The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-08-06
CURRENT GLEANINGS.


each working eight hours a day, to,
paint the uplifted arm which bears the
torch on the statue of Liberty on Bed
loe's Island. 1t will take three months
to paint the whole statue.
The Abnaki Indians of New Eng
land used to manufacture a kind of
liquor from the tops of fir trees, which,
they boiled and put into casks with
molasses. The contents of the casks
we're allowed to ferment for three days..
The following is gem of weather
lore: When you see the sun drawing
water at night, know that it will rain
on the morrow. The sun is said to be-
drawing water when it's rays can be
seen shining through riffs in distant
clouds.
The Matabele is essentially marry
ing man. His admiration for the dus-
ky beauties of his people is unbounded,.
and in the matter of wives he will go
any length. He will beg, steal, plumber,
kill, nay, even resort to work in order
to obtain the wherewithal necessary to
buy as many as he feels disposed to-
marry.
The range of the human voice is
quite astounding, there being about
nine perfect tones, but 1882, 1856 O44,515
different sounds; thus fourteen direct
muscles, alone or altogether, produce
1888; thirty indirect muscles ditto,
173, TAI 1923, and all in cooperation pro-
duce the number we have named: and
these independently of different de-
grees of intensity.
By actual measurement of fifty skel-
etons the right arm and left leg have
been found to be longer in twenty
three, the left arm and right leg in six,
the limbs on the right longer than those
Oh the left in four, and in the remain
der the inequality of the limbs was
varied. Only seven out of seventy
skeletons measured, or ten per cent.
had limbs of equal length.
A large establishment in New Jersey,
employing three thousand hands, has
started big restaurant near it's mills,
which offers it's operatives food at
nearly cost price, and of good quality.
Heretofore the "help' have been sup
piled with dinners by private caterers,
some of whom are WORKOUT operatives
trying to make living in declining
years. The corporation, selling at it's
prices, drives them out of business.
The survey of the volcano Popocate-
pet], Mexico, for the purpose Of deter
mining the best location for an aerial
cable railway to the summit, has just
been completed. This new railway
will be great attraction to tourists,
who will now be able to make the as
cent to the summit, $4,000 feet above
the sea, and also descend to the crater,
where the process of extracting sui
phur is being carried out.
Observers of tornadoes in this coun--
try agree that peculiar greenish ap
pearance of a portion of the sky inva-
riably precedes the worst of the storm
by fifteen minutes or more. 1t was no.
ticed in St. Louis in the north and west
for more than an hour before the
storm broke. One theory is that the
greenish tint comes from an enormous
mass of water held back from precipi
tation by confusion of air currents.
On the west coast of Africa it is
common thing to see woman climb
ing up gigantic palm tree, with CAL
abash of immense size hung around
her neck. When she has reached the
top branch, she taps the tree, and the
sap begins to flow. Then she hangs
the calabash beneath the stream of sap
and descends. Twelve hours later she
climbs the tree again, and takes down
the calabash, which by that time is full
of palm beer. 1t resembles mead some
what, but small quantity OF 1t stu
pefes the drinker.
George A. Barker, of South Bend, has
in his possession one OF the rarest of
fossil remains, unearthed just over the
state line in Michigan. 1t is the skull
of a mammoth beaver, existing con-
with the mastodon and
In only five other in
stances heretofore have any parts of
mammoth beaver been discovered, and
only one or two skulls, most of the re-
mains being teeth. The skull owned
by Mr.. Barker is 121a inches long,
about six inches wide and five inches
hioh It has the teeth and also the