Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-16
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

| "A YORK, "a, woman, " years OF age,
says that she never took drop Of medicine In
her life.
"A colored woman SO years old was ar
rested in Philadelphia tue other day for disor-
derly conduct.
day exhibiting bulldog with one foot exactly
the shape of a hoof.
In several Eastern cities barber shops
keep open all night, and where there is no Sun
! day law, they keep open the year round.
| "A game of marbles was played by sew
eral prominent citizens of Washington the
other morning on Pennsylvania avenue.
Macon, Ga, has 10-year-old stenogra-
pher and typewriter who has started in bust
ness for herself in prominent hotel Of that
town.
The first consignment of samp les Of
Chinese tobacco has been received by London
brokers. China is desirous OF competing in
European markets.
Three hundred to 400 tons of coal per
| day is the amount used in some OF the large
passenger steamers on the Atlantic. This IL
| about one ton per mile run.
New York mas a wonder on its police
| force. This wonder arrested two women, and
| when they were assessed SO and costs each,
gallantly paid their fine. They were strangers
| to him.
| An elderly New Yorker, whose business
takes him to Europe twice year, always
makes a special contract with the steamship
| company that If he should die on the
| voyage his body is not to be buried ar sea-
| "A few months ago there were IA persons
| in Carroll NO.. who lived on friendly terms.
| Then an unknown relative in California died
| and left $4,000 to be divided between them.
Now there are IA persons in Carroll who do not
| speak.
i al l. L..
| country districts of Norway has to be contln-
ually watched on account of the bears, which
have mama for climbing the poles and sitting
| on the cross beams, swaying backward and
| forward until the pole finally falls.
Under an old law making it illegal to
shoot at night. a sportsman recently arrested
in Paris for unlawful killing of game drew
from the courts legal definition Of the days
end. 1t was decided that night began with the
| close of twilight, when the sun had descend
| ed 60 below the horizon.
"A most remarkable curiosity is on exhi-
bition in Florence, S. c. 1t is a piece of corn
| bread which has been shut up in safe for
nearly two years. and which, when it was taken
out, was covered with black, silky hair eight
inches in length. A great deal of this has been
pulled of now. but enough remains to prove
the statement that it was covered.
"A lady in the northern part of Missouri
only received six votes for County School Com
missioner She offered arevard Of $50 if the
depositors of the votes would reveal their
names to her. The same day she offered the
reward 7S9 men called and told her they voted
for her. She says she will contest the election
if she convicts half the county for lying
"A canary died in New York recently at
he age of Is years. The bird was blind for the
last years of his life, but sang at times till
wit hin few days of his death. One morning
he refused food, but took little water and
then according to the writer, he nestled down
in his cage. rufflsd out his feath ers as usual,
coied up as if to sleep, and thus gently died.
A few days ago an old man of SO ar
rived at Barcelona, who Quilted his country at
the age of 20 to seek his fortune in America,
and has now returned to Spain with his family,
which is thus made up: Sixteen daughters, Of
which care widows, 9 married and young girl;
% sous, of which are wid0wers, IL married and
6 single; "a granddaughrers. of which are
widows. married and maldens; AZ grapasons
gle; 40 great-granddaughters OF which are
married and 43 are maideDs; 30 great-grand.
sons, all single; three great-great1grandsons.
Besides this there are 72 sons and daughrersin-
Law. In all. 30 persons.
During the war soldier was brought to
| the hospital paralyzed and unable to talk. He
| was thoroughly examined by all the surgeons,
| who could not find wound or scratch upon the
| man, yet he persisted that he was wounded. At
| last a surgeon opened the mans mouth and
made a thorough examination OF the sufferers
throat and mouth. He was amply rewarded,
for he found \ wound in the back of the throat.
This he probed and finally extracted bu1lss
which had paralyzed the mans vocal cords.
The man recovered and stated that he was in
the charge at Chickamauga, and the last that
he recolected was hallooing and yelling as the
charge was made.
"A Pennsburg, Pa, gentleman, whose
barn was formerly overrun with rats, is no
longer troubled with them and he used neitns
In, ~ III hour
year ago he purchased fox somewhere in the
West. The fox given the freedom of the
barn and in a short time after its arrival all the
rats found it convenient TO depart, and none Of
them seemed to have believed it expedient TO
return. Reynard catches rats after the manner
of terrier, and when not engaged Is fire.
quently seen following his master about like
wellbehaved canine. towhlch he bears NO little
resemblance. He is perfectly tame and goes
about the streets of the town without being
molessed by the dogs that roam around ready
to attack any animal not OF their own tribe.
A strange story in which cat is
pathetic character has come to light at Paoli,
Ga. A little boy of that village owned a cat
that was great pet in the family. But the cat
would have nothing to do with any one except
the boy. The latter died, and for two weeks
the cat would come as usual every morning TO
the door, and, going in the room, would cry
very mournfully, and walk over the child's bed
hunting for it's lost friend. Finally the cat dis
appeared, only returning occasionally. At last
one OF the cn1ldS SISTERS saw the cat IN Lno
graveyard. where it remains, only returning
occasionally for food. 1t keeps guard at the
boys grave. and can be heard at night crying
pitifully.
In the picture gallery of Charlton Park,
near Malmesbury, Eng, is glass case contain
ing the skin and features Of big crow. The
creature had been caught and nailed to a tree
with other vermin, . fate which so many thou
sands of crows share yearly that there is moth
ing odd In it. The extraordinary part of the
matter is that in the shelter Of his wings, where
his body before it decayed. little wren
had built itself an exceedingly little nest With
wonderful dexterity the tiny bird had contriVed
to fasten together the wings of his dead enemy,
whose body he proposed to utilize. The en-
trance to the nest was where the crows breast
had been, and here the family of little urens
was reared The nest was observed. and when
its occupants had flown away it was carefully
removed and placed in the owners picture gal
lery.
One Of the queer industries of this coun-
try about which very little is known outside
the Custom House, is the cultivation of GIN
seng. It is found in the mountain regions Of
Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennes-
see In abundance, and only the roots Of the
plant are used. These are dug up in the fall OF
the year by mountaineers ana it is populary
prefix "gin' being discarded absolutely, and the
and the last syllable pronounced as if ir were
spelled with an "a" The roots dried and
sold TO the nearest storekeeper, and are event
ually collected in large quantities, sent to Cali
fornia and thence are shipped to China Inc
to this article which has an abominable odor
and villainous taste, and they place an espe-
clal value upon roots which have fantastic
shapes. A ginseng root bearing Ianclea re-