davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

The mask of the sun god is, of course huge affair; likewise that of the moon god, who Is a conspicuous figure in the ceremonial. But most curious of all perhaps are the little
 finger masks worn on the hands of the performers. They are disks or 3 inches in diameter, each one carved with a grinning face and encircled by fringe of white hair from the belly of the reindeer. They represent the sun (the- white hair serving for rays) are provided with rings that fit the fingers, and are waved about by the hands in the dances.
 New Years In Moki Land It is interesting to find how uni versal among primitive peoples of northern attitudes is the New Years | celebration of the return of the sun. The Moki Indians, though dwelling as far south as Arizona, make it their principal annual festival, one feature | of it being a procession of mas queraders, who are gotten up in queer | and picturesque costumes to represent | supernatural beings. And here again it is the sun god in whose honor elab, crate ceremonials are performed. On the top of the highest building i in the town the Priest of the Sur stands and looks away 100 miles tc the southwest, where the San Fran cisco Mountain uplifts Its rocky mas
 out of the desert. One end of tn, mountain is prolonged in the Eldo1 Mesa and by series of foothills Be
 tween the end of the mesa and tn,
 first of the hills there Is a peculia
 notch, in which is supposed to be tn
 Sun House-the place where the SUI god has his home.
 When the solar orb sinks at night
 fall into that notch, it has gone as ia,
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

as 1t will go to the South. Formal notice of the fact is given by the Sun Priest, and of the expectation that very soon the god of day will begin his journey northward. It is then that various divinities, strangely at- tired, appear in the town, and the ar- rival of the New Year is celebrated by a mystery play, symbolizing the strug- gle of the sun god against powerful devils, who try to keep him back and prevent his return.
 Appeasing The Snake Demon
 The god. 1t appears, has number of dangerous enemies-hostile divini- ties among whom the most formidable is the Great Plumed Snake. This ser pent demon is of ancient Aztec origin. and was worshipped all over Mexico and Central America in prehistoric l times. On one occasion he brought | about a deluge which flooded the valley in which the ancestors of the Moki dwelt. Afterwards he afflicted the people in other ways, so that they were obliged to migrate northward l into Arizona.
 The Great Plumed Snake figures importantly il the New Years mystery play, with a Auge gourd for head and a red leather tongue-the man who takes the part causing the head to wag and the mouth to roar in a terrifying manner. Eventually, how
 ever, he is appeased with prayers and
 offerings of sacred meal. and the per
 formance winds up with a combat be-
 tween the sun god Represented by a man with a round shield painted tc look like the sun), and a number ot devils who try to push him back and
 hinder him from starting northward toward the land of the Moki. Eventu- ally. of course, he wins the fight.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

ing back of day and with it opportun- ity to hunt and fish-employments that have had to be almost entirely suspended for several months.
 It is a festival in honor of the sun god. But all the Eskimo divinities take part in it, being represented by persons wearing grotesque masks. For several weeks before hand everybody is busily engaged in making false faces. The Eskimo are born artists and exceedingly clever at carving (the material used for this purpose being driftwood, for lack of any other in that high latitude), and they vie with each other as to who shall produce the weirdest and most extraordinary | masks.
 l A surprising extravaganza of fancy | is displayed in the making of them some of the masks being held in place | by stout straps over the shoulders o1 the performers, while others, on ac- count of their great weight and size are suspended from the rafters of the ceremonial house, the actors standing behind them.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05
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years. An ancient legend is to the effect that the ruling king of the is lands can always make an eruption cease if he visits the crater and throws various articles into it that the gods may be propitiated. This was done as late as 1880, but it must be confessed there have been times when the throwing of pigs, and other animals into the crater has had no effect on the powers of Pele.
 The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory keeps strict record of all phenomena and any changes and under the di- rection of this Observatory many in teresting photographs have been taken. L. A. Thurston, of Honolulu. is credited with first proposing that these volcanoes should be enclosed in a park and there is so much travel | to these islands that this park is known almost as well as the parks in | the United States. As a matter of fact the business activities of these islands have kept them before the com mercial world ever since sanda1wood
 was the chief export as well as me dium of exchange. With the coming
 of the whalers Hawaii became a win ter rendezvous and convenient place for trans-shipme Whales laid the foundation for many a fortune
 ! Both of our Volcano Parks-the Lassen Volcano National Park and the Hawaii Volcano National Park are national scenic assets, famous in i the world of science. No photographs can do justice to them. It surprises
 most visitors to find that much of
 these park areas is forested and that | in some sections wild flowers grow in
 profusion but it must be remembered | that both Parks contain large tracts i,and the volcanoes. while the chief
 scenic attractions. occupy only a part
 The craters are visitors into silence
 but conversation breaks out anew
 when they see the large forest trees | of Lassen and the forty feet high ferns and brilliant songbirds which
 in spite of su1phurous fumes flourish
 in the Hawaiian Park. In fact. these
 parks were created not alone to afford l opportunity to visit weird spectacies but to preserve trees and botanical l treasures of rare value.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

CT Lassen Peak itself, is about ten miles from the Peak. It is estimated that this cone is probably two hun dred years old, the result of several eruptions and it stands with it's small crater in lava field. It is about seven hundred feet high with a crater two hundred and fifty feet deep. The story Is told that the Indians say that
 about three or more thousand years ago the heavens were black with smoke. forests burned to the ground | and general havoc prevailed until a blood red sun appeared in the sky to put an end to the eruption of vol | cano.
 The Hawaiian Park
 1 Turning to our other Volcano Ma
 tional Park we find in the Hawaii I National Park an unriva1ed exhibit consisting of two active and one sleep i ing volcano. Probably they are the
 most unique in the field of science.
 At any rate though they are two hun
 dred and fifty miles from Honolulu
 and twenty-one hundred miles from San Francisco, every year the number ! 0f rFoh +eea~S increases I[iiauea is on
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05
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the lodge-house so as to terminate in the fireplace, and the mysterious voices Understood to be those of ghosts), are really those of persons hidden in adjoining and secret rooms. The officiating priests alone are &C., -quainted with the means of illusion adopted, and the effect upon the un- tutored audience is all that could be wished.
 It may be worth while to explain that the giant kelp is marine plant, which has a hollow stem often 300 feet long. and bearing at its top a huge floating air-bulb that supports an enormous tuft of streamer-like leaves. The stem, when dried, can be made admirably to serve the purpose of a speaking-tube.
 Fierce Savages Of Fort Rupert | Separated from Bristish Columbia by the Strait of Georgia is a land mass as big as three of our smallest States. It Is called Vancouver Island and at its south end is the important I City of Victoria. Nearly all of it is densely wooded, and it's backbone is g chain of mountains whose peaks ir places rise to 1000 feet.
 At the north end of this island dwell the Fort Rupert Indians, who are accounted the most primitive savage. | of all the northwest coast. Formerly they had a great reputation as can nibals, fully deserved, and there is nc doubt whatever that they still have the man-eating habit. pursuing it oc casionally and when not under civil | ized observation.
 These wild folk have a New Year ceremonial of their own, in which tn
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05
Mystery Governs the Cele- bration of the Anniversary With These Strange Peo- pies The Gods Take Part In Weird Plays, and Also Dem ons That Would De- strOy the Returning Sun.

Copyright, 1919, The International Syndicate. ~O the semi-wi1d peoples of A northern attitudes the beginning
 of the New Year means a great deal more than it does to us. It signifies the sun (which they defy), has started on it's return journey from the South.
 We often speak of December 21 as tne shortest day in the year. As a matter of fact, the sun at that period has the appearance of moving neither North nor South for three or four days = hence the term "solstice, g which means standing still. By New Years Day it has made visible start northward; another year begins.
 The Indians of the northwest coast (British Columbia), celebrate this be- ginning of the New Year with a car nival of ghosts. It is very elaborate cerem onial, derived from a tradition that tells of a journey made by an Adventurous hero to a region beneath the earth inhabited by phantoms.
 The hero is in fact the sun god, and the festival is supposed to give a de- scriptive picture of his visit to the underworld. where he encounters various horrif1c demons who try their best to prevent him from returning to the surface of the earth. The sub- ferranean region being an abode of death, the man who takes the prin- Z .ipal part in this mythological drama
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05
wears, appropriately enough, a neck lace of skulls.
 Cannibal New Years Spirit

wears, appropriately enough, a neck lace of skulls.
 Cannibal New Years Spirit
 Most ferocious of the demons is a cannibal spirit, who is constantly en- gagged in the pursuit of human beings for his table. The smoke of his chimney is the color of blood, and in his house he keeps as a servant fab ulous bird. which lives on the brains of it's masters victims, cracking their skulls with it's beak.
 The man who takes the part of the bird servant wears an astonishing cos tune, being disguised as a monstrous fowl with a wooden bill four feet in length. He holds in his hands strings which on being pulled cause the great beak to open and shut rapidly, pro- ducing loud clappering sound.
 The performance is conducted ir the lodge-house of the tribe, a build ing of considerable size, and a fire is kept going by the stage management it's flames being supposed to rise from l the underworld. Out of this fire. dur | ing the progress of the mystery play come voices. The hero disappear: into it: and, later on, an image rep resenting a ghost rises out of it. carry | ing him in it's arms.
 The aim, of course, is to achieve the effect of the supernatural. Tn, l ceremonial is religious in character | and with all primitive religion magit is intimately associated. Behind tn, | fire, which is at one end of the lodge there is a deep ditch. and it is int this excavation that the hero drops.
 Speaking-tubes of dried "gian l kelp" are laid beneath the floor o
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

courage. all travellers to California to visit this region. Most persons start from the camp at Drakesbad to go through the Lassen Park and guides and horses are obtained here. There is excellent fishing and those acquaint ed with topography and geology assert that it is a region which affords won derful opportunities for learning of the tremendous manifestations of Ma ture. Much of Lassen Park is forested. There are many kinds of pines and cedars, wild flowers as well as fields of lava, patches of obsidian, sulphur springs. hot springs and lakes. The few eruptions that have occurred on Lassen Peak have wrought many changes and piled nearby meadows with boulders, rocks and debris Ali of this is of great interest to the visitor who comes largely to see this havoc though he may ride to the top of Lassen Peak on horseback and go to the lakes. several of which appear to guard Cinder Cone.
 ! Cinder Cone
 Cinder Cone, the greatest attraction lin T.assen Volcano Ne+inra1 T'0rl1 qf+-
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05

the slope of Mauna Loa, which also has crater. but this is only occasion ally active. Haleakala, the third vol cano in the group, is on the island of Maui. Hilo is the nearest seaport to the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and zilauea, while HaIeakala. which is ten thousand feet high, and has an extinct crater, is reached from Kahu- lui.
 Kilauea
 Mauna Loa is the second highest peak in the Pacific, and it is the de- light of mountain climbers, but chief interest centers in Kilauea. which has an almost continuous activity and a pit in which the molten lava rises and falls and boils. This magnificent lake of lava is one thousand feet across and sp1ashes on it's banks like huge seawaves. All sorts of whirI- pools. rapids and blue flames and rumbling gases disturb it's surface and its ever changing aspect is part of the wonder. Kilauea belongs to the "calcera'' class and the lava pit is sometimes called "Halemaumau, the House of Fire" Some visitors enjoy trying to walk around this crater, others take the horseback road. An immense drawing card is "The Road to He'll" a magnificent automo obile road, which leads to the very mouth of Halemaumau. A wall protects the sightseer from danger and curves have been eliminated in the road so that the trip is the experience of a life time. Though the active rim of this volcano is four thousand feet above the sea the crater is a broad forested plateau. Since 1906 the Hawaiian volcanoes have been unusu- ally active and their spectacular dis plays have attracted persons from all parts. of the world.
 MOana Loa
 Mauna Loa has an active crater thirty thousand feet above sea level and it as rule erupts every decade. It is crowned with perpetual snow and it throws up huge rocks when it is most active. There are many interest | ing stories regarding the Hawaiian volcanoes for the natives say they have been erupting for two hundred
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-05
Our Two National P arksAre Wonderlands of Strange and Beautiful Sights-M Nit. Lassen and Kilauea Are Both Active.

Copyright 1919, The International Syndicate. n 0ILAUEA, the great active vol
 Z cano in the Hawaiian National H HAVolcano Park has been unusual Fl My active of late. The lava in the central pit has risen and sent forth streams in all directions and broken all records for duration of overflow and formation of lava lakes. Many trails have been buried under lava and a small wooden observatory after several removals was destroyed in short time. It is estimated that lava has buried a shelter house used by tourists so deep that it will never be seen again and the great lake of fire has been exceedingly unruly. The Hawaiian National Park in which Rilaueau is situated is one of two volcano areas set apart by our Gov ernment and both at times have raised enough rumpus generally to be worthy --of extended visits. Both of them are near the Pacific Ocean and both are attracting more and more attention as their attractions become better known. The Hawaiian Volcano National Park is on the island of Hilo in the Hawaiian group and the Lassen Vol cano National Park is in California. After the Lassen Park has been seen one becomes possessed With craze for volcanic curiosfties, and the tour tst who has the price of the journey starts for the wonderful Hawaiian show place.
 IaSSen Park
 Perhaps ten thousand persons visit fhe@ @Lassen area in a season. It in cIudes some S2,SS0 acres and holds J,assen Peak, the only active volcano in the Tinted States, and Cinder Cone an extinct volcano. Scientists were interested in Lassen long before it be- came National Park for of all DOT tions of the Cascade range, this Las sen Peak retains the largest remnan of volcanic energy and recent erup tious have rained torrents of heated rocks and boulders. so that investiga tors have had difficulty in reaching the edge of the danger zone Stu
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17

Eugene Downing, Moulton: Lee, John V. Denson, Opelka Limestone, C. W. Sar- yer, Athens; Low-1es, Joseph Bell. Hayneville; Macon. R. W. Lightfoot, Tuskegee; Madison. J. J. Bradley, Hunts vile; Marango, Everett B. Barnes, De- mopolis Marion, Marvin Pearce, Win field; Marshall Thomas E. Orr, Albert Vile; Mobile, G. T. McCorvey. Mobile Montgomery, Henry Hughes, Montgom- cry; Morgan, A. G. Patterson. Albany Perry, Dr. W. T. Harris. Marion; Pick ems. John Bell Gordo; Pike. w. B. Fol mar, Troy; Randolph. Dr. D. M Yates Roanoke; Russell, M. A. Bush Scale :: Shelby. Judge G. w. Weaver, W. w.. Wallace and Judge A. P. Longshore, Co- lumbia; St. Clair. Dr. w. P. Cooke Odenville; N. B. Spears. PelI City, Judge Perkins McLendon. PelI City, and George Eyars. Springfield; Sumter, w. C. Lit tie. Livingston; Talladega, G. T. Mo Elderly. Talladega and S. P. Mcdonald, Sylacauga; Tallapoosa, F. P. Duncan. Alexander City, w. G. farrell, Camp Hill; T. c. Acree and George Douville. Dadeville; Walker. Rufus O'Rear, Jas per; Washington. Joe Pelham, Jr, Chat om; Wilcox, John Miller, Camden; Wins ton. Judge John D. Curtis, Double Springs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17

be some time before this is settled and q test case will probably be made to ascertain whether or not the board of the books of the corporations. They contend that it has not, but the state tax commission is of the opinion that it has so the supreme court will in all probability, be called to decide the matter"
 Assessment of the forty three
 corporations which have been set
 aside is estimated to he approxi-
 mately S-O.0OO,OOO. In the Bessemer cutoff the property assessment amounts to $10,016,2S5. Of this amount s6,6S1, ,099 is real and s. 335.1S is personal. These figures, how. ever it is pointed out, do not include public utilities or assessments which have been set aside by the state tax commission.
 Exact figures of property assess ment of the city of Birmingham could not be gi;en out at this time as the work of checking had not been com l pleted, However, the total assessment l of the city is included in the county l assessment.
 l The increase in property valuation , this year over 1919 is due to the ef- 1 forts of the county board of tax ad- | justers, it Is stated. This board has en- ! deavored to equaliZe taxes and place an | assessment on the value of the property
 on October 1. 1919.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17
ID RENOVATE THE
 MAGIC CITY HALL Another Elevator Ordered and Fresh Paint to Be Used All
 About Building

The city commissioners are going to
 overhaul the city hall The department of administration un- der Dr. N. A. Barrett is going to put In
 another elevator Work will begin in q
 few weeks.
 People visiting the library will not have to wait for several carloads to go up be- fore their turn comes as they have here
 tofore. The elevator service will be ample to take care of those patronizing the library and those on business CT rands to other floors as well. There will be lot of fresh paint used
 and the building will be renovated gen. erally. The walls of the lobby, which are especially abused. will be done over and other improvements will be made. Complete plans will be announced later when they are formulated.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17
CITY IS ID HAVE MUNICIPAL BAND FOR NEXT SUMMER Commission Authorizes Its Formation-Will Also Ac- company Civic Bodies
 on Trips

Birmingham is going to hnve 4 municipal brass band by the time warm weather comes.
 Plans nre already under wny for organizing the band which will hc made up of the best musical talent that Birmingham affords.
 An appropriation for the main tcnance of the organization was set aside on the budget for the year and Commissioner J. Ellis Brown. who has charge of the arrange ments, is already casting about looking for an efficient director.
 The first meeting of the organ izntiOn or prospective members of the organization will he called by Commissioner Brown Rs soon as he has found n good leader.
 During the coming summer the municipal band Is expected to nr- ford the people of the city great deal of pleasure. On Sunday after moons md every night during the week the municipal hand will hold concerts at the various parks over all the city.
 The municipal band is expected to prove one of the best features that Birmingham has ever had in educating the people to appreciate music. The leader will, of course. be instructed to play much popular music, but the old favOrites of Ill time, the really good music. will be by no means neglected.
 The band will he apnrt from other municipal music enterprises and under the direct supervision cf the Birmingham City Commission.
 This will he the first time in the history of the city that a munici- pnI band has been organised. Conn missioner Brown expects to have twenty to twenty-five pieces to start with. The number may in- crease later If the band proves ms great n benefit to the people as it is expected to he.
 A feature of the duties of the municipal band will he thnt of nc- companying Chamber of Commerce members, Civic Association mem bers or members of other civic or- ganixations on trips where Oppor- tunity will ne afforded to boost Birming hmm.