davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

rain in the mountains above, and be-
fore the rain had passed he heard
dull roar, rapidly increasing in vol
ume and coming down the canyon. Sud-
denly wall Of water rounded the
bend in front Of him, but, as luck
would have 1t, side canyon opened
into the main gorge, just at that point,
and with great presence Of mind, he
turned into it just as the water rose
about the bed of the wagon. AS these
floods pass almost as quickly as they
come the water soon abatCd, and In
few hours he was able to continue his
journey.
The cross-desert road from Mecca to
Blythe passes through Shavers can
yon, and while coming toward Mecca
one evening, just at the opening Of the
canyon, l was treated to one Of the
most magnificent sunset effects that
have ever seen upon the desert. Just
as the canyon opens out into the des-
ert the walls frame the picture per-
fectly, and the great wash of sand and
gravel slopes gradually from the can
yon's mouth for five or six miles down
to the shores of the dead sea. That
evening the sky was filled with light
citrus clouds, and in the glow from
the sunset they were of the brightest
red imaginable upon a background
of azure. The soft gray of the des-
ert led the eye down to the shores OF
the sea, where the emerald-green wa
ters lay placid in the perfect peace
Of quiet desert evening. Across the
sea stood the Santa Rosa mountains,
yelled in heliOtrope haze. The whole
scene formed one exquisite symphony
of soft and strong colors, unreal, yet
peaceful and satisfying to the lover Of
the desert.
Well Named Dead Sea.
When clouds drift over the noun
tains and cast their shadows on sea
and desert, the view from the north
shore of the sea is magnificent. The
scene Is a picture In very high key,
play of strong color contrasts and OF
bright light. When the waters of the
sea are quiet the clouds above are
mirrored on its green surface, and
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
The Sight Of a Man Taking Himself
to Pieces Appalled, Them.

shaken out. Right hand; see," and he
fitted metal hook attached to his
wrist.
"Well you're generally battered up
specimen of humanity, it's plain to
see," observed the captain crustily.
sought to drop you overheard, but l
guess leaving you at the first port will
do"
That first port was never reached.
Ben Ruggles was made duly comfort
able and his quaint stories and Whlm-
steal ways won the favor of the crew,
during the lazy progress of the Nancy
Bell along the east coast Of Africa.
The schooner was Nantucket trader,
one of the old line, and in its present
cargo of spices its captain had invested
every cent Of his personal capital. He
counted on big profits and his satisfied
share Of the same.
One night a terrific storm came up.
For two hours the stanch Nancy Bell
buffeted the tempest, sprang a leak,
careened and went down. All hands
escaped in the lons boat, but this, 100,
was swamped before they reached land.
They had to swim for the shore.
Desolately, in the garish dawn, the
captain glanced seward to find no
trace even of the wreckage Of the old
tub" he loved so well.
Hes been our Jonah, that's sure''
he muttered to the mate, glaring over
at Ben. who, with his usual verbosity,
was amusing the disconsolate sailors
with one Of his funny stories. NO
use crying over split milk, though
We must tramp it to the nearest town,
If there is any such, and start life all
over again"
No next town" was located. They
followed the shore for two days, sub
sisting on shellfish, were forced to
leave the sea behind them In rounding
q series of fairly inaccessible cli.Is,
and two mornings after that, found
themselves in the midst Of an almost
lmpenetrable inland jungle.
"Lostw announced Captain Poore,
RlOOWlly.
There was the compensation again.t
their forlorn condition Of being IN the
midst of an abundance Of game and
fruit, and for a week the marooners
wandered as in circle, all at sea as
to the distance and location. Ben was
eyed with suspicion, askance. The Inn
preston that he was their Jonah had
been transmitted from captain to crew
and the superstitious seamen studi-
ously evaded him.
"Reckon the varmint knows he's
hoodoo and has slipped the traces to
70 1t on his own hook" observed one
Of the sailors one morning.
For Ben had disappeared. stolen
Off or straysd away, he did not put IN
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

a LAKE in the desert! Nor Is it
~ the mocking fantasy Of the
n mirage that is spread before
= us as we look down into the
bottom of this strange desert basin
from the height between Mortmere
and Dos Palmas, on the road from
Mecca to INLAND, north Of the Salton
sea.
Quite a sizable body Of water the
Salton sea is yet, writes Stephen II.
Willard in the Los Angeles Times, and
with the drainage of the irrigated area
of the Imperial and Coachella valleys
pouring into it, the promise Is for Its
area remaining the same indefinitely.
Years ago the Salton basin was un-
doubtedly part of the Gulf Of Call
fornia, and the Colorado river emptied
into it about midway Of the whole
length of the gulf. But the "River Of
Red" slowly pushed it's delta out across
the gulf, and then came time when
the Salton basin was cut off, and an
inland sea, a dead sea in fact, as 1t
had neither inlet nor outlet. Gradually
it's shore line receded from the Mud hills
on the north and from the rocky slopes
of the Santa Rosas on the south, until
only q very small area Of thick, briny
water remained in the very bottom OF
the basin, at about $50 feet below sea
level. With the loss Of the cooling eff
feet of this great evaporating surface,
the climate of the basin became one
of the hottest in the world, and even
the Indians, who once hunted and
fished along the shores Of the great
gulf, took to the mountains and aban-
doned the valley as a land too hostile
to wrest living from.
When 1t Was Flooded.
Then came the white man with the
railroad, and commercial use was made
of the immense salt deposits covering
the bottom Of the old seabed. But
later, with the development Of the I'm.
perial valley, came the break In the
Colorado river intake and the conse-
quent enormous thrush Of water to the
bottom of the basin. With the entire
volume of the Colorado river pouring
in, the basin was rapidly filling up.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

The salt works were soon covered, set
tiers were driven from their homes, the
railroad had to move Its line farther
and farther back, and at Mecca, the
town itself was In imminent danger OF
ipundation before the flood was finally
checked. Then the sea began to re-
cede again, until Its present boundaries
were reached, some 40 miles long and
IL miles across, with the water surface
some 225 feet below sea level.
At Mecca the depression below sea
level Is 1S9 feet and the distance to
the present shore of the sea Is about
six miles. In the open desert, just out
of Mecca, If one will stand up on one
of the clumps Of sagebrush around
which the wind-blown sand has piled
and look off over the desert to the
southeast, in the distance the sea can
be seen shimmering in the desert sum
light. This shows how evenly the
desert slopes into the bottom Of the
basin.
Along the Mud hills, some five or
six miles from the north shore Of the
sea, is perhaps the most weird, DESC
late and peculiar part of this mysteri-
Gus desert land. The Mud hills are Of
clay formation, and through them are
cut many extraordinary canyons,
among which Painted canyon and
Shavers, or Box canyon, are the most
distinctive.
AS is characteristic of all desert re-
gions, storm waters pass of with a
rush, and this rush of water has cut
the canyons through the soft clay
formation of the Mud hills with very
precipitous walls. In Shavers and
Painted canyons this Is very marked,
and the local erosion of the walls has
carved In the many-colored clays fg-
ures and forms that are at places very
fantastic and spectacular.
Painted canyon possesses some OF
the most wonderfully colored walls In
existence, hence it's name. Maroon,
blood-red, pink, orange, slaty blue and
yellow clays all appear In the same
cliff. The Mud hills themselves are
desolate in the extreme, very little OF
even the hardy desert vegetation find
Ing it possible to subsist upon their
steep sides, and this adds to the wild
and unreal aspect of the canyon. The
canyon floor Is the wash Of sand, level
from wall to wall and woe be to the
desert traveller who find himself there
during a cloudburst in the mountains
above l recall the case of a team
| ster travelling up Shavers canyon with
wagon and mule team. 1t began to
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
Slow Combustion Causes Fires.

Spontaneous combustion OF wood
dried to the point Of charring may ac-
count for many mysterious fires. This
is the conclusion reached by F. J. Hoxie
in a paper to the American Society Of
Mechanical Engineers, and 1t may ap-
ply to more cases than one would at
first suppose. In dwellings and in fac
tories fires originate near steampipes
or other heating appliances, which are
kept at temperatures far below the 1g-
milton point Of wood. These tempera-
lures long continued, however, form
charcoal by kind Of slow combustion,
and the charcoal may ignite spontane-
ously under favoring conditions.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

later appearance. The captain hui
namely waited and searched for the
missing comrade.
Hes Jonah, all right" he said
cOnvincedly, "but we can't abandon
him. Well lay to here for forty-eight
hours, hoping he'll come back"
The crew growled at this, but not
within the captains hearing. Their
Imagination depicted Ben destroyed by
wild beasts, or fallen into some gully,
or captured by natives, traces Of the
proximity Of the latter having been
recently observed. Their eyes would
have opened to their widest, their sense
would have been thrilled to marveling
wonder, could they have been trans
lated to the settlement Of Akari, ma.
tive chieftain five leagues distant.
For there, in the palace Of King Aka
ri, was Ben, an honored guest. He had
been brought thither prisoner cap
tured by party Of savages who were
intent on sacrificing him as an invader
upon their domain.
Now Ben was shrewd. He had been
a haphazard wanderer; he knew
good many circus tricks and was con-
siderably familiar with the character
Of the ignorant interior African ma
tives.
Ben watched his captors, as, with the
king, they sat in conclave. He studied
their gestures and faces. He knew
that they were discussing his doom.
Suddenly he sprang up and let out an
Indian yell. Then. removing both the
upper and lower set Of false teeth. he
began Juggling them in the air from
hand to hand with rapidity and dex-
terity that fixed the attention Of the
natives with marvelng wonder.
"Whoop" again burst forth Ben.
His artificial ear came off; he en-
ployed 1t in triple cascade. He re-
placed the articles. Then, STOPPING, he
unhitched his artificial leg. BY this
time the startled natives were in
veritable stampede. The sight of
man taking himself to pieces appalled,
them. Ben reached out with his hook
of hand, caught one of the natives
by his clothes and swung him dizzying-
ly about his head.
The group was awed, the king ap-
preached this wonder man cringingly.
Here was phenomenon, great medi-
cine man, indeed!
Two days later Captain Poore and
his shipmates were dejectedly pursuing
lonely course through the forest when
Ben appeared, borne in palanquin by
half dozen sturdy natives. He was
arrayed in glaring garments. The saw
ages were his obedient servitors. They
guided the group to trail leading to a
seashore settlement There his escort
dismissed, Ben Ruggles told his story.
"You see, my biggest act was when
I, the great medicine man, was called
upon to attend the sick daughter OF
the king" he declared.
"And what then?" inquired Captain
Poore.
II cured her with Ruggles' Cure
All" replied Ben, with becoming pride.
II say, captain, you called me Jo-
nah."
"Well, maybe"
"What was your old ship worth?"
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

across, the purple mountains stand In
the sphinxlike silence Of the desert
The bluish-purple cloud shadows fall
Ing on the desert intensity color effect,
and transform the whole scene into
one of subtle enchantment. Down at
the waters edge the skeletons of dead
sage and greasewood remind us that
this body of water well deserves Its
name, the Dead sea.
About six miles east of Mecca Is the
oasis of Dos Palmas, once an impor-
tant watering place on the old Chucka-
walla trail, from Mecca to Phoenix, via
the Ehrenburg ferry. 1t Is about six
miles north of Salton station. at de-
preston Of about 80 feet below sea
level. Native fan palms grow near
the spring, as well as an abundance
of salt grass feed for animals. Also
there are several acres Of cat-tails
and reeds. When the mines were In
operation in the Mccoy mountains,
northeast of Dos Palmas, roadhouse
was kept near the spring, and In those
days Hotel Dos Palmas was a popular
stopping place for the desert rat or
prospector. The spring Is Of fair quail
ity, slightly sulphurous and rather
warm, but Is considered good in a re-
gion as dry as that to the north OF the
SaltOn basin.
Although the summers in the Salton
basin are almost unbearably hot, the
spring, fall and winter are almost
ideal, and this, coupled with the fact
that 1t Is one of the most healthful
spots on earth, brings many into this
region, who, once falling under Its
spell, find it hard to leave "The Land
Below the Sea-"
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
JONAH OR |
CROESUS!|
*
BY GENEVIEVE LEE

Copyright. by w. G. Chapman)
"Have him out" roared Capt. Jabez
Poore Of the Nancy Bell.
The mate, with the aid of two sail
ors, dragged forth from q mass Of old
ropes and canvas wobbly. wretched,
skin-and-bone specimen Of humanity.
"Stowaway, eh?" howled the captain.
HHow long have you been there?"
"Three days and nights, your hon.
or" submissively reported Ben Rug
giles. ...
"And what do you expect I'm going
to do with your" demanded the captain
fercely.
"Don't know, don't care much" re-
piled Ben hopelessly 81 was stranded
at Kwango. The town was full Of
fever. l had to get away"
"Urgent business, suppose!"
sneered the captain.
"You see," spurted up Ben, drawing
from the debris under which he had
been hiding ragged, disjointed car
pet bag. II really have business, but
1t don't 60 very well in these parts"
He took square wooden box from
the valise and ratified it. "The Ruggles
Cure-all," he announced with a slight
spice of pride. "Tm the inventor; had
to do something after being blown up
in mine explosion. One ear gone
this celluloid one; left leg artificial
to the knee. All my natural teeth
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
SUSPICIOUS OF Potato.

The potato played a great part In
the early history Of New England. 1t
was introduced to the American table
by Capt. John Henry Smith, whose Vir-
gnian colony received 1t first from the
Spaniards. The colonists at first were
reluctant to eat 1t, regarding 1t with
some trace of suspicion, but Captain
Smith, who had partaken Of baked po-
tatoes while enjoying the hospitality
of some Spaniards, was very enthu-
siastic over them, and soon allayed the
fear of the coloniStS.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
a Hint for Younu Romeos.

If the hero has no bad habits he
should acquire some, or at least lead
her to believe that he has one or two.
Courtship isn't complete unless the
heroine can beg him to quit something
that Is destroying his sweet health or
worse still-something that makes
him almost bold, bad man. She used
to beg and beg me to quit gambling,
and few years after the wedding she
was cruel enough to tell me that she
knew all the time that l was not a
gambler. She was just humoring me.
Claude Callan, In the Forth Worth
Star-Telegram.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
Practical Problems Needing Solution.


At a recent meeting of the French
Academy of Sciences Henry LIE Cha
teller urged that list of problems
having immediate industrial interest be
sent to scientists with a request that
they be solved before purely theoretic-
al problems.
As examples Of problems calling
aloud for solution, he mentioned the
following: In glass-making, the limits
of the variation of viscosity OF glass
In terms of temperature and chem
ical composition; in metallurgy, the
measurement of hardness of tempered
steel; In heating, the calorific conducti-
bility of porous substances, such as
firebrck in agriculture, the laws OF
termination Of grain, in terms OF hui
midity, temperature and oxygen sup
ply.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
IL Ia a Wonder.

Rosalie had gone with her mother
to call on the minister's wife, who
was specially noted as a good house.
keeper"
"Did God make the f1ies?" the child
asked, recalling her Sunday school
lesson.
"Yes, dear" replied her hostess.
"Gracious sighed Rosalie, after
looking about her. 81 don't see how
he ever got time to do anything else |"
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
THTRMONT FREDERICK COUNTY, MD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBE
DR.. Fab r n Ely
HAGERSTOWN, ND.
DIAGNOSTICIAN

Only chronic diseases. Send me
your name and address and l will
send you a mailing case and question
blank. Don't use dope for chronic
troubles, get cured. 1t is a salts
faction to know what the cause Is.
CONSULTATION FREE.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
WASTING Gas,

Experts tell us that it Is waste OF
PAS to allow the flames to blaze up
the sides of kettle or saucepan. rms
does not cause the contents to boil any
more quickly.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20

II OOp. m. Saturday only to CAt"c''n'
Note-All trains arriving and leaving
rbnr;nont scheduled from Western Mary
land station.
Note-All trains arriving ami leaving
Frederi.k scheduled from Square.
Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-20
FREDERICK RAILROAD
ThurmOut Division

$ .hedule In Effect June II, 1917.
All trains Daily unless specified
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27
LACK Of COAL MAY
DOOM BIC SIGNS
Indiana Electric Assn. Dis
cusses Problem at It's
Annual Meeting.
TIMES BUREAU,
AT STATE CAPITAL.

INDIANAPOLIS. IND. Sept. 27.-If
it becomes necessary in the conserva-
ton of coal and electricity the coming
winter, all of the electric signs that are
so numerous and prominent in Indiana
cities and towns Will be cut out. and
it may be that store lighting also Will
be abandoned by the electric companies.
This was the general talk at the annual
meeting of the Indiana Electric Light
Association. composed of seventy of the
largest companies of the state.
Enormous amounts of electric cur
rent are consumed in the operation of
big electric signs in the state, and
much more is consumed in brilliant
lighting Of store fronts and picture
show fronts All Of these things are
doomed, unless the coal supply holds
out.
1t was decided by the association to
appoint a coal agent who will represent
all of the companies in the association
in locating and purchasing coal and
seeing to It that the coal gets over the
railroads and to the electric plants. He
will be a man well acquainted with coal
and the coal business. He will also be
directed TO make a thorough investiga-
ton Of coal car movements and every
thing else connected with the business.
and will attempt to locate the blame for
coal shortage in the state.
The association elected the following
officers: President, ]. P. Dinner, Elk
hart vice president T. A. Wynne, In
dianapolis; secretary-treasurer, Thomas
Donohue. Lafayette; executive board. S.
w Greenland. Fort Wayne; e J. Con-
don. Angola: F. J. Hass. Evansville: p
H Palmer. KolSomo; c. c. Perry Indi-
annapolis; advisory committee. J. w.
Robb. Clinton; IT. H. Harrison. Indian
apolis; Thomas English, Muncie.
All technical addresses. usual to such
meetings, were eliminated this time,
and the time was devoted to an in
formal discussion of the coal situation
and to the subject Of conservation.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27
New Gary Industry.

The Red-Devil-speed Hammer com
pany of Gary started delivery Of its
riveting machines yesterday and is
building them as fast as possible.
J. n. Cayo. the president OF the com
pany, delivered a machine to the Raffel
Manufacturing company Of Chicago.
The -Devil-Speed Hammer com
pany has established its sales depart
ment in Chicago where machine is
also on display. P. T. Burke is man
aging the sales department in Chicago
The company will occupy the main
floor Of building located at 10th avenue
and Roosevelt street, Tolleston. for
manufacturing its machines until such
time as a suitable factory site is de-
cided upon by the company. and a fac
tory built thereon. The necessary ma
chinery for equipping its present quar-
ters has been purchased and shipped
from Chicago and is expected to arrive
any day.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27

was blocked here today when the police
completed wholesale round up of Ger
man aliens. Ninety were arrested.
mostly skilled mechanics employed in
plants working on government con-
tracts.
Valuable material to the navy de-
partment was found in their possess
sion" said Thomas J. Tunney, chief Of
the bomb squad detectives. Blue prints.
charts. maps and other documents. and
q collection of revolvers were conhscat-
ed. Large quantities of carborundum
were found in the possession Of one
man employed in a plant where mas
chinery for the navy is being manu-
featured. A small amount OF this when
put in finer parts of machinery Will
completely disable it.
we believe" said Captain Tunney.
that he received his supply from a
German agent arrested in Christiana
Norway"
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27
DUPONTS WANT
AETNA PLANTS

NEW YORK, Sept 27.-E. 7. Du Pont
De Nemours & Co. have made an offer
to the receivers of the Aetna Explosives
Company, Inc, to purchase the COM
mercia1 powder plants of that company
The receivers are expected to submit
the proposition to q committee of stock
holders.
Benjamin s. Odell. one Of the receiv-
ers Of the Aetna Explosives Company
when Intercepted as to whether or not
the Du Pont interests were seeking TO
acquire the Aetna's commercial plants
refused to deny or admit that the offer
had been received.
Net earnings of the company in An
gust We're S503761. and total profits
since Receivers OdeH and Holt took
charge on April 20 last amount to 81
231.S17 The August net was about
SIP 900 lower than the net earnings in
Julq.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27
HOOSIER FOUR TO
GIVE CONCERTS

The Hoosier Four. consisting OF
Harry 7. Payne. James P. Rodgers, Les
lie J. Welty and Raymond D. Elder.
have been engaged by Mr.. Nelson, pro-
prietor of Nelson's Drug Store in the
0. X Building. to give two concerts
from to 10. Friday and Saturday even
ings. Sept. IS and %.
Mr.. Rodgers. tenor. formerly Of the
original Tennessee Harmony Four.
viii give you treat in Southern imita-
tion and songs. The program viii con-
sist of classics. rags, harmong songs
and patriotic selections. and viii be a
treat to music lovers of Hammond.
Owing to the fact that there VIII be
no Fall Festival this year, Mr.. Nelson
decided to give his patrons a little en-
tertainment Of his own, which he be-
lieves viii be greatly appreciated
Adv.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27
TWO ARE FINED 500.

There were two 500 fines imposed in
the city court of East Chicago yester-
day.
Robert Black. $500 Carey street. who
assaulted Tony Marrusans. 13Sth and
Michigan avenue. Indiana Harbor. hit
ting him with revolver and serious
~ injuring. if not destroying the sight
Of one eye. was Aned 500 and costs
under the charge of assault and bat
terry. Attorney ". J. Murray gave no
tice OF an appeal.
Joe Nemiss, 3742 Guthrie street. In
diana Harbor. who was tried for be-
ing the keeper O a house Of question
able resort, was found guilty on the
evidence of a girl inmate and was fined
500 and costs. He paid his fine.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-27

far as possible from the kitchens. but
now they are placed as close as posi-
BILE in order that they may inspect the
kitchen any time day or night Cap
tain Thomas T. Riley. of Company f.
from Gary. 1st Indiana, and Captain
Gerhardt A. Monninger, of Company B,
of Terre Haute. End Indiana, are sta
toned just across the road from the
mess shacks OF their companies and
without going ever know just what the
mass is going to be. no matter how
the wind blows