The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-05-06

his wife and family the comfort of
hippopotamus. Even the poor and
lowly can not be without one. What
is home without a hippopotamus?
There is no good reason in this ad-
vance in one of the necessities of life.
No information has been receive of q
short crop of hippopotamuses. 1t
looks very much as if this rise in price
was the result of a ring, q diabolical
ombination formed to put up the
cost iD the face of a great demand. If
this is SO, the base, infamous scheme
should be at once exposed. If there is
a hippopotamus corner the people
should know it, and the sooner the
better; and the fiendish manipulators
who would ruthlessly deprive the
poor man of his hippopotamus should
be held up to public exeeration and
contempt. 1t may be urged that it is
the Government duty on them which
makes this advance. Ii this is true,
then it is one of the,saddest effects of
a protective tariff, and no stronger ar
gument can be advanced in favor of
free trade than this unjust, extortion-
ate increase in the cost Of hippopota-
muses..
ANOTHER American has distinguish
ed himself abroad. His name is Hol-
tun. and he has lately been attracting
attention at the Folies Bergeres in
Paris by having cannon-ball fired at
him and catching the ball in his hands.
This prodigious feat was witnessed
nightly, and although the actors pres
ent avowed that there was no trick,
Pierre Vernon, of the "Monde Illus
tre," would not believe it. He said
that the cannen-ball must be thrown
to Holtum from the stage. The latter
made bet Of five thousand francs
that he would perform the feat under
conditions which left no room to
doubt, and when the bet was taken
Vernon designated Mabille as the
place for the trial. All the journalists
L
Hoitum there before his cannon. 1t
was examined with minute care, and
the heavy ball was passed from hand
to hand. 81 am no longer in my own
house, said Hsltum "you are master
here, and you must watch over all the
arrangements" Having carefully
aimed and lashed his cannon, it was
charged, and Holtum took his place
against plank target some ten yards
ayay. This was to show that the ball
was solid, and the force of the powder
great enough to send it through the
plank. Holtum got the aim his gun,
position against the plank, and gave
the command to fire. The ball just
grazed his hair and broke through the
plank, rolling some twenty yards fur
ther on. The same ball was picked up
by the journalist, who again charged
the cannon and sent home the ball.
and this time Holtum caught the ball
in his bands as neatly as he does night
ly upon the stage. He won his bet,
and no one seemed disposed to ac-
cept his offer of 3, 600 francs to any one
who would perform the same astound-
ing feat. The physical force required
must be enormous, but Holtum show
ed his strength by tossing np cannon
balls as if they were so many oranges.
The only precautions taken are very
simple; he wears very thick leather
gloves, and covers his breast with
many thicknesses of thin paper to
form sort of cuirass. This looks
like very dangerous feat, and par
ticnlarly the first part of it, where
Heltum places his head against the
target half an inch below where the
ball will probably strike. If the pow
der should chance to be defective,
some day there might be an accident,
swapping his head very neatly off.