Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-22
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The highest altitude ever reached BY
balloon was seven miles.
"A dealer in artificial limbs says that
300,OOO Americans have lost one or both legs.
in Great Britain there is one elector to
about six Of the population; in Belgium only
to about 46.
The most watery county in the United
States is Monroe county, Fla Its chiefly COM
posed of small Islands or keys.
This advertisement appears, of course,
in Chicago paper: w anted to buy from one
to ten pairs 16inch song shoes at once"
Kansas, which has LOG counties, also
has il the minions of Superintendent Porter
have not made error, l06 resident Cinnamon.
"A Kingston, N. Y, man has an egg 6K
inches round. 81 inches long. and weighing ~
ounces, which he claims was laid by hen
which he owns.
Louis Hamilton, q resident Of Braden-
burg. KY, named his children London Judge,
Hebrew Fashion, Chinese Figure, Reputable
Kingdom and Greek Wisdom.
In Kent, Nd, there is a negro who runs
everywhere he goes, stating that it gives me
pain" to walk. Would it not be possible TO get
this darkey in the messenger serViceT
Oyster shells are exhibited on Long
Island Sound IL inches long and inches wide.
II this is the result Of oyster farming. one can
see in his minds eye what may be expected OF
the Chesapeake Bay.
An Iowa court has decided that signing
anothers name to a mileage ticket is not
forgery. The case grew out of the purchase
from a scalper of 20O0mile book which had
been stolen from its original holder.
During the month of December the sun
did not shine once in London. During the
entire year 1890 out of possible 4.455 hours,
when the sun should or might have been visible,
it. fact, was visible only 092 hours, and these
were mainly in the afternoons
Texas claims /, ,512, 285 horses and heads
the list. Illinois is next, with Il23.g73 In
valuation, Texas claims s49.6 ,323 and Illinois
s69 2l4SO9 Rhode Islands horses are valued
per head at SlU7 l3, the highest in the list In
New Mexico the value per head is S3l OF, the
lowest.
The steamboat Gila at the Colorado
reservation went to the rescue of several ref
ugees of the recent food, who were perch ed on
the tops of houses. The men were saved. but
during the night the Colorado river lowered
very rapidly leaving the steamer six feet above
water. on a sandbar.
The census of Missouri shows that IN
proportion to population the greatest number
of negroes is in New Madrid county, where
there is one colored person to every three and
a half whites Strange to say Dunklin county,
tion of only l6l out OF a total OF l5,O8o.
The story is told of an old-time Bangor
merchant, who had propensity for picking up
all the stray buttons that came in his way, that
during his long life he filled a barrel in his
store with them. After his Death some one had
the curiosity and patience to go through the
lot, but failed to find two buttons OF the same
pattern.
"A young man from the East was hired
raj Opa dau hn
found himself surrounded by seven hungry
coyotes He left the team and broke in a
swift run tor the house and quit work right
there. The team was found all right by the /
owner a woman, who told the teuderfoot to go /
back home TO his mother, while she finished
the plowing.
Seed for the culture of rubber has been
sown insCeylon and the seedlings are reported
to be hourishing among the jungle. 1t is sug-
gested that a large tract of country could
easily be covered with profitable trees by simply
collecting and sowing broadcast every year in
the belts useless jungles adjoining the
estates few bushels Of the seed Of the Ceara
rubber tree which grows in the island
"A fireman, of Seattle, Wash, met his
death the other day in a singular manner.
During the regular weekly practice Lawson
lost his hold on the nozzle and the stream
struck him in the side, knocking him down.
Before he could be rescued he was rolled by
the force of the stream for SO yards along the
wharf and over a six-inch spike, which wounded
him SO seriously that lie died from the effects.
A native of Bavaria, now in America,
is = curious freak of nature He has three
separate legs each OF which is entirely inde-
pendent of the others. In his youth he was
able TO use all OF his legs in walking or run
ming, but having sustained injuries in rail-
way accident he is now obliged to wear one OF
them strapped to his body. He enjoys ex-
cellenr health and earns a living as wood
carver.
Some time ago Chicago negro died.
Two of his friends immediately applied TO
watch the remains. Now, each of the friends
was enamored of the deceasePs rclict, and
each argued that so long as the other was ''sit-
ting up'' with him and the corpse he could not
be ensnaring the widows affections. From this
motive they persisted in sitting up with each
other and the remains for \ week. At the end
of that time the widow married another man.
There are about 200 tea-tasters in New
York, The habits OF these men are exceedingly
curious. Some of them refuse to ply their
trade save in the morning. on the ground that
the sense of taste cannot be trusted after it has
been bewildered by hours of work. Most Of
them avoid the use OF tobacco and OF highly
seasoned food. Their accuracy OF taste is
astonishing. A tea-taster will grade and price
a dozen qualities Of tea all from the same
cargo.
"A lady in Cincinnati has q wonderful
oat named Dick wel-known for its sagacty.
She has been in the habit of taking crumbs
from the table and shaking them on the ground
outside, so that the birds can feast therefrom.
The cat meanwhile, would ambush itself. and,
at the opportune moment. pounce upon the
bird and secure a seasonabIe meal, The good
lady tried to break tue cat of the habit, but her
efforts were of no avail. She then resorted to
other means, but with no success. At last she
discontinued the practice of throwing out the
crumbs for the birds. The cat, seeing that its
house, purloined a piece OF bread from the
table, scattered it over the ground at the ac-
customed feeding place, and awaited results
behind a tree. Soon the birds appeared and the
cat secured one Of the sparrows.
1t is estimated in the Allahabad
Pioneer that the treasure lying idle in India in
the shape Of boards or ornaments amounts to
81 $50 O00 900. A competent authority guesseS
that '.in Amritsar City alone there are jewels to
the value of s2,O00,O 900 sterling" AS regards
some other districts the figures that have been
furnished are not less astonishing. The miser-
able waste of Montgomery is estimated to
possess about 80 lakhs IN ornaments. The bill
sides and valleys of Kalu are put at 81 lakhs-
In Jbelum two-ffths of the wealth of the dis
nature, and in Kohar, probably one of the
poorest districts Of the province IN this respect,
the estimate is taken at 500 rupees for each
Hindoo family and ~ rupees for each Mussul-
man family and lakh in the aggregate for the
Nawsb and other Raises, making total for the
district of Is lakhs." A lakh Is worth about
S35000.
THE TICKLERS THOUGHTS.