Jack Hare, Not Jack Rabbit

1895

If you say Jack Hare to a Texas cowboy, he will laugh at you and then ask if you mean a "jack rabbit." But your name will be the right one, even though every man, woman and child in the land of Lapus callotis calls him a rabbit and shall to the end of time. But whenever or whatever you call him you must do it quickly or he will be out of hearing. Some say the jack hare is all ears, but that is not literally true, for his makeup includes a pair of uncommonly good hind legs also. His ears are from 5 to 6 inches in length, but his hind legs often measure across a township.

In point of size this species has the greatest length of head and body of all the American hares, measuring from 22 to 28 inches, but it is more slenderly built than the polar hare. — St. Nicholas.

Fun for Cowboys

1895

GAMES IN WHICH MEN AND PONIES ENGAGE ON PUNCHERS' DAYS.

Tests of Skill That Would Not Do For Ordinary Riders—A Sort of Tag of War With a Beautiful Shock at the End of It—Joy Unalloyed.

In a meeting of Texas and Oklahoma cow punchers last season after the work was done it was proposed to have a "cow punchers' day."

"Let's stretch a few ropes," said one of them.

The men were lying idly about in camp when this announcement was made, but in a twinkling they were on their feet saddling horses, tightening girths and preparing for action in general. Before an easterner could have bridled his horse the men had divided into two opposing sides. One man from each side had unslung his rope, one end of which was firmly secured to the horn of his saddle. The loose ends of the two ropes were then tied together, thus leaving the two riders joined to each other by about 100 feet of rope fastened to their Saddle horns. They took their stand facing the same way and only a few feet apart, leaving the rope slack between them. Suddenly, as if at a signal, they put spurs to their ponies and dashed off at full speed. For awhile the rope trailed in a double curve, but gradually tightened as the two riders began to turn each to the outside and away from each other. Finally the motion ceased, each horse pulling against the other in such a way that neither had the advantage.

The strain on the ropes was tremendous, but the ropes, constructed to stand the pulling of a maddened steer, stood this test also. The plucky little ponies panted and tugged and strained their nerves against each other. Their riders had all they could do to encourage their animals and to keep them in such a position as to retain their own seats. Had either pony turned his back squarely for a fair pull, the rider would have been brushed off by the rope immediately. It was a test that required fine horsemanship, a steady hand and a practiced eye. It was a well fought battle, and the spectators cheered it lustily. For some minutes neither pony seemed able to pull the other, but gradually the Texas pony seemed to gain the advantage. Step by step he backed away, pulling his opponent with him.

Seeing he was beaten if he relied on brute force, the Oklahoma man determined to see what strategy would do. Keeping the rope always taut, he galloped around the circumference of a circle of which his antagonist was the center and the rope a radius. First he galloped in one direction and then in the opposite. Then he stopped altogether and slackened the rope. His only hope was to brush his antagonist out of his saddle with the rope, and as long as his opponent faced him squarely he could not do this.

Once more the Oklahoma puncher slacks the rope, his opponent's pony turns slightly, and quick as a flash the rope has swung around, and the Texan is lifted clear of his saddle and thrown violently to the ground.

"Hurt, Bill?" asks one of his own men as the defeated puncher remounts and joins his side.

"Naw."

"Well, you oughter be. You oughter have your neck broke for gettin' tricked that way."

For over an hour such contests went on, with fortune favoring sometimes one side and sometimes the other.

The last thing of the day as well as the last of all punchers' days was what might be called a tug of war contest, a general conflict, answering, unintentionally enough, to the melee of ancient tournaments. It was held in the evening. Three ropes were twisted together into one thick cable, as the occasion required threefold power of resistance. Some eight or ten single ropes were fastened to each side of the cable, the other ends being attached to the saddle horns of the riders, the Texan crowd on one side and the Oklahoma crowd on the other. The battle began with a straight tug, one side against the other. Ponies and men, every nerve quivering, were pulling as if life and death depended on the struggle. Some were heaving against the ropes as they would in pulling a heavy load in harness. Others were pulling backward, with the long rope stretching away in front of them. The threefold cable held firm.

Now one side gave way a few feet and now the other. Soon, however, it became evident that the Texans were being out-pulled. Then the scene changed. The Texans swung round and round to entangle their opponents and brush them from their saddles. This movement was met by a counter movement. Whichever can get outside in this contest has the advantage; hence it is evident a long rope is a boon. Shorty Wilkus is doing his best to push a big Texan back. He is doing nobly, but now two Texans get together and swing around at full speed squarely against him. He and his horse go down together. He gets on his feet again amid the hurly burly of horses and men and dodges outside unharmed to safety. His riderless horse regains its feet and rushes on in the melee, adding to The confusion and entanglements. Now all system vanishes; ropes sweep men from the saddle; horses become entangled and go down; yells, cheers, shouting, swearing, shooting, are fearful. Finally it is discovered that two Texans still retain their places, while all the Oklahoma saddles are empty. This settles it. The Texans have won.

Bloody noses, black eyes, bruised faces and tattered garments were visible everywhere after the fun, and the ponies were as badly used up as the men. Yet none was killed, and no one was seriously hurt. The best of good feeling and fellowship prevailed. The men sat around the big campfire, over which a newly killed cow was roasting on a huge spit, and laughed and joked over the incidents of the day. Their joy was unalloyed. — Henrietta (Tex.) Cor., New York Sun

Villa Reports Unfounded

1916

El Paso, Tex., Sept. 8. — Villa, on his northward march, told the natives that he would take part in the celebration at Chihuahua city on the evening of Sept. 15, which is carnival night in Mexico. Such at least is the story brought here today out of Mexico by a man well acquainted with the people. He also said he talked to a Mexican who recently had a conference with Villa and the Mexican said the bandit chief looked very thin and still used crutches when walking, although he was able to ride a horse.

Washington, Sept. 11.—All efforts of General Pershing to confirm persistent rumors that Villa is moving toward the border in northern Mexico so far have been fruitless. The general so reported today to the War Department.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 7.

Mexican Attack Engineers' Camp

1916

El Paso, Texas, Sept. 8. — Thirty Mexicans supposed to be Villa followers, made a raid on the engineers' camp of the American punitive expedition and escaped with a mule, according to members of the expeditionary force arriving here today from Mexico by way of Columbus. This raid, which took place last Wednesday on an isolated portion of the camp at Ojo Federico, is believed by military authorities here to have been indirectly responsible for today's rumor of a clash between the fifth cavalry and the 16th infantry of regulars, and a band of Villa followers south of Ey Valle, Chihuahua.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 7.

Not Yet Well Trained

1916

POINT ISABEL, Texas — Gen. James Parker, commander of the Brownsville district, takes issue with those agitating the return of the Illinois troops, asserting that the training of the Federalized Guardsmen in the Rio Grande Valley is only half completed.

"Should the troops under instruction here go home now, I would feel that they had only half completed their work, that they left it undone, unfinished," he said. "In the United States Army it takes three months to train a recruit. A large portion of the National Guard were no better than recruits. Their training has been badly handicapped by storms, and by all the necessities involved in the preparation of camps in a wild country.

"They came here hoping to become fit for war. It will require some weeks of training before they can do so. They have still much work before becoming acquainted with the details of field service, with the proper action of men when in camp and in battle. This they can learn here; they cannot learn it at home. Training in field exercises and in combat exercises is important. It includes instruction in scouting, reconnoitering, outpost duty, advance and rear guard duty, patrol duty, in the use of cover on the field of battle, in the proper method of advancing when attacking an enemy's position, which varies always according to the terrain, and in fire discipline. These things can be learned in time of peace. If not learned in time of peace they must be learned in war and men will be killed unnecessarily.

"The men are hardened now and can stand long marches, and their time can be employed to the best advantage in learning the real art of war. A few weeks more and this will have been accomplished.

"Again, a good soldier does not wish to go home until this matter on the border has been settled, until the Government has no longer any use for his services."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 3.

Villa Again Heard From

1916

EL PASO, Texas. — "I'll shout 'Grito' in Chihuahua City on the eve of Mexican independence day, Sept. 16," is the threat Pancho Villa is making to natives along the line of his northward march, according to a Mexican rancher arriving in Juarez.

The rancher declared that Villa had 1,500 men with him, all fully armed. From the seat of a wagon, Villa addressed the populace of Satevo, Chihuahua, when his forces captured the town about two weeks ago according to an American arriving here.

"You see before you 'Pancho' Villa, Villa the bandit. But you see also that I am paying my soldiers in silver and I promise you it will not be long until I have a large army," Villa is quoted as saying.

"The 'gringoes' are harder fighters than the Carranzistas, but I bear them no animosity. All I am interested in is punishing traitors and putting an end to Carranza."

Texas rangers exchanged shots with Mexicans across the Rio Grande near Fabens, twenty-five miles south of here, wounding one, it was reported. The rangers had captured a horsethief, who later escaped and fled across the river.

—The Saturday Blade, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 3.

Mad Skunk Bites Laborer

1916

Victim of Animal's Attack Made Dangerously Ill.

JUDKINS, Texas — Bennie Adams of Judkins was bitten in the nose by a skunk while asleep in his bedding in a camp where he was helping to drill a well for a ranchman. Young Adams was soundly asleep and was awakened by a vicious bite upon his nose. He yelled as he leaped to his feet, calling for assistance while the skunk which had thoroly fastened his teeth in the boy's nose tenaciously held on and continued to do so until choked loose. Adams was sent to Pasteur Institute at Austin and was reported dangerously ill by the physicians who telegraphed his parents to come.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 11.

Personal Notices – Mediums and Spiritualists, Dallas, 1929

1929

MRS. LIVINGSTON, spiritualist adviser; advice on affairs of life; no one turned away, money or no money. 2702 Bryan 7-2773.

MADAME SIERRAS — Do you find with all your natural gifts and talents that you are baffled, discouraged and unsuccessful? If so, call 506 South Harwood. 7-6482.

AMBITIOUS Young Men — I need you to fill responsible and big pay positions. $100 per week and upward to those that will prepare themselves by my short personal instructions in applied psychology. Come in, let's talk it over today. Prof. Fahrbach. Birdwell hotel, 6 to 9 p. m.

MYSTIC Tea Room. 105 Stone, announces the return engagement of the "FAMOUS ZEMAR," with the "RADIO" mind. Short engagement.

MME. RITA ARABIC, Reader, 300 N. Peak. 8-3995. Life Readings daily.

SPIRITUAL MEDIUM — READING
Satisfaction guaranteed or no charges.
Hours 9 A. M. to 10 P. M.
Mrs. White, St. George Hotel. 2-2494

MRS. CARLOTTA, spiritualist, reads your life like a book without asking questions; advisor business, marriage, love. 2110 Live Oak. 7-5238.

MRS. C. SAUNDERS, Spiritualist. If troubled or worried, visit this gifted lady, she can help you. 1515 S. Ervay. 7-4704.

CONSULT Mme. Virginia, spiritualist medium. Readings daily. 702 N. Harwood.

MME. LEE, phenomenal medium, tells everything, asks no questions. 3011 Bookhout, one block west Maple Terrace. Fairmount ear. 2-4292. Appointments.

J. F. FELLERS, the gifted healer, has cured many when all else has failed. Trial will convince you. 4617 Garland. 3-5203.

DR. JAMES, spiritualist, recently located 88-year-old father (can give name), Dallasite, lost 38 years. Sunday readings two for $1. 2204 Ross. 7-3427.

—The Daily Times Herald, Dallas, TX, Jan. 1, 1929, p. 12.

Note: The name "Zemar" was missing the "E," so maybe some other letter went there, but in one of my copies of the ad (and these are all bad), it looked sort of like an "E." One other word "spiritualist" was misspelled in one ad, changed here.

Duties of Brides Taught In College

1920

CLASS NOW LEARNING "HOW TO STAY MARRIED."

Engaged Girls Strive Hard for Immunity Against Grouchy Mates and Alluring Vamps.

DENTON, Texas, Jan. 1. — A school, unique in its purpose and unprecedented in the Southwest, is being conducted under the auspices of the College of Industrial Arts, a school for women here. "How to stay married" is what it teaches, and eighteen young ladies, from various towns in Texas, whose engagements have been announced, are the pupils.

For the purpose of giving these and other young ladies who expect to make homes for some good men, proper instructions in the art of housekeeping and home making, two cottages have been rented by the college. The members of the "How to Stay Married" class are actually keeping house in these cottages, and under the tutorage of a very successful married woman, are wrestling with the various problems which confront the housewife from the altar to the grave.

Right Down to Brass Tacks.

Those young ladies are making up the beds, mopping the floors, preparing sample meals for the prospective husbands, sweeping, ironing, dusting, arranging pictures on the walls, setting the table, washing dishes, polishing stoves and brushing the ceilings. Also they are preparing for receptions, entertaining guests, giving dinners, presiding at social functions and doing a little of any and everything which may fall their lot in after life.

But the mere drudgery of housework does not compose the entire course of "How to Stay Married." There are courses in the business of housekeeping. The students keep accurate sets of books showing imaginary expenses their "house" involves. They do the buying of groceries, complain about the prices, battle for reduction and full weight. They wrangle with the ice man and argue with the butcher. They skimp here and there and deposit their "earned" savings in the bank. They make old gowns over, Johnny's pants from father's old ones, convert worn out dresses into aprons for the girls or themselves and even make dishrags from old flour sacks.

Find Delight In Their Work.

They have their meals for "husband and the family" on the dot and they are all prim when the time for "hubby" to come home from work or the office arrives. It's a strenuous life, but the students declare they like it and are learning things which will be useful to them.

The matron in charge of the class and the president of the college have told the girls "that if they complete the course arranged for them and carry out the practices inculcated therein they will have husbands when they have grandchildren." The teacher said "girls who complete and follow this course of instruction need never fear any vamps, late nights, grouches or divorces."

The college expects to increase its activities along these lines during the next term of school. It is said already a number of young ladies have applied for the course next year. Those who graduate are given special diplomas.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 8.

Rats Lured Into Traps by Rodent Leader Who Acts as "Pied Piper"

1919

SHERMAN, Texas. — Sherman's Pied Piper, an aged, bewhiskered and tailless rodent, is no more. A frisky terrier, unaware of the importance of the tailless wonder, pounced upon him one day this week as he was leaving a trap where he had led hundreds of rats to their doom, and brought his useful career to an untimely end. And Sherman folks are sad. They feel like wearing mourning. Meanwhile rats which have infested the city have become "leery" of traps and are multiplying.

It was several weeks ago that the rat killing campaign was begun here. They were trapped by the hundreds. The killing was done by dogs assembled about the traps to pounce upon the captured rodents as they were turned out. One day what appeared to be the "daddy of all the rats" was found in one of the traps. One of the wise citizens suggested that this rodent's tail be amputated. He declared the old rat was the leader of the others and that his pride in leadership would make him leave the city. when his long tail was cropped off.

The operation was performed and the old rat turned loose, and admonished to leave the city.

But did he? Not much. The following morning the old rascal was found in one of the traps with forty others. The others were killed and the "leader" turned loose again. The following day he was back in the traps with more than a score of others. This continued from day to day. The people began to believe they would soon have the rats exterminated.

But the unusual happened. One morning this week in letting the captured rats out of a trap the "daddy" rat ran out with them. The terrier failed to recognize the "leader" and leaped upon him. Before any assistance could be given the old rat was killed. Since that time but few rats have been found in the big municipal rat trap.



Bullet Knocks His Hat Off

POTTSTOWN, Pa. — Only by the narrowest margin, John Stoudt, conductor on a trolley line, missed death when a bullet passed thru the number plate on his cap and knocked off his headgear. It is thought the bullet was fired by a would-be robber, who was scared off by the arrival of night-shift men.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 5.

Making Ice Water From the Sunshine

1910

EL PASO, Tex. — Manufacturing a drink of ice water with nothing cooler than the sun's rays and dry tropical air would probably seem under the province of the magician to the easterner. It is nevertheless a fact that from these ever-available agencies the greater part of the population of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico manufacture their own ice water. This not only serves for drinking purposes, but also provides an efficient medium for the ordinary requirements of refrigeration — for in the cruder sections of the great southwest the artificial production of ice is still a trifle too costly to be feasible.

The secret lies wholly in the construction of the little red receptacle in which the water is placed. This is a simple Mexican creation, and in that language is called an olla, the two l's being silent according to the Spanish pronunciation of the word. In northern Mexico olla making is a very profitable industry to the inhabitants, who carry them over into Arizona on the backs of burros.

The olla is made from a crude clayish mortar. In drying the composition becomes very porous, and it is this essential characteristic which contains the secret of the cooling process.

It is filled with water and hung up, preferably in some place which is exposed to the wind if there be any. The moisture seeps through the porous composition. The process is very slow, and the moisture which exudes evaporates into the receptive, dry atmosphere in such equable proportion that scarcely more than a drop a minute trickles away from the bottom of the olla.

It is this continuous and fairly rapid evaporation which produces the cold. Immediately the sides of the olla become chilled, and the water within grows gradually cooler. In less than an hour from the time the phenomena is begun the water is cold enough for drinking purposes, no matter how warm it might have been when poured into the receptacle. Two or three hours later it is cold enough to fill the ordinary requirements of refrigeration for bottled milk, butter and other culinary necessities.

Train Arrives Three Years Late

1910

A train of a railway system in the southwest once arrived at its destination nearly three years late. The circumstances were these:

The train left Bolivar. Just across Galveston bay from Galveston, on September 8, 1900, and was caught in the great storm that so nearly destroyed the Texan city. Bolivar is 75 miles from Beaumont, which was the point of the train's destination. Before the train had traveled far on its journey it was caught in the storm. Thirty miles of the track were washed away, and the train was left stranded on a sandy waste. Many persons who lived on Bolivar peninsula were saved from death by taking refuge in the train. After the storm subsided they walked to Bolivar with the passengers; but the abandoned train was left on the prairie.

The storm bankrupted the railway, and no effort to rescue the engine and cars was made until 1903. Had not the road suffered so seriously in that storm the property would have proved of great value a few months later, when oil was struck at Beaumont. In 1903, however, the road underwent repairs, when the train was drawn into Beaumont, where it was greeted by a cheering crowd.

Twins Puzzle Father; He Makes New Will

1912

Unable to Distinguish Sons Apart, He Finds He Had Put Error Into Document

Fort Worth, Tex. — John Cobb Harris, a wealthy Mansfield farmer, came to Fort Worth to make a new will because he was unable to tell his twin sons apart. The will he destroyed gave John Harris certain property and Cobb, the other twin, property just opposite to his own desires.

Harris's sons are 22 years of age, and among the most remarkable twins in the country. Both are six feet six inches tall and muscular. With their hats on their father cannot tell one from the other.

The twins keep a common bank account, and always speak of "our money," "our horse," and even "our girl," as they frequently play a joke on their sweethearts by exchanging them.

Armless Judge Going to Europe to Aid Crippled

1915
Click Photo for Bigger

There He Will Arrange Plans to Help Allies' Maimed

Photo Caption: With only his mechanical arm — designed by himself — Judge Quentin D. Corley dresses and shaves himself, handles his own food, writes his own opinions and handles his own records in the County Court of Dallas County, Texas. He drives an auto, bowls, plays billiards, carries bundles and even helps his wife with the housework.

Over in Europe there are many armless men who feel they are hopelessly helpless. So the Dallas judge is going abroad to do what he can to aid war victims "for humanity's sake," as told in another column on this page.

The top picture shows Judge Corley completing his dressing operations. A contrivance, attached to a suit case, permits him to put on his collar and tie. With an almost similar machine he shaves himself. Below is a photograph of the judge bowling.

DALLAS, Texas, Dec. 16. — Quentin D. Corley, the "armless judge" of this city, will soon take up the burden of the maimed in the European conflict. On Dec. 22 he will leave for Washington, D. C., to confer with an official whose name is not known and who had told the Belgium ambassador to America that Judge Corley, the armless, does the work of a man in everyday life.

It is expected that the judge will sign a contract with the Allies to teach armless soldiers to be happy and to be useful.

The judge says any work he may do will be for the sake of humanity and not for money. "I shall only accept the same salary. I am getting now, and expenses," he says. "If they see fit to honor me if I do their men a service, I shall be glad of that, too."

Story of the Judge's Career

Judge Corley's story is a strange one. He was of a roving disposition when young, and took no qualms at satisfying it as a guest of the railroads. He was riding thru New York State on a freight train when a burly brakeman's head showed over the far end of the car. He slipped and fell as he tried to flee. The trainmen picked him up a poor, mangled youth. One arm was gone at the shoulder and the other just above the elbow.

As he lay in the hospital fighting for life, he began figuring how he would use that life once he was out again.

"I strove to invent and picture in my mind a mechanical hand, but of course I could not get anything but the open and shut movement; no one has," he says. "Then I thought that if I made an arm with an elbow joint in it, and so rigid that it would have both lateral and perpendicular movement, I had the problem solved."

A youth of 23, seemingly handicapped for all time and yet doomed by a healthy body to live a long life, Corley came home to his parents in Dallas with only his idea of a mechanical arm — and a deathless ambition to conquer the terrible odds against him.

How His Plans Worked Out

For four years he studied law with all the mental force of his brilliant mind, and at night he spent hours upon the plan for his mechanical arm. When completed, it was a steel hook made of two steel flanges, which opened and shut on cogs, a little handle which turned them being worked by his teeth. In this way he gripped things tightly, and with the hook he could handle almost anything he could lift.

From then on it was easy. He soon learned to write and then passed the bar examination. He began to practice law and to practice the use of his arm, and study means by which he could use it. His progress was wonderful. He invented other machines, to be used in dressing and sport, until today he can do almost anything a normal being desires to do.

He has a desire bordering on passion to aid the soldiers who have lost both arms in battle. There were more than ten thousand of them in the Allies' armies alone at last count.

Wants to Make Them Useful

"I know I can teach them to use my inventions within a short time, and I want to do it," he says. "I want them to get away from the terrible feeling that they are burdens upon the state and upon their families. If they'll put these men in my hands I can teach a thousand in three months to use this arm and take their places in life and seek happiness."

His friends say he can do it, too. He has pupils all over Texas who are learning from him the secrets. They invariably make good when he turns them loose.

Judge Corley has the inventions he uses patented, but does not sell them. "I have them for humanity," he says.

The plan on which the Belgian ambassador is said to want Judge Corley to work will be a school under his supervision, at which armless men will be equipped and trained by him. It will take him to Europe about four years, if the war continues a year or so longer.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 5.

Stone Man Dug Up in Rio Grande Valley

1915

Deep Mystery Still Veils Queer Find

Now in Warehouse to Await Decision of Scientists — Cartridge Shell Found Near Body

El Paso, Texas, is now likely to get some publicity as a result of the discovery of the form of a man in stone in the Rio Grande Valley. The discovery was made by J. K. Mann of Highland Park, who is rather reticent regarding the exact location of his find.

Mr. Mann is taking great care of his find and it is kept in a bonded warehouse in El Paso and is guarded as carefully as would be an equal amount of virgin gold.

Opening a heavy case containing his discovery, Mr. Mann said that what he would show the writer would be in the nature of a surprise. The scribe then put a query, "What is it?"

"That's just the question, What is it?" said Mr. Mann. "I am making absolutely no claim regarding it. I will simply say that it was dug up from the ground and that it is a Texas product. I have my own ideas what it is, but they may not be in line with what learned men will tell us later, and I am anxious to have their opinions."

Has Human Form

Turning back the covering, Mr. Mann disclosed what appeared to be a human form in some sort of bronze. The writer was then given a chance to make a careful inspection and it was seen that the body — for that is the easiest way to refer to the discovery — was not bronze, but apparently stone.

A close inspection revealed lines and pores similar to those in a human skin. Part of the abdomen was missing and the cavity bore the look of a piece of stone broken away. In the left breast was an indention, and Mr. Mann produced an old and much rusted cartridge, which, he declared, was found near the body when it was dug up.

This cartridge was evidently from a large-bore gun and was made in the days when the whole base of the cartridge was a cap, which would be discharged by the hammer of the gun hitting it anywhere, This cap had been discharged by a gun with a strong hammer, for the firing pin had been driven thru the cap.

Right Hand Has Extra Finger

The "body" is in a reclining position, the left arm supporting the head, while the right arm is thrown across the breast and the hand rests in front of the "body." One peculiarity of the "body" is that the right hand has two perfectly formed index fingers — five fingers and a thumb in all. The lips have been slightly worn away and three white teeth are visible. If the "body" is that of a human being turned to stone it must have been that of a young man, probably 18 or 19 years of age, and of a person used to outdoor or a rugged life. The sinews of both arms and legs are quite apparent. The hips are small, but well developed.

Measurements Given

Accurate measurements were rather difficult, owing to the peculiar posture of the "body." However, the following are approximately correct: Height, 5 feet 6 inches; present weight, 350 pounds; approximate estimate of weight of man similarly built, 120 pounds; measurement around chest, 35 inches; between shoulders at back, 18 inches; across chest, 16 inches; from shoulder to wrist, 22½ inches; wrist, 7½ inches; neck, 14½ inches; around head above ears, 23 inches; feet, from heel to toe, 9½ inches; knee to heel, 17½ inches; biceps, 12 inches; around knee, 13½ inches; around hips 36 inches; from instep to crotch, 29 inches; waist, 28 inches.

Questioned closely as to the whereabouts of the discovery, Mr. Mann stated: "I have my own reasons for not being too explicit regarding the exact location of my discovery. I have reason to believe that there are further discoveries to be made in that same location.

"I am in El Paso for my health, and I hope to resume my explorations within a couple of months. Just what I will do with my discovery I cannot say at the present time. I intend to have some experts examine it in the near future, and make a report. Very few people know of it at the present time, but those who do know have been impressed."

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 9.

He Never "Collars Down"

1915

One of the proudest boasts of "Cyclone" J. H. Davis, the Congressman from Texas in the new House, now in session, is that he has "never collared down to anybody." As a matter of fact, "Cyclone" Davis doesn't allow anything to graze his neck but his flowing beard, the largest yet seen in the halls of Congress.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 11.

Texas Bets Money on Slaying Trial

1920

Wagers Pretty Wife Will Be Freed By Jury

Most Beautiful Woman in State Will Soon Face Court for Shooting Husband

EL PASO, Texas, February — Two to one bets are being made in Texas that beautiful Mrs. Ida Ott of El Paso, who shot her husband in Dallas Dec. 23, 1919, will never be convicted.

There are two reasons for the bets and the odds. One is: Mrs. Ott is one of the most beautiful young women in the State. In fact, she is only 22 years old and has been pronounced by art critics as one of the most beautiful women in the country. The other reason is: Mrs. Ott has employed a firm of Dallas attorneys knows as "the sob squad" to defend her. This firm, it is asserted, makes a specialty of defending pretty women and their record of acquittals is almost without equal in the State.

Mrs. Ott shot her husband, Andrew Ott, an automobile salesman, late Tuesday afternoon, on the 23rd day of last December. The shooting took place in the presence of hundreds of Dallas Christmas shoppers. She shot her husband following a heated argument. After he fell, Mrs. Ott, bystanders say, bent over the prostrate form and fired four more bullets into his body. Then she collapsed over her husband's corpse and exclaimed: "Oh, Honey, have I killed you?"

Mrs. Ott's trial was set for last Monday, but no witnesses appeared and the case was indefinitely postponed. The pretty defendant is pleading self-defense, It was after witnesses failed to appear that Texas sports began betting two to one the woman would not be convicted.

The Otts were married in El Paso Feb. 15, 1915, by County Judge Adrian Pool. Mrs. Ott was born in Alhambra, Ill., and her husband was born in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mr. Ott had sued his wife for a divorce in Dallas. In his petition he alleged she had tried to kill him twice before, once in Albuquerque, N. M., and once in San Antonio, Texas. On Oct. 15, 1919, he said he gave her $4,000 on condition that she stay away from him and leave him alone. A court had enjoined Mrs. Ott from molesting her husband, according to Dallas reports.

The question now is, can a jury be obtained that will convict Mrs. Ott?

Would you convict her?

Note: She was found guilty and given a two year sentence. There was an appeal, a second trial, etc. A few details are here and here.

The Hero of the Brazos

1899

Near the city of Hempstead, in Texas, there lives a farm-hand who has proved himself a hero of peace, and whose name should be remembered by the people of his country with all the gratitude they willingly bestow upon the heroes of our armies.

One of the great rivers of Texas is the Brazos, a stream subject to vast floods, which often rise so suddenly that the people living near it have no time to escape the rush of the waters.

In early times a colony of Franciscan friars established a mission on a mound near the bank of the river. They built a church and a village, and taught the neighboring Indians. A hostile tribe, however, swept over the country, ravaging and burning, and there seemed to be no salvation for the friars and their converts behind the feeble defences of their mound. But of a sudden the waters of the river rose, and terrible floods swept away the savages and saved the little garrison.

Then the friars, so the story goes, saw plainly the working of the Lord, and they called the river which had enveloped them Los Brazos de Dios — The Arms of God.

But the Brazos is not always merciful. During the recent floods in Texas its waters played a mighty part in the destruction of life and property. One night, as the flood was beginning to overspread the farming lands, a young man named Fritz McGee was wakened by the distant roar. He rose, hurried out, and after some difficulty, secured a single frail rowboat and started alone on the work of rescue.

All through that terrible night be worked among the negro cabins scattered over the flooded bottoms, and before morning he had rescued seventy-five human beings, men, women and children, and had conveyed them to high and safe ground.

It is doubtful whether a single man ever before saved so many lives, one by one, in so short a time. Fritz McGee, farm-hand, rowing his fragile skiff through the darkness over the turbulent water, is a figure to stir the noblest feelings. — Youth's Companion.

Texas City Runs Its Own Abattoir

1910

PARIS, Texas — The first and only municipal abattoir and animal reduction plant in the United States is in this city, and has been in successful operation for several months. It marks the beginning of a new era in municipal ownership of industries that directly concern the welfare of the people.

It is said that the idea is practical for all cities and that it would work to particular advantage in towns of 10,000 to 100,000 population. If generally adopted it may lead to a solution of the problem of the high cost of meat and other food products.

In Paris, with an estimated population of 15,000, the municipal sanitary department found it very difficult to supervise the several separate slaughter houses maintained by the butchers. The health of the people was constantly menaced by the unsanitary conditions under which the animals were slaughtered and the meats handled.

These private slaughter houses were rudely constructed and most of them were in some swamp or thicket. During the summer flies were about the premises in untold millions. They covered the slaughtered animals. The odor was terrific, and, indeed, the whole surroundings were such that it appeared to all that the meat slaughtered under such conditions was not at all fit for food.

Mayor McCuistion and other members of his administration tried to induce the butchers to form a stock company and build an abattoir and reduction plant, operating it themselves, and allowing the city to furnish an inspector only, but this could not be accomplished.

The city then determined to establish its own abattoir and to provide rules and regulations that would insure the slaughtering of only healthy and well-conditioned animals and the delivery to the people of meat in perfect sanitary condition. The proposition was agitated and met with general favor on the part of the public. An issue of $10,000 of bonds was voted for the construction of the plant. It was equipped with sanitary arrangements and is modern and complete in every respect.

Mayor McCuistion says: "The new plant is being operated to the entire satisfaction of every butcher and every resident of the city, so far as I have been able to hear. We are greatly delighted with the success that has crowned our efforts in this work, and we believe that the establishment of this plant has marked a distinct era in the general sanitation of our city."

Rat Army Invades Texas

Feb. 1920

Rabbits, Too, Are Now a Pest on Many Farmsteads

ODEM, Texas — For the past several months rats and rabbits have become so plentiful that the damage done by them is becoming serious. A conservative estimate is $100 damage to each farm, done by rats to grain and seed in the barns alone. Some farmers estimate they have 1,000 rats in a single barn.

Rabbits are doing thousands of dollars' worth of damage to cabbage and garden crops. It is not uncommon to see Mexican boys coming in after a few hours' hunt with from ten to fifty. One farmer shot four rabbits with two shots in his cabbage patch and killed seventeen in one afternoon.

The peculiar thing is that these pests are new to the country. Two years ago it was a rare thing to see either a rabbit or a rat.


Kid McCoy, Former Boxer, Staging Billy Sunday Role in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — "Kid" McCoy, former pugilist, is at Marion, the county seat to assist in knocking out the devil at evangelistic meetings now in progress there.

The ex-fighter is declared to be as eloquent in the pulpit as he was aggressive in the ring.