smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

Few are aware of the vast number
of people that can be placed in a
small space. When we speak of
millions of men, we are apt to pic
ture to ourselves an almost bound
less mass of humanity; yet a million
of people standing together, each
person occupying four square feet,
could be placed upon a patch but
little more than a mile square.
Year: 1876

A MAINE student, on wager,
managed to make away with ten ice
creams in succession recently, but
his screams soon brought a doctor
on the scene. The same voracious
youth offered to devour ten mince
pies in twenty minutes, but as
nobody was willing to pay for the
pies, the offer was not accepted.
Year: 1876

George Carr informed US the other
day that one of his farm hands, in plow-
ing field on the farm, brought to the
surface gold coin, coined more than
hundred years ago. This farm of Mr..
Carr is situated seven miles nearly north
from Charlottesville, and is the place
where the army surrendered by General
Burgoyne in the Revolution were kept
as prisoners of war, and this coin was
undoubtedly lost by one of the prisoners.
The foundations of the cabins in which
these prisoners lived can be seen at this
day, and in the forests are seen the graves
of those who died while they were quar-
tered there. We believe the fields retain
the names given them at the time, such
as headquarters" When the prisoners
were removed from the county the place
was purchased by the late Garland Garth
and he said there was not tree left or
the place. The for ests in the neighbor
hood had all been cut down and used fo


fuel. The forests that are now to b,


found on this farm haye grown up sine


the prisoners left it. A number of tn


prisoners remained and married, ant


their descendants are among our mos
industrious citizens. - Charlottesville
WAY Jeffersonian.
Year: 1876




There is good reason to believe that
disease is occasionally disseminated
through the medium of funerals. We
have at least one fairly authenticated
instance in this country of diphtheria
being difused broadcast through the
crowding incidental occasionally to the
last ceremony. In America this question
is beginning to receive much attention,
and several cases have been reported of
late where the transmission ofthe disease
from the corpse seemed highly probable.
The Suffolk District Medical Society
sent out four hundred circulars to medi-
cal practitioners, with view to ascer-
tain the opinion of the profession
on the alleged danger of permitting
public funerals of persons who had died
from diphtheria. Two hundred and
thirty-nine answers were received. OF
these, one hundred and forty three writ
ers express belief in the possible dan
ger of contagion at such funerals; seven
teen believe that there is danger from
funerals in the houses of the dead, but
none in churches; twenty-nine fancy
that, in the present state of knowledge
there is no justification in prohibiting
public funerals; and eight record cir
cumstances which occurred in their owl
experience con6rmatorY of the PROPOSE
tion that peril may ensue, but the testi
mony these latter advance is not quit
satisfactory. The Society, after due con
sIderation, recommend that funerals a
the houses OF those who have died o
diphtheria should be private, owing t
possible exposure to the poison of tn
disease.
Year: 1876

The King of Burmah is very proud
of his new Krupp gun, and lately
amused himself by throwing shot with
it into the Irawaddy river. One struck
a rice-laden dhow, which sunk, drown
ing the Captain. The King was in rap
lures, for he had pointed the gun him
self. Shells were then tried at long
ranges, village on the opposite bank
being the target. All Mandalay turned
out to watch the sport, and the village
was soon in flames. The inhabitants
iran about like mad" in such comical
manner that his Majesty laughed heart.
lily. Then the crowd on the Mandalay
side tempted the military ardor of the
gracious sovereign, who suddenly gave
the sightseers dose Of grape and can
mister. The crowd instantly scattered
leaving some twenty men, women and
children dead on the ground. His Ma
jesty was highly amused; the next Grim
inal is to be blown from the mouth o
his gun after the English fashion. Th,


King feels quite equal to the exigencie
of European war.
Year: 1876

The following is true copy of let
ter received from across the water:


"My dear Nancy-I have not heard
anything from ye sens the last time ]
wrote ye. / have moved from the place
where now live or ! should have writ
ten to you before. I did not know where
letter NIT find you first. but I now take
my pen in hand to drop you few lines
to inform you of the death of your own
livin uncle Fitzpatrick. He died very
suddenly after long lingering illness of
six months. Poor man, he suffered a
great deal. He lay long time in con-
vulsions, perfectly speechless, all the
time talking incoherently and inquiring
for water. ] am very much at loss to
tell ye what his deth is occaaioned at,
but the doctor thinks it was occasioned
by his last sickness, for he was not well
ten days at time during his confine.
ment. His age ye kno jist as well as ]
can tell ye-he was twenty-five years old
lacking fifteen months, and it he had
lived till this time be would been si1
ded months jest. ....-.


an. Blake notis I enclose q tir
pound note which your father sends t.
you unbenone to me. Your mother of
ten spakes of ye-shs wud like to sent
ye the brindle COW and I wud encloz


her to ye but for horruns.


81 would beg of ye not brake the sal


of this letter until two or three days al
ter ye read it for which time yell b
, better prepared for the sorrowful new
PAT O'BRAN1GAN.
Year: 1876

The large number of meteors lately
observed in the sky has attracted consid-
cradle attention, especially among
scientific men, who are of the opinion
that the earth is passing through a belt
of aerolites. There is some diversity of
opinion regarding the nature and origin
Of these stones, of which it is calculated
at least 5000 fall upon the earth's sur
face yearly. The theory most widely
accepted is that they are bodies of our
planetary system that have come near
enough to be acted upon by the earth's
gravitstion, and thus drawn ont of their
orbits. A great many aerolites have
been found, and neatly every scientific
institution in the world is possessed of
one or more. The largest of which
there is any authentic record was found
by Swedirh arctic expedition in 1870,
on the west coast of Greenland. 1t
weighs % tons, and is now at the Royal
Academy at Stockholm.


An aerolite of probably much greater
size was seen last Friday night by a
reporter, who was helated on the Ocean
House road. AT about 1916 he noticed
peculiar light on the sand and sea
around him, and upon looking upward
discovered what appeared to be an i'm
mense ball of fire descending toward
the earth. It's course was 80 rapid that
before he had recovered from his as
tonisbment the mass fell into the sea,
apparently about half mile from shore.


A loud Kissing noise, followed by a
sharp explosion, accompanied the fall,


und SO frightened the horse which the


reporter was driving that his whole at


tention for the next FIVE minutes was di.


rected toward the unruly animal, but be


noticed that the tail Of the meteor, as il
is called, or, more properly, the com


bustion occasioned by the immense We


locity with which the stone travelled
through our atmosphere, remained visi


BILE for about two minutes. From tn,


brilliancy and area of the fire surround
ing the falling stone, and the splash oc


casioned by its sudden. immersion, it i


certain that the aerolite must have beel


of immense size, although of course n
. estimate could be made with any accu
? racy during the few seconds the aerolit
d was visible San Francisco Chronicle
Year: 1876

MANS INGENUITY.-The fisherman
Of Norway carry in their fishing boats
water telescope or tube three or four feet
in length. They immerse one end in the
water, and then, looking intently through
the glass. they are enabled to perceive
objects ten or fifteen fathoms deep as
distinctly as IL they were within few
feet Of the surface. Hence when they
discover plenty Of fsh, they surround
them with their large draught nets. and
often catch them by hundreds at haul
which, were it not for these telescope
would often prove precarious and IN
profitable fishing. This instrument 4
not only used by the fishermen, but II 4
also found In the navy and coasting yes
sells.
Year: 1876

Poultry raising is one Of the most
profitable branches of farm-industry.-
The immense demand for poultry and
eggs should stimulate every farmer to
attend to the raising of pure-bred fowls.
1t is really as important as raising cattle
and horses.
Year: 1876

Sheridan is ungenerous enough to as
sert that Sitting Bull is not great Gen.
eral. So far from being q coppery Ma
poleon he is termed diseased cripple
who Is kept busy lodging our troops.
Year: 1876

Sam O'Connell who arrived from Fort
Peck last week, says. Long Dog and Ink
paduty are still in that vicinity but do
not offer to disturb any Of the whites.
They say they want to be good and will
be if the settlers will let them alone.
They lost number of children from ex-
posure in treir flight from Reno as they
abandoned tepees and everything that
would impede their fight. Sitting Bull
has sent word to Fort Peck that he
wants to come in but he don't want any
rations or annuities Of any kind. He
waits the agent ana his people to go
away but he wants the trader to remain
and to have on hand plenty of powder
and lead. The Indians say they don't
want to fight any more. but will, and
expect to bring 900 warriors into the
field next season instead of ten thousand
which they had thus season. Tho Indi-
ans express sorrow that they killed
Custer for be was brare man and they
believed their friend, but aside from
that did not regret the massacre.
O'Connell has been with the Milk River
Indians as a trader since he left here
last fall. lie is satisfied that Sitting
Bull with about one hundred lodges was
located on the Little Missouri and that
he will come into Fort Peck to trade as
he says he will.
Year: 1876

WASHINGTON, April 3.-During the
illness of President Grant, from which
he is not, in the opinion of his friends,
entirely recovered as yet; he expressed
himself as somewhat surprised at the
evidence given by Detective Bell, and
said that he thought Gen. Babcock
ought now to ask to go before the Con
gressional Investigating committee.
Besides this, army officers now here,
feel that he ought also to purge him
self before the Court of Inquiry which
was granted at his request pending
the prellminaries in the indictment and
subsequent trial at St. Louis.
Year: 1876

THERE is wild bear in my room
If YOU could only hear him growl! He
is a very inquisitive bear too. He
goes spying around into all the odd
corners, and has even tried to break
open my bureau, in order, | suppose,
to eat up the contents; but he need
not take the trouble, for there is moth
ing sweet in the bureau. Bears, you
know, are very fond of sweet things.


| scarcely know what to do with
him. He comes toward me every few
moments, growing terribly, and shak-
ing his head in a way that is fright
full; but | am so very busy that L have
no time to run away. and, besides l
don't like the name of running away.
even from bear.


| think the bear will have to be
coaxed. If l only had some berries
now! Bears like berries, you know.
Once, when l was picking blackber-
ries in the woods of Maine, saw a
black bear; but he was as much AFRAID
of me as l was of him, and took him.
self off as fast as his huge feet would
carry him.


But this bear that 1 am telling you
about is not so shy: in fact, he is a
very bold bear. Now he is coming at
ter me again. He is growing worse
than ever. What shall l do?


Oh, here is a gum-drop in my work
box. That may quiet him a few mo-
ments. have thrown it at him; and,
while he is eating it, l will tell you
how he looks. ....


Although he seems so fierce, he is
not bad-looking fellow, nor is he SC
very large. One would not think, te
look at him now, that he could grow
so: for he has sweet red lips (Which
is uncommonfor bear), and his nose Is
white and straight, and his hair If
silky and curly. And then his eyes
they are just lovely, even when he If
| growing at me.


There, his gum.drop Is gone; ane
Year: 1876

TIE CHRONICLE is published at the County scat
OF Tama, one Of the largest, richest most central
and populous counties in Iowa Itis the oldest
paper in the County and one Of the Oldest in the
State-having been established in 1855. Its circu-
lation being large and constantly increasing makes
1t very desirable advertising medium for business
men and manufacturers wishing to bring their
goods and wares to the notice Of the people Of
Central Iowa.


Advertising rates made known on application


JOB PRINTING
OF every description executed with neatness and
dispatch. Special attention paid to


PRINTING IN COLORS.


Your favors earnestly solicited.
Year: 1876

As the thermometer goes down tho enthusiasm OF
the people in respect to the Custer goes up
Below will DO found few of tho many eloquent aud
feeling letters addressed TO the HERALD the subject
The writer's emphasize their professions OF honor and
veneraion Tor Cusicr's memory by donations ranging
in accordance with the Of donors, from 800
to Eve cents
Year: 1876

The sunfower is no longer in bloom. 1t
has the spirit Of an Indian maiden, and
appeared nightly at the bidding Of Mrs
Bennett and husband partners in the ma
terialization business, Boston. The dis
covery of a pail of paraffine and trap


door interrupted the course Of trade, anu
the partners were forced to make desper-
ate effort to demonstrate their power. On
Tuesday night the trap-door was nailed
up, the curtain rearranged and the gas
extinguished. The dusky face of the sun
flower appeared for moment at the cur
tain and then vanished An inquisitive
gentleman then announced his purpose to
pull up the boards in the vicinity Of the
register, whereupon Mrs. Bennett asked
for a glass of water, and sank on the floor
in state of miscellaneous collapse. The
boards came up, and large recess between
the floor and the furnace was revealed. A
shrewd looking woman of perhaps thirty
years was clinging to the furnace. 1t was
the sunfower. sd
Year: 1876

When we duly take all these things
into the account, the case of our solar
system will appear as only one of
thousand cases of evolution and dissolu-
ton with which the heavens furnish us.
Other stars, like our sun, have undoubt-
edl7 started as vaporous masses, and
have thrown off planets in contracting.
The inference may seem a bold one, but
it after all involves no other assumption
than that of the continuity of natural
phenomena. 1t is not likely, therefore,
that the solar system will forever be left
to itself. Stars which strongly gravitate
toward each other, while moving
through a perennially resisting medium,
must in time be drawn together. The
collision fan extinct sun with one of the
Pleiades, after this manner, would likely
suffice to generate even grander nebula
than the one which we started. Possibly
the entire galactic system may, in an in
conceivably remote future, remodel it
self in this way; and possibly the nebula
from which our own group of planet:
has been formed may have owed Its
origin to the disintegration of systems
which had accomplished their career II
the depths of the bygone eternity
Atlantic Monthly.
Year: 1876

In what direction has there been any
improvementin locomotives, or has there
been none in the past ten years? Con-
sidering that the cost of running and
maintaining locomotives is about twenty
per cent. of the whole expense of operat-
ing railroads, and that their efficiency has
a direct influence on nearl y all the train
expenses, it must be regretted that there
has been so little improvement, that To-
comotive engineers have been so barren
of invention and so Indifferent to all re-
form. Since the adoption of the link mo-
tion-if we except perhaps the use OF in
iectors, the value of which is only now
beginning to receive tardy recognition
in this country" there has been no i'm
provement in those features of plan and
construction which involve broad prin-
ciples of science, or even the science OF
mechanics" An improvement, it is true
has been steadily going on in the design
and construction of the details; better
proportions and more convenient arrange
ments have been adopted; but generally
these improvements have reference only
to the convenience of handling, either in
working or repairing the engine, to the
appearance or to the cost of manufacture.
As it is so happily expressed in the quo
tation above in the science of me-
chanics" there are very few indications
of any improvements which are the re-
suit of deductions either from a high
order of purely theoretical or from
empirical Investigations. The details Of


locomotives are made "about So" be-


cause they have always been made that


way, and "have given no trouble;" OF


are made ga little heavier" because a


some time they have been found to be to'


weak.


1t is, of course, impossible for any per


son, unless he be a prophet, to anticipate
the inventions which will be made il
the future to improve locomotives. Al
T entirely new departure may be at hand
but at present it is not apparent. Th
indications are that the improvement
will be simply in the proportions of tn
parts and organs, and that this will o
can be brought about by careful stud
, and the application of scientific investi
CATION to the design of the parts of thes
: machines.-RailrOad Gazette.
Year: 1876

All men who avoid female society (says
Thackeray) have dull perceptions, and
are stupid, and have gross tastes, and re-
volt against what is pure. Your club
swaggerers who are sucking the butts of
billiard cues all night, call female society
insipid. Poetry is uninspiring to a
yokel; beauty has no charms for blind
man; music does not please poor beast,
who does not know one tune from
another; but, as true epicure is hardly
ever tired of water, sauce and brown
bread and butter, / can sit for whole
night talking to well-regulated kindly
woman about her daughter Fanny or
her boy Frank, and liking the evenings
entertainment. One of the greatest ben
efits man can derive from woman's
society is that he is bound to be respect
full to her. The habit is of great good tC
your morals, men, depend upon it. Oul
education makes us the most eminently
selfish men in the world, and the greatest
benefit that can come to man from {
woman's society is that he has to think
of somebody to whom he is bound to bt
constantly attentive and respectful.
Year: 1876

ONE of the young men employed in
Danbury hat factory discovered brass
collar-button in piece of mince pie he
was masticating the other day. He is
looking for new boarding place. lie
saws what he wants are the comforts OF
home, and not the excitements and
confusion of dollar store.
Year: 1876

A YOUNG woman in Chicago put her
false teeth in a glass of water at night,
and in the morning found them imbedded
in chunk of solid ice. She was late at
breakfast, the process of thawing out the
teeth with bonfire of matches having
been slow.
Year: 1876

THE primary cause of the physical de-
terioration of the people of the United
States lies in the fact that they do not
live upon oatmeal and crushed wheat,
but persist in running their stomachs
with eggs, butter, sugar, meat, fish and
other poisonous articles. Such is the
opinion of an American lady who has
been medically educated abroad" and
who cannot, therefore, be mistaken.
Year: 1876

In its pitiless fury yesterdays storm will
fally compare with its predecessors. There Is
certainly Il curious and uniform method with
the storms that sweep over this region 1t
was the old notion TO predict the character
of the Sundays of each month from its
first Sunday. 1t was an Older fancy to
associate the changes of the weather with those
of the moon, and especially TO correlate them
with her quarters of about seven days.
Science boots at all this Elaborate
comparisons of moon and weather
changes, extended over a series of years,
and tried by the laws of probabilities, give
nothing satisfactory in the way of condolences.
Poor Prof Merriam, " the sage of Brooklyn
"Hights," went to his grave in the midst of
newspaper ridicule after having for few
years endeavOred vainly to predict the
weather on base of changes at regular
intervals, somewhere about once week.
A believer in such a system would have his
faith greatly increased by the weather OF the
present month. Each of four successive weeks
has witnessed in its closing days wind storm
of violence. Some of these have been pre-
ceded by snow, and all have been marked by
great barOmetriC fluctuations.


In respect to the swing of great wave Of
air above us, and the consequent change in
its pressure, yesterday exceeded anything in
the month The total fall was over one inch,
and very large portion of it took place be-
tween MONDAY and 8 p. IN. There had been
no great rise preceding it, and hence
the fall carried the mercury to the
lowest point of the season. The whole storm,
starting with light snow followed by driving
rain, and succeeded by violent wind, took
place during the buster hours of day and
evening, and hence brought special discomfort
10 our citizens. Yet neither in the amount of
downfall nor in the speed of the wind is
it at all remarkable for the season. Taking it
altogether, the storm is likely TO be of benefit
to the city in partially clearing the streets
from accumulated snow. 1t will improve the
skating ponds if. az is probable, q cold wave of
dry air succeeds it, for the rain will have
melted off a surface of snow-ice that has been
somewhat annoying to skaters. But at sea
and all along the coast there will doubtless be
long record of wrecks and losses, and it will
be piece of good fortune scarcely to be
Year: 1876

and impartial suffrage, the one as on
set to the other; and gave his reasons therefor
Many Others who opposed the restriction, did
not differ with Senator Foster and those who
voted with him upon the general principle IN
yolyed. but here was special case, in which
to apply it seemed likely to defeat the whole
plan of reconstruction. At that time the
majority of the native white population Oh the
South We're sullen ard discOntented, sOured by
defeat and unreconciled to their own status and
that of their late slaves. Wherever an oppor-
tunity had been given them they had shown
a disposition and desire TO remand the negroes
to their former condition. In some States
they had passed laws or municipal regulations
having that end clearly in view, and in all
of them their attitude was one of hostility
to the blacks. This, as is well remem-
bered, was the ground upon which
suffrage in any form was proposed to be given
TO the freedmen: as a simple measure OF self
protection. 1t may not be so well remembered,
but is none the less true, that at that time
there had been many instances of the burning
of negro schOOl-houses at the South, and the
argument in favor of a restricted suffrage
and an intelligence test was at once
answered by saying that such re-
striction would only offer additional in
ducements to the whites to burn the school
houses and keep the blacks ignorant and
consequently disfranchised 1t seemed then
that the full measure of justice and fair play
for the freedmen could only be attained by
putting the ballot in their hands at once and
without reservation or restriction. So, in view
of all the facts, it is not an altogether intell-
gent judgment that prOnounces unreseryedly
the legislation of ten years ago blunder.


To-day we see only what mischief has grown
out of it, We forget the alternative to which
the legislators of that time were shut up, and
do not consider what worse woes might have
flown from any other course of action. The
present discussion, to be practical and useful,
must be directed not so much to the
question through whose fault or blunder the
present state of things has come about, as to
devising some remedy for it. The clrcum-
stances under which unrestricted suffrage was
granted have, we hope, changed permanently
and radically. We may treat the question now
from a new point of view, and in the light OF
some valuable experience.