The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-04
CURIOUS FINDS.
Chambers Journal.

The sea sometimes yields up part of its treasures in a curious and unex- pected way, as was instanced lately by the discovery of a richly -jeweled ring in the back of herring caught at Dunbar. The finder was still lnckier than servant in Port Glasgow, who, in cutting up some whiting, found & silver coin in one of them.
 Two curious finds connected with nautical affairs should have interest for Englishmen. Some old canvas that had long been slowed aw ay as lumber, on being unexpectedly brought to light, was found to be the mainsail of Nelson's ship, the "Victory." The sail was riddled with shot fired during the battle of Trafalgar. When some men were saving portion of an old ships mainmast formerly belonging to a man. of war at Chatham, & thirty-two pound iron shot was observed embed ded in the mast, the aperture having been plugged up. This was one of the largest kind of shot used in those times.
 In lake in Berkshire & large mis- shapen and unwieldy chub was found, so strange iH appearance and unsightiy in its movements that the most apt zoologist could not account for its lineal descent or say if it was pisca- tory or amphibious. The creature was found in kind of cage formed by the washed roots of an elm tree by this lake. When young and much smaller the fish must have got into It's strange prison. Limited to mere turn, the wonder is that-as 1t must have forced it's way init did net force its way out; but here it was, after years must have lapsed, taking quite the form of the gnarled and struggling roots. With no room to develop, the tail had almost disappeared, the dorsal fin was altogether obliterated, the body had become very hard, and the scales like so much incrustation of mud divided into layers. The nose was so pushed in and the gills so enlarged that, when looked at full in the face, it had the appearance of negro whose face had been despoiled of it's shining and oily surface. Indeed, it's existence was a matter of marvel, as the water sub- sided and increased at times, so that in dry weather 1t had only the moist muddy home and semi fluid for its subsistence. When removed 1t seemed a puzzle to know whether to clsss this strange discovery as a reptile, fish, or anything else.
 As some workmen were felling tim Der, near Herne bay, they discovered in the centre of one of the trees cavity in which were the remains of cat The skeleton was entire, and some hair of sandy color yet remained on.the skin. It is conjectured that the ami mal, having entered a hollow part of the tree, was unable to extricate itself, and the wood in process of years had grown around it.
 Curious finds have not unfrequently been made in trees. Some woodcutters in the forest in Drommling made a strange discovery. They began to fell venerable oak, which they soon found to be quite hollow. Being half decayed, it speedily came to the ground with crash, disclosing skeleton in excellent preservation even the boots, which came above the knee, were per- feet. By its side were powderhorn, a porcelain pipe bowl, and silver watch. The teeth were perfect. It would seem to be the skeleton of man between thirty and forty years of age. It is conjectured that, while engaged in hunting, he climbed the tree for some purpose, and slipped into the hollow trunk, from which there was no release, and he probably died from starvation. Another mystery was found in the heart of an oak. From a tree of this kind, large block, about eighteen inches in diameter, that had been knocking about in various yards and woodsheds, was split up lately, and in it was found an auger- hole about three fourths of an inch in size, containing bunch of human hair done up in piece of printed paper. The hair was near the centre of the block, and fastened in with A pine plug. It was apparently put in when the tree was quite small, as the tree had grown over the plug to the thick ness of about four inches, with the grain perfectly smooth and straight.
 A natural curiosity was shown in timber merchants workshop; this was the nest and skeleton of bird embedded in a piece If beech. The timber seemed quite sound all around the cavity, and there was no sign of any aperture into it; but, the timber being sawn up, the nest with the bird sitting upon it was found. The nest appeared to be built of mud, and the bird resembled titmouse. Probably, at the looping of branch, a cavity was formed, and the outside subse- quently grown over; but how the bird was enclosed seems difficult to