davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1916-01-09

est child. Miss Claudine, a venera BILE
lady of exemplary and kindly char
acter, was laid at rest in the same
grounds. She was the mistress of sun
nyside from the time of her fathers =
death. Two sons of Judge Brooks live
at Sunnyside today.
Thomas r. Brooks was born in Con-
necticut. October %. 1921. and was
brought to Prince Georges county by
his parents when child. For a long
time the Brooks family lived at Suit
land. about three miles southwest from
Sunnyside He was married December
9. 1874, to q widow whose name was
Moran and whose maiden name was
Susan r. Waters. In the faded memo-
randa written by Judge Brooks in the
family Bible at Sunnyside there is. in
the judges hand. a graceful poem de-
scriptive of the good qualities OF his
wife. and she had no other kind Mrs.
Brooks was a daughter of the extensive
Waters family. which is scattered over
Maryland and is numerous in the Dis
county. Their children We're Claudine.
Rufus Chancey, Anna B., Clara A.
Mary l.. William Pinckney and Ida and
Ada, twins. the former being dead and
o. " IL.
Another child was Thomas r. Brooks,
jr. who is dead and whose son is in
the weather service of the government.
There is also a Thomas Sd. Still an
other son of Judge Brooks, and the
youngest son, who lives at Sunnyside.
is Albert John Brooks.
Sunnyside was carved out of the es-
tate of DR.. John E. Berry. who was tho
holder of an immense tract of land
eastward of the District and within
the District of Columbia east of tho
Anacostia river. Most of the settie-
ments and pine-topped hills and sedee-
grown fields which the Rambler has
noted on this trip from Benning to
Sunnyside were the lands of DR.. Berry.
His home he called Seat Pleasant. and
the suburb of Washington and the
eighteenth election district of Prince
Georges county take their name from
that of the home seat of DR.. Berry.
Some of the farms carved out of the
vast Berry estate are still in possess
The farm of Sunny yside, covering PA
acres and including the fossil beds, fell
to DR.. Berrys son Albert and at his
death. something more than fifty years
ago. Sunnyside was bought by Judge
Thomas r. Brooks. who lived there un-
til he passed from earth fifteen years
ago. The ancestral Berry home Seat
Pleasant, on a ridge about half a mile
north of Sunnyside. is now the prop
erty of John +. Berry.
All the country around Washington:
is full of interesting things, and these
mari beds of Sunnysde. with their
strange bones of strange animals are
worth visit.
Evening star., 1916-01-09

the place. l. had planned to divide
them. four by four, among small
vegetable growers. But who will feed
them? Big Louis promised. but his
wife made a scene
The mayor told him that over Orleans
way the large farmers allowed the Ger
mans to organize their own meals FUR
nishing them the raw materials. They
appoint a cook, as in campaign, and
cook and helpers draw extra pay. Also.
each group of five can have German
subofficer to boss it, Tell your people
to reflect, these men are excellent
workers, and very anxious to please.
So they tried it.
It works. Strangely, it works-all
over France it works! And l could
draw a picture of table set for
twenty, on a kind of porch behind a
wagon house shaded by climbing
greenery. in sunny valley. With the
vases of flowers (placed by the Ger
mans themselves) and great carafes
of red wine, it looked like a picnic or
a peasant wedding-luncheon And the
Germans, far from prison and almost
forgetting war in the sweet contact of
the kindly earth. say, as they sit di-
gesting: Die franzosischen Bauern
sind nette Leute" tFrench farmers are
good peopleo
Yes. but the French farmers-what
do they say?
The women simply keep out of sight
of them To mention the subject is
bad manners.
The men-they are country stay-at-
homes of a certain age, fathers of SOL
diers-permit their curiosity to hang
about and watch the Germans. in the
ruminating silence which is peculiar to
French peasants.
Have they enough to eat?" they ask
the territorial! 'Thev are not sick?
They need nothing? Good. Good"
Then the Illuminating gaze again.
And silence.
The French territorials, on the con-
trary, guy them and listen good ma
turedly to their talk.
The spassmacher is of the party. He
knows the names of many noble Ger
man officers. up in the orphanage,
above the town Of P.
"AlI of them have the iron cross OF
the first class" he says, yet there are
three categories. why they got it!'
You must ask him how's that?
THE high born Capt. Baron Won
X," ne says. "is Of the 'Lohengrin'
category. Ach. you know the song in
Lohengrin': Me sollst du mich befra-
gent" INever ask me why'd
joke. Explain it to the territorial.
y is of the Lorelei' category. If
you ask why he received the iron
cross of the first class
Evening star., 1916-01-09

machers. Every German infa ntry COM
pany, when it started out. contained
TWO necessary ornaments, the kompa-
misrepresentation twag) and the dumme
kerl ffooD. The latter was an invol-
untary butt or victim, awkward, slow.
stupid and laughed at such but the
spa ssmacher must be a character. His
officers counted on him to raise the
difficult moment. He must always
have his witticism ready. At the be-
ginning. going into Belgium. Engel hit
on his great word: Rassy-Passy!
used to say. "When you want wine you
just knock with the rifle butt. like this,
and Rassy-Passy,"
And cheese?" some one asked him.
Cheese. two knocks and Rassy-
Rassy -Passy. Raasy-Passy."
Once started. he worked up a list Of
gastronomic marvels which the magic
word and gesture, properly repeated
would produce. Well. rushing down on
Paris, this spassmacher made song Of
pillage, wine and beauty, what they
would do when they got there.
bort. inder. soil das Rauchen nicht veraoten
CNow we're marching straight on Paris
Down there, children, snoking's not forbidden)
Three weeks later. marching into the
prison camp of P, Engel got off his
last witticism, in pure Berlin jargon
"Na, sis noch'n Jluck dat Lehmans mir
nicht .kiecken. OTIS lucky that the
Lehmans can't see meD
Nobody laughed: but one man, dou-
bled up with rheumatism, answered
"Ach, Blech. Smoking not forbidden,' -
They said it very bitterly at first, re-
preaching their officers, the chancellor,
the kaiser, the spassmacher: but, little
by little. the sense of the byword soft
ened into the curious significance which
! have mentioned. Here are men who
started off with one grand object-to
make the conquest of France, to kill
and take. Their present joy is to work
eagerly among the French, earning
raoney. undoubtedly. for luxuries and
comforts, but obviously as anxious for
conversation any one can see IT "a
kind word from folks they marched to
pillage.
Their byword originally meant: The
lid is off-to do what we please" What
does 1t mean today? Contempt for
France because she treats them so
kindly? Or hearts bursting with gra IT,
tude?
For example. in the outskirts of p
a contractor. running up a large build
ing in haste. has secured bunch Of
thirty willing prisoners. guarded by
ten French territorials with loaded
rifles. They are leveling the ground,
digging foundations Now, it is COM
mon knowledge that. to get their best
work out of them, the contractor is
paying each of the thirty more than
double, perhaps triple, the stipulated 8
cents per day. plus extra good food
coffee. wine at lunch and snack and
glass twice day. Yet the same thirty.
Evening star., 1916-01-09
ntting German Prisoners to Work i'm French Camps

was soil es bedeuten" q know not
what it signifes).
''And the little Lieut.. T.. with his
arm in a sling asks some one
"Oh, he's Salversan, sos
Everybody looks blank.
You know who invented the remedy,
don't you?
.Erhlich" answers some one.
Silence Brain work. Light dawns:
"Ehrlich! Ehrlich, Hoch. hoch!
CEhr-lich in German. is not only a
family name, but also means honor
able, worthy of respect.) Explain it
to the territorial. 1t is a very good
German joke. The little lieutenant is
ehrlich!"
The old French peasant watches the
group with mournful curiosity.
He meditates.
why are these strange men doing
the farm work? Because my son is
away. fighting. Why is my son away,
fighting? Because these men came.
The spassmacher lifts his glass po-
litely.
"Prosit.' he calls to the old man. 'Ta
sante! French farmers are good peo-
Pile, Rauchen NIGHT verboten.
The old man steps back, Is if a blow
had been aimed at his face.
Smoking permitted.
Will it be SO, after the war?
/ would not bet it,
STERLING HELLO.
Evening star., 1916-01-09
THE ROAD INTO THE MARL BEDS.

strata in which the early forms of life
appear. Many explorations have beer
made of these mari beds by men who
study fossils and very many visits tc
them are made by men who have gone
no further in the subject than to COM
NIT to memory the names of a few fos-
sils. This is no difficult achievement
because in various reports of the Mary
land geological survey on the physical
features of the counties of Maryland
may be seen excellent pictures of all
the fossils with their names appended
Anybody interested in this subject
should consult Thomas Gallagher in
the library of the United States geo
which treat of these matters. Some OF
the fossils are called Calypraphorus
trinodiferus, Turbinolia acuticostata
Strepsidura subscalarina. etc. and by
learning to speak them as though one
really understood what the words
mean positive hit may sometimes be
scored with persons who only know the
difference between clam shells and
oyster shells.
Two celebrated mari beds in the vi
cinity of Washington are on PiScat ia
way creek, near Fort Washington, and
in Prince Georges county, two miles
east of the District line. or Chesapeake
Junction. The latter deposit is called
the Sunnyside mari bed. taking the name
OF the old Berry-Brooks estate, of which
it is a part.
1t was to visit Sunnyside farm and
the Sunnyside fossil mari deposit and
to tell his followers of this interesting
place that the Rambler walked through
some snow and much mud about two
weeks ago. If one wants good walk
the start might be made from Benning,
but weaker-limbed men could ride on
the electric cars to Chesapeake juno
ton. After turning east from Benning
one enters a country in which great
and recent changes have been made in
the landscape by the works of man.
The first stage of the Journey carries
one over fiat country, for along that
part of the Eastern branch the extent
of level land between the base of the
Anacostia ridge and the river is ex-
tensive.
From Benning northeastward to the
District boundary the distance from
the river to the ridge base is greater
than elsewhere along the course of
the Eastern branch.
On these fiat lands numerous settle
ments have grown and roadWays with
street names have been graded. None
of these settlements is closely built up,
and the fringe of one merges into the
fringe of another. 1t is region of
small homes. The settlements do not
end with the fiat lands, but continue
for two miles to the broad top of the
highland which overlooks Washing
ton The ascent of this highland is
not steep. There is a succession Of
wind and water rounded hill tops with
little valleys These hilltops. detach-
Evening star., 1916-01-09

ed. but forming, of course, part of the
Anacostia ridge, rise gradually one
above another until the top of the
ridge or system of hills is reached at
an elevation varying between 200 and
260 feet. High land, but of slightly
less elevation, extends eastward as far
as one can see and really as far east
ward as a man would care to walk in a
tends to the Patuxent river and be-
yond.
When one has come to the highest
part of the Eastern Branch ridge and
stands at the east angle of the Dis
trict boundary, where meet the line
which runs northeast from Jones point
on the Potomac and the line which
runs southeast from the head of Rock
Creek Park, the observation will be
made that the Maryland side of the
District boundary appears to be more
closely settled than the District side.
The main village is Seat Pleasant, but
settlements are strung along the
southeast and northeast lines of the
District for two miles from the meet
ing point of those lines.
The landscape in the east corner of
the District is apt to impress one IS
bleak at this season. When the wind
blows at all it blows across these up
lands. The land is nearly all defor-
ested. but here and there. especially on
hilltops. grow clumps of small pine
trees and numerous cedars. A few of
the hillsides are clothed with brown
patches of stunted second-growth oak,
and over most of the fields. through
which embryo streets run and over
which small homes have been built,
sedge. growing in tall wisps or tus-
socks. winter dried. waves in the cold
wind.
From Chesapeake Junction ones way
to the mari beds lies east and then
south, the distance being about two
miles. On the eastward leg of the
journey one may choose to follow the
track of the Chesa peake Beach railroad
and disregard the warning signs along
the railroads right of way. This is not
a proper thing to do, but many persons
would rather take short cut than do
the. proper thing. If you follow the
railroad you will have three trestles
to cross. and one of them is long and
high Meeting a Train there might be
disastrous Another way eastward
from the east angle of the District is
Central avenue. Up to two years ago
this was rough road with steep hills.
but it has been converted by Maryland
into what Is known as a state road. and
it now affords smooth and easy running
for automobiles to a hamlet with the
slow and impressive name of Largo.
How far Largo is from the District the
Rambler does not know. He has never
Evening star., 1916-01-09

work for A building contractor is bet
ter; he will slip you extra pay for good
work But the grand luck is to go out
working for French farmers. Rauche n
nicht verboten,
The byword was started by curious
character. and has more In IL than
meets the eye. When they look up TO
their officers terrace, high UP there,
in the orphanage, they say 1t, really,
in queer tone: Rauchen nicht YER
boten. Is ii envy, admiration, sar-
casm?
The curious character is Engel, the
'jolier," remnant Of the spass-
Evening star., 1916-01-09

CTERLING HELLO Describes Method
- of Having War Prisoners Work on
Roads and Buildings-ENra Pay for Good
Work-Prsoners in the Harvest Fields.
Camps for Officers and Their Men-Where
Smoking Is Perrnitted-The French Farm
ers-Books, illustrated Weekies and Mu-
sical instruments for. the Germans Are
Supplied by French.
Evening star., 1916-01-09
Glass and Bacteria.

THE extreme delicacy of many scien.
u tihc processes is indicated by a re-
port of DIR. Martin Flicker, German
investigator. that bacteria are affected
favorably, or otherwise. by the charac-
ter of the glass containing the water in
which they are suspended. Marked
differences in the behavior of cholera
germs were noted, according to the
kind of glass composing the vessels
used The degree of alkalinity impart-
ed by the glass to the water is believed
to be an important factor in these ex-
Evening star., 1916-01-09

venerable trees. and the Rambler felt
that there must be strong affection be-
tween the old trees and the old house,
so long have they lived together on
that hill. 1t is a high point and many
of the landmarks of Washington are
visible from it.
When one leaves this house and fol-
lows the road still farther to the south
he soon comes upon the mari beds-a
wide whitish area in which large eX-
cavations have been made for fertilizer
and by diggers for the bones of ami
mails that no longer live in the land or
sea.
From the moment of turning off the
automobile road near the railroad
trestle you have been on a farm long
called Sunnysde. Like all old places
it has a history. Sunnyside was the
home of Thomas r. Brooks and con-
tnues in the Brooks family, the judge
sleeping in the ancient grounds of Ad-
Olson Chapel. and last summer his old
Evening star., 1916-01-09

been there. The proposal is that this
fine road will eventually be extended to
Annapolis, furnishing another of those
splendid roads which have multiplied
around Washington within few years.
At a point about mile and half
from the east corner of the District a
road strikes to the south from Central
avenue and passes under the railroad,
the railroad crossing the dirt road on
a short trestle. This road is private
way and in wet weather it makes no
pretension to having Joined the good
roads movement. Ahead on hilltop
stands dignified old house which
bears its years well. 1t is a big frame,
two stories high. with cellar and gar
ret That old house has not a base
ment' and an attic" but plain SUD
stantial cellar and n big and roomE
rarret. out from it's slantins roof
stand dormer windows and on the east
side rises a tall square chimney. II
stands in grounds watched over by
Evening star., 1916-01-09

F1HE mari beds in the vicinity of
Washington come into public
notice now and then and they
have so frequently been the
subject of scientific examination and
so long a subject of scientific interest
that they have secure place in the
geologic literature of this region.
Usually these deposits are esteemed
for their value in producing lime for
the fertilization of certain types of soil
and for the cultivation of certain crops.
Some of the marls are rich in calcium
carbonate derived from the shells
which are abundant in the deposits
and chemical analyses usually show
the presence of small amounts of min
eral phosphates.
The marls thus contain three impor-
tant foods-potash. lime and phos-
pilates. Benjamin l. Miller, a geologist
of note. in discussing the mineral re-
sources of Prince Georges county in
a publication by the Maryland geo
logical survey. said that though the
highly valuable plant foods constitute
only small percentage of the entire
content of the deposits, yet wherever
the marls can be obtained at low cost
they furnish economical means for in
creasng soil fertility, and that where
the glauconite or GreenSand mars
have been used II is claimed that their
beneficial effect is much more lasting
than that obtained by means of arti-
fetal fertilizers.
< =
These mari deposits near Washington
are of interest to the paleontologist be-
cause of the fossils which are found in
them. OF course, fossils representative
of various>periods of the earth's his
tory are found in many other forma-
tions near Washington. and the marls
yield many fossils of the miocene and
eocene ages of the earth.
While many persons today have an In
distinct notion about these nearby mari
beds. IL is interesting to note that some
of the early settlers in Maryland and
Virginia appreciated their value. The
Maryland geological survey and the
United States geological survey have
reported that the eoc.ene and upper
cretaceous formation of the country
around Washington, especially to the
south and east of the city. are rich in
marls of value as fertilizer. and they
have also said that From New Jersey
TO North Carolina such deposits have
been worked spasmodically since the
early part of the last century. when
their value was first determined, yet
their importance in enriching the soil
has never been generally recognized.
The Rambler has found reference to
these naris much older than the early
Evening star., 1916-01-09

ragout. or sing choruses by twilight,
waiting for their dinner. they say.
laughing: Rauchen NIGHT verboten,
All have one ambition, to be chosen.
in gangs, to work outside, instead of
loafing in the compound. both for the
sake Of the pay and to enjoy variety.
To work on the roads is good-you see
life and the French guard is easy. To
Evening star., 1916-01-09
PARIS. December

PARIS. December IS. 1915.
81 7IGH above the town Of p, in
LII u grand old building, which
IC II was once an orphanage, 200
q . captured German officers some
bearing great names of the empire.
pass their time in gilded idleness.
Their garden terrace, two miles long.
looks on a valley famous for romantic
beauty Their baggage averages $50
pouuds-two good-sized trunks; six.
recently transferred from another
depot, brought 800 kiIos. Boxes and
casea constantly come TO them. They
have received from Germany their uni
forms OF time OF peace-by constantly
demanding ;hey obtain things from
the courteous French. They have
pianos. viOlins, flutes. etc., boxes OF
BOOKS. the illustrated weeklies and the
daily papers. They order their meals
and buy what they please.
They enjoy everything except liberty
and French society. No French person
speaks 10 them. except on business. No
more parole is granted. Some paint
landscapes. some play quintet music,
some read novels, some sleep between
meals. and some-i hear from Swiss
correspondent. but ] did not see it
some show interest in the camp of
2.5oo German common soldiers who are
prisoners below them.
Evening star., 1916-01-09

Down there those German common
soldiers have a byword: Rauchen nicht
verboten! tSmoking permittedO When
they receive letters or packages from
home; when they sprawl in the sun
after lunch, digesting good French
Evening star., 1916-01-09

have been used as fertilizer. though
not to a considerable exteHt. One of the
reasons for this apparent neglect of a
natural resource is that tobacco for
generations. while not the exclusive
crop, was the crop of transcendent i'm
portance and to lime" the land for that
crop injured the burning" quality of
the tobacco leaf. AS the land planted in
corn one year would probably be plant
ed in tobacco the next year, mari, with
its high content of lime. was not usual
ly applied to the soil for the corn crop.
In the counties of Maryland in which
the mari deposits most frequently oc-
cur tobacco remains the important crop.
and while this is not so strikingly the
case in Prince Georges county, it is the
fact in Charles and st. Marys counties
Another difficulty is that the farmer
desiring to use lime may have no mari
deposit on his property. and he general
ly finds 1t cheaper and more convenient
to buy commercial lime derived from
calcined limestone in the western coun-
ties of Maryland or the Shenandoah
region of Virginia than to pay quarry
charges" and dig and haul mari from
deposit even within a mile of his own
land.
Evening star., 1916-01-09

when they saw crowd go off to work
vegetable forcng-for which the viii
lagos of C and V, in their pro-
tected valleys, twelve miles distant. are
famous-they watched them go off with
envy. repeating the mysterious byword:
Rauchen nicht verboten.
Evening star., 1916-01-09

1t began with the harvest, last au-
tumn.
"AlI over France" argued the French
authorities, agriculture cries for la
Dor, as the younger men are fighting
to repel the invader. On the other
hand, France is simply clogged with
Evening star., 1916-01-09

Laughter. Hoch! hoch. without ex-
PLANTATION. everybody knows the first
line Of the "Lorelei': Itch weiss nicht