Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-30
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

dams.
The Labor party polls $4,000 votes in
New South Wales.
1t has been discovered that almanact
date back to the year 100 A. d.
The negroes of the United States now
pay taxes on $26i, ,OOO, ,OcO worth ofproperty.
Immense fiocks of crows have extermi
mated the grasshopper pest in parts of Cali
fornia.
The earliest coin for American use VIA
made about 1872, and bore as design tn
picture OF hog.
Yucca blossoms 81 feet long from ba
to tip are said to be abundant in the Sc
Gabriel Canyon.
Indians who live along the Pacific Raj
road in Western Canada make living
selling polished buffalo horns.
There are in Old Orchard, Me-, thre
apple trees which bear each year loads o
apples shaped almost exactly like pears
There are said to be nine inmates in th
Camberwell, England, workhouse who hav
reached ages varying from lO3 to lOS years.
-Mexice has a rock that serves as
weather prophet by changing color will
every approaching change in the weather.
"A man has been arrested in Prussia fo
saying that the crazy King of Bavaria wa
the most useful monarch in Europe, becaus,
he spends his time peeling potatoes.
The forest areas of Germany are re.
turned as follows: Prussia, 100000 acres
Bavaria, 2sOO,OO acres; WurtemDerg 4T0Oo
acres; SaxOny, 4l6 900 acres, and Baden, 2S5,
600 acres.
Astronomers say q shot fred on the
equator of Jupiter would travel with TO
tary motion at speed 46 times greater thar
that of q cannon ball fired at the earthh
equator.
About 300 Kliclitat Indians are bus
on the ranch of the Snoqualmie Hop-grov
ing Association in Washington 1t ia est
mated the crop OF this ranch will be abor
250 tons this season.
The remains of about 100 elephants hav
been found at Mont-Dall, in Brittany, wherS
they are gathered on a surface of about LOG
square meters. All the bones are broken
and it is thought that the animals must have
been eaten by prehistoric men.
Cremation is very economically cor
Quoted in Japan. and in consequence isquitt
popular. In Toxic there are six cremato
ries, in which one-third of the dead art
burned. The highest price for burning
body is Ell and the lowest shllltngs.
"A report comes from MOberly, Mo-,
that the young lady members of the Meth
odist church of that town have started ou
to pay off the church debt in somewha
novel way. They have pledged themselYe'
to pay 10 cents into the church treasury
every time they are kissed, the young mel
who do the kissing to pay the freight
French Canadians who move over tn
border into New England usually Angliciz'
their names in the course ofa generation
so. Dubois becomes Wood, Des Ruisseu;
and Lariviere become Rivers, etc. Occas
ionally curious freaks in appellatiOn result
from the practice Not long ago Frencl
Canadian named Noel Roquette took ou
his naturalization papers as Christma
Snow shoe.
Many uses have been proposed fo
aluminium, and in some instances this metz
has been brought into actual use One of it
latest applications is in the making of pho
tographic flash lights in the place of magnf
sium. A mixture of powdered aluElinun
and chlorate of potash gives brilliant naSl
without the smoke that is produced by mag
nesium, and this quality is in itself Stroni
recommendation.
Many of the country residences in Eng
land are now supplied with electric lighSin
machinery, and consequently great NUN
bers of electrical adaptations are rendert'
possible. Among these is an electric garden
pump, which is said to do its work in a mos
it by pond or fountain and attach sue
tion and delivery pipe and the water is pre-
jected as desired
"A rancher from a backwoods distric
engaged a room at a hotel in Seattle, WASH
The house is lighted by electricity, and tn
bell boy turned on the light in the newcom
er's room. The farmer didn't know how
extfnguish the light, and, after exhaustini
his ideas, uncoiled the length of wire b
w IN n n licr1f
the bureau drawer, SmotherinS 1t under nj
clothing The next day the lamp was foun'
slowed away there and still burning.
"A man named Brown, who halls from
near Portland, Ore, drove 100 head of horse
all the way from Oregon to the Hagwilghe
Valley, near the headwaters of the Skeem
river. The animals were sold. to the:Indian
and brought high prices. He was accom-
panied by his wife, who rode the whole dis
tance lover 1000 miles of wild country OF
horseback. Brown reports having passe'
through some beautiful valleys, suitable 70
farming and stock raising. He left Oregon
early in May, and reached Hagwilghet'Val
ley in July.
"A cavern was discovered lately on the
slope of the mountain at Baden which ha'
evidently been used in the Middle Ages. Re
mains of the foundations of a vestibule wer
found at the entrance. In a niche hewn on
of the rock was an altar with the sacri1cia
stone table. In front of the cavern was
regularly constructed building, fully te
feet below the surface of the ground above
designed probably to conceal the cavern be
hind, which may have been employed as
temple to Mithra. There were two stall
for horses, fragments of utensils, knives
flint arrow-headS and carved bones, mfxet
up with Roman coins, lamps and stamped
tiles.
The State of Wisconsin Is in curioui
predicament and the State officials in
dreadful state of mind The State Constitu
tion has been lost, and all sorts of dire lega
and awful possibilities ar
A few days ago Allen Warden, o
,one of the signers of the Constitu
ton, asked permission to see the origina
draft The officials said "Cert2f N.Y." but
careful search failed to discover the preciou
document and revealed the fact that it ha(
been missing for years. Then efforts werI
made to show that no engrossed copy wa
ever made, but that theory was soon fOoret
by Mr.. Warden. The document should b
lmong the archives of the Secretary o
States office, but doubt is expressed that
was ever there, the most probable theor!
being that some delegate carried 1t away by
mistake. The officials still hope that tht
valuable historical relic is slowed away IL
some corner and will yet be found.