Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1874 — HAPS AND MISHAPS. [ARTICLE]

HAPS AND MISHAPS.

—A lady walking on a Boston street the other day suddenly met a man who was eoming around a corner in such a manner that a cigar in his mouth struck her in the eye, leaving a mark which she ; will carry all her life, and she would like to know if there is no law by which sjie can obtain redress. • —A Bridgeport (Conn.) man who was chopping wood recently accidentally cut dne of his fingers badly, and was so enraged that he deliberately laid his hand on the chopping block and chopped* the finger entirely off. The hand, which, but a few moments before had been cold and numb, soon began to warm up, and the man began to howl. —Just before Thanksgiving a drove of 1,000 live turkeys passed through Barry, Vt., en route for Boston. They were driven along the streets just like a flock of sheep. “When nightfall came they would by general consent all leave the road and take to the fences, and their drivers had to put up for the night, for they could get them no further: . —Royal Gale, of Barry, Yt., has a musical dog. A company of singers were at his house the other day, and when they sang certain pieces of a lively turn the dog would join in the chorus by a low howl, not in bad time or tune. There is also a dog at Rutland who accompanies his master to- many concerts and occasionally assists the musicians. —A few days ago a cat belonging to Mr. Eugeiffe Cleveland, of Wethersfield, Conn., brought home a young woodchuck, nearly full-grown. The cat was covered with blood, and otherwise showed signs of a severe struggle. This is supposed to be the first case on record where a cat tackled and whipped a woodchuck. .Pussy seemed to be proud of her triumph. —A special providence is said to watch -over idiots. This was shown recently in Allegheny City, Pa., where a man playing with a pistol discharged it while the muzzle was pointing toward his body. The bullet struck a five-cent piece in his vest pocket, which rehanged its course, and after passing down underneath his clothing it lodged in his boot. It gave him two or three scratches in its course, but did no serious damage. —A Hoboken street railway has a down grade nearly a- mile long, and the other day, while a woman was sitting in a car at the head of the line, a street Arab jumped on the front platform and loosened the brakes. There being no horses attached, the car started down the hill, and reached the foot at su«h a tremendous rate of speed-as to jump the track, crash through a platform, leap a ditch and land on the other side. The woman was dashed from one end of the rear to the other with great force, and soterribly injured that her recovery is doubtful.