Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-11
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS

An old ladIe, stamped 174S, could
hardly secure a bidder at a public Tendue AZ
AlDurtis. Pa.
"A seavenger of Los Angeles picked up
a pair Of trousers from pile Of driftWood last
SATURDAY. He found SIS in the pockets and
silver watch.
"A new railway in Wisconsin is called
'.the Waukesba, Pewaukee, Oconomowoe and
Eastern" 1t must be hard TO keep the cars on
the track.
The Santa Maria (CaI) Graphite now
wants to exchange its paper subscription for
stoTewood. but draws its line sharply at hop
poles and pumpkins.
Calico over 100 years old was recently
used by Mrs Spengler, of Catasauqua, Pa. to
make bed quilt Of The material had for
merly done duty as bed curtain
Having fallen asleep during service in
church, a WiIliamsport boy slept on until mid
night. In the meantime his frantic parents
were searching the town for him.
Boys of Gold Hill, New, enjoy first
class coasting nowadays. They go from that
town to Silver City, three miles, IN five min
utes. 1t takes them an hour to climb back.
Thomas Fitzsimmons, young man at
Pittston. has nearly finished q clock on which
he has labored for four years, and which, he
says, will prove a regular horOlogical eneyclo-
pedia.
"A Bay City man who passed q beer
check on his wife instead of the 30 cents she
asked for. is having hard time to keep her
from going home to her ma and applying for
divorce.
The season for doing sodding and SINH
lar garden work usually ends in November, but
since the middle Of that month E. K. Strunk,
Pnff9fOWn foat NJ
grass sod.
"A Napa, CAL, woman lost one of her
goldfish last Saturday morning, and did not
find it until Sunday morning at II o'clock She
put the fish into the globe of water, and itswam
off as lively as ever.
The unprecedently low stage Of the
water in the river at Burlington, Iowa. is the
wonder and chief topic among the people along
the Mississippi. At that pointit Is eight inches
lower than it has been during the go years since
white people came to that section, and is still
had to be sunk to prevent the cutting off Of
the supply of water. This is the only inconve-
nience experienced so far, but places above and
below are seriously threatened with water
famine.
AT San Antonia, Tex, while workmen
were excavating the central Alamo plaza, with
the object of preparing the ground for park,
they turned up several copper cannon balls and
number OF half decayed human bones. The
place is within 80 yards of the famous structure
which was the death place Of Crockett and
Bowie, and some of the balls are hattened
from having been fred against the stone wall,
and, indeed, the venerable building bears their
scars, The bones are those of Mexican soldiers
who fell in the fray. some OF whom were buried
The bodies of the massacred Americans we're
all burned up. The relics have been taken IN
by curiosity seekers.
1t is a common thing for engineers to
use kerosene to remove the scales which form
on the inside of boilers. The oil IS poured into
an empty boiler, and then the water is turned
on. The oil. floating on the water, comes in
contact with the scales before the water does.
The use Of kerosene for this purpose in one OF
MilHaukee's slaughtering establishments where
the steam is used in cooking ham. beef and
sausage, produced unexpected results. The
kerosene mingled with the steam. and the
cooked meats smelled as though they had been
dipped into petroleum well. 1t was some time
before the cause Of the seeming phenomenon
was discovered.
To-day Seattle is largely rebuilt, and
the new buildings are much finer than the old
ones were, In 70 days after the fire. brick
hotel, containing 200 rooms. was completed.
Nine street car lines are either completed or
about to be- and they will be operated by cables
or electric motors. A S5OOOOO rolling mill has
been finished, and iron works to cost 100000
are being established. A costly opera mouse
has Just been thrown open to the public, and
there is nothing on the Pacific coast that ap-
proaches it in magnihcence. These are only
few of the improvements that have been made
within six months, but they are sufncienb 70
show that Seattle possesses indomitable pluck,
and that her people believe in her future.
"A wedding IN which. the bride did not
know that she was being married occurred the
other day near Richland, Neb. George Poole
and Belle Woods acted as best man and BRIDE
maid for Nellie Poole and Mr.. Peterson. By
previous arrangement made by Poole with
the minister he began a second marriage, IN
which Poole and Miss Woods were the princi-
pals, as soon as Peterson and Miss Poole were
pronounced one Miss Woods declares that
she thought this ceremony necessary part OF
the first wedding and refuses to have anything
to do with her husband, and will take steps for
divorce. The clergyman thought everything
was all right.
&C. P. Huntington, President Of lthe
Pacific improvement Company, has given to
Cramp Sons the contract for building the
largest merchant steamship ever constructed
on the Delaware. She will be built for the
Morgan steamship service between New Or
leans and New York, and will be 400 feet long,
48 feet beam and 81 feet depth OF hold, and VIII
register $500 tons gross. She will be an ex-
elusive freight boat and will have triple eX-
pansion engines steel boilers. steam steering
gear. and will draw only "A feet OF water. Her
carrying capacity will be larger than the
Pacific Mail steamships City Of Peking and
City Of Toxic, built by the John Roach Com
pany. Although not quite as long, sne VIII
have more beam and depth Of hold than those
vessels
The failure of the mackerel catch this
year set the ProVincetowners to devising ways
and means for protecting their industry, and
Captain Chase, veteran fisherman, conceived
the project of trying the waters on the Cape Of
GOOD Hope. So he fitted out his schooner, the
Alice Chase, and sailed October 8for Cape
town. The Captain got very little encourage
ment in his undertaking, for scientists bad
said that there are true mackerel south OF the
equator but letter received from him shows
that his venture is being crowned with success.
Captain Chase writes that he found mackerel
in plenty, and could not tell the difference be-
tween them and the fish on the coast. The
fsh average from I3 TO II inches in length, and
as the season advances will make good No. Is.
They are so plenty there that the people carry
and sell them for q shilling barrel, taking
about 200 to a barrel.