davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
DATES BACK TO STONE AGE
English indret:'y. St!f' Carried On,
Estimated to Be Nine Thou
sand Years Old.

While science and invention have
blotted out many Of the old and time
honored industries in the country,
some still exist which not only date
back centuries, but succeed in hold
ing their own against their modern
rivals, remarks London Tit-Bits.
Perhaps the oldest and yet least
known surviving industry is carried
on in Brandon in East Anglia Long
years ago the dWellers in the Stone
and Neolithic ages discovered that
the ground in this district was full Of
fints, which they proceeded to I'M
earth and fashion into polished tools
and weapons.
That was at least 5000 years ago.
Today the industry still fiourishes,
and it Is believed that the Brandon
flint knappers" are the direct de-
scendants of those oldtime workers
In their work they use curiously
shaped iron picks, closely resembling
reindeer's horns, which, as matter
Of fact, were the tools used by the
Stone age workers.
The flint is found in large blocks
which are left to dry and then bro
ken into pieces six inches square
These, in turn, are shaped with ham
mers and then trimmed. Few flint
knappers live to be old men, for the
particles of the material that are
thrown off enter the lungs and brine
on consumption.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Leather His Hobby

One Of the curious American char
acters Of the last century was the
odd Leather Man" who for nearly
30 years tramped over eastern New
York and Connecticut clad almost en-
tirely in leather. His home was in q
cave near Sing Sing, where he was
found dead in 1889. He die occa-
tional jobs of plumbing, and never
excepted any recompense but food and
tobacco.
He was said to have been made in
sane by an unfortunate love affair in
France when he was a young man
According to the story, he won the
heart Of the daughter of a wealthy
leather merchant and entered into her
fathers business to prove his w-orthi-
ness He speculated in leather and
when the market in that commodity
crashed. his prospective father-in-law
was ruined and his own hopes were
shattered. This unhinged his mind, and
he determined to spend the rest of his
life wandering around the countryside
clothed in leather. His name was
Jules Bourglay.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
HONOR GOES TO VERMONTER
Thaddeus Fairbanks of that State
Made First Weighing Machine
in the Year 1884.

The origin of weighing things dates
back so TAR that the name of the in
ventor is unknown, observes the
Brooklyn Eagle. When man reached
the stage in civilization where he
ceased to depend upon his own efforts
for his livelihood and began trading
with his fellows he was confronted
with the need of weighing things in
order to determine the actual weight
of whatever he traded in.
The trade of the world developed by
leaps and bounds over hundreds OF
years, but we did not have scales until
about 1881. when Thaddeus Fairbanks
of Vermont made and patented the
first one. Before that time weighing
of heavy loads was done by Il crude
method When weighing load OF hay
the wagon with the hay was sus-
pended on a huge steelyard, originally
fashioned during the days Of ancient
Rome. Fairbanks first scale was In
It's essential principles the same as
are the scales Of today, and its sue
cess quickly spread over the world.
Orders poured in from every direction,
for his scales were not only more con-
venient than the old method Of hoist
ing the object to be weighed on q
steelyard but they were also more ac-
curate. With the steefyard, the actual
weight might be ascertained within
fifty pounds, whereas today, on scales
capable Of weighing 100000 pounds,
the weight can he determined within
the smallest fraction Of an ounce.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
THOUGHT NOT REALLY RAPID
Mind Moves Comparatively Slowly,
Notwithstanding Expression That
Has Become Common.

"As quick as thought" is an express
sion much used to denote the acme
Of speed in action, but, like so many
popular expressions. this one is mis-
leading. Thought, or at least the men
tai registering Of "a sensation, is moi
an exceedingly speedy process, the
thought impulse moving at the com
parative1y slow speed Of ITO feet
second, or Is miles an hour. Light
travels nearly nine million times as
swiftly. Thought would be hopelessly
beaten in a race with motorcar.
Perhaps a good illustration Of the
comparative slowness of thought
waves S to assume that man had
an arm Is miles long and that, when
he was not looking a friend should
grasp his hand. Before the owner Of
that arm became conscious that his
hand had been touched, the friend
would have released it, and had time
to walk four miles or eat very ex-
tensive dinner.-Kansas City Star.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
LIVE LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS
March of Civilization Has Had Little
Effect on the Natives of the
Solomon Islands.

The solomon islands are still un-
tanned, says q traveller At Choiseul
and Malaita islands the head tax can
not be imposed because it could never
be collected. At Choiseul, even the DIS
trict officer dare not go ashore without
three forces Of armed men. Quite q
number Of murderers are awaiting at
t,ntion at Choiseul, and presently
the law will go in quest sol them,
backed up with the might Of rifles.
One of the gentlemen sought killed
Il man because he prayed for rain,
The prayer was granted. but as re
suit the palms were made slippery and
a perfectly useful wife, climbing g
tree, slipped and was killed. Natural
~ the husband was aggrieved and
claimed a life for a life,
Other murders again We're purely Of
Il social nature an obligation. The vii
iase was proud Of its collection Of
skulls; for the good Of the community
more were required.
On the coast. of Bougainvilre the
scenery is indescribably beautiful
Fish splash in the quiet waters and
the flying foxes pass clumsily across
the stars Alongside is an outrssel
canoe, and one of its occupants is
plastered with white clay.
His brother was killed in q brush
with the police-he mournsI' explains
the Chinese trader
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
FIND CHEESE SUBTLE THING
Reason That Is Advanced for the Ap.
parent Impossbiity of Initiating
the Genuine Camembert.

a man interested in agricultural
products wanted to make cheese Of
the type of Camembert but while he
had the same ferment, employed the
same methods and used what seemed
to be the same kind of milk. neither he
nor anyone else in this country OBJ
tanned the same result.
On visiting France he found that the
makers of the cheese in question were
very particular about their milk, OBJ
tanning it from the dairymen of a GER
tain district only. In the fields OF these
farmers there grew, he found, sprink-
ling of certain grasses that he did not
find elsewhere. and it is possible. and
even likely. that these make the subtle
difference III the milk that shows in
the cheese which distinguishes the gen.
uine from the artificial product.
And yet. the special grasses were
only incidentally; they We're not the
main grasses of the pasture, which
were the same as those found else
where.-Ellwood Hendrick in Harper's
Magazine.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
COULD NOT FORGET COURTESY
Japanese, Though Inebriated, Obeyed
at Once the Unborn Poiteness
of His Race

1t was on the road to Kamakura on
very pleasant morning, that we were
favored with an unusual illustration Of
pative pOliteness. Courtesy is an in
teger of japanese character, and
though it often csnfuses the outland-
er beyond understanding, particularly
in business transactions, it is never
theless a perpetual JOY to him. The
coolie, the room boy, has quite Chester
fieldian manners In reserve for any
occasion
Such coolie it was who sprawled
In sake stupor fair In the middle of
the narrow roadway, with the ear
rushing down upon him. At night he
would have been manned or killed
before the brakes could be applied.
AS it was. the nonchalant chauffeur
halted with the tires almost. at the
heels of the slumberer. Stepping
from the car, he thrust his foot In
she ribs of the coolie, without heat or
haste, and rolled him from the way.
AT this the drunken one propped him
self on wavering elbow, took in the
situation and essayed a most amaz-
ing recovery. He rose and stood be-
side the car to doff his hat almost to
the ground. and very clearly, though
In japanese, rendered a gentleman's
apology for the inconvenience he had
caused the travelers.-Ben Hur Lamp
man In the Portland Oregonian. IT,.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
NOT AN EASY OCCUPATION
Deep-Sea Diver May With Much Truth
Be Said Constantly to "Walk
With Death"

How does a deep-sea diver feel
when he puts on his diving suit? Capt.
c. A. ". Monckton tells US in "Some
Experiences Of a New Guinea Resi-
dent Magistrate" that the feeling is
by no means pleasant.
The moment the face glass is
screwed tight. he says, and the air
pump begins to work, the diver feels
that he has q grievance. AS he de-
cends the feeling becomes more pest
tive until he is in a fury of rage
against everyone in general and usual
~ against one person in particular.
At the bottom he spends much of his
time wondering how soon the dress
can be taken off so that he can injure
the person against whom he has the
imaginary grievance. However the
moment the face glass Is removed,
and the diver breathes the ordinary
air, the bad temper leaves him, and
he wonders what caused his anger.
The divers greatest danger Is that
of being drowned when he is on his
way to the surface. After time, 1t
seems, the best Of diving dresses be-
comes lealzy, and the water that finds
its way through the seams settles
round the feet and the legs; divers
become accustomed to having their
dresses filled with water up to the
knees and even to the thighs. How
ever, when a diver who has water in
the bottom Of his suit is being hauled
to the surface he may involuntarily
Or accidentally allow his body to be-
come horizontal, and if he does so
the water at once rushes into his
helmet, stands him on his head and
browns him.-Youth's Companion.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
ORIGIN OF DRINKING PLEDGE
Custom Said to Have Originated at
the Time OF the Danish inva-
sion of England.

In a work entitled "Obseryatlons 90
the Popular Antiquities Of Great Brit
ain: Chiefly Illustrating the Origin Of
Our Vulgar and Provincial Customs,
Ceremonies, and Superstitions," by
John Brand, M. A, fellow and secre-
tary of the Society Of Antiquaries of
London, those curious about drinking
customs could find much entertain
ment. Under the head Of "Pledging"
1t gives the origin Of that custom.
The word pledge is most probably
derived from the French pledge, a
surety or gage. Some deduce the eN-
preston ''Ill pledge YOU in drinking.
from the time when the Danes bore
sway in the island. 1t Is said to have
been common with these ferocious
people to stab native in the act Of
drinking, with u knife or dagger
thereupon people would not drink In
company. unless some one present
could be their pledge or surety that
they should receive no hurt whilst
they were in their draught.
DR.. Henry's History Of Great Brit
aim says:
If an Engllshman presumed to
drink in the presence Of & Dane with
out his express permission, it was
esteemed so great a mark Of dlsre-
spect, that nothing but instant death
could expiate, Nay, the English were
So inundated that they would not
venture to drink even when they were
Invited, until the Danes had pledged
their honor for their safety"
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Clashed With Spain in 1854,

The Spanish-American war of 1893
was the second time that trouble de-
yeloped between Spain and the United
States, originating in Cuba. In 1854
the BLACK Warrior" a steamship be-
longing to United States citizens, was
seized in the harbor of Havana, and
declared contiscated. The proceedings
aroused feeling against Spain, and
diplomatic exchanges took place at
Madrid, the owners demanding in
Identification of S300,00O The Spanish
government proved reluctant and at
length the Ostend conference was held
to adjudicate the matter.
The vessel was finally released on
payment by the owners of fine of
5000, and amicable relations with
Spain were restored.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
LEGEND MANY CENTURIES OLD
Story Of the "Wandering Jew" Has
Been Common to All Peoples
Since the Crucifixion.

It Is an ancient legend, that of the
Wandering Jew, and the earliest men
tion I can find Of 1t is said to be an
account related by an Armenian bish-
op in 1928. 1t has been exploited by
the novelist, the playwright, the poet
and the historian. for it is subject
rep1ete with fascinating thrills.
Tales have differed as to the identit,
Of the Wandering Jew. One relates
that he was Kartaphilos, a doorkeeper
in the Judgment hall Of Pontius PLATE,
who when the Man of Sorrows was
passing through, struck him, saying,
GO on faster. Jesus" and the replywas,
Il am going, but thou shall tarry till
I come again" A German legend takes
it up and relates that in the year 1547
the Jew appeared in Hamburg, giving
his name as Ahasuerus, saying that
he had been a shoemaker in Jerusalem
at the time of the cruclfxion. When
Jesus paused at his door to rest the
cobbler pushed Him away, bidding
Him leave, to which the reply was:
Truly I go away and that quickly,
but tarry thou till I come again"
And this tradition has it that the
condemned man, going from country
to country, speaking all languages,
wandered throughout the centuries.
Eugene Sue depicts this artisan of
Jerusalem as pale, with the single line
of his black brows crossing from tenn
pie to temple, ever urged by the
avenging Deity, who cries. 60 on, go
on" but shows him as repentant and
with hope of final rest-Frederic Has.
kin in the Chicago Daily News
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Fireworks Development.

Few industries have shown more
development within a century than
that of making fireworks. The fire.
works makers have not only made i'm.
pOrtant contributions to the art them
selves, but have taken advantage of
many discoveries and refnements
made by others in chemistry and me-
chanics.
The colors given to fireworks. are
produced by mineral salts, copper be-
Ing made to produce green and blue
barium, green; sodium, yellow; cal
cium. red, and strontium, crimson.
These salts are arranged In combina-
ton with meal gunpowder and the
recipes for star compositions, rockets,
sQuibs, roman candles and the like
are almost without number. Among
the set pieces" are portraits, lettered
designs. fixed suns" fountainA palu
tree4 ncnaic Rork and Ah1pA
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
ROMAN WOMAN, FIRST NURSE
On Record in History as Establishing
conVaIesccnt Home for the
Poor A. D. $50.

The word nurse is derived from
fhe Latin. and means ito nourish."
There is no reference to a sick nurse
in the Bible, although numerous chill
dfen's nurses are mentioned.
Fabiola the first nurse recorded in
history. was a Roman woman who
established a hospital and GONZALES
cent home fer the poor after her con-
version to Christianity, about A. D.
$50. She inaugurated a society of
rich women, and had them trained as
sick nurses
Nurses. who are addressed as
''sister" on account of the old religious
traditions associated with their work.
lost their professional dignity in 1911,
when twelve women were engaged at
st. Bartholomew hospital. London,
to nurse the sick and perform mental
work.
From that time nurses were I'M
trained, until the doctors at the New
York hospital began to lecture them
on scientific cleanness' in 1890.
Fliedner, at Kaiserwerth, Germany,
opened the first scientific training
school for nurses in 1886. Flcrence
Nightingale was trained at his estab-
lishment. and introduced his methods
into England.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22

Stories of how an elephant occasion
ally upsets circus are not uncom-
mon, but one rarely hears Of an orgy
of destruction like that which oc-
CURED in the Malay peninsula. A herd
of wild elephants attacked a railway
station, pulling down the stationmas-
ter's kitchen and bathroom. They did
the same to the clerks quarters and
then tackled the station while the Of
fee force looked on from trees. One
elephant took off an automatic weigh
ing machine as a souvenir Of the raid,
but finding 1t heavy, threw it down on
the track. One of the elephants
trumpeted the recall and they all went
back into the jungle except enc who
fell in we'll and had to be got out by
human aid, but was not detained.
By the time help arrived after a gen.
eral Geographic alarm the huge beasts
had entirely disappeared.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Naughty Stare cowed Leopard

A planter in Tanganyika Territory.
South Africa, walking along a foot
path, fell into big game pit in which
leopard had been trapped Neither
the beast nor the man could get out
again, SO the planter was up against
it," but remembering what he had
heard of the power of the human eve
he fixed the leopard with a naughty
stare.
by this means and by making
strange noises, kept the animal at
bay until friend appeared and shot
it." he said
Others who heard of the affair, and
who know the planter very well, point
out that he is lean and slender man
not likely to attract leopard unless
the latter was indeed hungry to a
desperate point.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Cost of Stoppinq Trains.

An ordinary passenger locomotive
consumes a pound of fuel for every
80 feet 1t travels. Each unnecessary
stop, made with a heavy freight or
passenger train. represents a fuel loss
of from 500 TO $50 pounds of coal, de-
pending on the weight of the train,
the length of the stop and the grade
conditions.
A brake-lfne air leak on a train of
30 freight cars has been known to
cause loss of as much as 2,540
pounds of coal in ten-hour period.
The loss of coal each time modern
locomotive pops off for five minutes is
about seventy-five pounds. If loconb-
tive firemen were to save little more
than one shovelful of coal out of each
ten used, the total saving would be
equal to nearly I per cent of all the
coal handled-World's Work.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Antiquity of Anesthetics.

The artificial induction of painless
ness by narcotic draughts was ira
ditionally known in ancient times.
writes Dr. Charles Balance In the
London Lancet. The Chinese were ae-
quainted with general anesshesia thou
sands Of years ago. It is related of
the surgeon Hoatho in the Third CEN
fury ~ n that he performed ampu-
tation. trephlning and other major OPP
erations by It's aid
Doctor Browne relates two cases Of
anesthesia taken from Persian manu-
script. The first story concerns Aris-
totle and an Indian surgeon named
Sarnab An earwig had entered the
patients ear and attached Itself to the
brain. Aristotle gave the patient
drug so that he became unconscious
While Sarnab trephined the skull This
vas excellent treatment It is now
well known that living foreign bodies
may produce otitis and meningitis. In
tne second case the operation was
Caesari9n section.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22
Sometime to
Think Ab0ut
VACANT HOUSES
By ?. Il. WALKER

TN THEIR grave solitude and desc
- lation, vacant houses are pathetic
reminders of empty minds, neglected
and forgotten by those able to take
best care of them.
On old country roads you may often
see such habitations, seemingly eager
10 proffer a smile of welcome, but
quite unable to do it.
Rank weeds are about the d IS,
the walls are weather-worn and
stained, presenting altogether a sad
picture.
And these vacant hoases started
gayly in life; warm in friendship and
love. full Of hope and aspiration,
dreaming of enduring usefulness and
happiness
As the years rolled by they
dreamed less and finally sank into a
hopeless state of dependency.
You may like vacant houses or not,
but there they are, telling in a Ian
guage of their own of the days that
are departed and the joys that are
done.
Ana what happens to vacant houses
happens in far more lamentable
way to empty minds whose owners
habitually neglect them, and pay for
their disregard the shmpest penalties
at q time when their own reward
should be muniicent
If you nre wilfully neglecting youl
mind, allowing the weeds to grow
about the doorway, YOU will find some
lay that YOU are living IN solitude il
dreary dwelling, from which YOU
friends of old turn away in sadness.
You were so self-reNant in youl
youth that you did not care to en-
large and heautify your Thoughts,
Gradually YOU neglected this I'M
portant duty until the weeds grew
and crowded out the flowers. Too
proud to stand Up straight and stretch
cut Your arms to embrace knowledge
YOU sat down in idieness or shirket
your opportunity.
Being now your own witness an(
your own judge, there is alas. NJ
possible escape from punishment.
The world has moved on and left
you behind in q wilderness of mold
and darkness. where you have time t
! reflect and repent
But, he it known, whatever YOU
| age. You may Vet improve your vacant
house and make Of it thing o:
| beauty.
Women, as a rule. can do this more
readily than men, Yet men at forty
and fifty have been known TO form
studious habits and food their oil
| vacant houses with light until IT
orilliancy illuminated up the who'll
| world,
| e, 1922, by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
-IS
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22

In the very center Of Albania towers
a great mountain, reaching height Of
more than two thousand feet and COW
erred with snow FOR the greater part of
the year, which the Albanians cali
IOmor
A belief widely spread among the
Albanians has II that Tomor holds in
its TANKS the tomb OF Jupiter-al.
though no enc can quite establish the
exact place Of the tomb-and at Ger
tain times of the year Jupiter bran
dishes his thunderbolts and makes ths
mountain sesound with his impreca-
tons
The oath. Per Babs Tenor" (by
Father Tomor), is CUSTOMARY among
Christians and Nussulmans alike: and
Bahia Tomor, the holy mountain Of the
Albanians is as much honored in their
country as was Olympus, dwelling
place of the king of the gods, among
the ancient Greeks.
Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-09-22

A system in vogue in few New
York department stores to utilize the
spare time of their employees when
customers are few IS to hold meetings
of a semi-social character, in which a
part or the whole of their forces can
participate One Of the most popular
and beneficial of those systems, from
the viewpoint of the employers and the
employees, is to assemble the forces
and sing songs and hear short address
es delivered on general subjects by
store executives or others. A daily
use of that system, according to one
store manager who has had the system
in practice for considerable time, is
to infuse greater enthusiasm among
its employees for their work and to
lnculcate a spirit of cooperation be-
tween the employer and his employees