The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-18
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The California worlds fair commission has
decided to send famous big tree to the expo
sition, and to plant 1t near the California build
ing. The tree selected is 800 feet high and now
stands on private grounds near the famous
Mariposa Grove. The Calitorniaus say they
can transport this tree to Chicago without in
1uring it, by using a special train of ten fiat
cars, and that when it is planted in the exposi-
tion grounds it will look just as if it had grown
there. The scheme meets great favor among
exposition officials.
A NOVEL SIGHT was presented the other day
on Silver Top in the shape of an immense snow
slide, says the Sultan City (Ore0 Journal
Hearing noise we rushed out of the tunnel to
see 1t, when behold, in the center of q mass of
snow ten rods wide by quarter of mile long,
We saw. on what appeared to be q large piece
of ice, five bears and fourteen goats. Lost in
wonder and gratitude at the sight of 50 much
meat coming to us, we simply stood and gazed
at the novel sight until one of the boys suG-
gested that a gun might be good thing to
have and started for the camp after one, but
before he could get back the slide had plunged
over the bluff into the lake, and everything ex-
cept one bear was covered up in the mass Of
snow and ice, and he made of as fast as posi-
bic, and the rest were covered so deep we could
not get al them; however, we expect TO get
them some time during the summer as thew
will undoubtedly be well preserved.
MUCH' EXCITEMENT has been created by the
revelation OF the operations of a gang of thieves
operating on the line of railway between Havre
and Paris. These persons, says cable dispatch
have been making quite number of victims
lately, and among travellers from America es-
peclallysC They aim particularly at plundering
French AID italians returning home with small
fortunes earned by long labor in the United
States; Most OF their coups were effected either
by well-worn confidence tricks or by means of
drugged cigars. Two OF the men would install
themselves in a compartment with victim
enter into pleasant conversation with him, offer
him cigar, which would throw him into a
swoon, andswould, then plumber him at their
ease and escape, This gang is numerous and
well organized. Some of its members travel on
the trains Others are on duty at the Paris and
Havre termini Their latest victim is a New
Yorker named Simon Beam, who was drugged
in a seconds class car and robbed of 81 0OO Thus
far the police does not seem to have done any
thing in the matter-
THE rustingof rails in long tunnels is the
subject of recent article in the Inqenieur Gull
describing the results of observations in the
Altenburg tunnel, which is about I, 800 feet long
and located on a curve of Z, $50 feet radius The
rails had been down for eleven years and at the
end OF that time were covered to a depth of O. 16
10 VA men by hard scales, which could only be
removed by a knife. They were composed
mainly Of iron sulphide and were found prnci-
pally on the web. While the weight of the rail
was much reduced in this manner its sectional
area was found to have increased, owing to the
1aky character of the rust. The nav rails have
been covered with mixture consisting largely
OF tar, which Is renewed every six months. The
gravel ballast has also received partial cover
ing of broken limestone. and by these means il
is hoped the formation of rust will be retarded
In the Brandelite tunnel, in Thuringia, it was
found that rails and metal ties were destroyed
by rust as fast as by the passing trains. The
ties lost about SO pounds each in six years The
tunnel is nearly 10000 feet long, and is on a
tangent having per cent. grade
WHAT was at first regarded as simple anna
teur venture in tie way Of experiment-the
,lN,+ 40, E..
as well is now treated by the Marseiles papers
as practieai ard available mechanism, saws
the Nav YORK SsEtl. Instead of skeleton wheels,
tie wheels are made hollow. so that when the
machine enters sthe water they support the
device With its rider; they are also grOoved on
their circumference with rubber tires for land
use. At the Sides Of the wheels are small cop
per paddles aud when the machine is run from
the land into the water these serve to propel il
so that, while the machine can make very good
speed on land, il is able to make about three
miles an hour in water, with the same exertion
that is needed for its propulsion on a good
road. 1t is stated that it does not easily tip
over when in the water, and that, when some
special features have been still further per-
fected, its efficiency and usefulness will be
largely enhanced, The points mentioned in
which improvements are desirable are the adj
ditlon of air-tight compartments, enlargement
of the paddles and a reduction OF the weight of
the entire machine
THE first light house built on this continent
was atSt. Augustine. Fla, says the Richmond
Times It's chief use was a ok-out, whence
the Spanish people Of the town could see vessels
approaching from Spain or get notice of the
coming of foes in time to run away, The tower
attracted the attention of Francis Drake as he
was sailing along the coast with his fleet of
high popped ships on his way home from pillap-
ing the cities Of the Spanish main. So ne
stopped long enough to loot the town and de-
stroy what he could not take away. In 1880 the |
ancient structures of coquina rock which the
United States had adopted for light house, |
fell down, but before that happened another
one had been constructed. Fire towers at the |
entrance to ports were established in the earli |
est historic times Bonfires were built on top of
them at night. The most famous light house
of antiquity stood on the Isle of Pharos off the
city of Alexandria, in Egypt. 1t was one of the |
seven wonders of the world, and was nut nm |
during the reign of PtoIemy Phiadelphus. |
After standing for 900 years it was DESTROYED
by an earthquake. 1t is understood to have
been over 800 feet high.
CoIMBRA, the old alma mater of PORTUGAL |
whose university, founded in 1888 at Lisbon.
was transplanted in the year 1898 to its present
location, is usually quiet college town in spite
of its thousand or more Students but it has re- |
comfy been the scene of riotous duarrels he |
tween the civil authrities and the CAPS and |
gowns. The result has been a decree of The |
royal government according to which all col. |
legians whose families do not reside In the citv
must leave Coimbra within twenty-four hours |
The reason of these demonstrations apnears
paItry enough. a. IN other ancient universe |
ties Of Europe, and especially in Germany. old |
academic abuses have survived there amono |
them nuisance which reminds one of The |
hazing outrages in American &C 4demies. the 50. |
called 'canellada," literally "shin-bone kick,
habituaily applied TO newcomers to the uni |
versity who refuse to submit to the ''protector
ate of some older student, which is prohibited |
and severely punished by the academic law A |
senior caught in tiagranti by a university bead1e
hal been sentenced to three days arrest Tho
students rose IN reballion. After serenadinp the
culprit they broke the rectors windows The
riot continued for days. The military had ~
be called out; The students then demanded the |