Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-13
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS

| One Of the visitors at Fortress Monroe
last week was 90 feet long. Itwas whale
"A competent authority thinks that the
Paris Exposition drew at least $3.50 100000 into
Paris.
An Albany, Vt, man has shipped 70
western markets this year 5000 tons OF maple
sugar, valued at s97, 600
The Brazilians are said to form the
largest and richest foreign colony in Paris.
They never haggle over anything
The year 211s, according to the Presi-
| dent of the Manchester Geological Society. will
see the exhaustion Of the English coal
George Ledicker caught a monster
spotted snake near Bellefontaine. o. It IL
seven feet long, and playful and harmless as
| kitten
"A wealthy man who has been convicted
of shooting partridges near Laurel. Del. and
shipping them out of the State contrary to law,
viii have to pay $50 in fines.
Isaac Harris captured a large bald
eagle near the Lewistown, o., reservoir Tues
day. The bird Is a noble one, and eyinced no
fear. but fought hraVely and viclously. 1t is
on exhibition.
The dogs in Birdsboro, Pa, are all mad.
As everybody wants revolver dealers in
weapons are reaping great harvest The eiti-
gems have determined on completely extermin-
ating the canine population.
I'm Germantown lives a noble Nimrod
who shot for one of his female friends crow,
and from the day she received it, stuffed and
mounted, she has been followed bymisfortune.
She finally gave it away and the spell was re-
moved. Another girl who moves in the Iset''
Fel1g1ously carries an umbrella Of antique de-
sign, and she says 1t is her mascot.
"A remarkable spot in Vermont is the
y e..
9760 acres of land and has 248 inhabitants isIt
has no postofice. church, townhouse, poor
house, store, lawyer, doctor. blacksmith's s shop
or even bridge, and yet it is one of the thriT-
ing towns Of Addison county. Its taxes are
merely nominal"
During a recent discussion of the Ger
man patent laws in the Re1chstag it was re-
Vealed that last year Germany granted only
3.SN patents, against England's y779 and the
United States 20, 40 While in most civilized
countries the number OF patents annually
granted Is increasing, or, at least, not decreas-
ing. the number in Germany has fallen on 9H
in the last i've years.
For the first time on record lady has
been appointed Deputy Collector of Internal
Revenue. Miss Phoebe Couzlns has been a
Deputy United States Marshal and has welded
q revolver and carried handouts, but she never
had to visit regularly the tough dives and more
INSPECT
Government licenses. This is what Miss Maud
Cotton, just appointed Deputy Collector for
the Seventh Indiana district by Collector
Threop, will have to do.
"A remarkable funeral procession pa
raded the streets of Picking few weeks ago.
It was the formal public celebration Of the
burial Of Tsching Tsehu, Grand Chamberlain
and brother-in-law of Prince Kung The bier
was carried by 50 men, preceded by 4s nag
bearers, eamels and "a white horses. One
hundred and sixty men followed, bearing l6 red
planks, on which were painted in many col
ored letters the name and titles of he dead
nobleman, The whole procession was mile
and half long.
-Usobirs Slaton, who died last week in
Fayette county Ga. was remarkable man in
many respects. He was 81 years old and had
lived in the same house for 81 years. By his
first wife he had II children and by his second
Is, Around his bedside when he died were IL
of his l9 living children. He had grandchildren
too numerous to mention. He had given nearly
every one some otthe land which he owned,
and his children always lived close about him.
He was feet in height aud had been sick only
atew hours before death.
-Parisiaus have lately been entertained
by remarkable artist, who displays wonderful
skill in her peculiar form of painting. With
plates of various eoloFed sand before her, she
takes the sand in her right hand and causes it
to fall in beautiful designs upon table. A
bunch of grapes is pictured with violet sand, a
leaf with green sand, the stalk with brown
sand, and relief and shadows by other sands;
when the work Is brushed away a bouquet of
roses and other objects are represented with the
same dexterity and delieaey.
The wife of ]. d. Cheeyer, salesman,
made the discovery of petrided toad in a
lump of coal several days since, and this relic
Of the carbOniferous age which is now In tho
hands of Prof. Hambach, of the Washington
University. has created profound sensationin
the ranks of the students of paleontology who
have been favored with a view of it. The speci-
men is perhaps the most perfect Of which there
is any record, and is of value to scientists that
will doubtless materially enrich the lucky
finder.
For the last two weeks passengers on
the San Francisco ferryboat to the Oakland
side Of the bay have had free entertainment
prepared for them each night as the boat tied
up in the slip at the end of the mole. During
that time millions of oveTgrown sardines have
swarmed into the slips, where they have been
soo0ped up in boxes, barrels and even hats No
attempt has been made to catch them with hooks
because they are so numerous The Oldest fisher
man cannot remember any time when there has
been such quantities Of any kind Of fish,
One of the most remarkable monuments
in America is in San Luis Obispo county.
Southern California, A great rock rises $50
feet above the plain of Carissa, and in the dis
tance looks rugged and forbidding. On near
approach it is seen to have on its eastern side
an opening 25 feet broad, which leads into an
inner temple or court, with level floor 225 feet
long and I25 feet broad at its widest part. The
ceiling is 90 to 100 feet high. This great natural
is a wonder to geologists, but it is
more wonderful to archaologists. It was eVi-
IDENTIFY used by prehistoric men as temple Of
worship or a capitol of government, On the
walls are paintings in red, white and black,
doubtless having meaning. There are figures
fields, suns, forTs, spears, men and
animals. The eolors are apparently as bright
as when laid on. The wonder was discovered
BY Franciscan missionaries 100 years ago, and
there has been no change in its appearance
since. When or by whom the walls were deco
rated no one knows, The Indian tribes had no
tradition concerning the work, and regarded it
uifh sunarstitious reverence