The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-03
ITEMS OF INTEREST,".

The wife of Mark Twain is a handsome
demi- blonde with wavy brown hair. She is
30 years old but she don't look it. She in
herited a fortune.
There is a man in Alabama who according
to the New Orleans States takes life very
easy for the simple reason that his farm ex-
tends up and down the Louisville and Nash
vile railroad for distance of fifty or sixty
miles. great many persons will be dis
posed to doubt this statement, but neverthe-
less 1t is the truth. A short time ago the old
Alab"ma Countryman was q victim of inn
peCunioSity because his farm was so poor that
the cats would not stay on it. but one day the
engineers of the road came along and dis
covered that his farm was nothing more than
a vast deposit of gravel, the very material
they desired to use as ballast for the bed of
the road. They endeavored to buy the farm
outright, but the old countryman stubbornly
refusing to sell the only home he had on
earth, il was finally arranged to pay him a
royalty on every carload of gravel taken from
his land. The royalty has made him rich,
and as the supply of gravel is practically in
eXhaustible he will soon be able to boast that
his farm is the largest in the world and ex-
tends all the way from New Orleans to Louis
vile.
Secretary Morton's researches into the oper-
ations of his department have brought to
light the fact that there is man in New
York who makes a business of Strengthening
horses and shipping the meat abroad, and
that he has been doing thriving business
unucr the COuntenanCe OF the agricultural de-
partment. 1t seems that Secretary Rusk
heard of the business, and on investigating 1t,
found that the enterprising butcher was
slaughtertng diseased horses. He notified the
man that this could not go on, and that he
could kill none but healthy animals, and to
enforce the order an inspector was stationed
at the abattoir. To this the butcher did not
object, saying that the government tag on his
meat made it so much more salable that he
could well afford to buy sound horses instead
OF sick. ones. When Secretary Morton dis
covered the business, he ordered IL suspended
at once. The man went to Washington to
plead his case, but in vain Said Secretary
Norton The Mckinley tariff levies a duty
OF $50 head on horses, but let's bologna
sausageS in free. l never knew before in
whose interest those features of our economic
policy We're adopted 1 suppose Maj. Nc
Kinley had in mind the protection of your in
FAINT industry when he framed his bill"
Why do people shudder when dog bowls
near house where lies a sick person? Why
is the breaking of mirror supposed to
pOrtend death or bad luck? Why should touch
ing the hump of a hunchback bring fortune?
Why do people indulge in these and all other
kinds of SuperstitiOns? The answers to these
questions prOpounded by the New York Tele-
gram, are generally shrugs of the shoulders,
and frequently these very shoulder shrug-
gers are the most supersttious of mankind.
rev people indeed have any Idea that when
they indulge in superstition they are perform
ing the rite of o religion which dates back to
many years before the advent of the Christian
popular superstitiOns of the day are older
than our religion and orr customs. In the
darkest days of ancient history SupeTStitiOnS
took their rise in the shape of RELIGIOUS be
lefS. The seed was sown not in one place but
wherever man existed for the same super
StttiOnS tiouriShed In various parts of the
world among nations who had no communi-
CaOOn with each other. They were handed
down from generation to generation, fire.
quently rCmOdeled to suit the eXiEencies of the
times so that the person who to-day seeks the
Fl On al o1Fr No ri-1,-
only following in footsteps made hundreds of
years ago.
Did you ever see full moon? asks a writer
in the st. Louis Republic. know what your
answer Will he without waiting for it. It is
this: Yes, once every month since 1 have
been old enough to pay attention to such Ohe-
nomena. YET take the position that you
are badly mistaken. and that in all probabil-
ity you have never in your life heheld the full
face of our ''Silvery sister world I}v Wav of
solution let Us see what il takes to constitute
full InOOn in the exact sense of the term:
tuli moon occurs only when our ObSaquiOuS
attendant is $50 degrees OF longitude from the
sun, Ola sol and the earth being on the
ecliptt But the moon S orbit is inclined to
the ecl1ptlC at an anglo of 50 g A.. and is
therefore, never on the ecHptic except when
at its modes or crossings. his being the
case, what we call the circular disk Of the
moon full noon lacks considerable of being
an exact circle being what astronomers term
in a state of gibbOsity," and is never a Der-
feet disk except when "a full moon happens
exactly at the time when Luna is crossing the
ecliptic at which time she must necessarily
be centrally eclipted. One of our best present
day astronomers. In concluding an article of
much merit on the same subject saws: we
therefore conclude that real fun moon one
having perfect circle, has rarely, if ever.
been seen"
The people of what was formerly the Island
Of 1orca. Indian ocean. once had a foretaste
of what the orthodox believe the end of the
world Will be like. Up to June A. 1893, the
island was thicllly populated. according to
the st. Louis Republic and in a high state of
cultivation, Early that morning the volcano,
which had long been recognized as the stand
ing menace to the island. began to rumble in
an alarming manner. and to throw out more
fire and lava than was usual. This continued
to increase for several DAYS, till at last the
whole mountain ridge, which extended across
the western portion of the island appeared as
a solid sheet OF fire, gradually sinking into
the earth, -Four days after the sinking Of the
mountain was first observed the entire ridge
had disappeared, leaving gigantic lake of
boiling lava in its stead. This lake began
leys and cultivated portions of the
island, and quickly consumed the
whole western portion. Hundreds of people
fed in boats to Amboy during the early part
of July and others to a village on the east
coast, Hilso, the largest town on the island
having been destroyed during the early DAYS
of the eruption On July IL all that portion
of TorCa west OF Caraca creek (the onIv
stream on the island) had entirely disap-
peared, restless lake of billowy flames roll
ing over what had but few weeks before been
fertile fields. On July 49, 1898, when it was
apparent, even to the most stoutheaTted that
the whole island was doomed, the remaining
islanders were hurried onto some ships sent
from Amboy for the purpose. They were
none too soon Before the vessels had gotten
out of sight tract of land ten leagues in ex-
tent plunged into the fiery lake with prodi-
glous noise. Ten days later the entire island
had been devoured by the resistless element
which n "a eli,