davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
LuR,Ne A LANcEHEAo.
Prsssne. II Mind In psalies With .
Deadly Serpent.

Presence sf Mind In DsaiinS With .
Deadly Serpent.
II a French paper IL told curious
serpent story. the scene Of which was
the island Of Martinique and the dram
atis personae Sergeant Legrand and
Private Durand and the snake q dead
~ lan6ehead. .
The soldier had been punished with
0 night in the cells for some trivial Of
tense, but az the night was very hot
the sergeant had left the door open.
In the morning at o'clock Legrand
went to wake his prisoner and, to his
horror. beheld lancehead snake coil
ed up and fast asleep on the mans
breast.
The sergeant did not lose his pres
ence of mind. He stole noiselessly
away. ran to the guard room and, fol-
lowed by all the men on duty, return
ed to the cell with bowl Of milk and
a tin whistle. Placing the bowl Of milk
at the entrance to the cell, the ser.
geant began to play the '.Blue Dan
ube." It is needless to remark that
the weakness Of the lancehead rs milk
and music. The serpent, which was
.si1rfoot specimen. .awoke, glided from
the soldiers body toward the bowl.
but 1t had no sooner buried its head
in its beloved drink than ten cudgels
descended on it with terrific force.
killing 1t outright.
The soldier, Durand, who was in q
swoon, was taken to hospital, where
he lay for many days on the verge Of
madness. He finally recovered and re-
lated his horrible experimentation he
had awoke in the middle Of the night
as the serpent was coiling itself on his
bare breast and how he had lain there
in an agony for hours. not daring to
move q muscle.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
HUNTING THE cHINcHILLA.
Andean Natives Use Trained Dogs OF
q Sort Of Weasel.

Sort Of Weasel.
High up on the eastern slope OF the
Andes, in sections Of Peru, Bolivia and
Chile, the chinchilla has its habitat
Living at an elevation from 5000 to
$4,000 feet above the level of the sea,
its chilly home is responsible for its
thick, warm coat and also largely for
the exorbitant price it brings. Such
coats are hard to get and not plentiful,
therefore they are wanted.
"It is a hopping rodent mammal"
writes w. A. Reid of the chinchilla in
the Bulletin of the Pan-American On
ion, "somewhat resembling our COM
mon squirrel, and when standing upon
its hind legs. as it does when eating
the similarity Is even more noticeable
Ordinarily the body of the animal is
about ten inches in length. exclusive
Of the tail. 1t is covered with gray
fur, soft and silky, which on the sides
is about an inch long.
"Chinchillas burrow in the ground
and live together in villages, like our
prairie dogs. The natives Of the An
dean regions hunt them with trained
dogs or with grisons. What is gri-
son? The South American cousin to
our weasel and just about as cunning.
and he easily slips into the rocky crew
ices, where the chinchilla seeks to hide
and captures it.
"Since the fur Of the chinchilla was
first introduced into Europe during the
earlier part Of the nineteenth century
the price of the skins has scared until
a lady's muff and collar Of only me-
dunn size made of this material COM
mand price Of $500 or more"
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05

ID
The next trip the drag should be start
ed little nearer the middle, and tho
last trip over the road the drag should
work close to the middle itself. Small
ridges of earth will be thrown In tho
horse track and smeared by the round
side OF the log smoothly over the road.
The smearing Of the earth by the drag
is called pudding and it tends TO
make the surface smooth and hard
and turn of the water. especially aftee
the sun comes out and dries it thor
oughly. The road is always dragged
after 1t has rained and not when It q
dry. With good. strong pair q
horses and Il we'll built drag one man
can drag about three or four miles ofo
road day. This is the best possible
way to maintain good earth roads. In
every county some farmer along each
four miles of road should own q drae
and drag the road when It rains, a11
be would 6nd the road in good coadi-
ton when he goes to market.
The necessity for dragging the roa0
comes about from the fact that water
stays on the road surface. because e
cannot drain away into the sido
bitches. II the road has been properly
dragged the water will run OF the sur-
face. Then II the bitches are properly.
taken care of the water will drain
away and leave the roadway In spleo-
did condition. The crown Of the roa1-
should be at least ten inches highsr
than the outside. The rain 40 It falls,
on properly crowned road viii run
quickly to the sides and not soak inbos
the, surface.
The side bitches for surface water
should run parallel to the right q.
way and should be open at every low
point. 90 that the water can run out ot
them into neighborins brooks o.,
streams. IL the bitches merely collect,
the water from the road surface an2
DO not carry It away larss pools wfll
be formed along the roadside, which
will generally soak into the sod be-
meath the. road and make L. o.soek;
that the wheels Of the wagon Will cut.
through the surface and 800 destroy
4 Consequently It u ahaola6G1y 80
sessafy to have thorough drainasss x.
splendid earth roads sre q. be 1ecured.
In many places underdrainaee bY
means Of tile q absolutely, necessary.
for best results. The tile should Is.
laid along tho side Of the road at lease
two or three test bsnsath the surfsca,
q ths ground
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
ROAD REPAIRING
A REAL ECONOMY.
Funds Should Be Conserved by Repairs
at Necessary Times.

The Office of public roads Of the de-
partment Of agriculture is making a
strong effort to focus the mind of the
country on the fact that maintenance
and effective repair are of equal i'm
p0rtance with the actual Improvement
of bad roads. Investment Of money
in new roads does not become real
economy until provision is made for
keeping these new roads in condition
after they are built. If new road
is built and then allowed to fall into
disrepair much Of the original invest
ment is simply wasted. says Munich
pal Engineering.
Europe, generally speaking, is ahead
of the United States in the matter of
road Improvement. but Great Britain
is struggling with problem similar
to the one that confronts the people of
the United States. In England, Scot
land and Wales there are no fewer
than 2,14O separate authorities, who
between them administer 175, ,487 miles
of roads. or an average Of only eighty
two miles apiece. In Scotland, apart
from the big cities. there are over 200
burghs, one-half Of which have but ten
miles Of road apiece to maintain.
Needless to say such minute mile
age is insufficient to keep the road
plant fully occupied all the year
around and renders the employment OF
a skilled engineer impossible for eco
nomical reasons.
Odicials of the Office Of public roads
when called upon for assistance by the
various states are pointing out that
road building is an art based on SCI
ence and that trained men and expe-
rienced men are necessary to secure
the best results. -
:. Statisticians have found that. al
though the average expenditure ON the
Improvement Of roads exceeds s. ,Q0O.-
600: a day. a large portion Of the
money in the United States Is wasted
because of the failure to build the
right type of. road to meet the local
requirements or the failure to provide
for the continued maintenance OF the
improvement.
The various states and counties with
In the last six months have taken q
greater interest In road improvements
than ever before in the history Of the
United States. and there Is now
strong movement to conserve the
roads Of the country where they are
improved. Scientific maintenance VIII
be one Of the chief features Of the
work OF the ONCE Of public roads
throughout the present year.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
Science siftings.

A process has been devised by which
rubber is made to cling to steel.
Time defying photographs are made
By French scientist upon 6ne grained
stone, 6rst given q coating of enamel
and baked at high temperature after
the photographs are printed.
With his family Of children and
grandchildren. the planets. moons. etc..
the sun is steadily moving on like an
eveflaesjng nomad. His motion 10 sup
posed to he around a point in the Plei-
ades ,seven starsl. and bis speed "
considerably greater than that Of the
fastest express train.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
Facts From France.

Paris now has the largest steam tur-
blne electric p,ant 10 Europe, street
railway power station producing 120.-
900 horsepower. (
The river. Seine. IT. bFanchss and e.
nails connect the city q Rous9 VA
ooe-dfth the area and oettiaird -
population ot Francs. 6 :
A street In Lyons-the Rue d 10 Re.
publiqus paysd With siass. The
blocks are eight inches square and %
closely Attbd that water cannet pass
between tie intsrsticss.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
pIe..ant Old cust1n,s.

Hospital patients Of today are bet
ter OF than their ancestors Of ''the
coed old times" Mr.. Wheatley in his
book on .London" quotes from q Scot
,tish act Of parliament Of 1885; to the
eject that .'gif ony man brings to the
market corrupt swine or salmond to
,be sauld. they sail be taken by the
sbaillie, and inconttnent. without ony
question. SAIL be sent to the. leper
folks and IL there be no lepers then
only ''sall they be destroyed utterlie." !"
The same pleasant custom obtained In
Oxford insthe fifteenth century, whers
all putrid meat and fisll was By stat
ute sent TO st.ssJohn's hospital.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
-s-s-s I I il4s-ss-s:,,4 i4-s-s:,,4
MERIT !l Y SYSTEM AND Hion.
WAYS

Two applicationsaio aiof the merit
system to highway work which
will be noted with satisfaction
BY road builders have recentlv
been made, \ !, ..,t, ~
In Connecticut stair. etnr,ov. !.
ment has been put upon a merit
system basis by means Of the
state civil service law which be-
came effective on Aug. /, 1913.
As applied to the highway de-
partment, this law puts all of
the officials and employees. with
the exception of the state high.
way commissioner. into the
classified service.
In New York state the appoint.
ment of six division engineers
has been made by competitive
examination. A description of
the method of conducting these
examinations was given by First
Deputy Commissioner George A.
Kicker at the recent special road
meetings Of the American Socie-
tt Of Civil Engineers.
It has long been, recognized
that smeieney tnt:the condact of.f
highway work could best be OBJ
tained by the selection of men
with regard only to their fitness
and ability. and it has been gen
orally believed that the absolute
elimination of political consider
adons from appointments of this
kind was desirable. But while
these have been generally ac-
cepted as abstract, principles,
their actual application has not
been as. frequent as might be
desired.-Good. Roads.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05
BEST Time FOR
ROAD DRAGGING
Is Directly After /, R,Ia 5lIs
an Expert.
KEEPING 4 ROAD SMOOTH

The Best Way TO Drag 10 70 os06 e
the Side Ditch and 90 UP One Saee
Of the Highway and Then 0ssso ~
Other In 8lantine Direction.
The best results from road dragging
come when the roads are dragged q
rectly after rain. says an expeee -
the American Agriculturist. The -
face Of the road is leveled, tho hoeeD
and ruts are filed up and the earth =
puddled. A crust forms when the teD
dries out, making the road much nsEo
lasting than it would be IL dragged at
any other time.
To keep road smooth and croWns4
the best method ia to drag with q
ordinary wood road drag. made easlay
with two halves Of log which has
been split. This log should be aboUe
six or eight inches In thickness a10
six to eight feet long. The halves mo
set three feet apart with the smooth
surfaces forward and upright. They
are fastened together with braces sst
In holes bored through the log.
If they are not heavy enough q
board can be placed on top. and tho
driver stands upon it. This will weight
it down sufficiently. In some cases 1t
has been found desirable to attach q
piece Of metal along the lower edge Of
the forward piece of the drag. This
cuts the surface of the ground betAee
and does more efficient work.
The road drag should move forward
so that it slants across the road In
such way that a small amount Of
earth will slide past the smooth face
Of the log toward the middle Of the
road, thus forming the crown. In this
way the edge of the drag smooths out
the ruts and fills up the holes.
The best way to drag is to begin at
the side ditch and go up one side Of
the road and then down on the other.
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05

ship chandlery business In Brooklyn.
One evening two years after the we'd
ding the captain Of an English tramp
steamer Just in called to ask for some
information He complained of not
being we'll. and. one thing leading to
another, be anally related q tale Of
woe. Severat years before. while his
shin was ut the Azores. his wife. who
had been sent ashore in the morning.
attempted to return about nigbtfall.
JUST as q squall was coming up. The
boat upset. and the occupants were
lost They found neither the boat nor
the bodies. but there was no doubt
OF the calamity. The ioss Of the v1fe
20 affected the husband that he was III
Of brain fever for months, and hss had
never read a line Of her rescue in mid.
ocean. There was the husband at last.
and Captain Clark realised thaf ~ had
rights before him. They were aIo9S q
the once. andsperhaps be thouet of
killing the man who had comssto break
up his happy home. Il W. Only .
step to the edSs o. the stip. andspse-
haps be thought Of suicide - ths bsst
way ont. The climax swas. q cnsSeus
o.. but 81 ksspiag. The szanl
'tsinsw Mo had SVEN ~ aams o. I
vas booking 1t CsptatR llx Il $: q !. =: =
slSkMatAn4a
~ u sefs6 ID tl,s sltoGy q
vaehf ,anchor Il ineing ekosnss ~ 6QqDl
The Washburn leader., 1914-06-05

the Ohio river. near which they lived.
Between the bank and the stream were
shallow lagoons frequented BY docks
Of birds Of all sizes. from, the snipe to
the sandhill crane.
But It was. now autumn. the season
when the wild geese visited the Ia
goons, and the Indians came there to
procure them for food. One day an
Indian crouched upon the bank above
whore the lovers were together, watch
-ing for q shot at the geese He heard
Haha's laugh. Crawlingsforward 70. .:
point where he, could see the white
man and the Indian iSirl, he raised his
rifle. fired. and Haha's laugh was turn.
ed Into q shrek. Donald fell dead, #
That was the last Of Haha's laugh.
Ter. She lived but few months aftsr
hsr lovers death. ending her life by9
jumping from the cli6 near which they,
had 20 often met There was beliek'
among the tribe that occasionally het
..haha. was: heard % an echo from ths
cii6. At any rate. ths spot was treat.
Cd with great rsvsrsacs ~ them and
wasSa favorite tTysting place tor lov-'
err. The legend wlS handed down
throagh the lDlians. anf their belief.
81 ~ = turned to ! ! { natter of msrs In
stereet among thsir white Successors.
1lajd dsiae m aeeu atomsd . laugh BE,
foes thss cil& % kear the echo. Il may
b tint whlt the red men heard was
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
WAR BULLETINS

correspondent OF the
withdrawal Of the
Germans Wounded being sent back to
Germany o ssns packed up
Continuing learned good source
that The German General saa has left Luxembourg eighty motor care
tor Mains
Central News In that that 800 German troops on NE lines o"ee
Brussels and Antwerp suffering from typhoid fever
rate
most Of them nearing tho compilation Of ths !oyd TIP
Berlin both official and unof
cal Of those the Of action
considerable while the
French
stopped.
battling the heights the northwest OF Noyon
ended French The heights captured
Friday according
French the Allies resained control the position
Alexandra Rbo Minister
satisfactory shown
Bank France
Hs be 10 public
wireless Berlin the German head
undecided
hammerins the positions Of the
their attempts break the German lines The German statement says
In the Aryonns region
that the Germans from
Southern Russian Poland
8 expected
given
held
detention In Germany
Oca Information Bureau today that British
had decided lay mines counter
German procedure.
Hindenbers notable
invading
combined German Austrian
formidable though alleged
millions o freely discounted
borders Of suwalh
lighting
LOT smno The German troops which attacked ossowss
precipitately to the north"
capital ssraisvo whose supplies
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
|VANCLNG ARMY NOW WITHIN Is MILES OF CRACOH

~ French three inch guns which have been Of nestimabe
GHCejce In the present war.
Ns1hs osrans already pase1y Aanlked and with their
Hes Ct communication thaened declared to be hgh-
with the desperation engendered by despair to turn the
bin their savos. "@
They assautng the aied positions with the utmost
veoe but ONCE insists that the iron ring 10 being
1utended around them.
The desperate character Of te fighting In progress
Dedetlared 10 show definitely that the Germans fear
part least Of their forces In tho triangle Of the Asne and
0ise s-e In danger Of being cut on.
Il learned to-day that the French and British artillery
w action augmented BY big naval guns Of the
proved effective With the British In South Africa
guns have been sent to the forces operating In the
ensle Of Disc and Asne and to those north Of tho
engaged In driving the Germans from their strongly
positions there Others have been rushed to the
ansrpy operating In the Woevre region.
1.-The complaint heretofore has been that In the on.
ouehed positions the German artillery had the longer
gs and that the shells Of the allies fell short This has
now been remeded.
81 THE uninterrupted that marked all Of the
terations the aid given by the
gums which manned by their naval gunners.
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
Ks GERMAN REPORT OF FRENCH CAMPAIGN.
Eeuere Fighting North of SOname
I And ALOng the Meuse, Says Berlin

BERLIN The Hagus Oct 2The War omos in It's
against The
~ attempting hanns but that
<tosA their
stated tho fighting the line Of tho oise and north
continues The
allies able Of the
,J1Dfnsa positions ....',.
the territory north the
heavily reinforced efforts
outnank the positions
operating with Toul continue
number
ssnos Of thousands Of only 70 b almost
.y16olhtHly Germans assaults
especially IN the Aghng In the nsighborhood Of g.
1As retired crossing Msusa
their old positions shsled
killing hundreds driving remainder
&1hlbn that times rsssmblsd roat
6n artillery duel continues holding
entrenched positions q nearly point
number unportant positions
6ler uselsisy 70 ssssinos lives In holding them
stated that the situation
N AaG and ihs outlook for ultimate victory
x against Antwerp stated ouyns
senced The assertion made
80 pslStahs with heavy snsmx
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
king ALBERT DARES
DHIHNb BALLOON
TO SPY ON ENEMY
German Fire on Aircraft Pals
Short Monarch Back
in Trenches. ~

ANTWERP. Oct. liking Aibsrt.
Bslsium's soldier sovereign, IL daily
adding 10 his honors for bravery, and
his latest experience was to be under
IRE In . balloon. according to rsli-
able reports.
He assembled In a balloon 20 survey
the operations in the vicinity Of Ant
werp. and the Germans began q dan.
eerous IRE on tho aircraft. Shells
passed all around It. but most, OF
them fell short. He took his time and
the balloon was not even grazed.
King Albert Is to be constantly
seen In the danger zone. When the
great German Beautiful Berthas," a.
the siege guns are called, began the
bombardment Of Antwerp on Non
day there was q panic among the
women and children as shells, burst
over the city.
The King appeared on the balcony
Of his palace and appealed to Bel
gtAus to b. worthy OF the traditions
Of their glorious little army. He
told them to b calm. that hs hoped
70 ct them an example. He did.
Shells continued to burst a. q, he
talked. but In . short time all fear
was dissipated and tho crowd cheered
his inspiring words. ...
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
HEAVY GUNS FIRE
GERMAN FORTRESS
|NCA|NESE PORT
Losses, How
ever, Are Great, but Ad-
vance Continues.

PICKING. China, Oct. . tAssociate

PEKING. China, Oct. . (Associated
Press) Tho Japanese Government
has requested China to remove Chi.
nose soldiers from the railway line
that connects Tsingtau with Tsinan.
Tho request Is made. Japan says. be-
cause Il Is her purpose to occupy the
railway up to Tsinan. tho western
terminus. II any opposition is en-
countered. the japanese Government
states that It will b considered on
unfriendiy act.
TOXIC. Oct. 3 UNITED Prsas).-
Bombardcd by tho land batteries Of
the British Japanese expedition and
the great war fleet before the harbor
entrance, tho German concession at
Kiaochow IL reported to-day ON fire
at several points.
Although there has been NO attempt
to carry the main positions by storm,
owing to the constant fire Of the Ger
man cruisers In the harbor. the losses
to the land forces are large. German
Aviators. by flying over the japanese
British positions. have located the
main lines Of the besiegers for the
German gunners. Tho Japanese fleet
aviators have rivalled their enemies
and have dropped bombs at many
points. Last night . small maya sine
was demolished by q bomb dropped
by = japanese aviator.
Copies Of message Of greeting sent
by the Mikado to tho commander OF
the British forces. Gen. Bernardiston
were made public here to-day. In his
psssags the Emperor said:
Japan to her allies. greetings. With
your valor the defeat OF the common
enemy II assured
1t 10 believed the fall of the German
position cannot long DO delayed. The
American Consul has been trying to
influence the German Governor "a
surrender ON the grounds Of human
ity. Tho Governor declared he was
instructed 10 hold out and says hs
will do 30.
As fires have been started inside OF
the Qualifications and the food supply
Is very short. 1t Is believed he viii
nevertheless eventually change hi,
mind. Before that. however, II is ex.
pected the German armored cruisers
will make a dash for safety. A spe-
cial Japanese squadron. made up OF
high speed battle cruisers and
armored cruisers, Is In waiting. These
vessels are taking no part In the
bonn bardment. Their definite task IL
to capture or destroy the German
SQUADRON
The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1914-10-02
QMGERMAN SHELL
WRECKED Home OF
AMERICAN CONSUL
lnther Dramatic Incidents IN
H The Bombardment of the
City Of Rheims.

~ ipQspoN. oct s.-'Ths Rhsims cor
- 6dsnt Of the Exchange telegraph
Hpsny. under date Of wednesday.
80 his atory Of the continued bonn
Eoaaeht Of Rheims: -
The bombardment Of Rheims con-
-. The city has now been under
III ne German guns for .sixtesn
.spd In every part Of the city
~ ukhisl4 Of shells y heard ~ we'll
~ ~ loud reports Of their, explosion.
vui1ctins buildings in every quarter.
takexhe IRE ID no longer being directed
- ne cathedral., although during
'oHldey nisht :fopr. shells dropped
e5h the shattered roof and ex-
~ " the ruined interior.
Snh6ytiy aftsr midnight this morn
(Rse aSrea artillery duel was heard
Tint 'front.' Just outside the city.
rrssuhs6 with even greater in
sSsas 4 O'clock. During the bonn
fsrdrant the Awerican Consul WILL
<niesl3srdei, had a narrow escape ~
hell wrecked half his residence, over
which the Stars and Stripes were