St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-10-17
Our New York. Letter.

A FAMILIAR OPERATION = CRUEL
FAsHIoN-THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FAIR.
NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 1879.
To the Editor of the CaIedonian
1t seems we are shortly to boast
new attraction in the way of theological
Gardens which are to eclipse the ia
nous popular resorts where the lords of
creation make themselves acquainted
with wild and curious birds, beasts,
reptiles and fishes, in London, Paris or
Berlin. A regular trap was sprung on
the Wall street people, and capital was
subscribed quietly for the new enter
prise without letting them have a finger
in the pie. Two million dollars have
been raised by the Universal COnserva-
tory and Geological Garden Company,
which, it is said, consists so far of quite
a limited number of very wealthy peo-
pie. They have bought thirty three
acres of ground between 155th and
159th streets, st. Nicholas avenue and
the Harlem river, within view of High
Bridge, the Croton Aqueduct and the
lively scene of almost daily regattas
and pleasure sailing, rowing and steam
ing. Eminent engineers and artists
have been engaged to lay out the
grounds, and small army of wOrkmen
will shortly be busily employed in car
rying out their instructions. Besides
beautiful gardens and the Enclosures for
animals, there will be lake and island,
an arcade for stores of all kinds, quite
an imposing agricultural affair, res
taurants, billiard halls, bowling alleys,
Swiss cottages, and other attractions in
Vulnerable. In fact, it seems determined
to draw all the people to the north end
of Manhattan Island next year and away
from Coney Island. The result will
probably be that both will be largely
patronized, as good times are now on
us, no better proof being required to
show it than just such investments of
prudent business men. What the cir
Gus people must think of all this sort of
thing can only be surmised. The visit
ing menageries are familiar enough now,
but can scarcely hold their own against
a really valuable permanent collection,
and for many miles in the vicinity OF
New York even the most unsOphisicat-
ed of country persons will prefer to lay
up few dollars, and see New York and
it's wonders, rather than vegetate at
home and contribute to the casual
circus.
The O'Leary walking match has been
dragging on in a melancholy way. 1t
is very evident public interest in this
particular form of trying the utmost
of mans endurance is fast dying out. In
this instance, SO many started that it
was simply bewildering to even try to
keep any track of them, and according
ly people very soon ceased to try. Men
dropped out, and nobody cared others
stayed in, and nine out of ten can't tell
the names of half of them. The bulletin
boards of the daily papers, around
which great crowds gathered at
the last champion match, have been
deserted except by comparatively small
throngs of idle persons, most of whom
occupy the parks as bed chambers in
Summer weather. The suspicious of
hippodroming, with all that the term
implies, raised by the short track last
time, Rowell's alleged illness 10y poison
ing, and other similar incidents -LSl>aoa
broken down very early in the struggle)
have had much to de- with the growing
distaste among respectable people for
such performances. In hOmely phrase
the thing has been run into the ground,
and the inquiry is made whether this
squirting on fellow creature to exer-
tiOns that would kill horse, is much
less brutal than good old-faShioned
prize fight, where the cOmbatents'
cOuntenances would be smashed to Il
jelly, but the agony was very much
shorter.
The dentists are in trouble now. Two
dreadful cases of malpractice have just
resulted fatally. In the one case, the
captain of canal boat had his tooth
extracted so unskilfully, and the bleed
out afresh and could not be checked
The poor fellow bled to death. In the
other case, which occurred the next
day, Il well-known citizen of Brooklyn,
by the name of G9rdiner, who had been
treated for toothache by dentist in
Boston, aud another in New York, the
treatment consisting, it is believed, in
the unskillful insertion of a plug or
pointed pencil of arsenic, suffered, ac-
cOrding to the statements of the physi-
ella is who attended him, the most awful
death that ever came to a man. The
fortunes of Chinese, red Indians, or the
tormentOrs of the Middle Ages could
scarcely bear comparison with the ago
MES the wretched victim endured. |
spare you the unpleasant details. Some
thing so appalling has naturally excit-
ed wide interest, and n warm cOntrO-
very is now going on in the papers.
There is no doubt many so-called den
lists are shamefully ignorant of any
thing beyond the mere mechanics of
the profession. Still, it is not fair to
jump to the conclusion that all dentists
are quacks and fools, because some are.
Many are quite accomplished and per-
fectly reliable persons.
1t really seems pity that some peO-
pie should gov so rich that they don't
know how much money they've got,
and get too lazy to find out. Another
case of an employee tempted in this way
has come to light. The man was trusted
of course, they all are--and was the
actual, though not nominal, manager of
a large umbrella manufacturing house.
He quietly walked off with $4,000,
which he had appropriated during
term of years. Nobody missed the
and he might have gone on