
dumps The captain, being In official
hands, was all right.
What would the captain say, askeo
Claude, IF 1 had let old 'Figuig die OF
the horrors? -
In Germany they celebrate Prince Os-
cars horse, THE Faith III Friend" In
song and picture. 1t seems that tne
emperors son, at present under treat
ment for heart failure aggravated oy
overexertion, had a final skirna:sh IN the
Argonne whence his little troop NED
before numbers. None, perhaps. saw the
nrince fall The French cavalry passed
h:m. unknown, as dead. Yet the prince
had not been struck by sword or bullet.
He fell from his heart-failure. which he
had concealed for fear OF being sent back
from the front; a.
dusk when he came to he felt warm
breath on his cheek. and great shadow
loomed beside him. Little by little the
muzzie massaged his wan cheek and icy
hand. He knew well the faithful friend
who poked h m. 1t was Karl" his
charger. Clambering to his back. he let
Through the n.<s+ they wandered-a
horse, a ter all. is not homing pigeon
and at daybreak only they came on one
of the parties securing the land for
prince Oscars body"
All Of which. added to his increasingly
scarcity. lifts the horse to the
rank of hero in the public eye OF
Europe.
He will always be a slave, no matter
which side w ms!
Yet he endures the same wounds the
same fatigues. privations and nervous
emotional strain as the soldier, the same
hunger, thirst, cold and atrocioue
agonies.
The blue cross saves the faithful beast
to send him on again to slaughter!
It Is calculated that there were 2.500.-
600 horses with the various armies In
September and October.
Now they figure the number at 1900
900.
Next spring there may be 750.000-just
enough to pull the cannons and the con-
voys.
What about the plow and harrow?
STERLING HELLO
Evening star., 1914-12-27

fact all horses seem to be liable to it,
equally.
his traps. And when the melancholy
critter shifted it. sprinkled on his oats,
he went for them like uhlans for
champagne! In three days he was as
saucy as a colt, and they asked the
native Indian gyp to cure some more.
The 'malady'' is the one thing which
scientific veterinaries cannot touch
with their science. And many fine
animal who has not even been SUB
jected to the trial of separation from
his master or his trace companions is.
nevertheless, down with this species
of Spleen or lethargy.
All of which is the more curious be-
cause the sikh has cordial for all
comers. After he had brought hun
dred mourning critters back to light,
they naturally asked him what it was
and where he got it. And he Will not
tell them. He prefers to be impor-
tant. Bring your peeved nags'' is the
essence of his answer. So the story
spreads, and its discussion Is it some
horse herb which he bias brought from
India? How could he, "a simple troop l.,
carry enough OF it? Is 1t a combina
no gin in it, surely. In the present lack
of novel topics, the thing interests, you
might say, half France.
OF course, the horse is a typical crea-
ture of habit, built up for generations
on regular hours for sleep, digestion
and work. Much more than man. the
confusion of war throws him, or her,
out of keller.
Such is the natural" explanation:
On the other hand, it is impossible
to deny the numerous cases in which
a veritable semblance of soul sick
ness" seems to take hold of sensitive
animals.
You know, it is happening to men, in
quantity. Thousands of officers and
men have gone down with black melan-
choly. Sudden madness is common.
Already. after Liege, during a single
week Of the occupation. an American
student. a man of principle and verac-
ity. who came down here. told that
fourteen German officers had commit
ted suicide. from horror and remorse.
In Switzerland We hear more about the
Germans. Witness my personal ac-
quaintance. H. promoted captain.
Iron Cross and Military Merit medal.
cited in an order-of-the-day at Mau-
furlough-silent, limp. "as with death
in the SOUL" as his young wife puts
But. you say. horses.
All right, witness the French case Oh
Capt. l. and his horse. 'Figuig."
Grievously wounded on the Marne the
brilliant cavalry officer had to be tend
ed in the ground floor living room, OF
an abandoned village howell. They
dared not move him. Day by day mis-
life dragged. All the trooper's knew
the tender love of Capt. L for
his horse, "Figuig,' and the almost
human way the beast reciprocated.
So. when Capt. l. was very low.
his orderly, a hardened Belfort dra-
goon, had the nerve to waylay the
major (doctor) and bring "Figuig" INTO
the com bination.
HE needs it urgent" said the red
nosed dragoon. with a manly tremor,
land 1t is as easy-just the ground
fioor!'
It touched the rude army doctor.
Evening star., 1914-12-27

ensburg, which was u part of the old
orth-and-south toll road connecting
the colonies of New England and the
south, cast glance at the small cement
house which stands on the west side of
the road not far from the Bladensburg
spring. 1t is. as the sign shows. not
merely a police station, but police
headquarters. That is, it is the head
quarters of the constable. 1t is not only
the village lockup-and, by the way,
Bladensburg is more than village-it
is a town. whatever the distinction may
be, but this lookup is for the accommo-
dation of any county prisoners VINO
NAV be turned over by the sheriff of
the county of Prince Georges, the
deputy sheriff or various county CON
stable to the constable whose head
quarters this building is.
There is an office and barred cell
room in the building AS may be in
ferred from the picture, both are small
apartments.
Evening star., 1914-12-27

national preserve, and chicken sand
,yiches. Their automobile. one OF those
large. closed-in affairs with mecha.
nician and footman IN ENery. MaS saS
Have some chestnuts?' said the gen.
eral. ,,o had .1-
ready stolen so many out of Pat Joyce
aS. that he felt a little ashamed OF
himself. but that he would take
sandwich if there was one lett. Anu
there was. :. o;d ,,,a
"Chestnuting is great fun. saln tns
general with the smiling approval OF
his wife. ITS just like being chiluren
ali over again..
The blight and the AK have destroyed
Evening star., 1914-12-27

repeated, with sundry notifications,
half dozen times. So ne reasoned it
out that it was not the chestnuts these
men and women wanted, but the fun
of finding them, and that they wanted
to hunt for them because it brought
back Or freshened up some pleasant
memories of their childhood days.
n few days later the Rambler was
passing over one of the olm and Sc
questered paths of Rock Creek Park,
far away from the tracks used by
those very ordinary mortals who ride
in motor cars. In the woods few
feet OFF the path horse was tethered.
He was hItcned to a Saping by his
bride rem and the Stirrups We're
thrown across the saddle. Down
among the dry, brown leaves stopped
Evening star., 1914-12-27
BLADENsBURG's PUBLIC BUILDING.

grave and. reverend seignior. He is
federal judge and everybody who
reads this would instantly recognize
the name. He had tied up his horse
(Which, by the way, is a very free and
clear footed jumper) and was grub
bing in the leaves for chestnuts, and
nibbling the sweetmeat with great sat
isfaction when he found one. The
Rambler tied up Nancy" to a tree and
fell to chestnuting with the judge.
And as they scratched for the nuts
the Rambler said:
Judge, you know Pat Joyce. the su
perintendent of this park, would have
apoplexy and turn in riot call if he
came on us poaching in these woods
Let him have apopleNy. but if you
hear him coming we will mal.e our es
cape" said the judge. After. getting a
pocketful of chestnuts the Judge and
paths of the woods, and for several
miles talked about chestnuts and
horses. Neither Congress nor the ad
nnistration was mentioned once.
Not long after this incident the RAM
bier was passing along that high part
OF the park ON the backbo of land
between Rock creek and Broad branch,
up near the jumping field. There are
some chinquapin bushes and chestnut
trees up there, but of course. the
chinquap pins had been stolen several weeks
before. Squatting on the ground was
general in active service. perhaps the
best known general in the city. and
who rides one of the best sorrei thor
oughbreds that go over the brush
hurdles, the bars and that turf f-topped
stone wall in Rock Creek Park. His
wife was sitting by him. They had q
knotted handkerchief full of chestnuts
which they had abstracted from this
Evening star., 1914-12-27

House. There his boy Tad used
these toys to play at war This was
at a time when great armies were bill
lowing the land with graves and filing
unnum bered hearts with grief.
1t was varied stock which was
found carried in that shop. Up to
the day of its passing one shelf con-
tanned the same kind of old fashioned
toys which had been a feature of the
store for so many years, strange-look-
ing little wooden soldiers which prob
ably could not be found in any up-to-
date shop. One might buy there spools
of thread. handkerchiefs, socks. rib
bons, pins, needles, hairpirs, shoe
laces. buttonhooks. lettsr paper, pens,
a bottle. of ink; gingerbread horse
e4kss ieoTice stiefs tsa paste pas
sticks of striped peppermint candy and
other out-of-date forms of con-
fectionery.
this little shop looked something like
a museum. Yet it appeared always
TO do smart trade. and the children
in the neighborhood invested their
penniessin the old-time confections, as
their grandparents had done.
A good many months ago The Star
published this:
Miss Kate France, sixty-three years
old. died yesterday at her home, 1907
New York avenue northwest, after an
illness of several weeks. She had been
connected with the little store, in the
residence portion of which she lived,
and which was commonly known as
the Lincoln toy shop for half CEN
fury"
Miss France was born in Frankfort
on-the-Main. and came to this country
when Il child. She served behind the
counter in this little store in her girl
hood and succeeded to the proprietor
ship of the store on the death of Mrs.
A. Stuntz, who had succeeded her hus-
band, about fourteen years ago. 1t
was from Mr. Stuntz that Lincoln
bought the little wooden soldiers.
Evening star., 1914-12-27

rich -ess in Creusot artillery. And
every success of the Germans in Bel
giun was Il success of artillery,
Yet cannons without horses are as
useless, for the purpose. as horses
without cannons! Let US rescue the
horses, then, they say, not for pity
stretchers). not for gratitude. (the
horses are dumb tools), but for the life
of the cavalry, for the success of the
artillery. for victory. to win!
The Blue Cross is the Red Cross So
ciety for horses. 1t is private or
ganization, patroniZed and aided by
army and government. 1t occupies it.
self with horses under fire, rescues the
bandages them, cures them: builds
them up and sends them TO the front
again. to hunt more trouble
The Society for the Prevention of
proud of i'll this matter. II (the French
branch) has given $1,000 simply, in
these last days after the work is fully
organized and under way. The idea
WIS originally French. AS early as
1866 French army veterinary named
Decroix saw the danger of horse fam
inc in modern war, and laid AN inquiry
before the S. +. c. A. Nothing doing.
Again, after the Balkan var, in 1912.
the French Artillery Capt. Dupont at
tempted ana IdllfQ tnteIcSt tiie ..
c. A. Then he proposed society for
the relief of animals wounded in war.
The French government was study
ing" the idea when the present war
broke out.
Nothing was ready. Horse hospitals
behind th, front, pasture camps in the
interior staff. helpers. materials ana
transportation--aN lacked. equally. At
Conpiegne the newspapers cited Ia
Ii ~ 4.,tl
discourage horses. with single
veterinary and ten stablemen to care
for" them.
came TO the rescue. 1t was time. They
asked no financial contributions from
the French. only authorization to work
The English Blue Cross provided food
and fodder for the French horses which
they rescued. To transport them, it
created a boat service between Bou-
logne and Folkestone. box ears be-
tween Paris and Boulogne. Aye. auto,
mobile vans, too. The English paid
the doctors. stablemen, hand work,
fodder. bandages and medicines. en-
tireIy out of their own English pock-
cts The English Blue Cross had res
cued S42O horses by the time that the
French got busy.
The s C. A. gave II 900 The Eng
lish Blue Cross gave hundreds of thou
sands,
And now Nine. Millerand. wife of the
French minister of war. has organized
the French Blue Cross. They have
everything on a large scale-horse hos
pitfalls, concentration camps, GONZALES
cent pastures in the Eendee. Touraine,
etc: sick horse conveys and trains,
civilian veterinaries on salary. volun-
teer experts. paid bandagists and sta
blemen, and so on, with monthly pay
roll of $4,000.
1t is worth it when you consider that
even the Swiss army is swapping up,
or seeking in vain, fair cavalry nags
from $3.50 to $500 each. and stoutish
wagon-train beasts tSwiss horse1esh
is nothing extra) between $500 and
r III n,.t II