Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-06-04

CURIOUS FACTS.
A ton Of gold is worth $500, 600.

Inc Jdpdnese are lOnu OF Dathlng.
A Philadelphia Chinaman glories in a
pigtail five feet eleven inches in length.
Live fish have been sent in safety il
the mails from India to the British
Museum.
A "Poor Richard Almanac" of 175e
sold for S35 at an auction in Philadelphia
a few days ago.
A hermit named Owen Mulligau, who
died in Clinton County, ILL.,, recently,
left a fortune of 500, 900.
The skin of the whale is thicker than
that of any other animal. In some
places it reaches a thickness Of several
inches.
1t is found that the Bangala cannibals
of the Upper Congo, Africa, make ex-
cellent soldiers when put in uniforms aud
drilled.
The city of London proper is oaly one
mile square, but so valuable is its real
estate that it produces a reataI of 81
900, 600 a year.
North River ferry boats transport 3d.
100000 people and 49,, 000, 015 toas of
freight every year from the shores of New
Jersey to New York City.
The enlisted men of the United States
Army are to be furnished with cravats,
the first they have had since the days
when the military wore stocks.
DR.. Bordeau estimates that 400, 900
men Gave men or any other kind could
have safely found shelter in the two mon
ster caverns that were discovered in Aus
trdIia three years ago.
A curious Mashonll custom is recorded
by DIR. Knight. Bruce in the journals of
the Mashonalaud (Afr.cl) mission Just
published. 1t appears that when twin
babies are born both are dro yned. Why
OF wherefore he does not explain.
Sometimes families who desire to bury
their dead III the clothing worn in life
in evening or wedding dress for instance
substitute less costly limitations for the
Jewelry worn in life, partly from motives
OF thrift and partly from Il superstitious
lear that anything taken off a body when
it is ready for the tomb will bring ill-luck
to future wearers.
Nothing varies 50 much in value as
pearls. Vita them fashion affects the
market constantly. Sometimes white
ones are sought, while other tints at in
teryals are in demand. For some wears
past black pearls have been the rae. A
fine specimen, worth $500, will fetch
$1,000 perhaps if another can be got to
match it perfectly.
The harp which was suggested by the
Lutte is ascribed to Jubal, 1875 B. c..
and was King David's f%qvorite insttu.
ment. The harp was used by the Welsh
aud Saxons, and also by the ancient peo-
pie of Ireland. One of the oldest harps
IN existence is in the Dublin College
Museum, and originally belonged to
Brian Borothme, King of Ireland.
The two most remarkable trees in
Normandy arc the yews Of La Have de
Routos, These are nine and a half and
eight and a half meters in circumference
at the base of the trdnl, and seventeen
and a half and fourteen and a half metre,
high, and thcy are supposed to be at
least 1919 years old. Another tree, SUD-
posed to be 600 years old, is the beech
of Montigny.
In Roclland, Me-, is a dog that is a
born thief. It's f~avorite plunder is cloth
ing, and in daily excursions about the
neighborhood during the past winter it
has pilfered enough to stock a shop. The
other week it went into an opera hallway,
picked up a costly muf aud started for
home, hotIy plrsued by a man aud two
excited women. The owner got her mulf
and the dog got a beating.
Adhesive postage stamps were intro
duccd in England Grty-two years ago,
and in this country one year later. They
were the invention of James Chalmers,
n printer, of Dundee, Scotland. The
advance mIde in the business Of CARRYING
letters is indicated from the fact thGt so
late as 1916 it cost eight cents to carry
a letter Of a prescribed size, and contain
ing a single sheet Of paper, a distance of
forty miles.