Trials of A Bookseller

1895

The Frequent Mistakes Made In Giving the Title of a Book.

"To be a successful bookseller," said a dealer in books, "one must almost be a mind reader. People come in and ask for the most generally known novels by the most distorted names you can imagine. In fact, it is only a novel or a book which has had a great run that stands in fear of having its title mutilated. When a book becomes popular, some one hears another person talking about it and perhaps only gets a vague idea of the import of the title without remembering the exact words. Then they come with no sign that they are in the least doubtful and ask the book dealer for it, who is supposed to know by intuition what is wanted. One of the most mutilated titles is that of "The Heavenly Twins.' You can expect to have this book called for under almost any name. If you are in doubt as to what a person means, "The Heavenly Twins' usually fills the bill. For instance, it is common to have it called 'The Twin Angels.' Then another popular style of the title is 'The Heavenly Prodigals,' or, again, 'The Blue Angels' or 'The Heavenly Angels.' The other day a man came in and asked for 'The Traveling Hebrew.' When I told him I thought he meant 'The Wandering Jew,' he began to laugh and said, 'Well, I was sure he was on the go anyway.'

"Not long ago a lady came in and quietly asked if we had 'Two Boats Which Went By In the Dark.' She was not the least abashed when I handed her 'Ships That Pass In the Night,' nor did she refer to her mistake. One of the most common bulls in a book store is that which people make when they ask for 'a vest pocket edition of Webster's Unabridged,' or 'the Bible with both the Old and New Testaments in it.'

"I had to retire to the office to have a good laugh the other day when a young lady came tripping in and carelessly asked me as she handled some books, 'Have you the "Mill on the Slush?"' She explained that she had made a slip of the tongue when I gave her the 'Mill on the Floss.' It is most common for people to ask for 'Lew Wallace, by Ben Hur.' Not long ago a young man came in and asked for 'that horse book.' We named over a lot of treatises on horses, but he said, It wasn't them.' We were then compelled to confess our ignorance, when he explained, `Well, my boss didn't exactly tell me it was a horse book, but he said to ask for "The Horse With Seven Stables." ' We told him that we thought his boss meant 'The House of the Seven Gables' and gave him the book with the privilege of returning it if it was not the right one. The book never came back. A gentleman who wanted a set of the works of Shakespeare was very particular to get 'an authorized edition.' He said to us, 'Now, I want you to give me a copy revised by the author himself.' But I suppose we have no more trials than merchants in other lines have, and we should be thankful that we have customers, even if they do make bulls. By the way, you may not know that the book trade this season is larger than it has ever been before in the history of the business. People are becoming more literary inclined, so books, especially good ones, are in demand." — Pittsburg Dispatch.

Women Venders In Paris

1895

The streets of Paris, particularly old Paris, are vocal with the mournful cries of women venders. They sing out the merits of newspapers, toys, fish, vegetables, fruits, flowers and small wares. Existence with many is a pitiful struggle, and poverty makes thief inventive.

After the marketing hours the greatest anxiety is caused by the perishable foods. Nothing is left untried to keep them from spoiling but ice, which is not to be had. One way of keeping up the appearance of the fish is painting the gills with cochineal or vermilion. Even the fresh fish are painted to quicken sales: Every now and then an unfortunate fishmonger is arrested, but she meekly takes the judge's lecture, pays a $10 fine and touches up her stock the very next morning. — Paris Letter.

Gypsy Sells Docile Husband To Woman For $5,000 In Gold

1920

Wife Says She's Selling Mate at a Bargain as She Had Paid Same Sum for Him Herself — Declares It Is Tribal Custom and Perfectly Proper

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 1. — Peter Guy, gypsy, formerly the husband of Mary Guy, another of the wandering tribe of Romany, is now the property of another woman.

Peter was sold by his wife for $5,000 in gold, in addition to the property the two had collected in their wanderings.

The bill of sale was drawn up in the office of a local attorney, and at the same time an agreement on the division of property was also made a matter of record.

The three parties to the eternal triangle appeared in the lawyer's office and stated their wants. After he had recovered from the shock, the attorney asked for explanations.

"Oh, not necessary," Mrs. Guy said. "This woman, she want to buy my husband. She have enough money, I don't want him any more, so I sell him."

Says It Is Tribal Custom

She went on to explain that it was the tribal custom, and all of them seemed to think that the proceedings were perfectly legal. The wife asked if her husband could now marry the woman who had bought him.

When told by the attorney that he would have to obtain a divorce, she merely smiled and nodded.

The sale was not the first one in which Guy had figured as human chattel, his former owner told the lawyer.

"Oh, I paid $5,000 for him myself, and I am selling him cheap," she is said to have remarked.

Besides deeding his property to the party of the first part of the sale, Guy gave her the custody of their three children, naming as the only condition that they shall not be taken out of the United States.

Are Dressed in Splendor

All three of the parties to the out-of-the-ordinary sale were dressed in barbaric splendor, with Mrs. Guy the most ornate, the attorney says.

Besides the usual trappings of her tribe, which included a vivid pink headdress, the wife wore a string of gold coins as a necklace which must have been worth at least $500, according to the attorney. In addition, an Austrian kronen hung at the end of each of her tightly-woven braids.

The gypsies live "all over the United States," they told their legal adviser.

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

Saves U.S. Millions From Junk

1915

When William Jacobus sinks his hands into his pockets and surveys the great amount of Government "junk" he has sold for Uncle Sam at a big saving he must, indeed, feel like congratulating himself.

Here's how it happened. In 1911, Mr. Jacobus, who probably knows more about the scrapping and junk business than any one else, went to the "powers that be" in Washington, D. C., and placing his finger on a leak, said: "Millions of dollars go every year right here because nobody knows anything about the business of selling the Government's junk to the best advantage."

At that time there was what was known as the "junkmen's agreement." A number of junkmen had agreed that they would pay a certain price for the junk offered by the Government.

The junkmen got the scrap "dirt cheap," They carefully assorted it, and resold it at a large profit.

Jacobus changed the system of disposing of Uncle Sam's junk. He saved the Navy Department approximately $2,000,000. He also did a good job for the Light House Department and the War Department. He respectfully declined a position from Col. Goethals to handle the scrap at the Panama Canal. Recently he saved the city of New York $200,000 by judicious sale of scrap.

Keeping His Word

1904

Sandy is the resident janitor of one of the smaller colleges. He is a bit of a character in his way, and makes an effort not to be outdone by the students. The success is sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other. Sandy owned a little mean-looking dog, of which he was fond. He was treated to much good-humored chaff about the dog, but always replied in kind, frequently asserting, "I widna tak twinty dulthers for ma wee doggy."

A few of the more waggish freshmen made up their minds to test Sandy's assertion. Between them they made up twenty dollars, and one of their number was authorized on the first favorable opportunity to make Sandy an offer.

As was quite common with him, Sandy happened into the cloak-room between lectures. The dog soon became a subject of debate, and out came Sandy's statement, "I widna tak twinty dulthers for ma wee doggy."

"Well, Sandy," said a young freshman, "I would like to have that dog, and here's twenty dollars if you'll sell him," He counted the money out on the table near Sandy.

Without a smile Sandy gravely put his hand in his pocket, drew out a fifty-cent piece, and laid it on the table, at the same time pocketing the twenty dollars. "I didna say I widna tak nineteen fufty. The wee doggy's yourn."


The Test
By John B. Tabb

The dead there are, who live;
The living, who are dead:
The poor, who still can give;
The rich, who lack for bread:
By Love it is, and Love alone,
That Life or Luxury is known.

Good-By to the Train Boy

1901

Good-by to the train boy. On January 1, 1901, on two important American railroad systems, the experiment, heretofore tried tentatively, of excluding from their cars all peddling of popcorn, peanuts, cigars, newspapers, games, caramels, matches and magazines, was inaugurated and the "train boy" summarily done away with.

Against this innovation serious and urgent opposition was expected, for the train boy, with his wares, had come to be regarded, if not as a cherished, certainly as an unavoidable, incident of American passenger travel by railroad.

In the evolution of modern travel to its present point of excellence, the uniformed conductor distinguishable only by his metal badge, the loud-shouting brakeman, and car coupler disappeared, but the "candy or train boy" with his stock of peanuts and confectionery had lingered on, a burden to the patience of many travelers and an unnecessary survival of archaic railroading.


The Time in Spain

When the clock struck twelve on the dawn of the new century Spain inaugurated a change in the methods of computing time. Hereafter the clocks of that kingdom will count the hours from 1 to 24, instead of going as far 12 and then beginning all over again as they did the day before. The Madrid or Barcelona business man will rise at 7; go to work at 8:30; lunch at 12; quit for the day at 17; dine at 18; go to the theater at 20; reach home at 21:30; lunch 22:42; and retire at 23:30. —Exchange.

Money Spending a Habit

1908

Spending money is a good deal of a habit, and though nobody need expect to break it off entirely, it can be restricted with much less serious inconvenience than most of us suppose.

It is by no means the only way to have fun. The problems of economy are just about as interesting as the problems of expenditure. It is sometimes so harassing to decide in which of several ways to spend a sum of money that it comes almost as a relief to have the money crawl back into its hole and make a decision unnecessary.

Thrift has great powers of entertainment, especially when it is successful, and relieves the mind of fiscal anxieties without depriving the body of the food, raiment and shelter that are necessary to health. — Harper's Weekly.


What She Said

"What did your wife say when you told her that you had lost your money in stocks?"
"What a foolish question. She said what every other woman would say under similar circumstances: 'Isn't that just like a man?' " — Detroit Free Press.


The Ideal

The ideal man, as woman considers him, is one who can trail around for half a day and not get weary while she stops to price things.

Girls Travel On "Nerve"

Oct. 1910

Two Oklahoma Young Women Start Out Without Money on a Three-Years' Trip

Chicago. — "We are going around the world on our own endeavors and nerve for educational purposes and to see if two women can work their way in such an undertaking," said Miss Olive Adair and Miss Oralee List, two young women from Tulsa, Okla., who arrived at the Congress hotel, Chicago, from St. Louis, on the first part of their long journey.

They wore broad white satin sashes, with the words, in black letters, "Around-the-World Girls From Tulsa, Oklahoma," and their suitcases and traveling bags were decorated in similar manner. They wore light tan traveling gowns and black turbans. "We are going to make a tour of the world," they said, "and will earn our passage."

Miss List is a composer of music, and Miss Adair is a singer and a writer of short stories. "We started without one cent of money, earning our fare to Kansas City by singing on the streets and selling papers."

Famous Old London Bridge

1910

Men Whose Names Will Live in History Dwelt and Worked on the Structure

For centuries Old London bridge, with its double row of houses, was the home of generations who lived and traded over the Thames waters.

Holbein lived and painted there; Osborne, the 'prentice lad leaped through a window in the house of his master, Sir William Hewett, to the rescue of Sir William's daughter, who had fallen into the swollen flood of the river below, and by winning her for his wife laid the foundation of the ducal house of Leeds. Crispin Tucker had his shop on the bridge, to which Pope and Swift and many another author of fame made pilgrimages to purchase books and gossip with the waggish shopkeeper. Crocker's dictionary was printed "at the Looking Glass on London Bridge," and gigantic corn mills dominated the south end of the structure, not many yards from the wonderful Nonsuch House, a high wooden pile with turrets and cupolas brought from Holland.

Such in brief outline was the London bridge which linked the twelfth with the eighteenth century, and which, when it was on its last tottering legs, was removed to give place to its fine successor of our day, the stone in which is said to be nearly double that employed in building St. Paul's Cathedral.

Daddy's Bedtime Story — "Where the Bad Boy Found His Manners"

1911

The Bad Boy in the Ditch

"He was really a naughty, ill mannered boy," began daddy. "His parents were wealthy, and they left him to the care of servants, who did not know how to make a good boy of him. The result was that he was impudent to the servants and cruel to dogs and cats and insisted on having his own way always. I shall tell you how he learned a good lesson.

"It happened in the summer time. One day this naughty boy, whose name was Dick, was standing at the gate of his father's house when another boy came there. He was a poor boy — you could tell that by his old clothing — but his shirt waist and his knickerbockers were clean and neat, and his face shone with good nature as well as soap and water. You could tell by looking at him that he was a jolly fellow. He carried in his hand a tin can full of ripe, juicy blackberries, and he asked Dick to buy them.

" 'Go away from here,' said Dick, with a frown, 'or I shall set the dog on you. We don't need your berries. We have everything we want!'

" 'If you have, please give me a drink of water,' said the poor boy. But Dick threatened again to set the dog on him, so he went away whistling.

"Then Dick said to himself: 'Those blackberries looked good. I think I will go and get some for myself.' He went out of the gate and down the road to a place where he knew the blackberries grew. The bushes were on the far side of a wide ditch, which was filled with mud. Dick was too lazy to find a good place to cross, so he tried to jump the ditch.

"He landed right in the middle in mud up to his waist When he tried to get out he found that he was stuck fast and could not free himself. Then he called for help. But it was a lonely spot, and for a long time he heard no answer. Then he heard a voice saying, 'Who's there?'

"Then Dick called again as loudly as he could, and soon he saw at the side of the ditch the poor boy whom he had treated so rudely. 'Hello!' said the boy. 'How did you get in there?'

" 'I fell in,' said Dick. 'Please help me out?'

" 'All right,' said the other boy. And he lay down at the side of the ditch, not minding the mud on his clothing, and reached out his hand to Dick. He was a strong boy, so he soon was able to get Dick out. Dick thanked him and went home to be cleaned off.

"The next day when the poor boy came around again to try to sell his berries Dick was very nice to him. 'Where did you find your manners?' asked the boy. 'In the ditch,' said Dick."

"Fainting Bertha" is On Her Way

1914

Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 19. — "Fainting Bertha" seems to have difficulty in keeping from the paths of the police. In spite of her professed conversion to Christianity two months ago and her declarations that she is living a totally reformed life, she Saturday was taken to police headquarters by Officer Wilson Skinner and a few minutes later was told to leave town by Capt. C. C. Jackson.

"Why don't you kill me and be done with it?" she moaned when told by Jackson that she couldn't stay in Des Moines any longer. "I'd rather be dead than alive. I try to live right and no one will let me."

But she promised to take an evening interurban car for Ames.

Bertha came to Des Moines from Omaha the first of the week. She was accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Mason, assistant pastor of the People's church of the Nebraska city. Mason told friends here that Bertha had been converted two months ago and was now visiting different cities trying to obtain a livelihood for herself and her aged mother by self-written stories of her life, contained in a small book entitled "Clothed in Scarlet."

For several days "Fainting Bertha" has been working here, encountering little difficulty in selling her books. But each day complaints of her actions have been increasing in number at the station.

Friday it was reported that while riding inside an outbound Fourth street car she "suffered" one of the fainting spells which gave her so much notoriety and the appellation she has carried for years. She swooned and slid to the floor of the car, the story went, but, while the conductor was trying to revive her by rubbing her forehead, she glanced up and saw Detective Pettit watching her. She revived in a hurry and got off the car at the next stop.

A complaint received from the Kirkwood hotel Saturday afternoon that she was bothering everyone about the hotel lobby led to her final undoing. The police were called and she was taken to headquarters.

In the course of her conversation with Captain Jackson, Bertha got on her knees on the floor in front of him and started to implore him to be merciful. Jackson thought she was about to undergo another fainting spell and quickly got her out of his office.

—Waterloo Evening Courier, Waterloo, IA, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 7.

Two Women Stopped Selling Books, Feared Pro-German

Ohio, 1918

GIRL STUDENTS WERE CANVASSING FOR A PRO-GERMAN BOOK

Sheriff Charles Swank was called to Hanover last Friday to make an investigation of two young women, of Mt. Vernon, who were selling a book, said to be pro-German. They were in the village in the morning of that day and the sheriff did not receive the call until the afternoon and by that time they had left.

Yesterday they were again reported to him and he found them on the road between Hanover and Purity. He gave them orders that no more of the books were to be sold in Licking county. Both of the young women were students and were canvassing to make a little extra money during the summer vacation, and were perfectly innocent of doing anything out of the way. Upon the advice of the sheriff they returned to Newark with him and returned to their homes at Mt. Vernon from here.

The title of the book was "A World In Perplexity," and the substance of it was that the American people wanted peace at any price. The book was put on sale by J. C. Castle, head of the Ohio Tract Society. They also were taking orders for another book, "The Prophesies of the World," but had no copies of it in their possession and were selling it from a prospectus. The Sheriff carefully examined this but found nothing that pointed to the fact that this was pro-German, nevertheless the sale of both books will be prohibited in this county hereafter.

—The Newark Advocate, Newark, Ohio, June 11, 1918, p. 5.


TWO MORE GIRLS FOUND SELLING FORBIDDEN BOOK

Sheriff Charles H. Swank was called to the south-eastern part of the county yesterday afternoon to make an investigation of two young women who were selling books in that vicinity. He met them one-half mile north of Brownsville and found they were selling the same books as the two girls found near Hanover, Monday. They gave their names as Earline Trapp and Violet Murphy, both of Mt. Vernon, and were working for the same people as the other two girls were.

The books are being put out by J. I. Castle, head of the Ohio Tract society of Mt. Vernon, and the one book, "A World in Perplexity," has been found to have pro-German tendencies and the sale of the same has been forbidden in Licking county. The other book, "Our Day in the Light of Prophecy" was carefully examined by the sheriff and he found it to be alright, with nothing in it detrimental to the government and gave them permission to continue selling it.

The girls were entirely innocent of any wrong doings and were very much overcome when the sheriff told them that the one book was pro-German. The had sold a number of copies of the book, which met the approval of the sheriff and as soon as the information spread over the community, orders were canceled over the telephone practically at the very house they stopped at. The girls had worked hard in making the sales as they have walked the entire distance over the county and to find that their work had been all in vain was quite a blow to them.

Sheriff Swank gave them one of his personal cards, stating that the text of the latter named book was alright and that it met with his approval and allowed them to continue the sale of the same, but the distribution of the other book will be prohibited in this county.

—The Newark Advocate, Newark, Ohio, June 13, 1918, p. 6.

Note: "A World in Perplexity" was by Arther G. Daniells, published by Pacific Press or Review and Herald, which are names for the Seventh Day Adventist church folks' publishing house. The other, "Our Day in the Light of Prophecy," was by William Ambrose Spicer, same publishing info. I don't know these particular books, but I've seen books like them, in which they size up all the bad news of the day as signs of God's work of judgment and final deliverance. Even "progress" is seen for its negative aspects, how families are broken up, girls go off the the city and are disgraced, etc. I would guess they would portray Germany as being very formidable, lots of men, lots of armaments, since these big battles at the end of the world can't be minimized, and that's the problem for the Sheriff, and that they don't actually take a "pro-German" view. Their business was religion and conversion, not politics or sedition. As for Brother Castle, the one article definitely gives a "C" for his middle initial, the other is hard to read but looks like an "I."

The Bird of Paradise

1878

The Jardin d'Acclimatation, Paris, has just received some living specimens of the bird of paradise, which it has hitherto been found rarely possible to bring alive to Europe.

This bird is a native of New Guinea, the inhabitants of which country endeavor to keep up the fable relative to these specimens of the feathered tribe, by persuading the Indian merchants to whom they sell them that they have no feet, and that, as they live on air and light, they have neither stomach nor intestines. That belief was encouraged by the form given by the Papuan naturalists or dealers to prepare them for sale, by drying the bird with its plumes after taking out the inside and tearing off the legs.

It is rarely found excepting in the countries which produce spices, and particularly in Australasia. New Guinea, which is comprised in that part of the world, and the Aroo Islands near, contain many specimens. The pineapple and nutmeg tree grow there in the midst of immense forests, and supply their principal food. The Papuans, barbarians as they are, derive considerable profit from the sale of the bird, and take it with nets or sticks smeared with birdlime. In the latter case they take it alive, but as it is very difficult to preserve, they prefer to use the bow and arrow.

The manner in which this chase is carried on is very curious. The men climb silently in the dark like cats into the trees in which the bird sleeps, pass the night in the forks of the branches, and at daybreak shoot at the birds while they are still asleep, with very light arrows made from the ribs of leaves of the palm-tree. Their address is so marvelous that the bird generally falls to the ground intact, stunned rather than wounded. The men continue as long as they can, and then descend to the ground and proceed to the preparation and embalming of their victims.

The Malays of Malacca are the chief purchasers of the birds, which they carry to the Molucca Isles, whence they are sent to India, China and Europe.

Sign Painter's Work – Advertisements on Fences, Billboards

1887

The Sign Painter's Work

Interesting Information About the Advertisements We See on Fences

"That man is a sign painter by trade," remarked a contractor, pointing to a man who was erecting a fence before a building that was to be torn down, "but he finds it pays better to put up fences where building is going on and let out the spaces to advertisers. The big profits in the business have brought about a healthy competition, and everything is now reduced to a fine art. I remember a few years ago this sign painter came to me and offered to put up a new fence free of charge in front of a building I was erecting providing he could use the boards for advertising purposes. I jumped at the offer and thought the man was a fool for making it. The shoe was on the other foot, however, for I should have received several hundred dollars to boot for the privilege.

"This man has brought the business down to a science. He has scores of agents scouring the city for eligible sites, as well as canvassers to drum up advertisements. His fences, which are very neat and attractive, are built in uniform sections and join together on the groove principle. An advertiser can thus have his announcement changed to different localities at will without going to the expense of having a new sign painted. The old method of building a new fence every time made this mode of advertising very expensive, and the lessees often lost money by being unable to let out all the spaces; but the cost is now reduced to a minimum by making the sections to slide in and out like the lid of a box.

"The rates, of course," he continued, "depend upon the location. A sign on Broadway costs the most, but many of the cross streets are nearly as desirable. The big advertisers make contracts by the year. Some of their signs are very elaborate. As soon as one building is finished they are put up elsewhere. The lessee who has a number of these contracts runs no risk in leasing a privilege, because he has his advertisers beforehand, and their signs are ready to slide into position. The first charge is made for the painting of the sign, and then so much per day for its use as an advertisement. The artistic appearance of the signs has improved very much since the introduction of the movable section, for enterprising houses no longer look upon it as extravagant to have trademarks or pictures of specialties correctly painted on a fence. These signs don't remain long in the same place. A building is soon put up in New York." — New York Evening Sun.

Box Car Tourist (Tramp, Hobo) Selling Stolen Plunder

Reno, 1905

TRAMP SELLS STOLEN PLUNDER IN RENO

A gentleman of the road, or rather a box car tourist, giving his name as Frank Kilzer, arrived in Reno yesterday and began selling shirts and other clothing at different residences in the city. He offered his goods at a very low price and consequently suspicion was aroused. The matter was reported to the police and the man was arrested just after completing a sale of some shirts.

He was taken to the police station and put through the "third degree" and in a short time confessed to stealing all the goods from a box car on the Southern Pacific road. He claimed, however, that he had been assisted in the work by two other hoboes and that they had taken most of the plunder. He is now in jail pending a further investigation into his crime.

—Daily Nevada State Journal, Reno, NV, Feb. 1, 1905, p. 4.

Flagrant Pension Fraud: She Married A Corpse

1895

One of the Most Flagrant Pension Frauds Ever Perpetrated

Fraudulent pension claimants receive a considerable share of the money obtained from the government in a dishonest manner. The pension office to protect itself employs men as examiners who ferret out these evildoers, find the weak spots in their claims and finally bring the offenders before the law.

"One of the strangest cases I ever handled," said an ex-examiner, "was that of a woman who married a corpse.

"It was while I was engaged in another matter that I got wind of this case, and it was sometime before it was concluded, but the story, as finally revealed was this:

"An old soldier, drawing a pension, lived in Maine, at the home of a gentleman who was a magistrate. One winter the old soldier fell ill and became so weak that the magistrate and his wife concluded that he must soon die. The thought of his death did not distress them, but they could not think of the loss of his pension with equanimity. They received his bounty as payment for board, and of course would lose it at his death. To obviate this they conspired with a young woman, a relative of the wife, to marry the old soldier. This was made possible by the fact that the veteran was not only debilitated physically, but mentally weak and completely under their control.

The programme then was for the soldier to die, his widow to draw his pension and, incidentally, divide it with the magistrate and wife. After some correspondence the bride-elect, who lived in a neighboring city, started to the magistrate's home. There was a heavy snowstorm and owing to this she was late in arriving, so late, in fact, that the intended groom had departed this life a short time before. They did not allow so small a matter to stand in the way, however, and the magistrate, by virtue of his office, performed the ceremony at the bedside of the corpse, and afterward swore that he had made them man and wife."

Another instance in which a dead man figured as performing the actions of a living one occurred in Kansas. It was about twenty years ago when the Pottawatomie Indians had been given lands in severalty, with the privilege of selling them. There was a class of white men then, as there always has been on the frontier, who took every advantage of the red man, often going so far as downright robbery.

One of these gentry appeared at St. Mary's one day with a deed to a parcel of land, formerly the property of White Horse. It was regularly drawn up and signed with White Horse's mark. As the Indian had been missing for some time, its authenticity was doubted, but as the document was regularly witnessed it seemed as if the deed would stand. But a traveler came to town the next morning, who said he had seen White Horse's body frozen in the river, with one hand protruding through the ice. It bore a scar which fully identified the body as that of the Indian. As the river had been frozen two weeks previous to the date of the deed, it proved that document fraudulent. But the white men said that what they swore to was literally true, and it was. The document read:

I hereunto, with my hand, place my mark,

his
WHITE X HORSE
mark

They had placed the pen in the frozen fingers and guided it in making the mark. — Washington Post.

Brittany's Hair Harvest – Country Girls Selling Their Hair

1916

It is at Easter time that the curious "hair harvest" of Brittany is "reaped" by the traveling merchants, who go from village to village buying the beautiful hair for which the Breton belles are famous. This is later destined to be made up into "transformations," "fringes" and other mysterious arrangements with which ladies less abundantly endowed by nature make up their shortcomings in the matter of "woman's crowning glory."

The clients of the hair buyers are chiefly country lasses in the remoter districts, who are only too pleased to sell their tresses in order to obtain a little money to spend at the Easter fairs. The "harvest" however, is said not to be so good as formerly, as with the spread of education and the love of display many girls prefer to keep their hair.— Wide World Magazine

—Stevens Point Daily Journal, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, July 29, 1916, page 3.