The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

from this region states that the copper
mines In the Copper river district will
exceed in output any that are known in
the world. In the vicinity OF Chittyna
there are veins of copper bearing IS per
cent of ore, and in one instance a vein
was located which was about five miles
in extent and 100 feet in depth II such
vein were worked 10 a depth of 100 feet,
at the present price of copper, it would
yield about s7S0O0O,O0O. Other deposits
varying from s. TO ID per cent have been
located.
While engaged in locating a railway
line in Mexico, says Forest and Stream
Mr. Haviland, a civil engineer. once shot
and wounded a monkey which, with a
number of companions, was in a tree
AT the report of the gun all but the
wounded animal disappeared among the
branches. The wounded one, uttering
cries OF pain, placed it's hand to it's wound
ed side, withdrew it covered with blood
and examined it. Its cries brought back
its companions, some of which also placed
thelr hands to the wound and examined
them. Then they departed, shortly after
ward returning chewing something (prob-
ably leaves), which they applied to the
wound. The stricken animal, holding the
leaves in place, was then assisted by its
companions in making its escape to a
place of safety.
Remarkable stories are frequently
told Of the wonderful eyesig1t of un-
civilized tribes. Travellers have told of
suiues VINO could see four of Jupiter's
Hioohs with the naked eye, and lately Sit
RedVers Butler has declared that The
average Boer can see at least two miles
further than the British soldier. The
cause or this enormous difference between
TWO pairs of healthy, normal eyes is a
question of much practical interest
"hether 1t is due to a real optical differ.
ence in structure or merely to some
special ability to interpret slight differ.
ehces OF impression which has been &C.
quired by practice. In a recent letter to
Nature, A. s. Percival discusses this
question, and, while coming to no very
dehnlte conclusion, seems rather inclined
to favor the latter explanation.
&C. S. Brewer, a farmer of Ohio. has
an old hen on his premises that got tired
of chicks and has adopted a family or
kittens, says the Cincinnati ENQUIRER. A
cat gave birth to five kittens in his barn.
Near where the kittens were lying on the
straw hen was sitting on a nest OF
eggs and they struck up a frienship.
becoming cool at nights the kittens crawl,
ed under the hens wings to keep warm
AFTER few days the hen deserted her
eggs ana nest and marched out into the
parnyard in charge of the five little kit,
tens. They followed her around and she
would scratch industriously for them. bur
was apparently astonished when they re-
fused to eat the worms she uncovered.
Occasionally she gathers them under her
wings until they become warm. and then
she starts out again in search of food,
the kittens following her obediently.
According to the Scientific American,
case of fighting the devil with his own
weapons recently proved eminently sue
cessful at a winemaklng establishment in
California Through a forest fire the
buildings were ignited. and at the very
height of the fight the firemen announced
that the water supply had given out. At
first the buildings were given up, but it
suddenly occurred to the proprietor that
he might as well squirt his wine on the
outside of the buildings as to let it burn
in the cellars, so the wine pumps were
attached to the fire apparatus, and af-
ter 1000 gallons of Zinfandel had been
pumped into the fire god, he was put
hors de combat and the plant saved. The
air of the surrounding country must have
been dangerously fragrant for several
days. At any rate, the writer of the
article gravely informs us that the 1000
gallons of wine was worth fifty cents
gallon, or $500, which certainly seems
to indicate stimulation of the arithme-
teal faculty by something considerably
stronger than ozone.
The constantly increasing use of plati-
mum in industrial operations makes its
discovery and mining of almost equal i'm
portance with that of gold. 1t is obtained
from alluvial deposits, about so per cent
of the present supply being obtained from
the Ural mountains in Russia. Nearly all
the gold-bearing gravel-beds of the world
contain platinum, and doubtless much Of
this ore has been lost with placer wash
ings. In California. it is found in nearly
all of the collaborating gravels and sands,
and also in Oregon, Georgia. on the Yu-
kon river. Canada, British Columbia. Mex
leo, Colombia and Brazil 1t is usually
found in the form of rounded or flattened
grains of sand. sometimes in small Jumps,
occasionally In the form of nuggets. one
as heavy as twenty-one pounds. The ore
is of steel-gray color, with a metallic lus-
ter, and is soluble only i'm hot nitro-hy-
drochloric acid 1t is extracted by pass
ing the sand and water, with gravel,
through pudding machines, or revolving
conical screens, the platinum and fine
sand passing into the sluice-boxes be-
nedth, while the coarSer material is dis
charged at one side. The contents of the
sluice-boXes are then washed out. and. if
there is gold, il is removed by amalga-
mating with mercury. Mines that Weld
three grains of platinum-ore to the ton
of gravel represent the minimum of profit
able working, the average yield of the
Russian mines being about six grains 10
the ton. Platinum possesses an affinity
for iron, which it is never without.
Though it alloys with copper, it is never
found with it.
The New York correspondence of the
Philadelphia Ledger says: The New York
of the year 1901 has almost entirely disap
peared. The city of to-day is new city.
1t may be said that she has been rebuilt
two or three times in the past century
Only very few things remain which
were In existence one hundred years ago
The century old buildings may be counted
almost on ones fingers. The most pror1i-
nent of them are St PauFs Chanel
Fraunccs Tavern, the Hall of Records.
and the Jumel mansion. OF institutions
there are plenty which can boast of ffty
and seventy-five years but very few
which were founded a century ago There
is only one daily newspaper now publish
cd which was issued on Jan. /, 1901. OF
business associations, only two. the
Chamber of Commerce and the Stock
Exchange, antedate the nineteenth CEN
fury. The Marine Society Is also hum
dred years old. The Bank of New York