smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1879

1t isn't generally known that Ben
franklin was the original Harmonica
Man. But it's SC, 1t happened in this
way. Going to bed one night, after eat
ing heavy supper of beef hash, he lay
awake tossing about, terribly distressed
by Indigestion. His wife was sleeping
by his side, and her loud snoring sounded
like big jewsharp. He thought how
much like "comb music" it was. Being
q wide-awake and ingenious chap, he
next day went to work and made a little
affair of brass and iron and wood, and
having satisfied himself of his success,
he kept the thing secret, and carried it
to bed with him the next night. After
his wife got asleep he took his little in
strument and began to play on it, which
woke her with start. whats that"
said she. Ben guessed she'd been dream
ing. So when she got asleep again he
gave her some more music, which awoke
her in alright "What on earth is that,
Benz cts me-" said he "You!"
said she. ." "Yes, me-" said Ben. ooh,
you get outP said she. Ben was too
good-natured to handy words with his
wife, so he gave her Yankee Doodle"
with all the variations, which so charmed
and astonished her that she went off to
sleep again, and dreamed that Ben took
out patent for his little instrument,
and made lots of money by it, and finally
left it legacy to all the small boys of
his native land. That's the origin of
the harmonica.


Years afterward, when Franklin rep
resented our country at the Court Of st.
James, ne would put some harmonicas in
his pocket on going out walk, and if
he met mischievous looking cuss in the
street, he'd take out one Of his little in
struments, and after showing him how
to play on it, would hasten off round the
first corner and cut for home, for fear q
policeman would nab him. 1t was not
long before the harmonica became the
detested nuisance of London, and in
quiries were instituted for the rascally
inventor Franklin knew enough to
keep mum about it, but he enjoyed no
end of fun when he saw the awful wrath
of John Bull at the sound of har
monica, which invariably reused him to
madness.
Year: 1879

Peculiar and Alarming vagarIes OF the
Storm Fiead-Everything Movable in its
Track Destroyed and Swept into Space In
q Momont.-Women with Children in their
Arms Found Dead Half Mile from their
Homes Other Casualties Of the Day.
Year: 1879

If there is a man living who is
Justly entitled to live in all the COM
forts OF lite, and enjoy in peace and
quiet the companionship of his chill
dren, should 1t not be he who has
spent the vigor OF his life in agrl-
cultural pursuits and performed the
hard labor required in tllllng the
soil? The idle Sbylock dies mid
luxury and ease, while the wealth
producer dies IN want and is buried
by the charity of his friends.
Year: 1879

The Greenback movement is
booming IN the South. That down
trodden people, taxed to death by
fraudulent bonds are awaking to
the issues of the day. They are
finding that sectional strife IS the
country's curse and that the labor.
ing men Of the whole country must
bury all sectional animositles, aban.
don all old party ties, and make q
united effort 10 restore tho govern
mcnt to the people and dethronc
the money power. 1t is astonish,
ing what - rapid hold the doctrine
of the money of intelligence is TAX
ing on the people Of tho South.
Year: 1879

Four hundred and fifty millions
of dollars lying idlc in the treasury
and yet our National debt
increasing every day! This
large sum boarded by the govern
ment and thousands Of homes being
sold out by reason of contraction.
The Democratic party has full con-
troll of Congress and has the power
to stop this increase of debt; to send
these boarded millions into the
channels of trade and to stop these
sales of homes. Yet it has not done
so nor is it endeavoring to do 80,
nor will it ever do so. To say that
the Democratic party is the party
of the people is a hollow mockery
Year: 1879

PARTIES are making arrangements for {
line Of packets betweeen here and Wheel
ing. Two boats will be put in the trade
so that boat can leave the wharf every
hour These are experienced steamboat
men and understand just what they want
-BsliGire Tribune,


This line will be, we presume, the Bel
aire and South Western railroad connec
ton with this city. II trade is allowed tc
have free and unrestricted latitude be.
tween that road and Wheeling, we have
no doubt the boats vii! do good business
There should be a through ticket and
through freight arrangement adjusted as
soon as possible, so that neither travel OF
trade will be unnecessarily impeded.
Year: 1879

WHEAT, corn, pork, cotton and petro-
leum are all on the boom these days. They
are gradually creeping up in price from
day to DAY. Occasionally they fall off a
little, but the undertone is strong and the
tendency is to higher prices. Wheat, cot
ton and pork were all strong and higher
yesterday in the principal markets. Cot
ton is quoted as buoyant at New Orleans,
and January pork at Chicago closed at
$l4 o. and Sl4lO. This time last year 1t
sold for about s.. The foreign demand
for these articles and theimmense plethora
Otmoney are swelling their price, and they
are but leading the way in a general
rise Of falmost everything that's merchants
bic. AS things look at this time, the year
1880 will be year Of great business activi-
tyaud higher prices. There is NO likeli-
hood that Congress will take any step to
cancel any of the greenbacks, and Of
course they will not stop the coinage Of
the silver dollar. Imitation is delightful
process, and it is popular to keep it up.
Even the Cincinnati Commercial, that was
want to cry, troll on silver moou," now
cries in vain to stop the coinage. The
coinage will go on, and the dollars will
roll back into the Treasury through the
Custom houses Of the land, and not dol
lar Ct them will be used to redeem dollar
oioUr greenback currency. We could to-
day redeem S5OOOOOOO Of that currency
with silver, and get it out OF the way, thus
reetiag that much sail against day ofpos-
sible rush for gold. Congress, however,
will do.nothing of this kind for President
islo be elected next year, and the motto
is, let US take care of the Presidency in
1850, and after that the deluge.
Year: 1879

SPECIAL dispatches from Washington say
that Congressman Murch is free in his ex-
preston as to the course the Greenbackers
of this State will pursue. ''He says the
Greenbackers are perfectly united. Every
letter he receives is strongly opposed to any
coalition with the Democracy. In fact, the
Democracy in Maine have no future. Their
only hope is to accept the situation and ride
behind. He only knows of one paper in the
State assuming to be Greenback that lends
the least countenance to fusion. Coalition
means defeat, and they distrust every prop
osition looking to such result. They will
adopt clear-cut Greenback platform, and
invite the cooperation of every man opposed
to the present financial policy of the Admin
istration. They are stronger to-day than
ever before. The action of the present ses-
sion OF Congress has increased their forces
wonderfully. The efforts of the Democracy
to raise fictitious issues in order to divert
the popular mind has proved a boomerang
in Maine. All his letters are filled with ex-
pressions of disgust for those partisan efforts
to evade the living issues and manufacture
false ones.''
Year: 1879

THE bill concerning Presidential elections
reported by the House committee on the
electoral count provides that in case of a
contest as to electors in any State, the su-
preme court shall determine which set of
electors is the legal one, and such decision
shall be final unless reversed by the concur
rent action of both houses of Congress. That
is, Congress can control the next count by
simply resorting to the expedient of a con-
test in whatever State it chooses. 1t is
next Presidency.
Year: 1879

MICHIGANDERs are more enthusiastic than
discreet. One wrote to Senator Chandler,
after his recent speech: II see that Wash
ington paper claims that you were drunk
when you went for the fraud and violence
patriots, the other day. If that is the way
the old thing works. with you, Michigan
wants you to get drunk every day on the
same kind of whiskey.'
Year: 1879

THE Southern Democrats have no objec-
ton to the yellow fever bill that provides that
all offenses against sanitary regulations Of
the States are made triable in Federal courts.
Senator Conkling reminded them of their in
consistency the other day and showed that,
while they were bowling against Federal in
reference with the congressional elections,
they were now supporting measure which
went farther in establishing the principle of
national sovereignty than anything yet pro-
posed
Year: 1879

We do not read anonymous letters and communi-
cations The name and address of the writer are in
all cases Indispensable not necessarily for publica-
tion but as guaranty Of good faith.


We cannot undertake to return preserve COM
munications that are not used
Year: 1879

Below is the correspondence concerning
mileage between the State Treasurer White
and Ex-Judge Tapley, a member of the Leg
islature of 1875. The printed form of the
request sent to Judge Tapley was this:


u IN nrI
Year: 1879

A Minnesota man found a beautiful young
squaw almost frozen to death. He took her to
his camp fire and tried to thaw her out When
she had melted a little he proposed marriage
and was accepted They are now l. This IS q
romance.
Year: 1879

Sheep are az much necessity to the farm
er as the COW, the horse, the hog or poultry.
If one hundred or more cannot be provided
for, perhaps it is possible to keep ten, Is ton
sheep will make their mark if suitably man
aged. As distributors of first-class fertils-
ing material, they are certainly unequalled.
1t is asserted by those who claim TO know.
that thousand sheep will make one acre
enormously rich in single night. One
hundred sheep would, in the same ratio, re
qnire but ten days for the purpose, and ten
sheep would enrich three and one--half in a
year.


We think some considerable reduction
should be made from these figures. If the
circulation is three hundred per cent. too
large, they afford the most feasible and &C.
onomicsl means of enrichiug our lands.
whether in large or small quantities. They
pay expenses and considerable profit to the
owner before he gets down to the fertilizer
question-so their efforts in this direction
are purely gratutous. Good, fat mutton is
most healthy and nourishing food for all
classes of people, far surprising the ever
lasting bacon which we grease ourselves
with, greatly to Jour injury. 1t is cheaper
than pork, and this fact should commend it
to our rural population.


A small area, properly fenced and sup.
piled with shale, shelter and water, can be
made an uniailing meat pasture if sufficient.
ly stocked with good grade Of sheep. OF
the wool producing qualities of the sheen
and the various ways of utilizing this pro-
duet we shall not speak at this time. Wool
is staple article, ranking with cotton, SUI
gar, tobacco, wheat, corn and rice. Ii i,
worth money anywhere and everywhere
1t is ready for market in the middle of sum.
mer, just when the farmer needs few do
lars till his heavy crop natures


Our earnest advice to every owner of t,n
or more acres of land is TO provide these in.
dispensible requisites to comfort and pros.
perity without unnecessary delay. Sheep
husbandry should be considered an import.
ant diversity of farm products. In the ob-
stacles to complete success are not numer-
Gus or difficult to overcome.-Honle Jou,a.
al
Year: 1879

No lawyer likes going into court with q
thoroughly bad case, yet how can he help il
sometimes?


should have more patience with the ques.
tion, "Do you ever think it right to defend
a man whom you believe to be guilty." were
it less frequently put by people who spend
six days of the week seeking to get the up
per hand of their neighbors, and the seventh
trying to circumvent their Maker To the
honest inquirer, | commend the answer DR..
Johnston once gave to Boswell Sir, the
lawyer is not the judge


Was it my place when George Gilbert's
care-worn wife came with tears gistening in
her eyes, to beseech me to do what could
for her imprisoned husband, virtually to
turn my back and leave her tired, troubled
heart to break or not as it might. / was
neither priest nor a Levite to find a ready
excuse for passing by on the other side. Yet
what could l do? George Gilbert had been
sent on collecting tour and had gambled
away money received for his employers. 1t
was a plain case of embezzement, and the
penalty was term Of years in the States
prison.


Il am sure he never meant to be dishonest,
pleaded the royal little woman he was
tempted by a crafty and designing man, but
instead of running away, as Others would
have done, he came back and confessed his
fault, offering to let his whole salary go
toward making up the lost money till every
cent was paid Mr.. Meek, the junior part
ner, was willing to be merciful, but MIR.
Mangle, the head of the house, who Just re-.
turned then after years absence, insisted
that the law should take its course


Il gave her what poor consolation could,
for lawyers, like doctors must keep their
patients courage up at times.


in the first place, I'll see Messrs Mangle
& Meek | said. Mr. Mangle may be
brought to hear reason, after all-if he can
only be made to see his interest in it,


The pale, respondent face cheered up a
little. My words seemed to have inspired
a sort of underlined hope that was far from
feeling myself


Mr.. Mangle received me with stony po-
liteness.


Young man. his manner said, don't
waste time in appeals to sentiment you
won't if you'll just look at me.
took the hint and came at once to bus-
ness, repeated Gilbert's offer, and put it as
strongly as possible that more was to be
gained by leniency than harshness-all of
which Mr.. Mangle listened to with con-
scientious scowl.


Il cannot be party to compounding a
felony he answered with a solemn intona-
tion,


Nor have asked you, | replied, not a
little nettled. l have merely mentioned a
plan of paying back your own, leaving it to
your generosity to press or not to press this
prosecution.


'Oh, it's all the same, was the contemptu-
Gus ejOner-'anyb but lawyer, with
his head full of quibs and quiblets, could see
that, Besides, there is something rather
cool in the proposal to retain your friend in
our employ under pretence of working out
the money he has stolen, with the opportun.
ity of fching twice as much in the mean.
time
Year: 1879

Il wonder, nncle,' said little girl if men
will yet live to be five hundred or thou
sand years old2 No, my child respond
ed the old man ; that was tried once, and
the race grew so bad that the world had to
be drowned
Year: 1879

In twice two hundred years the Bear
The Crescent shall assail


But If the Cock and Bull unite,
The Bear shall not prevail.


But look in twice ten years again
Let Islam know and fear
The Cross shall wax, the Crescent wane.
Grow pale and disappear.
Gold shall be found and grown
In land that's not yet known.
Fire and water shall wonders do.
England at last shall admit Jew,
The world to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty-one
Year: 1879

She came full chisel to his arm


It really made him stare
TO have her make bolt for him


Before he could prepare.
He tried to screw his courage up,


And did his level best
To nail the matter then and there.


While clasped unto her breast
Says he: 'it augers well for me,


All seems to hinge on this;
And what is mortise plane to see,


The porch child wants a kiss"
He kissed her lip, he kissed her cheek,
And called her his adoored-
He dons his claw-hammer next week,
And she will share his board.
Year: 1879

! The following extract, copied from a
| late number of the University Press, is
from the pen of Miss Ella A. Giles, of
Madison:


Many women of the present day are
giving too much thought to the possibil-
ity of their rights, and too little to the
absoluteness of eiraobligations.


Only as women deserve the golden
mean which is an equal distance from all
extremes, can they step out upon the
broad platform of public life and still re-
tain their womanliness. ''The wise man
is he who knows when and how to STOP"
says Victor Hugo The wisdom of wom-
en- may be estimated in the same way.
The world is kept better and purer by
the gentle courtesies that men are expect
ed to bestow upon a woman, not from
mere politeness or conventional gallantry
but simply because she is a woman. If
any changes and Improvements are to be
made in society by women as reformers,
they must be richly endowed with purely
feminine qualities, for when in her asso-
citation with men these courtesies are not
deemed necessary, woman must possess
masculine traits, and they always excite
feeling of repulsion In the present
state of society, there is a multitude of
vocations that are wholly unfit to receive
women. 1t requires cautious Judgment
and nice discrimination to select those in
which they are most likely to succeed,
and to enter which they do not pay too
high price. 1t is well that women are
overcoming much of the sensitiveness
that used to prevent them from making
their own way in The world. But they
must beware of allowing new accomplish
ments to degenerate into boldness or that
dlithe impertinence which we frequently
see in young women, and which is, to
say the least, unbecoming and ungrace
full. Historically, women are now at the
acme of their power. By using it wisely
gracefully, religiously with the con-
sciousness of distinctive yet, co-opera-
tive force, they can remain the adjusters
of society, the standard of it's moral sane
tuaries and purest sentiments, as they
have been'in the past, and, in the future
it will be theirs to remove much that is
radically wrong in our systems, and WELD
the acknowledged scepters of real reform
erS.
Year: 1879

Phoenix (Arizona) Herald: Some ex-
element is being created among the
Mexican population of Phoenix by the
story of a Mexican who arrived last even
ing from Reno mountains. He came in
to town under cover of darkness, as he
was nearly naked. His hands and feet
were torn and bloody, and his face was
gashed in fearful manner. His story
was told with the air of man who had
been terribly frightened and had not re-
covered. With champion he had start
ed out prospecting about a month ago,
going up Salt River. They left the river
when opposite the Superstitious noun
tain. Their prospecting began at this
point. While climbing up the mountain
in little gully, through black sand, and
down which large stream of water had
evidently passed years ago, they were as
tonished to find that in this sand were
large quantities of fine gold In some
places the sand was only about half an
inch deep over the granite. The gold, in
pieces the size of a bean and smaller, was
found in the little assures in the face of
the bed rock. Very little washing was
necessary, and they found little spring
of water which furnished them with what
they needed. They obtained, they think
about $500 worth in half days work.
About 2 o'clock in the afternoon they
were surprised to see an Indian woman
come to the top of the gulch above the
spring and start to come down. Upon
seeing them she ran back over the hill.
In less than ten minutes they were sur
rounded by so or 60 of the savages. The
Indians were very small and seemed to
be of different nature than they had
ever seen in Arizona The Mexicans
were not armed except with knives, and
the survivor says they were almost in
stantly caught with lariats. The Indians
took them up the mountain and put them
in cave. He succeeded in getting away
with only few knife gashes on his face.
They lost their gold with all their outfit.
The Indians seemed to be cave-dwellers,
and were evidently excited over the place
being found by outsiders Our reporters s
limited knowledge Of the Spanish Ian
guage makes it impossible for us to OBJ
tain all the particulars of the affair. For
the benefit of non-residents we will say
that Superstitious mountain derives it's
name from the fact that no white man
has ever been seen again who attempted
its ascension. 1t is a tradition among the
Mexicans that large deposits of free gold
are tobe found in its gulches and ravines.
1t is not known whether there is any
water there or not We shall endeavor
to obtain further particulars regarding
the matter and will publish them soon as
obtained.
Year: 1879

G. B. Norton writes from Springfield,
Mass, to Mr.. Edison, telling of new
use to which the telephone may be put.
He says:


During my stay here I have learned a
most curious and useful application of the
telephone. Captain John E. Greer, a
most able officer of the ordinance depart
I ment, United States army, states as fol-
lows: Hitherto the accurate determi-
nation of the time of flight of small-arm
projectiles has been practically impossible
at long ranges, owing to our inability to
them strike, even when firing over the
water The discovery of the telephone
has opened up to us a simple as well as a
novel means of obtaining the time desir-
ed, and has also afforded us the means Of
verifying the formulas by which these
times were formerly deduced In these
experiments two telephones provided
with Blake transmitters Ca form of Edi-
sons carbon teIephone) were used. One
was placed within few feet of the gun
and left open to receive and transmit the
sound of the discharge The other was
in the shelter-proof, which was about
thirty feet in front of the right edge of
the target. A stop watch, beating fourths
of a second, was used in connection with
it. The telephone being at the ear, the
instant the sound of the discharge was
received at the target the watch was
started, and, on the bullet striking was
stopped A mean of large number of
observations, which rarely differed more
than quarter to half of a second from
each other, gave the time of flight. Of
course there is slight delay in starting
the watch, but this is neutralized by a
similar one in stopping it. The time
given may therefore be accepted as strict
ly correct. 1t is worthy of notice that
the times vary on different days, being
shortened by rear and heightened by
head wind. The velocity of sound may
be readily obtained with the telephone in
the same manner. The time for the
sound of the discharge passing through
the air was always shown by the watch
but as it was not desirable for my pur-
pose to stop the watch until the bullet
reached the target, these times were not
taken. This, so far as I am aware, is the
first attempt to utilize the telephone in
experiments of this nature.
Year: 1879

An effort was made Christmas to trans
fer arms and ammunition from the Maine
State Arsenal at Bangor to the State Cap
itol at Augusta, but before the warlike
material had reached the railway depot
at Bangor, the people of that city found
out what was going on, and the excite
ment among the throng that filled the
streets ran SO high that the Mayor request
ed its return to the arsenal, and advised
Governor Garcelon, by whose authority
the proposed transfer was attempted, that
such proceeding could not be successful
without violence. 1t is very evident that
the Governor and his co-conspirators are
afraid something may happen when the
Legislature assemblies on the 9th of Janu-
ary, and are preparing to entrench them
selves and their partisans in the Capitol.