smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1879

Into the gloom of the deep, dark night,


With painting breath and startled scream,
Swili as a bird in sudden flight


Darts this creature of steel and steam.
Awful dangers arc lurking nigh,


Rocks and chasms arc near the track.
But straight by the light of its great white eye
1t speeds thro' the shadows, dense and dark
Terrible thouqhts and fierce distress


Trouble its mad heart many an hour,
Where burn and shoulder the hidden fires,
Coupled ever with might and power.
1t hates, as the wild horse hates, the rein,
The narrow track by vale and hill;
And shrieks with cry of startled pain,
And longs to follow It's own wild will
Oh. what am but an engine, shod


With muscle and flesh by the hand OfGol,
Speeding on thro' the dense, dark night,
Guided alone by the soups white light
Often and often my mad heart tires,


And hates its way with a bitter hate,
And longs to follow its own desires,


And leave the end in the hands of fate.
o, mighty engine of steel and steam;


o, human engine Of blood and bone,
Follow the white lights certain beam
There lies safety, and there alone.
The narrow track OF fearless truth,


LIT by the souls great eye of light.
o, passionate heart of restless youth,


Alone will carry you thro' the night
Year: 1879

A new explosive has been discovered by
he staff of the Austrian artillery, which is
said to possess far greater explosive power
han any other substance hitherto discov-
red. 1t consists of nitro-glycerinc, gun
cotton and camphor. The cotton is dis
'olved in tro-glycerine, the product beng


gelatinous and gummy substance. To
his is added a little camphor, :hc proper
tiens being 96 per cent of the former
which consists of 80 per cent of nitro
glycerine and 10 per cent Of fulmi-cotton)
md 4 per cent Of the latter This explosive
gelaine is said to be as manageable AS
ordinary powder, with less danger, and
far greater expansive force.
Year: 1879

Florida is the grand stamping ground of the pig. According to 8 correspond ent, the young porkers are the curse of the land. They are allowed to run free, making it necessary for farmers to build tight fences, and to be ever on the watch lest their crops are destroyed, their paths unceremoniously rooted up, or their young chickens and domestic fowls destroyed by them. They will steal anything and everything will watch at doors of houses where they have seen something thrown out, some times for hours, hoping for another throw out; the boatmen are afraid of them if boat is left out in the stream, pigs have been known to swim out, get into the boat, snatch bundle or lunch package, swim ashore, and make for the woods. Plenty of dogs are kept to chase them, but their legs are not infe- rior to the average dogs legs, and they will never drop their plunder until they are absolutely forced to; a slight nip from dogs teeth is of no account.
Year: 1879

The tarantula of Texas is the des- perado of the spider family. He fre- quently attains the size of the hand, and with it's great, glaring black eyes and frightful claws, seldom fails to pre- sent an appearance so formidable that sen sitiye lady, even if used to seeing the tarantula, will scream at the sight. The tarantula is, in fact, only big spider, and usually makes his home in the open prairie, dwelling with his family in nest concealed beneath the tall grass. If you tackle him in his retreat you will very soon repent your temerity, for he springs at you like a tiger, jumping to an astonishing height-sometimes three or four feet. He is one of the most poisonous of the family of the arachna, and his bite is said to be more fatal than that of the rattlesnake. In set clement called Grapevine Prairie, near Fort Worth, some time ago, the son of 8 farmer named Featherstone was one day occupied gathering rocks on the road side. Upon overturning @ large flat rock he was suddenly confronted by a large tarantula the size of mans hand, snugly ensconced in his nest along with number of young tarantulas. The big one was yellow and black striped, and displayed the same inimitable colors that nature bestows upon the "beauti- full snake" Seizing good-sized stick, Master Featherstone attacked the enemy in his stronghold, and was met with an unexpected resistance. He succeeded in breaking off one leg, or rather claw, of the devil-fsh of dry land but the tarantula, enraged, sprang upon the az gressor, and quick as thought, with his great black eyes glittering with fendish ferocity, fastened himself on the boy's hand and arm. Before he could be dis lodged the tarantula had inflicted two probably fatal bites on the hand and arm, both of which subsequently, swelIed to three times their natural size -so virulent is the poison of this des- perado of the prairies. The boy, how ever, succeeded in killing the tarantula.
Year: 1879

During the Reno investigation Lieut.. Edgerley of the 7th Cavalry, testified that Major Reno and several of his off, cers were very much excited. One of the first persons seen by the witness on the hill was Major Reno. He was in very excited condition. He had lost his hat and wore white handkerchief around his head. While the witness was looking at him he rushed to the edge of the hill and fired his pistol down toward where the Indians were. The Indians were about a thousand yards away from the hill, away out of pistol range. While several of the officers were excited he was surprised at the coolness of the men. Witness detailed his observation on the Custer battle field, and, to his mind, there were at first evidences of a line of defense. Gal houn had borne the brunt of the engage ment. The last of the command, how ever, was considerably scattered. The final hill where Custer was found was evidently grand rallying point. The evidence was that the men had been overcome by good odds. Knowing the soldiers, as he did, witness felt sure there had been a hard fight while 1t lasted. He thought Custer and his men boldly fought the odds against them. Witness thought much of the firing on the Custer battle field was due to the random shots of the Indians to show their joy. Busters command must have been killed within twenty or twenty-one minutes.
Year: 1879

Dr. Emil Querner, of Philadelphia. informs the Boston Journal of Chenais- try of a new theory about diphtheria. He says "After laborious and scrutin- izing investigation into the cause of Q large number of cases of diphtheria that have come under my care during several years past, l have almost arrived at the conclusion that the primary infection of an individual comes from the fungi which are found as spots of different colors on the exterior of fruit, particu- larly apples. As far as the DO yer of my microscope has shown, these fungi seem identical with the fungi from 8 diphtheria ulcer; and last autumn I traced number of cases, at one time five together in one family, back to the eating of apples picked from the ground in orchards without previously cleaning the friut by washing or rubbing"
Year: 1879

A Coop Doe.-But for his dog, which pinned him and held him down till the neighbors could break in and bind him, farmer near Ripon, Wis, would have killed his wife and child while in an in- sane fit,
Year: 1879

During the time of the French
Empire the ugliest woman in Paris
and yet the best dressed and most
agreeable, was said to be tho Prin-
cess Metternich, wife of the Aus
trian Ambassador. She was also
reputed to be as eccentric as she
was accomplished. 1t appears by
a paragraph in the London Truth
that she has lately displayed both
her eccentricity and her accom-
plishments In Vienna. 1t seems
that she Is frequent attendant at
Gasthaus-one OF the musical beer
halls of which the Germans are so
fond-and not long since the good
folks who smoke their pipes over
their lager were not little sur
prised when they saw the Princess
ascend the stage, and, after bidding
the tune to the orchestra, attack
with consummate naaestrid
her favorite song, made fa-
nous by Theresa Rien NEST
sacre pour un sapeur. 1t need
scarcely be said that her success
was tremendous. The audi
ence would fain have carried
her In triumph. The only
long face was that of the pro-
proprietor of the hall, who had not
been able to advertise the event in
advance, and perhaps-but this is
merely supposition-the face Of
Prince Metternich when he heard
OF the whole business.
Year: 1879

An adept in ocean travel urges
those who fear sickness to take u
ten-grain blue pill the night before
sailing and dose of citrate of
magnesia the follow wing morning.;
than eat breakfast and go on
board. He has followed this prac-
tice for several years and been en-
tirely free from qualms. All those
who have initiated him have been
equally fortunate.
Year: 1879

Printing House for doing job work are not
surpassed in California outside OF San
Francisco and Sacramento. All work en-
trusted to US will be executed with neat
ness and dispatch at the lowest living
Year: 1879

The Spanish father is absolute king
and lord by his own hearthstone, but his
sway is so mild that it is hardly felt A
light word between husband and wife
sometimes goes unexplained, and the
rift between them widens through life.
They cannot be divorced-they will not
incur the scandal of public separation
and, as they pass lives of lonely isola-
ton in adjoining apartments, both think
rather better of each other and of them
selves for this devilish persistence.


If men are never henpecked except by
learned wives, Spain would be the place
of all others for timid men to marry in.
The girls are bright and vivacious, but
they have never crossed, even in school
day excursion, the border lines of the
ologies. They have an old proverb which
coarsely conveys this idea--that "a
Christian woman in good society ought
not to know any thing beyond her cookery
book and her missal."


in his life, and the old traditions which
represent the doctor and death as always
hunting in couples still survive in Spain.
In all well-to-do families the house of
death is always deserted Immediately
after the funeral and the stricken ones
retire and pass eight days in inviolable
seclusion. aChildren are buried in coffins
of gray color, pink Or blue, and carried
open to the grave.


A luxury of grief consists in shutting
up the house where a death has taken
place and never suffering it to be opened
again. l once saw beautiful house
and wide garden thus abandoned in one
of the most fashionable streets of Madrid.
The wife of certain Duke had died
there many years before. The Duke
lived in Paris, leading rattling life,
but he would never sell or "let" that
Madrid homes Perhaps in his heart,
that battered thoroughfare, there was a
silent spot where, tn rough the gloom Of
dead days, hescould catelf glimpse of a
white hand, the rustic Of trailing robe,
and feel sweeping over him the magic: Of
loves dream, softeniDg his fancy to
tender regre t.
Year: 1879

News from the frontier continues to bring re-
ports of Indian outbreaks. The New Mexico
Indians are now trying their hand at massacre,
and in atrocity fall little short of the horrible
work of the Utes. The difficulty is in the Rio
Grande Valley, and southwest Of Fort Cum
minis. Two companies of eighty men were
raised a few days since, under Col. Rynerson,
to 20 to the scene of trouble. Two trains have
been captured near Slocum's. In one of them
eleven men, one woman and a child were
killed. In the other all hands escaped. Both
trains were captured and some of the oxen were
killed and others left standing in the yokes.
The corpses lie all along the road. A number
of people are known to have been killed within
the past four or FIVE days, the aggregate being
about forty. The Indian trail leaving the
stage road leads toward the Black Range, and
in the vicinity of the Hillsboro Mining Camp.
Major Morrow, of the Ninth Cavalry, with a
strong scouting party, is thought to be in the
vicinity of Colorado. This is the most per-
sistent fighting the Indians have been known to
do in that section. They are in large bands,
and seem determined to stay in the country and
fight, and make general warfare.
Year: 1879

1have recently been favored with the
sight of one of the famous jewels of the
world-a stone that has its history and
its pedigree and is celebrated in the
annals of the noted gems of Europe; l
have held it in my hands and admired
beneath the rays of the sunlight the
finest sapphire that is known to exist.
This beautiful and well nigh priceless
stone combines in singularly perfect
degree the leading qualifications of size,
shape, color and water. In form it is a
fiat oval, being about two inches long by
one inch and a half wide. 1t is cut
slightly en- caboca0n on top and into a
multitude of small facets beneath. Its
hue is perfect, being warm, lustrous
Marie Louise blue, not so dark as to show
black beneath the gaslight, but having
all the velvety softness and purity of
tint that are required in really fine
gem of this descriptions. Its weight is
300 carats, and it belongs to noble and
wealthy Russian family, In whose pos.
session it has been for the past two cen
turies, and it has been placed by its
owner in the hands of one of the great
diamond merchants of Paris. for safe
keeping. One of the Rothchild family
las OntIcu LOT uO ICES a SUM LEau 9OUU,
900, but the offer has been refused. [
asked the courteous gentleman in whose
care it has been left as to the actual
value of the stone. He told me that,
being, as it was, perfectly unique, no
precise valuation could be set upon it,
but that he was inclined to estimate it
at some 100000. He also showed me
string of enormous graduated pearls of
extreme purity and fineness (the center
one was as large as small cherry, and
he told ME that the necklace belonging
tc the noble Russian was composed of
six similar strings of equal beauty and
exceptional size. The great sapphire
was mounted to be worn as a brooch,
being surmounted with large diamonds
of some twenty carats each. Its guardian
informed me that the pendant belong
ing to its brooch was composed of large
pear-shaped sapphire, weighing sixty
carats, and set in diamonds. The whole
collection of jewels belonging to this one
family is worth over $4,000, 900. "There
is no such sapphire as that largest one" !"
continued my informant, ''even among
the crown jewels of Russia. furnished,
myself two very fine ones to the empress,
each weighing sixty carats, but they dc
not compare with this magnificent gem" "
The gentleman who spoke was well
qualified to give an opinion, as he is one
of the few great diamond merchants OF
the world. and is, moreover, noted ex
nart- zss sag la
Year: 1879

Stop this scientific business where it
is, and don't let it 60 any further. 1t is
robbing life of all that is worth living for.
Only short time ago one of these scien-
tiic joskins analyzed a tear that had
trickled down upon the cheek of lady
who wanted new dress, and he found
that it contained phosphate of lime,
chloride of sodium and water. Ever
since reading that analysis we have lost
faith in tears, and no matter what per-
son is bellering about, we can only look
at the tears as they flow over beauty
damask cheek and think of the phos-
phate of lime, chloride of sodium and
water. The internal analysis has
knocked all the poetry out of the tears
for us, and we feel as though we wanted
our money back. If the scientist will
refund what he has taken from us, he
can have his old analysis. We would
like to throw him in a corner and Jump
on him. He has robbed us. O, give us
back them other days, when tears were
tears, and not lime chloride ofeodium
other nauseating drugs.
And now another yahoe has been at
1t, and he states that blushing Is caused
by the enlargement Of the blood vessels
at the intersection of the veins and ar.
teriesi There goes another pane Of glass
mashed all to thunder. Blushing is
caused by the enlargement of the blood
vessels is it? Well, suppose it is! Couldn't
you have kept it to yourself, you ETH
opian? Suppose We go to ball, now
like the ball.a Oshkosh week: before last
and after daacing waltz we take occa
| sion to compliment our fair partner, az
| any gentleman would if he had any style
| about him-and we look up into hel
innocent hazel eyes and peachy complex
| ion, and what do we see? We see the
blood vessels are enlarging at the inter
section of the veins with the arteries
Once we would have noticed rosy blush
but not now! All, no; not now! The
scientific fiend has got in his work ON us
he has accomplished his devilish designs
and we stand there like butcher thai
is bargaining for beef, and notice only
the enlargement of the blood vessels
Who was the man who first started thiI
thing about blood vessels. Let him be
hunted out; let us know his name anG
residence, so we can see If we have gots
pass on arailroad to the place where HI
lives. He is doubtless some chenlica
cuss, that wanted to get little free adj
vertising. IF we can find out who he il
we will give him some advertising tha
shall not cost him cent Blood vessels
By the ETHEREAL.
Year: 1879

An evening newspaper of San Fran
cisco gives glimpse of the state of the
mining stock market west of the Rocky
Mountains. Six of its columns are
filled with closely printed lists ofshares
in various mining companies on which
assessments are overdue, and which are
advertised to be sold as directed by law,
because their owners refuse or are una
BILE to make further payments on them.
On some of the stock the assessments
are so low as two cents share, and 9th
ers as high as 50. Nearly $15O,0fO
delinquent shares were advertised in q
recent number of the Newspaper in
question.
Year: 1879

father, mother and brother. He succeeded in
killing his father. but whether the mother and
brother will survive is not positively known.
The only explanation for the commission of the
crime (the murderer's story is, that he was
angered on returning home by find
ing himself barred out. He was cutting
pane of glass out of the win
dow when his father demanded to know
who was there, and this slight inquiry seemed
to so irritate him, that he shot his father at
once. Gaining entrance, and enraged in his
blood-thirsty course, he shot his brother and
mother, and left them for dead. He went at
once to Cleveland, a distance of sixteen miles,
leaving them all for dead, but the mother and
brother rallied sufficient in the morning to go
to a neighbours a short distance away, and tell
the news. The murderer was arrested the next
day without much difficulty.
Year: 1879

In imitation of the historical iconoclast
a scientific disillusienist, writing for the
Popular Science Monthly, says that the
belief in the power of serpent to charm
small animals had its origin in super
stitious ignorance. The writer contends
that snake has no such power and that
what appears to be the result of a
'charm' is nothing more or less than the
last act of well played tragedy. The
snakes fangs being thin and retractile
he says no effort is made to retain the
prey after it is onced seized. Stealthily
the serpent creeps up to its victim and
inflicts the fatal wound. The sure work
ing of the virus, says the disillusionist,
constitutes the charm" Has the Gre
dulity of the world been imposed ON for
centuries, or has the Popular Science
writer just begun to impose on the
world.
Year: 1879

A remarkable story comes from Cob
bleskill: A few days ago, while plodding
along after his pillow, in deep meditation,
farmers attention was attracted to n
large fox trotting along between the two
horses Now, Webster never gets nervous
or acts on the spur of the moment. In
this case he coolly took in the situation,
and carefully revolved the question in
his mind of how to capture the fox. He
soon had it. He would bury him alive
Suddenly striking the horses a smart
blow and engineering the plow with a
double-jointed twist, over went the fox
in the furrow, and over the fox went q
covering of earth. Nothing but the
hind legs of the animal were visible, and
these Webster seized, and, whisking his
foxship out of the furrow, dashed his
brains out on a stone near by.
Year: 1879

A Kansas genius, representing himself
as practical farmer, has lately been
visiting all the fairs with prize pumpkin,
and took the premium every time. 1t
measures seven feet in circumference,
and weighed two hundred and thirty
pounds. Several days ago ut Council
Grove, rival farmer attempted to tap
the pumpkin in the absence of the owner,
to get some of the seeds and discovered
that it was made of wood,
Year: 1879

The negro exodus threatens Indiana.
Two men representing a community of
two hundred of their race in North
Carolina, have visited the State and re-
port that they received such flattering Of
fers in the shape of work that they will
return at once to North Carolina and pre-
pare to emigrate. If the move proves a
success it is said that several thousand
colored people of both North and South
Carolinas will follow suit.
Year: 1879

ENGLISH emigrants who are induced
to come to this country in colonies by
the London agent of the Emigrant Land
Department of the Galveston, Harris.
burg and San Antonio Railroad and
settle in Texas. express the greatest dis
satisfaction of the sections of the country
to which they are consigned. They con-
tract to pay 50 per acre, but upon ex
aiming the land, find it so poor that many
of them refuse to pay anything for it.
or to settle upon it at all.
Year: 1879

THE game season is opening, and very
soon quail, partridges and wild ducks
will claim the attention of the epicure.
And the sportsman will go shooting for
them in the country, to the destruction
of "chippy" birds and houseless barn
yard fowls.
Year: 1879

DOM PfATT asks this question
"Wouldn't it be good idea to append
the name of the attendant physician to
death notices." Certainly. Such q
practice would weed the murderers out
of the profession, and place the brand
upon them that they no richly deserve.
Year: 1879

Ir will be interesting to lovers to
know exactly the difference between n
kiss and treading on the toe -as to the
time each demonstration takes, that is to
say, in making the lady aware of it.
Science has lately decided that the
nervous sensation travels one hundred
and ninety-tive feet in second, and
that touch on the cheek, therefore, is
communicated to the brain one -thirtieth
of second sooner than the pressure ON
the toe. "a
Year: 1879

1T il fortunate thing for the
Treasury Of California that no Of
fetal stenogrnphers were employed
to take down the debates of the
Constitutional Convention. They
proved to be voluminous beyond all
precedent; and, barring dozen
who could methodize their ideas
and put them into good English,
they were werdy and worthless be-
yond all precedent. Had this
amerphous mass Of trash been taken
down and printed in Book form it
would have involved an appalling
outlay Of money.
Year: 1879

NEARLY all intelligent persons
have been prepared any time dur
ing the past year and q half not to
be surprised at q great outbreak in
San Franclsco. The people of that
city, however, have shown far more
self-control than they get credit for.
All good citizens hope that this ad-
mirable spirit will be shown to the
end. The ballot and not violence
is the real remedy for political ills
In q Republic. Had the man whsm
the people elected President been
seated in the White House the
Chinese restriction bill would have
been signed and the Chinese ques.
tlon would now be practically at an
end. All the signs point to the
election OF Democrat in 1850