The Helena independent., 1892-02-27
THE CURIOSITY HUNTER.
The First Bell Ever Rung in Amer
lea Is Now in Washington
City.
The First Drops OF Blood Shed in
the Rebellion, in the Pension
Office.
Advent of Punctuation Marks, Steel Pens,
Printing Press in America-First
Game Of Cards.
rwr;tten for THE HELENA INnErrSpENr.l

written for THE HELENA INDErENDENr.l
-HE FIRST BELL IN AMERICA
NJ was erected ON the first church ever
eJk y built in this country, early IN the
year 1894. Columbus landed At Isabella. IN
tho island of San Domingo, in December.
1893, and soen built a church. Shortly
sfterward new oity WAS begun i'll the
royal plain of La Vega, and was called LA
Vega. or the City of the Plans. Inc
church, with its bells, and all the other
houses of Isabella WAS then moved to La
Vega, In the year 1542 the new City of the
Plains was destroyed by mn earthquake.
About 4 quarter of century ago, IN the
branches of fig tree, which had grown mp
among the ruins of the belfry tower OF the
church. bsll WAS seen. which proved to be
the original bell in question, and TINS MS
toric bell is now in the city of Washington.
It is bronze. eight inches high by Blk ana
a half across. bears the letter IN OLD
Gothic characters. and has the image OF
san Miguel on its surface.
The first drops Of blood shed in the war
Of the rebellion are decarsd to be at the
present time in the possession of Colonel
B. f. Hawkes., Of the pension office at
Washington, and to have been shed Dy
Colonel b. F. Kelley, who commanded re
federal forces at the battle Of Phlllppl. thd
& st battle Of the war. One Of the hrst
bullets fred pierced Colonel kelley,a lung
and stained his vest, which was preserved.
Colonel Kelley did not die, although the
.nrpeon pronounced the wound mortal. and
lived to good old age. In fact, if the
surgeons Of g. '65 had known as much as
their brethren Of to-day do. one-half q
tbs wounds pronounced mortal would have
been easily cured.
The trst use of the period in punctuation
was in the fourteenth century. The colon
came into use about 1855, the comma about
1920, the semicolon about 1910.
The first ink was in all probability the
black fluid obtained from ths cutie hsn.
The first compounded ink was mechanl-
cal mixture OF water, gum. and lampolacR:
The firs. chemical INK was an INFUSION OF
calls in sulphate of iron. The hrst COM
nouud vegetable ink contained great deal
Of carbon pigment, and It is TINS sorS OF lHh
in which the oldest manuscripts nave come
down to us. Pliny and Vltruvlus give p ac-
teal recipes for making INK.
The first mention Of steel pens IS believed
to have been by Wordsworth, in December,
1906. He and his family were living IN the
house Of Lady Beaumont at Colerton. Eo
begins: my Dear Lady Beaumont--Ihere
ponmanship 70. you! shall not be able TO
keep it up to this end IN this style, no1Wlth-
standing | have the advantage OF writing
with one Of your steel lens.' AZ early ns
1880 steel pens are believed to hays been
known in New York schools.
The first printing press in the United
States began its ciyilizing work at Cam
bridge. Mass, in Harvard university, IN
the YEAR 1888. The first American made
illustration is believed to bs found in
Tully's Almanac. OF Boston, in 169S. The
first American copper-plate portrait pub
lshed in this country was IN Increase
Mather's ''Ichabod" published IN l7O5.
The three first engravers were Paul Revers
BENJAMIN Franklin and, Isaiah Thomas,
who distinguished himself at the battle OF
Lexington.
. The first porterhouse steak was so named
in New York city in the famous old tavern
of Martin Morrison, at No. 327 Pearl street.
This was a favorite resort OF seafarlng men.
A steak being called for by an old pilot one
night, Morrison said he had no steaks, but
would cut and broil for him thick slice
from tho sirloin which had just been pro-
pared for roasting the ne1t day. Morrison's
place was known az the Porter House
in the noighborhood, and the fre-
uuentsrs soon got to talking about the
Gibbons, HIS butcher in the Fly Market.
to cut up sirloins into steaks for him there
after.
The first game of cards of which there is
any record and the first time cards were
used by q caucasian was in the tent OF
Richard Cnur de Lion, when he was IN
camp near the walls of Acre. during the
crusades. Cards were first played in
Europe on the return of the crusaders and
were at once used by eypsles and necro-
mancers to fortell tho future. Card play
ing aoon spread all over the continent;
there ars documents in German which men
ton that Rudolph l., in 1878. WAS fond of
the game. lhe cards which Richard WAS
supposed to have played with were made of
ivory. Canvas, papyrus and silver were
the materials used in the manufacture of
PLAYING cards before paper was known.
The first mirrors Of which there ls any
record, we're in use among the lsraelites in
the time of Moses, and were made of brass.
When the Spaniards frat landed in South
America they found mirrors of polished
black stone in use among the natlves. The
first mir or of solid silver was made by
PraxitIlss in the time Of Julius Caesar. In
the fifteenth century the first glass mirrors
wsts made in Germany by Il b!owpipe and
we're convex. The first manufactory of
glass mirrors for sals was established in
Venice early in the sixteenth century.
The fl st match was ths product of the
ingonu uity Of John Frederick koms1er, who
early in this century was Imprisoned Ia ths
penitentiary at Hohenasperg, i'll Germany.
He invented the lucifer match while in his
gloomy dungeon. There were no patent
laws then, and the German government for
bade the manufacture of matches ON the
grounds OF public policy, because soma
children playing with them had caused
fire. komerer was ruined by Visnnese com
petition when ho waa released from prison,
and died pauper. In ls42 this law OF Ger
many was repealed, and in 1913 match
manufacturer of Vienna had already
anassed million dollars. Up to 1862 the
Vienna manufacturers controlled the match
business of the entire world.
JOHN PAUL BococK.
<;Opyright.