Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1890 — Page 8

AWFUL EXPERIENCE.

A Dibwin Woman Has a Saak* Coll Itoelf Around Her Hock. • Mrs. Stetson and daughter of Union township were berrying in the vicinity «f Harbor Bridge, sars a Newcastle (Del.) letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer, when they had a lively encounter with a snake. Mrs. Stetson was making her way through a thicket of email trees and bushes, her daughter following at a distance of fifteen or twenty yards. Suddenly a long .make of a greeniah-brown color swung from a small tree at Mrs. Stetson's side, and, quick as a flash, began coiling itself around her neck and shoulders. Almost paralyzed with fright, the woman stood rooted to the ground for almost a minute. Then recovering her •senses she screamed loudly for help. Miss Stetson rushed forward to ascertain the cause of the outcry. She was horrified upon reaching the spot to find her mother in the coils of the reptile. The poor woman had succeeded in getting her hands around its slimy body about six inches from the hend. Her hold was a firm one, but it required all her strength to keep the snake from getting its head close enough to do injury with its fangs, which it kept thrusting at her face. All this time it kept tightening its grip around her neck, and soon her face began to assume a purplish hue, while her tongue, swollen to twice its natural size, hung from her mouth, and her eyes bulged almost from their sockets. Miss Stetson is a cool and nervy young lady, and grasping a stick she hit the snake a telling blow on the head. This caused it to loosen its coil, but not before the woman had fainted. Her daughter then attempted to pullthe serpent away, but found her mother’s fingers deeply imbedded in its flesh, and all efforts to get them loose failed. The young woman then proceeded to -carry and to drag by turns her now unconscious parent to a stream of water about fifty yards from the place. A liberal application of the cool liquid brought her back to consciousness. She still grasped the snake in her hands, and it required no small effort, accompanied by pain, for her to straighten her fingers sufficiently to allow the snake to drop. She was then assisted to a farmhouse half a mile distant, where she was kindly cared for, after which she was conveyed to her home in a carriage. The shock was too much for her, and Mrs. Stetson is now lying at her home in a critical condition. '■

COOKING A STEAK.

An Old Batcher Tells Hew It Should and Should Mot Be Bone. Now if you only knew how to cook a steak to make it good that would do, but it always makes me sick to see a woman cook a steak, says an old butcher. She invariably puts her frying-pan on the stove, and puts in a chunk of grease about as big as my fist; and when it is hot enough to begin to crackle, she puts in her beef, and never thinks of covering it. The smoke and steam from it goes to the very ceiling. After she cooks it in this way until it begins to look like an old rubber shoe sole, she done. When you go to eat it there is no more taste in it than a chip Now, if you want a good bit of steak, have a clear hot fire, set your clean empty pan on a spot, cover it up, then round your steak, and when your pan is very hot lay in your steak, and cover quickly. As soon as it has crisped enough to let go its hold on the pan, turn over and cover quickly; turn again as at first, and continue to do so about every two minutes until you have turned it about six or eight times. Have a hot buttered dish ready for it and lay it in: add a sprinkling” of pepper, salt and sugar, and cover tightly. Now, if you wish a gravy, put a bit of butter in your pan. When hot. rub in a pinch of flour, add a small teacupful of boiling water, let it boil a fe minutes, then put in a gravy boat istead of putting it over your beef draw out the juice. Now try this pit just once, and you will see you worn* know nothing about cooking a go steak.

THE COBRA.

Indian and Chinese Superstitions About t the Venomous Snake. Some very interesting facts have been brought to general notice on the alleged avenging habit of the cobra In India and Chinese folk lore. The belief in India is that a wounded cobra which escapes will sooner or later revenge itself on the man who has ■caused the injury, wherever he may go or whatever he may do. This belief is also deeply rooted in Indo<China and China itself as well as in India. In China there is also a strongprejudice against killing a cobra, lest its spirit should haunt the slayer ever after. In that country cobras are, therefore, shunned rather than pursued and attacked. Popular stories of the dire consequences of slaying them keep up the superstition A high official who had killed one died soon afterward of some mysterious disease, and the death was. of course, attributed to the slain snakes The spirit of the snake is. furthermore, supposed to enter into possession of it, slayer and employ the vocal organs of the latter in uttering impreeatiois on himself until death mercifully ivmo vcs

The marvel is that any snakes at all are killed in China, so many dreadful punishments are supposed to overtake their destroyers, and it is considered a work well meriting favor, here and hereafter, to purchase captured snakes and liberate them. Nevertheless, poisonous snakes are not numerous in China, probably because their presence is inconvenient to Chinese farmers, and they are therefore destroyed, folk lore notwithstanding.

She Was Tired of It.

“Mr. Smithers,” said his wife, “if 1 remember rightly, you have often said that you disliked to see a woman constantly getting herself into print.” “I do,” said Smithers. “You consider it unwomanly and indelicate, I believe.” “Very.” “And you don’t see how any man could allow his wife to do anything of the kind.” “Yes, I think 60 now.” “Well, Mr. Smithers, in view of all the facts in the case, I feel justified in asking you for a new silk dress.” “A new silk dress?” “Yes, for the last eight years I have had nothing better than 8-cent calico and I want something else. I’m tired of Benin e into print."

SUICIDE OF A BABOON.

Xnconaolable at the Death of Her Offipiing, She Swallow* Matches. Here is a queer story vouched for by the staid and sober Philadelphia Inquirer: The crew of the bark Edward May, which arrived yesterday from the Pbillipine Islands, are disconsolate. Not even the fact that the vessel on board of which they had sailed so many thousands of miles was safely moored in the placid waters of the Deleware could assuage the grief of the jack tars. The pet of all on board, a beautiful baboon of a very rare species, had committed suicide when within a few days’ sail of port. There were several monkeys on board when the vessel left Iloilo, but they all died except the big baboon, which shortly after coming on board gave birth to a baby baboon, of which »he seemed very fond. This is the first known instance of such an interesting event occurring on shipboard. All went well until the cooler atmosphere of more northern climes was reached, when the little one sickened and finally paid the debt of nature. The mother was frantic, refused all nourishment, flew at every one who approached her, and finally succeeded In getting hold of a box of lucifer matches. These matches the creature Swallowed, the result being that the creature died in great agony the following evening. Had she and her offspring survived it was the intention of Captain Mehaney to present them to the Zoological Society’s gardens. The bark hah a passage of 129 days, and met with some curious phenomena when in the neighborhood of the equator. Calms, heavy rains, water spouts, thunder and rain storms were experienced to an unprecedented extent. During one heavy thunderstorm the the lightning played up and down the shrouds, while on each yardarm were balls of fire like ‘ ‘will o’ the wisps’ lanterns.”

A NOVEL ROAD.

Switzerland Proposes a Hanging Highway Over the Mountains. The cantonal authorities of the districts around Mount Pilatus have under consideration a proposal for the construction of a novel kind of road Which has been submitted to them by M. Leonardo Torres of Santander through the central government at Berne. This road would connect the so-called Obercaupt, or highest point of Pilatus, with the Klimenshorn. The object would be to make the ascent of the mountain easier on the northern side and to shorten the ascent for tourists coming from Hergiswyl. The difference in level between the two points is set down at 194 meters; the distance between them at 465 meters. The road apparatus (for such itmust be called) would consist of six wire cables, quite independent of one another, on which six light pulley wheels will move, and from these wheels a small omnibus capable of carrying eight persons will hang. The omnibus will be drawn by a rope attached to a steam engine to be placed on the Oberhaupt, near the Bellevue hotel. <> *

Dwarf Trees of Japan.

One of the interesting thipgs seen at the Paris exposition are thh dwarf trees which the Japanese horticulturists are showing, and which attracting much attention. Pines, thujes, and cedars, said to be 100 or 150 years old, are only eighteen inches high, and with such specimens it would be easy to have a coniferous forest on a balcony. These arboreal deformities are produced by great labor, and if the truth is told about their ages, this work of arresting the tree’s development and forcing it Into contorted forms must be persisted in by several generations of foresters. All this painstaking is hardly paid for by the beauty of the resulting abortions, but a look at these trees will explain where the fantastic forms come from which serve as models for the plants we see on the lacquered trays, bronzes. and embroideries which come “TT"-

PHOTOGRAPHING LIGHTNING.

How It Majr Bo Done by Amateur Star dent* of the CumeVa. A.« rec-nt meeting of the English Phptogr*ph club Mr. W. Marriott, fellow of the Royal Meteorological society, was requested to draw up instructions lor taking photographs of lightning. The following brief rules are offered: 1. The camera should be ■ focused during the daytime to some distant object ac_ J a mark made on the camera, so that at night it may be quickly adjusted when a storm is approaching. 2. A rapid rectilinear lens, with full aperture, should be used. 3. The earnest should be directed to the part of the sky where the lightning is most likely to occur. 4. The camera should be firmly screwed to the tripod stand. 5 It may be necessary to tilt the earner* slightly, especially if the lightning bg mostly in the zenith; if this be done a note should be made of the amount of inclination. 6. A portion of landscape, roof, chimneypot, etc., should, if possible, be included on the plate; If this cannot be done the top of the plate should be carefully marked before it is removed from iho dark slide. 7. The exact time of each flash, the interval in seconds between the lightning arid thunder, and the point the compass in which the dash appeared should all he careful:y r corded. S. It is desirable that th... e should only be one flash on each plate. 9. If circumstances permit two cameras sbothfi be used—one fixed on Um tripod stand and the other held in the har.d—and two separate photographs obtained of the same flash. 10. it would bq very interesting and valuable if two or mors photographers could obtain pictures ol the same flash from dim rent points oi view. By this means it might be possible to determine accurately the distance of the flash, and also its movements i» the atmosphere.

Huy lons and M\-km Trees Parties wishing Fruit Trees will do Wc.ll to examine my Nursery Stock at Luther Ponsler’s farm, 2 miles north and one-half mile east of Bensselaer. 1 have over 5,000 Apple, 1,000 Cherry, and 400 Pear—all choice varieties. j m trees are in a thrifty an healthy condition. I also have the agency for the Greening Bros Nursery at Monroe, one of the best Nurseries m the Sta Ge. All sb>ck bought of me guaranteed true to name, and insured for one year where properly taken care of at the following prices: Apples— Home Trees— 2oc. “ Michigan 30c. Crebs, 30c.; Cherry, 30c., &c. EZZ3 H. B. MUBBAY.

New Use of Electricity. The Philahelphia & Reading railroad company has recently been experimenting with an electric device to increase the friction of locomotive wheels upon the track and prevent slipping. A low tension current, generated by a small dynamo, is passed from the front driving wheel to the track, and from the tratek again to the back wheel. It is said that the effect of this current is more marked than that of sand sprinkled on the track, and that experiments have fully proved its value. -Loose's bl ed Clover File Ke to fed v, i.- « positive specific fur a forms of iLe ii tease. Blind. Bleed* ing,lt iiit• t , Ulcerated'. andProtrud* ing P.lis. Pt ceoOe. For suie bv Long i J. E. Hpitler, at the P. O. book store takes,subscriptions for standard maguzines and papers, without extra charge. backgrounds, new camera, ut w ] lalustrade, new burnisher andrew ideas! Now is the time to those photos taken you were ..I* hi i f. J. a. Sharp

this evil the 7 “COLCHESTER" RUBBER CO. the Rubber from slippiiur off „ Call for She “Colchester* “APHSaiVZ COUNTERS ” . aaoyoocan vat, run or jump'ta them.

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