The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-06
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

short and fragile, yet wiry and cap
able of great endurance" Cold he is
said heartily to feel at all.
An extraordinary English charac-
ter has just passed away in Car
marthenshire gentleman named Ev-
ans Mr. Evans devoted his life to
witnessing hangings, making the ac-
quaintance of executioners and col
Letting relics of murderers. In the
early days of public hangings he
would travel any distance to see a
man turned Off" He was so fas-
cinated by the business that on the
death of Calcraft he applied for his
post. AS this was not granted he set
up gallows in his own house and in
vited his friends to test the moose.
"A London paper credits a woman
Of that city with the invention of a
unique device for preventing false fire
alarms. 1t consists of an automatic
alarm post, which not only rings up
the fire station, but grips with steel
bracelet the wrist Of the man giving
the alarm, blows police whistle and
will not release the man until the Off
Ger comes and veriies the alarm. AS
compensation for being thus impris-
oned the man receives a shilling from
the machine. All this reads much like
joke, but 1t is not. Such a contri-
vance, however, is not likely to be
adopted there or anywhere.
"A man in Sweden has invented a
device for stopping the Roadway of
boats, which he believes would be an
absolute protection against collisions.
II may be used on vessels of all kinds.
The apparatus consists of steel-plate
shutters, applied on both sides of the
vessel, about one-Quarter of its
length from the stern. The helmsman
has the shutters under his control, and
can open or close them by means CT
lever. In test on a large steam
launch going at speed of nine knots
stop was made in Is seconds, within
one-half it's length, by reversing the
engine and extending the shutters.
"A pathetic message, says the Ken
nebec (Me.) Journal, was received by
DR.. Gould, of Rockland, recently from
that lonely place called Matincus. DIR.
Gould has a system of pigeons which
convey messages from there to the
mainland, and on Saturday there came
pigeon to the homing loft at Tenants
Harbor conveying news of the serious
illness of Mrs. E. A. Young. The silent
messenger that flew across twenty
miles of seas to Tenants Harbor was
found to have seven No. l shot i'm
bedded in her body and wings. With
this injury, by thoughtless sports
man, the bird had flown across with
her message, and, true to instinct, the
bird had delivered her message. Short
ly after the homecoming the bird died"
Tt is an odd coincidence" says
the New York Press, that in most of
the encyclopedias and biographical
works of recent years the name of
Elihu Root alphabetically follows that
of Theodore Roosevelt without another
name intervening, and it is still more
odd that the brief sketch of Mr.. Root
should convey the information that he
was counsel for Col. Theodore Roose-
welt at the Republican State Conven-
ton in 1893, at Saratoga, and made an
important speech explaining Col.
Roosevelt's reasons for Directing to be-
ing assessed for personal taxes in New
York City. Those who feared that
Secretary Roots strong individuality
would cause his retirement from the
cabinet did not know that, after SEN
ator Lodge of Massachusetts,, Mr..
Root has long been Col. Roosevelt's
chief adviser on political questions.
Client and counsel meet as President
and Secretary
1T does seem ridiculous" says
Rhodesia, but on the authority of a
correspondent to Salisbury paper the
natives of Zambesi now are returning
to their distant and savage homes on
bicycles! To appreciate the full sig
nificance of this statement one must
realize the thin-shanked, hat-footed,
bundle carrying, nude native pedaling
a wheel across the wild veldt with his
hump and other necessary accessories
to cycle travelling fastened around
him with calabash of water over his
back, a digger's belt around his waist,
and. sundry oxtail ornaments flying
from his legs. A single rider would be
funny enough, but a batch of them
would present the strangest feature
imaginable. They appear to obtain
these bicycles cheap, too. Their mode
is to first learn to ride, surreptitiously
or otherwise, then when about to re-
turn they watch their opportunity and
obtain one while its owner is absent
In a few days they are well toward
the Zambesi. where the policeman
ceases to trouble and the native is at
rest. No wonder the lions are scared
from the main route
There is a musical sidewalk out in
the navy yard, says the Washington
correspondence of the Chicago News.
1t leads to the gunners' workshop from
the wide gate that closes the main en-
trance. 1t is formed of iron plates
about two feet long and twenty inches
wide, and the officers who live in the
houses alongside the walk say they
never noticed it's musical qualities until
the throngs began to walk over it on
their way to the court of inquiry Now
dozens of men can be found in the navy
yard who are willing to swear that a
pedestrian, if sufficiently accomplished
in this particular style of walking, can
play any classic just as effectively as
can skilled musician on a piano. The
heels of the walker when one steps
briskly, bring out various notes SINH
lar to those of a xylophone. Some
claim that they have heard several
well-known airs played on the side
walk, while one highly imaginative
man avows that on the day after Pres
ident McKinley's funeral he heard
Nearer, My God, to Thee" issue from
these iron plates as clearly as the
dead Presidents favorite hymn was
rendered by the marine band on the
day previous.
"A correspondent Of the Telegraph
Age has been moved by our recent ad-
verse comments on all the names vet
suggested for what is commonly call
ed, or miscalled, wireless telegraphv''
to build one which he considers an i'm.
provement on them all, says the New
YORK Times. 1t is "ethergraphy. ana
he defends 1t thus: IF ether is sIn-
posed to fill all space, and 'graphy'