The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-02-03
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.
lures which Show that Truth is
Stranger Than Fiction.

ger noN WAS returning yer. latt III
night. Directly he opened the door
the cat sprang at him and began to
pull and tear at his trousers with its
claws" Had he been an ordinary
boy zone of whose abominable idiosyn-
~crasies is n hatred OF cats), he would
probably have kicked the cat but rs
n district messenger his mind had
doubtless been expanded. He en-
couraged the animal rather than
otherwise, and when il ran towards
the kitchen door and jumped back
again" he thought, though the
household had long retired, that
something must be up" He en-
tered the kitchen, when 1.-The cat at
once ran behind the stove and
began to scratch at the tire-board,
from which flames and smoke began
to pour out" The house was
aroused, but not till after many pals
Of water had been used was the con-
fagration extinguishcd. But for that
cat the boy would have gone to his
bed and been burnt in it-a fate
that would have befallen two-and-
thirty other people. Ii is no wonder,
and little To their credit, that this
truthful and intelligent creature ''is
now the hero of the neighborhood. -
II was the only living creature that
night i'm the establishment sitting
up" as il were, and looking after
things. The cat, il should be rcmem-
bered, is naturally fond Of fire and
avcrse TO water, which makes its con
duct still more meritorious. A great
deal was lately made Of IA tireman's
dog, which used to accompany en-
gines and escapes but that may have
been from mere love Of excitement /:
he never smelt out IA conflagration for
himself, rs i'm this case.
IL Missouri there is Il snake called
the spread head that plays pos
sum" An observer came across one
and struck it with n small whip. The
snake Immediately elected II toad it
had recently swallowed, then appear
ed To bite itself in the side, promptly
turned on its back and stiflened, but
did not become stretched straight out,
and lay perfectly still. The naturalist
turned him right side up. He was
playing dead so earnestly that he
was not content To lie i'm so life-like n
position, but Immediately turned
himself on his back again. Then the
observer withdrew TO watch develop
ments. In about fifteen minutes the
snake cautiously raised its head and
two or three inches OF his body and
| lanlnI arnttnI In a faNp GnnnnII hn
turned himself over and made of.
The same observer afterward fire.
auently watched these snakes go
through the same pretended suicide.
Sometimes, while playing dead, IL
one be sharply pricked with n needle
or otherwise a~cutcly stimulated, he
will promptly resume his interest in
surrounding things, and either show
fight or try TO escape.
IL Belgium it is the custom to give
certificates Of marriage i'm the form
Of little books with paper cover
These books, which are often pro-
duced i'm the course Of law proceed
ings, and are taken in evidence, are
apt 10 become dirty and dog's-carcd.
The Burgomaster Of Brussels has
therefore hit upon IA ley plan.
H~enceforward Il charge will be made
for the books, which will be neatly
bound i'm morocco and gilt-edged.
They will be something more than
a mere certificate. A sum
mary Of Belgian law on the marriage
state is given in them for the use OF
the young couples, and among "A mass
Of other miscellaneous information,
are directions for the feeding and care
Of infants. There are also places for
entering the names and birthdays Of
the children Of the marriage, the au-
thorities considerably affording
space for twelve such entries. To
poor persons the books will be issued
free Of charge. One OF the Town
Councillors was i'm favor OF adding
! directions for obtaining a divorce, but
his suggestion a not adopted.
WHILE crossing the ridge between
Green Run and Rattlesnake Greek, in
the southern part Of Lackawanna
County, Penn, a few days ago, Gay
lord q. Crippen Of Spring Brook town.
ship saw a pure white hare squatting
in a hollow as though il was asleep,
lie was about TO toss "A stone toward
the timid animal TO see il scoot, when
two wildcats sprang out Of the brush
from opposite directions and bounced
upon the hare at fhe same instant.
They killed il i'm a twinkling, and
then began 10 fight for the possession
Of it.. The hair and blood flew, and
in the rough and tumble battle the
fierce animals worked away from the
hare several feet, when n fox stole
out Of the brush, seized the hare i'm
the middle and trotted of with it..
One Of the wildcats finally licked the
other and sent it whining into the
bushes. Then IL turned and began
10 sniff for the hare, and while IL was
doing 50 Mr.. Crippen hurled a stone
at il and IL went limping away with a