Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-05-28
RATS CARRYING EGGS.
An Omaha Man Watches the Perform
ance and Describes 1t.


ance and Describes It
L. L. Cloud, of Omaha, in Chicago paper
says: Last summer the girl kept complain
ing that she could never find any eggs in
the barn. did not think much Of it at first,
but finally when the complaint was repeat:
ed almost every dayI began to think it was
rather strange that we should not get moro
than three or four eggs when we had at
least i've dozen hens, and so determined to
look into the matter. 1t was more than a
week, though, before / solved the mystery,
and then it was merely by accident. was
standing In the barn one Sunday morning
when hen came cackling from her nest in
the manger, and q few minutes after q big
rat came from his hule, ran across the barn
and climbed into the manger. / could hear
him, and was idly watching to see what he
was dong, when you can imagine my sur
prise to see him rolling the egg in front of
him toward the edge of the manger. After
good many efforts he finally succeeded.
He paused there, gathering tho egg up un-
der his "chin;" he rolled himself complete-
Iy around 1t, resembling the form of q
hedgehog when alarmed, then he deliber-
ately rolled over the edge Of the manger
and dropped squarely on his back on the
hoor, two feet below, thus saving the egg
whole. Immediately he began to squeal
with all his strength, and just as was
W,
ing he had broken his back in the fall, two
other rats appeared on the scene. They ran
up TO the first ono, as he lay on the floor,
and each seizlng hold OF q hind leg began to
drag him, egg and all, across the barn. Just
as they reached the hole; and tho first old
grizzled follow disappeared, pushing the
egg in front Of him, it dawned on me that
had ut last found out where our eggs had
been going. s
Where Ali the Rass Go.
Housewives must often have wondered
where all the rags go to after they pass
into the wagon of any one of the sever
al hundred ragmen who pass through
the alleys with their monotonous cries.
These gatherers of old rags take them
to warehouses where they are bought in
bulk, and then assorted by girls accord
ing to quality. There was a time when
most of the rags were sent to paper
mills. Now very small proportion of
rags are made into paper, straw and clay
being the chief Ingredients. Fine linen
paper, so called, is made of rags. Nine
ty per cent. of the rags collected, how
ever, go into the manufacture Of "shod-
dy," OF which cheap ready-made cloth
ing is manufactured. This stuff is now
made up into the brightest and most at
tractive patterns, and can only be told
when new from wool by the expert, and
by experience with the wearer 'Shod-
dy is king" say the wool men, and this
accounts for the mercurial condition Of
the wool market.-St. Louis Globe Dem
ocrat.
Burn Your Old Letters.
30 much mischief has been done by tho
foolish habit Of keeping old letters, that it is
wise to adopt the rule of destroying them at
once. Their mission is ended, what are they
good for3 'I m. Y like to read them while
recovering from an Illness" says some one.
Pshawl AS IL these would be the tonic you
needed at such time. Better far q breath
Of pure AIR. We are all prone to brood too
much as such times, and need no suoh help
in that direction. Let this plea for the
burning OF letters be q strong one. Busi-
net letters should bo flied and labeled.
Lave blank book into winch to COPY such
dates or extracts as may be of value in
the future for references. This can be
done when letters are answered. Then
burn them and see the ashes. 1t is the sor-
rows instead of the joys that most letters
contain. They are the safety.valve for deep
feeling from friend to friend, good in their
time, but sometimes worse than useless in
the future Every day brings new expe-
riences. We are constantly changing, and
in many cases would be ashamed of our own
letters written ten years ago.