Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-28
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The first steel car built for postal pur-
poses was run 10000 miles, and went through
| f1ve smash-ups, at cost of sl2 to the rail-
ROAD company for repairs.
Owing to the immense number of re-
cruits wanted in the French army the stand
ard Of height has constantly been reduced.
1t Is at present little more than five feet.
In the raisin belt of the San joaquin
Valley, Cal. the growers are obliged TO en-
ploy Chinese lahorers exclusively. The heat {
Is so intense that even negroes are unable to
bear it.
The local editor of the GAINESVILLE (Ga. }
Enterprise has n one-leg0ed rooster that he
has made nice artificial leg for, and he is as
sprightly as any other chicken on his faith
er's place.
Cherokee Indians to the number of 800
are setting up as real estate dealers by stalk
ing of claims on the strip and placing them
in the market. The whites are extensive
purchasers.
The largest dog in the world is the st.
Bernard Lord Bute now at the Mention
kennels at PhBnixvile. Pa. He was bought
from Thomas Shillcock, of Birmingham,
England, for $3.50.
Yuma county, Ariz., will soon have
fine trrigating system in operation. Two
irrigating canals will be taken ont below the
OI
acres of rich bottom lands.
"A new kind of cash register, which lops
of the fingers of those who attempt to rob
it, is in operation in Wilmington, Del, where
thief left n deposit of one of his fingers the
other night in one of them.
An adder was recently killed near
Dahlonega. Ga, which had two distinct and
perfect heads and four ewes When inter-
rupted its two tongues would dart out ST.
multaneously and its four eyes glitter.
In sinking plumb lines down shafts the
accuracy of the work is often seriously i'm
paired by spiders attaching their webs to the
lines and drawing them toward the wall,
often with sufficient tension to introduce
material errors in the position of the plumb
bobs.
Continental rules for lawn tennis, which
is becoming popularare verv rigid in regard
to costume. At Wiesbaden a man cannot
play without collar TO his shirt Bare
arms are looked upon with disfavor, and
ball that accidentally flies out of ground
and hitsR spectator is sure to raise tremen-
dous indignation.
Within 48 hours in Oregon soda water
deposit has been discovered in the Nehalem
valley, near Vernonia: a soap mine has been
found near Caldwell. on Lewis and Clarke's;
crystal springs of the pureSt water are bub-
bling up on the hillside in Astoria; gold is
being dug out on Genevieve street, and coal
on West Eighth street in the same city.
Prof Holden, of the Lick Observatory,
draws especial attention to q white spot on
the top of one of range of mountains on the
moon. Speculations as to whetherit is snow
or not are rife among astronomers who have
bad an opportunity of examining the photo
graphs. Should it prove to be snow, the ex-
istence of an atmosphere on the moon will
have been proved.
"A farmer near Columbus, Ga, has two
turkey hens and one gobbler. The hens
made nests abont IS yards apart in a melon
patch and went to setting. The goDbler got
lonesome and concluded that the proper
thing for him to do was to set also. He got
an equal distance between the two turkey
hens, sQuatted over q guinea watermelon
and set six weeks before he was discovered.
"A Hannibal, Mo-, man bought two
pills and put them In his vest pocket. He
also bought small pearl collar button and
put ir in the same pocket. When it came
time TO take pill he opened his mouth, shut
his eyes and gulped one down. He was re-
leved of his headache and went on his way
rejoicing. Afterward, having use for the
collar button, he felt in his pocket and
found two pills, but no button.
"A farmer living at Mazomanie, Wis,
made remarkable discovery recently. He
found an old hen and lS young chickens Oc-
tens had also taken quarters. They all
nestled up as slick as a bug in rug. The
question naturally arises which is the
mother and which is the offspring. The cat
has helped to hatch out the eggs, and the
hen helped the old cat in her trying period.
The French hairdressers are circulating
q petition which they will submit to the
Minister of Fine Arts when it has 100000
signatures. The purport of the document is
that women be prohibited from appearing
in their hats in the theaters subsidized by
the Government, and that the coiffure of the
ladies at such entertainments be according
to the fashion devised by the Hairdressers'
Association. The cause of this strange re-
quest is that the trade in false hair has
greatly decreased for the last few years and
the present fashion of dressing the hair in
Grecian style threatens a still greater fall
ing off in that trade.
"A curious live cargo has been landed
in Hamburg. 1t consists of collection Of
snakes and serpents made by the agents ofs
naturalist in that city. For the purpose OF
transit they were placed in long coffin-like
cases, with holes bored for ventilation and
feeding. When unpacked they became
much excited. Some of the assistants, in
to recapture them as they
wound themselves round posts and stair
balusters, sustained bites, which, however,
have not proved serious. Some of the larger
ones also took to swallowing the smaller fry.
The demand for them from geological socie-
ties snake charmers and others appears to
be considerable.
Melbourne, the rain wizard, has rival
in Hindoo fakir in Northern India. Last
winter the season was very dry, and failure
of the crops entailing great scarcity was the
result In consequence of the drought a
Hindoo fakir imposed a penance upon him
self, and was suspended by his feet from q
wooden beam. In this position he was
swung backward and forward for consider
able time by means of a rope attached to his
body, and pulled by fellow saint. Both
men were plentifully bedaubed with ashes,
and. save for q small cloth around the waist,
we're without clothing. In such a case,
should rain fall within reasonabl time
after the penance, the fakir takes the entire
credit for the relief to himself, and rises i'm
nensely in the estimation of the simple and
cultivator of the soil.