davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1917-09-22

j. II. Wade, who has been working at the
OIL dock for the past two weeks, met with a
painful accident one day this week and is
confined to his bed with a fractured knee.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

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 drainage system
should be done with the same careful
ness that Is bestowed on other i'm
provements. When 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 materials
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 large building. In
many cases an engineer is employed
to stake out drain on a route which
has been selected only because 1t 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 result, the
size of the ditch is determined by II
mere guess. Time may develop the
fact that the best route was not Sc.
| nd ho ha if,h L.,
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 it 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,
qulred volume of water.
A drainage system. open or under
ground, works by gravity, and that II
may remove the water there must be
n sufficient fall that is, sufficient
and continuous descent, from Il level
somewhat lower than the lowest point
on the land to be drained, to the point
where the water is discharged from
| the outlet 1t is common practice tC
start drainage ditch from a 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,
fclent breadth and depth, to carry the
water without an overflow.
Ditch-construction, like carpentry oil
masonry, is 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
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
BEAVER AN EXPERT WORKER
Little Animal Excels Lumber Jacks as
Tree-FelIers and Is Prize
Dam Builder.

"The most expert lumber jack Is in
ferior to the beaver as n uee-feller. He
cuts down trees in the most scientific
way. He can fell II tree so it will fall
toward the pond where he wishes to
construct his home, thus saving him
self unnecessary work.
after the trees are felled the con-
struction work begins. He works chief
ly by night, for he is n nocturnal PROV
Ter. The moon Is his lantern, the
quiet of the night his inspiration, his
sharp teeth are his hatchet and chisel,
and his little paws are his means of
conveyance, his spade, his hammer and
his trowel. His hard, fiat hatrless
and scaly tail is n propeller when
swimming and a balance when he is
cutting timber, for he stands on his
hind legs while gnawing down trees.
1.-THE beaver is a strict vegetarian
and his diet consists chiefly of barks,
tender shoots and water plants. The
trees which furnish the bark he most
likes are the cottonwood, poplar, elm,
willow. birch, aspen and boxelder. The
bark of the oak, ash and hickory he
does not eat.
ITO flood low ground, the beavers
sometimes have to build a dam ex-
ceeding so feet in length. They usual
ly lay it out with the curve facing
upstream. The foundation is built of
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
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
Copperfleld 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 great moment
seemingly ut the time of their indulg-
ence-and so the increased income is,
offset.
Every sane man and woman wants
to save. We know that 1t Is our only
insurance against the future.
No matter how well things are going
at the present moment, every family
stands chance of experiencing rainy
days." and we are wise II we take
means to meet them.
Sickness or loss of position has not
the same dread to the man or woman
WHO mas CoInlOTtuDle savings NJ
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 tragedy.
OF course, there are thousands who
find the margin between wages and
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 un-
necessary luxuries.
Anyway, it would do us no harm to
figure out our family budget bit and
adopt the plan of saving a certain per
cent of our income for future contin-
gencies.-Buffalo News.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

furrow or stakes, it will save much
time when 1t is desired to begin lay
ing tiles.
Any drainage system should be
planned with reference both to the
work 1t is to perform and to its future
maintenance. Expense should not be
spared in securing accurate data on
which to base the plan.
1t is well to maintain the shallow
open-ditch system, in use before the
tile are laid. These surface-drains as
sist in quickly clearing the land of
water from heavy rains, in amounts
for which it would not be economical
to provide tile of sufficient size to do
the work SO quickly. In Minnesota,
spring floods are often carried off by
the surface drains before the frost is
out sufficiently to permit tile-drains
to work. Time spent in opening sur
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
Use Short Words.

A man who acts as tutor and COM
panion to Il 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.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

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 contract to the "lowest bid
equipment, is often to invite serious
disappointment and loss.
Delays, especially. are expensive 10
landowners, for not only is money in
vested in incomplete work, but often
times failure to have the ditch COM
plete at the time fixed means the loss
of crop. In the drainage of swamp
land. which cannot be plowed until
after the work is completed, it means
n delay of one or more years before
the cultivation will be paying invest
ment. With scarcely nn exception
where losses have accrued to agricul-
tural interests through the delay of n
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 COM
petent man, and be sure of good
job, completed ION time"
The kind, size and completeness of
the drainage works needed in 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,
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, It may be necessary
for several landowners to band togeth-
er and construct channel, of suf-
ficient size and depth to serve as the
main outlet of network of bitches
years. In many parts of the state,
where such outlets naturally exist or
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,
n thorough system for collecting the
water as 1t falls and carrying 1t to the
main outlet.
Unless the ground is very fiat 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 sown
is In the best condition for locating
lines Of drainage. II such a field is
examined Immediately after heavy
rain. there will be little danger of
making n mistake in locating the lines.
II these are at once marked out by a
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
Comparison.

"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 to improve himself
for he has been taught that he will ac-
quire the virtues-the bravery, beauty,
wisdom and what not-of all those
whom he eats"
Bishop Scott chuckled.
"a savage cannibal," he ended, ''is a
sanity chap alongside of civilized
backbiter.'"
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
Mexico's Tale of La Llorona, the Wall
Bx j. w. MULLER
Copyright By J. w. Muller

hands held out before her in agony
of sin and sorrow.
Her trial was sharp and short. She
hid her husbands guilt and took it on
herself. There could be but one SEN
tence. The next day she was carried
to the plaza, and great crowd saw
the garrote fastened around her lovely
neck.
Even as the screw of the garrote
was whirled by the executioner, Don
Muno de Monies Claros fell forward
in his chair in his rich house. As
Luisa's eyes glazed, his life went out
on his brides breast.
None knows what has become of the
soul of Don Muno, but the soul of
Luisa assuredly knows no rest. She
must wander evermore through Mex
leo, wailing for her children. And she
bears with her the doom of everyone
who speaks to her, for the person ac-
costed by her surely will die within
the week. Should one accost her first.
and ask, as some have done: 'Throw
off your rebedo, senorita. that L may
see your pretty facei" that man Will
shrek when the veiied woman Obeys-
He will shrek just once, and fall dead
Merican Writers haue produced
several uersions of this tale. 1t has
alpayS appealed to the deep poetical
spirit among Mericans. A most
esteemed metricat uersion IS that of
Don Vincento Riue Palacio. Our
own Thomas A. Jdnuier has pre-
serued the same legend in charm
ing prose tale. Oroseo q Berra, an
accomplished Merican historian
(1S16-1ssD traces the legend to the
Aztec creation-myth of Cthuaco-
huatl, the goddess who gathers the
souls of the dead and passes through
the land garbed in mystic White.
railing aloud. The Indians be-
lieue that she Will not cease till
Montezuma again sits on the throne
of Merico.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

cost of only S6l.5O against $129.72
per acre. paid for tillable land and In
the original purchase.
But this added value of $6S2.2O does
not represent all the benefits which
have come to the farm from the in
PRODUCTION of undertakings. The dis
appearance of the sloughs, and OF the
superfuous water in other places, per-
mits the division of the land Into reg
ular and therefore more easily cui-
tivated fields. Such fields, having now
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, field which in some
seasons is productive, and In others
non-productive by reason of excessive
moisture, may be more detrimental 10
the farmers success than swamp
land for such lands are often ploweu,
planted, cultivated. and then the crop
is destroyed by an influx of water :
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
ouitoes and giving forth Ill odors from
dead fish and decaying vegetation. 1t
is n first step in good road-building,
and, as permanent Improvement, 1t
increases the value of all neighboring
lands, and benefits the entire COM
munity.
All of these benefits are Illustrated
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

for the specific purpose of culdva-
ton. The 72.S9 acres cost S7,653.45.
Out of this area there was used for
highway purposes, four acres; non
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 n tillable area Of SO acres, cost
ing the state S129.72 per acre. A sys-
TEN of understanding was introduced,
by which the five acres of non-produc-
tive land In sloughs, and the ten acres
which produced half 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 so to 80 acres. The re-
turn to the farm, then, is S1,297.2O, at
a cost of S615; or net gain of s6s2.2o.
In other words ten additional acres
have been added to the farm at
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

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
ali. 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
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 threetourths of their land.
because it is too wet, produces only
about half of what It should, In the
ordinary year. They actually prefer
20 stand the yearly loss Of half a crop
or more, rather than allow one-hfueth
to one-eighdeth part Of this wet land
to be occupied by a ditch which would
% thoroughly drain the whole tract
that 1t could be cultivated up to the
banks OF the ditch.
The benefits accruing from drainage
are well Illustrated In the Improve
ment of small farm, of 1880 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
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
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.
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.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
Too Severe.

Doctor-Your husband needs some
good exercise to restore him.
Mrs. X-Like playing golf?
Doctor-More violent than that.
Mrs. X-I have It'll I'll send him
down to make few purchases at the
bargain counter during the rush hours.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

TO acquire more acres, under the false
Idea that his prosperity will be de-
noted by the amount of land in his
possession. He does not realize that
one acre of thoroughly-drained land
may bring him n greater income, with
half the labor and expense of cultiva-
ton, than two acres of the undrained
land; or that it could be acquired at
one-third to one-half the cost of the
newly-bought acre. This extra land
is purchased with the idea that land
values will rise. AS the real value of
land is regulated by its improvements
and productiveness, the landowner
whose only object Is to acquire more
acres, rather than to improve the land
already in his possession, Is an ''un-
desirable citizen" as he expects to be
the gamer through his neighbor's i'm
provements.
The idea is popular, especially
among the owners of wet lands, that
the removal of surplus water by drain
age would be Of great benefit to the
state or community at large. While
this is true to n certain extent, and
while wet lands belonging to the pub
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
OutcIasseo,

MY rich uncle sent me a present
of diamond bracelet"
That's nothing. My rich aunt sent
me whole gross of eggs"
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

A FARM PRoFITABLY TILED.
On this 80-acre field three systems Of
tile drainage were necessary. This
shows the advantage with which two
neiehbors can cooperate In putting
in a line Of tile. An obstacle SO
trivial as a line fence should not be
permitted to prevent economical
drainage. The owner Of this land
says that tile pays for itself every
year and that $500 expended on tile
has raised the value Of the 80 acres
$1,000.
face-drains is not, therefore, lost, even
when 1t is Intended to later introduce
an undertakings system.
The individual farmer with small
means should first select the area the
tiling 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 n slough. This
method often improves large tracts at
small cost, and as the improved lands
Increase in productiveness, funds will
be supplied by which the tile lines
can be extended. connected, and the
expensive mains finally 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
tained. will add its initial cost to the
value of the land and pay q dividend
on the original Investment.
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04
BY JOHN T. STEWART, c. e. Aori-
cultural Engineer, University Of

L is not an uncommon
thing for n landowner to
fight a drainage assess
ment, on land which has
a market value of from
$50 to $50 per acre, and
at almost the same time
buy another tract of
similar land, at the mar
ket price. His desire is
The Elk Mountain pilot., 1917-01-04

OBTAINING GRADE LATH METHOD.
parallel
at
may dbefot the trenc 8
The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-04-14
Indigo Once Native Crop.

Some time, about Is years ago, the
money crop Of Alabama, Mississippi
and Georgia was indigo, one Of the
most highly priced commodities Of the
present day. That was before the
invention Of the cotton gin, and nobody
is alive now in this country who knows
how to grow indigo. But a hundred
acres planted to indigo, by a man who
knows how to grow it, would at this
time bring him in more money than al.
falfa, cotton, corn and peanuts com.
bined. Indigo is the main ingredient
of some Of the high-priced dyestuffs,
the scarcity of which is felt all over
the world, and which will continue to
advance in price long after the war
is over. The same, soil is here on
which it used to grow, only our fore.
fathers found it moreqproitable to
grow cotton, and indigo was left for
other countries to grow and thrive
upon.-Demopolis .(Ala.) Times.
The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-04-14
Rolled Steak.

Trim all the fat and muscle from q
large slice Of round steak. Crumb two
slices Of bread, add a level teaspoon
full Of salt, the same of chopped pars-
ley or some favorite sweet herb, q
pinch Of pepper and a teaspoonful Of
melted butter. Pile this mixture on
the steak. Roll the steak and tie with
Irvine in three places. Place the steak
In a baking dish, add a large slice Of
onion and two cupfuls of boiling water.
Cover closely and cook one or more
hours, until very tender. Make a
gravy with two level t~easpoonfuls each
OF flour and butter and the liquid In
the dish, which should measure one
cupful, and if it does not, add water
to make the right amount. Season
with more salt, if needed, and pour
round the steak on the serving dish. A
steak cooked without covering will be
dry and hard unless basted often, and
even then will not be as good as when
covered closely and cooked at a very
moderate heat.
The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-04-14
GOOD THING, ANYWAY.

Upon his attention being especially
directed to the fact that many men
are offering their services provided
that they be sent at once to European
battleields, Secretary Of War Baker
said that the plans Of his department
were designed to train an army no
element of which would be consider
ed ready for actual conflict within a
year.
1t does not seem possible that the
European war can continue for an
other year. If it does not, and ii
Secretary Baker is not misquoted, we
will be making a big army and navy
for peace times. And this is all right.
too.
Uncle Sam must never again be
caught in so helpless a condition as
August, 1914, found him. Uncle Sam
on a peace footing must always mean
Uncle Sam able to take care of him
self. Our thorough preparation for
war will be a mighty good thing,
though we never fire off a gun on
European soil. 1t is going to show
us and others just what we are, and
it means training that will strength
en- American manhood in peace o"
war
The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-04-14
Cream Cheese Toast.

Cheese having advanced in price,
as has nearly every other food supply,
the real Welsh rarebit becomes a rath-
er costly dish. Cream cheese toast
will, however, be found worthy sub
stitute, and the cost is very little. Melt
In a saucepan two tablespoonful of
butter, and after blending in two scant
tablespoOnfuls of flour add gradually
one cupful and a half Of milk. Sea-
son to taste with salt, pepper, a speck
of cayenne and a half t%easpoonful of
made mustard, and stir in small
cupful of grated or shaved cheese. Stir
the mixture constantly until the cheese
q melted, and serve N rounds Of hot,
.risp toast.