Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-10-09

mentioned that ne must be the owner of
real estate. She received many letters in
reply, but one of them was strikingly
original. The writer said that he pos
sessed all that which the lady desired In
her future husband. He was good look
ing, he held respectable position, he
had many friends and was received in
good society, and could support family
comfortably. AS to real estate, he had
that, too; he was the owner of plot of
ground in a cemetery which was large
enough to accommodate him, wife and
six children. The lady selected the writer
of this letter from the whole number of
suitors She opined that young man of
his position who had thought of acauir-
ing graves for himself and large family
before he was married was surely worthy
of the endowment of her heart and
hand.
JOHN r. MILLER, a veteran of the
Union Army. took to the National Trib-
une office, Washington, recently, a live
land turtle which he had found in the
woods near Fairfax Seminary, Va, and
which had carved upon its shell the fol-
lowing inscriptions: "1s63. II. A. H.
Co. A3. P. r. V. c." After search
of the records it was found that the only
member of the company and regiment
named having the initials H. A. II. was
Henry A. Harncr, of Reading, Penn. A.
S. Tabar, the chief clerk of Mr. Lemons
office, wrote to Mr.. Harner and received
carved his initials on that turtles back
twentyseven years ago. Mr.. Harner said
he was private in Company A, Third
P. r. V. c., Captain Lenhard; that he
marked several turtles while in service in
different parts of Virginia, and that his
company lay at Fairfax Seminary for
time and also at Fairfax Court House.
He asked to have the turtle sent on to
him.
A CURIo that has excited considerable
of a sensation in the fashionable New
York cafes and theatre lobbies is the
watch that is owned by Fred Rullman,
a well known ticket broker. He has
simply to draw his watch from his pocket
to attract the attention of anyone who
chances to be near The watch is the
only one Of its kind in the city, he says.
1t looks exactly like round black rub
Der snuffbox. The cases open like any
ordinary watch, but it requires careful
examination to discover the fact that
watch with solid gold case is really en-
closed in the snuifbox. Ex-
actly why the watch is rugged
up in this singular fashion Mr..
Rullman never clearly explains. He says
it is a protection against being struck by
lightning or stray electricity from the
subways. The watch was present by
gentleman who told him that he needed
such protection.
A NOVEL foot-race came off few days
ago in Chattanooga, Tenn, the prize be-
ing nothing less than the hand of
mountain maid Polly Andrews, the belle
of Walden's Ridge. Tom Mitchell and
John Vanleet sued for her favor and she
was unable to decide between them
They being in earnest, proposed a duel,
to which the girl demurred, realizing
that if one were killed and the other a
crucial test she decided upon foot race
from the Tennessee River to Fairmount,
on the summit of Walden's Ridge, a mat.
ter of ten miles, much of it steep
climb. The men started at 2 p. M, and
at $40 Vanleet reached the goal, a coun-
try post-ofice. His rival came in bad
second, fifteen minutes later. The
beaten man accepted the situation and
Miss Polly accepted the winner.
A WESTERN journal relates the follow
ing: A few mornings ago Thomas Trees
went down the creek from his fathers
house to examine some traps he had set.
While inspecting the traps, he heard his
dogs making an unusual noise some dis
tance below him. On going to the dog he
found him lying on the ground and part
ridges sticking out all around his body.
The dog had found flock, and alighting
in the midst, had pinioned ten but when
he rose up, eight of them escaped, he
still holding two with his paws. Thorn as
secured the two partridges-the others
all escaping. This is an extraordinary
feat for a dog, and only needed word
from the young man to have secured the
whole of the birds originally captured
by the dog.
THE death of Mrs. Susan f. Merrifeld,
at Americus, Ga, revives interest in one
of the most peculiar cases ever known of
vow of silence made and kept for
thirty years. In 1860 Mrs. Merrifeld
was telling her husband of some occur
renee, when he, in a testy mood, requested
her to be silent, as the sound of her voice
was hateful to him. She replied that if
her voice annoyed him he should never
hear it again, and this vow, in spite of
the entreaties of husband children and
friends, she faithfully kept for thirty
years. Her husband died some years ago
appealing in vain to her to speak to him,
and on her own death-bed she bade adieu