Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1880 — An Elephant Trying to Board a Ship. [ARTICLE]

An Elephant Trying to Board a Ship.

The Indian Government has presented to the King of the Belgians four elephants, to be used by his expedition, and they have arrived safely at Zanzibar and been landed near Darses-Sa-laam. One who saw them landingsays the scene was very exciting. They were dumped in the water from the ship. We never thought the first elephant could get alive to shore. It swam more than a mile in distance, and was in the water more than an hour. Long after it was half way it would keep turning around and trying to come back to the ship. I caniiotaescribe to you the excitement there was on board. I fairly cried with anxiety and excitement; it would have been too horrible to see it drowned. It tried to climb up the ship’s side once. It was pouring with rain, which made things seem more dismal; we were all wet through, but nobody cared. We had to get our experience as we went on, as no one knew anything about elephants on landing. We managed the other three much better, and made the Captain take the ship near in shore.— London Nature.

—lt has always been thought that ears of corn have an even number of rows, and in slavery times the question was discusssed in Richmond, Ky., when a negro claimed that he had seen ears with an odd number of rows. His master promised him his freedom if he would find such an ear, and in the fall, when the corn was harvested, the colored man appeared with a sound ear of thirteen rows and got his freedom pa pera. Recently the negro confessed that in roasting-ear time he cut out one row of grains in an ear with a sharp knife, bound the ear together again, and in gathering time knew just where to find it. —A lady in a horse-car was asked why she rang the bell at both ends. “ Because I want both ends to stop, sir,” she quickly responded. ■ —A hot buckwheat cake will get away with more butter, at forty cents per j>ound, than any other eatable thing of