Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-04-23
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIF
HE OLDEST TOWN.

established historical IacG bnaG Il Opdu-
ish military explorer named Corando
visited the town in 1910, and found it
then a popular and prosperous civilized
Indian community. He was lmmedl-
atelv followed by the Franciscan Friars,
who erected a church and established
schools. The same race of people exist
In the town to-day that existed 250 years
ago. and they are engaged In the same
agricultural and mechanical pursuits as
their forefathers at that period and for
ages preceding.
PASSED HER 99TH YEAR.
In August, 1882, we recorded the death
of Mr.. John Roger, of this county, at
the great age of SO years and 6 months.
Mr.. Roger had a sister, now living near
Taylorsville, in this county, Mrs. Cath
crime Baker, who reached the ninety
ninth anniversary of her birth on Feb
ruary %, 1884. A gentleman who saw
her few days ago says Mrs. Baker is
In good health and remarkably active
and hearty-so much so, indeed, that
there is good reason for predicting that
she will round perfect century on earth.
She has a special fondness for coffee, of
which she drinks six or eight cupfuls
every .-MartinSUille (Va,) Herald.
A MODEL PUPIL.
To an English exchange q correspond
ent writes: A girl named Alice Akermer,
aged fourteen, the daughter of laborer,
has just completed her education at
Langley School, Bucks. She has never
missed being present since the school
was opened in October 4, 1875, and In
completing her 3,451 attendances is
said to have walked 5000 miles. She
has passed every standard successfully,
and in the three subjects in first grade
drawing obtained Excellent" prizes in
freehand and model, as also in the three
stages of the specific subjects, literature,
domestic economy, and animal physiolo-
gy, and in one stage in physical geogra-
ply. She has also obtained twenty-six
other prizes for good attendance, sculpt-
ure, sewing, knitting, etc.
TWO HUNDRED CATS on EXHIBITION.
Two hundred cats of all sizes, ages,
sex and condition were ranged in cages
at Horticultural Hall last night, and a
throng of visitors we're present. This
was the great cat show of Frederick
Kyle, of Boston, and it was most re-
markable exhibition. One of the cats
weighed twenty-five pounds, and anoth-
er, after a year and a half's growth,
weighed less than tive pounds. 1t looked
like kitten. There were tiger cats,
which looked fierce enough to eat up
shipload of rats; 'possum cats, which
rolled up IN ball; econ cats, with long
tails; three-legged cat, and such col
lection of other felines as to astonish
everybody. This exhibition will remain
open for two weeks, and 81, 800 will be
given In prizes to the heaviest cat, the
handsomest cat, the best happy family
cat, etc. There was every evidence last
night that the show had "caught on''
to popular fancy.-Ph5tadeLl0h5G Rec
ord.
BASQUE DOCTOR.
A doctor, in the Landes, as In Solog-
nee or Vendee, has no bed Of roses to
lie upon. He is In constant antagonis m
with rival professional, the sorcerer or
witch healer, who cures ague and fever
by the aid of simples and charms; and
he finds himself eternally thwarted by
those maIefcient hags, the ''wise wo-
men," or 'fdisuses, who are the pest of
rural France, and who negative every
precept he can utter as to fresh air,
the hygienic conditions necessary for
the rearing Of weakly children. 1t may
seem scarcely credible that In the nine
teenth century there should be crones
who make living by preaching dirt,
vermin and neglect as essential for the
health of the young; but every village
practitioner from Tours TO Bayonne
knows, to his vexation, that such is the
case. Medical science does not receive,
IN the country, the unhesitating respect
which it meets in the great towns. IF a
cural doctor is also a skilled veterinary
surgeon, as sometimes happens, well and
FOOD. The cure of lame horse or a
sick COW does more to influence the bu-
colo mind than the most eloquent of ex-
positions. the Year Round.
WALKING RIGHT-HANDED.
A writer in Nature on the subject of
unconscious bias in walking shows that
it may in some cases be very marked.
He says: 81 began with walking myself
and getting various friends to walk,
with eyes shut in a grass field. We all
walked with amazing crookedness in
paths which we're not far removed from
circles. / myself and Mr.. Cation on the
nTSJ LI1dl O0SC14UCu C11C1So VI uOG u4O10
than fifty yards in diameter, although
we thought we were going straight, and
afterward I was generally unable to inn
pose sufficiently strong conscious bias
in one direction to annul the uncon-
sclous bias in the other. L believe we
all diverged toward the right, excepting
one Of us, who was strongly left-handed. y
a similar trial was made with eight
school-boys, when it was found that left
legged boys diverged to the right and
right-legged boys to the left. The step
of a right-handed person is longer from
left to right than from right to left, and
vie versa. The writer believes that nine
out of ten strongly right-handed persons
are left-legged. Every active effort of the
right hand is almost necessarily accom-
panied by an effort with the left leg, and
right-handed man is almost compelled
to use his left leg more than the other.
HALF MAN, HALF WOMAN.
A person who attracted much atten-
ton from the fact that fine black
mT1etacba hIoomed on the upper lin.