The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-12
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

and honey The Guanches removed the
viscera and put in its place fat, salt and
antiseptic herbs. In the South seas the
nations seem to have been able TO pre-
serve the dead in cocoanut oil, while the
old Peruvians were successful through the
simple process of putting the body in an
earthenware jar and allowing it to dry.
1t has been officially announced that
the Turin exhibition authorities will give
premium called the "GalAeo Ferraris
Prize" amounting to 1900 lire about
$4,000 to the person who will show a the
exhibition an invention, a machine, an
apparatus, or number of combined ma
chimes or apparatuses whose application
will tend to advance the industrial appli-
cation Of electricity. Only those inven-
tons win be considered which are shown
at the exposition and which can be exper-
mentally tested. Italians as we'll as for
eign exhibitors can compete for this prem
ium, the award of which will be decided
by an international jury.
1t is hardly necessary to state that the
custom of preserving the dead by embalm-
ing has not been confined to the Egyp-
tians, says an exchange. That is a fact
well known. The Greeks practiced it, as
did also the Assyrians, Persians, Romans
that the Guanches, the ancient inhabitants
of the Canary Islands, embalmed the dead
Recent discovery has also established the
fact that embalming was practiced with
success by the nation races of America
both north and south, and that other mora
or less savage peoples in various parts
of the world have known the art. None
however, were as successful as the Egyp-
tians, fact attributed not only to the
excellence n mi
to the dry climate of Egypt as well.
William F. Simon, of East Forty-sixth
street, has a pair of trained gold fishes
says the Chicago Times-Herald. They
are of the Japan fantail variety and
years old. He began training them when
they were very small and now they per-
form many remarkable and amusing
tricks. One of them is leaping through a
ring. This he suspends by a cord in the
natatorium, and at the word of command
they jump through 1t after the fashion of
dog through hoop, back and forth, so
long as the ring is held in position for
them. Mr.. Simon has also taught them
another novel, but more intricate feat. 1t
is no less than going through the figures
of quadrille. This Mr.. Simon says, re-
| quired a great deal of time and a vast
amount of patience, but he was finally
rewarded by perfection in the unique per-
| Torrance. AS there are only two of them.
| they cannot be said to perform a quadrille
proper, but they go through all the move
ments of. the genuine article Forward
and back cross over and back to
places" Swing corners" grand right
and left" and "all promenade" are rem
dered with the utmost precision.
In connection with the present great
national crisis, says the Philadelphia
Ledger, it is of interest to note that April
Is the Hateful month of American history.
The war of the revolution began in that
month, the battle of Lexington having
! been fought April 49, Washington was in
augurated and our constitutional govern
ment began April 80, 1889. The war of 1872
| was declared formally on the 18th of
June, but the first important act of our
| government which preceded and led to It
was the act passed April a. laying an en-
bargo for ninety days on all British
vessels in American ports. The occupa-
tion OF Mexico by this country began in
the fall of 1915, but the first blood actually
shed IN the Mexican war was on April 26
from which date the military history of
the conflict really begins The Black
| Hawk, Cherokee and Seminole wars were
declared in April The firing on Fort
Sumter, which ushered in the civil war
was on April u, 1861, and Lee surrendered
| at Appomattox four years later on April
o. Lincoln was assassinated April IA. And
| now the question of war or peace with
Spain, the gravest issue since the civil
war Is to be settled in April, 1898. The
annals of history present no stranger Sc
RES OF condolences than this.
DIR. Kenneth Campbell, Oban. has been
teihng the story of the last living great
aux, says the Westminster Gazette. II
seems about fifty years ago strange bird
| was seen one day on St. Kjlda. If was
agreed to try and catch it, as though If
mad an enormous beak it seemed to nave
| very small wings. Several of the natives
VINO were adopts at bird stalking. man
| aged to capture it alive. When the huea
plrd was taken to the township "the island
| parliament was assembled to deliberate
| on the strange visitor and it was agreed
10 Tie its legs securely with strong cords
ana to tether It for the night to a stout
| pin fixed in the ground near the houses
and to decide its fate next day. On the
morrow the parliament was called very
early as the bird had made such hideous
NOISES during the night that hardly any,
body could sleep. The bird was undo,Ih.-
edly considered an evil emissarv. After
| serious consideration the verdict was civ
en- to have the vile bird stoned to death
and the sentence was at once carried out
| Months after this, when communications
were again opened with St. Kilda. and
the natives infinitely detailed the points
of this awesome bird to a visitor. thew
were Informed that if they had kept even
the carcass 1t would have brought them
fSOO or f4OO. Then their chagrin was be-
yond expression, and some OF them began
to search for some of the bones of the IN
nocent and valuable victim.
Besides its home territory, which occu-
pies more than four-ffths of the Iberian
peninsula, says an exchange, Spain pos
sesses the town of Ceuta, on the coast of
Morocco; the Balearic Islands. in the Med
iterranean; the Canary Islands. off the
west coast of Africa; Cuba and Puerto
Rico in the Western hemisphere: the
| Philippines, Sulu, Caroline and Marianne
| Islands, In Asia; Rio de Orc, Adrar and
several small towns and islands on the
north and west coast of Africa. Stripped
OF these outlying provinces, Spanish terri
tory would he reduced from 6O3OO square
miles to 1880 square miles, and the pop
ulation under its control reduced from p. =