News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-03-07
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.
Funny Episodes and Thrilling Ad-
ventures Which Show That Truth
is Stranger Than Fiction.

is Stranger IMAM E1cGlOn.
NEWSPAPERS at the present time con
tain many interesting stories of old peo
pie who are hearty, but it is doubtful i
a more curious case than the one reported
by the Fall River Mass. Globe has evel
been published. 1t is that of Dart
mouth farmer named William Bennett,
who is nearly sixty years of age. He
was born in Tiverton, r. L., and lived
| for many years in n comfortable farm
| house ON the main read to Newport.
| When he was about five years of age he
was attacked with chiid's disease, fol
which DR. West was engaged to prescribe.
The Dr. West mentioned lived in n
/ ia1gss mansion below Bridgeport amt
was an ancestor cf the present family
which lives in that vicinity. At the time
of Mr.. Bennett's s illness salvation was a
favorite form Of treatment Calomel
was the drug ordered and administered
to the patient. Either from carelessness
or other cause the mercurial preparation
lodged in the boys jaws, and a cancer
Gus sore was developed. For many
weeks his life was despaired of. Finally
the growth was killed, but when it had
disappeared it was found that the
muscles of the child's jaws were ruined,
and like the upper, the lower jaws would
always remain fixed. Toregain strength
it was necessary to have all his food
specially prepared before it was given to
him. When placed before him he man
aged to squeeze it between the lips,
which were slowly recovering from the
almost fatal work done by the deadly
drug. The salivary glands were not
injured by the burning of the calomel.
Bennett recovered after n long illness,
and grew up as most Rhode Island boys
do who spend life on farm. He pays
visits to the Fall River marketmen, with
whom he has done business for nearly
fifty years. He is a ruddy-featured,
portly man of genial temperament, and
with the exception of n slight facial
defect, shows no sign of the accident
which has kept his jaws immovable for
so many years.
MRs. KATE MAXWELL, the "Belle
Starr" of Wyoming, closed up gamb-
ling house at Bessemer on a recent
night, recovered several thousand dol
lars which had been lost by her cow
boys, and then saved the lives of the
two gamblers as the infuriated cowboys
were going to string them up. She is
known as Cattle Kate, and runs a small
ranch near Bessemer. Some time before
she was robbed of 81, 500 by her own
men, and her resentment was aroused
against the gamblers. Their room at Bes-
semer was crowded one night when Kate
strobe in, accompanied only by her fore
man, and both armed to the teeth.
While Kate covered the dealer with a
six-shooter, Mason, her foreman, secured
the box, and showed the crowd that the
game was an unfair or ''brace" game.
This enraged the cowboys, and Farley
and BodelI were terribly beaten and or
dered to prepare for lynching. The
ropes were in sight, when Cattle Kate
Tor the two wIotelIes,-.rI4d aiAs
nouRced that she would divide their
money, amounting to several thousand
dollars, which she had secured. Bodell
and Farley were chased out OF town.
Their place was fired, and all hands went
over to Mrs MaXwell's ranch, where
dance and general good time followed.
Young Harry Hartley, of Boston, had
q narrow escape from death at Niagara
Falls while climbing an ice mountain.
Describing his experience to a CORES
pondent, he said he stopped at niagara
on his way from his brothers wedding
in Chicago. He went to the Falls on
the American side, and by the instluc-
tions of a guide obtained q pair of
creepers and started to climb q hill of
ice formed ON some rocks. He had not
been informed that this was foolhardy
undertaking. AS he was about to step
on the summit of the hill he lost his
foothold, and, slipping down an icy
descent of about forty feet, plunged into
a sort of pool where there was no cur
rent. The accident was witnessed by
several persons, and there was much ex-
citcment. One man obtained a long
rope, but he did not have to use it, as
Mr.. Hartley succeeded in getting hold of
the edge of the ice and lifting himself
out of the water. Then, by means of
his creepers, he climbed to a place of
safety. The only i'll effects of the acci-
dent were some rather painful bruises on
his right side. The guides at the Falls,
he says, told him that sightseer some
time ago lost his life by a similar acci-
dent.
STREET fakirs have been known to ex-
ercise ingenuity in a multitude of ways
to sell their wares, but the expedient of
one of their kind caps the climax. His
article of sale is salve, which he war
rants to take the fiery sting out of burn
at once. His method of advertising his
remedy is to burn himself and his pre-
cedure is thus described "On stand
in front of him was a vessel of hot Goals
in which were heated two or three thin
iron rods. The man was giving prac-
tical demonstration of the efficacy of his
salve by inficting burns upon his hands
and then applying the remedy. He
would draw out of the fire one of the red
hot iron rods, carefully remove the ashes
from it and then explain that he pro-
posed to burn his hand with it, after
which he would put some of his salve ON
the burn. Now, said he, this iron
makes very wicked burn because ii is
so small. / will raise blister and then
you can see how the salve works. The
crowd watched him curiously and saw
him touch the iron to his flesh and then
apply the salve, all without evincing q
single sign of pain. The MANS hand
had the appearance of having been burn
ed repeatedly"
IT has been demonstrated in Vaca
Valley, Cal, that peach stones will
make MS good fire for household pur-
poses as the best kind of coal in the
market. The fruitgrowers. instead OF,
as heretofore, throwing the pits away,
dispose of the stones at the present time
at the rate of $6 ton. A sack of the
stones will weigh about eighty pounds,
and will last as long as an equal number
of pounds of coal, and give greater in
tensity of heat. At many of the orchards
in the valley may be seen great stacks of
peach and apricot stones, which Will
eventually find their way to San Fran
cisco and other places to be sold for fuel.
The apricot stone does not burn as read
lily as the peach, and will not command
as good a price. The fruitraisers will
be pleased to learn that
they now have another source of reven-
ue open to them. A large number of
peaches are dried during the season for
shipment. As soon as the owners find
they have Il market for the stones,
greater number of pounds will be dried.
One of the most remarkable engineer
ing feats appears to have been achieved
in China, in the face of extraordinary
difficulties, namely, the sue
cessful stretching of a steel wire cable
of seven strands across the river Lun-
ann, this feat having been accomplished
by the Danish engineer Delinde, assist
ed only by unskilled native labor. The
cable extends between two points, at