davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
The Man-of-war Bird.

The frigate pelican, or man-of-waT
bird, is usually met with by travellers
in the tropics. Although when stripped
of its feathers 1t is hardly larger than
a pigeon, yet no man can touch at the
same time the tips Of its extended
wings. The long wing bones are ex-
ceedingly light, and the whole appa-
ratus Of air cells is extremely devel-
oped, so that its real weight Is very
trihing. 1t flies at a great height above
the water and from that elevation
pounces down on fish. especially pre-
ferring the poor, prosecuted flying fish
for its prey. According to some au-
thors, the name OF man-of-war bird
was given TO 1t because its appearance
was said to foretell the coming Of q
ship, probably because the frigate peli-
can and real frigates are equally adj
verse to storms, and both like to come
into harbor If the weather threatens.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
ThaNSpa All Good.

Burne,Jones, the famous artist, made
many sketches for the children Of his
friend, ]. Comyns Carr. BE once laugh.
ingly proposed to instruct the eldest
boy In the principles Of anatomy, and
there and then made for him two beau
tiful drawings representing the anat.
omy OF the good man and the good
woman. In both Of which the heart,
magnifcently large, winged and back
ed by spreading flames. Is the central
detail
BY special request he made another
drawing, illustrating the anatomy OF
the bad man. On being met with the
reproach that the third drawing show
ed nothing OF the details OF internal
structure he replied:
There are none. The bad man is
quite hollow"
On being challenged TO illustrate the
anatomy OF the bad woman he grave
ly replied:
my dear boy. she doesn't exist"
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Our First Silk Factory.

Ohio was the first state in the Union
to engage in the manufacture Of silk,
according to DR.. William @. Mills OF
Ohio State university.
'The first silk factory was erected
at Point Pleasant in 1S41 by John W.
Gin and Thomas White" said, Dr..
Mills. these men planted twenty
Eve acres In mulberry trees and began
the raising Of silkworms the following
year. Dress silks, ribbons, silk velyets
and figured silks were manufactured
The buckeye burr In light bun was the
first pattern woven A vast pattern
from this piece was presented to Hen
~ Clay, who also wore a suit Of broad
cloth made In a SteubenviIle factory.
Since 1877 not a yard Of cloth Of any
kind has been made In Steubenvine,
although at one time there were twelve
wooden, cotton and silk mills located
there. American
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Eatinu Asparaous.

Mr.. G. &. Chesterton does not like
the modern way Of eating asparagus.
Excluding cannibalism." he writes,
land the habit Of eating sand Iabout
which | can offer no opinionD, there
is really nothing one can eat which is
less fit to be eaten with the fingers
than asparagus. 1t is long; it is greasy;
it is loose and liable to every sort of
soft yet sudden catastrophe; it is al
ways eaten with some sort OF oily
sauce, and its nice conduct would In
volve the powers Of professional Jug
gler. combined with some practice in
climbing the greasy pole. Most things
could easily be eaten with ones fingers.
Only this one tiresome, topping yege-
table / eat between my finger and
thumb. / should be better on as a
giraffe eating the top Of a palm tree.
It doesn't want any holding up."-Lon-
don Chronicle.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Sailors as First Lords.

A good many sailors have been first
lords, including Keppel, Spencer, St
Vincent and Barham, but these ap-
pointments were all made long ago,
and some OF the first lords. though not
always the worst. have been strikingly
unsailorlike in their appearance and
ways Among these was Lord Gosch-
en-. he used TO tell a story of how,
when he was appointed. there was a
popular song which bound the singer
to strange happenings should he prove
unfaithful, and a verse which had an
immense success ran:
II ever / cease TO love
May Mr.. Goschen have a notion
or the motion OF the ocean.
II ever cease to love
Mr.. W. q. Smith is supposed to have
inspired part, at least, OF "Pinafore."
London Standard
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
How to Sharpen Your Knife.

In the WOman's Home Companion
a contributor gives boys the following
advice as TO how to keep their knives
sharpened:
Few boys who undertake to sharp
en- a knife have any great difficulty in
getting a sufficiently keen edge. 1t Is
In keeping this edge that the trouble
arises. This is due to holding the
knife blade too fat when sharpening.
by holding the knife blade very fiai
a sharp edge can be readily produced
but Is so very thin that it is easily
broken and the blade is married by
jagged hicks.
The men who are employed In fac.
tories to sharpen the best grade OF
knives hold the blade at an angle Of
about 40 degrees and really sharpen
only the cutting edge itself. This
method leaves the blade behind the
immediate point Of contact sufficiently
thick and STRONG to stand any ordinary
usage"
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
PACE Sex
rhe MeseaI Button

Peyote. known commercially as mes
cal Is a species Of cactus grown In
northern Mexico. The mescal button.
about one and a half inches in diam
eter. Is to the uniniuated disareeable
in both odor and taste. Although tea
Is made from 1t. II Is more generally
eaten In its dry state. and has hence
been called -ury whisky" The effect
upon the user Is different from that Of
any other drug. There IS trembling
and nausea: a sense Of dual existence.
In some cases a delirium somewhat
similar 70 delirium tremens, and ar
overestimation Of time-minutes be
coming hours and hours long periods
Of time. The most extraordinary ef-
feet, however. Is the visual hallucina-
lions and the effect upon the hearing.
The habitue enjoys "a regular kaleido-
ecopic play OF most wonderful colors.
an incessant now of visions Of infinite
beauty. grandeur and variety, while
each note produced on the piano be
comes q center Of a medley Of other
notes which appear to be surrounded
by a halo OF color. puisating to the
music.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Tn. Trv. Phnosoehsr.

The true philosopher makes a con-
siderable to do over bis love OF and biz
search for knowledge. But II he Is a
truly wise philosopher and II he values
his reputation be win stop safely short
OF ever acquiring exact information.
Exact Information Is fatal to the philo-
sophical temperament A philosopher
Is a man who can make solemn and
profound remarks about any matter
whatsoever without knowing anything
about It. As soon as be learns some
thing about a matter be is to that ex-
tent excluded from philosophizing
about It. He is no longer a pure phil
osopher; he is now part scientist This
explains why there are so few promi.
nent and prosperous philosophers these
days. With the vast development of
our means Of communication, the null
tipIIcation of books and newspapers
and the obtrusiveness Of reformers, II
Is almost impossible to get through the
world without picking up a great deal
OF correct information. and conse-
quently it Is well nigh impossible to be
a philosopher.-Life-
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
ArirorS Wines.

The northwestern continuation b
Arizona OF the great mining region Of
Mexico. celebrated for centuries for its
fabulously rich ores OF silver and other
metals, Is the oldest mining district In
the United States The district has
an area Of 1.4O0 square miles, situat-
ed ON the border Of Mexico. In the mid
die of that portion Of Arizona known
as the Gadsden Purchase. Authentic
records show that silver mining was
carried on here by the Papago Indians
before the Spanish conquest Of Mexico
in the sixteenth century. Later the
lodes were worked from time to time
and their ores smelted under the direc-
tion of the Jesuit fathers and the Span
ish government. and remnants Of their
old mine workings, TO which the charm
Of romance clings, point the way to
possible wealth not yet exhausted
From 1853, the date OF the Gadsden
Purchase, to the present time mining
has been carried on by Americans
not, however, without Interruptions,
especially during the earlier part Of
this period, In which raids by the
bloodthirsty Apaches or Mexican out
laws figured observation-disclosures.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Mars and the Hand

There is a mount In the hand. ~.
persons who are said to be imnreS.o :,
more in music by marches of warIiS.
character than anything else II l. :
soft, cushion-like mount within 81
center Of the hand proper but is oaD
orally developed toward the outarsJa,
OF the palm.
These persons are said to be undo,
the influence Of Mars and 10 have .,
herited warlike tendencies. bur If MOI,
than usually shows an ordinary amonr,
Of courage that is possessed BY mas,
persons. These are the ones wbo
would be thrilled by the "NarSan
laise," the Russian national HYMN N.
Watch on the Rhine" or the aS,,,
Spangled Banner" Subjects Of Mar
seldom become proficient musicians .,
successful singers unless the other in.
dicatiOns in their hands show other
musical fancies.-Buffalo News.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
E.o, On

France had numerous national days
before II adopted the tricolor. Although
its present banner Is not particularly
artistic, its predecessors ranked among
the most beautiful fiags In the world.
The first French Jag was extremely
quaint II consisted Of blue hood
hung on a cross bar and represented
the cloak OF st. Martin. a saint great
~ reverenced by the French. and years
ago his helmet was carried In their
wars TO inspire the soldiers. The sec
ond French flag was beautiful banner
Of red, with its loose end cut into three
tongues resembling flames, between
each OF which was green tasseL
Some picturesque banners were at one
time carried by the French warriors
before the tricolor waved over the
French battlefelds. There was the sky
blue cavalry standard with the golden
sun of Louis XIV, the white and gold
banner of Joan OF Arc. magniicently
embroidered with the Madonna, angels
and lilies, and the famous old banner
OF the city Of Paris, with its white
ship on a blood red field
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

Literally the japanese WORT ~
ume. 1t is nGS at all upcomr ~ as
nnd japanese men and women =. 70
N their shops at 2. 3 and o,o ~ WORK
tne morning. They must WI lux IN
TINS or starve. They live d,rso : IKE
Ine rear Of their places of br.,s U
tneir entire household equipment aes
prises a few mats, a few cusbio TO- 'Ou,
a little tableware. They 90 ~ "a and
1oo-whether it consists Of n. Geif
clogs or inlaid cuff buttons ana IAlns
and work and work until thew -" "OrA
nausted- Then they sleep a iittIa {. q,
go back to work. 1t does nor "a, anu
japanese ten minutes to ear he s-Ae
OF rice and fish. He has his fas,, Iieal
OF course. and good many ~ ,h as
but he works the rest Of the rim - 81,
In many households it must h. s Iuu
cial and personal festival corno. 9pe,
with some individual or fomflr 'e aIs
to lure him from his occupation SO ~
needs the mOney.-SamueI q PHI
In Saturday Evening Post 'He
The broad ax., 1915-07-17


Do not dodge. Whatever the din
eulties to be met, they are not made
easier by trying TO dodge them In
trying to dodge a missile from one d.
rection you may come In line with one
from a different direction When we
dodge trouble we are more than likely
to get into other trouble no less easy
to endure. Look with courage on
what must be met. Faced with cour-
age difficulties are half conquered.
Better meet and conquer difficulties
than to dodge them Do not dodge
duties that devolve on you. Duties
performed add strength and dignity
to character. 1t matters little what
these duties are; though they be Of
the simplest and humblest, well and
truly done, they acquire dignity. Stand
up bravely and squarely to meet the
difficulties OF life. With courage you
will conquer. You viii come through
life with fewer scars than by trying to
dodge duty or difficulty. Trying to
eyade begets In a man a cringing spir-
1t. He gets a habit Of trucking, and
upright, self respecting manhood is
gone. Don't dodge II you would hold
yourself above meanness-MIlwaukee
Journal
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Hart of a HailRtona.

The heart Of every hailstone IL a tiny
speck Of dust Such a speck, with a
little moisture condensed about It. is
the germ from which may be formed
q hailstone capable Of telling a man or
smashing a window. But fir5t It must
be caught mp by a current Of air and
carried TO the level Of the lofty cirrus
clouds i've or six or even ten miles
high Then. continually growing by
fresh accessions Of moisture, II begins
its long plunge TO the earth. spinning
through the cloud and flashing IN the
sun IKE q diamond bolt shot from a
rainbow.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

Herman Frasch, chief chemist Of the
Standard on company, who died
worth $5.o00Oo0, made many millions
for his employers by his utilization of
waste.
In an interview In New York, dis
cussing the discovery that turned coal
tar from a waste to a highly valuable
byproduct. Mr.. Frasch once said TO a
reporter:
THAT one little change, that little
chemical change, did it all There is
never more than a tiny difference, you
know, between a waste and a byprod-
net, between wealth and poverty. be-
tween success and failure.
%Look, for example, into some great
business Office. Here is a haggard
man in his shirt sleeves on a high stool
working for dear life-he checks the
cash. Then, in a little glass Office all
by himself. look at that other frock
coated man leaning back in a tufted
green leather armchair, smoking a CT
gar and reading the paper-he cashes
the checks. Record
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
The Muahroonn.

It Is commonly believed that the
mushroom literally grows in a night,
30 that it has come to be emblematic
Of sudden development, but the truth
Is quite otherwise It Is very likely to
require several weeks for its forma-
tion, and up to the time OF its appear
ance in the light Of day IT remains be-
meath the surface, very much compress
ed and held in small compass Then
comes a moist night, and the cells Of
which the fungus Is composed are
greatly expanded, 50 that it thrusts It
self out above ground But It Is no
heavier, though 90 much bigger, than
days before perhaps. when It lay hid
den In small compass Under the top
layer Of SOIL a perfect mushroom
Exchange
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Ints of Nn,.aIs

In the Hawaiian language every
word ends In a vowel A Hawaiian
finds it almost impossible to pronounce
two consonants together, and In Eng
hsh he has the greatest difficulty In
pronouncing any word ending with a
consonant Mr.. Hale In his POlynesian
grammar says: "In all the Polynesian
dialects every syllable must terminate
In a vowel, and two consonants are
never heard without a vowel between
them 1t is chiefly to this popularity
that the softness Of these languages is
to be attributed The longest syIlables
have only three letters, and many syl-
tables consist OF q single voweIH
Again, no syllable, as a general rule,
In the Bantu family Of African speech
can end in a eonsonant. but only In
novels.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
That Dead Mans chsst.s

The rendering OF the first line OF
StevensOn's immortal song as Fifteen
men on a dead mans chest" spells the
significance OF the phrase. writes a
correspondent License is permitted
to poets. but no fifteen men could ever
find room on the chest OF any man.
dead or alive. unless they were Lilli-
putians on the top Of a CULVER. The
actual phrase Is the Dead Mans
Chest" which Is the name OF one Of
the Virgin islands, lying TO the east of
Porto Rico. II Is said that when Co
lumbus discovered the group he named
them after st. Ursula and some OF her
mythical virgins. but the English buc-
cancers rechristened them in homelier
terms. such as "Dutchman's Cap,
Broken Jerusalem" Rum island
and 1.-THE Dead Mans Chest" Kings
ley refers to the matter in the first vol
ume OF AT Last" and Stevenson ac-
knOwledged. in his account OF Treas
ure Island" that he had lifted the
phrase from the older nOvelist's pages
Manchester Guardian.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
PORTUGAL,

Five hundred years ago, the span of
a few generations, Portugal was the
greatest maritime power, preceding
Great Britain In that eminence. The
Portuguese first explored the two
coasts Of Africa The Cape Of Good
Hope was doubled by Bartholomew
Diaz In 1886 Vasco da Cana reached
India, via Cape Of Good Hope, eleven
years later. In 1900 King Emanuel
assembled the throne Of Portugal and
assumed the title Of lord Of the con-
quest, navigation and commerce Of In
dia, Ethiopia, Arabia and Persia" In
that year the Portuguese made settle
ments In Brazil History is a cata-
logue Of dreams The dream Of en-
pire is nearly the oldest one Its star
Is very tickle.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Positive and conservative.

In the lobby Of Cincinnati hotel
during an educational convention, one
school man approached another and.
by way Of introducing himself, said:
I'm Beck"
That's good replied the man ad-
dressed. taking the pronered hand I'm
more So"
You're what?" asked the hrSt
speaker.
II say I'm more So" repeated the
second
what do you mean by thatT
"why, you say you are Beck"
Yes, am. My name is Beck
swell. my name is Becker."-Houtns
Companion.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Death to the Mosquito.

The Panama canal was built BY par
affin! The fearful mosquito plague
which once made life for the workers
unbearable. and which was one Of the
factors which made the French reIin-
quish their attempts to build the canal
was ended by the simple expedient Of
covering all stagnant water with film
OF paraffin- Midges lay their eggs in
stagnant waters. but the larvae which
develop have to come to the surface
frequently to get fresh air. The paraf-
fin entirely cuts of the supply Of air,
the larvae are suffocated ard cOnse-
quently there are no midges. Other
parts Of the world. formerly regarded
as the graves Of white men, have now
become mosquito free by the same
means.-PearsOn's Weekly.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Tennperament.

What the dickens do they mean by
artistic temperament asked young
Arbuthnot Of his talented pa
why" explained pa. IF you go to a
tailor and ask him TO make you a suit
the tailor Is satisfied To 20 ahead and
make you any kind OF suit you want
any way you want It made If you 20
to an architect he's tickled To build you
any kind Of house you want any way
you want 1t built. But II you 20 to u
man and ask him TO write you n GER
tain kind OF book or poem In any par
tcular way, or II you want him to
paint you a picture or sculp you a
statue Of any particular kind the man
with the artistic temperament, instead
Of being tickled to get the Job. win
say:
Now just look what this durn fool
wants nowr Judge.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Poor Knights of the Garter.

The splendOr that surrounds the Or.
der Of the Garter makes it almost in
possible TO believe there ever have been
poor" knights Of the order or tia,
these still exist today. Such. howeve,
is the case. These now number eigb.
teen in all. and their official title is the
Military knights of Windsor. They
are divided into two foundations
twelve being in the upper fOunda-
ton" and the remainder in the low.
err" When Edward III. founded The
premier order of chivalry of the world
he appointed one poor gentleman to
act as a sort OF attendant or squire to
each knight, and twenty-Six was The
original number. These were known
as the ''alms" or poor" knights of the
garter until the title was changed 10
the present one by William IV.-LOn-
don Standard.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

The phrase '-the sublime porte"
arises from an aspect Of the sultan's
capital The French words sublime
porte" are derived from ''porta sublf
ma" meaning ~the lofty gate" Con-
stantinople city used to have twelve
gates and near one was a building
with an imposing gateway called Bah
i-Humatun- In this building resided
the grand Yizier, and there also were
the Offices OF the chief ministers,
whence an the edicts Of state were L.
sued The French phrase was adopted
because at the time French was the
language Of European diplomacy.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

Dante Gabriel Rossetti had an IRE
sistible tendency to purchase rare and
beautiful birds and beasts that appeal.
ed to his poetic or artistic fancy. FL
len Terry tells In The Story OF My
Life" Of his once buying an exquisite
white peacock, which very soon after
its arrival at his home disappeared un-
der the sofa. In vain did Rossetti
-shoo" It out II refused to bulge.
This went on for days
The lovely creature won't respond
TO me-" said Rossetti to a friend
The friend dragged out the bird.
mo wonder" said he; ''it's deadF"
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

Grubbs--I hear that old Skinem has
given the committee his views On the
proposed new charter.
Stubbs-That must be a mistake.
Skinem never gave anybody anything.
II the committee had his views he has
the committees note providing for the
return CT the views with something
more than legal interest. - Richmond
Times-Dispateh-
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Like Son Was Father.

All through the long sermon hlue
Johnny had been restless. and us
mother had to keep pinching him In
order to keep him in anything Ike OF
der. Still his fdgeting continued
Cant you do something win tnA'
boyY' whispered the wife to her nus
band. q,
"Yes," said the husband. Il secOnu
his motion 10 adjourn."-St LOUIS
Post Dispatch.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

Seymour Hicks is an English actor
who has never visited America" said
a Chicago manager. Hicks Is a com
edian OF the violent school. Hes al
over the stage at once. In his efforts
to please be perspires in a way that d
painful to witness.
"At a dinner 1 once gave Arthur
Pinero made fun Of Hicks for his
strenuous methods. his lack Of repose
Hicks. my boy Pinero said. I SEE
you've got upon your bills Doors open
at g" Why don't you change It
Hicks. to Pores open at SPADE
troit Free Press.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
MatarnnI Pddn.

Judge On children's court, sternly,-
This yOungster was brought up before
me three yeas ago when he was hard
II more than knee high. let him OF
then with q warning.
Mother Of Culpr1t proudlyl-He have
grown wonderfully, your honor,
haven't hef-New York Post.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
A Subtle Mexican Drug.

The Mexican Indians derived lIOI
their ancestors. the AZtecs. the me'HTe
Of making the poison Of TalaTaten- -
Is a subtle drug. the constituents "
which are not known The Pecu. -
effect Of the poison is to destroy t .ne
mind while only slightly aneeuns
body.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
AZ EIamant a. niMeuItv.

"what Is the hardest part Of your
work as q lecturer" asked the man
designated as postmaster.
@As a rule" replied Mr.. speekins.
''the hardest part Of my work II wax
ing the audience up after the man
who introduces me has concluded his
observation-disclosures Star.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

One OF the funniest things In the
world Is the self conscious look Of en-
barrassment ON the face Of a distin-
guished visitor when he receives the
freedom Of city and its key, which
he knows wont even admit him to a
i've cent moving picture show.-Phfla-
delphia Inquirer.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Opposits Wan

Il noticed the road agents who held
up the train worked with different
methods"
I'm what wayT'
@Whfle one was rifing the bad the
other was loading the rina."-Balti-
more American u
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
A Faeuit.ter

Impatient Guest-waiter. I must
catch q train, and Pm In a hurry.
What are the chances Of my getting
served at onee7 Waiter-Ab0ut one to
one, SIR. Impatient Guest-I set you
81 70 one waiter. Here Jon areI Now
slidei-Exchange
The broad ax., 1915-07-17
Sounded OmInoua.

-GOsh, I'm timOrous about the new
sIlesF'
'Why sol"
Heard my wife say this morning
that she was planning a gown. A lit
tie later I heard her say that her mind
was a perfect blank."-LouisViIle Cou-
rer-Journal
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

The term modus viveDH is a mutual
arrangement whereby persons not at
the time being on friendly terms can
be induced to 1--we together IN harmony.
The term may be applied to individuals.
to societies or to peoples It signifies a
mode of living.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

loan me $ until Thursday, old
man II live TN then IN surely pay
you"
@An right But n you succumb don't
send anybody around 10 touch me for
the funeral expenses."-seattle Post
Intenigencer.
The broad ax., 1915-07-17

The diameter Of the earth from pole
10 pole Is 1889 miles, the equatorial d.
ameter being 1926 miles. The slight
difference Of diameter Is owing to the
nsrtening out Of the poles