Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-08-30

A Town IN Two STATES. ALTHOUGH
Bristol is small and unimportant town
it has two mayors, two municipal govern.
ments. two bodies of police, and is taxed
| in two States 1t is in Tennessee and Vir
ginia. the centre of Main street being the
dividing line, and its peculiar position
| causes no little confusion and many droll
Incidents. Young couples elope from Vir.
ginia, and, by crossing the street, enter
| Tennessee, and are married without bin
drance. A man commits crime in Ten
nessee, flies to the opposite sidewalk in
Virgini, and deies the officers OF the for.
mer State. He needs be very guarded in
his movements, however, lest he cross the
boundary and become amenable to the
laws of the Commonwealth he has fled or
stepped away from. Fugitives are often
pulled across the street by officers armed
with q warrant, and so legally arrested.
Not long since fellow who had stolen a
horse in Tennessee crossed the boundary
by walking 20 feet-and seating himself on
a pile of dry goods boxes, laughed pur-
suing policeman to scorn. While so occu-
pied law abiding citizen pushed over the
pile Of boxes and the thief fell within the
confines of Tennessee and into the arms of
the waiting and watching minion of the
law.
Women who prefer to have their chill
dred born in one or the other State often
live on one side of Main street. and cross
over just before the coming event. There
are several Instances in which expectant
mothers have been little too late, aud
thus children designed for Virginian natl
witty have been born on Tennessee soil,
while predestined Tennesseeans have clear
ly missed their destiny by being enrolled in
the census of Virginia. A number of ma
ture Bristolites are still uncertain of their
place of birth, having vainly spent time
and money trying to discover beyond
doubt whether they are Virginians or
Tennesseeans. Cheyenne Leader.
NIGHT WoRKERs.-Bats live their &C
tive lives in the night. When sunlight
comes they fly away to their holes, there to
sleep until twilight comes again, when
they resume the occupation of insect-kill-
ing. The female bat has rather a hard
time of it, as she is the nest and food of
her young until they are themselves able
to fly. Often have l seen a female bat
with her young ones clinging to her breast
flying about in search of food; and the
young ones were not 50 small either. flow
else could they get along? The old ones
make no nest. If they wanted to ever so
much, they could not; and the chances are
that, from their wandering habits, they
spend one day in one place, and the next
in another two or three miles distant, just
as they happen to be when day overtakes
them; and if they left their young behind
them, their exact locality might be forgot
ten. When the young ones are able to
shift for themselves the mothers life is
easier; and until winter comes to kill the
insect food, she lives luxurlously. Then.
when all nature is prepared to put on the
livery of winter, bats, instead of leaving
the scenes where they had passed the
summer, repair to their haunts in the
caves and walls, and, hanging by
their hind feet in little groups of five or
six together, pass the dreary season in one
unbroken sleep.