Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1907 — FOR THE CHILDREN [ARTICLE]

FOR THE CHILDREN

Whirling Dervishes. Many circuses and wild west shows have a “whirling dervish” for one of their attractions, and they are certainly wonderful creatures, says th(» Chicago News. They are Mohammedans from PerBia. a set of men who devote, or are supposed to devote, their entire time to religion, and are perhaps as nearly like monks as anything else. Fasting for days at a time, with continual prayer, at last affect* their minds and they see wonderful visions which they disclose to their superstitious brothers, over whom they have great* Influence. They are always miserably poor, living on charity, and earn what little they have by being hired to mourn at funerals, or to conduct religious ceremonies. Some of these men perform most wonderful tricks, such as fire eating. Juggling and walking on broken glass. How they do them will never be known, but they are supposed to be Invested with supernatural power, which Is. of course, untrue. We are all familiar with the “whirling dervish.” This takes years of practice, but finally they become so expert, and are so used to it, that they can whirl for hours without becoming dizzy. A Shrewd but Sleeping Dog. A dbg wb > usually accompanied h’s master on evening visits to a neighbor's house fell asleep there one night and was forgotten. Long after his master had gone the sleepy fellow awoke to find himself alone and in the dark. The door was shut anti locked and the family asleep in other rooms, so his whining was not noticed. Though the windows were closed, one blind was open, and the dog. determining to go home, leaped through the window, breaking glass and sash as he went. Some time after he tyas spending the evening with his master In the same house, and as before he went to sleep, but not In tho usual place. When the dog's owner prepared to leave, bis hat and cane were missing. A search showed not only the missing articles, but something else. The cane and hat had been taken from the rack and lay on the floor, while by their side rested the sleeping dog. But one paw was on the hat and the other across the cane. He did not mean to be left again, and he wasn't. Boston Telegrams. This game, as its name suggests, is more difficult than the ordinary telegrams. The players are seated in a circle, each with pencil and paper. No. 1 writes the letter A at the top of his paper; No. 2, B; No. 3. C, and so on. All are then asked to write a telegram of ten words, every word to begin with the letter written at the top of the paper. Time allowed, fifteen minutes. When this is done each passes his telegram to his right hand neighbor, who must write a telegram in answer, every one of the ten words to begin with the letter first assigned him. For example: “Adorable American, ardent admirer, asks affection and affinity. Answer affirmatively.” The answer: “Blundering British bore, begone. Bright Boston banker brings betrothal bracelet” The Lamb Plant. Old time travelers In China and Tartary spoke of a plant they found there with the shape and appearance of a lamb. It had. so they said, heat!, feet and tall distinctly formed, and its skin was covered with soft down. It would turn about on the stalk on which It grew and would bend toward the herbage on which it fed, and when the grass failed it would dry up and wither away. A singularly shaped plant recently discovered shows that there was some foundation for this remarkable story. This plant has a woolly covering, and the peasants amuse themselves by trimming it and adjusting the long silky hairs that cover it in such a way as to give it the appearance of an animal. Walk, Moon, Walk! Walk, moon, walk. Is a nice game. Moon Is selected from among the players and blindfolded. He then stands with his legs wide apart, while the other players throw their knotted handkerchiefs through the arch formed by bis legs. When this is done they all start crying, “Walk, moon, walk!" and the moon steps about until he puts his foot on one of the handkerchiefs. The boy whose handkerchief is trodden oh theii becomes moon, having first “run the gantlet” between two rows of his comrades, who hit him with their knotted handkerchiefs as he runs. A Monster Devilfish. A monster devilfish was caught some time ago off the coast of California. It measured fourteen feet from the end of its body to the end of its longest tentacle. It had eight arms, on which were more than 800 sucket*. The body was nothing but a soft flabby sack, about two feet long. Its eyes were about an inch In diameter, and It had something that looked like a mouth. The real name of this terrible sea monster Is octopus.