Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-02-06
IN GENERAL.

"A Virginia walnut tree was recently sold
for 5000.
"A child recently died in Rye, England,
from fright caused by boy wearing mask.
Two of the daughters of the king and
queen of Sweden have been dangerously ill
from the effects of poisonous wall papers.
The loss of Texas cattle and sheep by
the recent cold storms mounts up into the
millions-some think tSe figures will reach
as high as $40, 900, 600.
To Philadelphia note of rejoicing that
''the Liberty BELLS trip is through the states
where slaves no longer serve" Southern pa
per retorts: The old b-ll would toll # it
had to pass through Fall River or the Hook
ing Valley"
1t is said that had not an explanation
been given, which caused the commissioner
of awards to revoke their decision, the second
prize for butter at the Calcutta exhibition
would have been given to fine sample of
American oleomargarine.
The Peruvian government has contracted
at San Francisco for q line of steamers be-
tween China and Peru, for the purpose of in
PRODUCING Chinese labor into the country,
where enterprise laDguishes owing to the
scarcity of labor.
In the provinces along the Ural river in
Russia rigid prohibitory law has long been
in force. The people have grown prosperous,
but they are now beginning to indulge in col
ogne drinking. In little town named Curry
eff "a, 900 bottles of cologne were drank last
year.
The edelweiss formerly considered to be
exclusively an Alpine flower, was some little
time ago found growing in Washington Ter
ritory, and now a traveller writes that he has
seen it growing in the widest profusion on
Mount Tasman, New Zealand
"A very simple contrivance-but at the
same time very valuable one-is being plac-
ed in the switches frogs and guards of the
Old Colony railroad. 1t consists of a piece
of hard wood so shaped and bolted to a rail
as to prevent a persons foot from getting
caught in the groove when on the track Ac-
cidents of that kind are of daily occurrence.
-Hezekiah Williams, colored, was exhibit
ted at a Philadelphia museum as las the wild
man from the jungles of Africa" He was
chained to the floor, and the police interfered
on the supposition that he was a maltreated
idiot The removal of his false hair and beard
revealed a perfectly sane negro. The msgis-
trate said that Williams could exhibit himself
as wild man or any other kind of a man as
long as he hurt no one.
The boundaries of the region known as
the West have been perpetually shifting.
Within the lifetime of old folks it commenced
along the foot hills of the Alleghsnies. A few
years later the limit stood for a while on the
banks of the Mississippi To-day the boun-
Diary lies on the bluffs of the Missouri, in the
neighborhood of Kansas City. Beyond that
point lies the region of tradition, prophecy,
adventure, discovery, enterprise, heroism-
the West.
"A Cleveland, o., machine company has
the first and only auger ever manufactured
that will bore square hole. It's application
ia ~ 10 pIa
as round-hole augers. Its end, instead of
having screw or bit, has a cam motion
which osoillates q cutter mounted on a steel
rocking knife which cuts on both sides. In
order to prevent the splintering of the wood
the ends of the cutter are provided with small
semi-crcular. shaped saws which help in cut
ting out perfectly square corners 1t is esti-
mated that this new process win save the la
Dor Of three men who work with ohisels. An
Ohio man was the inventor.
Gen. Gordon is a great smoker, and is
amply provided with tobacco. He has two
palaces at Khartoum, and gun in position
on the fiat roof of each of them. At sunrise
daily he mounts to the roof, and makes a
careful survey of the whole country with his
telescope, and marks any changes which may
have taken place in the enemy's position. II
nothing unusual has happened, and there are
no signs of any movements on the part of the
sleeps the greater part of the day. He rises
before sunset, and after darkness has set in
he starts for the ramparts, which he peram-
buates all night, seeing that the seDtries are
all properly posted and on the alert, and
cheering the troops by his conversation and
example.
"A visitor to the top of Mount Washington
concludes that the weather is really cold up
there. He was convinced by walk along
the railroad, with the wind blowing 20 miles
an hour and the thermometer 20o below zero
The temperature does not go lower there than
in many other places, but the wind blows
with greater velocity, II is said, than at any
known spot in the world, and this makes the
cold unbearable. A velocity Of lSO miles an
hour has been attained, while at Pixies Peak
5000 feet higher, the greatest velocity is 100
miles, and in New York 40 miles is heavy
gale. OF course the air has less power rs the
density decreases, but even with this redue-
tion the cold is so intense that IL one covers
every part of the body, leaving only the eyes
exposed, these are soon coated with frost
which closes the lids and often makes It al
most impossible to see. The moisture Of the
breath freezes under the coverings of the
face, and frost bite is the consequence.