smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

The strength of the German navy has
been increased by the launch at Stettin,
of another torpedo vessel called the
Uhlan. This is the second vessel of the
kind which Germany possesses, the
Ziethen having already been constructed
in England /; but the latter vessel is of a
different type from the Uhlan, the tor
pedo being discharged by mechanical
force from the mouth of a cannon pro-
jecting from its bows. The Uhlan carries
Immediately under its bows torpedo
which will explode within the vessel at
which it is directed, and the force of the
charge of dynamite which will be ex-
ploded by the collision is calculated to
be sufficient to blow the other vessel to
pieces, though the torpedo itself is no
bigger than a football. The most re-
markable point in connection with the
ship is the enormous power of its
engines as compared to the vessel itself.
They are one thousand horse power
when at high pressure, and take up SO
much room that there is little space left
for the coal.bunkers and berths of the
officers and seamen. This unusual pro.
portion of steam power has been given
in order that the vessel may be able to
travel through the water very rapidly.
Year: 1876




Friday night, the 10Th instant, a
special dance was in progress at
Brunsen's Ranch, Green Springs, in the
lower end Of the county, and after the
dancing had got well underway two
young men, named Tom Adams and Joe
Russian, stepped out, intending to visit
a neighboring house for the purpose of
procuring cigars for social smoke to-
gether. The night, rs our readers will
remember, was unusually dark-abso-
lutely nothing being discernible foot
distant. Consequently the two men
proceeded slowly, trusting to their
knowledge of the locality to carry them
to the direction they wished TO take.
Suddenly, and without the least warning
whatever, their feet slipped from under
them, and the next instant they felt
themselves plunged downward neck
deep in slum and water. They had
fallen into an old shaft, dropping at least
forty feet from the edge. Fortunately,
both fell on their feet, and the mud in
the bottom prevented their being bruised
in the fall. A new danger, however,
Immediately presented itself, namely :
in the quicksand. Both made desperate
efforts to keep their heads above the
water, but in doing so nearly suflocated
from immersion. Adams at last caught
hold of projection on the side of the
shaft, and although possessing but one
arm, succeeded in holding on until
Russian climbed over him and reached
the mouth of the shaft. Russian ther
called for help, and the party at Brun.
sens was soon on the spot. No ropes
were procurable, and something had t
be done Immediately to save Adams
from death in the bottom of the pit
Men think very rapidly in cases of i'm
mediate danger, and one of the GROVE
around the top of the shaft proposed
that the most muscular form themselve
into a chain and drop into the shaft
This was acted upon at once. Tht
heaviest man was held by one arm by
several men at the mouth of the shaft
and second man sliding into the shaft
clinging to his waist. A third man die
likewise, grasping the second man
waist, and each successive link in th'
human chain did likewise until the bot
tom was reached, and Adams dragged
from his awful predicanent. Through
the mutual assistance of Adams himsei
and his friends he managed to reach TN
top, completely exhausted, as were MI
brave rescuers. 1t was indeed marrow
escape for both young men from nor
rible death, and a creditable action Oh
the part of those who undertook In thi'
novel and dangerous manner TO rescu
Adams.
Year: 1876

PERFECTLY AwFUL.-There was once
an awful little girl, who had an awful
way of saying lawful" to everything.
She lived in an awful house in an awful
street, in an awful village, which was an
awful distance from every other awful
place. She went to an awful school,
where she had an awful teacher, who
gave her awfnl lessons out of awful
books. Every day she was so awful hun
cry that she eat an awful amount of
food, so that she looked awful healthy.
Her hat was awful small, and her feet
were awful large. She went to an awful
church, and her minister was an awful
preacher. When she took an awful walk
she climbed awful hills, and when she
got awful tired she sat down under an
awful tree to rest herself. In summer she
found the weather awful hot, and in win
ter awful cold. When IL didn't rain there
was an awful drought, and when an aw-
full drought was over there was an awful
rain. So that this awful girl was all the
time In an awful state, and il she does
not get over saying awful" about every.
thing, she will, by-and-by, come TO an
awful end.
Year: 1876

A correspondent of the New York
World sends that paper the following:


A fruit hedge for farm fences is some
thing that practical farming has not yet
introduced.


Let us imagine such thing, and then
consider how it probably might appear
in practice.


In autumn prepare thoroughly as you
would for an extra crop of corn, strip
say eight feet wide, on whose center you
desire permanent fence stand. Having
the soil in rich eadiness-light and un-
derdrained, If need be-just before win
ter sets in, drill in double row of seed,
apple four.fifths and pear one fifth,
astride the fence line and twelve inches
asunder. In spring, at distances OF
twelve feet, set a grape-vine-Clinton, il
you don't care for the fruit; Eureka, il
you do-and when your seed is up cult.
vate the row through the season as you
would your best corn, letting one arm oi
each grapevine grow.


Next season fill vacancies among trees
If any, by taking plants from where they
stand thicker than they are needed
and cultivate the row another season
raising another grape arm from each
vine, and bud a thrifty pear tree, mid
way between the grape-vines, to the
choicest fruit.


The third season spread the grape arms
towards the pear tree; fill hedge vacan
cies or cover them by INTERVIEWING top'
bent to suit, and cultivate this year also


After this trim and prune and inter
twine to make hedge and obtain fruit
as suits your taste. The vines will fes
toon over the pear trees; you can com
mand the intermediate height.


In few years, IL you didn't forget the
primary instruction regarding the soil
you may have hedge that will pay
ground-rent in pears, and your ClintOn
(if you didn't set the better variety il
the hedge) will feed the birds that sin,
and pick up insects for YOU.
Year: 1876


sat by the shore OF the sea,


On the pebble-covered strand,
And Fancy rich cargoes brought


From many a distant land.
Ny mind haven seemed


Where argosies came TO rest,
And wearied thoughts, like mariners,


With calm repose were blest.
The gifts OF a beautiful world


Were scattered at my feet
And the air was laden with choicest perfumes


And thrilled with music sweet
And the sea In monotone kept up the song


1t had sung for mi ny day
OF the deeds Of the brave and the fame OF the fair


In those hsllowed lands far away.
But the shades Of night crept over the sea,
And the stars In the sky appeared,
And they seemed to me like the spirits OF those


Whom the world had ever revered.
And quick as thought my phantom feet,


By one star simply guided
THAT star the Star Of Bethehem),


To the haven eternal glided.
Year: 1876

Fuchs, the murderer, sent for his wife
yesterday, who called at his cell door in the
Raymond street jail in the afternoon. He
said that he was ont of shirts, and that she
must get him some. She said that when
she returned home after she was released
the house was nailed up, and oil his clothing
was gone. He upbraided her, ard then re-
fused to have anything more to say to her.
One of the keepers of the Jail last night said
that Fuchs had asked him to get Ger
man newspaper tomorrow with good &C.
count of Dolan's hanging in it.
Year: 1876

On Tuesday evening of last week the
family of Henry RAIDER, of Pleasant
Township, met with terrible and fatal
accident by the explosion of a coal-oil
lamp. The lamp had been lighted some
little time, but, burning low, Mrs. RAIDER
undertook to fill it up without extin-
gushing the light, and while so doing
the oil ignited and exploded, scattering
the burning oil over the entire room
and enveloping every thing in flames
in an instant. There were in the room
at the time Mr.. and Mrs. RAIDER and
their infant child. Mr.. RAIDER caught
up his burning wife and hurried out of
doors and endeavored to extinguish the
fire on her clothing, but without sue
cess, until nearly all of her clothing
was burned up. His thoughts then turned
to his child, and he attempted to rush
into the house to rescue it, but by this
time the entire building was in flames,
and he found it impossible to regain the
room where his child was, and he was
forced to stand and look at the burning
ruins where he knew his child was be-
ing roasted alive. 1t was terrible, but
no human. agency could rescue it from
the burning building. Mrs. RAIDER was
removed to the house of her father, and
every thing was done for her that was
possible, but, after intense suffering all
night, she was relieved by death the
next day.-Hancock (O.) Courier.
Year: 1876

There is nothing a young married
man likes better than to go to dinner
at the house of a friend and to be asked
to carve the turkey. He never carved
turkey in his life, and with an old
maid on one side of him, watching him
closely, and on the other side fair girl
for whom he has tenderness, he feels
embarrassed when he begins. First
he pushes the knife down toward one
of the thigh-j Joints. He can't find the
joint, and he plunges the knife around in
search of it until he makes mince meat
out of the whole quarter of the fowl.
Then he sharpens his knife and tackles
it again. At last, while making ter
rife dig, he hits the joint suddenly,
and the leg flies into the maiden lady's
lap, while her dress-front is covered
with shower of stuffing. Then he goes
for the other leg, and when the young
lady tells him he looks warm, the
weather seems to him suddenly to be-
come 400 degrees warmer. This leg Re
finally pulls loose with his fingers. He
lays it on the edge of the plate, and
while he is hacking at the wing he
gradually pushes the leg over on the
clean table-cloth, and when he picks it
up it slips from his hand into the gravy
dish, and splashes the gravy around for
six square yards. just as he has made
up his mind that the turkey has
no joints to it's wings, the host asks him
if he thinks the Indians can really be
civilizedP The girl next to him laughs,
and he says he will explain his views
upon the subject after dinner. Then
he sops his brow with his handkerchief
and presses the turkey so hard with the
fork that it slides off the dish and up
sets goblet of water on the girl next
to him. Nearly frantic, he gouges
away again at the wings, gets them off
in a mutilated condition, and digs into
the breast. Before he can cut any off,
the host asks him why he don't help
out the turkey. Bewildered, he puts
both legs on plate and hands them to
the maiden lady, and then helps the
younger girl to q plateful of stuffing,
and while taking her plate in return
knocks over the gravy-dish. Then he
sits down with the calmness of despair
and fans himself with a napkin, while
the servant-girl clears up and takes the
turkey to the other end of the table.
He doesn't discuss the Indian question
that day. He goes home right after
dinner and.spends the night trying to
decide whether to commit suicide or to
take lessons in carving.-PhiLat1elphtG
Bulletta.
Year: 1876

M. De MOlinairi, a clever French
journalist, thus describes the average
American city: "All American cities
are built upon the same plan, that of a
chess board; all the streets are very
nearly the same breadth, the same as
pect and the same names-generally
the names of trees or of illustrious men.
Everywhere, for example, you will find
q Washington Street and Lafayette
Street, crossing at right angles avenues
which have numbers and not names.
All the houses and public edifices look
alike; the hotels are built after the same
colossal model, SO that, after having
passed night in a sleeping car, you
wake up in another city a long distance
away and have difficulty in realizing
that you have changed places at all.
The hotel at which you arrive has the
same columned entry as the one you
left the evening before, the same office
opposite the door, the same cigar stand,
newspaper stand; the same elevator,
with mirrors; the same entries with red
carpets, the same bar, the same dining
room, where you are served by the same
looking negroes, who invite you TO
seat by the same signs; and when you
go out you find the same ticket office at
one side, where they sell you the same
railway tickets, and at the corner the
same druggist with his soda-Water
fountain. Who was it that said France
was the country of unityP If unity is
found anywhere it is in the United
States, and it must be confessed that
this unity considerably simpllties the
work of travelling
Year: 1876

and the British Methodist Episcopal.
One thing stands in the way Of union
there are seventeen colored Bishops i'm
America, and some of them, in case OF
union, must be reduced to the ranks.
The colored brethren can not stand
that, and SO some, of the papers despair
OF its being accomplished.
Year: 1876

The things that man most needs in this
world, are food, work and sleep. He
doesn't need riches, honors, nor office, to
live. He needs society, because he is
made for it. He must love and be loved;
his life and happiness are promoted by
mpanionship; mutual dependence and
counsel enlarge hope and stimulate cour-
age. Yet after all, he lives if his friends
die. There is no grief, no form of be-
reavement, but it has its consolation. The
best preserver of a mans life is content
ment. Nor is work destructive of strength.
Men look forward to rest, TO life of ease,
which to them means cessation from tolls
and from the cares Of business. They
mistake the cause of WEAKNESS. 1t is not
work; it is care, 1t is over-exertion, it is
ambition and desire after gain that bring
worn and weary feelings. All we possess
we possess in life. The sooner we get
through with life the sooner we relinquish
our possessions. The faster man lives the
quicker he reaches the end of lite. There
are three ends to life, and death is the last
and least desirable of them. One end is to
live. That is why we were created to live,
and live as long and as well as we can.
Some 60 murmuring and groaning on
their way, IS though life was burden,
and that it is piety to put low estimate
on it. The opposite is true. A man should
seek to live out all his days, and he cannot
accomplish it in better way than by using
every means to promote life. Among
these means are the three things men,


toned at the head of this article. When
a man denies himself sleep, food. and the
exercise work gives, brain and body work,
he robs his life of its full term. Let him
be cheerful also. He is like an engine, it
will run well and long, if it is we'll oiled.
Contentment and cheerfulness are the oil,
which keep the nerves from wearing out.
Busy men and women think that time
taken from toll. for sleep and recreation,
is time lost. 1t is really the cement put
in to fill up the joints. to keep out the
weather, and preserve the building.
Year: 1876

Forty years ago there lived In Providence
within q stones throw from where Grace
church now stands, young man of great
intelligence and wonderful mechanical abil-
ity. who spent q small fortune In the vain
attempt at making perfect representation
of Russia iron, and after as many failures
as attempts in this undertaking he became
utterly ruined flnascislly. His ambition for
the secret increased as his fortune grew
smaller and smaller, and when absolute
want stared him in the face he became pos
sessed with the determination to accept OF
the only means of obtaining one OF the great.
est secrets in mechanical art, and to gain
this he must suffer penal servitude In the
dungeons Of Russia.


The rulers of Russia are the only possess
ors of the art Of making what Is known as
glazed Russia iron, used extensively for all
kinds of stove and stove pipe work, ana
which has for nearly century been made
within the walls of Russia's underground
prisons. None but lite convicts are allowed
to be initiated into the secrets of the manu-
facture of one os the principal means OF IN
come to the Russian government, and whe1
once within its walls no one need ever hope
for pardon, for none has ever been granted,
while but one has been known to have es-
capped, and when the door Is once shut to


the outside world it is never known what


has been the fate Of the unfortunate.
This, then, was the Providence mans last
resort for gaining possession OF the secret
which had become his only ambition. lie
| left his home ior Europe, and the simple
ruuor of the attempted assassination OF the
Gear by an American supposed to De insane,


was all that was ever known to his friends
of what became Of the ambitious mechanic,


and, as nearly half century has ratified on
since he set out upon his perilous undertak'
ing, hardly person living will remember
the Circumstance which is here recorded.


There is one person. however, in Providence


who remembers we'll the day the hero OF


our sketch bade her fearful farewell,


promising that before she reached her


twentieth birthdays be would return to her


and fulfil his promise.


All through these long years she has never
forgotten her promise to wait for her lover,
nor ceased to believe he would yet come to
her She now lives within moments


walk to the chimes of Grace church, and is
lstill we'll preserved, and her grace and


beauty make her more attractive than many


whose years are the same as were hers when
her lover separated from her so long ago.
Last week she received the glad tidilgs
from far away over the water that be who
had SO long kept her patiently waiting was
on bis way to fulfil his promise of forty
years ago, and let US hope be may bring the
secret he paid for so dearly, and that he
NAV live to see some reward for his great
t sacrifice .-'.Providence Press
Year: 1876

The excursion 10 Ocean City, yes
terday, by the p, w. & B. r. r. Co.,
was highly successful and pleasant
affair, so far as the enjoyment of the
excursionists was concerned.


When the train started the weather
in the upper part of the State was so
threatening that very few persons cared
to venture on the trip, and only about
forty went from Wilmington. Bat in
the lower section of the State and
Peninsula the weather became clearer,
and when Ocean City was reached the
sun was shining brightly in an un.
clouded sky, while the train was filled
by about four hundred eXcursionists.


At the ocean the excursionists, had
an excellent time, enjoying the fine
weather. and bathing in the surf. The
beach was filled with bathers nearly all
the day, as all the bathers could not
be provided with bathing suits at one
time, end had to take their turns.


After spending nearly nine hours at
the ocean, the train started home
about six o'clock and arrived in Will
mington about midnight, no accident
or delay occurring during the trip.
Year: 1876

If members of the United States Senate
that once illustrious body has been sub
jected by the accession of brutality in
products of War from the North and of
carpet-baggers and blacks from the South,
there would be less hesitation when the
accomplished barber and faro dealer Pinch
back demands seat. There are white men
in the Sen tie infinitely more disreputable
than the yellow Senator from Louisiana, and
we cannot understand why, at this late day
in the history of Radical progress towards
perfectibllity in morals and government,
there is marked hesitation when Pinchback
presents a patent Of nobility devised by
that exceeding great and good man, Cover
nor Kellogg, OF Indiana, now the negio-
chosen chief magistrate of Louisiana.
Pinchback has been standing, hat and GER
tlfcates in hand, through three long, weary
years at the doorway of the Senate. It is
shut violently in his face whenever the days
grow hot and members catch the odors of
Africa. The Radical ma Drisy in the Sen
ate, since Pinchback was sent up by Kellogg,
has been two to one, and at this good hour
the hapless negro sneaks mOdestly about in
the galleries and sends IN notes to listless.
lounging Senators asking the favor of per-
sonal interviews. True, the legislature that
elected Pinchback had no legal existence,
but such facts are not deemed distractions
when the Senate has dealt with white men,
Perjury and party give as perfect titles to
office in modern times as truth and wisdom
in former age, and we cannot understand,
unless the negro as such has lost caste and
the Radical Senate no longer reverences its
black deity, why poor Pinchback is plucked
of pay and patronage.
Year: 1876

twenty-five miles OF. narrow gauge road
from Austin towards Lampasas to the neigh
bOrhood of Bagdad or Liberty Hill would
control the trade of several contiguous
counties. 1t would quiet the excitement
prevalent In that district, caused by the ne
cessity for highway to market. 1t would
concentrate here the trade and travel from
Burnet, Lampasas, Liberty Hill, Bagdad,
Doublehorn, Oatmeal and Mormon Mills and
pay all expenses and handsome profit. In
view of the fact that efforts are making to
draw the trade of that section away from
US, by a road across the country to inter
sect the International beyond Georgetown,
1t seems strange that our people, and espe-
clally merchants, directly interested, are
taking no steps to secure so great prize
and suspend so great loss. At the same
time, 1t occurs to us that the people of Lam
pasAs and other towns in that region are
false to themselves when they hesitate be-
tween railway connection with Austin and
some Joint on an unfinished road. Let Aus
TIN and Lampasas, co-operanvely, secure
the speedy construction of a cheap narrow
gauge railway from the capital to the great
watering place.


From the best information at hand, tie
cost of building and coupling narrow
gauge road over such country woulc be
about ten thousand dollars per mile, or
about two hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars for the first twenty-five miles. which
can only be raised by personal subscrlp-
tions, since the Rutabaga Constitution, like
devil-hsh, throttles all Improvements.
To surmount this difficulty would be an
easy matter, if we are correct in stating
that the Narrow Gauge Railway Company,
OF which Gen. Smith is president, and
which was chartered, with land subsidy.
before the passage of the Constitution. pro-
poses to build the road from Austin Lam
pasaS, or even twenty-five miles OF it, if the
people of Austin and Lampasas will sub
scribe for stock of the company to the
amount of four thousand dollars per mile.
TO be paid when the work is done. II this
De true, our people have it IN their power.
by subscribing the small amount of one
hundred thousand dollars to the stock of
this company, which is not to be paid for
until the work is done, to build TWENTY-FIVE
miles of road towards Lampasas, and thus
settle the matter forever Would il not be
well for our business men to inqrire into
this matter at oncei