News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-08-08
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.

EN EN- LA LIE 4.
Queer Facts and Thrilling Ad
ventures Which Show That Truth
is Stranger Than Fiction.
THE peculiarities of various nationaH
ties, as shown in the methods of com
uniting crime, formed the subject of 8
recent conversation with an official OF
one of the New York city criminal courts.
''The most common Oh rges against
Americans brought to the bar here, " he
said, 'are swindling and embezzlement.
The Young men of Irish descent who
appear here are most frequently under
accusations of robbery or assaults with
the fists, or with pistols. The Italians
are almost invariably accused of assault
with the knife or pistol. If policeman
has cause to arrest an Italian of the
lower class on suspicion of being con-
cerned in an assault, he always searches
his prisoner promptly and can usually
find evidence to warrant conviction of
carrying concealed weapons, even if the
particular assault charged is not proved.
The favorite weapon of the Italian was
formerly the knife or poniard, and that
of the colored man the razor, but now
both weapons have been for the most
part superseded by the revolver. The
Pohsh Jews make speciality of arson,
to secure insurance money. The Ger.
mans, when they commit crime, are u.s.
ually guilty of embezzlement, forgery,
or attempts at suicide. The Scandina-
vians aud the Chinese rarely appear in
a criminal court as defendants. Most
of the murders of recent years have been
committed by young men OF American
birth and foreign ancestry, who belong
to the ignoble order of 'roughs.
JAMES CRADDocK, living three miles
and half south of Marshall, Mo-, has
had some experience with a blacksnake,
which, no doJfbt. he will never forget.
Pres Sandidge, of Marshall, who was
with Mr.. Craddock, relates the following
interesting story of the encounter be-
tween the latter and the blacksnake.
We were cutting bean poles on Mr..
Craddock's place, and while working in
the thickest of the brush, 1 noticed, on
looking toward my companion, that
huge blacksnake was coiled about his
leg, and the upper portion of its body
IN the iron grasp of Mr.. Craddock. 1t
was very large snake, and appeared to
be about 6 feet in length. For q few
seconds there was a fierce struggle be-
tween snake and man. The reptile,
with its ugly fangs prOtruding, made
desperate effort to free itself from the
grasp of its victim and wrapped its coils
still tighter about the limbs and body
of the man. 1t was all over in few
seconds, however, the snake suddenly
relaxing its coils, and with lightning
rapidity swinging its tail around, strik-
ing Mr.. Craddock with terrible force on
either side of the head, bringing the
blood and bruising him up considerably.
This, of course, caused Mr.. CTaddock to
release his hold on the reptile, and the
latter made a hasty retreat, not even
giving the men a chance to further in
vestigate. Craddock does not care to
engage in s'miIl'' such as he took part
in that afternoon.
SIX miles from Petersburg, Va, is Mr..
George W. Gatling's farm, where a re
markable phenomenon, which is excit-
ing widespread int rest, is to be SEEM
This phenomenon is the sinking of
portion of the farm. The sunkeD area
hes within n crescent shaped marg II,
and its width at the upper end is from |
500 to 600 feet The sunken territory /
contains SIX or more acres. The dec w !
Ity begins at point about 200 feet in a
straight line from Mr.. Gatling's dwell
ing. Land has sunk from forty to sixty
eet. The tops of trees which stood on
,he level with others are now standing
intact and come a few feet only above
he level of the bluff where the sinking
has occurred. The sunken area is seam
ID with assures of varying lengths and
iepths. The most noteworthy feature
If the phenomenon is the formation of /
l bar IN the river. This bar is seventy |
'eet long, and in it, too, are many fiss- |
1res. The phenomenon was preceded /
some weeks ago by something like an
the noise of which was heard
for miles. The interest in the phenon-
enon is 50 great that crowds of people
go to view it every day, privilege for
which they pay a fee of twenty-five
cents. Mr.. Calling has leased the priv
llege of landing excursionists on his
farm to party in Richmond for 81, 900. |
SAID an old railway engineer the 9TH
er day: ''There are three kinds of !
trains that j do not want to have any
thing to do with. One is the pay train. /
You never know when you will oyertake
.he section hands. You will be goingat 1.
the rate of forty miles an hour, away YOU
go around curve, and you will dash by
The boss and hands, and have to 60 back
% them. There is always good deal
II talk over the wages, and much time
S taken up. The next unpleasant train
70 handle is an excursion train. Every
me living along the line of road knows
you from seeing you come by every day,
md they think you know them as we'll
When on an excursion they presume
lpon their friendship to endeavor to ride
IN the engine. No other place will do
hem. The engineer has to refuse them,
Is 1t would amount to docking his wages
rom thirty to sixty days, ifhe complied,
Is 1t is positively against the rules of the /
,oad. The persons denied the privilege
always feel hard about it, and look upon /
,he engineer as unaccommodating The /
asst and worst of all, however, is the Of .
icers' train. If you run slow they say
you are scared and fear to run fast. If /
you make good time they say you are .
careless and reckless, and want to kill .
somebody. You can't suit them.
ABOUT two centuries ago an old citi-
zen of st. Ives spanish, Hants, left in /
rust to the vicar and churchwardeDs an
orchard, the rent of which was to be de /
7oted to the purchase of Bibles. The +.
estator further provided that the Bibles
should be raffied off with dice, in the
church, and since then the prescribed
ceremony has been carried ont every
Whit Tuesday. Last Whit Tuesday,
Utter shortened evening prayer, the
near delivered an address telling those
present that they must look upon what
vas going to take place reverently. He
vas sorry they had to observe the Gus
on, in place sancitified to the service
# God; but it had been observed for 200
ears. Then the proceedings began. A
able covered with white cloth WAS
brought forward, and the boys and girls
anne up as trleir names were called and
brew the dice, which were provided by
he church. Each had three throws, the
highest numbers winning the Bibles.
he ceremony closed with hymn and
he benediction.
The little village of st. Helena, on
he Nebraska side of the Missouri, ten
niles below Yanktown, Dakota, is in
tate of excitement over a CHASTITY dis
,overy made there. Parties who were
in the chalk cliffs of that
Tor material for manufac-
5urers of cement, came upon n small
opening in the Missouri River face of
he rock. It was found to be a large
apartment carved by nature in the soft,
hoI gf1ll Int h. 81, E.