News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-07-30
THE MYSTERIES OF A DAY.
STRANGE, CURIOUS AND STARTLING
THINGS OCCURRING ALL ABOUT US.

STRANGE, CURIOUS AND STARTLING
THINGS OCCURRING ALL ABOUT US.
| The California Sea Lions-The Pennsyl.
vania Dutch Famflies-Leprosy iu Wis.
| consin-Built on the Earthquake Plan
What They saw at Home, Etc, Etc.
DURING the day sea lions are always
seen in great numbers houndering about
the rocks near the Cliff House in San
| Francisco harbor, but toward night they
disappear and in immense bands flock
into the bay through the entrance at the
Golden Gate. The fishermen usually
start out about or o'clock in the
afternoon to set their nets, and do the
| greater part of their work between that
hour and midnight The sea lions seem
to have eomprehended the processes OF
the fishermen, and evidently lie in wait
for their approach. When net Is laid
| these curiously intelligent creatures first
| make their presence known by low
/ is NJ and blowing noise along the sur
face of the water, and in most in
credibly short space of time dozens and
hundreds of companions appear. They
rush at the nets, seize the fish, tear them
loose from the meshes, and devour them
with the rapidity of machines. If the
band happens to be few In numbers, not
equal to the consumption of all the fish
In the nets which they attack, they will
tear the fish out and play with them,
throwing them; sometimes, many feet In
the air, and otherwise destroying the
game of the industrious fishermen, SO
that it is not an uncommon occurrence
for the hungry toilers of the bay to lift
$50 fathoms of net without securing a
single fish. The lions can be seen almost
at any time chasing up and down before
the nets in great numbers, tearing the
meashes, breaking the cords, and doing
vast deal of damage aside from des-
troying all the fish, and are so fearless
in this Tiotous work that they will ap-
proach within few feet of the fisher
mans boat.
A CORRESPONDENT of the London
Field mentions two instances of sympa-
thy or curiosity in the fish world. Sir
Maurice Duff Gordon, fishing in the
Test, hooked a heavy trout, which took
him eighty yards down the stream be-
fore he could get on terms with it. Sir
Maurice noticed another trout closely
following the captive, and apparently
much concerned at its fate. Some ladies
and gentlemen who came in at the death
declared that two fish had been caught
on the same fly, SO close were they to-
gether. The free trout never left its
companion, but sidled with it upon the
shallow, and the keeper slipped the net
adroitly under, and landed the brace of
fish at one sweep. They were male and
female trout, one three pounds nine
ounces, the other three pounds eleven
ounces. In the second cast a one-pound-
fve-ounce trout was hooked and played
at leisure, and the fish was followed in
all its twinings by roach that would
be probably a few ounces heavier than
itself The roach, however, scuttled off
On the production of the landing net.
ALL the houses in Lima, Peru, are
built on the earthquake plan, either of
great thick walls of adobe or mere
shacks of bamboo reeds, lashed together
by thongs Of rawhide, and plastered
within and without with thick layers of
mud. This style Of architecture will
answer in a country where it never rains
III
good pour should fall in Lima. the
whole town would be washed into the
river Riniac and carried out to sea.
There is never more than one entrance
to the houses, and that is protected first
by great iron grating and then by solid
doors. The windows are covered with |
bars. This was done as O prscaution |
against bandits In early times, and
against revolutionists in later days, and
a very essential precaution it has been;
for, during the time of the viceroys,
bands of robbers used to come down |
from the mountains and pirates from the
sea.
THE horn of rhinoceros Is apt to
grow in the wrong direction if the ami
NAL is held in captivity. This was the
case recently with one of the animals in
the London Geological Gardens. 1t is a |
very fierce animal, but Mr.. Bartlett, the |
succeeded in tanning it
by feeding it several loaves of bread
every morning. While the animal was
eating he took jagged cane and imi-
tated the action of saw on the brute's |
horns. When it had become accustomed
to this proceeding carpenter was sum-
moned, who substituted saw for the
stick while Mr.. Bartlett prolonged the
meal. When the horn was almost off it |
came In contact with the sore which 1t |
had caused. The beast tore away with |
a savage snort, the saw was broken to
pieces, but the incision made by the saw |
was so deep that when the animal thrust |
the horn against the bars in its rage, it |
broke off, and all danger was thus
averted.
''NoTHINe Is ever wasted" said q
grocer. ~ used to return my
stale bread to the baker, who held it for !
q day or two, selling it to poor persons
in the meantime at reduced price If he |
could, but if no call was made he bad to |
throw it away. In Paris it Ia dried, and |
then ground up, sugar and shortening
being aftsrward mixed with it, and then |
again baked up into cake. But such
cake could not be sold here Now the
bakers have no difficulty. The Italians
buy up nearly all the old bread, for
which they pay nearly dollar barrel.
There may be seventy-five pounds in
each. It doesn't seem to make any diff |
ference to them how old 1t is, providing |
it is not mouldy, and their taking 1t In |
this way has been great relief to the
bakers" The Italians steam the bread
with little maccaroni, and the mixture |
is said to make dish that the sunny
cline people are very fond of.
THE Dutch families of Pennsylvania
discourage and disapprove of all mar
riages that will destroy the purity of |
their blood, and hence marriages with
members of any other raee are very
rare. This accounts for the remarkable |
of the language, the Gus
toms, and the traditions of their fore
fathers among these people, surrounded
as they are by influences of the highest
modern thought and example. But In
spite of their exclusiveness, their ten
acious adherence to ideas of q century
ago, and stubborn resistance to the
advance of those of to-day, the lessons
in industry, integrity, thrift, and
which they have given
have had q most beneficial effect, not
only in the region which they have
developed, but throughout the State as
well, and Pennsylvania is a hundredfold
the better for their presence"
AT the Wisconsin Medical Society's
annual meeting, DR.. Settlers, of Slough
ton, exhibited young Norwegian,
named Iverson, who was suffering from
leprosy. The patient presented horri-
BILE appearance, his face being bloated
and covered with ugly blotthes, the
whole red In color and of strangely un-
natural. The skin was thick on his face.
hands and feet, and could be pr4oked
severely without the patient feeling any