Evening star., 1896-08-22
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS


in Illinois. 1t was just after the war. and
1 was with Van Ambergs Menagerie. We
had an elephant named Hannibal, widely
celebrated as the crazy elephant We
made most of our trips by country roads,
there being few railroad shows in those
days One day, going from Champaign to
Rantoul we crossed a very small stream
of water. Hannibal wanted to drink. and I
let him stop. He drank awhile, then threw
water over himself and drank some more,
thoroughly enjoying himself, when sud-
denly he gave terrible snort and started
on a mad run across the prairie trumpet
ing al every jump, and throwing his trunk
wildly in the air. He stood back on his
launches. then he rolled over. Then We
caught up to him, and j thought the
trouble was in his trunk from his actions.
An investigation showed small-sized eel,
which we removed, and the big animal
trembled in every nerve when he saw the
eel. l concluded to take the reptile along.
and for months, when / wanted to subdue
Hannibal all l had to do was TO show him
the eel"
"On Whitney creek in California, at a
height OF 10000 feet above sea level are
found the only golden trout 1 ever heard
Of" said b. w. Nicholson of Pasadena, at
the Shoreham. These fish run from six
TO ten inches in length. and are Of bright
golden color. fecked with grayish purple.
the tails being creamy white. marked
with regular grayish-purple dots. They
show all Of the characteristics OF the ordi-
nary mountain trout and taste like them.
Whether or not they grow large as the
speckled trout, do not know. The stream
they were discovered in is shallow, and the
largest yet caught weighed only twenty
ounces. but 1t gave as much trouble before
II was landed as any three-pounder ever
caught At the place where they are found
the air Is so cold that water freezes the
warmest night Of the year. which may or
may not have something to do with the
peculiar color of the fish,"
Il don't believe the stories told about the
natives in Africa and Australia riding os-
triches.' said l.. P. Haney Of Norwich,
Cal. at the Metropolitan. Americans are
the best riders on earth, but they cannot
ride ostriches. I saw this pretty thorough
ly tried on one occasion. cowboy who
had vanquished every pony he ever under
took to break in was induced to try an os-
trch. After an hours hard work he sue
ceeded in mounting the bird. which at first
tried to shake him off, then to get away by
running, but these tactics, of course. had
no effect upon the cowboy. Then. in spite
Of all the man could do. the ostrich sue
ceeded in getting its head around and seiZ-
ing the man by one leg. He doubled his
feet under him, and the ostrich reached
over his wings and got good hold of his
back, throwing him heavily to the ground
and tramping on him. 1t took three of
to chase the infuriated ostrich away. and
We accomplished it barely in time to save
the mans life. 1 don't believe the native
Australians ride ostriches."
There are some men who have what
might be termed composite faces" said T.
b. Sweet of Chicago, at Wizards. Il am
one of these unfortunate beings i never
saw but two men whom / thought 1 re-
sembled, and yet / am constantly taken for
some one else / never go into a hotel but
1 meet some ore who shakes hands heartily
and asks after my family. when 1 have no
family. On the street l am stopped and
asked IL my name is not Smith or Jones or
Brown. l am stared at on railroad trains
and street cars, the starerS usually apollo
giZing by saying: Excuse me; at first took
YOU for friend Of mine 1t is positively
painful. Sometimes l meet the men l am
mistaken for, and 1 certainly do look like
them, and yet no two of them resemble each
other The likeness between me and a
friend of mine in St. Paul is positively start
ling. while that between me and a friend in
Buffalo is equally so. and yet those two men
are very different in appearance. believe
have composite face that resembles null
titude of men,.
Il had often read of the wonderful clear
ness of the waters Of Lake Superior" said
f. F.. Lane Of Hannibal, Mo-, at the Coch-
ran, but l never realized II until saw 1.
about three weeks ago. / was at Mar
quette and took sail on the lake, going
about forty miles. AS we neared the shore,
the bottom Of the lake was SO attractive
with its white sand that felt like wading
in to shore. The water appeared to be
about two feet deep l took off my shoes
and stockings rolled my trousers up to my
knees, and slid into the water. In a mo-
ment 1 was completely submerged. and it
was SO unexpected that l did not close my
mouth, and swallowed enough Of the liquid
to render me powerless to swim. l was
conscious when they pulled into the
boat, and when they revived me and told
me the water was eight feet deep where l
stepped off, 1 realized the deceptiveness of
clear lake with a white-sand bottom"
Il saw in a newspaper Some time ago
an account Of a person cured Of stam-
mering.'' said Will +. Hanlon Of Delphos
Ont, at the National. The item stated
that this person had been cured by singing
his words. The writer said that no one
stamEnered when singing, which Is true,
ard by cultivating the habit for time of
chanting or singing what was desired to
be said. stan,merer could soon be cured.
l have brother who has always been af-
ffcted with a stammering tongue. and
gave him the clipping. 1t took him several
weeks to learn to sing his words, but in the
course Of q few weeks he did so nicely. At
the end OF six months he thought he was
cured. but when he tried to talk without
singing he stammered worse than he did
before. He had become used to sing
ing his words to tune peculi arly his own
Since that time he has never even tried
to stop singing, and between stammering
and constantly singing L would prefer the
former. l am watching the papers careful
ly now for cure for the singing habit"
The southern moss is rapidly disap-
pearing," said u. P. Tribeaux of Donald
sonville, La, at the St. James. "A few
years ago all of the trees in the south had
hanging to their branches great wisps of
gray moss. 1t grew independently Of the
tree to which it was attached and with
out harming it. It was not used for any,
thing. and was not supposed to possess
any value. Within the past ten years 1t
has been used extensively for packing
and by upholstering establishments The
demand has lately SO increased that thou
sands Of poor people In Louisiana, Missis-
sippi and Alabama make their living pick
ing it Off the trees. and it forms a very
important branch of business in New Or
leans. 1t Is most plentiful along the
bayous and in the swamps. and the moss
pickers. with their flat-bottomed boats are
among the most picturesque sights of the
south now"