davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1921-06-12
one another curiously. was the first
white man that most of them had seen.

one another curiously. ! was the first
white man that most of them had seen.
Gil was to be called for the next
morning, l went to the house that
Omar had prepared for me- Ali and
the Chinese boy accompanied me with
my personal equipment. and I sat
talking with Omar while l waited for
get my afternoon nap. The men loi-
tered outside the house, apparently
waiting for something. / knew what
they wanted-more magic. At last a
deputation came with the request.
Would the white man perform magic
such as he had performed at the viii
lage of Mahommed Munsheeo
Crocodiles were less plentiful so far
up the river. and 1 was rather afraid
that they might be disappointed If
did not at least equal the former ex-
hibition. The story, as 1 have re-
marked before. had grown wonder
fully in travelling up-country. But
they were determined to see the
drunken fish," and I decided that. be-
fore beginning work, / should do well
to give them some sort of amusement.
With the two headmen-they were
deliEhted to show such familiarity
with this new sport-assisting me. I
stationed the natives on the banks
with their boats and then I went up
stream with the dynamite. There was
breathless silence as they saw me
strike a match and touch it to the
fuse. When the explosion came they
gave a shout and darted out in their
,, boats to gather in the fish. After the
j excitement had subsided and all the
F.! fish had been compared for size and
! weight dropped another stick. The
, men enjoyed the sport immensely. and
. The most sober person in the village
was my coolie boy. who. as he went
quietly about his business of arrang-
ling my living quarters. muttered.
!! "Semua gila tAll crazy)."
F.. Ali. who had become a good shot.
| showed the villagers my express rife,
! and demonstrated what an explosive
bullet could do to the trunks of trees.
The men were fascinated by that
! power of destruction. and they passed
! their fingers reverently over the bar
rel and listened to Ali's stories while
i he cleaned it. Ali had Travelled all
| over the far east with me and he gave
marvellous interpretations of what he
| had seen. He could hold an audience
OF. natives spellbound for hours and.
incidentally. he was an excellent pub
licity man for me. In his whole
hearted. childish, Malay fashion, he
accepted me as the greatest man in
the world, and he was never contented
unless others did so, too He was in
great measure responsible for the sue
cess Of my expeditions. for he re.
moved many an Lbstacle-sometime s
without my knowledge-andw worked
Evening star., 1921-06-12

ed before, the natives are extremely
impressionable; ii they like a man and
believe in him, they will do anything
he asks, and if they do not believe in
hIm, they Will run wild at the mo
ment W hen he needs them most. The
orang-outang hunt was the most inl-
portant and difiicul: thing of its kind
/ had ever attempted; it required the
greatest technical proficiency, because
there were numerous chances of fail
ure through little miscalculations.
Elephant driving is. after all, largely
matter of simple strategy COM
bined with endurance; and capturing
leopards is about on a par with set
ting mouse traps when compared with
getting full-grown orang-outangs into
cages.
/ squattsd before the council and
talked long and earnestly about the
work that lay before US. l told the
villagers that I had left important
business in Singapore, at the request
of their headmen. to come and help
them; that l hesita;ed about making
the trip. and had been persuaded only
Evening star., 1921-06-12

for several days, and always stood
by with my rife in my hands as il
let into tho bundle OF grass. II it tried
WHEN they had played the part SO
many times that there seemed to
be no chance of blunder. we had
fnu rehearsal AS the ole fell. this
time. the other men closed in. beating
with the clubs, pounding tom-toms
and yelling. wanted them to make
just as much noise as possible when
the orangs cane down: for noise par
alyzes animals with fright and makes
them easier to handle.
On the eighth night at Omar's viii
lage I called all the men together
and announced that we would start
next morning before daybreak. Once
again made them promise that they
would not kill the beasts without my
permission, and /. in turn, promised
them that I would shoot If there was
the least danger. Long before day
break the village was astir. All those
who were to take no part in the hunt
were ordered to stay behind, and they
stood silently watching US while the
men shouldered the nets and ropes
and filed into jungle blackness.
By the time it was light. each man
was at his post, waiting for me to fire
my pistol as a signal. We could see
the two orang-outangs sleeping on
their platform
The men who were to give the trees
the final cut and send them toppling
over stole forward silently. All was
beside me. carrying my rife; Omar
and Munshee were stationed near, one
at each side. 1 waited. scarcely dar-
ing to breathe. for them to signal
that their men were ready. Ali was
intently watching the orangs. to
warn me If they stirred.
Omar moved first: then Munshee.
I gave a quick glance around and
, fired my pistol. Instantly the tumul'
started; the men yelled and beat upon
tom toms and trees. The orans-
outangs leaped up bewildered and
scrambled about their platform.
men at work with their parangs;
| then came the crashing of trees The
jungle seemed to fold up and the
big tree stood alone. The orangs
screamed and hugged each other.
Men rushed forward with the bundles
of dry grass and started the fire;
others came with wet leaves to make
a smudge- One Of the orangs started.
as II to come down, and 1 reached for
my rifle: but when the smoke struck
him, he went back to the platform.
screaming and tearing the tree. Then,
as the smoke became more dense
the two animals climed higher and
sat on the topmost limb, arms and
legs wrapped around each other, COM
pletely terrified
The natives danced and yelled
Through the clouds Of smoke that
drifted over us. ! could see their
black bodies flashing arms waving.
and lips. stained crimson with betel-
nut wide open. The din was terrific
For several minutes l just stood there
unable TO move.
Copyright. 1921 by Asia)
Evening star., 1921-06-12

the conversation attracted hundreds
of jungle animals including many Of
the smaller orang-outangs. We did
not molest them. and they grew bold
er. until we had a large. chattering.
screaming audience watching US work
Long before the two big .brutes
came back to their home we were
on our way to OmarS kampong, with
the first stage Of the work completed.
The jungle as We left it did not ap-
pear greatly different from the. way
it looked when We arrived. l knew
that the orang-outangs would realize
that some one had been there, and
yet I was fairly certain that the abb
sence of human beings would reas-
sure them And. too, they would
have several days to accustom them
selves to: whatever changes they
noticed
At the kampong I called the men
together again, this time for an in
formal council. l told them that I
had considered carefully everything
they had said the day before. and
that, after inspecting the location, I
had come to the conclusion that we
could easily capture the animals. 1t
would be simply a matter of rapid
work and of each mans thoroughly
understanding his job. Drawing a
circle on the ground and planting a
stick in the middle. I explained what
we were TO 90 anu now we WSrS TO 90
it. Then 1 told them how we had
cut the creepers and prepared the
trees
During tho next four dxys We avoid
ed the location as much as possible.
Crews of men. bearing bundles Of
dry grass and bushes approached
within five hundred feet dropped
their bundles and returned to the
village. The grass and bushes were
to be used for the fire / planned to
build at the base Of the tree. once
the orang-outangs were isolated
there. We took care never to go
near when the big fellows were at
grew less and less perturbed each
time we appeared.
I remained at the kampong, super
viaing the making of the nets and
cages. The entire population helped
us. and 1 put some of the people to
rigging snares for other animals.
Finally, when the nets and cages
were ready and the material for the
fire gathered and in place, I began
drilling the men in their parts. Thirty
men were detailed to the work OF
ten men to clearing the space where
|, the big tree was to fall: and ten
men to handling each side, of the
big net. 1t was upon the last-named
crew that the success Of the attack
rested, for any mistake or delay in
manipulating the net would mean
that the animals would escape-even
probably with disastrous results.
Omar and Munshee helped me select
tho men from the number Of those
who had previously demonstrated
their courage and resourcefulness in
the face Of danger. I had a long pole
nut up near the village. and we re-
hearsed the capture innumerahe
times; the pole would fall and the
men would cast the net ana secure
it over the bunch Of grass tied to
| the top to represent the oranS-ou-
tanga We repeated that performance
Evening star., 1921-06-12
Lignum Vitae Trees.

THEY are making tenpin balls of a
composition" but the classic
balls are still turned from the heart
of that wood called lignum vitae.
Latin words meaning stone of life"
and which we render as living
stone" Many persons believe that
lignum vitae is not a botanical name
but merely trade name. covering
numerous varieties of very hard. COM
pact and heavy wood. This is not
the fact. The lignum vitae tree is
perhaps more often called '-Guaiacum
sanctum" by botanists or students of
that branch of botany called den
drology."
The lignum vitae tree grows in
Florida on the Florida keys, in the
of the West Indies. The supply of
this wood is negligible from the
Florida keys. the trade being mainly
supplied by the Bahamas, though
Haiti is large producer. The tree
is a low. gnarled. round-headed
height of twenty-five or thirty feet,
but its short trunk is frequently two
and half or three feet thick. II
has thin bark. rarely more than an
eighth of an inch thick and the sur
face is separated into small, thin
covering the bark of the white oak
tree. The leaves are three or four
inches long and are composed of three
to five pairs of obliquely oblong ses-
sile leaflets one inch long and nearly
an inch broad.
The old leaves remain on the
branches until the appearance OF the
new growth. which in Florida comes
in March or early April Its dark
blue blossoms, which are two-thirds
of an inch across. remain open dur
ing several weeks Porto Rico is
now making some contribution to the
worlds stock of lignum vitae. 1t is
the densest wood known. a cubic foot
of dry and well seasoned lignum vitae
weighing a trifle more than seventy
one pounds. 1t is very close-grained
and varies in color from dark green
to yellowish brown. It has been used
for sheating ships and is now ex-
tensively used in making blocks,
pulleys. cogs and other bearings in
certain forms of machinery, and in
making mortars and pestles. The
heartwood. chopped and heated, yields
a medicinal gum called guaiacum. a
word of Haitian origin and which
gives the tree its name of Guaiacum
sanctum or holy guaiacum."
Evening star., 1921-06-12

constantly to keep up the enthusiasm
of the men.
wanted the council to be q formal
affair, and so 1 had Omar sound the
call by striking on a hollow log. The
older men took their places first.
squatting in semi-circle: then the
younger men squatted behind them.
The women and children loitered on
the outskirts at a respectful distance.
All of them were chewing betel-nut.
~ i
FROM the house. I watched the coun-
Gil assemble. but did not go out
until Omar came for me. Then. with
Omar and Munshee walking beside
me. I left the house. dressed in native
costume-Chinese trousers. sarong and
jacket The chattering ceased as
approached. and all eyes were center
ed on me. Every one was visibly i'm
pressed by the fact that was wear
ing the clothes of a native. and that
they were Of the finest quality and en-
titled me to much consideration.
The Importance OF staging such an
expedition-all the magic" the talk.
the council and the coStume-waS not
to be underrated. AS l have explain
Evening star., 1921-06-12

and were waiting for me. The only
explanation I could ever get was SIM
oily. "Tuan. we heard"
A good opportunity to impress the
aatives presented itself one day when
i was peeparins. to take a plunge in
the river. MRnshee stopped me. say
ing: T468 care, sir. There are
crocodiles in the river" He told me
that many natives had lost their
lives recently and that men had had
their arms snapped of while they
were padding boats.
I took his advice and went to the
house where my supplies were stored.
Presently I returned with stick
Of dynamite and a fuse. Gathering
the natives around me, 1 explained to
them that they were to line the banks
of the river and prepare to come out
in their boats when / gave the signal.
They were entirely mystihed, for
they had never heard of dynamite.
x + X +
@ONG upstream, l prepared the
~ charge and then drifted down. drop
ping It over. Wide-eyed and puzzled.
they watched the smoking fuse disap-
pear into the water. Then came muf-
fled explosion. which made them jump;
the water trembled. shaking the boats
and frightening them: fish came to the
gather the fish began.
Ali was standing near me, ready to
nut the rifle into my hands. and /
strained my eyes. looking for crocodiles.
suddenly a woman pointed to the oppo-
site bank and screamed. "Buaia (croco-
dile)"
yelled to Munshee to take his men
downstream and keep them quiet and
on the alert: then l directed my boat
above the spot where the woman had
pointed. / dropped another stick OF
dynamite oveIsard. A few seconds
later the belly of a crocodile appeared
on the surface, its feet and tail moved
feebIy. 1t was stunned by the explosion
-mabok (drunk). as the natives say.
took my gun and put two bullets
into it's body. Before it could sink Ali
grabbed it's tail: then we made for the
shore. The natives gathered about,
wildly excited. and Mahommed Munshee
He had vouched for my abilities and
lad proved my possession of the powers
that he claimed for me. 1t was
hobat-an (magic).
The crocodile measured fifteen feet
four inches and was twenty-five years
old. The natives could tell it's age by
counting the pebbles in its pouch.
1 decided to stop at Munshee's a few
days longer, to have the men gather
rattan to make the nets, and also to
talk with the natives about orang-
outangs and plan all the details of the
capture. Omar. the other headman,
went on up to his village, taking with
him as much of our store Of provisions
IS he could carry. l was willing enough
10 have him spread the crocodile story
among the natives and I knew that the
tale would not suffer in the telling.
Omar was to- determine, II possible,
tie exact location Of the orang-outanSs
Evening star., 1921-06-12
Little Task of Holding the Wild Men of Borne0 at Ba

orang-Sutangs had their platform
was isolated It was nice problem
thxt they would bear the weight of
animals swinging in the branches.
and yet be 30 weak that they would
all fall-and in the proper directions
when We started them by pulling on
tho ropes I allowed myself to be
guided entirely by tho judgment Of
the natives; they appreciated my con-
fidence and took care to see that the
work was done accurately.
Tho hacking With tho par1ng8 and
Evening star., 1921-06-12

Of twenty-five to accompany me
while went out to get the lay of the
land. I warned the men against do
ing anything that might frighten the
animals unnecessarily. and explained
that we should do no hunting for
smaller game until we. had attended
to the two big orang-Sutangs. With
the guides leading. we started into
the dense jungle. and after several
hours of slow, tortuous travelling we
lived. could see. far up. the platform
they had built.
Fortunately the orangroutangs
were not there. and we were able
to inspect the location at our leisure.
II stationed the men at one side. tell
ing them to wait for US. and then
Omar and Munshee and I circled the
tree. The surrounding jungle was
as thick as any 1 have ever seen; the
trees were so close that their
branches mingled and they were
woven together with creepers. vines
forward a step without cutting the
way. The tree in which the orang-
outangs lived was the largest in the
vicinity. Nearly an hour passed be-
fore 1 decided upon the course we
would pursue. Squatting with Omar
would cut away the trees, SO as to
leave in isolation the one in which the
animals had their platform; then. how
we could cut that tree and tumble
them into the net.
We went back to the place where
the men were waiting. and put them
to work at cutting the mass of creep
ers that bound the trees together. The
jungle was SO dense that it would
have been impossible to fell the trees
without cutting the network woven
between them; for it would have held
serIf
were cut at the base. Without tear
Ing the creepers to the ground, we
cut back as far as sixty feet on all
sides. estimated that the trees be-
yond would be well out of swinging
distance for the orangs. At the point
where planned to have the big tree
drop. I had an additional thirty feet
cut. Then. when the creepers, were
all simply hanging. we began worn on
the trees.
First-rate native jungle men use
their parangs with astounding rapid
ity- and accuracy. I.doubt If there are
any finer ,woodsmen in the world.
to stop working in order to talk.
Omar. Munshee and I, knowing this
weakness for conversation, circled
through the jungle constantly. urging
our men on: Partly as a result Of
this watchfulness. perhaps. I have
hSsei eeen heuveS oo y piece oi Work
more neatly and rapidly. 1t was vi
tally important, of course. that we
finish before the big fellows came
swinging back home.
THE trees were cut SO that they re-
L manned standing. We were try
ing to achieve something like nimsy
structure built Of cards or dominoes.
which one push will send topping;
Alta signal. every tree in the circle
had mapped out was to fall. those
at the center. frst, and the others in
order. until the one in which the
Evening star., 1921-06-12

In his next article Mr..
Mayer will continue the
story of the orang-outangs
and tell how they were
landed at Antwerp.
Arizona republican., 1921-01-29
WILLIAM BR|NES Is ACQU|T TED IF
 MURDER CHARGE
IRepublIcan A. p. Leased WIrel

l0CRNptiSdit FNs Ts ECa6CO VtF01
 PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 28-Willian NJ. Brines was acquitted today on 8 charge of killing Elmer c. DreWes. The University of Philadelphia sophomore was freed on the ground that insuf- ficient evidence had been submitted to connect him with the Dartmouth col lege seniors death.
 Judge Ferguson of the criminal court before whom the case was tried, in his charge to the jury, pointed out that no evidence had been submitted to prove that Brines met Drewes on the day of his death and that all the ev- dence submitted against the defend ant was circumstantial. He added that it was possible that Drewes might have committed suicide and some one might have taken the body to the spot where it was found on Oct IT.
 He therefore directed the jury to bring in a verdict of not guilty on the bill charging murder and upon the manslaughter bill as we'll The fore- man said 1t had been unanimously de- cided by the jury last night at the close of the prosecutions case to acquit Brines.
 The acquittal was followed by a com motion in the court room. A momen- tary silence, abruptly broken by gasps.
 
 noisy moving of chairs was followed by sharp demands for order. Mrs An nie Brines, the widowed mother GS the accused student, wept.
 This is the happiest moment of my life" she exclaimed. "They have giv- en me my boy. God has been good to me. I know my boy and I know his conscience and know that he did not kill Elmer"
  Brines threw his arms around his mothers shoulders and burst into tears i Mrs. Christian Drewes, mother oi 1 the dead student. who had collapsed in court this morning when Brines' coun- l sel suggested that he might have com mitted suicide, moaned piteously. My poor Elmer. He didn't kill him. ] self. This is terrible. There is high CT judge who looks over us all. He Is 1 the one who will see justice done"
Arizona republican., 1921-01-29
An Ansuer
 To An Inquiry

A subscriber writes: We are very much pleased with the bulletins sup piled from your bureau. We are much interested in the one on The School Child's Health. The writer is inter ested in parent-teacher work and would like to know what steps to take to get this into the hands of about 50 to 100 people If I should send in the names and addresses of the people could I have them sent direct to each individual" 9"
 Our Washington Information Bureau informed this subscriber that all or ders of this nature would be promptly filled.
 . Other readers are invited to make the same use of this valuable free service.
 All such lists of names and addresses should be typewritten, or written very legibly, and accompanied by a remit tance amounting to two cents for each name to pay the return postage.
 Interest yourself in the welfare of others
Arizona republican., 1921-01-29
Pennsylvania Coal Operator Attacks
 Calder Statement
LRepubllcan A. p. Leased Wire1

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.-State- ments by Senator Calder, Republican New York, that the public was "mulct- ed out of billion and a half dollars during the 1920 coal shortage were characterized as outrageous, and be- low the dignity of any senator" today by Thomas H. Watkins, president of the Pennsylvania Coal and Coke cor poration.
 Testifying before the senate com mittee considering the Calder bill to regulate the coal industry. Mir. Wat kins said he gathered statistical re- ports on high-priced coal sold during 1920, and that $500, ,000 900 is the utmost figure that could be placed on the coal which might have been open to profiteering.
 The Calder bill, MT. Watkins assert ed, grew "out of a hysterical frame of mind, the feeling somebody must be punished, and the desire to make poli- tical capital"
 OppoSnts of the bill took all the time today, but Chairman LaFollette of the manufacturers committee hold ing the hearings, announced the ses- sions would be closed. Committed members supporting the measure ex- pect to secure next week a majority report favorable to the bill, with some notifications of its taxation clauses and will endeavor to get a vote upon il in the senate at this session.
Arizona republican., 1921-01-29
BethlehemEmployes
 Confer With Ewertz Regarding Wage Cut

ELIZABETH. N. J., Jan. 2S-Con- ,Ryonces between Eric Ewertz, super intahdent of the local plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding corporation, and representatives of union employees, relative 10 & proposal to reduce pro- auction costs involving lowering of wages was concluded tonight.
 Mr. Ewertz declined to make any statement regarding the result of the conference other than to say that it was up to the men to report back to their respective unions for action by the organization. MT. Ewertz also de- clined to make public any of the de- tails of the proposal which had been submitted to the men.
 It was announced that the company had found it necessary to effect a re- auction of 25 per cent in production costs and the proposal had been sent to the employees of the four shipyards oA the company. MT. Ewertz declined co zay whether it was the intention o inc company Co make the entire re. duction in wages. It was learned the the proposed reduction in wages would amount to approximately 12 per cent