The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-04-29
AS A BOY SEES IT.
A Nine Year Old Visitor From Person County
and the Museum.

Master Lawrence Bradsher, the nine
Roxporo, N. c., was a visitor to Raleigh
| some time ago, and was greatly delight
ed with the State Museum. After re-
turning to his home, and in response to
the request of Col. j. T. Kennedy, he
wrote of his visit to the museum, and
as the letter tells OF a youngsters i'm
! pressions it is published. Here is what
Master Bradsher says in his letter to
Col. Kennedy:
When l was in Raleigh last week you
requested me to write you a letter and
tell you what l saw at the museum, SO ]
will try to do SC. j like books, shows
and baseball, and like to see everything
| can, SO | went to Raleigh to see the
capitol and the museum, and l saw more
than | ever saw before, as l am only
nine years old.
| saw the skeleton of a whale fifty feet
long. weighing 100 tons, they got so
pounds of oil and 100 pounds of whale
bone from it. l saw all kind Of fish, the
all-mouth fish is round as a tub and
more than half of it is mouth, and weighs
aout Is pounds. And the devil fish GER
teinly has the right name.
l have been reading about birds, and l
saw lots of them there and many others
that l had never heard Of. The whistling
swan, the water turkey, gold eagle, bald
eagle, looms, SnOw-gOOse and many
others. Yellow-legs are known as senti-
mel birds. The leather back turtle
weighing 800 pounds. l even saw q bull
frog smoking a pipe, and another drink
ing from a bottle. There was wild cats,
cub bears, deers, offers, opossum and
all kind Of animals found in North
Carolina. Nuggets of precious stones
and ores. The cocoon and the pretty silk
threads they make. The rapid fire gun
captured by Dewey at Manila, it shoots
50 times a minute. And the large shell
weighing 99S pounds. Takes $40 pounds
of powder to shoot it, it will go through
a vessel four miles away this she'll has
been shot through a liz inch armor
plate.
saw the relics of old guns, pistols.
swords, machete from old settlers and
some from other nations. The Indian
skeleton, and their relics of pottery.
weapons Of war, etc. / saw the ESQui-
maux boots l had been reading about.
They chew the skins in their mouths to
make it supple. Then I came to the old
wooden bottom shoes, used by the home
people during the Civil War. l saw the
broken statue of Washington, made in
Rome in 1920, costing over SOS, 900, de-
stroyed by fire June q, 1881. There was
part of the remains Of an old mastOdon
which l don't know much about. Then I
came to the forestry, and there was so
many kinds, l only remember the pretty
curly poplar, the twin trees Joined by a
limb. The seven foot tree block, and
thousands Of others.
After bidding you goOd bye, l went to
the capitol, and soon found the keeper
and went upon the top, and after some
persuasion papa consented and the keep
er led me around the dome SO j got a
pretty view Of Raleigh and its streets
and | think it is a beautiful city.
l am coming to see you again at the
Fair. Hon. ]. A. Long, of my town, is
president, and l know he Will give you
a big Fair. l think all the little boys
in the State should see the museum. l
shall always remember you for being so
nice and kind and showing me SO many
interesting things.