The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1893-04-22
Coy. SInnhcnS9 Doc.

The late Alexander II. Stephens was
fond of young animals, and always had
several dogs about him, whom he treat
ed as ii they were almost human. Mr..
Culver, his private secretary, thus
speaks Of the great Georgian's love for
his pet dogs:
lie treated them as almost human,
and [ think he considered them nearly
So He would talk to thm and pet
them. They slept at night either IN
his I ON or on the outside Of the door.
At Liberty Hall the doors were never
closed at night and any one might have
gone through tie house were it not for
the dogs.
They slept in the library, and Alex
mder Stephens always occupied the
chamber which ,p ,ned into this. \
step on the porch y ould raise terrible
lowing, and it would have been indeed
dangerous for any robber to have en-
tired over such a guard.
There is one dog who deserves to be
known in history, and that is Mr.
Stephens old poodle, Rio.
He was for Yeas Mr.. Stephens con
slant companion. He loved him as an
intimate friend, and when hc died he
shed tears over his grave
Rio was remarkable dog. lie could
reason more than any animal | have
ever known. | remember at Liberty
Hall we would be talking about some
thing going wrong on the place, and Rio
would rise and 90 to the spot spoken OF
by Us.
He seemed to understand language,
and his face was very much like that OF
a human. He was big, fat poodle,
with wool as white rs snow, as heavy
as that OF a sheep, and as soft as silk
He had high forehead, and bright,
black eyes. He grew blind several
years before he died, and Mr.. Stephens
took as much care of him as he would
had lie been his own flesh and blood.
When he died. he put him in a wood
en- coffin and buried him in the garden.
He had intended to have erected Il mar
bic slab over his grave, but this was put
off and finally neglected
He never cast OF any Of his dogs in
their old age, and Troup, Pluck, Frank
and half-a-doZen others Of his pets were
cared for through their declining years
Of seuility and decrepitude.
When heavy rains are prevalent,
patches Of fine white powder like hoar
frost may be noticed on the surface Of
brick walls. DR.. Joseph Leidy, Presi-
don't Of the Academy of Natural
Sciences, says that the effiorescence is
simply ordinary EPSON salts" He al
50 states that a dark fungus that is
found on mortar in damp places is sui
phate Of potash. and he has discovered
that a fine article Of bromide of some
thing or other OoZes out of a tin roo
in hot weather.
Natural science is a wonderful thinRl
v no would have thought that a brick
Is only another form Of dose of salts,
or that there Is enough sulphate of pot
ash IN an old chimney to physic s whols
community.
Ii DR.. Joseph Leidv goes on with
his Investigations he may find that
castor oil Is the natural sap of an iron
gate, CT that the perspiration of q
shiugle roof is the article known to
. commerce as kidney-wort. Then the
doctor can publish lis discoveries in a
book under the title OF Every Man
His Own Druggist, and the house
4N'I''cl " ii' HAS - copy "pi ever again
have to 80 down town in the middle OF
the night and wake up sleepy drug
clerk, who IS liable to poison him with
the wrong medicine. All he will have
70 DO viii be 10 prv brick ont of the
chimney and gnaw the corner of If at
his leisure. and thea he can fill up his
whole inside with materia medica with
ont expense by simply chewing a
single, sucking an iron gate post. and
digesting section Of the tin gutter
from the roof. This age is great in dis
/ covelies, and DR.. Leidy is a great dis
coverer. We won't be surprised to
hear Of him finding some valuable gar
! gle exuding from a door mat, healing
poultice percolating out of an old hair
mattress, or = liver pad leaking out Of
al eight-day clock. Teas Strings.