davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
, 1925-06-24
Fossil Hunter Has to
Keep Ewes Euer Open

AS a matter of fact many fossils are
found partly on the surface. l sup
pose l am asked 40 question more fire.
Quently han "HOw do you know where
to look?" The prevailing idea Is that
we go into the field, stick a pick in
the ground and say, Here l will dig
for a fossil and l hope to heaven thai
there'l be One." We'd get plenty Of
work that way, but not many bones.
In the first place you must ave the
proper kind of rock. Volcanic or meta
morphic rocks, which have been sub
jected to heat or change. cannot con-
tain fossils, because the bones would
be destroyed. S~edlmentary rock like
provides the fossil-bearlng strata,
writes Roy Chapman Andrews In the
Saturday Evening Post.
Fossils are being made today just
as they were millions of years ago. Ar
animal dies, the flesh d~ecomposes and
the bones are covered by drifting sand.
Year by year they are buried deeper,
and by pressure, water and chemical
action the sand is consolidated into
rock. Then an exceedingly slow
change begins. Cell by cell, mineral
ter in the bone and eventually 1t is
turned to stone, or fossilized.
Even when We have the proper kind
Of rock the story is not ended. II must
be cut or dissected into ravines or gull
lies so that we may have a cross sec
ton of the strata. l can explain IL
best by using a cake as an example.
II the cake Is covered with frostIng
you don't know whether 1t is a layer
cake or a loaf cake, or whether It
contains raisins. But if'you cut 1t the
whole story Is told; II there are
raisins there you can see them. That
Is exactly the method In fossil hunt
ing. considering the rock as the cake.
the surface soil as frosting and the
bones as raisins.
Whenever we are riding over coun
try which we know is OF the right
character to contain fossils we look
for ravines, dry river beds or bluffs
where erosion has given us a cross
section. Then 1t becomes only a mat
ter Of examining the sides until bits
Of bone. discoloration in the rocks or
signs Indicate that fossils are
present.
A p~aleontologist almost never digs
for a specimen unless he sees It or
has a pretty definite clew. Sometimes
1t Will be only a tiny tooth or point Of
bone sticking out of the ground. 1t
catches his eyes, which are so trained
that he will see things where one of
us would miss them. When he fol-
lows the clew 1t may lead to nothing.
or 1t may take him to a great deposit
of bones most of which Is covered by
o or soil and is Invisible.
, 1925-06-24
Where to Find Than

business morals have improved"
said John Van Antwerp MacMurray.
the new minister to China. at a WASH
ington banquet.
There's a story about a ghost. the
ghost OF nm old-time business man.
He appeared to his son one day and
complained:
"'rve looked round Wall street and
studied all the big corporations. George.
and I find that there amt a single
business man Of the old school left
"'Oh yes. there is.' said George.
Just you give the once over to q
few jails.'"
, 1925-06-24

little at the deviled kidneys. The food
had been patterned as far as possible
after the pale f1abby viands served at
English hunt breakfasts and ruined
in an atmosphere of lukewarm steam.
The women were slim and perfectly
tailored but wore their hunting clothes
a trife uneasily and self-consciously
like girls in their first low-cut party
dresses. Most of the men had turned
stubborn on the subject Of pink coats.
but Captain Stokes-Beatty wore his
handsomely. The fox--a. worried and
somewhat dejected-looklng animal
had been shipped in a crate from the
South and on being released had a way
Of sitting socially in an Illinois corn
field instead Of leaping f1eetly to cover.
At the finish you had a feeling Of
guilt, as though you had killed a cock
roach.
Dirk had told Selma about 1t. feeling
rather magnificent. A fox hunt.
"a fox hunt! What for?"
For! Why, what's any fox hunt
for?''
81 can't imagine. They used to be
for the purpose Of Kidding a fox-in-
tested country Of a nuisance. Have
the foxes been bothering 'em out In
Lake Forestla
Nov. mother, don't be funny" He
told her about the breakfast.
"Well. but it's so silly. Dirk. It's
smart to copy from another country
the things that that country does bet
ter than we do. England does gar
lens and woodfires and dogs and
tweeds and walking shoes and pipes
and leisure better than we do. But
those luke-warm steamy breakfasts Of
theirs! It's because they haven't gas,
most of them. No Kansas or Ne
braska farmers wife would stand for
one of their kitcheps-not for a minute.
And the hired man would balk at such
bacon" She giggled.
"Oh. well, If you're going to talk
like that"
But Dallas O'Mara felt much the
same about these things. Dallas, 1t ap-
peared. had been something of a fad
with the North Shore society crowd
afte- she had painted Mrs. Robinson
Gilman's portrait. She had beer in
vited to dinners and luncheons and
dances. but their doings, she told Dirk.
had bored her.
They're nice" she said. "but they
don't have much fun. They're all try
ing to be something they're not. And
that's such hard work. The women
were always explaining hat they lived
In Chicago because their husbands
business was here. They all do things
pretty well-dance or paint or ride DR.
write or sing-but not well enough.
They're professional amateurs. trying
to express something they don't feel
or that they don't feel strongly enough
to make 1t worth while expressing"
She admitted. though, that they did
appreciate the things that other people
did well. Visiting and acknowledged
writer's, painters, lecturers. heroes.
they entertained lavishly and hosplt-
ably In their Florentine or English or
Spanish or French palaces on the North
side Of Chicago. Ill. Especially for
eign notables Of this description.
Since. 1918 these. had descended
upon Chicago (and all America) like
a plague of locusts, starting usually
in New York and sweeping westward.
devouring the pleasant verdure of
greenbacks and chirping as they came.
Returning to Europe. bursting with
profits and spleen, they thriftily wrote
Of what they had see and the result
was more clever than amlable; bear
ing, too, the talnt Of bad taste.
GRO BE coNTINUED)
, 1925-06-24
Green Grocer

"Have you any nice fresh eggs to
day7" asked the breezy customer.
Madam" answered the man who
had just started In the grocery bust
ness, permit me to remind you that
nice eggs are necessarily fresh and
fresh eggs always nice. Moreover. II
I have any I have them today. My
possession Of Eggs yesterday or tomor'
row does not affect the situation,
therefore,"
"Humph |" snorted the woman as she
started for the door. eggs are not the
only fresh things In this store. ri d.
my trading Observation-Disclosures Tran
script.
, 1925-06-24
String Made Trouble

A robin was busily engaged build
ing her nest at Washington. She
found a particularly long string and
was carrying 1t to her new home. The
string became tangled over the limb
OF a tree and also around one of her
wings. and she was left suspended In
the air. The fire department was
called and a fireman scaled a ladder
and cut the string. The robin fiut-
tered away. temporarily embarrassed
by the large crowd. but later returned
and recovered the string.
, 1925-06-24
Sensitive ~Seismo9raph

The seismograph at Volcano house
on the great Hawaiian volcano Kilauea
Is s % sensitive that II records vibra-
lions caused by an oil engine In the
power house about 800 feet away
Science Service.
, 1925-06-24

Snowy linens are the pride Of every
housewife. Keep them In that condl-
ton by using Red Cross Ball Blue in
your laundry. At all representatives.
tisement.
, 1925-06-24
Battle Already Hall Won

There is not much difficulty In con
hning the mind to contemplate whu
we have u great desire to knAw.
, 1925-06-24
Never Failed Her in
60 Years

."Beeehsm's Psils have been . bvword IN my
home for. over 90 years. and were Ia mY
% ,.s;s 81. ho~' in snsl'"d. Nov an %
@Ihsvs nrvsr Known Beeeham's Psls TO fall
20 rslisvs The worst headaches and son
Mss. q. Russell. Pstssbursh. p
For FREE sAAfPLB-wnss
d. :. Allen Co., <i7 Canal Street. New York
Buy from POUR drussiss In ~ and soc bones
Fov eonsupauon, b,liouineu, uek ksaiaeho and
othsr dissnvs almsns take
Beechalm's Pills
, 1925-06-24

pimply young man who lorded it over
the shining nickel coffee container. as
she told him that his coffee was
grand.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
SEES SKETCHES

Before | left. Mr.. John showed me
photographs of other sketches and
paintings of men and women he had
made: such world figures as Lloyd
George, the Prince Regent of Japan,
Asquith, Indian rajahs, American
commercial giants-in short he had
put on canvass a representative group
of the dominant persons in all walks
of life. His sketch of me he wanted
to keep and exhibit, but he did permit
it to be photographed so that might
have a record of it.
Ny party sorrOwed over our last
night in England with a dinner at the
New Princes Cafe. We remained
there very late and then trotted off to
the hotel. We were to leave at 10
o'clock in the morning.
/ had my hour alone with the
Thames and the Embankment below
my windows the next morning. 1t
was a painful parting, but finally l
pulled myself back to the tasks Of
travelling. and by $3.50 we were Oil
for Victoria stations.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
WOMAN BURNED.
ALIVE IN
KILN
Arrest Furnace Keeper
Who Flees After Police
Probe Screams.

NEW YORK, Sept. 22.-CP-Po.
lice today discovered the body of Mrs.
Sophie Poleski, a young East Side
woman. in the furnace Of a lumber
yard kiln in Lewis street. George
Symuk. fireman of the lumber yard.
was arrested for the woman's death.
The police said they believed that she
had been placed in the furnace alive.
Patrolman William Merrick, hear
ing a woman's screams coming from
the lumber yard, investigated.
Merrick found Symuk near the fur.
mace but he denied that woman was
on the premises. As Merrick began to
question him, Symuk fled and Mcrrick
fired his revolver.
The shot was heard by two other
patrolmen who caught the fireman
and took him back to the furnace
room. The officers found Mrs. .PO-
leski's body inside the furnace, the
door of which had been closed and Il
shovel propped against it.
Symuk told his captors that when
he ran from the lumber yard he in
tended to commit suicide by jumping
into the East river.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
TOM MIX
ABROAD
By TOM MIX

My opinion of European polish went
up several points at that luncheon,
for those present, most of them born
to the purple, created delightfully."-
informal atmosphere in most formal
and luxurious scttin-. In the midst
of everything that would have stimu'
lated self-consciousness there was n
total lack of it. A real accomplish
ment
But I had to run away almost at
once after coffee. That afternoon /
wanted to inspect a hospital. and /
had promised to pose for Augustus
John for q sketch. Quite n program
and there was no time to be lost.
Mrs. Mix remained at Sir Walters
and later told me of the wonders of
that famous old house.
The Royal OrthoDaedic Hospital
furnished plenty of contrast TO the
luncheon ! had just attended. There
everyone was so strong and healthy
and happy; Sir Walters children
were perfect in mind and body. Here.
the children were spotlessly clean and
hopeful, but the little faces were
pinched with the anguish of their
helplcssness. Day after day they
lay in bed, smiling bravcly, and
courageous as real soldiers. In time.
thanks to the genius of surgery and
the effects of GOOD care, most of them
would get well. But their fight was
hard. How they must have envied
Us with our ability to walk and play
out in the sunshine!
Perhaps ! br ght them little new
interest. | hope so, for the only
other way could help was by a dona-
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
5. A. PILOT PLANS
NEW AIR RECORD

DETROIT, Sept. 22.-R-Eddie
Stinson, formerly of San Antonio,
pilot of the pathfinding plane which
completed Saturday tour of the cities
to he included in the Ford reliability
tour. announced that he will make
an attempt Monday to establish n new
endurance flight record.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
ENTER FRANCE

EN- htANSI
We had a private car as far as New
Haven and from the door of it
waved goodbye to crowd of my
well wishers who had come to see me
off. After a few moments the train
pulled out. l called last farewell
to those who had been so courteous
and enthusiastic, and then settled
down in my seat. We were off on the
second leg of our flying trip.
To see Europe, or n great part OF
it. in 10 days is no joke. We Travelled
light and fast. We couldn't, if we
were to make the rounds we planned,
miss a train if it struck our fancy to
remain one place longer than another.
We were moving by the clock.
Tony had left London Thursday
night for Paris. He was under the
watchful eye of Pat Chrisman. who
had selected the Observation-Disclosures
route into France to avoid the posi-
bility of rough channel crossing
The channel ordinarily is much
smoother at that point than at any
other, although it is longer trip.
TRIES LINGO"
Our train made good time to New
Haven, which we reached about noon
There we boarded the little steamer
which crosses the Channel. We had Il
splendid trip. The water was like
glass a few minutes after We pulled
out, and although at first we had q
squeamism feeling, through having
heard so often of the almost certain
sorrows of a channel passage this soon
wore off and we went down to lunch
con.
Three hours later we pulled into
the picturesque port of Dicppe, which
is entered through a long, narrow arm
of the channel and which resembles a
canal more than anything else. There,
amid the scurrying of dock workers,
VIC dcbarkcd. We were in France.
A jabbcring from n hundred tongues
mounting words entirely unintclligiblC
to me hit upon my Anglo-Saxon ear.
| felt very grateful for the welcome,
but entirely inadequate.
"Bonjours, messieurs," i finally
managed to calculate. 1t seemed to
tickle them, and although they under
stood it, my accent must have sounded
as amusing to them as their accent in
speaking English was amusing to me
at home. l decided that after that l
had better stick entirely to my Eng
lish.
Continued Tomorrow
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22

Continued Tomorrow.l
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
LEAPS FROM DEATH
TO Be FINED S9.4O

JOHNSTON CITY, ILL.,, Sept. 21.-
P)-Leaping from almost certain
death. W. ID. Silvers, Digger, Ind,
landed in court here today, where he
paid a $40 fine for reckless driving.
He had ignored a watchman's signal
and driven onto the Chicago and East
ern Illinois railroad tracks, where his
automobile stalled.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
CHINESE LAUNDRYMAN
SHOT BY COUNTRYM,AN

BOSTON. Sept. 22.-PD-JOe Wong
n Chinese laundryman, was shot and
killed last night in his place of bust
ness in the West ROxbury district by
a young Chinese who escaped after
the murder. A few hours earlier an
attempt had been made on the life Of
another member Of the Wong fam
lily. a merchant in the Chinese section
Of Boston.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
Simple heart of movie
celebrity is touched
by sight of crippled
children in hospital;
sits for painter.

ton, and if it had been ten or tewtny
times the amount | gave, | could not
have brought them immediate happi.
ness in that way. j was in very
subdued mood when | left the hospi-
tai land praycrful one. IL it hadn't
been for the mercy of God ! might
have spent my youth that way and
never have come TO know the great
outdoors that is now my life. After
all, there is SO little reason for one
to suffer and another not. An &C.
cidcnt of birth, sudden mishap, any
one of n hundred things, none OF
them comfortable might just as easily
have happened TO me.
Augustus Johns studio. n two.story.
roomy structure built into the rear Of
his home. is situated in Chelsea. the
section where the English artist
colony has now taken up its residence.
Soho is fast being deserted, CONNER
cialism having laid heavy hand on
once sacred territory.
Mr.. John met me. at the door and
piloted me through tiny living room,
down, flight of winding stairs into
his studio. There, near the great
windows looking to the north, he ar
ranged my pose. He planned to
sketch only ny head and shoulders.
as | figured / could give him only
an hour 10. ,.,..
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-22
SITS FOR PAINTER

appeared to be afire with the work
before him. i could see. out of the
corner of my eye and over the top of
the canvass, the unhcsitating strokes
Of, first, pencilled outline, and then
his brushes as he piled them quickly
and firmly.
1t was the first time / had ever
been in an artists studio, and / was
surprised to find this one so quiet
and restful. l felt completely at case,
and for the first time since ] set foot
in England i was completely compla-
cent. The original hour came and was
gone, but / did not move, / decided
to let whatever else must be done wait
for me. / dozed off. and then awek-
cncd to find Mr.. John taking final
dabs at the work before him. The
light was going, he explained, and the
job must end.
| stepped down from the platform
and looked at the painting. ] am no
particular judge of art. but could
see that what he had done was fine.
He had made n quick sketch, catching
only the dominant characteristic of
my head. But, fast as he had worked,
he had, as We say, caught me cold.
Why my whole life had been an open
book to this man with the laughing,
hidden eyes. He had brought out
every weakness and every strength !:
he had seen the me" of Tom Mix. ]
decided painters were peo1le always
to be a little afraid of.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-10-04

fifteen feet above the ground, and wishes
to throw a line across to another twlT
twelve feet away. She takes note of the
direction and force of wind, and, when it
is Just right she raises the tip of her
abdomen as high as she can and emits
single slender thread, which is hoated off
by the breeze and catches at or near the
desired point. Then she pulls in the slack,
to make the thread taut, and, twisting all
of her hundreds of threads into one rope,
starts with it to walk along the first
thread, spinning the rope as she gocs.
With the rope fastened at both ends, -ar
has made beginning of the contemplate
web
But suppose that there is no wind. In
that case she lowers herself by a thread
to the ground and runs across to the dis
tant tree climbs il, and, when she reaches
the desired twig, fastens the thread to il,
pulling in the slack until il Is taut
In either case, having established her
first rope connection between the two
points, she casts another one parallel to
it couple of feet below. Then. running
to the middle of the upper rope, she drop;
a thread to the lower one. Next. she
drops two others, one on either side of the
first perpendicular, and from the middle
point of the first perpendicular she draws
radii in every direction, until there are
enough of them to run all around upon.
Now, beginning at the outside of this
framework, she spins spiral toward the
centre, and, having reached the centre,
she spins another spiral outward to tho
edge of the frame, destroying the fofmrr
spiral. which was what builders call
''false-work." being intended only for use
in the business of construction.
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-10-04

This particular spider thread was meas
ured and found to be thirty-two mil
lionths of an inch in diameter. Yet, for
its size, it was wonderfully strong. Fur
ther experiments will determine with ex-
actness the strength of spider silk, which,
relatively to diameter, is incomparably
greater than that of any cord or rope that
man knows how to make.
Indeed, there is kind of spider, native
to New Guinea, whose webs are used by
the Papuans for fishnets.
Sounds like travellers yarn, does it
not? But it is absolutely true, as testified
by naturalists and explorers. The spider
is forest species, specially abundant on
the northeast coast of New Guinea. and
spins webs six or seven feet in diameter.
woven in a large mesh, varying from one
inch at the outside to an eighth of an inch
at the center. The silken fibers are re-
markably substantial.
In place where the webs are thickest
the black Papuan sticks upright in the
ground the stem of a long and plant
bamboo, the top end of which has been
bent over and tied so as to form large
loop. The loop makes convenient frame
in which to build a web, and soon a spider
weaves one in it, The spider is dark brown,
its body the size of hazel nut, with hairy
legs that have spread of two inches.
Then the woolly headed Papuan has a
fCD 1925, by American WsekIv In,
San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-10-04

tlny nzardS =,
At Batavia, N. Y, small ringed snake
nine inches long was found trapped by
spider in a cellar. The spider, its body
hardly bigger than a good-sized pea, had
spun web i'm the form of an inverted
cone, from the tip of which hung a silken
cable of about the thickness of ordinary
sewing silk. By this cable the snake was
found suspended, still alive, its mouth
muzzled with multiple strands of web, and
its tail TIED by like means in loop to
which the cable was fastened.
DR.. Gudger says that it is perfectly
well authenticated that a mouse has been
shared by spider Apparently the snar-
ing was accomplished, at the start by
winding silken threads around the mouse's
TAIL perhaps while the animal was asleep.
At all events, having shared it, the spider,
its web located beneath a table, made
use of the cleverest engineering skill to
hoist the mouse, despite its struggles, off
the floor into the air, where it was wholly
helpless.
In laboratory at the Interior Depart
ment in Washington a study is being made
of spiders webs. A silken thread, spun
by spider, was photographed through
microscope that magnified its diameter
1000 times. Thus enlarged, the small
piece of it shown in the picture looked
about the size of horsehair.
A human hair magnified on the same
scale would be. six inches thick.