Democratic messenger., 1893-09-02
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.

EVERYDAY LIFE.
Queer Facts aud Thrilling Adven-
lures Which Show That Truth Is
Stranger Than Fiction.
THE wife of lrmberman named Will
hanson few days ago had a novel and
terrifying experience with "A rattlesnake.
The Williamsons live near Lake Charles,
La, in small cabin on Lake Calcasieu.
Mrs. Williamson had left her six months
old baby asleep in its cradle, near the
open door. and was going about her
household business. when she happened
to approach tho little bed to look at her
child, and to her horror saw line of
mottlcd green and black nestled close to
the form of the peacefully sleeping little
one The ugly head was raised aud rest
| ing on the child's arm with its eyes keep
ing drowsy watch over it. The mother
sank, nearly fainting, on the floor, but
with parents bravery realized that the
snake must be dislodged at any cost to
herself, as at the first or slightest move
ment of the babe the cruel fangs might
be buried in its flesh. 1t was necessary
also to act with speed, so arming herself
with pistol belonging to her husband.
she bent over the cradle, and with one
rapid gesture laid hold of the snake by
the end Of IFS tail and Ms suddenly gave
it a jerk which landed it on the floor.
The creature made at her with uplifted
head, sounding its dreadful rattle as it
coilcd close to her feet But. aiming
steadily, she put ball through its body,
aud although it again tried to attack
her, she fired again and again, and sue
cecded in killing it. As it died it flung
itself upon her foot and struck the shoe
with its fangs, but it was only the death
agony, and the blow served only to en-
tanslc it in the tic of,thc shoe, to which
it was still clinging when her husband
reached her, having heard the shots and
run to her assistance.
IKE FRAZIER and Luke Wilmurt were
fishing in Indian River saltwater at Sea
berry Settlement. \. Y, when they saw
n hawk lowering over the foot
of the saltwater, but they paid little
attention to it till they heard it scream
in anger. Looking down stream they
saw the hawk with feathers rutlied and
bill open, about to spring on a mink that
crouched near a big birch root with its
white teeth showing and black eyes
glistcning. Between the bird and beast
was trout of perhaps pound weight.
Which of the two caught it the men did
not know. but when picked up twenty
minutes later eight punctures in the back
led them to believe the hawk had pounced
upon it and carried it to the river bank
with the intention of eating it; but the
mink, happening along just then, had
attempted to take il from the hawk.
However this may be, the two were evil
IDENTIFY about to have fight; SO the men
stopped fishing to watch them. Sudden
ly the hawk, with wings Hopping, ran
along the sand and nade vicious dive at
the mink with its head, but missed it.
Then the mink snapped AT the hawk and
caught its skin aud made the hawk
scream. A rough and tumble tussle that
lasted for ten minutes followed, when the
hawk with one of its talons gave the
mink rake in the side that sent it to "a
hole in the bank near by. The hawk
rose in the air and flew down the river,
leaving the trout where it lay. \ dead
mink was found the next day about a
mile below the saltwater with its side
torn open AMI one eye rakcd out. The
fishermen think they saw it get its death
blow, but do not know how the beast
happened to come out OF its hole to die.
A New HoPE pa. correspondent in
the Philadelphia Record. says: The dis
covery that German carp drinks milk
has averted what theatcned 10 he whole
sale suits Cor theft. Michael Tiernan for
several months, or ever since the weather
grew warm, has noticed that his blooded
cows returned from their luxuriant pas
lures with full stomachs and empty
udders. There was a suspicion that the
COWS had been MIXED by families who
reside in the neighborhood. This thing
continued and Mr.. Tiernan's dairy pro-
duct reached zero. He watched his
cows, but could not discover the milk
robbers Tuesday he had startling
revelation. He was standing by the
m:llrace, which runs through his farm !;
he saw his favorite cow enjoying herself
in the water, which touched her body.
| After prolonged bath the bovine
emerged from the stream. Clinging to
the cows udder was carp that weighed
about fifteen pounds. 1t had drunk ev-
cry ounce of the cows milk. Mr.. Tier
nan says that the cows have regularly
gone to the millracc to keep cool, and
the fish have as diligently extracted the
milk
4 CURIOUS method was recently used in
Illinois to take the foul air out of we'll.
| The well was to be cleaned. but the man
that took the job was afraid to go down
until he had ascertained the quality of
air at the bottom. lie let down lighted
candle, and when it descended 10 about
six feet of the bottom it went ont as
suddenly as though extinguished by a
whiif of air. That was all he wanted to
know. lie was then sure that the well
had poisonous gas in it, and took a
small umbrella, tied string to the handle
and lowered it open into the well. Hav-
ing let it go nearly to the bottom, he
drew it up, carried it a few feet from
the well and upset it. He repeated this
operation twenty or thirty times with all
the bystanders laughing at him, then
again lowered the light, which burned
clear and bright even at the bottom. He
| then condescended to explain that TIE
gas in the well was carbonic acid gas
which is heavier than air, and therefore
could be brought in an umbrella Just as
though it were so much water. Ii was n
simple trick, yet perfectly effective.
A cunIous piece of contemporary
geology is being worked ont in New .Jer-
sey. The whole coast has been long
sinking, and the process is still going on.
A curious industry is carried on ia the
southern part of the state-the mining
for cedar. Some of these noble trees cx
humcd from their swampy burial exceed
three feet in diameter, with the timber
perfectly sound. The ''lay" of these up
rooted trees, according to the American
Naturalist, indicates The devastation,
probably, of extraordinary cyclones, oc-
curing at immense intervals of time,
thus lcvelling one forest upon another
that had been thrown down long before
The cedars growing there to-day send
their roots among their long buried an