Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 November 1892 — SOMEWHAT STRANGE. [ARTICLE]

SOMEWHAT STRANGE.

ACCIDENTS AN® INCIDENTS OF EVERY ©AY LIFE. Queer Facte and Thrilling Adventures Which Show That Truth 4s Stranger Than Fiction. George "White, manager at a New Haven restaurant, purchased a green turtle weighing forty-nine pounds, which had been captured in Kelsey’s pond, off Sandy Beach. The animal was taken to rhe case, and preparations were made for cooking it. The head of the turtle was cut off in the customary way by the head ■cook, assisted by Ameda -Cledes, the second cook. After the head had been severed it was left for a time beside the body of the animal. About an hour afterward Cledes began looking at the head, the jaws being open. He inserted the thumb of his right hand and the forefinger of the left hand, running the digits about an inch into the mouth of the animal. Almost instantly the jaws closed together, imprisoning the finger and thumb between the teeth. Cledes cried out 'with pain and brought to his assistance the hired cook andone or two other persons present. The digits between the jaws prevented them from closing tightly itogether, and gave opportunity for the insertion of'a steel instrument used in pullingnails from packages, and with this the jaws were pried apart far enough to allow Other iron instruments to be inserted, through the aid of which the jaws were finally pried apart and Cledes’-thumb and finger released. The grip of 'the jaws was such that the teeth nearly-severed the thumb and badly lacerated: the forefinger. The injury will prevent Cledes from using his‘right-hand for some time. The head of the animal had been severed from the body fully an hour before the occurrence, but competent authorities on the actions-of turtles allege'that such animals will -show signs of life from six -to twelve‘hours after the: head has been severed, -and it, is not.an infrequent occurrence for the jaws to open and close for a period of six hours.

The daughter of the late W. J. Kinsey performed an act of cool bravery in Denver, Col., the other night. She saved her pet, the family horse, from burning to death. The scene of the fire was the stable adjoining the costly residence at Eleventh avenue and Pearl street, belonging to the Kinsey estate, where live the son and daughter with a housekeeper and coachman. Miss Nettie Kinsey returned from a few days’ visit to Manitou. She was accompanied home by two young friends, and at 8:45 when they reached the house they found it locked. The yqung ladies were afraid: to attempt to enter the house by a window, and Miss Kinsey concluded to wake the coachman, Arthur George, whose sleeping-room was in the Darn. When she approached the window she was apprised by the smell of smoke and the heat that the barn was on fire. Quickly the young lady recognized the gravity of the situation. She thought of the family horse, a valuable animal, and one to which she was much attached, -standing in bis stall crazed with fright, while the smoke and flames were nearly enveloping him. Giving the alarm to her fnends the brave little lady broke the window with her umbrella and climbed in regardless of wounded and bleeding fingers. She rushed ibrough the blinding smoke to the door, which she unbarred. Then, stripping off her jacket, she blindfolded the frightened horse and led him to the open air. By this time the screams of the young ladies had brought a crowd to the scene, and some one had turned in an alarm. The fire department quickly responded and the flames were subdued.

A cougar incident in Asotin County is told by the Asotin (Washington) Sentinel. John Shoemaker recenMy went up to Cache creek to drive home a milch cow that had a young calf. He shouldered his gun and called along bis dog, and after he arrived at the place he found the cow, but discovered that a cougar had killed the calf and, after eating a part of it, was engaged in burying the remainder oi the carcass under sticks and-leaves. The dog gave tongue and the beast sought protection in the forks of a tree, where the dog held him prisoner until ithe arrival of Mr. Shoemaker, who .took aim and fired. The cougar fell from his perch to the ground, and this so -scared the dog that he ran toward his master, who, thinking he was the cougar making for him, threw his gun aside and ran m fast as his legs could carry him to his home. There he told a hair-rajsing story of the chase the cougar had given him. A party was formed and went to the scene, where they found the cougar dead at the foot of the tree, the rifle ball having entered his neck and passed into his lungs. The party on returning home, while crossing Poverty ranch, killed a wildcat measuring twenty-two inches in height It is said to be the largest eat ever seen in the Joseph creek country.

Wilhelm Schmidt, living four miles south of Conneaut, Ohio, has become one of the most remarkable freaks outside of the museums. He has been in this country thirty-four years, but is unable and unwilling to speak a word of English, living with his wife and daughter on an isolated little farm that yields corn and potatoes enough for the trio. A visitor, from curiosity, called on the old man and thus describes what he saw: “What proved to be Schmidt sat in an armchair in the centre of the one-roomed house. Only a huge mound of hair surmounting his shoulders was visible—not a human feature to be seen. Schmidt propped his cane against his chair, and with both hands pulled this shock of hair open, showing his face, which was bleached and uncanny looking, like vegetables grown under cover. Only for a minute was the old man's face to be seen, for he dropped the curtain of hair back over it, saying in German that be did not like the light and could not endure it. The great mass of hair fell as thickly over his face in front as over the back of his head. Schmidt has worn his hair as a hiding place for his head and face for eighteen years, and steadfastly refuses to have it cut. His eyesight has been practically destroyed by having the light shut from it so long.” Mrs. D. M. -Madden of Denison, Texas, is a lady of nerve. On a recent afternoon her little girl Mary, aged two years, was seated on the ground under a tree playing with a tin hoop, to which were attached bells. The noise of the bells attracted a large blacksnake,, which crawled to the feet of the child and stretched at full length, with its head resting on her left foot. The jingle of lhe bells seemed to charm it, for the make closed its eyes and was motionless. Mrs. Madden saw the snake. She did not scream for assistance, as most women would havodone under the circumstances; She darted to the child, grabbed the snake by the tail and hurled it through the air. The peculiar music the bells/

had wridentlv placed the snake under a spell, as it did not move until it felt the touch of Mrs. Madden’s hand. William Somers was fatally bitten by a large rattlesnake on Ruby Creek, in Boise county, Idaho. He was out hunting, and seeing a deer he jumped into a hole in order that he might conceal himself. The hollow proved to be a rattlesnake den, and Somers lost notime in jumping out again. A dozen snakes bit his boots, but their fangs did not penetrate the tough leather. The deer having been frightened away Somers decided to have some fun with the den of snakes, which numbered 100 or more. He lighted a bundle of pine needles and threw them into the hole. As the snakes darted about trying to escape the flames Somers threw rocks and sticks at them. At the height of his sport be reached down to pick up what appeared to be a portion of a tree limb. It was really one of the snakes Somers had wounded. It coiled itself and bit him upon his right wrist. Somers started -on the run for his •amp, three miles away. The sun was warm, and the venom of the snake accomplished -its deadly work before he had run half a unite. The corpse was so terribly swollen that an ordinary coffin was too small te hold it.

A bather reckless Biddeford (Me.) man, with no respect for law or Gospel, is said to have devised a scheme for 'catching trout by the wholesale, which did not work as well as he thought. He supposed that a bomb exploded-in the brook would bring all the fish in it to the surface, so that he would only have to pick-them up. He provided himself with a -bomb powerful enough to blast a-schooner out of water and went to a local brook in which there were said to be lots of-trout. He fixed the fuse, ignited it, and threw the bomb into the brook. As he did so his dog jumped in after it, seized it in his mouth, got back ■to shore, and started after his master, who was legging it across the field as *fast as he-could in the realization of his ■ danger. The man ‘had the good luck to get over a fence, which bothered the dog, and a moment later, hearing an ex,plosion, he looked around to see nis dog going skyward. A physician says that a man may do a great deal for himself by sheer force of wul, and that in no disorder is it easier to prove this than in delirium tremens. Ho says that one of his patients is a hard drinker, and that while he never takes enough liquor to prevent his attending to business, he is always saturated with alcohol. At certain intervals, however, the man receives a warning, and he then “tapers off” until he has reached the mimmun in his duly allowance. This warning comes in the form of blue snakes that wind up his legs and creep into his lap and crawl over the table ana coil in his plate. He knows that they are not real, so he sets his teeth and goes on with his work or his eating or his reading, and resolves to be moderate. He has schooled himself so well that his wife does not know when he has reached his periodical climax at the verge of “jim jams.” The most marvellous of clocks has been built by a Black Forest maker and sold for $4,000. Besides doing everything that most clocks do in the matter of time and calendar, it shows the time in Berlin, St. Petersburg, Madeira, Shanghai, Calcutta, Montreal, San Francisco, Melbourne, and Greenwich. Every evening at eight a young man invites the company to vespers in an electrically illuminated chapel where a young woman plays the “Maiden’s Prayer.” On New Year’s eve two trumpeters announce the flight of the old year and the advent of the new. In May a cuckoo comes out; in June a quail; in October a pheasant appears to be shot down by a typical British sportsman who proceeds to bag his game. At daybreak the sun rises and some bells play a German air entitled “Phoebus Awakes.” On the night of the full moon they play another German air entitled “Sweet and Tranquil Luna.” There are other features too numerous to mention. An extraordinary freak of nature has been just made public in Baltimore in the shape of a child born without a head. Not the least vestige of that most important part of the human anatomy was visible, except the mouth and chin, which were of the natural size and formed the adjacent part of the neck, as if they had dropped into it. To the great relief of the horror-stricken mother, the child lived only twenty-four hours. The family is well-known and highly respected, and the remaining children who arc members of it have no impediments, either mental or physical.