The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-03-27
Modern MarVels.

SOME people are always lamenting that the
50 age Of marvels' has gone. They ought to sub
scribe tor a Western newspaper. One years
faithful reading Of any Of these journals would
convince them that wonders never cease, and that
the great West Is the place that turns them out
Wholesale fashion. Ohio reports a two year old
child which has been petrifyiDg since last July.
The hardening process began with the limbs,
and slowly extended over the body until . the
arms, legs, head and neck are now as hard and
cold az marble" Tennessee boasts Of : the
greatest mOnstrOsity of the age" a boy who
looks like a frog, acts like a frog, and jumps
eight feet frOg-iashiOn. The county in which the
bOy-frog lives is also proud / Of the female dwarfs,
the mud negro, and the sleeping beauty. Mis-
souri, comes up with a pair Of girl twins joined
Siamese style, only more so, the lIgament ex-
tending from the cOllar-bOne 10 the knees. W.
b.. Fletcher, NJ. D., Of indianapolis, finds a frog
filed with thousands Of minute diamonds, from
which he infers that diamond deposits are the
graves Of antedIluvian big frogs. Mrs. Good
paster Of Owingsyille, Ky, with all her family,
has seen a terrible spOOk like the figure Of man
floating in mid-air about twenty feet above the
tops OF the trees. The figure was making ges-
lures of all kinds, but spoke not a word. Ii
would throw Its hands wildly, then fold is arms,
then clasp It's hands and drawing up Its knees
assume the attitude OF prayer, and then begin its
wild gestures again. IL finally rose high into
the air and vanished frsm sight. Jesse Huff of
Dallas, West Virginia. went out cunning and
shot four full-grown squirrels joined IN one by a
narrow strip of flesh. Pennsylvania contributes
a wild man and his son, who live in the woods Of
Wyoming county, twenty miles from Scranton.
The man was clothed and was intelligent, being
able 20 read and write. The son was naked and
appeared to be an idiot. He was wild as an
animal and much more dirty. They have no
desire, apparently. to live IN a more civilized
way. They burn logs To keep themselves warm.
and the son picks up hot ashes and rubs himself
with them. New Orleans still boasts of an old
unarAuu Ur1azF xuhOun al oI..aoa n,.-,Ik .. L.
the future. Kentucky, which we'll deserves the
name " mother OF wonders" glories in the pro-
ductiOn IN Morgan county Of a. couple of boy
fishes, James and Henry Elan. who have scales
: where the hair ought to grow and indeed all
over their skin. They take naturally to the
water, and their bodies have to be creased when
they are out of it, as their skin would otherwise
crack open on becoming dry. The boys belong
to a family of eight children, the rest of whom
are all right, and these two are intelligent and
have regular features. Snakes are their pets,
doing them no violence, and even following them
about as a dog its master. In : Mount Bethel, -
wherever that may be, is a girl who has three
eyes, one Of which is in the back of her head,
and Is concealed by her hair. The eyes which
are set in their natural place in her head are
blue, while the third eye is of full size and a
beautiful black. ElkhOTn, Iowa, has its marvel
in the tale of six persons who were in a religious
trance for three days lately, during which they
ate nothing, had ecstatic visions, spoke in un-
known tongues, prophesied, and saw the devil on
the cellar stairs and a bright and beautiful star
in a corner of the room. = = One of the sisters
began singing the Doxology to a new tune, one
she had heard while in the trance, and all the
others in an instant sang the different parts,
making the most delightful melody ever heard on
earth. Even Canada has caught the spirit of
the times. and asserts that at London there is a
10 years old girl, who has just recovered from a
two wears illness, and who j. now found to be Il
perfect electrical battery. A person, unless
possessed Of the very strongest nerves, cannot
shake hands with her, nor eau any one place his
hand IN a pail of water with hers. By joining
hands. she can send a sharp shock through fifteen
or twenty people IN u room, and she possesses all
the attraction Of magnet. Ii she attempts to
pick up a knife, the blade will jump into her
hand, and a paper Of needles will hang suspended
from one of her fingers She cannot drop any
small article of steel she may pick up. On enter
ing a room a percepuble influence seizes all
others, and while some are affected with sieepi-
ness, others are i'll and hdgety ull they leave. \
sleeping babe will awake az her approach, but
with a stroke Of her hand she can coax 1t to
slumber again. Animals are also subject to her
influence, and a pet dog of the household will be
for hours at her feet, "a mOtIOnless as death. Ar
ticles which she uses become magnetzed.' And
these wonderful tales OF the nineteenth century
could be quoted 10 any extent. Who shall say
that wonders cease, OF that the genius of journal
ism is departing? 1t Is a relief to turn from the
Of politics to the contemplation Of the
as depicted by the Western reporter.