The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-22
ITEMS oF INTEREST.

sion 10 water, ana II IS dlmcult 10 reconcile
such different traits even after the lapse of
thousands OF years.
Following the recent continued rains and
heavy frosts in New Mexico, thousands Of
dead fish, weighing from ten to forty pounds
each, hOated down the PeCOs river, in Chayls
ana Eddy counties. literally drowned by the
muddy water. which perhaps had become
more oil nOxious through gaining some poison
Gus element from the wide country so sud
denly drained The fish indigenous to the
lower Pecos are Goldfish and mullet but black
pass abound in the clear, cool streams ana
pools OF the mountainous region hundred
miles to the east Many of the latter fish
were carried down to the Pecos river during
the high water, to be left on its subsistence in
overflow pools along the banks. affordtng
great sport to local fishermen. More than
luz large black bass were taken in these I'M
promptu fish ponds in the vicinity of the town
of Eddy.
An experimental boring $500 feet deep was
recently made in Witwatersrand gold field,
says South Africa with view
to testing the lay of the aurif
erouS deposits. The result was of the most
satisfactory character and the strike has
led to calculations of the hidden wealth OF
these helds, and possibly the following by Mr..
Scott Alexander may be interesting as show
ing the rich possibilities of the future Cir
conference of basin, 400 miles; diameter l7
miles area, 12,5 $50 square miles or 800, 7l0.272,
900 square feet Taking average thickness Of
S series of blanket beds at feet, equal to 48
feet equals 1884 093 056. 600 cubic feet of reef
or at Is cubic feet to the ton 1881 ABB 100 900
tons. At 30s- per ton very low, value OF gold
equal to FL SIS, 1886 224 900, trtlltOn five
hundred and seventy eight billions one
hundred and ninety-six millions two hundred
and twenty-tour thousand pounds sterling.
Taking the population of Witwatersrand at
10000 souls each ESQ, 4549O5 12s. Cd.
A fierce battle for life between large
spider and wasp was witnessed by IL
teenth ward man in his garden one day last
week, says the Philadelphia Record. The
spider had spread his web in corner OF the
fence, and was patiently waiting for some
thing to turn up. Suddenlya wasp few into
the web, He was firmly caught, but his deS-
perate efforts to escape tore several holes in
the flimsy net work about him Here the
spider rushed out, and rapidly began to re-
pair the breaks. The wasp fought harder
still, and seemed to be trying to get chance
wasp lay perfectly still, as If dead The
spider rushed out and seized the body Of his
victim. The wasp, who had apparently been
playing 'pOssum. suddenly became very much
alive and in fash. spider and wasp were
clasped in a death-lock. There was short,
fierce struggle, and both insects fell from the
dilapidated web to the ground They lay
there quite still and the interested spectator,
STOPPING over them, found that both were
dead.
The scientific construction of great bridges
in Great Britain has been studied with much
diligence from earliest times. and has quite
equaled the progress in the other branches of
architecture, says London Tit-Bts The most
ancient bridge in England is the Gothic tri
angular bridge at Coryland, in Lincolnshire,
which Is said to have been built in $50. This
singular structure has three approaches from
as many roads, formed by three segments of
circle which meet in the middle and form
three pointed arches. The longest bridge in
ENGLAND is that over the Trent at Burton in
Stafordsbtre, built in the twelfth century,
of squared freestone 1t consists of thirty
+ ur arches, and is 545 feet in length. The
old bridge at neutrality-suspicious. was
built of stone in 1881, and that over the
Midway, at Rochester, about the
same time. The London bridge was
comp 0Sed originally OF twenty-five arches
and was encum Oered for many years with a
street of houses, which was removed between
l756 and 1908, and the three center arches
were then converted into one of ~ feet span.
The bridge builtOVer the Conway at Lianrwst,
In Denbighshire, by lingo Jones in 1890, may
be olassed among the best OF the English
bridges, although it lies in Wales. 1t con
slstS Of three arches, the largest of which is
SO feet span The road and the parapet are
very low and the approaches steep and the
bridge has an unusually light and airy APP
pearance. Another beautiful and singular
bridge in Wales is also worthy of notit e.
that built In 1746 over the Tan, in GlamOrgan-
shire, by William Edwards an uneducated
country mason Some time after its erection
1t was, unfortunately, carried away by mass
es which the torrent of the RIVER drove against
1t. As the builder had given security for the
dura biltty Of his work for seven years he was
compelled to erect another which he did
with all possible speed. The second bridge
consisted of one arch, for the purpose of ad-
Knitting freely through IL whatever inCum-
brances the flood might bring down The arch
was completed, but before the bridge had re
ceived the parapetS the weight pressed in the
launches. raised up the crown and laid the
fine arch in ruins in l751. At the third at
tempt the bridge was completed and has
since calamity withstood the test of time and
flood.
The ladies' corset against which crusade
has for some years been going on, is by no
means of modern date. writer in Women
says a slender figure was admired even in
the days Of Greeks and Romans. Several
means were then tried to restrain an expand
ing figure and to enhance the beauties OF
slight one. BandageS were worn. and when
they failed those who valued the beauty of
their figure envelOped the upper part of the
ody with garlands of ivy, which were thrown
on the fire as soon as withdrawn and then
the upper part OF the figure was rubbed over
with goose fat mixed with warm milk or |
with the egg of partridge AS Europe !
emerged from barbaism into a state of semi |
civilization the women began to compress |
their 70 wastes with a very tight bob
Ice of linen next to the skin. Neither whale
bone, wood, nor steel was, however. EMPLOYED |
at that time. With the advent of Catherine |
de Medtci, new era dawned. She intro |
duced the real whalebOned bodice with a |
strong busk in front, and her example was |
soon initiated by all Europe. Waist compres |
sion increased in spite Of the protests Of kings |
and emperOrs and the chief ministers and |
mobiles OF the land. Never since armor had |
been invented had any sitter framework for
the human hady been devised. The deep |
pointed bodice was as stiff and hard as com |
bined wire, whalebOne, and steel would make
it; and, to add to the discomforts which fash
ion dictated, the neck was likewise supported
by ruff not only formed upon an elaborate
OF metal and thick wires but
stiffened by the newly discovered devils
liquor Thus machine which
had begun innocently enough as a tight
fitting linen bodice, was gradually
deve Hoped by the addition OF busks
Of wood, ivory, and whalebone, and of sheets
and strips Of steel, until a veritable arnor
like encaSlng resulted. These stiff whale
boned Corsets were prominent features of the
restoration fashions and of the Vatican
period; but the revolution at the end of the |
eighteenth century, which shook not only ]
France but all Europe had an equally sub
versive eject upon corsets. They disap- |
peared completely, and the corsetus as
Catherine de Medici introduced it, has never
reappeared. Toward the end Of the reign OF |
the first Napoleon, several Of the leaders of
Partisan fashion tried to revive the Medici
corsetS, but they never succeeded in copouer-
ing the strong opposition. Women however
began to wear stiff bodices again, and inst as
the waist was gradually regainng its natural
position, compression once more became the
order OF the day, and the corset with which
we are now familiar was invented.