Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-21
FROM A TRAVELLERS NOTEBOOK,
Entries of Strange Scenes and Queer
Happenings During Many
Journeys.

happenings During Many
Journeys.
was travelling north one spring on the
Rome, WATERFOWL & Ogdensburg Rail
road, when the train stopped at water
tank in the country. l climbed over the
| fence to witness the extraordinary spec
tacle of several hundred frogs crawling
out of the mud from their winter quar-
tiers. They appeared on the surface of a
shallow marsh, tumbling and capering
about as if wild with delight. After few
capers, however, they turned over on
their backs, and noticed a remarkable
expansion of each body or of air sacs,
which increased in size so rapidly on ac-
count of the sudden contact with the air
after long confinement that they pro-
truded through the mouths. judged
that they did not remain long in this
state, as 1 noticed some which had evil
IDENTIFY passed through it, and, though
weak, were gradually recovering their
normal condition.
In Iowa | saw farmers catch rattle
snakes in this manner: They took long
stick and dangled silk handkerchief
from one end of it. When this was held
over snake he stuck his fangs into it.
The handkerchief was then jerked up sud-
denly, taking the fangs with it as nicely
as dentist might have done. The rep
tile was afterwards easily made a captive.
One Fourth Of July, in the Geological
Hall in Central Park, l saw woman
vigorously poking catamount with her
parasol. One of the keepers, at stout
Hiberian, had evidently imbibed some of
the glorious. He rushed up and shouted,
eli, MANI jist ase up on yer parasol,
nam; yer won't hurtit nam, but it may
hurt We"
Here's quarter to help you cele-
brate," said she.
IAN, man poke his ribs, mann, as much
as We loikes. Ye may let him chew We into
bits, nam Thanks
In Iowa, when the rivers are dry, the
cattle are herded near some large slough.
One day saw 1000 of them make dash
for the slough to get drink. They
stamped holes in the mire, and waited
for the muddy waters to fill them. Then
then drank. | noticed that some had
learned to wait until the water settled and
had cleared little before drinking.
In Boone county, Iowa, visited out of
curiosity small lake called Clear Lake,
IL an obsure part of the county. There
was neither outlet nor inlet, yet the water
was clear, fresh and inhabited with fish
and other aquatic life. On examination
l found that the lake was fed by several
springs which originally had filled up a
deep slough. No outlet was required, for
the emission of spring water was so slight
that evaporation and the surrounding
soil utilized the surplus. The presence
of fishes was more difficult to account for.
Several years ago, when Professor
King was experimenting in eronautics on
Coney Island, he waxed eloquent on the
subject to several of us, among whom
that the balloon was the only thing by
which one could reach point in the
heavens clear of the earth.
"Pll bet you $1O," said the wag,
promptly.
"Done."
The wag went away and in few min
utes returned with an ugly-looking mule,
which he had borrowed of a Snowman.
"Now, Professor" he said to the as
tonished balloonist, "you must either
stand behind this mule for a second or
pay that So"
Professor King handed over the money.
When bathing in the Des MONIES river
one day was surprised to find numerous
bivalves looking exactly like the soft
shell clans of the salt water. Some OF
them were very large, and weighed a
quarter of pound each with the shell. |
pailful, and had them served |
as stews and patties, which were unsur- |
passed. They required longer cooking |
and more seasoning than the soft-shells, |
but otherwise there was little difference.
Mirage is very common and powerful |
On the great lakes. In winter close
mirage is seen on Ontario early in the
The hills lying back five miles
back in Oswego county are some 400 feet |
high. Several times in the early morn
ing have seen the ice banks apparently
rise slowly until they appeared on a
level with the eye, 400 feet above them. |
The Michigan shore of lake Michigan is
often plainly seen at Chicago, and 0tce
versa, forty miles distant. At such times
houses are distinctly visible.
In the winter in the Lower Mississippi |
Valley, have seen the overflow ponds
frozen and the ice full of little fishes,
which gave many rejecting colors to it.
When cut out and placed in the sun they
came to life and jumped
about. 1t is cruelty, however, to thus
awaken them, for there being no water to
live in they speedily die. One day the
ponds will be frozen and the fish all con-
fined in the ice, and the next day they
will be melted out and the fish swimming
about as usual.
have examined a spring in Western
New York which few people know any
thing about. 1t is located about Six miles
south of Westfeld. On one side its waters
empty into Chautauqua Lake; this flows
into the Ohio river, and thence to the
Gulf of Mexico. On the other side its
waters originate the Chautauqua creek,
which flows into Lake Erie. 1t thus
into two great islands nearly all
of the United States east of the Mississ-
ippi. The Illinois and Michigan Canal,
from Chicago south, completes the, west
ern water side of the western island.