Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-08
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

"A large cave has been discovered near
Las Cruces, N. NJ, the interior OF Wnicn is
lined with veins Of almostpure silver
About a weeks association with
threshing machine will pitch farmers voice
fully an octave higher. as all town folks Know
st. Louis raised the money to forward
the stranded chorus girls to Chicago rather
than support them at the Home for Ageo
Women
Brooklyn has a German resident VINO
plays on $50 silver cornet, s3S French horn,
an SIS flute, So piccolo, s25 drum, $40 pair
of cymbals and $40 violin
According to the society editor OF
Clinton MOL paper the maid of honor at a re-
cent wedding at that place wore q cream suran
silk dress with an empire sash and surplus
waist.
The record shows that 150, 900 strangers
pass the night in New York 365 days In every
year. Now and then on exceptional occasions
there are SOC, 900 here who have no local habiLar
tion of their own.
Three months ago the postmaster Of
Chico, CAL. gave pet dog to a friend who was
leaving for Oregon to settle. Two weeks ago
the dog reappeared at the house of his old
master, nearly starved, but delighted to see
him.
The other day in Lawrenceville, Ga, B.
L. Patterson had eight chickens killed by light
ming on his lot. He and his wife left home in
the morning and when he returned the chick
ems were all lying dead and the feathers
scorched upon them as if by electricity.
Benjamin Jones, colored, of Columbia,
Pa, had been a sufferer from rheumatism for
many years. He sent to a voodoo doctor, who
advised him to take tincupful of saltpetre,
stating that this was sure cure for his disease.
He took the dose, aud fears are now enter.
ad hat fho hnr ,arafa and
coftined.
Il. J. NJ. Bell, of Heard county, Georgia,
was bitten by mad dog last week, and On Fri
day he had the maidstone owned by ]. A. Brett
applied to the wound. The stone adhered
hours and 30 minutes before railing on IT
was then cleansed by being boiled in sweet
milk and again applied, and adhered hours
and 10 minutes On being applied the fourth
time it would not stick. The milk, after the
stone was boiled in it, had green, poisonous
appearance.
The giant diamond, lately discovered
in Cape Colony, and now at the Paris EXPOSE
tion. weighs $50 carats and is valued at s3000,-
900. 1t is kept in glass case by itself and
guardians stand around it all day. At night it
isplaced in big safe, which is similarly guarded
all night. 1t is said to be of the trst water, and
as pure as the famous Regent in the French
Crow n diamonds. 1t is for sale and 1t Is con-
idently expected that some American in home
spun clothes aud a slouch hat will come along
Here are some advertisements which
have recently appeared in the London papers:
"a young lady most earnestly wishes to become
acquainted with thorough believers in
Spiritualism. No trifer need answer" "A
smart young novelist wanted at once. Salary
about pounds, increase to 8 pounds. Hours
good. Good connection" Agents wanted to
sell beautiful portrait OF the Right Hon w.
E. Gladstone. printed upon wood cut down BY
himself" young man wants secreter1al en-
gagement with literary man. Qualihcauons;
Considerable ignorance. lair capacity for labor,
some literary enthusiasm, and the aDlnty 70
write shorthand"
The schooner Polly, employed in the
coasting trade between Penobscot ports and
Massachusetts,, is probably the oldest vessel in
the American register. having been built some
where along the Penobscot in 1850. She Is q
little stub-toed, rolypoly craft, deep and square
on the bilge, like a miniature old-fashloned
ship and she can easily be DISTINGUISHED among
100 coasters by strong list to star board, which
nobody has ever been able to take out of her.
She was originally built as sloop, and carried
big squaresail, fore and aft topsa1l and 1lb.
She measures but 43 tons. but she was great
West Indiaman in her time, and carried any
amount of sugar and rum into Boston. During
the War of 1872 the Polly was seized by the
British, but she was recovered after that dis
pute was settled, having suffered little damage
at the hands of the Johnnies. Last spring.
while beating into Portland In snow storm,
she was run into Dy an OubOOunQ Hsnernan anu
a hole was stove in her port side. The crew
1.-TWO men) jumped aboard the hsherman, and
the Polly. slowed around by the force of the
collision. filled away on the other tack and
stood out TO sea, heeling enough to starboard
to bring the leak out of water. She was found
next day by a tug all right, and towed back to
Portland. She has been new topped once or
twice. Is perfectly sound, and bids fair, with
good luck, to live another century.
The crew of the John Davis, which ar
rived at New York from Calcutta on Sunday,
were 80 Lascars. They are wiry and swarthy
and dressed in Oriental white blouses. They
were under the immediate control of person
called a "Serang," whose official rank on board
ship was boatswain. Three parallel horizontal
scars on each cheek marked him Mohamme-
dan of high rank. This Serang, during the en-
tire voyage of four months from Calcutta,
never by any chance addressed the other Las
cars on board, except to issue some necessary
order When not working the ship he sat
alone reading the Koran and other standard
works of heather literature. He was the only
man on board whose face bore, not the scarS OF
battle, but of religion. Captain Crocker said
their ability, which is only half that of an Eng
glishman. Their wages are Sl2 or sl5 month,
and they have to pay about three-fourths of
their entire earnings after every voyage to the
Mohammedan priests The reason of this ex-
tortion is simply that no East Indian can leave
his native country without losing caste, and IL
he returns he must pay the cost Of rehabilita-
tion in his church or suffer the unendurable
penalty of ostracism. After a year of hard
work they were as poor as before. The Las
cars were a musical lot, their principal amuse-