Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-18
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS

CURIOUS COhDEhSATlUhn
"A Polk county, Fla, hunter has taken
q novel contract. He has agreed to capture
alive an ls-foot alligator for the Suo-Iropieal
Exposition.
Mrs. Mary O'Br;en, Of Chippewa Falls,
Wis, having been i'll some time. has been
undergoing a voluntary fast. She has been
without food S days. Although her death is
looked for, it viii not be due directly to the
fast.
A few weeks ago Dodge City, Kan,
dentist who had made set OF teeth for a lady
who had failed to pay for them took them out
OF her mouth in crowded store in that place.
In an hour or two the mOlars were eaid for and
returned to the woman.
AN Emporia, Kan, girl wrote to Jay
Gould and asked him to give her black silk
dress, as she was about to be married and her
folks were too poor to buy her one. Although
she has written four melting epistles TO the au-
toerat she still has no black silk.
AN 11-year-old negro boy was bitten by
rattlesnake on the C. P. Chaires plantation,
six miles east Of Tallahassee. one day last week
and died from the effects of the poison. He
ran his hand into hollow log to catch rabbit;
the snake was coiled up inside, struck the hand
with its poison fangs and death soon followed.
DIR. S. Weir Mitchell, of Philadelphia,
recently received rather curious present from
young lady whom he had rescued from nerV-
Gus inValidism. It was a cord of white oak
chopped down and sawed up by her own hands,
ana sent as eircumstantial evidence Of the
healtn she had gained by following his direc-
tions to live an open-air life in the woods.
About year ago Miss Kate B. Nc
Laughlin, Of 22I Monroe street, Chicago, was
made a notary public. Since that time her
ahanOod 20
nolds by marriage. Now she writes to the Sec
retary of State asking II her former notariaI
seal and name are good. The Secretary OF
State replied that she can not now perform the
functions OF notary public under ner former
commission. This Is said to be the first in
stance Of this kind which has arisen in the
State.
The London correspondent of an English
paper alleges that the Prince of Wales has in
stituted the custom of weighing both the COM
ing and the parting guest at Sandringham
Palace. At the first opportunity after his ar.
rival the guest is weighed, and his weight re-
corded in a book kept for the purpose. and he
parture, and another record made, accompanied
py the autograph of the guest. One of the latest
signatures in the book is that of Salisbury, and
his weight is put at Is stone plump.
Ethan Allen, Piokaway county, o.,
farmer. has had a 5000 renter on his farm.
When he came to settle with him the renter
told him he had not realized cent OF the
property in six years. The owner said: II do
not want man to work ON my farm and make
no money. You say you have made nothing for
the past six years; the times have been hard,
and you are the kind Of man we want on our
farm want you to stay on the farm, and II
you viii do 90 will give you 500 year for the
SIX years you have made no money and deduct
200 from next years rent, making s., 400 in al'
The renter promptly accepted.
The Loeb Leven trout was recently in
trodueed into this coudtry. 1t is indigenous to
Loch Leven, Loeb Scone, Loeb Lomond and the
River Forth in Scotland. It's back is of an
olive green and the lateral line Is bordered with
large dark. almost black spots. some round.
some shaped like an K and some like Xxx.
The spots are very irregular and very distinct.
Its peculiar habit is 70 fight under water never
rising to shake itself out of water like the win
ninish of Lake ST. John. The Loeb Leven
trout is considered BY good authorities a var
iety Of the German brown trout, now beeom-
ing popular in this country
The pony is the horse Of hardships, says
horseman IN an exchange. and one that has
sprung from some poor country where he has
ever been purely the child of neglect, he and all
the predecessors Of his race. In rich country
like the horse regions of Kentucky, for in
stance, his pony characteristics would inVaria-
bly, run out in the course OF few generations.
to suppose. He doubtless sprang originally
from as good a strain of horses as the world
knew of at the time. and his present reduced
size and characteristic toughnesS have resulted,
unquestionably, from local circumstances.
"A fisherman Ehe was desirous of catch
ing specimen Of the stereolepis, gigantic
fish somewhat resembling = black bass and
found on the Pacific coast accomplished his
purpose in the summer Of 1850 of the Island
Santa Catalina, in California. His success en-
couraged others, SO that altogether 30 were
captured, ranging in weight. from I5 to 800
pounds. The stereolepis is migratory. and only
comes in shore during the summer for the pur-
pose of spawning. II ranges from the Farra-
1ones down 500 miles below San Diego. Those
OF 300 pounds in weight are nearly six feet in
length, and are taken with hand line.
"A queer story is told of Mrs. H. H.
Burpee, a Rockland woman who planned to
die, Wednesday, but didn't Fifty years ago.
when a girl of Il years. she dreamed that the
day Of her death would be February Il 1890.
So vivid was the dream that its memory has
remained with her all these years, and as the
day approached she made all preparations for
1t. The details Of her funeral were carefully
planned, her business was put in order. neigh
bors called in to witness the making of her will
aud even relatives who lived at a distance were
summoned to be present at her funeral; As
not waVer, though sue continued alive and in
excellent health, and even when Thursday
morning came, she continued IN the oeller thar
she would die sometime this month
-Muskegon street cars are built on the
airy-fairy plan, suggestive of moonlight nights,
signing summer zephyrs and whiskers. The
sompany-a very long-headed one-thought it
was always warm in winter, and the late two
lays blizzard caught it in a bad fx. The snow
irifred into the open cars, piled up neck-deep
about the driver and made the passengers
resemble delegation OF GreenlandeIs. Ihe
zero winds'were not tempered to the suburban
residents, and at each trip they took their lives
nto their hands and the storm in their faceA
But later on the company met the emergency.
Each car resembled a dilapidated prairie
schooner covered with unmatched pieces OF
,arpet oileloth and canvas These remnants
we're nailed to the sides Of the cars and behind
hem the victims shivered and sWore or thanked
heir stars that the rest OF the winter had been
,pen.
SPARKLING SELECTIONS.