Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-08-22
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

FOREIGN GOSSIP.
The Spaniards have caught ths
bicycle fever, and there is a great de
mand for s'cycles-"
Lake Biwa. in japan, is the larges,
sheet of fresh water in that country
/; having an area of 500 square miles.
-Queen Victoria during the las
/ twenty-five years has received Az
! agricultural prizes on her Winds OF
farm stock.
The Princess Imperial of Brazil
has organized corps of negro troops
whose Office it is to act as an Imperial
guard.
Some forty miles from Barcelons
there is an actual mountain of very
pure salt, which is hewn out in the
open air, like stone from quarry.
Belgium. of all nations. has the
greatest density of population, the
largest diversity of occupation, the
most uniform distribution of wealth,
and the minimum of pauperism.
There is every probability that
Japan will soon become entirely indie
pendent of other countries as regards
its coal supply. vast coal fields having
been recently discovered on the islands
OF KinsiO and Yesso.
I'm the Prus sian army recruits are
regarded as nRrrOw-chested, the cir
conference of whose chests is less than
half the length of their bodies. When
such narrOw-chested men are not wild
ened by drill. they are weeded out as
physically incapable, or likely soon
to be.
"A Russian officer with the same
powers as an American constable can
make or forbid holiday in a village.
forbid work on certain day. order
every house to be searched. seize and
hold all cattle tor inspection, and in
fine play autocrat with higher hand
than any man in Germany, France or
England.
"A romance of the old-fashioned
sort recently occurred at Langres,
France. A youth was sent to prison
for firing shots at his lady-love, a pub
lie singer, with intent to kill. While
in prison he made love to the jailer's
daughter. and through her aid made
his escape, the damsel joining him aud
the two taking fight together.
According to the Indian Mail, the
Madras Museum now possesses the
skeleton of the largest eleph ant ever
killed in India. This elephant was
the source of great terror to the in
habitants of South Arcot, by whom it
was killed and buried. The museum
authorities dispatched taxidermist to
the spot to exhume the bones and
transfer them to Madras. The skele-
ton is exactly ten feet six inches in
height, being eight inches higher than
the highest hitherto measured.
At Reinickendorf, village near
Berlin, it is reported a consumptive
sanitarium is to be erected on a novel
plan, utilizing the supposed therapeu-
tic influence of association with certain
animals. A large cylindrical building
will be occupied in the upper part by
the patients, while the ground floor
will be given up to the accommodation
of large numbers of mich cows, the
from which will be con-
Quoted to the apartments above. A
whey and buttermill diet will also be
contributed by the under boarders.
"A swindler in Vienna, who had
borrowed large sums of money and
had collected great deal of jewelry
which was unpaid for, knew he could
not get away from the city by train.
so he advertised a balloon ascension
and parachute performance. He got
the balloon made on credit also, and,
in company with his wife. not only
went up. but went off. His capture
was as curious as his escape. That
evening a pigeon came to Vienna bear
ing dispatch from a correspondent
to the Carrier Pigeon Club announcing
the descent of the balloon, and the
man was soon caught.