The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-13
OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

A Brookfeld, Conn.,, farmer found sill
yer fork imbedded in the stomach OF a hog
he killed one day last week.
A fish-dealer at Apalachicola, Fla, one
day recently had no less than twenty -four
varieties of fresh and saltwater fish for
sale.
The weather was so spring-Eke on Christ
mas day IN the Catskill mountain region
that bees and butterflies came out In
swarms. lured by the hot sun.
An alum mine has been discovered in
Utah. 1t yields so to 80 per cent. pure alum,
which can be extracted by simply placing
the crude material in boiling water.
Napa, Cal, has curiosity in the shape of
an apple inclosed in a smail-necked bottle.
The bottle was hanging in tree and twig
grew into it, blOsSOmed and matured.
A Montreal woman, in pouring out the
milk the other morning, was surprised at
finding in, it a small minDow, which jumped
about in &, lively manner, as If IN its native
element.
The Albany Journal says petrified fish
over three feet long was recently found at
Fort Hunter in one of the rocks where
stones were excavated for frightening the
Erie canal loo ks. The stone is full of petri-
fed specimens.
A Frenchman has invented a new system
for propelling c;tnal boats. 1t consists OF
an endless cable running along the two
banks. The boat, are moved at double the
ordinary speed, an d can readily be attached
and detached from the cables.
Out of fifty people at Cincinnati ban
quet thirteen would not eat venlson, ten
would not touch turkey, eighteen would
have nothing to do W 18th salads. fifteen re-
fused coffee, twenty lei. yht let cheese alone
and not over twenty wo uld eat cake.
Mr.. Charles w. Coon bs, taxidermist, Of
Belfast, Me-, in preparing to mount great
horned owl, found the owls body full of
porcupine quilts. The flesh was literally
packed full Of them, as well as the roof OF
the mouth. The owl evi IDENTITY had dlned
on hedgehog.
Etna. Pa, who is afflicted with bronchial
trouble, is compelled to sing, asleep or
awake, to keep from smothering His voice
can be heard in the stiffness OF the night
floating out on the air in mus, cal cadences
which have weird effect in tie quiet VII
lage.
Morgan Wild. of Greenbrier county, West
Virginia, the other day shot aas:: 5us
deer Of a species entirely pns:.own in tina, that
greatly resembled the horns of a Govt The
saddle, when dressed, weighed ninety
pounds.
The question of the origin of the do z has
recently been discussed by Professor Neh-
ring. who believes that it has descen ded
wolves and jackals. The latter animalsc an
be tanned. and many attempts to dOmes. u
cate wolves have been successfully made u
recent times. Her ROnge has SO completely
tanned a young wolf that it follows him eX
actly as a dog might do.
Theodore Knapp. of NOrwalk, Conn.,, has
in his restaurant sea gull that was capt
ured down the harbOr- some weeks ago.
The bird seems perfectly cOntented, but it
is not wise to trifie with him. He has
very robust appetite, and will eat two
quarts of clans at a meal and then call for
more. Another queer thing about the bird
is the fact that, after he has eaten two
quarts of CLANS, you can put his body in a
quart measure.
AT Newton, Kan., a young man was caught
robbing a neighbors hen rOOst. and in the
melee which ensued lost his hat and a boot,
which were kept by the owner of the chick
ems as a clew to the robber The next morn
ing the young man called around and de-
manded his hat and boot and meeting with
a refusal, threatened to bring down the law
upon the possessOr for taking them by force
on the public highway. The property was
given UP.
a recent traveller in New Zealand de-
scribes the great Sutherland waterfall.
The water" he says, clashes over the
cliff in three grand leaps and constitutes
about one-half of the Arthur river The
basin. sl5 feet below. Jumping forth again
it makes another leap of 75i feet and then
goes tumbling and leaping in one jump of
33S feet into the pool at the foot Uf the
precipice. The total height is exactly 1,9G5
feet, making the waterfall the highest yea
discovered. When the sun is shining rain
bows of all sizes hang over the fall and the
effect is indescribably beautiful"
Probably the oldest timber in the world,
which has been subjected to the use of man,
is tEat found in the ancient temple of Egypt,
in connection with stOne-wOrk, which is
known TO be at least 1900 years old. This,
the only wood used in the construction OF
the temple is in the form of ties, holding
the end of one stone TO another. When two
blocks were laid in place an excavation
about an inch deep was made in each block,
in which tie, shaped like an hOur-glass.
was driven. 1t is, therefore, very difficult
to force any stone from its position. The
ties appear to have been of the timarisk OF
shttim wood, of which the ark was con-
structed.
1t has been the usual impression that the
horns of the elk and of deer, while useful for
purposes of defense, were in the creatures
way while threading the dense woods or
underbrush. Sir James Hector maintains
that the chief use of the antlers is not so
much for fighting as for facilitating the
progress of the stag through dense woods,
He has had considerable experience with
the elk. and found that by throwing up the
head, thereby placing the horns along the
back, the animals were enabled to go for
ward with great rapidity and follow the
binds. Mr.. FOrtescue added that in New
Zealand he had observed that the antlery
assisted the stays in penetrating dense
forests, and Mr.. Higginson bore out this
- &c. l. T. \