davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily morning oasis., 1917-12-17
TheChristmasBird

ID OASTED swan was the Christmas
IN piece de resistance in Chaucer's
day, but this dish gave place to
the peacock, and the peacock in it's
turn was conquered by the turkey,
when Capt. John Smith, fresh from
his Virginian wars, came home to tell
the amazed English folk of the bird
that he saw parading the new world
forests, Exactly like a proud Turk
showing off before his harem."
When the peacock was In its glory
at Christmastide It's plumage was gen.
orally restored to the roasted bird and
its beak gilded. Sometimes the whole
bird was covered with gold leaf and a
strip of cotton, saturated with spirit,
set alight in it's beak-a relic possibly,
with the English snapdragon and
blazing pudding, Of the fire worship Of
pagan days. A lady of noble birth and
great beauty was always chosen to
bear the bird into the banqueting hall.
In the days of tournaments it was
over the peacock that the knights, with
uplifted swords, swore their oaths of
chivalry and valor. The last record of
such fare seems to have been not upon
a Christmas, but at the banquet given
by the duke of Granada to the duke
of Clarence, afterward William " of
England.
1t must be admitted that golden pea
cocks and boars' heads have most al
Turing sounds to one with jaded ap-
petite, and the England of old, with
its roistering carol singers. seems a
most attractive land to have lived In.
But the Englishman of today is more
than well content to have his carols
sung by little cockney lad, to laugh
at the pantomimes in his magnificent
ly comfortable theaters and to feast at
home on turkey, mince pie and the
blazing pudding.
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Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
GET LEATHER FROM SHARKS
Series Of Tests by Government Shows
That Product Is Durable and
Satisfactory.

New London, Gonna contract for
1000 shark hooks, 800 to be completed
In ten days and 700 in twenty days af-
ter the first consignment, has been
awarded by the government to J. w.
Fordham, a blacksmith, Of this vi
cinty.
There are to be three varieties Of
hook, eleven, ten and nine inches in
length. A chain and swivel are to be
attached to each hook.
1t is reported from a Washington
correspondent that the government is
about to prospect in a new leather
field, that Of shark skins. In a@se-
ries of tests a durable and satisfac-
tory leather has been evolved from
the skins Of these fish. 1t is believed
there is no reason why an industry
may not be profitably started.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
SEASON TO REJOICE
Reasons for Thanksgiving
Are So Many as To
Forbid Gloom,
TIME world may well seem never
to have been so troubled, never
n have had CO naIeh ~ reoref

TIME world may well seem never
to have been so troubled, never
to have had so much to regret.
The Great War has bred cynic-
ism and despair. But Nature is moi
a pessimist. A years SUM-, a years
rains, a years labor, have not been
without their fruits. In farm and fac
tory, in public endeavor and In pri.
waite struggle toward the light, the
twilight of the year shows results that
forbid the gloomy and inspire courage
and good cheer. The instinct of
thanksgiving belongs to courage.
Gratefulness Is the handmaiden of
grit. Natures whisper of weII-being
rises to a splendid volume of whole
hearted song. Whatever may happen
In Americas own life, or In Americas
relations with the rest of the world,
the reasons for Thanksgiving shine
with an u~nquenchabIe light. No dis
aster threatened or possible can obIit-
crate the great fact Of piled riches In
natural and human resources. The
fixing OF Thanksgiving as a festival
at the close of the harvest era Is,
after all, but al adaptation of SYM
boIs. The symbol is worth having,
since 1t always visuaIlzes the eternal
charity Of Nature herself, and since 1t
is an ever present reminder of the
finest resources in human ideals, hui
mar aspiration, human will to win.
1t Is from the gathered harvests,. the
assembled fruits of labor, the estab-
lIshed signs of productive power in
every activity Of men and women that
thanksgiving gets its meaning.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
CLOSE TO HEARTS
OF ALL AMERICANS
Particular Reason Why Thanks
giving Day Should Be Gen.
orally Celebrated Here.

0NE of the oldest and best beloved
holidays in the whole year
m to US this week-oldest in
our history because the Puritan
fathers celebrated 1t when they did
not celebrate Christmas, best beloved
because 1t is a holiday all u own,
~typically American through and
through. Nations all over the world
celebrate Christmas, New Years and
Easter. Even u independence day
has its echo in the French July Ia, but
Thanksgiving day is the entire proper
ty of the American people, and per-
haps this adds the extra luster which
makes 1t q day apart in the heart of
every citizen.
Its origin was In the farms, where
the harvest season was closed with a
for the crops just harvested. In real
ity 1t is a national harvest festival, but
its meaning has come to cover more
than just the harvest season alone.
Now this holiday is accorded us for
the rendition of thanks for the bless
ings of the entire year.
We find that during the Revolution
the observance of this day for giving
thanks had become SO general that
congress recommended each year a
Thanksgiving day. This was an an
nual occurrence until the end of the
war, when a day was set aside in
1884, for rendering thanks for the re-
turn of peace. Again in 1889 Wash
ington appointed a day Of thanksgiving
for the adoption of the Constitution.
1t was in this year also that the Epis-
copal church formally recognized the
right of the civil government to rec
ommend such a feast day.
Sympathy is the only charitable gift
nf some ~DpOD1a.-
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
Universal Thanksgiving.

Some call November the dreary
month of the year, the black sheep of
the II; and yet 1t is the month Of
thankfulness, the completion of the
fruitage of the year. In the woods
the squirrels are industriously at work
among their last ~gleanings before cold
weather sets in, their happy "chee-
cheeree" Joining with the calls of the
blue jays and crows and smaller birds
In the universal paean of thanksgiy-
ing. In the underbrush and in the
meadows the mice, too, sre harvest
ing, with their hearts full Of gladness.
Bees are buzzing over goldenrod and
wild asters and other late flowers; the
quail that have escaped the hunter
are. like Ruth, gathering the last
grains In the farmers fields while the
farmer himself and his boys are load
ing the golden pumpkins into the big
farm wagons to carry away for winter
storage for use by both the family and
the cattle.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
SIMPLE RECORD OF
FIRST THANKSGIVING
When the Devout Pilgrims
Showed Their Gratitude for
Their Blessings.

0UR harvest being gotten In,
~ our governor IWilliam Brad
fordJ sent four men on foul
ing, SO that we might after a
more special hi rejoice together
after we had gathered the fruit of our
labors. They four in one day killed as
much foule as, with a little help beside,
served the company almost q weeke.
AT which time, amongst other recrea-
ton, we exercised our arms, many of
the Indians coming amongst us, and
among the rest their greatest king,
Massasoit, with some ninety men,
whom for three days we entertained
and Toasted, and they went out and
killed fine deer, which they brought
to the plantation and bestowed on our
governor and upon the captain miles
Standish1 and others"
Such is the historic record of the
first Thanksgiving in Plymouth colony
POI years ago. Less than a year before
the Mayflower, bearing its little band
of 102 Pilgrims, anchored off the rock
bound New England coast. Alone in
the boundless wilderness of the New
World the heroic Puritans struggled
through the relentless winter, battling
with snow and wind, savage foes, hum
ger, Sickness, and death itself. In
three months their number was almost
one-half of the entire company. But
with the spring time life looked more
kindly upon the exiles; summer smiled
on their corn fields, and autumn
brought abundant harvest. A few little
dwellings had been built, and prepa.
rations had been made for others, maxi
ing a tiny oasis of homes on the desert
of the New World. Then it was that
Governor Bradford issued his first
proclamation, and the Pilgrims and
their Indian guests partook Of that
first and now historic American feast.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
Being Thankful.

Thanksgiving Is not a day, 1t is a
habit. We cannot be thankful on
Thanksgiving day unless we have been
learning how every day In the year.
Here are some simple rules: Walk
on the sunny side of the street; live
as much as possible In the best room
In the house; think about your friends,
not your enemies; talk about your
good luck, not your bad. These are
some of the ways of acquiring the
spirit of cheerfulness which Is the
only soil in which the flower Thanks
giving will grow.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16

In. He says this is tn first time that
he's ever had clothes an money
enough at tn same time t. git back.
Halle Mopps, who's been gone
about ten years, Is home from Coshoc-
ton, Ohio. He says he's lied so long
about tn size o. his fathers farm
here that he hardly recognized 1t when
he got back.
Grayson Mapes wuz about tn first
Teller that showed up fer Thanks
givin'. His folks have been dead fer
thirty years an he never knowed it.
Bout tn last thing anybuddy ever
heerd o. him wuz in 1876, when he
sent his mother a Centennial edition
o. tn Philadelphy Ledger. He come
but nobody knowed him.
Joe Apple Is back in town shakin'
hands. too-His whiskers have been
driven back an his step haint quite
as springy as 1t wuz before he traded
his hardware store fer some rice land
in Arkansas. He's jist a plain shov-
eler now somewhere's in Michigan.
He a y that while tn work is a little
harder than bein' in business, Their
haint no books t keep an ther haint
nothin' invested an you kin lay off
when 1t rains.
Laurel Spray, who sold his farm
here two years ago an invested in a
a straw hat. He says he's been so
busy gittin' home that tn weather
never occurred t him. He may stay
here an go back in tn band If he kin
trade his mimi stock fer a clarinet.
But ups an downs er no ups an
downs, a Teller is still purity rich that's
got a good mother an father t. go
back to. Their haint M mashed p'ta-
toes an roast turkey an minced pie
anywhere else on earth that kin touch
your mothers. Her coffee Is gener-
ally purity bad, but we won't say any,
thing about that. / don't care how
any teller is gittin' along, whether
he's single or tied down, he feels a
whole lot better If he knows he's got
an ole home t. go back to. o. course
your father haint as gushy as mother
but ever If you did leave tn farm
Jest at a time when he needed you tn
most, he's proud O. YOU. Jest as long
as you don't ask father fer any money.
either directly er thro' mother, he's
proud o. you.
But mother is tn one. She believes
everything you tell her. She knows
you have t hurry away an that where
you've been workin' has had t close
down till you git back. You're her
boy an things can't git along without
you.
copyright, Adams Newspaper Service.)
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
IN COUNTRY TOWN
Reasons Why Thanksgiv-
ing Is Always Inter-
esting There.

"HANKSGIvIN' day in a country
town is allus interestin' on ac-
count > tn folks that come back
homes. Some o. us kin git by tn
Fourth o. July or fair week or ever
Christmas an New Years, but some
how TIERS somethin' bout Thanks
givin' day that kind o. makes us want
t. be back home. Then, too, n nice
long dull Thanksgivin' afternoon in a
B fiat town is enough t. make us all
satisfied t stay away fer another
whole year.
Our town looks real cosmopolitan
like t'day, as Tell Binkley would say.
On ever corner you kin see little
ciumps o. fellers that haint met in
years holdin' reunions an talkin'
shout ole times. Some o. 'em look
like they had lots t. be thankful fer
an some o. 'em look like tn place
they come from ought t. be thankful,
while still others look like our town
ought t. be thankful that Thanks
givin' only comes one a year.
Sam Bud, who traded his farm here
fer a F1oridy orange grove some years
ago came in from tn north this morn-
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
NICK CARTER is IN ECLIPSE
Boy Readers Want AIrmen or Subma-
rIne Captains for Heroes Instead
Of Old Thrlllers.

Denver, Colo.-A canvas Of book
stalls In Denver-the very center Of
romantic wild and wooly"-shows
that the kaiser has put the western
brand of romance out of business. AS
one dealer explained 1t with the war
sentiment sweeping the land, young
America has tired Of Deadwood Dick,
Old Broad Brim, King Brady and Nick
Carter, and demands a hero patterned
after the dashing aviation captain or
the submarine commander"
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
Gains 200 Pounds az Soldier.

Syracuse. N. Y.-There is nothing
the matter with United States army
"chuck."
Sergeant Imhoff, quartermaster's
corps, stationed at the Syracuse expan-
sion camp, retired-after living on
Uncle Sans "chuck" for twenty-seven
years.
Imhoff weighed 125 when he enlisted
and S25 when he retired, and, as he is
said to be the largest soldier In the
world, credit cannot be withheld.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
A Prayer of
Thanksgiving
~ WIS N

THAT we can 9 round about
IL us the faces of friends: the de.
serving, that we may help them; the
needy, that we may render aid; and
little children, that we may rejoice;
THAT we can hear the kind
u words Of loving friends, the
sweet songs in church and home, the
prayers of devout people, and the
grooming of a Mothers lullaby:
THAT we can feel loving hands
u in ours, trusting hands of little
children, comforting hands upon our
throbbing brow; that we can feel the
warm embrace of the old folks who
receive us at the homestead, or of
our own who, dwelling apart from
US, have come back this day;
THAT we can taste the savory
u food things, which, by Gods
bounty, are this day set before US
through the miracle Of Nature,
which 10 God:
we a speak to give sin'
IL zero thanks to him who, in his
Great goodness, has permitted US to
meet once more on this day OF
Thanksgiving; that we a speak
hope and encouragement to our
loved ones; words Of comfort TO the
suffering and the discouraged and
the lowly, words of hope and cheer
and promise TO those who have
fallen by the way:
THAT we can pray with a knowl.
u edge that the prayers of the sim
cere are answered, that he to whom
we offer our prayers is full of loving
kindness and pity and forgiveness,
and that his help is assured:
TRULY, all these things are
Il Gods gifts, and without them
there could be no Thanksgiving.
Teach US to appreciate them for
thine own Glory. AMRNi
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
Draft Leaves only Aliens.

Weirtown, w. va.-The selective
draft will leave only foreigners In this
steel mill town. OF the $50 registrants
here it has been found that TOO are
aliens who are exempt from military
service. Practically every physically
fit American will be taken In the first
National army.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-16
SENATOR BAEKHEAD
CARRIES big STICK"

Washington. - Senator Bank
head of Alabama startled his
colleagues by stalking into the
chamber just before the recent
adjournment with the aid of a
hickory stick six feet long. The
senator Is no lightweight and he
towers over the average man,
but a prop so entirely out of all
accepted proportions caused
comment.
Senator Knox's curiosity was
such that he demanded an ey-
PLANTATION.
ITS the stoutest bit of wood
ever cut In Virginia." said the
owner.
quite a good deal of it," OBJ
served the Pennsylvania senator.
do you know that If that stick
were cut in two, and one of the
parts had q nice silver head on
it, 1t would make a most appro-
pirate gift for a friend?"
mot on your life," responded
the gentleman from Alabama,
quick to reject the hint. "This
was sent to me by a friend. I I'M
going to take 1t down home If
you fellows ever get through
wind-jamming here and adjourn.
1t will be just the thing for me
to use when I go prowling
around my farm"
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-27
EMMY DESTINN PRISONER
IN HOME IN BOHEMIA
Prima Donnas Indecision Results in
Revocation of Permit to Leave
Country

ATLANTIC CITY, Dec. 91..--Eumy
Destiun, grand opera prirna donna. u
favorito with thousands of music lovers
In Philadelphia. Is n prisoner Of the
Austrian Government. interned in Bo-
hemia. when but for "woman's inde-
cision' she might be singing in America
Frederic Courtland lenteld, lately
ambassador 10 Vienna. cleared up the
mystery surrounding the whereabouts Of
the grand opera star IN Il statement
here He said:
she is in bohemia. where she owns
q rural castle in n village. When with
in two or three months Of the time
she would receive her final papers
she went there. By treaty agreement
between Austria Hungary and the United
States 4 subject of the monarchy re-
III lins full subject until the last Amer
lean papers are issued. After much
negotiation ] obtained for her n permit
allowing Madam Destinn and her wom-
an secretary to quit the country on
condition that she leave within forty
eight hours. Her plight is a pathetic
story Of feminine indecision. Instead
of leaving az once Madam Destinn
permitted the tlnc To elapsc. She
wasted the time allotted In foolish
preparation and when It had expired
the local authority forbade her to take
tho train. That is why Philadelphia
this winter has no Girl OF the Golden
West She doubtless will be detained
in Austria-Hungary until the cnd Of the
war"
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-27

The chauffeur ceased struggling and
set the hand brake. His head was still
covered. But having done that. he COM
inenced a struggle moro furious than
forceful, for both Of them were handi-
capped. But Milky had steeel-lilSe young
arms from which escape was impossible.
The chauffeur wakened. ten minutes
later. 10 find HIMSELF securely tied with
his own towing rope and lying eN-
tremely close to the edge OF death. Re
Side him on the ground sat steady
eyed young man with "a cut Lip. The
young man had lighted a cigarette and
was placing it carefully iu the uniu-
iurcd side Of his mouth.
Just as soon as you arc up to It,
said Milky. I'VE shall have little
tali;"
The chauffeur muttercd something in
the peasant patois OF Karnia.
Come, GOMEZ" Milky observed
speak up. No hiding behind strange
tongues. But first. l have the letter
That saves your worrying about it.
, You can clear your mind for action.
IL have a fancy, my friend" he said
ITO take that letter of yours on 10 its
destination. But what that destina.
ton IS you are to tell me-"
The man ON the ground grinned sar.
donically. You know better than &c
ask that" he said II will never tcl
you"
Milky had thought things out fairlS
well. for him, in that ten minutes. Ir
a busincss-like fashion he turned ths
PROSTATE prisoner on his side, SO that
he faced toward the Chasm. \ late
moon showed its depth and the valley ir
which the Ar flowed swiftly And hay.
ing thus faced him toward the next
world, Milky. throwing away his ciga
rette because it hurt his lip, put stone
or two from the roadway behind hi.
/ prisoner and anchored MIN there Ther
, hc sat down and waited. Excent tha
his ears were burning, he was yer!
, calm
Any ncws?' he asked. at the end o
ten minutes unbrolien silence.
His prisoner said nothing. lie wa.
| thinking. doubtless Weighing things
| too, perhaps life against betrayal. a fam.
lily against separation.
Milky examined the letter again. 1
was addressed to a border town in Jiv.
onia, But the town lay far behiut
them. The address. then, was n falls,
ono. lie whistlcd softly. lie was mo-,
as a fact, as calm as ho looked. II,
had never thrown a man over "A nreci
pee before. and hc dsliked tho idea
fortunately, his prisoner did not know
ms Resides. suppose he did pusl
/ nun over! Dead men are eStrein.l,
/ useless about telling things. II woula
/ as a iact, leave matters no better thar
+ before. Rather worse.
Half an hour.
Tome, come" said Milky nercclv
/ We are losing time" lie looked fierce
/ 100 Ills swollen lip did that And h,
was nervous, 1t occurred 10 him tina
ms prisoner, in desperation, might rol
over the edge himself, which would b,
most uncomfortable.
II VIII tell you" lie said. And 80,
VIII irco inc. And after that"
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-27
HANCOCK MEN QUIT
PLAY FOR REAL WORK
Specialized Drills Begin, By
Platoons, in Various
War Tricks
CAMP HANCOCK. Augusta, Ga, De,

CAMP HANCOCK, Augusta. Ga, Dec.
81.
Drill began this morning, tho Christ
mas holidays having ended. and to mar
tial music, played by the regimcntal
bands, the men went to work shortly
after dawn.
The training this week is more Of a
specialized order. The new work given
the platoons in each company. which
causes the men to be divided up accord
ing to their skill along specified lines,
makes the work more interesting for
them. The spirit of individual rivalry
can be brought into play in order to
mako for greater effort.
In the grenade and bomb throwing,
the accuracy required in this branch is
40 exacting that tho soldiers are divided
mp into teams, ono lining up on one side
of q given space and another group on
the other. Then each side IN turn
throws to the other side. with the intent
Of reaching q designated mark.
A spirit of sportsmanship pervades
tAese athletic, agencies training. There
is nevertheless the seriousness of the sit
uation in these mems minds. What Is
true of the grenade and mountaineering
where the skill acquired in baseball is
brought into play. is true also In bayone,
practice, where agility comes into play.
An official check OF the Twenty-eighth
Division OF tho United States Army, en-.
camped at Camp Hancock yesterday
showed that only fifty men were absen,
without leave. With 10000 soldiers en-
camped here. officers are highly graft.
fed over the showing. It Is a splendid
record, especially as reports from other
Southern camps indicate scores Of sol.
diers absent without leave, one ranging
az high as 400.