The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The superstition with reference TO mar
rying in the month Of May is Of ancient
origin. the Romans having had a proverb
10 that effect In the selection OF marriage
days these people were very particular.
and the day was chosen with great care.
for all Of May. the early days OF March.
and OF June. and the kalends and Ides
ana Nones OF every month were regarded
as unsuitable days for the ceremony
On the summit Of a hill in Central Pot
ter county. Pennsylvania, are four springs
near together In one Of these springs the
Allegheny river has its source. Another
is the fountain head of the Genesee river.
In the third the Snnemahoning branch Of
The SCsquehanna rises and flows west and
south TO the main stream The fourth
spring sends forth the Pine creek branch
OF the SuSquehanna river, which flows
east and south TO the main stream Thus
waters starting on a Northern Pennsyl-
vania hill. within a stones throw of one
another, separate at last so widely that
those from one spring have their outlet
in the Gulf Of Mexico, those from another
mingle with the tide in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, while those from the other
two unite again in the Chesapeake bay.
The tamest hunting in the world is
sloth hunting. in comparison with which
the pursuit of orchids is quite exciting,
and undertaking is wild and danger
Gus sport, says a writer in St. Nicholas.
But have done my turn at it. neverthe-
less Once, on the mighty Essequibo riv-
er, in British Guiana, l took a native
companion, gun, an ak, and leaky
canoe. and set forth to round up a lot
of chestnut-headed sloths. We padded
about thirty miles that day. and picked
eight slOths. They were found by pad
ding along the shore, and watching the
tree-tops for things that looked like big
gray spiders. Sometimes we found our
sloth "spread-eagled" on the outer
branches of a tree; others would be hang
ing upside down, but always eating.
They eat so slowly that before one meal
&c fas for sIa u
the gun would bring them down. but
sometimes it was not necessary. Two
were taken alive by Paulie. who climbed
up and plucked them like so much fruit,
and twice we had to cut down trees.
In the western part of North Carolina
is a perfectly organized republic, indie
pendent of both state and national gov
ernments. 1t is known as the Qualla Re
serve, and is the home of about 1000
of the Cherokee Indians belonging to the
area of 5000 acres, or eighty-two square
miles, of the richest valley land of the
state, lying along the Ocona, Lufta and
SocO creeks. The president of the little
republic is elected every four years. He
receives a salary of $500 year, but when
at Washington on business for the re-
public he gets 81 day extra. He is called
chief, but none but a Cherokee of
more than 80 years is eligible to the chief
tainship. When he is absent his duties
are performed by an assistant chief,
whose salary is $3.50 a year. The chief
has a cabinet of three secretaries, and
the congress comprises two delegates
from every 100 members of the tribe. All
Cherokee males of sixteen and all white
men who have Indian wives have the
right to vote. The constitution provides
for the maintenance of a public school,
in which both English and Cherokee are
taught. The inhabitants of the reserve
are intelligent, fairly well educated, law
abiding and Industrious
The longest distance that a shot has
been fired is a few yards over fifteen
miles, which was the range of Krupp's
firing a shot weighing $500 pounds. The
Hilton Armstrong gun has an extreme
range OF fourteen miles, firing a shot
weighing 1,SO0 pounds and requiring $50
pounds of powder. These guns, however,
proved too expensive, being unable to
stand firing hundred times, and their
manufacture has practically been aban-
doned. The 22-ton Armstrong gun hurls
solid shot for a distance of twelve
miles, and the discharge of the gun can
not be heard at the place where the hall
strikes. From twelve to thirteen miles
is the computed range of the most pow
erful guns now made, and to obtain that
range an elevation of nearly IS degrees is
round 10 be necessary. Quick-firing guns
are more depended upon at the present
day than extreme length of range, and
in this respect what is considered the
most wonderful of guns. perhaps, is one
OF the MaXims, which can fire as many as
600 SHOTS minute, and yet so light that
a SOluler can carry II strapped to his
back. Financially regarded, the immense
sum of $l95,000 was expended in con-
structing the monster Krupp gun, and
each projectile cost $3.50.
AN irrigation company, with a novel
plan for getting water, has been formed
in Salt Lake." said James H. Bacon, pres
ident of the Bank of Salt Lake, while
at the Holland house yesterday to a
New York Sun man. Some bright fell
low who knew that the soil at the foot
of the mountains in what is known as
the West Mountain or Bingham mining
district was as rich as the best of Utah
desert lands, learned also that the miners
up in the mountains had to keep pumps
running to prevent the lower levels from
becoming flooded with water So he
said: "Why not take water that is a
nuisance in the mines and put it where
it Will do some good? Capitalists were
found to carry out a combined drainage
been started that it will take about a
years labor to complete. They propose
to drain the Dalton and Lark mines to
the 1000 foot level for a small ROYALTY
and to turn the water loose over 1000
acres of land which they have acquired
The land is worthless without water
but if there is enough water in the
the land will become worth 500 an acre
1t is certain that this tunnel scheme for
getting water might be probably an
piled in a hundred places on the desert
| where 1t never has been considered at
ALL
"A writer in the San Francisco Call is
| authority for the statement that if dried
| olives possess all the qualities claimed by
1 E