The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-16
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


has been reached by French expedition
in three weeks from the Niger for the Sec
ond time. This establishes the advantage
of the route by way Of Fula-Djalon, and
surveys for the road are being FASTENED.
John simmins of Bradford. Pa, has
a side hill berry patch which is famous.
He presented the Argus of that town, the
other day, with a basket Of STRAWBERRIES
which were as big as hens eggs Twenty
five filled the box, and the largest one
measured IL inches in circumference.
AT only one place on the globe has it
been possible as yet for the meteorologist
to make long time forecasts meriting the
title Of predictions, says Harper Month
~. This is in the middle Gauges valley
of Northern India. In this country the
climatic conditions are largely dependent
upon the periodical winds called mon
soons, which blow steadily landward from
April to October, and seward from Oc-
tober to April The summer monsoons
bring the all-essential rains; if they are
delayed or restricted in extent, there will
be drought and consequent fam.n And
such res friction of the monsoon Is likely
to result when there has been an unusu-
ally deep or very late snowfall on the
Himalayas, because of the lowering of the
spring temperature by the melting snow.
snowfall in the mountains. to predict with
some measure of success the average
rainfall of the following summer The
drought of 1896, with the consequent fam
inc and plague that devastated India last
winter, was thus predicted some months
in advance. This is the greatest present
triumph of practical meteorology. Moth
ing like it is yet possible anywhere in
temperate zones. But no one can say
what may be possible in times to come,
when the data now being gathered all
over the world shall at last be co-ordinat-
ed, classified and made the basis of broad
inductons. Meteorology is pre-eminently
a science of the future.
John H. Price, miner, of Phillipsburg,
Mont, sheds his entire skin every year,
says a dispatch to the New York Herald
He has twice come TO Chicago to be at
tended by physicians, but this year he will
go to Butte, Mont, where he will undergo
the process, which occurs regularly on
July "A. Among the specimens in st. Elz-
abeth's hospital. this city, is Mr.. Prices
skin Of last year, which, removed in sec
tons, was put together and stuffed. For
the two weeks in which he was enduring
the Illness peculiar to reptiles and birds
in shedding or moulting time he was under
the observation of Drs j. Frank Near
thur Beran and others. Price underwent
in the same institution the same exper-
fence in 1890, and in the last thirty-two
years he has annually exchanged his old
skin for a brand new one. He is now forty
years old. From a scientific standpoint
Prices case is most interesting" said DR..
Frank. 1T furnishes link of testimony in
Darwin's theory of evolution. No other
explanation is possible In the medical
records of two thousand years the case
has no parallel. Price becomes i'll every
year with unfailing regularity about three
o clock in the afternoon of July "A. Some
times he is delirious for three or four
days. On the third day the skin loosens
and begins to come off in strips. 1t is all
off, from his scalp to the soles Of his feet,
usually within two weeks, sometimes long
er. The finger nails become loose gradual
ly, and are not removed until the skin is
entirely off. The toe nails are the last to
be removed"
Like the buffalo, the Indian language
viii soon be lost forever explained a
gentleman who, under the auspices of the
Smithsonian, has devoted number of
years to the study and preservation of the
Indian language according to the Wash
ington Star. 1T was thought that the
Indian language could be preserved by the
aid of the photograph and graphophone,
and parties We're sent out to many Indian
tribes to have them talk into the appa-
ratus, and thus secure a record of the
Indian tongue. 1t was found. however,
that but few Indians Of the present day,
and they were the older ones, could talk
a pure tongue More than one-half of the
Indians now on the reservations, and this
is the case with all of the younger In
dams, converse in English. It is not good
English, but il is the kind they speak, a
kind of pigeon English l had the work
of securing some Cherokee talk, and in
doing so talked with dozen or more
leading Cherokees. They admitted to me
that they did not know one Cherokee who
could speak pure Cherokee. They said it
was with The greatest difficulty that they
could get the boys and girls to speak in
their native tongue a all, or to learn even
the commonest words or phrases. / ar
ranged with a half dozen Cherokees, how
ever, and secured their services to talk
into the machines. and have thus got
some pretty good Cherokee. but / know
enough about the language myself to know
that it is very imperfect Indian. A few
of the Sioux Indians talk pretty well, but
il is a mixture. In less than twenty years
/ DO not think there will be an Indian in
this country who can talk his native
tongue pure. AS far as the Indian children
are concerned. they use six English words
where they use one Indian word. The
machines of the day will record the Ian
guage If 1t is talked into them, but the
difficulty is TO get Indians who can talk
Win llAt uttteodAy utbIeG ol accuracy.
The subject Of dreams" remarked
well known investigator to a Washington
Star reporter, has never been given the
scientific considerat ton and study It de-
served until during the past five years
and even now some of the most interes I'D
Investigators pursue their study under
cover, as II were, for the reason that the
medical profession has persistently evad-
ed the subject and visits heavy penalty on
such of its members as are known to de.
vote much time to the matter II has not
been considered regular exactly to pursue
mental phenomena, though this TO a sreat
extent Is passing away through the val
liable work done by the societies organ
lied for psychical research. which origi-
mated In England, There some of the best
minds of the land are openly committed
10 the study, and they are making 1t cast
er for others TO engage In e.. Like all
pioneers, however, In any branch Of
science, or, indeed In anything else, chose
who first engaged in Il had TO suffer criti-
cism. As a matter OF fact. the literature
or the subject OF psychical phenomena
NaIaas he EaN al