davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-10-10

have missed some important events for
me when I couldn't drop in for visit
at the seminary on my way from Ar
lington to Clouds Mills.
Later, while the convalescent camp
was in course of construction, my
father occupied the seminary as his
headquarters until he removed to Men,
oxen and brought the family there to
live when the camp was fully estab-
lished. Your rambles have indeed un-
loosed the food gates of memory, and
as a breath of fragrance from out Of
the misty past come recollections of
men who occupied the center of the
worlds interest in the old red days of
the early COS. There were men whom
I had met and known in my young boy
hood days in the house of my grand
father. himself a veteran Of 1912,
Mexico and the civil war, and who oc-
cupied a large place in the history of
Pennsylvania. and men whom / had
met as friends and comrades of my
father. graduate of West POINT way
back in 1922. These men were Of the
south as we'll as of the north. and in
the 'ante-bellum' days some had been
his classmates at West Point, all close
friends and in most instances their per-
Evening star., 1915-10-10

'"The pond is well worth the necessary
several miles tramp. 1t Is a dark pool,
with little water flowing in or out Of it
and is surrounded on all sides by al
most continuous bold cliffs Of gneiss,
the bluff on the north side rising gen.
orally forty or fifty feet and that on
the south side several hundred feet. 1t
is said to be fine place for bass fish,
ing.
THE pond is body of water lying in
a deep hole in what was formerly
part of the river channel. Geologically
the time was not long ago when the
river water carved out this and other
immense holes in the rock region. I
believe that it would not have been
much over 10000 years ago. and prob
ably at that time Great Falls itself was
alongside or three or four miles below
it's present position. The rocks all
around the lake are freshly scored and
pftted. Pot holes are common, and the
surface generally would be indistin-
guishabl even by degrees of weather
ing from the rock surface underneath
and around Great Falls today If the
falls were dried up.
"A1l streams have deep holes and
shallow places, and IL the supply of
water were removed the deep holes
would, for a time at least, contain wa
ter, that in each one being held back
by the shallow place just below. Black
pond occupies a deep hole in an aban-
doned channel, but is unusual in that
1t is very deep, probably on account of
the tremendous power of the water at
the time the falls were at it's head and
partly because the rock at the pond is a
little softer than around. The pond is
Evening star., 1915-10-10

prevented from desiccation by virtue of
the water which drains into it from the
surrounding slopes. This water is
enough to more than balance evapora-
tion and seepage out of the pond, and
the surplus flows out in a small stream
at the lower end.
"In finding and gathering the facts
concerning Black pond / was material
ly assisted by Troop l of the Washing
ton Council Of the Boy Scouts Of Amer
lea, of which I am scoutmaster, and
may say on their, behalf that they
would a little prefer that the location
be kept a secret, SO that they may use
the place as a strictly Troop / rem
devious.
Evening star., 1915-10-10

complished purposely that to which
accident had shown the way.
A lazy but ingenious boy made the
next Improvement. The piston strokes
came SO slowly that Newcomer had
found the easiest way to work the
valves was to hire some one to do 1t.
A lad named Humphrey Potter was
holding down this arduous job of open
ing and closing a valve every four or
fve minutes. 1t was arduous because
he could not leave his place long
enough to have any fun, and between
strokes there was nothing to do, SO to
pass away the time he fixed up some
strings from the valves over some roll
ers to the moving beams of the en-
gine, and this did his work in perfect
time. So Newcomer, seeing what an
other had done. even as some inventors
and philosophers of later date. sub
stituted bars for string and invented"
the automatic valve movement. dou-
bling the number of strokes and maxi
ing the engine really valuable. This
brought to him from many mines or
ders to build steam pumps with cylin-
ders and pistons and automatic valves.
4
Thereafter James Watt made more
scientific study of the engine and de-
termined the approximate volume Of
steam compared with water, the guam
tity of water which pound of coal
would evaporate and the elasticity OF
steam at various temperatures Work.
ing along the lines of others all, bent
upon building steam automobile
only they did not call il by that name
he contributed largely to the con-
struction and development of the first
operating locomotive
One of the most interesting exhibits
in the older Smithsonian Museum is the
collection of early engines and locomo-
tives or their models.
From these few old engines have
grown in by slow accretions all the re-
ciprocating engines. including the mod
ern triple expansion, compensating
marine. stationary and locomotive en-
gines.
The aeroplane motor. a model Of
which can be seen at the museum. al
though not steam engine, has one
feature of the Hero engine. It's four
arms in which the gas explosions take
place are not stationary: they revoive
with terrific speed-they are 40-horse-
power-and serve as the fly wheel OF
the engine. just az the turning sphere
Of Hero's did 2,1o0 years ago.
Evening star., 1915-10-10

the sphere. and, as the water bubbled
and boiled in the caldron, was violent
ly driven out through the two tubes.
The reaction of the escaping steam
caused the sphere to revolve around
the axis between the two points of
the arms at a speed depending upon
the volume of the steam. The revolv-
ing sphere served as the fy-wheel OF
the engine.
How the power was taken is not
known, but it is not difficult to imagine
a gearing Of some sort on the surface
of the revolving sphere through which
1t could be conveyed.
This engine probably did not possess
much power. perhaps little more than
that of peanut roaster. but 1t Is de-
scribed quite in detail by Hero in an
article such as philosophers delighted
then, as they do now. to publish, and
in 1t he speaks OF its possible future
value.
r i
The failure to develop it was a per-
feet instance of hide-bound conserva-
tism coupled with general stupidity.
The ways of the fathers were good
enough for the people of his genera
tton, and there was no desire to redu, e
steam to the service Of man. Anyway.
the philosophers Of Hero's day were
not sufficiently practical, and the black
smiths were conservative and not pro-
gressive blacksmiths, so nothing at that
time was done to make steam engines.
Then came the dark ages, when the
people believed in demons and hobgob-
Inns and that the sun revolved around
the earth which they thought fiat;
when thinker was burned at the stake
and the churchmen assumed to be the
arbiters OF learning and science In those
times they did not develop steam en-
gtnes Nevertheless it is said that a
Few OF Hero's ensines-aeolipiles. they
were cailed-were used in monasteries
and castles to turn the spits on which
they roasted meats for their gross
selves and their retainers
But. as the clouds began to roll away,
philosophers again began to think OF
things. and Lord Bacon wrote about
aeolipiles and indicated his intention OF
improving the breed. but, unfortunately
for steam engines. about that time he
was busy writing plays, attending to
aome affairs Of state. working out the
principles Of inducttve reasoning or
Evening star., 1915-10-10
COL. ABERCROMBIE IN 1862.
er of the Military Order of the Loyal

COL. ABERCROMBIE IN 1862.
er of the Military Order of the Loyal
Legion.
Col. Abercrombie was in a reminiscent
mood, and the Rambler can make a
good story by setting down just what
the colonel said. 1t was:
"As followed your trail. once again
has come to me the pleasant visit to the
old home of Commodore Ap Catesby
Jones. for whom my father held high
regard, the outgrowth of their mutual
service in the Mexican war-then came
old Fort Ethan Allen. beneath whose
shadows stood the little frame house
that served as headquarters before we
were established at Arlington. Then
Fort Richardson and the 1st Connecti-
cut Heavy Artillery, commanded by
Col. Robert Q. Tyler. with headquarters
at the seminary. and whom I had
known when he was a lieutenant of
Sherman's Battery formerly Braggs'
Battery in Mexico) at old Fort Ridge
ley in Minnesota. The day seemed to
Evening star., 1915-10-10

piston collapsed the atmospheric pres
sure upon the piston made it settle to
the bottom ,oa OF the e cylinder, sln,s, when an
steam, driving the piston up for a Sec
ond stroke. The movement OF the piston
worked the pump. but not SO rapidly
that there was danger of burning any
thing with friction. for this engine
made the wonderful speed Of four or
ave strokes q minute.
One day the speed suddenly jumped
Evening star., 1915-10-10

to ten strokes. and as soon as the
frightened men dared to approach this
raging monster they found that for,
tunate accident had given an original
idea. The packing about the piston had
broken. and a jet Of water with each
stroke. was in some way forced into
the cylinder, condensing the steam in
half the time required when the water
was on the outside. So Newcomer de-
vised q valve which would admit Jet
Of water at the right moment and hc-
Evening star., 1915-10-10

writing philosophy, and SO trifie like
steam engine failed to hold his at
tention.
But a book. published in Rome in
1929. tells of the engine made by one
Branca. Following the notions of his
day. he let the dignity OF the turbine
take the shape Of a toy. The boiler
was made in the form of a negro, and
the nozzle was tube through which.
with puffed cheeks and lips, he appear
ed to be blowing steam against row
of vanes or blades set in the periphery
of. a horizontal wheel. resting on
vertical metal axis. The steam pour
ing from the nozzle against the vanes
or blades twirled the wheel, and there
was the germ of the turbine engine.
The revloving wheel, by means of a
series Of toothed wheels and pinions.
communicated motion, in this particu-
lar engine, to pair of stampers
pounding corn in pestles.
An ingenious inventor with any def
accomplish would have found means to
make this appliance of practical value.
quite possibly to the extent of letting
the reciprocating engine remain un-
the turbine used on battleships and for
the heaviest stationary power, has
made a turbine engine based almost
exactly upon the design Of the Branca
engine. but using modern methods and
materials in its construction, and has
found 1t practical and economical In
other words, Branca had made one of
the great inventions of all time. but
neither he nor any one else knew 1t.
Ask the average man. who invented
the steam engine, and he will tell you
James Watt. Sir Isaac Newton, or that
he does not know. The last answer
Is usually correct.
Probably the first man to make =
practical one was Newcomer, an Eng
lish blacksmith, in 17O5. He put a pis.
ton in cylinder and started recipro-
eating engine. He wanted to pump
water from a mine. and it was hard
work to do 1t by man or horsepower.
Newcomer. who had got the idea
somewhere. tried steam power. He led
the piston to the top Of vertical
cylinder. and filled the space below it
with steam. Then he threw q stream
of cold water upon the outside Of the
cylinder. cooling 1t until the steam was
condensed. As the contents below the
Evening star., 1915-10-10
NAN II be that steam engines were

@AN II be that steam engines were
ri used-as early as l50 B. c. and
W. possibly some centuries before
that period. and that. although
not in practical use by them. they were
familiar to the Romans?
II any one feels a doubt on this SUBJ
5ect all he has to do to convince him
self is to visit the older building of
the National Museum. and there ex-
anime the model-not exact, but illus
trative-of Hero's engine.
Here George c. Maynard, the curator
for the past fifteen years of the di-
vision of mechanical technology. takes
pleasure In showing models and orig
inals. when possible of the famous
engines Of all time.
None of the original engines Of Hero's
time are In existence; all had gone
to the scrap heap long before their
value was appreciated. and yet this
simple device was used in a practical
way for opening temple doors and. 1t
is said. the priests employed them to
produce mysterious movements in some
of the temple exercises.
The most interesting feature of this
little known engine Is that II contained
the fundamental principle OF the great
turbine engines Of today. as well as
the suggestion OF the rotary engine.
Heros engine consisted of a caldron
TO hold water. and undar IL was a table
or CRATE on which a IRE was made to
boil the water. From the boiler sprang
vertically two arms turning in at the
top toward each other. Between and
supported by them. directly over the
boiler. was a hollow sphere revolving
freely on that horizontal axis between
the points of the arms. From the top
OF the sphere q tube shaped like an
inverted l. projected q short distance
above the surface. and the crook of the
tube going back at right angles to the
axis between the two arms. On the
under side Of the sphere was another
tube corresponding In all respects to
the one Just described.
The operation Of the engine was as
simple as could be. Water was put
into the caldron or boiler and fre
kfndied beneath IL. The resulting steam
passed through one Of the arms into
Evening star., 1915-10-10
Abercrombie's "reminiscences.

ID AMBLING is not all work. The
Nv Rambler comes upon some very
interesting men and now and then a
man whose fund of memories is deep
and whose way of recalling is SO clear
and orderly that to make a readable
story it is only necessary to jot down
what he says as he says it.
man of this kind the Rambler met
a few days ago among the brush
Evening star., 1915-10-10

and in places shallow. At the site of
Black pond, probably owing to the
fact that the rock was slightly softer
than elsewhere, the river washed out
depression and then found a place
nearby where the rock is still softer;
then 1t wore out channel to depth
greater than the one in which the de-
preston now known as Black pond
was situated. In the course of contin-
ued downward cutting the old channel
was drained with the exception of pools
which lie in the deepest parts of 1t, and
Black pond is the most important OF
these"
Not long after writing the foregoing
admirable and interesting account Mr..
Shaw went away to Florida, and after
his return to Washington made another
trip to Difficult run and Black pond,
and sent to the Rambler. through the
survey, the following account, supple
mentary of his first:
Since writing concerning Black pond
I have again visited the place.
THE pond is about one-third OF
+n:,e long and 200 feet wide. 1t extends
sousaeast from point about one
fou--h of mile southeast OF the
n,sut OF Difficult run. The difficulty
in <, t.ing information concerning 1t
was 9 ne to the fact that it is not easy
of e:ass, and most persons travelling
up aho down the river follow the river
bank and do not notice the pond. that
lies to the southwest. beyond the top
Of a rocky RIDGE
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
MISUNDERSTANDING
CARGOES THROUGH
PANAMA CANAL
March Shipments Would Have Filled
1900 Freight Trains of 40 Cars
Each; Would Be avs Miles Long.

Washington, ID. G., May ls.--Record-
breaking cargocs passing through the
Panama canal in March, according to
war department statisticians, would
have filled approximately 1900 freight
trains of 20 cars each. These trains, it
is estimated, would have totaled 275
miles in length, or filed five parallel
tracks from Panama to Colon. Had
this freight been transported across the
isthmus in freight trains, it would have
required a train every AZ minutes, or 80
trains day.
The cargo handled in March through
the canal aggregated 637,057 tons. This
is almost 30 per cent. of the through
freight hauled over the Panama railroad
during the fiscal year ending last June
and 10000 tons more than the through
freight handled by the road during the
previous fiscal year. The Panama rail
road was supposed to have the heaviest
traffic per mile of all the railroads in
the world, it was said. The average
loading OF cargo carrying vessels through
the canal in March was 5,040 tons.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
PosTpoNES MRS. WALTERS TRIAL,
Judge Finds She Is Not in Condition to
Stand Ordeal Now.

New York, May ls.--Mrs. Ida Snffer
Walters, who killed her two young chill.
dren last December by giving them poi
son and who unsuccessfully tried, at the
same time, to poison herself, will not be
tried for the murder of the children until
next fall. This was the decision of SUI
preme Court Justice Weeks when Mrs
Walters was arraigned before him yes
terday, and followed dispute between
counsel over the question of an immedi-
ate trial. Bail was fixed at $500.
Justice Weeks read three affidavits
from physicians, stating that Mrs Wal
ters could not stand the strain of an
immediate trial, and, in commenting
thereon, he said he could not believe that
a trial now could be without it's effect
upon the unborn child of Mrs. Walters.
II will not be party to so sorrowful
a matter. II is not fair to the defend
ant or the people of the state said
the justice.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
TUSSLE OVER
THAW'S TRIAL"
Technicality Causes Another Delay in the
Sanity Test-Two Witnesses
Were Out of the State.

New York, May ls.--Trial OF the mo,
tion for writ of habeas corpus which
would bring before a jury in the supreme
court the question OF Harry X. Thaw's
sanity, was to have begun yesterday
forenoon before Justice Hendriek.
When the case was called, however
attorneys representing the attorney-gen-
erals office asked for an adjournment on
the ground that Susan Merrill and Eve
Ign Nesbit Thaw, two witnesses for the
state, were out OF the jurisdiction OF
the court, and they also said that the
state intended TO appeal from the de.
cision Of the appellate division.
John b. Stanchfeld, representing Thaw,
explained that the order on the decision
OF the appellate division had not Yet been
entered and that technically. therefore.
no appeal could be taken until such an
order was entered.
As a result OF these statements Justice
Hendrick ordered an adjournment until
yesterday afternoon and later continued
the adjournment until to-day.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
RAILROADS HEAVY CONTRIBUTORS
Paid Large Share of Money Raised for
Southern States.

Washington, d. c., May ls.--Of $500,
100000 collected annually for purely
state purposes in the southern anc
southwestern states, railroad, banking
and insurance companies especially, pay
forty per cent--about Sl20000,000 and
of that sum, railroads pay almost half
Those and other extensive statistical de-
tails of taxation in the section named
were disclosed to-day in the final portion
of a report by the old bureau OF corpora
tons submitted to President Wilson
Other portions on taxation in other sec
tons of the country have been published
previously. To-day's report covers Nir.
GINA, West Virginia North and South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky
Tennessee. Alabama. Mississippi, Ark
ansas, Louisiana. Oklahoma and Texas.
All reports have emphasized the lack
of uniformity in taxing corporations in
the same state.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
Moore OWens
Barrels Leading Clothiers
BARRE, VT.
Belgian Horrors.

Now we know. The report OF the Brit
ish commission headed by Viseount
Bryce is credible, for our own have sui
fered likewise. Ten days ago the find
ings of the commission would have left
us uneonyinced. 1t sometimes takes an
effort of will to believe even what can
no longer be doubted. The character
OF the men signing the report, the meas.
ured tone of its utteranees, the precise
nature of the testimony, the unmistak
able realism of the particulars, the heart
sickening plenty OF instances, each cor
roborating the other; this invincibIe
army might have failed before the rock
OF our incredulityl
Intellectually We might have admit
ted that the proofs against Germany
would have lurked the superstition that
such awful things do not and cannot
happen The word would have been:
We can't believe it,"
And now the kindly superstition is
killed in our own bosoms We are
perhaps the last people 10 hose the
lamented illusion that there is a dead
line in wickedness. The German blow
that slew over one hundred peaceful
Americans bludgeoned that childish in
eredulity of ours and now il is dead. Now
We can believe what the British COM
mission AYERS and proves for by our
own blood we know
We can believe that the slaughter of
non-comhatants in Belgium during that
Wilhelminan August was the deliberate
intention Of the German authorities, was
not the sea massacre of last week inten-
tional deliberate and official, its pre-
mediation proved by the warnings of
the German emperor itselfi
We can believe that the purpose of
the atrocities In Belgium was to strike
terror and 80 weaken the resistance
OF the Belgians; for We feel conscious
that the same influence OF terror il be-
ing employed against us. What other
explanafion quite fits az once the cases
OF the Lusitauia with her American pas
sengets and the Gulhight with her Amer.
loan flag hyiug when she was sunk! II
3. moreover. recalled that the same pol
iry Of terrorism marked the German in
tasi0n 81 France in 1870 and the at
tempted invasion in 1893.
We can believe other things that fail
"A 10 convince the heart. however they
convince the mind. a few weeks ago. The
French report prepared BY Joseph Be
der, proving the atrocious sets Of Ger
nan soldiers by their own written words
md giving fac-simile pages of their dia-
.ies. we ran nov more readily acoept.
though il was never successfully con
reverted. The report AZ the Belgian
commission ferCmes convincing All
hess reports. piled together. carruborat-
na each other. make q stupsndous
mountain If nuruhericss horrors. But we
ase Set fhs hurror and ran believe that
g. mountain b 30 Iiusi0n. lmt a real
asid. suiatartiai mirn % kHltm.- New
.0rk Evening Sun
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-05-18
A Boy with a Wonderful Memory.

In the Interesting People department
OF the May American Magazine appear
a remarkable article about Cleo Chester
Smith. Denver boy who has accom-
plished astonishing feats of memory
While working at ordinary occupation,
be has acquired a mine Of statistics oil
all kinds. Many Of his extraordinary
achievements are reported. In the D.
lowing extract taken firm the article
some idea is given Of he young man.
extraordinary talent:
"The difference between HIM ard 9th.
er people is that he remembers things
lie not merely reads books. but, IL they
are full Of facts and dates. he keeps
these all with him after he puts the
books up. The driest pages Of statistics
are TO him juicy with interest. The
United States census reports are more
exciting than Cooper's novels. And he
stands the severest tests. To illustrate
a lecture on memory before the Colorado
New Psychology society. ! lately brought
him before $50 well-informed people in
the Denver public library. ne was sub
iected 10 3 rapid fire II questions from
the audience for three quarters % an
hour. These interroCatiOns asked for
the population ldown 60 smallest detail
II any state, county or city in the United
States. Of any eOuntry or city in the
world. the area Of any country. the length
Of any river and anything and every
thing Of current geographical or histor-
zeal interest.
aHe ast0unded and captivstei the au-
dience BY instantaneous replies 70 such
How many Japanese ~ Spo-
kane 1fow many Chinese in the Tinted
states How many N SeattleF Is DO
is the governor 81 New Hampshire
Where i Hsisinrfars ana whst pupnla
tom Exact pupula son Of f,lsns Fails.
y. ~ ete.
Only once. arid several hundred hap
bazsrd rosers. did 10 fail 20 respond ~
.fantlF. and that eas % tho sB-iuf.or-
ant question Who is governor 81 North
arafi~a~ Hf#~