Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-07-31

like structure of concrete and piles made
to receive it. The anvil-block to be
mounted on the huge plate will weigh
only trifle short of 200 tons, and the
| steam hammer which will strike upon II
is made of 80 tons of metal. The whole
| weight of metal in the hammer is 500
| tons.
A New DIsEAsE-Dr. Gait, in his
| Medical Notes on the Upper Amazon
| has furnished some curious information
on the strange practice known as Geo
phagie," or officiating. This disease, &C
| cording to DR.. Calf, now counts as one OF
| the chief endemic complaints OF all
| tropical America; and, at distance OF
over 1000 miles from the sea, on the Anna
zon Valley, where the negro is rarity,
| being merely waif from Brazil or the
| Pacific coast, it is the most important dis
| ease among the children and women of the
country On the Maranon the halfbreeds
are mostly addicted to the practice of dirt
| eating-neither the pure savage nor the
more cultivated being so often the victims.
| Children commence the practice from the
time they are four years old, and frequent
| ly die from the results in two or three
years. In other cases they grow to man
| hood or womanhOod, and DR.. Gait speaks
| of having himself seen in the case Of a
Nestle soldier who was dying from
dysentery, which sooner or later super
venes on this habit, the poor creature, half
| an hour before his death, detected with a
lump.of clay stuffed in his sunken checks.
HAVING been appointed (says WiscOn-
sin mani to administer on the estate Of a
neighbor recently deceased, | was greatly
annoyed by solicitations for an order for
the grave-stones for the departed. After
some three or four weeks, a very gentle
| manly marble man" introduced himself,
told me his business, and asked for 1.-THE
job" | replied that as soon as it was
known that "A person was dangerously i'll,
"a grave-stone man" made his appearance,
demanded "the job" and asked for the
inscription for the hcadstonc. He replied
that he knew it was so, and added, II
don't do it, and l won't, for it isn't decent;
but often find myself in the same fix that
Deacon B was ill.," How was that?"
| asked. "Why," said he, cold Deacon
b had long had his eye on Mrs. w,
| whose husband had for several weeks
fingered on the borders Of the grave A
few days after the funeral of Brother
W the Deacon made a friendly call on
the widow, and in the course of the con
| versatiOn remarked that after a proper
time had elapsed he proposed to offer her
the consolation of his hand and heart,
which he hoped would not be unacceptable
to her. oh, Deacon she replied, you
| are too late; Elder C. spoke 10 me at the
graueh "-Harpers' Drawer.
THE negro and mule writes friend in
Clinton, La) are inscparable companions
in the Southern cotton fields, and, like
the Hawaiian string and bow, useless
each without the other The lazy indif
ference and careless cruelty of the one
| and wonderful powers of endurance of
severe labor, bad treatment, and neglect
OF the other, complete the compatibility
OF the two races necessary for the produc-
ton of 100000 of bales A characters
| tic anecdote may be relshed bv those who
have had experience Of the two The
spectator had taken refuge from the suns
Perpendicular rays under the shade of a
spreading beech, sub tegmine fag5, and lay
rccumbent, enjoying the titful breezes and
the somber frothiness Of ,hc country news
| paper. Along the dusty road which pass
ed by this retreat came jogging negro,
mounted on a mule, both apparently fast
asleep. AS the sOmnolent pair approach
ed the spot, some wicked sprite Of the
place gave the paper tiirt, which was no
sooner seen and heard than the mule, as
mules only know how, instantly swap
| ped ends" and, leaving the negro sprawl
| ing in the dirt, took his departure, under
| full sail. The negro, half raising himself,
| and wiping the dust from eyes and mouth,
watched the retreating mule for some
time in silence, but at length, unconscious
| Of an auditor, gave expression to this
| philosophic soliloquy: Oats what makes
! me 'spise mule !''-Harpcrs' Draecer