Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-02-05
.Sedidiat Morse Was the Pioneer
In America.
WORK OF HIS FIRST RIVAL
some Of the Questions and Answers
Contained in an Eighteenth Centu-
~ Puklcation-Two curiosjtics
That Were Located in France.


plies began to be introduced into the
schools Of America they depended
largely on the use Of II globe to luake
'.!ear the divisions OF the earth 1t
was not long. however. before nearly
rvery book was accompanied by an at
las, and this continued customary to
about 1850
Jclidiah Morse was Il pioneer amons
American authors ot school Geogra-
p'oies. The earliest rival to contest the
field With MorSes books was n small
volume Of questions aud answers com
piled by Nathaniel Dwight and pull
,isbed 1T Hartford in 1895. Below are
some OF the curious bits Of information
The volume inparts:
=. What are the Russian funeral Ger
eMories? \. They arc singular. The
priest prays aud sprinkles the corpse
for eight or len days. 1t is. then bur
led with {; passport to heaven signed
by the bishop and another Clergyman.
which is put between the fingers OF the
deceased. aud then the people return
to the house whence they went and
drown their sorrow III intoxicatiou.
This they commonly do for about forty
days. during which time the priest
says prayers over the grave.
=. Arc there amy lakes in Scotland?
\. There are many, but two are very
re.naikahc. One near Locnuess is oD
he top OF {. hill almost two miles high.
This lake is small, hut ii has ncve;
been sounded, nor does it eve: freeze.
About seventeen miles distant is AN
other lake N-hic], js frozen all the wear.
=! What are the persons and charac-
ters Of tho Scots? A. They are -ener.
ally Jean. ran-boucd and llarc high
chceilhones. which is IL cLaracteristic,l
feature .n.M"
9. What arc the diversions Of the
Scots: \. The. are al, Of Tie vigor-
Gus, athletic Sinl-such as dancing.
golf and curling. The Go]f Is y species
OF ball playing performed Will, Il ',at
and ball. the extremity Of tic bat
being loaded with lead. and the party
which strikes thu ball with rerest
strokes into a hole prepared for tho
purpose Wins the game.
g. What arc the customs ana diver
sious Of til" irish: a. There are few
customs existing i'll Ireland peculiar to
this country. These arc tl.civ funeral
bowling and presenting their corpses ii,
the streets to excite the cnarit! OF
strangers: their conviv!nI meetings OH
sunday and dancing to baypipes. which
are usually attended with quarreling.
@ What curiosities arc there in
France? y. \ fountain near Grenoblc
enlits q flame which will burn paper.
straw. etc. but Will not burn gunpow-
DER. Within about eight leagues Of the
same place ia an inaccessible mountain
in the form Of Il pyramid reversed.
g. What do you observe Of the inliab-
ltantssof Guinea: \. They are chiefly
pagans and idolatcrs. In Ego. where
The people arc governed by Il king who
- not absolute. when they are tired Of
aim deputation waits on him ana in
forms him that 1t is fatiguing tor him
TO bea! the burden OF government any
longer. advising him to take rest. He
thanks them and retireS to his apart
,nent as il to sleep and directs his wo-
lEen to strange bin. and after he t,x-
piles they destroy Ill things which be
longcu to him OF to themselves ana
then Kill one another. His son sue
ceeds to the government ANA on !hc
same terms
q. Give concise description OF rhe
t,lagcs and -Anni:,ns: A. rho first i'll
habit 8 par! o: tue Kongo coast: the
latter live III the Macaco TIC people
are cannjoa!s. They Kill aal eat tl,ci:.
tir:tbol1l children and TIER friends
who die are eaten BY Their relations
The king OF Macao resides III Monso!.
where there is u market in wh;cl, hu-
man flesh IS sold although Other meat
exists in plenty. They esteem it Il lux
ury and ii IS sail 100 prisoners 0:
sla:cs are daily Killed for The kings
table
One geography that had a marked
Individuality Of IFS OWL was a thick
little volumc. mostly in verse entitled
Tho Monitors INSTRUCTORS" published
st Wilmington il 1904 Ii The prose
portion OF The book are several curious
paradoxes.
Here is Que Of them
Three men Went on Journey iu
which, though their heads Travelled
twelve yards farther than their feet.
al returned alive. With their heads OF.
Tie solution explains that IF any
person should travel round the globe
the space Travelled by his head Will cx-
coed that his feet travelled BY about
the number OF yards mentioned
Cummings Geography, 1914, apollo
gizes in It's preface for adding another
ito the number Of Biographies. already
SO great as to obstruct rather than pro-
mote improvement" During the pre-
yious decade Lewis and Clark had
made their journey across the cont
nept and we now find mention Of the