Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-12
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


society of venerable agriculturists- When
the Emperor visits them in the spring he
plOughs small field with his own hand-
+ Archie Falknor, well-knOwn cowman
Of Wyoming, while driving a lot OF cattle
north recently, poisoned his eyes oy
wfDing the sweat from his face with gloves
that had been saturated with the alkan
water of the plains, and is now in the nospl-
tai at Sheridan, totally blind.
For many years Robert James, aged 70,
of Blue Lick, Clark county, Ind, has been
blind and had given up all hopes of ever re-
gaining his sight Several days ago his wife
was taken dangerously ILL., and In his dis
tress he prayed and wept necessarily. Sud
denly his signt came back to him, and he
now sees as well as he ever did.
The news comes from Berlin that DIR.
Engels has discovered in Africa a remedy
for blood poisoning caused by the bites Of
snakes and rabid dogs. This remedy is the
wild growing black noble PALM 1t is
stated that 900 negroes bitten by poisonous
snakes were treated with the extract Of the
palm and 4SI were cured id five days.
When an aeronaut left Vienna recently
with his balloon for Russia, the society for
rearing carrier pigeons sent number Of
birds with him. The aeronaut, after some
days soJourn in Russia, let them fly, and
telegraphed to Vienna that birds of prey
mad pursued the pigeons as far as he could
returned to its cot in Vienna.
Granny" Gresham, who died in Ma
rietta, Ca, recently, is alleged to have been
116 years old. An ex-slaye who lives near
Mariana, in Florida, and who has been
brought to notice by the Savannah NeUS,
has birth certificate showing that he was
born in 1875. He has applied for pension
upon the ground that he drove commissary
wagon during the war of 1872.
"A singular business announcement over
a certain photograph gallery is: "Misflt pho
tographs for sale" This, we are told, brings
many customers. Mothers, for instance,
who have little children. often buy pictures
OF children with long hair when the hair OF
their loved ones has not grown. and send
them round to friends at a distance. Brides
photographs are also said to sell very we'll.
"A young man Monday afternoon rode
across the railroad bridge in New Bruins
wick, n. J.. on bicycle on single plank
The bridge is 80 feet high and 900 feet long,
and had Il train come on the bridge the man
would almost certainly have been killed.
The foolhardy youth refused to give his
name, though the watchman detained him
for an hour, hoping an officer would appear.
In Sheriff J. D. Winn Lexington has
veritable little giant. Though small in stat
ure, few men can be found with equal mus
cular strength. In fact he is really deformed
as to muscles, having double set, one set
standing out ali over his body like swollen
flesh: He has been known to raise 1900
pounds two inches from the ground, and on
one occasion, upon a wager, lifted one end
of stx-horse power engine on wheels, which
had so gallons of water in its boiler and two
men astride it.
"A new scientific instrument has been
gotten up by Prof Bigelow, which is called
the aurora-inclinOmeter By extensive re-
searches he has found that the same law
which underlies the working of electricity
and magnetism is operating on the sun, and
that sunlight is o magnetic field in which
the magnetized earth rotates as does the
armature of n dynamo. The instrument will
be sent to Alaska, where it will be used in
the study of the aurora, as it is there seen
in the best conditions.
"A Goochland county lady missed very
valuable and highly priced watch and chain
from her jewelry case. Convinced that one
of the female servants about the house had
purloined it she made no ado about the mat
ter, but confidently informed the suspected
culprit that she would 90 to Richmond and
consult fortune teller, who could easily
tell her just where the watch was. The
next day the stolen articles were found in
their usual place of abode. Superstition had
done good detective work.
Jacob Frank, of Ligonier, has in his
possession a horseshoe which is decidedly a
curiosity. 1t is made of ordinary iron, with
out toepiece or corls, and instead Of solid
iron the bottom is constructed with ar open
ing, which runs around the entire bottom of
the shoe, leaving nothing but thin iron
rim. In this opening is forced what looks
like oiled rope, but has become as hard as
stone, being petrified by lying in the ground.
The shoe was intended to be a noiseless one.
On either side are three holes for nails, ON
the front "F 9, "Pattened 1778."
"A Partisan sharper has developed a
new game. He stops at hotel and regis
ters his name, which strangely happens to
be the same as that of the proprietor of the
house. This is so remarkable that the guest
and the host have friendly chat about it,
The guest requests him to pay special atten-
ton to his mail, which is daily handed to
the guests 'svalet." Two or three packages
come and the "valet" takes them also. Then
q small package, neat-looking and evidently
Is passed over the counter. When
the ''7alet" gets this he and his master are
seen no more. The next meeting is between
The hotel proprietor and jeweler, who pre-
sents his bill for jewelry furnished to the
value OF, say, 10000 francs.
1t will not, perhaps, be remembered,
says the Paper Maker (London), that in the
great exhibition of 1851, specimen of iron
paper was exhibited. Immediately lively
ensued among fronmasters as to
he thinness to which cold iron could be
,oIled. Ono ironmaker rolled sheets the
.yerage thickness of which was the llSOOth
part of an inch. In other words 1S00 sheets
If this iron, piled one upon the other, would
,nly measure one inch in thickness. The
wonderful flneness of this work may be
more readily understood when It is remem-
,ered that 200 sheets of thinnest tissue pa
)er measure fraction over an inch. These
wonderful iron sheets we're perfectly smooth
nd easy to write upon, Notwithstanding the
act that they were porous when held up in
strong light:
Almost all the marbles with which
,oys amuse themselves in season and out of
eason, on pavements and in shady spots,
re made at Oberstein, Germany. There are
many large agate quarries and mills in that
and the refuse Is turned to
ood account in providing Ihe small stone
alIs for experts to "knuckle down. with
he stone is broken into small cubes by
lows of a light hammer. These small
locks of stone are thrown by the shovelful
nto the hopper of a small mill, formed ofa
edstOne having its surface grooved with
oncentric burrows; above this is the "run-
er." which is OF hard wood, having a level
lce on its lower surface. The upper block
made to revolve rapidly, water being de-
vered upon the grooves of the bedStone
here the marbles are being rounded. It
axes about Is minutes to finish bushel Of
ready for the boys knuckles.
ne mill will turn out 10000 per week.