St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-11-18

gia. 1t seems that the negro was walk
ing IN the woods, when he heard
| Kissing sound near him. Thinking that
he was about to be bitten by a rattle
snake, and not knowing which way to
turn, he climbed an oak tree. When he
had reached a place Of safety on one of
the lofticst limbs he looked down a d. to
his horror, behold ten or q dozen largo
rattlesnakes at the base of the tree.
srrlnging their rattles and preparing for
deadly combat. Mortified, he witnessed
the battle, which ragged long and fur
i"usy, until at length four snakes Law
dead, while the rest crawled away. The
negro then slid down from the tree and
took to his heels, leaving the dead snakes
where they were.
IN Siam, whom there is a question ct
law between two parties, and 4 scarcity
Of witnesses to establish the truth in tho
case, it is customary to resort to the
water test. Both parties are required to
dive simultaneously into deep water, and
the one that stays the longest under is
adjudged the truth teller, and gets the
verdict. 1t is said that there is mer-
chant in Bangkok who is fond Of liti-
CATION, but is rather too old to undergo
the water test successfully, to say nothing
Of the fact that ne can not swim stroke.
He was SO frequently worstcd in the
courts that he took his son and placed
him under the tuition of the most expert
swimmer ard diver in the Kingdom. II
due course the young man became eX-
ceedingly adept, and was then made
member Of the firm. Now whenever there
is a case to be tried this young fellow is
the representative of the house The firm
often leaves the court dripping with
water but always "witEout stain on his
THE skill Of the Esquimau dog drivers
with the whips, by which they control
their unruly teams, is said to be some
tcing marvellous. The whip consists CT
a rawhide lash about forty feet long,
fastened to handle not over six inches
in length. A contest was arranged |
among them in the presence of an OK |
plorcr. A nickel was the prize. 1t was |
buried IN the ground with just enough of |
the edge showing to allow it to be seen. |
The contestants stood in line the
cngth of their whips away from it and
about eight feet apart. The most expert
Whip was little man not more than four
:ect high, vi b slanting eyes and spiky
little beard that made him look very
Japanese. Assmovcment,of his wrist sent
he forty feet of lash curvinS back in
straight line like a long snake. Another
movement and it came forward, noise
cssly, shooting through the air just
bcVe the surface of the ground, until,
With loud report. the tip end Of the
ash struck the exact spot where the coin
ay buried, dug it from the ground and
brought it spinning back to the Esqui-
nau artist. Such precision and such
orCc are certainly unknown to any other
Whips in the world. One of these fell
Ows could cut a man to pieces with his
'hip, if he had occasion to.
AMONG the attractions of the little vii
age of Quiambaug, in Connecticut, are
We rocking stones. Quiambaug is part
f the township of Stonington. Mr..
David A. Wells has published paper on
ne ''crratic bouldcrs' in that part of
lew London County, and he attributes
leir origin to a great glacier that had
s terminal morainc first in Long Island
0und and later at the mouth Of the
names. lie thinks that the glacier de-
os!tcd great quantity of rocks in the
ound and on the Connecticut shore.
iSher's Island is buttressed with these
oul,Iers, and they have been found
HIM 'rged in the waters of the Sound
on, the coat. The New London Day
KS of the rocking or balancing stones
Quianbaug: "There is no doubt that
icy are as excellent examples of the
aclal period as can be found anywhere
hey vary in size from stone weighing
'out three 1ors on the lands of Miss
amy }. MorcdocS, TO one weighing
rty tons on the farm occupied by
smes Lord. Another stone is found on
e lands of Elias Davis and two on the
rm Of Ambrose Miner. Perhaps the
st specimen of the whole lot is the
chiag stone on the land Of Miss More
'ck. 1t is about four feet long, two
ct wide, and three feet high, and it os-
iatcs about five inches, and can be
ckcd by the pressure of two fingers.
sits on a sloping ledge, and it looks as
it could be easily rolled off and down
e hill, but the combined strength of
lf-a-dozen men could not move it out
its place.