Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-06
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

prairie dogs last week to New York man
for $40.
"A tooth weighing 81 ounces and sup
posed to belong to an ancient mastodon
mas Deen unearthed near Moscow, Wash.
The most expensive street car in the
world is owned by the Troy Electric Rail-
way Car Company, of Cleveland. 1t cost
$40 900.
The Emperor of Germany has given
f45O0 for the celebrated yacht Thistle, and
His Majesty intends to enter her for compe-
tttion in some of the English regattas this
season.
The five-pound and two-pound pieces
struck in the Jubilee year have evidently
not taken the public fancy, as no application
was received for them during the whole of
last year.
An Atlantic City hotel keeper has 9
fake" thermometer on the front of his
house that makes his patrons believe his
| Porch is the coolest place on the island. The
| deception works like a charm.
"A vase, which it has taken four years to
complete, has just been sent to London from
the Minton China Mandatory. 1t was
| made by NJ. Tolon, is valued at fI5o0L and
| IS considered the handsomest thing OF the
| kind that has ever been made Venus. Bac-
chus, and group of cupids are represented
| IN the design.
1t has been estimated that one ton of
| coal gives enough ammonia to furnish about
30 pounds of crude sulphate. the present
| value of which is about 4i2 per ton and
there being l0,GO0 900 tons of coal annually
| distilled for gas, no less than I33 g2j tons OF
| sulphate, of the money value of ICO7, I4S are
| produced.
| "A little humming bird is said to be
making himself unaccountably familiar at
the home of Dick Smith, near Thomson,
TA
Ga Regularly every Sunday, when the fam-
lily go to the dining room for dinner ths
bird flies into the family room and brings
up before the family mirror where he bows
to himself and futters and eapers around
extensively.
Jerry White of Archard's Mill, Tenn,
was down on Gum swamp one day last week.
and saw snake The monster looked so
large he was afraid to get near to kill him.
he threw sharp stick at the snake stuck
1t in the back of his neck and the snake bel
lowed like a cow-meanwhiIe opened his
mouth and made fight for Jerry. Jerry ran
OF course.
"A strange metamorphosiS in the heavens
was visible at Wassamoneta, o., the other
evening. An immense cylinder cldud over
looking from west to east and travelling with
great rapidity, passed over the town in the
same direction. 1t was black and gray in
/ e0ior, ana as 1t revolved it's color changed.
W NAT IL was no one seems to know; but it
attracted hundreds into the streets and
housetops, who watched it until it disap-
peared in the western heavens.
In January, 1885, Daniel Gould, Of
Chicago, then nearly 80 years old, was on q
bed of sickness from which the doctors per-
suaded him he would never rise He made
out deeds transferring his property to DIFF
ferent members of his family The papers
were recorded, but Mr.. Gould did not die.
To-day he Is "a hale and hearty old man with
Changed ideas ADOut irin of
belongings. So he filed a bill asking the
Superior Court 10 clear his title.
About the year 1888, Bristol plumber
named Watts dreamed that he was out in a
shower of molten lead. He observed
that the metal came down in spherical
drops, and afterward, to find whether it
would be so, he went to the top of q church
and poured melted metal into vessel of
water below. To his great delight he found
that the lead had gathered into beautifully
formed gloDular balls and he at once took
out patent.
The new servant girl tried two kinds of
furniture polish on the rosewood dining
table. She declared that American furniture
polish was mo good at all, at ALL" She got
half pound of white beeswax, two cakes of
CASTLE soap and a pint of tuTpentine. She
boiled the soap and wax tagether-that is,
she melted them until they ran together.
Then she poured in the turpentine. All the
hard wood in the house shines like mirror
glass now. "'Tis the way they make the
bars shine in Dublin said she.
On farm in East Hartford, Conn, one
of the COWS had calf in a pasture, and the
farm hands were unable to find it the next
day. A search of the lot proved a failure
until some one suggested novel scheme. 1t
was to bring a dog into the lot when in all
probability, the COW would return to her
calf to defend it. The dog was brought and,
surely enough, the COW started for clump
of bushes, and among them the calf was
found covered up by leaves.
One demand of the third party. re-
Gently organized at Cincinnati, is that the
Government shall own the railroads of the
country. In order to own this property the
Government would have to raise about
SO 900 600 OOO which is the amount of the
capital and bonded Indebtedness of the rail
road corporations TO raise this money the
Government would have to tax the people of
the country, and the scheme would impose a
per capita Indebtedness of Sl75 upon every
man, woman and child in the United States.
Our national indebtedness is now Sl4 e3 per
capita.
William Derringer and wife reside near
Watson, Ind. Two months ago Mrs Der
ringer gave birth to twin babies which were
probably the smallest specimens of human
ity to be found in the State. One of them
died soon after birth. The other is alive
and well, and at birth was easily placed in q
now weighs two pounds. Its head measures
lOL inches in circumference, its arms are
inches in length, its fingers u of an inch
long, and it is about Is inches high now 1t
appears to be as healthy as any regular,
baby.
Pigs are not supposed to have much
sense, but G. II. Currier, of Abbott, Me-, has
Dne that knowsa a thing or two. The infant
Dorcine is fond of taking a bath in the river.
to which his owner objects, and every time
he got out of his pen Mr.. Currier would
board it up higher. That did not stop piggy,
however, and Mr. Currier watched to see
how he got out Itappeared that the boards
we're nailed on two or three inches apart,
md the pig would climb to the top by
putting his toes in the track, and there be-
ng rope suspended over the outside he
would catch it in his mouth and lower him
'eif to the ground.
One of the African envoys of King
in London, the other day, was
nearly frightened to death by phonograph
lie talked into the instrument, and when it
epeated his words to him he fell on the floor
n q swoon. 1t was some time before he
-ained courage to ask questions as he
hought witch doctor was in the phono-
-raph He proposed to silence the witch by
tuffing a dried frogs leg into the instru-
nent along with some other charms he had
With him. Having been dissuaded from this.
nd the matter explained. he said it was no
se for him to tell hes-all his words were re-
orded.