Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-15
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Sixteen persons were killed and 26 in
jured by railroad accidents in Maine during the
present year.
Green river, Washington, is simply
alive with dogsalmon these days, and thousands
of them are being killed for fertilizer.
The Londsn Spectator reports that in
the city of Liverpool not less than % gentle
men and five ladies have become followers Of
Islam.
"A workman crawled into the bore Of
monster gun at the Mare Island (Cal) navy
yard, got wedged in somehow, and it took sew
eral hours work to get him out
The balloon proposed for polar explora-
tons is 81 feet In diameter and 500 600 cubic feet
IN volume. The journey will be from Spitzber-
gen, and with favorable wind will last four or
i've days.
One Of the largest and quickest Jobs Of
unloading ever done by Portland MEL steve
dores was that Of three eargoes of Southern
nine days.
New York is peculiar among all the
cities Of the world in that it Is divided on all
sides by wide rivers from the cities which have
arisen out OF its overflow, and on one side by
the State line.
Great preparations are being made for
the removal of the So cofins from ths ''Fursten-
gruft" IN the crypt of the Berlin Cathedral. In
this vault the rulers and princes of Prussia
have been buried for centuries past.
"A chicken thief of Bristol, Pa, was
caught in singular way. A button was found
in chicken roost, and the Chief of Police
found others to match it on the coat of q man
who was found selling chickens in the market.
The ninth hundred of the nebule dis
covered by DIR. Swift at the Warner observa-
knw-r -. - IL -
Astronondsche Ndchrtchter, and DR.. Swift has
discovered 80 more toward his tenth hundredth.
The notes of woodcock, though having
decidedly similar qualities, vary from an al.
most dovelike murmur to positive and almost
ratllke squeak. They are sometimes uttered
singly and sometimes two or three in success
sion.
The biggest sunfower on record has
been raised this year by Mrs. Penschower, of
Cloverdale, Col The stalk is SIX inches in di-
ametsr az the ground, 1t stands u feet high,
and the hover measures nine feet in circumfer-
enee.
"A historical doll, now being exhibited
in'New York, Is copied from Velasquez of
Ferdinand H., Duke of Tuscany. 1t is dressed
in green plush and point lace. with a suit of
steel armor over it. beautiful long curly wig
graces this duke.
Or four coal-laden ships which arrived
at San Francisco one day last week the Champ
ion came from Kobe, Japan; the Carnarvon-
shire from Cardiff, Wales; the Blue Jacket
from Seattle, Wash, and the Henry Failing
from Nanaimo. British Columbia.
The common crabs of our seacoast, when
seized by dangerous enemy, will spontane-
ously amputate one Of their own limbs, and,
leaving leg in their foes jaws, scuttle on in
sidelong flight In many of the ringworms the
power of replacing losses almost surpasses be-
lief, for they can actually produce new head
for themselves.
AS soon rs an Arctic fisherman feels a
fish on his hook he catches up a blight of the
line with his scoop and another below this with
his reel, and thus reels up the line on these two
sticks In loose coils until the fish is brought to
the surface, when a skilled toss throws him of
the barbless hook IN the ice. where he gives
one eonVulsiye fap and instantly freezes solid.
The Evanston Cooperative Housekeep-
ing Association. the pioneer organization of
the kind, has just been put in operation in
Evanston, Ill. There are 266 members who are
served simultaneously with meals prepared by
central establishment. The meals are deliY-
cred in carts prepared with compartments. into
which trays containing the prepared dishes are
placed.
Angus Mcpherson, of Cumberland
county, Nova Scotia, has built railroad a
little over a mile long. which runs into his
lumber woods. 1t is singular in that the rails
are spruce poles. and the sleepers are small
round poles. The rolling stock consists of an
upright engine of eight horse power. and two
fiat cars. The track, which is not graded, cost
about $500 to lay.
DIR. Jay w. Seaver, of Yale, sums up
his examination of the academic freshman
class as follows: "Out of 260 men in the class
there are 80 who sre in what must be termed
bad physical condition. There are about 70 in
fair condition; fully 100 are in good condition,
and the remainder, about %, are ranked as first
rate in health. The latter class are men who
have had athletic training before-mostly In the
preparatory schools
"A Texas steer, which got into a panic
while being driven through a Kansas town,
took after q grocer, but didn't see the man
dodge into doorway. He kept on until he saw
q telegraph pole. and he made q charge and
struck 1t with such fOrcs that his neck. one leg
and shoulder were broken. 1t is funny thing
that the owner of the steer is suing the grocer
for the loss of the animal
The chiekadee is a resident species in
our Northern States. That is, the bird may De
found here at all seasons of the year, but it Ia
probable that the individuals seen in winter
are not usually those which breed with us. The
black-capped chickadees have q wide range
north and south. and east and west. and there
is no doubt more or less Of a migratory move
No less than $50 young women have
taken up timber claims in Western Washington
during the past six months, and in Eastern
Washington probably 100 others have located
lands. The lands that can now be had are
mainly in outlying sections somewhat remote
from railways. and can be reached only with
some difficulty. As new wagon roads and rail-
roads are being pushed all the time, however
the opportunities are still good.
"A quaint custom, dating back to Anglo
Saxon times. known as payment of wrath
silver" was recently observed at Knightlow
Hill, tumulus between Rugby and Coventry,
England II consists of tribute payable by
certain parishes in Warwickshire to the Duke
of Buccleuch. The silver has to be deposited
at daybreak in q hollow stone by representa-
tiyes of the parishes the penalty for default
being forfeiture of white bnll with red nose
and ears. The representatives afterward
dined together at the Dukes expense.
ryTT AND WISDOM