davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
DIAMOND PAVEMENT.
THE KIMBERLEY ROAD coNrA,NS FOR
TUNES IN PRECIOUS STONES. 81 -:

Tho Public There Travel On . High Road
Literally Growing With Diamoads-oHs
Small Piece OF Road the Size Of Bed
room Yielded 800, 900 worth. b..
It is not often that 1t is given 70
man, outside of the favored gentle
men who figured In the stirring story
of Aladdin and his wonderful lamp
and kindred productions Of rich Orient.
al Imagination, to travel daily on q
highroad literally groaning with dia-
monds. When such an unusual priv
ilege is vouchsafed, 1t would appear to
be the proper thing to admit that one
might love the very ground he walked
on. Until few years ago there was
such q road, and 1t was neither .
vision of the pipe nor the press agent.
1t was located In the Kimberley dis
trict In South Africa, and when q
man walked over 1t he walked over
millions of dollars worth of the prec.
ious stones.
Five thousand dollars q yard was
the record of some parts Of the road.
The diamonds are not there now, so
1t will do the gentle reader no good to
take ticket for Kimberley and seek
to find q fortune In the street. It
seems that when the diamond mining
industry was some years younger than
1t Is to-day, there was vexing scarcity
of water in the Kimberley country.
So, when miner couldn't get sup
ply of water to help him in his search,
he had to do the best he could and
hustle around with his tools In the dry
earth. He would spade here and there,
until he struck lump of earth which
held the eagerly-sorght prize. Then
he would abandon the little mound
of earth his spade had overturned and
seek for diamonds in another place.
After a while, several years In fact,
these mounds amounted to a consider
BILE obstruction to travel and further
digging. The loose earth was In the
way, but no one would volunteer to
cart it away. Finally the Kimberley
municipal council offered to use the
dirt in macadamizing the roads around
the city, which was branching out and
reaching quite respectable proportions.
The offer was gladly accepted by the
mine owners, and the mounds were
cleared away.
Nearly score of years after there
was a drop in the diamond market.
The price of the stones fell, and, In
order to bring about return of high
figures, the mine owners decided to
restrict their output This necessitat-
ed big cut in the pay roll, and, as q
result, the Kimberley district was soon
over-run with unemployed miners.
Then some Of the wise men In the land
came to the conclusion that they might
pick up few overlooked gems from
the highroad If they could get mum.
cipal permission and plentiful sup
ply of water. They got both, for each
year a portion Of the road which had
been strengthened by the mound dirt
was turned over to the men, and they
worked in it with astonishing results.
diamonds to the value of 5000, 900 were
recovered yearly for several years.
From one little piece Of road no bigger
than a bed room there was taken
100000 worth Of diamonds.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
oFFICE-MASONIC BUILDING.
East Main Street.
Church Directory.

Reformed Church-Rev. G. A, Whitmore
cas or. Services biweekly alternating
morning and evening. Services ednes-
day,7 D. m, Sunday School 2p m.
Guild each Lords Day $50 p. m. other SER
vices announced from the pulpit.
Lutheran Church Rev. A. Bredenbek past
t,r Services. Sunday 10 A. M. and $50 F.
Sunday School, g. P. " Prayer Meet
ing, Wednesday, 6.46 +.
United Brethren Church-Rev. William
Daugherty Pastor. Regular Services py
appointment from the pulpit:
Glass Meeting every two weeks at ~ q. m
Prayer Meeting every Thursday evening
Sunday School PM.
Mite Society Semi monthly. wednesday
evening at s o'clock. W. Mis-. Meeting
Monthly at Parsonage.
Morayian Church: Rey. M. F. Oerter, Pas
tor. Sunday School every Sunday,9 a: m
Preaching services will be held every other
Sunday as heretofore, alternating morning
and evening at 10 ard $3.50 respectively
Methodist Episcopal Church - Rev
NJ. Fl. Courtney Pastor. Services every alter
nate Sunday at 10 A. NJ. and 700 +. NJ
Sunday School at A. NJ. Prayer Meeting
very Wednesday evening at 100 7. NJ.
81. Stephens Church, Protestant Episcoal
-Rev Ernest McGill, Rector. Services
every Sunday at4;00, p. H., at Walkers
Vile F.: at 1890 a. m. at Thurmont,
Service SATURDAYS at 400 p. m.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Studying the physiology Of the
toad" Professor Simon Henry Gage
combats the opinion that this creature
hibernates under leaves or tree-trunks.
1t Is often found In such refuge, but
only when 1t has come out Of It's hole
at the opening of the spring and has
been caught by a return Of cold
weather. Ordinarily 1t hibernates In
the earth, preferably in dry soil not
apt to freeze. 1t buries itself back
ward its hind feet and the end Of It's
body serving to scoop out it's hole,
while 1t pushes itself In with its fore
legs. Once buried, /. leaves no trace
whatever Of Its hiding-place. When 1t
is In a temperature near the freezing
point its own temperature Is three
fourths to one and one fourth degrees
higher than that Of the surrounding
medium. When toads are found under
frozen leaves. they are still able to
move about. Mr.. Gage has seen these
creatures with feet and skin absolutely
frozen solid, but with internal organs
In good condition, and able to come to
life perfectly"
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

The native Brazilian, far removed as
he usually is from doctors and sur
geons, depends upon little ant to sew
up his wounds when he Is slashed or
scratched. Truth to tell, the average
surgeon could do the job no better than
these little insects. The ant has two
strong nippers on his head. They are
his weapons for battle or forage.
When a Brazilian has cut himself, for
example, he picks up an ant, presses
the nippers against the wound. one on
each side, and then gives the bug q
squeeze. The indignant insect nat
urally snaps his nippers together.
piercing the flesh and bringing the
lacerated parts close together. The
Brazilian at that moment gives tho
ants body Q jerk, and away it dies.
leaving the nippers imbeded In the
desh, that kills the ant, but, as he has
Served his most useful purpose, In life,
It IL well. The operation Is repeated
until the wound is sewed up neatly
and thoroughly. ..
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
why Fishes Are slippery,

Fish of almost every sort are, when
fresh caught, slippery and hard to
hold. This slipperiness is due to q
sort Of mucus exuded through the
scales and is Of the greatest import
ance to all finny creatures.
One Of the important functions Of
the fsh's slimy coating Is to protect
it from the attacks of fungus, q form
Of plant life found in all waters, salt
and fresh, foul and pure. II the fish
is so injured that some spot becomes
uncovered by the slime, barely
visible fungus will be likely to lodge
there, and when 1t is once lodged the
process Of it's reproduction fs very
rapid. 1t soon extends over the gills
and kills the fish.
The primary purpose Of the slime Of
the fish Is to reduce It's friction when
in motion through the water and in
crease its speed. 1t also serves as q
cushion to the scales, which 1t thus
protects from many injuries.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Very few persons would suspect how
small the salaries Of presidents Of re.
publics are, when the enormous sums
crowned heads receive are taken into
consideration. The foreigner often
thinks the $4,000 salary Of the Presi-
dent of the United States Is merely
a Joke, and that he receives ten times
as much in reality, but the same for
eigner may not know that the French
President, In a country where the
wealthiest monachs once rsigned, re-
ceives only $4,000 year. The
President Of the little Andorra Re-
public contents himself with q salary
of SIS a year, and the President Of
the Swiss Republic must be satisfied
with $4,000
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Worlds biggest Crop.

The average man if asked what Is the
most important crop of the world
would unhesitatingly say, wheat
This is true in the United States, but
far from the case in the world as
whole. The first place must be given
the potato. OF all the staple crops ot
the world the potato takes the first
place, the annual crop being more than
4O0O,0OO,O00 bushels, against 2,50O,-
oOO.0O bushels Of wheat and 2,6OO,-
300. 900 bushels of corn. OF the total
potatoe crop Europe produces fully
seven-eights, md one-half times as
much as her wheat, and all the cereals
toge ether are but 50 per cent more.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Curious Things Found In Australia.
There are some curious things IN
central Australia. According to Prof.
Baldwin Spencer, Lake Amadeus in the
dry season is merely a sheet of salt.
Ayers rock, about Ave miles round,
rises abruptly from the desert. For
merly vast rivers flowed here, and
the diprodoton, a w0mbat-lke creature
worthy Of it's name, and four times as
large as a kangaroo, nourished on the
plains. Now there are hardly any ami
mails to be seen. The fish live In water
holes of the hills until the foods wash
them down to the valleys. At the end
Of the wet season the water frogs ill
themselves with water, roll themselves
In the mud, and lie low till the next
rains, which may not come for two
years. Meanwhile, the provident frog,
like the ''mousie" Of Robert Burns,
may have the misfortune to furnish a
drink to a thirsty black. The natives
also get water from the roots Of trees.
They are in the totem" stage, and re-
we're certain plants or animals which
protect them. Men Of one group can
only marry women from another single
group,
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Leave Rocky Ridge for Emmltsburg at
26 and 10 40 m, and 81 and "a p M.
Leave Edgemont for Waynesboro and
Chambersburg at 705 and II As m, and
for Shippensburg at 30 pm.
Leave Hagerstown for Cherry Run and
points on Potomac Valley Railroad at 05
m and 10 20 and 05 pm.
Leave Brucevlle Tor Frederick al So, 8 35
aud 10 40 a m and 3S and 80 p m, and for
Littlestown, Taueytown, Wrghtsvile and
Columbia at AZ IN and As M.
Daily-all other daily except Sunday.
tStops to land Passengers from Baltimore.
JIM. HooD. B H. GRIswoLD.
Genl, Manager. Genl, Passenger, Agen
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Sneakinc Clocks,

In Switzerland they nave commenc-
ed making Photographic clocks and
watches which, 1t appears, leave any
thing heretofore accomplished far In
the shade. By merely pressing the but
ton of the new timepiacc, it pronounceJ5
the hour distinctly. The alarms call
to the sleeper, ITS six o'clock; get up.'
There are some which even add the
words. Now, don't 60 to sleep again.
The form can be changed to suit the
buyer and make the warning more or
less emphatic. This application of the
photographic principle is due to
French matchmaker settled at Geneva
He introduces into clocks and watches
little slabs of vulcanized rubber, on
which the desired words are traced in
grooves corresponding to the hours
and fractions Of hours.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Red. Haired People.

An eminent man Of science has re-
Gently declared that red-haired people
are far less apt to 60 bald than those
who are possessed Of other colored
hair. The average crop on the head Of
a d-haired person 10 only %, 200 hairs.
Ordinary dark hair fs far finer, and
over three dark hairs take up the space
Of one red one; 10000 IL about the
average. But fair-haired people are
still better of; 100000 to 100000 is a
quite common number Of hairs on the
scalp IL a fair-haired man or woman.
This authority does not comment on
the peculiarities Of red-haired people,
but II is well known that they are Of
a more passionate nature than others,
and often of q dne and sensitive dis
position, akin to what IL known % the
artistic temperament.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Speed Of an Earthq uako.

The course which an earthquake
runs is usually very rapid. From the
instant when the first shock was felt
at Lisbon to the period when all was
over, and many thousands Of people
killed, not more than two minutes had
elapsed. Usually from ten to thirty
seconds elapsed between the first and
last shocks of severe earthquake. But
this lightning speed is not always the
earthquakes mode Of ftraveling. While
Caracas, in Venezuela, was almost
totally destroyed and $4,000 people
were killed In less than twenty seconds
by the great shock there many years
back, there are cases in which con-
stantly recurring shocks have lasted
for weeks. No matter how brief the
span, the most frlghtful havoc can
be wrought and the wave Of destruct-
ion propagated from the most distant
regions. The rumbling earth-sound
travels at the rate of about 1900 to
1900 feet per second, and the earth
wave, on an average, about 1900 feet
in the same space Of time.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
The Queen Bee.

A queen bee sometimes lays at the
rate of two eggs a minute, and the
total weight Of the egg is one and Q
half times that of her own body on o
Summer day. As she lives four or fve
years, she must lay about 1900, 900
eggs In the course Of her life. Her
eyes are smaller than those of the
other bees, owing to long residence
in the hive Her sting is 300 times
smaller In diameter than pin, and
as she can seldom draw 1t out after
stinging person, she leaves II IN
and dies afterward. .
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
g r9E N o 1HRl0I Frederick County, Maryland Thursday April 1885,
SEA BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS
Aunssss Contest with Gulls Tor Possss-
sisn u the Spells.

Auntsrs Contest with Gulls for Possss-
sisn u the Spells.
n the murre 10 disturbed by an egg
hunter and lts single egg taken 1t
win return and replace its successfully
stolen 0vum until eight have been laid.
It 10 loath to leave Its nest, even when
the despoiler approaches, and when lie
comes up she leans away from him and
moves over to the far side of the nest.
But presently, yielding to the alarm
within her breast, she emits q sudden
squAwk and hies of, flushing the en-
tire rookery a. she moves toward the
sea, leaving the pickers to filI their
pouched shirts with the booty. They
must hurry the work, for as soon as
the eggs are uncovered the gulls hover
close and become thick upon the scene.
These the men must fight of, for they
brazenly interpose themselves and bat
tie with the humans for the posses
sion Of the eggs. i,
The opportunity being open, the gull
sweeps down upon the murre egg,
seises 1t in It's mouth and goes sailing
aloft, cracks 1t in its bill and gobbles
what of Its contents It can, the residue
falling on the rocks below. Then 1t
takes another swoop away and bal
ances itself to spy out a new egg. The
gull's egg is palatable.
That the islands in San Fran
cisco bay were great repository
Of edible eggs became known
In the early hfties. At the time Of the
discovery Of this fact provisions were
scarce and gold plentiful in San Fran
cisco, and the rookery eggs offered In
the markets Of that city brought one
dollar . dozen. The opening Of this
new and free opportunity to acquire
wealth precipitated numbers Of people
upon the islands and In the business
Of egg gathering. Quarrels ensued be-,
tween the competitors as to their re-
spective rights" In the premises, with
the result that company was formed
among Q number Of the pickers, which
bought out the claims Of the others.
This company managed to hold onto it's
advantages for some years, not however,
without experiencing contests and en-
croAchments, until the chickering's ulti-
mately grew 90 fierce as to attract the
attention Of the United States dis
trict attorney at San Francisco. He
sent q detachment Of government SOL
diers there and deported every egg
picker.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Clever Fishermen.

Dutch fishermen make astonishing
catches by means of the following
very simple plan: They put number
of live worms and insects in a bottle
partially filled with water, and then
cork 1t securely. The bottle is dropped
into the water, the fishermen sinking
his line alongside. 1t appears that the
sight of the wriggling contents of the
bottle so excites the appetite Of the
fnny tribes that they fall easy victims
to the baited hooks.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
The Diving Spider.

There is nothing new in the diving
bell. Long before man thought he in
vented it, the water spider knew all
about it. ..
The water spider shlns dowfi a feeds
dragging his diving bell with him, and
anchors it under water on a level keel,
so that the air 1t contains keeps the
water out.
When this air becomes foul, the
spider swims to the top, captures Il
bubble with tlirt of its tail and car,
ries it down to the bell for future ref
erence. '..
There the spider lives in snug COM
fort and no storm disturbes his lowly
home.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Sir William H. Willis, member Of
Parliament for Bristol, writes Of the
origin Of Augustus Montague Top
lady's grand hymn, "The Rock Of
ages" as follows:
"Toplady was one day overtaken
by a heavy thunderstorm in Burning.
ton Coombe, ON the edge of my prop
erty, a rocky glen running up into the
heart of the Mendip range, and there,
taking shelter between two massive
piers of our native limestone rock, he
penned the hymn"
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
A Close Call.

A wcll-known Portland, Me. man,
who Is the possessey Of q wooden leg,
had a queer experience the other day.
In some way the paper In the waste
basket under the desk caught fire, end,
the flames were communicated to the
wooden leg, gaining considerable head
way before he realized what was up.
He had a hot time Of 1t for few min.
utes but came out Of 1t with a leg still
ft for service.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
Down Somewhere.

"A Maine reason why so many people
are killed by hunters in the Moosehead
lake region is that the modern rife
carries its ball mile or more, so that
when a hunter misses the game at
which he aims, or thinks he aims, there
Is no telling where the missile will
land. If things keep going from bad
to worse in that respect, the pine tree
state legislature will have to enact q
law requiring sportsmen when they fire
to point their weapons toward the ze-
NTH. That will b. the upshot Of tha
matter. I
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
huMoRs or DIVORCE.
ssns. &ssssns for Untying the. Marriage
Knoe Are Ludicrsas.


Knet Are Ludicrsas.
Although is is happily not possible
In every country to dissolve the mar
riage tie because q husband has an
aversion to soap or because wife has
q tongue more active than her fingers,
there is ludicrous facility in many
lands for getting rid Of IN undesirable
wife or husband.
In Greece q wife, to maintain her
position, must be the very pink Of
propriety," and II she goes to theatre
or race meeting or even dimes with .
friend without her husbands sanction
he may send her back to her mother
and bid her stay there.
Time was, and not long ago, In
Crete, when q man might divorce his
wife II she appeared likely to add too
many Quivers to his bow; and In Rus
sia, IL husband and wife wished to
part for any reason whatever, all they
need do was to adjourn to some pub
Lie place, and in the presence Of on.
lockers tear q strip of muslin in two.
In Morocco It is not fashionable to be
attached too long to any particular
wife, and q mans social position may
he has divorced. It 10 quite common
from q score of wives before he has
reached the age at which the average
Englishman thinks 1t prudent to
marry.
In France, during the "time of
terror" the daring experiment was
tried Of allowing divorces at will and
without any assigned cause. The re-
suit was disastrous or happy, accord
ing to the point Of view; for within
year 1000 couples agreed to part IN
Paris alone, and within q short time
there were actually more divorces
than marriages every year.
In Japan II an oblique-eyed beauty
gives too much rein to her tongue,
'of she goes" to learn that q discreet
reticence Is a virtue in a wife.
In Germany II the wife uses her
husbands purse too freely he can keep
the purse to himself and bid her 80,
while he looks out for q fraulein Of
simpler tastes. .,.a..r ....
In Australia a man can divorce .
wife who 10 too fond Of her cups, or
rather glasses; and no Chinaman ID
called upon to tolerate q shrew
From the oldest times divorce has
been in some countries almost as
simple matter as untying q shoe lace.
In ancient Rome q man who wearied
of his wife could free himself by the
simple process Of telling her to 20.
In biblical history. too, we learn that
Abraham divorced Hagar by providing
her bread and q bottle Of water and
sending her Qway
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06
-sAVAeE AND fEReeloU


xAs Dsvtl Dsncsrsl of2 csyisl - Thsir
s9& 10 aa1f I9ysssrisas wsyA &.i 5'l4
The real SipeAalsss devil dancers in
Ceylon are. ferocious. and sayage sfel.
lows. Their dances are revOlting and
horrible. But their profession IL popu-
lar and affords a royal living for the
men who 30 Into II. There .iB & super
stition among the 6inghaiese that
when a man fails sick heis SUPPOSED
to be afflicted by a devil. In order to
rid him Of the disease the devil DANG
ers are called in to propitiate the de-
mon. Two or more Of them 20 BY
night to the sick mans house. in front
of which q small, square Enclosure
about six feet high, has been made
of grasses and, palm leaves. This
answers the purpose Of the green room
at . theatre. The men appear at frst
without masks and with long yellow
grass streamers hanging from their
head and waists. The only light cast
on the scene Ia by torches, made Of
sticks, round which pieces of cloth are
wrapped, dipped IN OIL To the music
of q tam-tam, kept up on one note the
dancers sing peculiar, wild funeral
dirge, In which the spectators often
Join. .,~.,. :. ..,s,g~- II
The dancers begin by slowly moving
about, stretching the right foot and
bringing the left up 10 II, andHappear
a. II they were searching for soHe-
thing, during which the singing sounds
like crying. They are then asking the
devil to appear. There" are twenty.
four different sorts of devils, and after
the first part, the dancers are, con.
stantly changing their clothes to repre-
sent the entire species; some wear
masks, some don jaws and terrible
teeth reaching to their ears. The Jaws
open and close In q very realistic man.
ner. r
A dance lasts over two nights, as the
whole twenty-four devils have all to
be personated before the particular de-
mon who Ia affecting the man is pitch
ed on. When he gives signs Of his
presence the dancers 60 into q sort OF
frenzy, which increases as he takes
possession Of them; the tam-tam beats
faster and faster, the cnanting grows
into yells, the men whirl and stamp
and the bells on their ankles Jingle
and clash.
AT lulb StdSc luc uAuCeTb appear W
be looking for some object to give the
devil in sacrifice, and into which he
may pass. A chicken is usually offered
by the friend of the sick man, and the
unfortunate bird is seized upon, twist
ed and tormented and bitten between
the false teeth, until the dancers,
worn out, move slower and slower,
and the chicken sinks into q sort Of
trance, which is a sign that the devil
has accepted the sacrifice, and Is will
ing to pass from the man into the bird.
Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-04-06

Chinese and Indian fishermen have
an ingenious way Of training the otter.
They catch the small cub and put a
collar round the lthroah The little
reature, finding itself unable for days
together to swallow anything 1t catches
Kives up trying to do so, and finally
believes for the rest Of its life that an
ptter can only swallow such food as
Il receives direct from It's masters
hand, and, accordingly, 1t faithfully
brings to the bank all the fish 1t cap