davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Tomahawk., 1917-09-20
HAPPIER Xxx
The Victors.

The VIctorS.
Meade knew that they were fighting
losing battle. Every one Of the
higher grade men knew it also. The
spillway was entirely inadequate, but
it suddenly flashed into his mind, with
that consciousness of the hopelessness
of the struggle, that perhaps there was
another way to discharge the flood.
The same idea might have come to
any other of the more intelligent Of the
men from Vandeventer down if they
had taken q moment for reflection. If
they had not been so frantica1ly, so
frightfully engrossed in their present
puny but gallant efforts to save the
dam, they certainly would have remem-
bered. That the possibility came to
Meade rather than to any Of the others
was perhaps due to the fact that he
had noted the situation later and had
studied the conditions more recently.
Those solitary rambles Of his, those
careful inspections Of the terrain of
the valley, had been made long after
the original surveys and the results of
his observations were still fresh in his
mind.
The water was rising so rapidly
since the cloudburst and he saw the
inevitableness Of the failure so clearly
that he did not dare to waste time to
look up vandeventer, tell him his plan,
and get his permission. Every second
was of the utmost value. When the
thought came, he acted instantly. He
was in the position Of the commander
of a small force to whom is suddenly
presented the bare possibility Of wrest-
ing victory from defeat by some splen-
didly daring and unforeseen undertake
ing. And he was the man to seize such
a possibility and make the most of it.
He had endeared himself to some of
the men and the respect in which he
was held by Vandevcnter was shared
by the others. When he called two
of the most capable Of the workmen,
Il big, burly Irishman and stout little
Italian. to follow him. they lid it
without a moments hesitation.
'"The rest Of you keep on mere" he
shouted as he left the gang. Murphy
and F'unaro, como with me. Keep it
I'D; think know Il way to help" he
yelled back through the rain as he
scrambled off the~dam up the rocks to
the spillway. 1t was not his fault that
they could not hear and could not IN
derstand.
The water was rushing through the
spillway about knee deep, and the
three men Ilunging forward through
The Tomahawk., 1917-09-20

they saw him it was impossible to rec
ognize him., nor was he in his frantic
progress assuming the usual attitude
and bearing of a man under ordinary
conditions which sometimes betray
him to those who know him we'll. Nor
could Helen Illingworth with her
trembling hands focus the glass, which
she took from Rodney before the strug-
Cling Adventures had passed; and yet
there was something in the figure be-
low that made her heart beat faster.
She pressed her hand to the wet gar
ments over her heart and stared. Sud-
denly Rodney raised his voice and
shouted at the very top Of it. Winters
joined in, and even Helen 1llingworth
found herself screaming. The three
men below were not more than five or
six hundred feet away, but evidently
they could not possibly hear in that
tumult Of nature. No voices would
carry through any such rain and wind.
They were too intent on their paths
and on what they had to do to look
upward. They rounded the shoulder
of the mesa and disappeared in the
pines at it's feet.
The three on the top looked at each
other.
'The dam still holds" said Rodney,
quite unsuspecting what was in the
woman's heart.
Even as he spoke, Helen nlingworth
turned away Shefran heavily in her
sodden garments along the broken
mesa top past the house to the upper
edge. There below her were the three
men just emerging from the fringe of
trees. Rounding the end Of the mesa,
they had at last struck frmer ground.
Helen nlingworth could see them
through the pines on the old trail. The
gving was bad enough, but it was moth
ing compared to what they had passed
over and presently they burst out of
the woods and ran along the greasy,
well-rounded hogback that divided the
valley from the ravine.
The woman had no idea what was
toward, what was their purpose. She
could only stare and stare at the rap
idly moving far-off figure indomitably
in the lead, and the others following
after. There Winters joined her.
Rodney sent me to look after you {;
he feels that he must stay back and
watch the dam for his paper"
Look" said Helen, pointing far
down. The men halted at the very
narrowest part of the hogback. They
were clustered together. The bag lay
on the ground behind them. One man
bent over it, evidently opening it.
Another man swung the shovel vicious
ly, the third grabbed the pick. Win
ters had been too far removed from en-
cheering even yet to figure out what
was toward. They could only watch
and wonder.
The Tomahawk., 1917-09-20

minutes; as it was, they made it in
thirty. The extreme possibility OF the
life of the dam seemed to Meade not
much greater. He went in the lead,
and by his direction the Others kept
some distance behind him.
eff fall and explode this dynamite,
there's no need of all three Of US be-
ing blown up" he had said, and it was
no reflection on their courage that they
complied with his direction.
Indeed stern command was neces-
ssry to keep the two men back. They
had caugh; something of the gallant
spirit Of the engineer, and the big
Irisl1man and the little Italian were as
eager a he. Helped By q few hasty
The Tomahawk., 1917-09-20

carefully covered with the raincoat, he
held it while the others filled In the
holes and the excavations and care
fully tamped down the earth. All that
remained was the lighting Of the fuse.
And then? Would the dynamite go
off? With fuses it was uncertain In It's
action at best, and although these
fuses were supposed to be so prepared
as to be independent Of weather con-
ditions, more often than not rain
spoiled a blast. If this blast failed it
was good-by dam-good-by everything.
Meade drew out from the pocket Of
his flannel shirt box of Matches He
had to light the farther cartridge fuse,
then run fifteen feet and light the
nearer one, and then make his escape.
He had made the nearer fuse a little
shorter so as to secure q simultaneous
explosion If possible.
Tony Funaro now interposed gal
lantly.
"Giva me da light" he demanded, ex-
tending his hand.
"G'wan wild ye," shouted the big
Irishman eagerly; femme do it, sor."
"Stand back, both Of you," cried
Meade, succeeding after some trouble
in striking q match.
He had cut off a shorter length Of
fuse for torch, the better to carry the
fire from one blast to another. AS it
sputtered into flame, he touched the
first fuse, then the second, and turned
and ran for his life after Murphy and
Funaro. They had just got safe dis
lance away when with muffled roar
the two blasts went Off nearly together.
When they ran back they saw that
two-thirds Of the hillock on that side
of the ravine had gone. A wall Of
earth through which water was already
trickling rose between the great gap
they had blown out and the lake, the
upper level Of which was much higher
than the bottom Of the great crater
they had opened.
"Hurrah," yelled Meade, the others
joining in his triumphant shout. "Now,
another hole right there" he pointed to
the foot of the bank. "Drive it in
slanting and it will do the job
evil the dam be after holdin' yit,
SORT" asked Mike Murphy, selling his
pick.
II hope so, but, for Gods sake,
hurry"
With two men working, the last hole
was completed before Meade was
ready. Funaro, indeed, came to his
,u,;,toroo IN mann riDp thu 10 ~ ri f10o
Presently all was completed. Reject
ing the pleas Of both men, Meade
struck the match, and this time, since
there was but one blast to be fired, he
touched it directly to the fuse and
waited q second to see that it had
caught and ran as before.
At safe distance they drew back
and waited. Nothing happened. A few
seconds dragged on. They saw no sign
Of life in the fuse, no light. In spite
Of the care they had taken, It had got
wet. It would not work. The precious
moments were flying. They stared
agonizingly at the fuse through the
rain.
''Tll have to take look at it." said
Meade desperately.
Funaro and Murphy caught him by
the arms. They all knew the tremen-
dous risk in a nearer approach. The
fuse might be alight still. At any Sec
ond the fame might flash to the deto-
nato, and then Yet Meade had to
60. That charge had to be exploded if
he detonated it by hand, he thought
desperately, and he had not come 50
fsr and worked SO hard to fail now.
The Tomahawk., 1917-09-20

NA~A~S~NSJ 80
ing on the broken, rocky bottom.
When they reached the other side,
Meade shouted above the storm:
murphy, bring your pick and shov-
ell; take that iron range-pole, too.
Here, Funaro, you take your shovel
and these"
AS he spoke he ran into the office
shack and wrecked a transit tripod,
ruthlessly separating the legs from one
another by main force and pitching
two of them into the little Italians
outstretched arms.
Without a question, both men COM
piled with his directions. In huge
crevice, almost a small cave, in the
spur of the mesa which overhung the
east end of the dam the explosives
were stored. The dynamite was kept
in oilskin bags, the decorating caps In
waterproof boxes. There were six
teen sticks or cartridges in each bag.
Each stick was an inch and half in
diameter and eight inches long. One
bagful should be ample. Indeed, II
that did not do the work, the attempt
would fail.
The men waited while Meade select
ed bag of dynamite, box Of detona-
tors, and a. package Of fuses. 1t was
cardinal rule that dynamite cartridges
and decorating caps should never be
carried by the same person, because
the combination so greatly Increased
the risk of premature explosion.
The illuminate Of mercury in the
decorators was very volatile, highly ex-
plOsive and immensely destructive, con-
sidering it's size. One such cap could
blow off a mans hand, or even his
head, and In it's explosion might deto-
nate the dynamite. Hence the sepa-
ration when being carried.
Meade decided to take that risk. He
knew how perilous was the undertake
ing, how liable he was in his hurry to
fall against the rocks, slippery and
half submerged in that pouring rain.
He knew what the consequences OF
such a fall would be. He would center
all risks in himself. He thrust the box
of decorators in his pocket, the pack
age Of fuses inside his flannel shirt,
and carried the dynamite bag in his
hand. He would need his free hand to
protect himself, so all the tools were
carried by the other men.
The little Italian shook his head as
he noted these preparations. he hap
pened to be one of the explosive force,
those whose duty it was to do the
blasting. In his practical way he knew
a. great deal about the properties and
possibilities of usefulness Of the dyna-
mite. Meade's purpose was obvious,
even to Murphy, who was only a Ia
borer, though where he proposed to
work neither man had any idea at all.
"Dynamita no work in Zis weather, "
said Funaro impressively.
"Probably not" answered Meade,
hurrying his preparations, "but it's our
only chance"
"Give me re caps," urged the 1tal-
ian CALAMITY.
mo, I'll take BOTH"
ut ees danger"
eyes, but come on"
Meade, wasting no more words,
sprang at what was left Of the trail,
and the two men CALAMITY followed
him. The hogback at which he was
aiming was perhaps little more than
two miles from the dam. On the ordi-
nary trail and prepared for the run,
he could have managed it in fifteen
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

built OF logs carefully trirhnied and
fitted together and every chink caulkt
ed alright with moss and plaster, SO
that not q breath ofscold air can PEN
citrate. The windows are double and
caulked. like the tinnbers. The house
Is small and the room In it, scanty.
The great brick oven easily, keeps the
may say that 10 national yearning for
fresh air In winter cornplicates the
heating problem in any way.
It is these long nights OF idieness
that Russia owes two developments
that have been invaluableS to- her
the spread of information among the
peasants and the perfectinE Of what
are called the peasants industries.
There is nothing to do but to talk,
carve things, Ito, weave n to knit.
So the peasants do all these at, the
same time.
They sit in a row., talking and work
ing. Every scrap Of knowledge pos
sessed by one becomes the common
property.
In the old days Of the poisonous
the people from knowing anything
that might stir them to revolt, For a
long time the policy was absolute ig-
norance OF everything except how to
plant, reap and serve the czar After
the revolution, of 1905 and the institu-
ton of theSDuma a change was forced
and schools became common. The
great object of the government then
was 20 supervise and control this ed
ucation and to hat end no books,
magazines or newspapers were al
lowed In the country except such as
the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ft
But see how far autocracy is out Of
place in this world OF today. In spite
eminent and the most Wonderful sys-
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
England And The u. S. A.
Americans Should Be Profoundly
Thankful That England Is Help
Z ing Them In Their War Against
Prussian Militarism. {.
(By Edwin Collins Frost Of The
= Vigilantes.)

II am sorry we had to get into this
war" I overheard a ma say. 81
fought in the Civil war, and then
England was against us. Now she
wants us to help her out"
I do not know who he was. I could
not even see him. But it Is fairly
evident to me that neither his head
nor his heart is performing Its func-
lions as well in 1917 as in 1851. Yet
I fear there are not a few Americans
who fail to realize the various fall
~lacies contained in his remarks.
When he used the word "wes.. in his
first sentence, he meant the United
States-not a mere group of northern
states. That is what the word "we'
should mean and now does mean.
This very man helped make it mean
that. Hence England at the time. re-
ferred to could not have been against
all of us. If she was against some Of
US, she must have been for the. rest
or US. Moreover. 1t is not true that
the English people were a unit In
.espousing the cause Of either side. II
may be that the British government
favored n side more than the other.
But, II our president Of today can saw
n a we are making war not upon the
German people, but upon thierl gov
eminent, a not we be as generous
toward our allies as we are toward our
enemies?
Furthermore, is the British govern
ment, are :thekBritish people the SAME
today asafn that bygone time? Almost
two generations have passed. The
British sovereign has changed twice,
The government has changed innum-
cradle times. Must we visit upon the
present generation the sins Of their
fathers? Does that Civil war veteran
honestly believe that he could And IN
E~nglishrnan today who thinks thaf
slavery ought not to have been abol.
ished?
Then let is admit that the civil war
a become a dead issue--as dead 81
the Revolution. e
Now England wants us to help he,
out" says our friend. Perhaps She
does. But 3thatafact has sabsolutely
nothing to do with the case. 1T is az
argun1ent made in Germany. We
did not enter the war because ENGLAND
Or France or ANYBODY else wantee
us to.
we might have entsrAd II :for som.
such reason. we might have entered Il
because OF the violation OF Belgium;
rss5hzEts3ff
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

(This is another Of the series OF ar
ticles by Charles Edward Russell,
staff writer OF The. Herald, who has
just returned from Russia, where he
spent three months as a member of
the official United States commission
to the new Russian government.)
(By Charles Edward Russell.)
Copyright, 1917. by the Newspaper
Enterprise Association.)
The peasant Is the backbone Of
Russia-also the arms, hands, heart
and a lot of the brain.
We think Of him as a queer crea-
tire with tousled hair growing low
over his eyes, a thick tangled jungle
of beard, a blouse with a belt around
it, high boots and an air Of foolish,
doddering good nature. We think OF
him this way, il at all, because this is
the way he always has been pictured
for3us and we stick to tradition, every
tirpe.
Also, we think he is very ignorant.
Why not? There are no schools in
Russia, you know, and the whole pop
ulation is illiterate. It is a very bar
barous country. A few persons OF the
better order are nice. but the mou-
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

az. -
y In .sahs ~ ~ ~ ILL.,
p Be useo 70 % ermnh az = she,,s si
~. saId ~ NJ ahosi.had he pas h's
sober intervals. hut ali the travelers
and all the writer's agree that the
moujik is the human limit and what
is the use OF hayin1 literature if ii
gives us always the o steer?
If this notion about the neasant
ought to know betterJ we're correct,
you could saw good night to Russia,
It would be all Off there and the cor
respondents that belong tosthe Anal
gamated Sons Of Gloom would have
good reason for their low pressure
stun. Eighty per cent OF the people
OF Russia are peasants and IL these
are besotted and ignorant we might
as we'll give up hoping for her and
think about something else.
But it isn't true;s It. isn't anything
near the truth. The typical Russian
peasant Ism q Harvard graduate, II
snat iact gives you grief, n ne
doesnt know anything about diheren-
carried q cane wlthsa big bu!gtng end
ana..Was undef n nlightening
influences OF n Eata Piece OF Pie
tra1ernlty. But as generaltrule now
ne q read or e someone in his
AMY 1nat can. andshe always has a
sooG nind n very often an amazing
STOCK OF good common -
There are other ways. efs training
the mind besides learning {and speed
lily forgetting) how to read the Ana
basisy, or wearing on your coat lapel
the pin Of a Creek letter society.
The Russian long w;nterss and the
neAsan,s nooda - lee ha,,a arah;saS
to educate him without many books
or learned professors.
q. ,,,,., -,I,. z. No..
- ~ vtase, a."qys. lIieIe
- ~ rn su1n +Sa ihs, ; SO iar as ! know' as
Ssrrn Wii,.aa i,fa go tstin so;e On MS
hn,,s. I,sa 81 - hi peats a isoa.eu iat I'm
nItas the a ~ ~ us S, notei,a.ess atro-
son,at,hn WITH yoyr feiina,s Eanns - as -
nootaon : hSy;uuan i re- heeps !. IN
1s norsan ,u a. e ungr ~ lii, sm sa are onis
t ~ sottsr ~ youf Xa,iase .iaa rs 10
WITH vn',rsa,, a. huiHh ai"aSs
wiz Soufse
Russia is a very northerly country.
A lot Of it lies close to the Arctic cir
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
COAL RULINGS
ARE ANNOUNCED
Fuel Administration Makes
Rules Governing Mining
and Distribution,

A.EsH NHE+. so T1Ntttlrar4rE rhAH -
washington, Sept. 34.-New rulings
governing the mining and distribution
of coal were announced Saturday. by
the fuel administration. In substance
they are:
Operators who maintain their. own
sales departments are not to be re-
garded as jobbers and may not charge
jobbers' commissions.
Free coal shipped from mines sub.
seduent to the fixing of prices must
reach the dealer at the prices fixed,
plus transportation charges and job
bers' commission, If handled by a job
Der.
Coal from wagon mines direct to
he consumer may be sold at h prices
fixed plus cost of handling.
The burden Of proof that contracts
are bona fide will rest upon the deal
er and other parties to the contracts.
Any mine or dealer may sell coal at
less than the prices fixed If he wishes
toSdo so.
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

State Council Of Defense will hold a
conference tomorrow with the miners
and operators Of the Ignite mines
of this district who have lately been
on a strike.
Some Of the miners have returned
TO work on an agreement with the
Dean Babcock's ruling. Othef mines
are still idle, but operators hope that
operations will be resumed in full
by Monday.
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
TOCONFER
WITH STRIKERS AS
MINOT MINES TODAY

Minot, Sept. 22.--Dean Babcock, re-
Gently elected acting president Of the
North Dakota university, fs expected
to arrive in Minot tonight and with
Dorr II. Carroll, chairman Of the
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

we might have entered 1t because Of
ali. sorts Of abhorrentsacts on the part
Of Germany. But we did not. We
chose to remain aleof until Germany;s
Grimes against u own people had,
become SO many and SO tntolerablet
that we could not stay out Of It any
longer
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
LESSONS IN KULTUR.

Life: "Oh,e Robert, I do SO hate to
leave all these beautiful flowers when
we give up this house.
well, anyhow, we a destroy
them so hat 10 body else can have
them"
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

Quietly and for along time, have added
to my holdings until I now control 1861
acfes-lying between the two richest Of all.
districts.
Standing on our property you can see
producirgswells in9the different directions
some Of them only 200 feet from our lease.
Many wells with an Initial production Of
10, 600 and more barrels daily in this demon.
strated section are earning fortunes for their
stockholders. When you consider that only
- MT X a1,erv IN we1Is q, IN -enfirn Sfafa
q are Dry wells you can n agur ne
y ou u. ao5 you asta p.ou y dss; We US, son
l W. - ]. am IIangln y uIin ovsf Ivy
Wens on our properties.
This.is not q sssspronise.' The first well,
Is being drilled right now while you read
this. y more ., w b e star stared sal II s fsy
tional capital to hasten the WORKOUT down
more wells Inc shorter tme-and make the
con1Danv a bio dividend.nave af the ~ear1iest
possible date. Is 8@s
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

I am proud of old Oklahoma-she
produces more oil than any other state
in the Union. Mysfather homesteaded
a piece Of land when the government
first opened Oklahoma up for settle
nent, buttnobody had any idea at that
tirde5of the great wealth of petroleum
that lay underneath it.
Ny family made money out Of oil
and a small partsof our original farm
was leased BY capitalists who are pay
ing big royalties. L, personally, never
could see the advantage Of taking an
eighth royalty, andletting the oil capi-
talists take the other seven-eighths.
Therefore, ! held onto our best oil
land, although Ireceived an offer a
short time ago Of $4,000 for q lease
on one forty-acre piece.
Wells with al initial production Of.
ten thousand barrels and over per day
in our section are not the exception by
any means. And remember this-oil
Is higher to-day than eyer before and
there Is q greater demand for it. In
1915 we only got 4oc aSbarrei for oil,
while tcdayit sells for $2 with an extra
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
WITH: THE WHITE sox.

ru
When asked what he did before go
ing into baseball, Joe JACKSON replied,
played baseball
It will. be well worth the admission
price when Buck" Weaver and Raw
Meat, Zimmerman get going.
They'd play a better game with q
glove on each hook OF the a-oz. class.
Trying to get sprae chatter out Of
"Reb" Russell is as easy as rubbing
the back Of your neckEwfth the elbow
McMullin is another gabby bird.
He's got the sphinx looking like a side
show barker for chirps. 4
With Red" Faber it's different.
Between chewing cut plug or talking,
he schooses chewing. Is.
While we're at it. buck" Weaver
is sporting a new hat. It hts his shout
ders beautifully,
The sox are heavy for jewalry. A
street corner diamond merchant un-
loaded about a half bushel Of two
bit diamonds on the crew in their ho-
tel lobby.
HS>~.fa rry~~k ~. o~s~. n xS.tk~ ES
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

With Red Faber it's different.
chewing cut plug or talking,
he chewing.
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24
READ WHAT CHARLES EDWARD RUSSELL SAYS ABOUT RUSSIAN PEASANTS
Where There's Moujik There's Brains

h Intimate Lives Of the MuscoNte Masses, How They Dwell in Villages Through
the Long Sub-Arcic Nights, How They Learn Prohibited Political and His
torcal Facts by Word Of Mouth or From Those Who Can Read za#@.E
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-24

While we're at 1t. Buck Weaver
is sporting q new hat. It flts his shout
dersG beautifully,