The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-19
SOLDIERS PICTURES.
A Great Many Remaining in the Dea
Letter Office Since War Times.

A Great Many Remaining in the Dead
Letter Office Since War Times.
AS is we'll known, all articles of i'll
terest that pass into the Dead Letter
Office and remain unclaimed are placed
in small museum, which. in the course
of time. has grown into one of the most
unique and interesting collections in the
possession of the government, ranging
from remnants of the books kept by
Benjamin Franklin. who was the first
postmaster Of the United States, to such
touching mementos as Il human ear, liz
ards and scorpions. a great number of
photographs of men who served in the
Union army while the war was i'll prog
ress passed through the mails and went
TO the Dead Letter Office. In time the
number amounted to hundreds. and !,
special album was made in which these
pictures We're placed. 1t still happens
frequently that visitors to the dead let
ser museum, i'll turning the pages of the
tiyps or friends of whom there is hardly
ally other me1nehto in existence. Many
Of these photographs were taken by field
photographers i'll camp. Soldiers ell
closed, the1n i'll envelopes to send to their
sweetheafts Or wives at home, but were
killed before they had opportun to
forward them. or as happened in many
cases, without having addressed them
Many others miscarried through the ir.
regularity of the field post, and huh
drcds. as stated. found their way ia
in the manner described. The albt.n1
shows signs of finger marks and wear
and many of the spaces are now vacant
marking the place where some curious
sightseer happened to find familiar
face. perhaps someone very dear and
close to the accidental visitor. These
pictures are cheerfully surrendered by
the Dead Letter Office to anyone having
a claim. sentimental or otherwise to
them. and quite frequently some pathetic
Incidents have been developed through
the medium Of the album.-Washington
Post:
Bees and Big Snakes in Georgia.
Five nien went out to cut two bee trees
about four miles from Windermere, thai
one of the party lad found the day be-
fore. After cutting one tree and taking
twenty-seven pounds of honey, q gum
was placed i'll position and the queen bee
caught and placed in the gum. The
party left for the other tree, Il distance
of half a mile. On returning to get the
bees, Il little dog that was with them
began to bark. On going to see what it
meant, Il huge gopher snake, 3 feet IL
inches long and 2Oh inches in crcum-
ference, was found, and in his mouth 4
rattlesnake about feet long with & rat
ties and q button. The large snake had
the RATHER about half swallowed when
found. 4 large humber of bee trees have
About thirty -seyeh have been cut since
the LIST of March. and about $50 pounds
OF honey has been, secured. Two trees
cut last week Melted tiiotc than 60 pounds
of honey.-Savannah (Ga.J News.
Close Figuring in Kansas.
1t is said that il man who won't buy d
paper because he can borrow one has in
vented Il machine by which he can cook
his dinner by the smoke of his neighbor's
chimney. This same fellow sits in the
back pew at church to save interest OH
contributions, and is always borrowing
ON his own horseflesh. Yes, you know
him. He's a first cousin to the man who
never winds UP his watch for fear of
breaking the spring. He undoubtedly
was a near relative of the man who
went into the back yard during the
recent cold snap, soaked his hair in
water, let it freeze and then broke it off
i'll order to cheat the barber out of II
haircut.-Topeka Daily Capital.
SchoolrOOm Tools.
Sixty years ago Joseph elliott was a
working jeweler in Birmingham. One
day he accidentally split one of his fine
steel tools and being suddenly required
to sign a receipt and not finding a quill
pen ut hand he used the split tool as a
substitute. This happy accident led to
the idea of making pens of metal. 1t
was carried out in secret and now the
~%& &c n0,
pen you use.
India rubber used for erasing pencil
marks was known in England as early
as ITO. A cube of it one-half inch
square cost IS.
Killed by Lifting a Valisc.
Mr.. Budlong, u clerk at the Hotel
Bloomfield. at Mount Sterling, grabbed
up small grip, which, from its size,
appeared to weigh but few pounds.
But it was the property Of Il travelling
was filled with type: The man strained
his shoulder when he undertook to lift
the light valise, not expecting Il heavy
weight. His shoulder and side became
intlamed and few days later he died,
having also symptoms of pneumonia
Ipava Qll.) independent
Mice Run n Spinning Wheel.
In little sl,oemaker's shop in Third
avenue, New York, there is on exhibition
in the window a miniature thrcad-spin-
h1x