Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1892-09-10
ChRESSES TO BE AVOIDED.
visitor to the Lion Learns SOM,
Thtn-s He Did Not Know Before


Thtngs He Did Not Know Before.
Yes, hes a friendly old chap, said the
linnkeeper. He was born in captivity
at Barnum's headquarters in Bridgeport,
Conn, and he'll let even a stranger
scratch him behind the ears.
The stranger tried the experiment eau
tiously and the lion seemed pleased
Now, he'll lick your hand for thanks,
if you like, )" added the keeper. Don't
he afraid; his teeth are nearly all gone,
anyway
The stranger put his hand through the
bars again, and at the keepers word Of
command the well-trained lion gave it
gentle lick with his tongue.
"Wow! Great Scott" exclaimed the
owner of the hand, as he jerked it out
and looked at it ruefully. If a piece of
sandpaper hal been applied to it visor-
ously it would have looked and felt about
thc same. Lost his teeth, did you say?
Ills tongue his covered with them.
"Well, said the keeper, with a good
'aturcd grin at the success of his prac-
teal joke, you're just about right. A
lions tougne is covered with strong
horny little hooks-papill@ is the scien-
titic name for them-and they all point
backward. When he licks hard he can
scrape the meat and cartilage off the
bones of a tough horse quicker than you
could with a sharp knife.
Il suppose you would have to feed a
lion as old as this one on what the 9TH
"l~ would regard as dainties?" said the
Visitor.
No, answered the keeper; "as gem
aral thing lion won't eat at all or he'll
eat anything in the fresh meat line The
whole cat tribe has a low sense of
taste. You have often seen a cat lick
herself, haven't you? She gets handfuls
of hair in her mouth without minding it
at all. Consider what discomfort one
nair produces in the mouth of human
being whose sense of taste is delicate"
This old fellows claws are pretty well
worn down, said the visitor, II suppose,
by constant use on the floor and walls of
his cage"
"lIe has one claw not worn down at
all, answered the keeper, "but I'll bet
you can't detect it..
The visitor looked at all the paws and
could see nothing but we'll worn claws.
Where is ?" he asked.
AT the end of the tall" said the
keeper.
"a Oh, now, remarked the visitor, no
more jokes on me to-day, thank you.
The keeper put his hand between the
bars, caught the patient ex-monarch of
the forest by the tail and showed the
c; I,.l
among the long hairs at the end of it.
"What use it serves there" he added,
"naturalists don't know, | believe. Some
say he uses it to lash himself into a rage.
Next time you look at any books on Min
eveh, notice how the old Assyrians exag
gerated this hook on the tails of lions
carved upon their funny old marbles.
An Cdd Luck Piece.
A gentleman who is well known i'll
ritlin, Ohio, but who makes frequent Wis
its to the capital, carries in his pocket IL
peculiar, oldfashioned screw for luck,
us lie says. The screw has head about
The size of an ordinary button, and it was
found in the old Presbyterian graveyard
In Georgetown. The relic was shown to
a Post reporter by its owner, who told
when and how he came by it, Last
SPRING" he said, while wandering about
:he cemetery l came across an open
gave, and as l was peering down into
its open depths saw something bright
Tying at my feet in the tangled grass. [
picked it up and found the shining OBJ
ject to be the head of a screw or nail
firmly imbedded in piece of partly
lecayed wood, evidently the corner of
an old coffin. Taking out my knife L
whitfield away the wood and found it
to be a screw about two inches long. 1
placed it in my pocket and have car
tied it ever since. The grave near where
it was found was one of the oldest in
ihe burial ground, and the screw, | have
since been told, is at least one hundred
years old. Its brightness led me to be-
iieve it was made of gold, and it has since
been tested and pronounced to be twelve
| Il