Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-08-08
ouEER Uses az coMMoN rHINes

QUEER OsEss or COMMON THINGS
beginning when Man and His wife First
Got on at This Earth station.
Harvey Sutherland IN Ainscc's.
''When Man and his Wife first got
of ut this Faith station without a
return ticket, funds. or baggage they
didn't even have hand .satchel), they
found two of their four limbs dis
engaged from the task of walking, and
at the end OF each OF these two limbs
FIVE prongs. all movable, one OF them
capable OF being opposed to each OF the
other four. They had also something
inside them. restless and inquisitive.
just like their cousins that hung by the
tail 10 the trees and jabbered at them.
Not living 10 trees acd being simply
Obliged by that internal restlessness
ard inquisitiyeness to do something
with the two spare limb ends, they
began to fuss with objects about them.
They we're not SO strong ms SONS
animals. not so terribly armed as some,
not 30 safely armored or disguised as
some, not so sharp of vision. acnte OF
hearing or SO keen Of scent az Others
They were in world already we'll
peopled by creatures that distinctly re-
scented their coming as an intrusion
entirely unealled for on such short
ao1uaintanoe; 10 a world whore all the
labels of Good and had had come
off-if. indeed, they had ever been
stuck on; in world whose motto il,
and ever has been, Root, Hog, or Die,
with the accent on the Die; and In
world which had rs little symf athy
then as now for young man trying to
make his way in life. II that internal
restlessness and those two pionged
limbs could not be turned to account,
it was obviously all up with the new
Corners.
..lrom that date the Queer Uses of
Common Things began. can imagine
the shocked srrrrise OF the Birds very
good family, the Birds arc; among the
early settlers, old as the hills, older
than sons hills, distantly connected
with the Reptiles, ! helievel- say
| can imagine the shocked surprise OF
| the Birds when, after having flown up
to safe place in o tree, Man threw
stones aud Knocked them OIL the perch.
why why, what kind Of doIngs
is this?' they demanded to know. Its
no fair pegging stones. Stones belong
on the ground. 1t Is a very queer way
10 act. and We shall certainly complain
to the janitor about II.
1.-The other animals thought 80, too.
when Man learned how 10 put sumo
sort of an edge on the stone and to
haft it in a split stick, SO as to reach
in and kill them in their burrows,
which Ia plainly against the rules OF
the game. THIS unnatural lengthen-
| ing of the arm entailed other queer
uses of common things. The stone kept
slipping out of the split stick, and
Man took grasses to tie it fust, and
what grew out of that first snot would
take book to write. But the strings
slipped off the stone, and Man made use
OF the first glue, his own blood, which
is very good glue. indeed, il you use
plenty aud have nothing better.
Later he used tho blood OF the pitch.
pine, and still later he boiled hooff
and horns Of animals, and used theii
sinews for strings to lash the spear.
head fast
after having made the cut in him
self TO get tho natural glue, the wount
began to smart, fer at that time oui
ancestor had not discovered the great
truth that really he had no pain, hui
suffered only from the belief that hi
had one. The poor, ignorant creatur,
l
on to see II he could not make tn,
it TO get out, but the power Of mine
over matter was not great in thos,
days. 1 suppose, too, that somebody
kissed the wound and made IL well, o.
blew upon it with tho same hspp,
result, just as oEildren's bumps stoI
hurting now when tnamma kisses o.
blows on them. lie chewed up leaye
to make poultices. No doubt, some U
these herbs killed him in hurry
come of them made him deliPhtfull,
dizzy and drunk, and he forthwith CAV,
orders to his wife that ON no accoun
was she to enjoy herself by tastinl
them. 1t is this sentiment still per
sisting in us that shocks our mora
sense when we SEQ ladies using liquo
or tobacco to excess. It's too good TO
them. Woman was put into this worl,
to have trouble, not good time. AM
it is Mans sacred duty and Irivileg
to see that she keeps to her prope
sphere.
"Some of the herbs be chewel
tasted good, and have ever since beel
on the bill OF fare. Some of them di,
the wound good. and have ever sino
been ON the list of tho pharmaoo Ella
Anyhow, 1T was there that medicin
began, and of the queer USES of commo
! things In that branch OF human activit
there is no end. Man being essential
queer, of course he could not get
into his head that the plants healed h.
virtue of some material property i
, themselves, but because they were in
|, habit1d by friendly spirits. He eve
, got the notion that IL big dose of tn
/, plant would make him have such an
, such a sickness, tiny dose of it woul
, cure that sickness. il he got |
naturally. From imagining likenesses /
different herbs to parts of his own body
and incorporating those weeds /
poultices, he arrived at the queer dis
covery that the salve ought to b
applied to tho sword instead Of to th
s cut it made, and IL simply did beat q
D how much quicker IL healed that way
/ II did not hurt tho sword much to hav
3 the salve on it, and it gave nature a
Y opportunity to do her own curing
8 Which she will do il she has half tn
i chance unless the case is too serious
when she adopts the philosophy {
0 Doc Sifers, ms celebrated by jaime
: Whitcomh Riley:
WHATS your Idly li,in' whe
e you're just as good as deadi'
0 "Out of some of these noneensiCt
d practices some really good things di
D come, but they always took deyiou
!, path, which entities them to be Gale
: queer. II man wanted to be mob
and royal, he took gold-dust; il b
o wanted TO be strong, he filed b
!. sword and swallowed the fine particles
y That being a disagrseable way TO tai,