Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-03-24
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.
Queer Episodes and Thrilling Adyen-
lures Which Show that Truth Is
Stranger than Fiction.

lures Which Show that Truth Is
Stranger than Fiction.
one of the spots which have been seI
ected for public squares in Philadelphia
is famous as the identical place where
William Penn made his great treaty with
the Indians. But even before that time
it had claim to historic attention us the
site of Gov. Fairman mansion Thomas
Fairman occupied the land under the
authority of the Duke of York, filing
his patent as early as 1854. In the
house which he erected Penn spent the
first winter of his residence in Phiadel-
phia. Goys. Markham, Haize, Holme,
Evans, and Palmer also lived in the
house. Gov. Palmer used to keep
| pieasure-barge in which he made jour
neys by water to the ''city," or the dis
trict now included between Vine and
South Streets. In front of the mansion
rose that old elm under whose branches
the memorable treaty was made. This
tree was blown down in 1910. Its girth
was "a feet, and one of its branches
spread for $50 feet towards the river.
From the rings in the cut section of its
trunk it was estimated to be 283 years
old. Where the tree had stood, a CON-
memorative monument was erected, and
u railing was put around it. Vandals
have Clipped the shaft and the railing
has been broken down, until now only a
scanned and broken fragment of marble
remains as testimony to Penn's league
of amity. The spot is at present almost
invisible amid piles of lumber Now
that public park is to be laid out, the
monument will probably be restored.
The property has passed through many
hands. The Fairmans owned it until
| 1715, when it passed into the hands of
Joseph Redman. Redmun sold it to
Robert Worthington, and the latter sold
it to Gov. Palmer in 1870, and Charles
Vert became owner in 1898 After
several other transfers, William Yard
became the owner in 1895, and in 1898
he sold it to Matthew Vandusen.
THE captain of coasting vessel, who
arrived mt Guayamas, Mexico, few days
ago, tells OF strange discovery made
by himself during his last trip. He
traded up and down the coast, doing
islands and coast villages between there
and San Diego, Cal. A heavy wind drove
him far out of his way, and when the
storm abated, he found that he was SO
far out of his usual puth that he had
lost his reckoning. He was out of sight
of shore, and when he saw land, bore
down upon it, and found an island that
was not down on any of the charts. He
sent boat ashore and the men returned
saying that no one lived there, but that
there were many houses and evidences
OF the place having at one time been
inhabited. The captain then went ashore
himself and found that the island had
undoubtedly been swept by u scourge OF
some kind. There were numerous huts,
but not living thing was to be found
An examination revealed the fact that
the former residents had died in such
numbers that they had not been buried.
The skeletons were lying around the isl
and where the people were when death
overlook them. In one hut were found
the remains OF seventeen people, while
in many others were the bones of great
numbers. They had been dead for such
a time that the bones were beginning to
decay. There was little to be found to
show what kind of people they were, but
it is supposed that they belonged to onl
of the island tribes which were so abun-
dant in this part of the coast fifty years
ago. Of course there can only be con-
lecture as to the probable cause of the
wiping out of an entire tribe, but the
knowledge of the fearful swee,, of
scourges on the island leads to the belief
that pestilence swept off the inhabi-
tants.
The japanese Commissioners at Chic
ago have been fortunate in securing
extremely advantageous sites for their
country's exhibit. A certain island
which has long been coveted by rival
applicants is now definitely promised to
them, and this favored spot will probably
be occupied by reproduction of the
famous editice known as Howo-do, one
of the finest and best preserved OK
amples of ancient architecture that the
empire contains. 1t stands in the village
of Uji, suburb of Kioto, and was built
when the Emperor's first fixed their resi-
translated "Phoenix Temple" the word
"howo" signifying an imaginary creature
OF the air, credited with attributes akin
to those of our fabled emblem of immor-
tality; and its shape is supposed to be
suggestive of huge bird with out.
stretched wing and spreading tail. The
original structure covers $50 tsubos OF
ground, tsubo being equal to six feet
square. 1t is expected that one resul,
of Japan's possession of the island above
referred to will be the exhibition OF
specimens of ship-building, representing
different periods of the nations maritime
development. This feature, if fully
carried out, will be surprise to those
who imagine that the Japanese were al
ways housekeeping and isolated people.
Three centuries ago there was not any
where more daring or enterprising race
OF navigators, and their adventurous
expeditions, not only to various parts OF
Asia, but even across the Pacific Ocean
to America, are matters of historical
record.
For genuine grit and presence OF
mind, j. N. Sacry, brakeman on The
Montana Union, is entitled to wear the
belt. Sacry is on the run between Butte
and Garrison. One evening recently he
left on his train for the terminal point
but at Stuart some switching was neces-
sary, and Sacry got off to assist in doing
tho work. While walking along the
track, however, one of his feet became
fastened in switch frog, leaving hin
exposed to the mercy of the backing
train, which was only few feet away
Being unable to extricate the foot, he
threw himself on the ground with force
enough to break one of his thigh homes