davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
SCENES LINGER YET
EVENTS ONE RECALLS FROM OLD
VOLUMES.
BY No Means Always the Most lmpor-
tant Things Recorded That Remain
In the Memory After q
Lapse Of Time.

There is a peculiar pleasure In striv.
ing to remember something of hooks
enjoyed years ago and never read
again. 1t happened with US. and may
with most people. that in many in
stances one or two scenes, one or two
gestures, starting out Of a sort Of fog,
stand for the whole book. There are
numerous fogs and each one has Its
own quality.
All that is left to us of Rob Roy"
Don Marquis writes in the New York
Sun, its woman with brOadsword in
her hand who stands upon a rocky way
that Overhangs q lake and screams
forth vehement command. Someone,
we believe. is about to be cast over the
precipice at this furious lady's order.
The earth round about is reddish
brown and overhead the clouds are
moving rapidly.
"Bleak House" is woman who clings
to an iron gate and peers through its
bars. And We have also some faint rec
objection Of an echo that was like the
foOtstep Of a sentinel ghost. The fog
from which energies the woman at the
iron gate is more than fog; 1t Is black
vapor-inky black.
We cannot see the heroine Of Lorna
Doone" at all, but We still know how
John Ridd felt when he all but
drowned in a swirling, icy pool; we can
still see him as he bends over and tries
to catch little fish with his fingers in
the cold brook just before he falls into
the pool. The pale glitter of faint
sun upon shaken drops of water and a
sense of much snow and rain generally
are our only other Impressions Of the
book.
TON Sawyer" Is boy cropping and
fearing in q cave; Of Toms humorous
pranks we remember nothing. "Huckle-
berry Finn" We almost know by HEART,
| but then we have read 1t a dozen
times.
In "Toilers of the Sea-" where the
man is seized by the devilfish as he
himself is hunting crabs to eat, Hugo
deliberately builds up a scene which is
the epitome Of the whole tremendous
book and the symbol Of the gaunt eter-
nal struggle between man and nature
(animate and inanimate) which the
book dramatizes. And yet, for all HUI
COS craft and power. that scene thrills
us less-speaks less stisringly to our
blood and nerves-than one incident
of far less significance in the same vol.
ume. tTrWiH
This incident, which stirs us more
deals merely with the murder Of a
guard on the edge Of cliff that over.
looks the sea. 1t Is thing that In nc
wise touches the moral bones Of tine
story; it is not essential to the struc
ture Of the tale as a tale; another de.
vice might have been used If Hugo had
not evidently fancied this one for his
own sake. But 1t gets itself remem
bered. The devi,fish scene, informed
though It is of the essential spirit OF
the book expressed in the terms Of ply
steal conflict, will have left us long be
fore We forget the coastguardsman's
murder.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

furrow or stakes. Il will save much
time when it is desir}d to begin lay
ing tiles.
Any drainage sySlem should be
planned with reference both to the
work it is to perform md to its future
maintenance. Expen>e should not be
spared in securing aecurate data on
which to base the plaA
1t is well to maintin the shallow
open-ditch system II use before the
tile are laid. Thee hrface-drains as
sist in quickly elea7hg the land of
water from heavy rhns. in amounts
to provide tile Of sul lcient size to do
the work so quickly In Minnesota,
spring floods are ofteh carried off by
the surface drains before the frost is
out sufficiently to permit tile-drains
to work. Time spent In opening sur
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

for the specific purpose Of cultiva-
ton. The 72.S9 acres cost sT.653.45.
Out of this area there was used for
highway purposes, four acres; nom
productive land In sloughs, five acres
ten acres producing half crop. equal
In non-producive land, to five acres; or
a total of IA non-tillable acres. This
left a tillable area Of 50 acres, cost
ing the state $129.72 per acre. A sys-
TEN of undertaking was introduced,
by which the five acres of non-produc-
tive land In sloughs, and the ten acres
which produced half a crop, are made
equal In productive qualities to the
same area of the other tillable land.
The total cultivable area is thus in
creased from 50 to 50 acres. The re-
turn to the farm, then. is S1,297. 20. at
a cost of S615; or a net gain of S6S2.20.
In other words ten additional acres
have been added to the farm at
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

wettest and most difficult to handle.
and it is necessary that construction
be carried on during the wettest sea-
sons. Consequently. the contractor
should base his calculations as TO time
and methods on the worst conditions.
To let a contract to the ''lowest bid
der" regardless of his experience or
equipment, is often to invite serious
disappointment and loss.
Delays, especially, are expensive TO
landowners. for not only is money In
vested in incomplete work, but often
times a failure to have the ditch COM
plete at the time fixed means the loss
of a crop. In the drainage of swamp
land, which cannot be plowed until
after the work is completed, 1t means
a delay of one or more years before
the cultivation will be paying invest
ment. With scarcely an exception,
where losses have accrued to agricul-
tural interests through the delay OF a
year in the construction Of proposed
drainage works, these losses have been
greater than the cost of the improve
ments. The attempt to save one or
two cents on the cubic yard for ditch
ing, or on the rod for tile trenches, by
giving the job to a poOrly-eQuipped
man, often becomes an expensive pro-
ceeding. Better pay more to q COM
petent man, and be sure of good
job, completed ION time"
The kind, size and completeness of
the drainage works needed in a given
locality, the methods of doing the work
and adjusting the costs, must be de-
termined by the local conditions. What
Is good practice In one place may
not be practical in another. The char
acter of the ground, surface slopes,
crops raised, and value Of land. all
have bearing on the subject. IN
any locality the first consideration is
an outlet or channel by which the wa
ter may be carried away. In some
localities nature has provided such an
outlet. In others, 1t may be necessary
for several landowners to band tOgeth-
er and construct a channel, Of suf-
ficient size and depth to serve as the
main outlet of a network Of bitches
which will give. relief during wet
years. In many parts of the state,
where such outlets naturally exist OF
are already completed, crops have suf.
fered from an excess of water in the
immediate vicinity, for the reason that
the water from the cultivated fields
could not readily escape. Consequent.
ly, for complete drainage. 1t is neces-
sary to have, on the individual farm
a thorough system for collecting the
water as 1t falls and carrying it to the
main outlet.
Unless the ground is very fat, the
location Of proposed drains can be
best determined when the ground is
free from vegetable growths. A heavy
growth Of crops or weeds may cause
low places to look high and high places
low. A field freshly plowed or sowr
is in the best condition for locating
lines Of drainage. n such field IL
examined Immediately after a heavy
rain, there will be little danger Of
making a mistake in locating the lines
If these are at once marked out by {
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

The fact was revealed at the Rhond-
da tribunal recently that at Treorchy,
a cOlliery village in Rhondda valley,
one of the largest coffin industries in
the kingdom is carried on.
1t was stated that these works,
which contain 25 machines, can turn
out so to 100 collins in six hours. In
America collins are now called caskets.
Before the war collins were exported to
all parts of the world, but naturally lit
tie business is done in this direction
nowadays. Nevertheless, between 2OO
and 300 collins are turned out weekly
Practically all the collins necessitat-
ed by big disasters are provided by
this firm, and requisites for use at ere.
matOriums are manufactured.-Lond
Mail.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
500 rEgr
OBTAINING GRADE LATH METHOD.
line parallel to It. BY
grade
be fxe trench Is dug

in the case Of the state farm referred
to; and the management feels that
they fully justify the cost Of the i'm
provement, without considering the
value of the land reclaimed.
The planning Of a drainage system
should be done with the same careful
ness that Is bestowed on other i'm
provements. When a large building Is
to be constructed, an architect Is con-
suited, plans are carefully drawn, all
the details are looked into, and mate
rial is selected which will be suitable
for the location, the climate and the
purpose for which the building should
be used. During its construction, in
spectors see that the details are car
ried out and the requirements of the
specifications enforced, regardless of
the fact that the contractor may be
losing money and cheaper materiais
might be used. But in drainage en-
terprises, the evidences of such care
are too often painfully lacking, even
though the cost be as great or greater
than that of a large building. In
many cases an engineer is employed
to stake out a drain on a route which
has been selected only because it is
supposed to be" the best one. No
examination Is made for another route
or outlet; the area of the watershed
Is not measured. AS a result, the
size of the ditch Is determined by a
mere guess. Time may develop the
fact that the best route was not Sc.
lected. and that the ditch was too large
or too small, and consequently does
not perform the work satisfactorily. A
ditch, being improperly located, either
does not drain all the land 1t should
or 1t is expensive to construct and
maintain. One that is too large will
not clean itself properly; while one
that is too small will not carry re
Quired volume of water.
A drainage system, open or under
ground. works by gravity, and that II
may remove the water there must be
a sufficient fall; that is. sufficien,
aud continuous descent, from a leve
somewhat lower than the lowest poin,
on the land to be drained. to the point
where the water is discharged from
the outlet. 1t is a common practice tc
start drainage ditch from slough
at practically the same depth as the
bottom of the slough. Such drain.
age" will not give satisfaction, as the
ground-water will not be lowered, and
the bed of the slough will continue to
be swampy. For satisfactory drain.
age, the water-channel must be deer
enough in the lowest land, and Of suf.
ficient breadth and depth. to carry the
water without an overflow.
Ditch-cOnstruction, like carpentry OF
masonry, Is a business in itself; and
for satisfactory results, contracts
should be let in similar manner. The
bidders competence, as shown in his
record in connection with similar un.
dertakings, should be taken into con.
sideration as well as the size of his
bid.
bitches are usually dug in soil the
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
SAVING AS A FINE ART
Family Thrift Is Almost Unknown
Quantity in the Average Ameri-
can Household.

The true art of saving is In know
ing how to spend our money.
Mr.. Micawber's advice to David
COpperfield was sound: "Never spend
above your income"
Family thrift is almost an unknown
quantity In the average American
household.
Men are famous for their generosity
and our women run their households
on the same generous scale.
AS the income grows larger little ex-
travagances creep In imperceptibly-
little luxuries of no greet moment
seemingly at the time of their indulg-
ence-and so the increased income is
Offset.
Every sane man and woman wants
to save. We know that it is our only
insurance against the future.
No matter how well things are going
at the present moment, every family
stands a chance of experiencing ''rainy
days." and we are wise IL we take
means to meet them.
Sickness or loss Of position has not
the same dread to the man or woman
who has a comfortable savings &C
count tucked away in the bank, as 1t
has for the person who spends as he
goes along"
Sickness or loss Of position to the
latter is nothing short Of a tragedy.
OF course, there are thousands who
find the margin between wages and a
bare living exceedingly scant. 1t seems
next to impossible to save.
But there are few of us who could
not cut down our cost of living by
careful buying and elimination of I'M
necessary luxuries.
Anyway, it would do us no harm to
| figure out our family budget a bit and
adopt the plan of saving a certain per
cent of our income for future contin-
gencies.-Buffalo News.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
His Thanks.

A farmland saved a train from be-
ing wrecked and at a splendid banquet
was presented by the railway COM
pany with a gold watch in a red mo-
rocco case. The company's chairman,
at the end Of an eloquent speech,
handed the watch to the heroic farm
hand and waited expectantly to hear
the yokel's grateful thanks. The farm
hand opened the morocco case, took
the watch from its rich satin bed,
turned it over and over, and then
looked up and asked, "And where's the
chain?"
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Use Short Words.

A man who acts as tutor and COM
panion to a young boy, wrote this in
dorsement on one Of the boys COM
positions: use short words-fol-
low the example Of HOratiO Seymour.
This is part Of his address delivered
by him to students In 1878: Short
words, like love, hate or zeal. have a
clear ring which stirs our minds or our
hearts. They but tell of the Joy Or
grief, or rage or peace, Of life or
death. They are felt by all, for their
terms mean the same thing to all men.
We learn them In youth; they are on
our lips through all our days. and we
utter them down to the close of life.
They are the apt terms with which we
speak Of things which are high or
great or noble. They are the grand
words of our tongue; they teach us how
the world was made. God said, Let
there be light and there was light"
MARK the words of more than one
syllable New York Tribune.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Takes Casts Of Records.

Joseph Sanders Of Washington has
just patented a method Of making
monograph records. He makes a disk
Of material that becomes plastic under
heat; heats only that part which is to
bear the record, sprinkles a powder
over this part and impresses record
upon the heated surface under high
pressure. Thus he takes a cast of any
record on his disk and forces the cen
trail part that is to bear the label out
of the plane of annular margin. or rec
ord part.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

lie may be justly held chargeable with
their share in the cost Of improve
ments, the facts do not justify the in
ference that the state should pay 1t
all. The correct idea, In raising funds
for drainage works, Is that the acre
more directly benefited Is the acre to
pay the expense.
Many landowners will oppose a
drainage Improvement for. the reason
that the ditch will, In part, be located
on their land. They will do this, even
In the face Of the fact that from one
fourth to three-fourths of their land,
because 1t is too wet, produces only
about half of what 1t should, in the
ordinary year. They actually prefer
to stand the yearly loss Of half crop
or more, rather than allow one-fifdeth
to one-eightieth part Of this wet land
to be occupied by ditch which would
so thoroughly drain the whole tract
that II could be cultivated up to the
banks of the ditch.
The benefits accruing from drainage
are well illustrated In the improve
ment of q small farm, Of 72.S9 acres.
recently purchased by the state Of Min
nesota. Six hundred and fifteen dol
lars were spent In draining this farm.
The land had been bought by the state
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

The Conebo. Shippo Cocoamo and
Walnut tribes of Amazon Indians are
still wearing clothing of grass.
The nations toll to the fire demon
is approximately 5000 deaths a year
and property loss of $500 minute.
The annual income in the electrical
industries is equal to the total annual
expenditures Of the United States gov
eminent.
The death rate for the registration
area Of the United States last year
was the lowest Of which there is any
record, 1875 q thousand.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

cost of only S61.5O against $129.12
per acre, paid for tillable land and in
the original purchase.
But this added value Of S6S2.2O does
not represent all the benefits whlcn
have come to the farm from the In
PRODUCTION of undertakings. The dis
appearance of the slOughs, and of the
superfluous water In other places, per-
mits the division Of the land into reg
ular, and therefore more easily Gull
tivated fields. Such fields, having now
a uniform soil. can be cultivated In
less time, and crop rotations can be ar
ranged to better advantage than
where the land is broken up By nom
cultivable areas. A dry, loose soil can
be worked more easily than wet,
sticky soil.
Furthermore, a field which in some
seasons is productive, and In others
non-productive by reason Of excessive
moisture, may be more detrimental 20
the farmers success than swamp
land; for such lands are often plowed,
planted, cultivated, and then the crop
is destroyed by an influx of water I;
whereby not only are they made non
productive, but labor and seed are
lost. Drainage not only removes the
risk of such losses but improves the
landscape by substituting broad. fully
cultivated areas for such as are dotted
with sloughs. breeding frogs and mos
quitoes and giving forth i'll odors from
dead fish and decaying vegetation. 1t
is first step in good bodybuilding,
and, as a permanent Improvement, II
increases the value of all neighboring
lands. and benefits the entire COM
munity.
All Of these benefits are illustrated
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
BITS OF INFORMATION

Since 1870 white illiteracy in Geor-
gia has been reduced from q to Z per
cent, and black from 90 to SO per
cent.
To aid In walking on Icy sidewalks
an inventor has patented sandals OF a
non-slipping material. that can be
clamped on shoes.
Electric locomotives are In use In
Switzerland, in which powerful cleo
tro magnets are used instead Of coup
lings In drawing caes.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
connparIson.

"Dr. Isaiah B. Scott, Methodist bish-
op Of Africa" said Methodist divine,
collected in Monrovia great deal of
valuable chronological matter.
Talking about cannibalism one day,
Bishop Scott declared:
"'Your cannibal Is not wicked. He
eats other people as you and ! go to
church-in order 70 Improve himself
for he has been taught that he will ac-
Quire the virtues--the bravery, beauty,
wisdom AID what not-of all those
whom he eats"
Bishop Scott chuckled.
"a savage cannibal." he ended. 'fs a
sanity chap alongside of civilized
backbiter.' .s
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

China has the longest national hymn.
Both the incumbent of the passionate
Of the Methodist church at Smiley,
Tex, and his predecessor are one
armed men.
Long utilized by the Indians for
cooking their food, petroleum depos-
its of Ecuador have been investigated
by scientists and will be developed
commercially.
While the mule will continue to be
the standard draft animal In the South.
q gradual substitution Of heavy
horses on the farms Ii going on.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
TAKEN FROM EXCHANGES.

1t required one and one-half pounds
Of leather to double tap and heel one
pair of a Bath (Me.) policeman's
shoes.
new>trap 70 be attached to a re-
frigerator drain pipe permits waste
water to flow out. bat prevents the en-
trance of warm air or vermjn.
A pneumatic helmet composed Of
infiatable rubber tubes has been pat
ented for protecting babies heads
from bumps and bruises.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Cork l.nInn for Clothes.

The new corn lining for waterproof
garments produced by a French proc
ess is claimed to be as flexible rs thin
leather. and it may be foldc' sithout
harm. After the cork is sliced into
uniformly thin sheets, the flexibility
Is obtained by chemical treatment re-
moving all resinous matter. BY means
Of a special cement the cork Is at
tached to one side Of any suitable
cloth. or, for greater strength. the cork
may be used between two layers Of
cloth. While the material is very
light, the special advantage Of the cork
raincOat is said to be its porous quail
ity, giving ventilation while shedding
rain.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26

face-drains Is not, therefore, lost, even
when it is intended to later introduce
an undertakings system.
The individual farmer with small
means should first select the area the
thing Of which will drain the most
land at the least expense. In rolling
country, where sufficient fall can be
had for outlets near the surface, or
without expensive open bitches, small
tiles can be used around the sides of
drainage areas outletting on hillside
or at the edge of slough. This
method often improves large tracts at
small cost, and as the improved lands
increase in pfoductiveness, funds will
be supplied by which the tile lines
can be extended, connected, and the
expensive mains -hnally put In. This
method has been used in many of the
best tiled countries. In some instances
it has been twenty years from the lay
ing of the first laterals to the compile
ton of the last main.
Immediately after construction, pro-
vision should be made for annual
maintenance. A drainage improve
ment, properly carried out and main
tanned, will add its initial cost to the
value of the land and pay a dividend
on the original investment.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
DIAGRAM OF A LINE OF LEVELS.

poles, four or FIVE feet long by an
inch or two thick. These they lay
crosswise, filling all crevices with mud
1.-The beaver digs up mud with his
fore feet, then holds 1t close to his
breast with his fore legs, swims to
where he has started his dam, and
having deposited 1t in its proper place
beats the mud down with his paws
not with his tail as has been believed
st. Nicholas.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Out Of the Mouths Of Babes.

John Edward and his mother had
been invited out to dinner. The hos
tess was fortunate In having a great
many things that little folk like
chicken, pie and SO on. The meal
was progressing merrily. Conversation
had Jagged for a mir1te. and John
Edward expressed his satisfaction
thus: swell, mother. we're fortunate
In one thing. All the folks we know
are good cooks"
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
A Proud Moment.

"How was the musicale at Mrs.
Gadder's house"
"a great success from Mrs. Cad
der's point Of view."
"Yes?"
Everyone who attended professed
to be amazed at the sums paid the
artists who took part"
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
In RECEPTIVE Mood.

"Our graduating class comprises IS
young ladies'"
How many Of them have planned
careers?"
"None that know of. Most of them
are Whiting for some movie company
to snap them up."-Pittsburgh Dis
patch.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Too Severe.

Doctor-Your husband. needs some
good exercise 70 restore him.
Mrs. X-Like playing golf?
Doctor-More vio'ent than that.
Mrs. NJ have it! I'll send him
down to make few purchases at the
bargain counter during the rush hours.
Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-01-26
Easy Marks.

This world would be a pleasanter
place II there were not so many fools
In r."
"Yes: but II would be more difficult
tO neke q living"