The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1884-05-31
STRANGE AND EER.
Some Novei Incidents OF Life Related
fn Short Chapters.
tExchsnge.l

An elephant keeper noticed that when
his pets were fed on cakes and sweet.
meats by the children they became un-
well. Not being able to stand in front
of them all the while, he had sign
painted warning visitors not to feed
them. He was in the habit of pointing
to the sign when he saw any one about
to drop cake or nut into the out
stretched trunk. The keeper was sorely
puzzled to find out who tore the sign
down whenever his back was turned,
until one day he caught one of the wise
brutes dexterously removing it from the
peg on which it hung, and throwing it
into corner where it would not be
noticed. .-a-
Bede's Historic Ecclesiastical, written
in 72O, gives an account Of royal we'd.
ding party that was saved from ship.
wreck by pouring oil on the waters. A
priest had been sent into Kent to fetch
King Edwin's daughter to be married to
King Oswin. Before starting on the
voyage he went to the bishop to have
fair weather provided for the voyage.
He was given pot of oil to cast on the
sea, accompanied by a prayer in case the
waves should become boisterous. As
was feared they were caught in a heavy
squall, and their royal ship was threat
ened with destruction. The oil was cast
upon the seething waters. In moment
the white caps ceased to break, the deaf.
ening roar died away, and the sun shone
out brightly. A number of other in.
stances are cited where vessels were
saved in like manner. 1t was com.
mon custom among the sailors on the in.
land seas Of Palestine before the Christian
era, to oil the water in case it got too
rough.
One day recently they had regular
snake hunt at Pleasant Plains, Staten
Island, N. J. Near the village is strip
of woods known as Snake woods, which
is so called from the number of snakes
which infest it during the summer.
The hunters were armed with shovels,
picks, crowbars, and few dynamite
cartridges Stumps were rooted up,
logs and stones overturned, and piles of
debris removed, by which large wads of
snakes were exposed. In some instances
there as high as fifty Of all sexes, color
and species wrapped up into a regular
ball, Being in dormant state it was an
easy matter to chop them into mince
meat with the corn.knives and shovels
provided for the purpose 1t is estimated
that fully 10000 were slain.
An immense ditch is to be taken out in
the Arkansas Valley. The ditch is to
begin at or near Rocky Ford, run along
the north bank Of the Arkansas River,
gradually diverge from the river, pass
La Junta on the north, and continue
down past Las Animas until it finally
empties into Sand Creek, in the neigh
oorhood OF the site Of the Chivington
massacre. The ditch will be sixty five
1eet wide at the bottom, and will take so
much water out Of the Arkansas that
that stream will not be able to execute
very damaging foods at points below.
1t will be about sixty.five miles long.
In the philosophical collections Of Null
ferus there is an account of a woman
buried at Nuremburg, whose grave being
opened forty:three years after her death
hair was found issuing through the clefts
IN the coffin. When the cover was re.
moved the whole shape Of the corpse was
visible, but was covered from the crown
OF the head to the soles of the feet with
thick.set hair, long and curled. The
sexton was about to handle the upper
part OF the head, when the whole fell
apart at once, and nothing remained but
handful Of hair. There was neither
skull nor any other bone left, yet the
hair was solid and strong. Mr.. Arnold
relates the case of a man who was
hanged on the gallows for petty theft,
as was formerly the custom in England,
whose body was covered with growing
mar before it was cut down from the