Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1888-08-04
MYSTERIES OF 4 DAY
NOTABLE EVENTS THOUGHT
WORTHY OF RECORD.
The Bridge BuiIder-What Animals
Cost-Ovcr u Trestlc-A Tender
foot Post They Live
in China, Etc, Etc.

foot O,tmastcr-How They Live
in China, Etc, Etc.
A STORY is told of Postmaster whose
lack of knowledge of working his own
''nest' lost him an increase of 800 on
his salary next year. When he sent
his returns in he lacked 81 cents of the
amount called for by the law to permit
an adjustment of his salary. His re-
port showed the yearly receipts of his
Office to be S2,O99.20. AS the depart
ment allows fraction over a half dol
lar to be counted as dollar, the Post
master would have been 800 more in
pocket if he had had shrewdness enough
to buy 81 cents worth of stamps out Of
his own pocket. Since he sent his re-.
port he has learned his mistake, and
anybody in the county now can kick
him. His was the only case of the kind
In the $500. 1t caused much merri-
ment among the clerks at the Post Office
Department.
A TEN-YEAR- OLD son of J. II. Wood,
of Montpelier, Ind, caught a four pound
black basslin novel manner. He saw
the bass in pool in the rapids of the
Salamonie, and conceived the idea that
down the bass would come up to him to
get into the shade thus made in the
water. He went in, kept quite, and the
big fish after darting in and out few
times came up close to the boy and nestl-
ed there. Quietly the boys hand slip
ped to the gills of the fish, one quick
grab and boy and bass were in 4 tussel,
but the boy held on and carried his fish
in triumph to his mother. Considering
the age of the boy, the plan adopted
and the size of the bass it is one Of the
unique fish incidents Of the season.
How EASILY bitterness may be produc
ed by too much sweetness was illustrat-
ed the other day by car incident. One
little girl about five years old leaned
over the back of the seat in front, and
whispered in the ear of small boy. 81
love you" Having no reply, she again
said, 81 love you." "Yes," said the
boy, "but don't say that again. 81
will was the determined answer OF
the girl. "You WON'T" replied the boy
with equal determination, and there
upon began fast and furious quarrel
which lasted until the girl was borne
away by her nurse, her voice sounding
shrilly down the car aisle, 81 love you,
I love you, l love you, over and over
again.
AT Elkton, Ohio, the Pittsburgh, Mar
ion and Chicago Railroad crosses the
Big Beaver River Oh a trestle 105 feet
high. Over this trestle John Hawkins
was walking with his little four-ye old
daughter when the child complained he
was holding her too tightly, and he re-
laxed his hold and turned for moment,
when in some manner the little one
slipped between the ties and landed
over o hundred feet below, partly in
the water and partly on the ground.
/ The father reached his child expecting
to find her dead, but, strange to relate,
while the little one was unconscious not
bone was broken. She soon. revived,
and unless internally injured, will re-
cover.
THE foreman of hook and ladder
company in Cologne, Germany, had his
attention attracted by the fiuttering of q
swallow high up in a church steeple.
| The bird had become fastened by a
thread in the nest and could not free
itself. fastening to the headquarters
of his company the foreman telegraphed
to the central station, asking if it would
be permissible to turn out the company
to save the swallow. The Fire Marshal
regarded turnout allowable if viewed
merely as necessary exercise. An alarm
was rung in, the department responded,
and, amid the shouts of hundreds of on
lockers, the swallow was rescued from
his almost fatal nest.
The price paid for animals varies very
much. A good male lion is worth 81.
600, and tiger 1900; leapords cost
$3.50; for monkeys We pay from Sl2 up
ward, according to the species. Ordi-
nary East India or African monkeys
of rare species cost as high as $50, $40 and
$50 each. The best speaking parrots
are either the African or the Mexican
double yellow head. For young birds
of this species the dealers pay $40 apiece
when buying number at time, retail
ing them at Sl5 and $50 each. The old
talking birds of this variety are worth
from $50 to 800 apiece, the price depend
ing on the number of words that the
parrot can talk.
AT CANTON, China, some 250,OOO peo
pie live continuously on boats and man,
never step foot on shore from one year,
end to another. The young children
have habit of continually falling over
board and thus cause great deal Of
trouble in effecting rescue, while il
many instances this is impossible and 8
child is drowned. China is an over-pop'
ulated country, and the Chinese have
profted by this drowning proclivity il
reducing the surplus population. They
attach floats to the male children 80 tina