Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-08-22
SOME CURIOUS FINDS.
Strange Things Discovered by Chance-Lost
Treasures of the Sea and Land.
Golden DayS'

Golden Days
ssWhere do all pins GOT" used to be a
favorite speculative query, until people
grew tired of guessing without coming to
any conclusion.
The inquiry might be widened to take
in every movable object that can, by any
possibility, be lost.
What has becoma of the enormous stock
of recious stones undoubtedly possessed
by the rulers of the ancient worldf Where
are the treasures of the ancient world-the
wonderful wealth of Solomon, for in
stance?
These things have not become disinte-
grated; they are lost, and must therefore
be in some crack OR Granny of the earth's
surface.
Perhaps everything that is lost finds itA
way to the sea, the great swallower of val
liable things, which certainly has a oapac
ity equal to hiding from human sight
every movable object on earth.
Among the strange stories of the sea
are those relating to treasures fshed from
its depth. The incident of fish beiI g
caught ard having in it's stomach a ring
occurred SO frequently that it has lost its
strangehess.
The fishes of the sea are vOracious and
not at all discriminating, so that it is a
lmost impossible to say what has not been
found in their stomachs.
Sharks have been made to disgorge
pipes, boots, books, clothing and hard
ware, and other fish are but little less
voracio1s.
Vast as it is, the sea, in course of
ages, has received so many wrecks that
there is scarcely mile of it's bed that
does not possess treasure.
Nor is the land far behind. All Europe
abounds with caves rich in prehistoric
treasures; there are buried cities in Asia
and Africa which mast contain many ar
tices of value; the pyramids have not
yet been explored, and DR.. Schliemann
has shown us what the earth has hidden
since the fall of Troy. Millions of treas
are have been thrown into the Tiber, the
Oxus and the Rhine, and unless all his
tory is false India must be one vast re-
ceptacle of gems and precious metals.
Is it not wonderful, then. only an oc-
easional one of these millions of lost OBJ
jects comes to lightf
The earth gives up her secrets relCot-
antly, but when they do appear they ex-
cite our special wonder.
Here are few of the stran gest, discov-
cred by chance:
In lake in Berkshire, Eng, large,
misshapen and unwieldly club was found
so strange in appearance and unsightly
in its movements that the most apt zoolo
gist couldEnot account for its lineal des-
cent or say if it was piscatory or am
phibioas.
The creature was found in kind of
cage formed by the washed roots of an
elm tree by the lake. When young and
much smaller, this fish must have got into
its strange prison. Limited to a more
turn, the wonder is that as it must have
forced its way in, it did not force its way
OUTPUT here it was after years must
have elapsed, taking quite the form of
the gnar)ed and struggling roots.
With no room to develop the tail had
almost disappeared, the dorsal fin was
altogether obliterated, the body had be-
come very hard, and the scales, like SO
much incrustation of mud, divided into
layers. Indeed, its existence was mat
ter of marvel, as the water subsidized and
increased at times 80 that in dry weather
it had only the most muddy home and q
semi fluid for ite subsistence.
When removed, it seemed a puzzle to
know whether to class this strange dis
covery as reptile, fish or anything else.
Ia Scotland, they discovered in the center
of one of the trees a cavity III which wsre
the remains of cat. The skeleton was
entire, and some hair of sandy color
yet remained on the skin.
II is onjectured that the animal hav-
ing entered hollow part Of the tree, was
unable to extricate itself, and the wood
in process of years he'd grown around it
Curious finds have not infreqUently
| been found in trees. Some wood cutters
| in the forest of DIommling made strange
discovery. They began to fell venerable
oak which they soon found to be quite
hollow. Being half decayed, il speedily
came to the ground with a crash, disclOs
| ing skeleton i'll excellent preservation;
even the boots, which came above the
knee were perfect. By its side were a
| powder-horn, porcelain pipe-bowl and
/ q silver watch, the teeth were perfect.
It would seem to be the skeleton of a
man between 30 and 40 years of age.
1t is conjectured that, while engaged
in hunting, he climbed the tree for some
purpose, and slipped in to the hollow
| trunk, from which there was no release,
| and he probably died of starvation.
Another mystery was found in the
heart of an oak. From tree of this