The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1871-05-06 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXTRAORDINARY FOX-TRAYPISO ADVENTURE.-An •xtraordineay instance of fox-trapping has last been brought to light in Glencallater, near Braemar (says the Dundee (Jourier). ()a the lintel February the gamekeeper, Mr. Aliebie, set four trap., near the open. itg to a tenanted fox den. A short time after wards he was surpriesd on visiting the 'mot to find that all were gone. West,, and months tweed, and lately he had ere tliely abandoned the hope of ever again getting possession of his property. A few days ago our of the strepherus wan gathering in hs fdicks on Craig•na-Goir, when his dog returned leaving one of the sheep standing 1110110 among some rough granite boulders. He was getting furioas at Ms caniee friend, and directing anew with pithy vehemence the creature to bring in the forlom animal when Mr. Midair, who had been taking his round, j 'iced the baffled shepherd, and was also somewhat surprised at the strange conduct of the dog. A few seconds sufficed to show the cause of the sheep having been kit alone. It was trapped, and along with it in another trap was a dead fox in an advanced state of decoy. The sheep was quickly relieved, little injured. The four traps were still fixed together, and were little the worse though greatly meted. What is most surprising, perhaps, is the wonderful manner in which they were discovered, and after all Bernard's wanderings with the whole dangling in his train that none of them had sprung but that winch held him self until the sheep was accidentally captured in the other, and which led to the diamvery. DEATHS OF AItriCHANT SLAlll2.l4.—The annual return of deaths of seamen reported to the Board of Trade as having died in the British merchant melee chows 5,237 in the 3 ear 1868, 4,832 in 1869, and 4 523 in 1870. fhe re • tun includes all ratings, from mates downwards ; it ineudes many, if not most, of the men dying abroad after their dh•charge sick from British ships, but not men dying under such circumstances in the United Kiugdotn. In 1870 the bill of mortality includes 210 deaths from yellow fever, 7 from in. termittent fever or ague, 231 from continued fever ; 19 fr.m stnallp uc ' • 96 from dis,ase of the brain and nervous [system ; 103 from heart disease ; 200 from consumption and other diseases of the lungs • '299 from diseases of the stomach, bowels, &:„ iucluling 90 from cholera and 137 from dysentery; 30 from genital diseases; 15 from skin diseases; 7 from rheumatic disease; 6 from scurvy; 1,655 drowned by wreck, and 989 drowned by other accidents; 13 deaths were by homicide or murder, 21 by suicide, 302 by accident,  _ • Jr !—Aniericor j aurnalist& are peculiarly prone to calculate on what might have happened if no and no had done this or that, or if such an event had not occurred. A New York scrihe has just been speculating on the interesting fact that but for a certain event Eon i de Grey might have been an American. He todrarks that had Charles IL and ho advieers not pnaPed the ordinance of May, 1637, " Mat on, wh p was afterward, se.nretary to Cronawell, taint have remained ' inglorious ;' " IA Hurl de Grey, indeed of being one of the Coraimsinner • appointed by the Government of Great Britain t, arrange terms witn that of the United 3:emes. would, if he had existed m all, have been an American citiPwn of ancient New England descent, aa measure such things in our new country, awl might to-day have been employed on the same commission, but under the Ftars and stripes instead of the meteor flag of Engl and." To &send from great things to mall, we might vuggess that if this bterary Silas S:onum had not made this itnivirtart discovery, the prp seta generation might have survived the event.