The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-18

done. but which have since become ragged
by exposure to the weather. The advan-
tage of Clarks bummica was that 1t
stayed and looked like the genuine stone'
The right wing of the big granite eagle
over the Broadway front of the pos toffice
building in New York city contains more
than fifty pounds of Clarks bummica,
which was put in by the workmen on Dix
Island in Penobscot Bay, in 1873 and
to an unskled observer the false granite
looks as well as the genuine. The stone
in this case was broken while the eagle
was being boxed for shipment.
Break Was Repaired.
AS two men had worked on this eagle
for more than a year, reducing a granite
block of thirty tons to granite eagle
of two and one half tons. involving an
outlay of more than $4,000, 1t was believed
to be wisest to say nothing about the
accident. For this reason the broken
edges were filled out with bumm1ca. and
though the gigantic bird has stood ex-
posed to the weather for more than thirty
years, the manned wing is still In as
good condition as when it was hoisted
aloft and taken out of the box in 1873
MANY men have sought to purchase the
secret of this durable cement from the
Clark family, but thus far without sue
cess The sale of the article yields a
revenue of about 5000 to the family hold
Ing the secret.
Less than forty years ago John Mutty,
n French Canadian, employed about the
sawmills on Penobscot river, broke MS
leg and was confined to his home Tor a
month. Two days after ne resumed worh
falling timber hit the same leg and frac-
tured Il In two places, compelling MIN 10
keen under cover for six months
He had a large family of small children
and was very poor. He was advised TO
call upon the overseers OF the poor ior
help but refused to do so. FOR three
months he sat up in his bed Ming saws
for his neighbors. repairing clocks and
teaching English to such of his French
compatriots as desired to learn
AS soon as he was able to get out or
doors he borrowed 500 from his former
employer and applied for a patent upon
a feed roll for lath saws. Under the old
system of saving laths man stood on
each side of the saw and showed the
wooden bolt from which the laths were
made to and fro by main strength. This
gave a lazy workman an opportunity
TO shift most of the labor upon his COM
panion.
The Mutty idea was to put a roll in
the table each side of the saw. On the
surface of this roll were many sharp
spurs. which caught hold of the under
surface of the bolt and forced IL along
rapidly, so that two men WORKING WIN
the Mutty roll could saw 30 per cent more
laths in day than they could by the
old method.
The patent was granted and Mutty be-
gan to make and sell spurred rolls to
the mill owners. The cost of the ron
was less than s5 although Mutty fixed
the price at $50 and received what ne
asked. Inside of ten years every iath
mill in the country fas using the Mutty
roll.
Today Mutty owns houses in Oldtown,
Orono. Veazie, Bangor and Brewer. He
has money in bank and money to lend.
The patent of the roll expired a few
years ago, but the invention made Nut
ty rich and when strangers see him limp
ing about the streets on the crippled leg
those who know the circumstances reply
to the question as to what ails the lit
tie man that he became lame in order
to find time to get rich.