Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-12
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The premium on gold in the Argentine
Republic has reached 81 per cent
-Four Russian officers have made . wager
that they can ride on horseback from St. Pc
tersburg to Paris In Is days. They viii start in
May.
The proudest mother in Maine is down.
east pig with 16 piglets. She is blue, willis
eight Of her children are red and eight Of them
white.
Three Michigan women, whose birth
days come on the 9th of March, have not failed
to pass that day together for 81 years, though
no two Of them live in the same town.
"A Milwaukee man made a cannon,
filled it with powder and double B shot, got in
front of it and touched the thing of. His pur-
pose was to commit suicide. and he succeeded.
In MadisonYille, KY, the authorities
have passed an ordinance forbidding brass
bands from meeting ''for the purpose Of learn
ing new pieces of music within 300 feet Of
dwelling house"
Thomas Reeves, Of Lawtonville, Ga,
while bunting few days ago, encountered
large rattlesnake, which he killed. It had ten
rattles and a button. The backbone contained
162 joints He brought to an once its fangA
III which the opening that holds the sack for
holding the deadly poison was clearly discern
ible.
Three little boys, Alonzo, Johnny and
William Cheshire, while playing in the woods
in Colquitt county, Georgia, saw large rattle
snake eoiled up and apparently asleep. They
got gun and shot it. The snake measured
5 feet inch in length. had IA rattles and had
the longest fangs and was thicker generally
than any snake ever seen in that eighborhood.
"A clever horse thief, who had been
stealing many animals in Queens county New
York, was arrested, when considerable difficult
ty was experienced in identifying him. Wit.
nesses stated that when trying to dispose Of
his stolen horses he had two eyes. When ar.
eSted ne had Sgs one eye glass eye Ess
socket every person recognized him.
Somebody has perpetrated an extsrmi-
mating war upon the hnny tribes of Leather
wood creek, near Quaker City, o., by turning
out the contents of an underground cavern Of
sulphur water. The whole creek on Sunday
was so impregnated with sulphur as 20 render
mixture. Bushels of dead fish could be seen
floating down the stream on Sunday.
"A farmer from another county was in
Americus Ga, wanting $50. but as he could not
execute proper papers failed to get it. He
went home disconsolate. He had no meat, no
credit and was about to give up in despair. He
went OF into the woods. made long prayer and
went home to his family, where be ate bread
and drank water for his supper. In turning an
old crock over piece Of money dropped out,
and on investigating the crock he got 500 In so
gold pieces, and about $50 in silver.
The other day turkey buzzard alight-
ed in the yard of Judge W. I. Jones, in Alba
ny, Ga. A turkey gobbler which was strutting
about and putting on considerable style at the
time. resented its appearance and proceeded to
expel the intruder. There was sharp shir-
mish and fight to the death. The gobbler I'm
ished the combat by Jumping upon the buzz
Yards back, reaching to its head and picking
out its brains. 1t then strutted majestically
on, apparently well pleased with its victory.
The largest compressed air establish
ment in the world is at Paris. 1t has plant
with 5,OO0-horse power. Begun in 1881 to dis
tribute the power necessary for the driving Of
pneumatic clocks, it was not long before it was
discovered that the air could be prOhtably used
for two other purposes-to distribute motive
power to manufacturers by day and to produce
electricity for lighting by night The works,
which are on the heights Of BelleVille, on the
edge Of the city, now occupy an area Of l07.5OO
square feet, or two and a half acres, two-hfths
Of which is covered with buildings.
John Brown was stealing q ride in a
box car on the narrow gauge road November 9
last. When near Charleston, Ill, brakeman
opened the car door and fred into the corner
where Brown and another tramp were sitting
The bullet whizzed unpleasantly close tothem;
so close, in fact, did the ball come to Browns
head that his sight was destroyed and por-
tion Of his nose was carried away. His homo
is at Terre Haute, and since the occurrence he
has had to have an attendant constantly at MS
side. He brought suit against the company for
$4,000 damages, and it is now occupying the
attention of the Circuit Court.
A little child about years old, wearing
skirts. was lost in. the West End, Washington,
and two boys after making inquiries. took him
to the station house. Here an officer, after en-
deavoring to obtain from the little one some
cleW which would direct him hnmeward, hand
ed him pencil and piece OF paper and asked
if he could write his name, little expecting that
he could do so. or that it could be read after it
was written. The little fellow sat down, and
on the back Of a business card wrote plainly,
"Boggs, l57 o." The policeman at once di-
rected his steps with the child to No. l527 D
street, where the little fellow was joyously well
coined bv his distressed parents. He was q
very accomplished +year-oid.
"A Baptist clergyman in Chicago re-
Gently made a book trade with Congregational
clergyman and he discovered that the Congre-
gationalist had earelessly slipped his next Sun
day sermon into one of the beautiful folios.
Somewhat of a humorist, the Baptist clergy,
man determined to profit by his brothers la
Dor and to deliver that sermon from his own
pulpit. The preachers occasionally enjoy
joke on one another. But this joke was q
double-edged one. Along about the middle
thereof the CongregatOnalists sermon bore
down rather severely upon the doctrine of i'm
merslon, and the confusion that this discovery
caused our Baptist friend rendered the con-
cluding part of his discourse exceedingly brief
and desultory.
The ancient monument in Essex known
as the Long Man of Wilmington" is about to
receive some much-needed care at the hands OF
the Duke of Devonshire. This Is one of the
most primitive of English monuments, having
been built by people wholly impossible to de-
termine. 1t consists Of a trench cut in the
turf in the form of a man 240 feet long and with
a staff in either hand. 1t has been so over
grown with trees as to be hardly discernible.
There are two other figures like this near Ply
mouth known as Cog and Magog. another on
the Cambridgeshire hills, and another in Dor
setshire, all nearly of the same gigantic size.
The White Horse of Berkshire which is ANN.
ally secured" as described by Mr.. Thomas
Hughes, is one of the same sort.