Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1892 — SOMEWHAT STRANGE. [ARTICLE]

SOMEWHAT STRANGE.

.ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF EVERY DAY LIFE. Queer Episodes and Thrilling Adven* fnres Which Show that Truth Is Stranger than Fiction. Locisa Bokri.fr, a twelve-year-old Genian trirl, had been working in n family living a mile or so from her home near Carter’s Camp. Bonn., and when she quit their service the farmer’s wife made her a present of a pair of geese. The girl started for home early in the morning driving her geese. (>n her way she had to pass the house of a farmer who hod several savage dogs, and to defend

tier geese she armed herself with a club, •lust as she arrived opposite the farmer’s something sprang out of the woods on the other side of the road and seized one of the geese, instead of a dog. however, it was a big wildcat. The girl, nothing daunted, sprang to the relief of her goose and attacked the animal with her cluh. The wildcat dropped the goose and sprang upon the girl. With one sweep of its claws it tore her dress nearly off her and tore the flesh on her shoulder. 1 he frightened goose, squawking loudly, and hurt so that it could only flutter about in the road, then seemed to be more tempting to the wildcat than the girl was and it sprang away and again seized the goose. Ixniisa hurriedly regained her feet, and, unmindful of her torn clothes and bleeding shoulders, grabbed her club and ran to the defense of her goose again. But her aid was not ! needed, for the first thing she saw was one of the dreaded dogs coining up the | road like a whirlwind, and before she j realized the fact he had the wildcat by I the neck, and with one crunch of his teeth and a shake of his head he stretched ! the catamount dead at the roadside. The j girl gathered up her geese and again started for home. The dog trotted along at her side and would not leave her until she was safely at her home with her geese, when he trotted leisurely back home.

Mrs. Mary J. Kacffer, a married lady about fifty years of age, has for several months been locating deposits of gold near Mansfield, Ohio. Although the precious metal was not found in paying quantities it created excitement. The singular part of the discoveries, however, lies in the fact that she located the deposits by means of what she terms a •'mineral compound. ” This consists of u small leaden jar filled with a chemical compound known only to herself, with two wires attached. She grasps one wire in each hand, holding the jar before her. Mrs. Knutter says that when the jar vibrates in u circle it signifies there is gold in the earth immediately below that spot. Her experiments in seeking gold so far have met with success. A few days ago, in company with Eli Bovd, an experienced gas and oil man of Fostoria. she went a few miles northwest of Mansfield, and with tho magic jar, properly charged for natural gas, she located a deposit. To ascertain to what depth it would be necessary to bore to strike the gas she cut a forked poach limb, and grasping tho two forks, she held them tight over the spot indicated by the jar. lhe gentleman who accompanied her says tho branch turned like the spoke of a wheel, over and over. 150 times. This, Mrs. Kauffer says, indicates that the gas lies at a depth of 150 feet, each revolulution of the peach limb signifying one foot. A great many people share in the belief that natural gas can be found in that vicinity, hut thpy all doubt the virtue of that magic jar and tlie reliability of that peach limb test that savors so much of tho dark ages. Ai'Strai.ia has given the world another curiosity. On some noble stream in Queensland, known as Tinana Creek, a gentleman, while out hunting the other day, captured what he denominates a tree-climbing pig. lie describes the animal as “pretty fat” and weighing about a hundred pounds, with bristly brown fur, small bluek spots, snout und ears like a pig, but the jaw is furnished with front teeth like a rodent; it has large canines, and powerful back grinders. The fore feet are furnished with hooklike claws; the hind ones have two hook claws on each hoof. The tail is thick, about u foot long and highly prehensile, and in a state of rest is usually carried in what is known ns a Flemish coil. Tho animal is also furnished with a pouch, which it only appears to use for carrying a supply of food in while it is traveling to fresh pastures. The animal climbs trees and hangs by its tail while it gathors its food by the book claws The flesh is excellent, and is described as tasting just like vcul and ham pie. The theory is that the animal is a cross between the ordinary wild pig and the Queensland tree-climbing kangaroo.

“Thu most valuable cat’s-eye in the world is now on exhibition in a jeweler's shop in London,” said R. T. Thornton, of St. Louis, who has just returned from a visit to England. “It came from Ceylon (which, with Madras, has the monopoly of these jewels), and was originally found by a laborer while loading a cart with dirt. He sold it for a sum equivalent to about $40 in American money, and then, in its uncut state, it weighed 475 carats. Subsequently, it passed through several hands, and ultimately fell into those of a native rice merchant, who gave $7,000 for it and had it cut. Its present weight is 170 carats, and it is said to be insured for $25,000. It reflects four opalescent rays, combining to form a simple brilliant ray. There is an unusually great demand for cat's-eyes just now, and the more beautiful of them sell for as much almost as diamonds. In England now, in order to be considered in the swim, one must sport a cat’s-eye sure, and that is the reason for the great demand and large price asked for them.” A well-known firm of opticians in London manufacture specially constructed spectacles to be worn by horses. The object is to promote “high stepping.” Horse spectacles, we learn, are made of stiff leather, quite inclosing the eyes of the horse, and the glasses employed are deep concave and large in size. The effect is to give the ground in front of the horse the appearance of being raised; the animal, therefore, steps high, thinking he is going uphill, or has to step over an obstacle in front of him. If he system is persevered with when the animal is young the effect is said to be marvellous. Many horses, it is alleged, could be materially improved by a visit to the optician, and it is recommended that the sight of all horses should be tested. This particularly applies to valuable hunters, which are found optically unfit for their work, when a little artificial assistance would make them as 'useful as ever. Apart from this consideration, many vices, it is believed, might be cured by means of eye-glasses. The cause of shying is, as a rule, short sight. “Did you ever hear of a skunk farm?” laughingly asked Frank M. Green, of Grand Kapids, at the Fifth Avenue

; Hotel, in New York. '‘‘What cnlled it to my mind was the whiffof tho oil refineries and fertilizer factories 1 got recently coming in over tho Pennsylvania. An old trapper has a skunk farm near Grattan, Mich., about twenty-two miles from Grand liapids, and is making a good living out of it, as you know skunk ; skins bring good prices. He first dug a deep trench uround a half acre of land, and then on top of the stone with which he filled the trench he put a very high fence. Inside of this place he has made a lot of pits iu the ground, in which the skunks burrow and breed. He does not ■ seem to have any trouble in handiing ! the aninials. aud lie had something over j one hundred when I wus up there some : months ago. The old man expects to | make a nice thing out of it.” Jons Craig, a young newspaper man who was recently appointed secretary of the California World’s Fair Commission, went to bed one night recently with a j luxuriant growth of whiskers and woke j up with one side pure white. Ho thought ; some cue had played a practical joke on him aud altered tho color with dye, but after shaving oft’ his beard it came out again half red and half white. Tho only I explanation of the curious change of I color is Craig’s mental worry for seven months over tho failure of tho State j authorities to approve tho California appropriation for the World’s Fair. The State Comptroller refused to honor the salary warrants of tho commission anil the case was appealed to the Supreme Court, where it has been hanging for ] several months. The members of the commission are all men of means, but Craig left a good newspaper job to accept tho secretaryship, and hasn’t received a cent of pay for seven months, and the annoyance he has suffered has affected him so much that his beard has changed color.

While Miss Winter, of Einmittsburg, Md., was overlooking her childhood’s treasures, she came across an old Testament which she found on the site of a soldier’s camp near there during the war, after the soldiers had left for tho field of Gettysburg. On exarning the book her eyes fell on the name “Samuel Wolcott,Griffen's Mills, Erie County,N. Y.,” and Miss Winter decided to write to the address, thinking tho owner would like to recover tho book. In a few davs she received a reply from Mrs. Woaden, j of Clinton,X. J., stating that she was a I sister of tho soldier and the only living! member of a large family. She said her j brother had returned home from the army in 1863, and died in 1864, and Miss Winter’s letter had been forwarded to her as his nearest of kin. Mrs. Weaden seemed much pleased at the idea of recovering this long-lost memento of lier dead brother, and Miss Winter sent the Testament to her.

0. V. Thornton, a St. Joseph (Mo.) undertaker, reports a remarkable case of hair growing after death. Thirteen years ago James Campbell, aged twenty-two, was killed in a cyclone at Richmond, Mo. 'l’ho remains were buried in a Country church-yard at Hardin. Lately Campbell’s father built a vault and engaged the St. Joseph undertaker to remove the remains. Upon opening the wooden coffin, which was in a good state of preservation, the entire body of Campbell was found to be covered with a luxuriant growth of curly, glossy hair, which filled every vacant spuce in the box. The flesh was not decomposed, neither was tho clothing, and everything was in a good state of preservation. The corpse was completely enveloped in tho post-mortem crop of hair. A fine gem that was dropped overboard in Lake lamouin, Georgia, about ten years ugo by a northern tourist, while out duck shooting, was recovered when the lake went dry a short time ago. Judge Hopkins caino across a flounder in his rambles over tho lake’s bottom. As tho flounder is a salt-water fish and never before found in these waters, his find was quite a curiosity. Some explain its presence by saying that there is a subterranean passage by which the water flowed out and emptied into tho Gulf of Moxico and the fish entered the lake by that means.

An English chemist, who was at a Washington (D. (J.) hotel, exhibited a little microphone he lm«l made which would render audible tho footsteps of a fiy. It was only a small affair, and consisted of a box with a sheet of thin strawpaper stretched over tho upper side. By means of a little electrical devieo, consisting of two carbon disks, a carbon pencil and a weak battery, tho sheet of paper over tho top of tho box was caused to produce vibrations when a fly walked over it stroug enough to reuct energetically on an ordinary telephone transmitter when held close to the latter.

A remarkable fish was recently captured off the Ardglais coast, County Down, Ireland.' According to Land and Wuter, “it was three-quurtorsof a in weight, and had a head similar to that of a pike. From tho gills to the tail on each side there was a bright blue band; the tops of the tail fins were also a bright blue, and around the head und shoulders thej-e was a network of deep blue lines, which gave the fish a very comical, unnatural uspoct.” It is unknown to the fishermen of that section. An artesian well at Galveston has reached a depth of more than 2,000 feet and is still going down. Wood was pierced at a depth of about 1,500 feet, and its age is estimated by Professor Siligley at 200,000 years. Down in Arkansas lives Mrs. Stella Christian, the wife of a well-to-do farmer and the mother of nine sons. During the war sho assumed male attire and won a reputation for bravery as a soldier in the Confederate army. She served under General Mclntosh, and it wus not until after she had been wounded at the battle of Elk Horn Tavern that her sex w-us sho was obliged to quit the service.