SOMEWHAT STRANGE. ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF EVERY DAY LIFE, tures Which Show That Stranger Than Fiction. Truth is Tur recent hanging of the Virginia desperado, Talton Hall, has brought into prominence a remarkable little town called Big Stone Gap, situated among the mountains, twenty miles from Wise Court House, It furnished the courage ous Judge who tried Hall, eight of the jury who convicted him, and the Cap tain and two-thirds of the guard that saw his sentence executed. Three years ago Big Stone Gap was the worst spot in this bad region. It was settled then by young blue grass Kentuckians and eastern Virginians, ‘“‘furriners.” as the mountain people call them. They rep university, It was the habit of ‘‘toughs” to com? into the town and gallop through the streets, firing their pistols right and left, while the storekeepers shut up shop and went to the woods. These voung Kentuckians and Virginians settled at Big Stone Gap, organized into a volunteer police force, equipped with revolvers, billies, and whistles They fought the toughs with Winches ters and pistols, and for a time street fights came daily. They maintained the law, however. To day a whistle any where in the town, at any hour of the night or day, will bring a dozen men to the spot in as many minutes. It the one place in all the Cumberland Range where a feud or a fight is now impossible —the one place where the law is enforced Spartan and which of a Quaker town. is sternness, in A comraxy has been incorporated in Cite called the Automatic Ne paper Distributing Company, which pro do away with 't ears and other places, Ws to HOSES newshovs on for them a patent antomatic machine » ted machine will immediatel cents in changy, Other dey is out. b Newspa siiers it r Dis field suffici Pp EY that some Den $4 1 irned y SOIT to wh ORES ately, She expre I took her there, and she marched straight to the ino desk her sister had occupied “ay “This mine.” It we back from the 1 has it at is true, she has bu God gave plain it.” £SOms jin wrave, bul 11814 a) Shc = chile i I do ro Of her two Tue most unique adventure on record in which a snapshotter participated, oc curred some time Blantyre, in the shire ghlands of South Africa A party consisting of several members of the Scotch mission came suddenis a number of of out hunting one das AO NEAT HIM OTK owliles " hile they The enormous saurians were Inzily basking in the sun, sui of the nimrods, they took alarm at the the strangers and beat a hasty retreat toward the water, which all of them entered except oue straggler, whom the hunters soceeeded in cateh- ing by the tail. The four natives who seized the crocodile by that portion of his anatomy which would have entered the water last, had he succeeded in clud ing them, were swayed violently from side to side by the violent writhing of the powerful creature, but they held on man fully untii Mr. F. camera around in front of him, when, click! and the great African amphibian bad had his picture “took.” The sequel was a particularly sad one for the croco dile, - after the “sitting” he was dis patched by a rifle shot, Tur “Moving Stone” at Lexington is one of the most remarkable freaks of nature in the State of Kentucky, the great caverns alone excepted, In the rear of the grounds attached to the home of the late Governor Gilmer is a huge boulder, standing alone on the edge of a stream. Resting directly upon this boul der is another weighing at least twenty tops. This upper boulder rests upon a stone pinnacle not more than two fect ware, and so evenly balanced that { though the slightest touch will cause t to rock to and fro), a hundred horses could not pull it from its socket, Geolo- ts say that it must have been depos ted in its present position in the time of the epoch, and that the tex. ture composition of the boulder argue in favor of the theory that it was wore Pant despite the adnionitory of one Lpproad fi of [ transported from the Lake Buperior re. | gion to its present resting place ina { good field of ice long before there was a | single human being on the face of the | enrth, i Dr. B. H. Taicorr, Superintipdent of the Middletown Lunatic Asyluny was {in New York recently, and disclosed a new method he has discovered for aséer | taining if his women patients are recos { ering their minds. Said he: “If a woman | is crazy she will let her person become { slovenly and her clothes dirty. She will | let her hair get unkempt, and above all things she will not spend the time to cut and curl her bangs. If a female lunatic | begins to ask for utensils to bang her t hair it is as sure as anything can be in | this world that she is recovering from her mania. The women have lamps to heat their curling irons, and | when I hear of a female patient asking for a little alcohol for her lamp 1 Know her mind is coming around to sanity, ‘I'his is not a pleasantry, but a fact.” school Sose extraordinary freaks on the part of a lunatic are reported from Cambray, says a Paris letter. The maniac went into the citadel barracks in that town and began operations by making a young seatry ‘present amns’ to him, stating that he was the general officer command ing the army corps of the district, A sergeant, seeing the youthful soldier saluting the unknown civilian, vigor y reprimanded the recruit. This exasperated the lunatic to an unwont d { degree. He rushed at the sergeant and would have strangled him but for the intervention of one of the men on guard. The latter wounded t madman, who managed himself the soldier's sword bayonet The lunatic next entered the guardroom, seized a loaded Lebel rifle, fixed a sword on it and all the were on guard across the barrack ously was, however, by he to posses of bay net { hased 3 Ho men Iw square, Othersoldiers. however, rushed of their “To arms’ out quarters on hearing cric | and succeeded the madman, who w tied, hand and despatched to an asylum Mus, Lewis torhte CTL in mastering as het n-months-old baby, had | isiting her family in Cleveland, O., i.1 wk » DintK« flavors of a IH The of pres cloth. ble stats to the location of the gv of the soil and the impervion The warrior provided arms nnd 2 flint-lock so were in good condition Wns muskel Cuannee farm Bannoun, mile while bare - looted, the left foot by a large green bit In a short time the foot had se almost twice its natural size and the Blood [Myinesy | ing set in, and he was saved from with great difficulty. who I f Oxford, Is ties one west © 5 Was was almost unbearable ile Esntgue Lorgz, of San Anlonie, Texas, and Meliton Ordaz, of the City bof Mexico, have obtained a | from the Mexican government for allizn | tor hunting in the Nantls, Papmloapan and Contzacealces rivers in the of Vera Craz. They are required to pay to the government #5 # ton for the skins and sevinty cents a ton for the grease of | all alligators taken. | A moverst has been sentence ed to | seven months’ imprisonment at Glashutte, | Germany, because every night he wold I cross the milroad track at some pred ot | just in front of the locomotive, so that {the engineer was in great straits not to | kill him, One evening he was seeom | panel by another wheelman who fell, i and thus the offender became known. i i It was impossible to cateh him before, CONCOSRIOonN Sale i A WELL-DRESSED stranger accom { panied by a boy, entered a hat store in | Frankfort, Germany, and after a tim: | the man was fitted to a hat, in the Looking lass he said to the youngster, “How do 1 look in this hat!” “Like a thief!" promptly responded the lad. The man angrily darted toward him, but the lad fled from the store, pursited by the man, The shopkeeper thought it a’ | very funny until their long absence made { him realize that he had been robbed, DOWN IN A served to connest the ganpways, At the sides Granger's lanp shed the light while he pointed out the seams of coal, and in MORE UNDER GROUND, tisw the Con) Is Mined and Brought to the Surface—A Hive of Industry. A descent of 1.000 feet Into a coal mine prompts the inexperienced visitor to remark, ‘coal should be cheap at $10 i the veins, It brought inte view the strnge growths of plant life which clung to the conl, while his sure foot and strong arms helped his visitor over stones and beams a misstep meant a plunge into a repulsive gutter, He knew all the ghost. like forms which went by, and cheery greetings always is a most ungraceful looking it seems to have been started in « small way and then made larger by ax tensions, here and there, as lictated But an investigation all the apparent the owner will show extensions SOON were A weary toil to the top, up dozens of structure is a hive of industry. There is a clatter of machinery and falling coal by the ton, and, in the Hammond near Girardville, which vicking slate from the coal as it | Everything about, including the faces of the fuel they are preparing for market, At the top of the received as it the level or gangway, which is now being worked 1,000 feet below The slope is w tide enough to accommo. lines of track, color comes up thi date two and iH dav lone all day long ars are being by hauled i CHRD up 4 y on loaded and sent down the other empty When the car its con is run ¢ du stationed ents ar Ire tl thie ling from the cable after drop OK scending inte Ihe carciessly ming 4 yt $:i ls wi nt with both hands an iron ol to drop TASH a tightly which convenient rete hie from har sttde to Yen side. Then the signa was gi The Ha ning wa t soon the Then from able boo AL fi Inere kK the it was a spe and finally it faded view and Jou down the rest of ney thu gently sloping shaft was light of the two lamps it uneCAnnyY journey heavy pil the track flitted by like spectres at places dripped walls and roof At others the chilling, fearful sound of Now made in the was The of Water the an wooden irs lining the side copiously from a running stream greeted the cars and then, especially in passing the 500 thi like re or wld be foot fevel or gangway, boom port of falling heard, All the while the cold air rushed the shaft to greet the riders and cool the brow which was inclined to be from the mental calculations which went on inside as to the probable results should the cable snap or the car jump the track. A rattle and a jolt told of the journey's end in safety Imagine a spacious corridor seven miles long with its accompanying branches, and you have an idea of the second level or gangway of the col liery. At every 34 feet trunks of good sized trees support the roof, which is cight or ten feet high and which is closely lathed, as it were, with the unbarked branches of the trees, thus effectually preventing the coal from falling and in juring the men. coal beams © Climbing a crude ladder, guide and i crawled on hands and knees into a small dark opening some seven feet from the floor... At the end it was barely possible to sit upright, Two miners work with dynamite. The per spiring novice began to chill at once, “Oh! there's no danger in dynamite,” Inughingly remarked one the work men. “Cut me a piece of it,” he said to the other man, who coolly took off about two inches from a stick of of the explo sive, “Sec, there's there, It'] burn,” and the man's juck knife chipped off a slice, to which he the flame from his lamp a little splutter The small hig ones, it must be remembered, must all be shored with heavy timber, and the miners must carry it there and that there i= no fear of cont ing it down In fact, miner g timbers must be drageed and se no danger oven applied It burned with well as the passages, as set it so firmly ussion throw wherever the yportionate in size CXCRVILes fi 4 tion, 1 Space will not permit even a brief of y seri ion the wonder system by which a « om ple te ire the the un all times air from stirface abos ie to reach rimost nipe al the manner in which the thro the im Me Nw bxwses search collier throug every morning fore the men WOrK to see tl 528] dangerous lurking to those dreadful cala ties whict ire : Lom wenliy horn a the wor engine room blasted there I» pumj AY } t DOUrs OF dog ootsteps hie woul the old f and Ww ake intruder, bx roughly on the should ' up in time to t : moe otfcer Or olherw is do not Know 1 sentinel of a sing ¢ instance on the though the off and time again Th nt did not fare half so well, © A could not do ton much for that caring for him yet, though he This was a sad blow t post Wak oauy napping, ers tried it tim sentinels on other posts Mn pany be lon ked up at night, y the men, for they were seldom very much fatizued from guard duty when the dog was with them.” I believe it is required that How Rice is Grown, South Carolina and Georgia formerly raised the bulk of the rice crop of the Atlantic to this on their ad apted coast being specially crop, since the rice, 3 year, After the war, Louisiana took up the industry. Many of the old sugar plantations on the Mississippi had to give The crop calls for $150,000 for a sugar house, and as many of the planters could not raise that capital they looked around for another crop which did not require as ever, great logs stretch across the roof resting on the uprights, an immense wide to crush in these sup- ports, but that this is no uncommon occur: rence newspaper readers well know, [It is, though, one of the minor dangers of the mines, The level is always broad enough to accommodate one ear track, while in laces it Is wide enough for two or more, v tter darkness reigns, save where the light from a miner's lamp shines fora foot or two around, Often at the sides of the tracks are gutters of inky-black water, heavily charged with the strongest acid. Of course no drinking water is to be had in mines, and the men must bring it in the morning in their tins the same as they do their dinners, Not unfrequently tunnels through the solid rock were encountercd, which all. flooded. and it is left almost to itself un. time comes around. The lands ajong the Mississippi are es The Mis. prevented from overflowing it only by the levees. By tapping these levees and running a pipe, or what is known as a “rice flume” through them, the plant ers can get all the water they need for the crop. Asa consequence rice came more and more into favor until Louisiana had left South Carolina and eutysia far behind. The only objections to this sys tem were the rice flumes, which frequent. ly broke, resulting in ugly and destruc tive crevices, which caused losses many times as great as the value of the entire crop of the State. This naturally created a prejudice nst rice, and laws wore EE FOIL THE CHILDREN, FOUIL- YEAR-OLD BASEBALL We have but one in our baseball team; Doesn't it seem | Funny that he can play baseball Alone? But he does he plays it all, | He las the tiniest bit of a bat — Think of that And a cap with stripes, a white ! Tan shoes, and long black st and blue, ooking 100, | How does he do the game? Ah well i | scarce can tell, | For I don’t quite understand the case, | Whether he's pitcher or first base He squats with a hand on either knee, And cries, “Now see!” Spatches his bat and strikes a blow { At nothing, and then—ah, w { Cap and bat are flung to the ! And round and round His butterfly head flies, vellow, small, ground, “Hurray And lis babyy all, hurr wv! game is done If thi Hrse i Our Little why, of o« WHEN i WA A I nited States in. Andew DD. White, = tells a about ol ated new gLOry Hit to 1 IS ¢ Aang np is of the yur, and is acquainted with eve dinner pail sod always fr Own nme al share iin each a As soon as th ver “Monk” the dr dinner : becomes the pride of her master, of entir of men 3 the foundry and the covy of every dog sw an hour 1 in ad fore miration the in the neighborhood, because § or half hour, the 1 pends on how long she d dinner), she takes part a grand game of ball and has long since proved herself catcher Her master stands in the middle of the street and hard bao which is generally a times even farther As he takes the ball “Monk” stands in the wildest excitement his feet Her bright eves watch for it to leave his hand with keen anxiety —and the instant he throws it arrow from a bow, straight in its rapid track The moment it touches the ground it is hers, and she brings it back and lays it at her master's feet, 1 have seen her eatch the ball on the “fly.” and have often wondered it did not kaoek every as CARsC may {it de swwotes 10 her in the “champion” throws with his strong arm a ball as far as he can throw it half block. ROTI at very she she always catches it in her strong little mouth. While “Monk's” sho is gazed at by the rest of the dogs who have assembled with sad and long ing eyes. shaped, lively, swift-footed wn terrier stands watching the game: kis whole body quivering with repressed excite ment, and longing as no doubt he won ders in his dog mind why such joy has not come into his lot in life. When the foundry whistio sory ds the hour for a return to work Monk lays down the ball of her own accord and follows her master into the building again, =| Detroit Free Press, A REAL KX1a0T, A pleasing sight it was, I do assure you. Not the first part of the scene, for the Yittle maid was erying bitterly, Something very serious must have happened. Wondering, [ paused ; when, round a corner came my knight. Ona rave steed! Wearing a glittering Imet and greaves of bress! No. Th was a ninetoenth-century knight, and yy are as likely to be on foot as on horseback. He are apt to be straw hats or Derbys: and as for greaves— well, knickerbockers are more common to-day. This particular knight was about ten years old-—slender, straight, open-eyed. Quickly he spied the damsel in distress, Swiftly he came to her aid, “What's the matter?” | heard him say, Alas! the “matter ’ was that the i dle she held had “bursted.” and its con tents were open to view. Probably the Fiiti~ And, indeed, whoever put that soiled shirt and the collars in her care, hit vexed, A new HEIR E reasonably have been 2 F % # : g # rece ol wrapping-paper Must the chile iany or No wonder get Poor little soul But the tucked the boy Hhursted’ WAN He his daunted bundle under not “I'Il earry it to the laundry for you.” in the kindest voice, and off the after 1 met the wus comforted “Was that boy SOON She small girl again, ind serene your brother?” asked, “Did vou know him?” “A real gentler weteenthop Harper WHAT FOOD COSTS One<half of the Money Men Karn Gor for Bread and Butter. Many 3 3 tempts have born res ition § sum spent w made by os h vegetables f domestic production the rati uving j5ia ns fRiriy si one-half the cost of clothing and sundries the other half if +1 ciotd wi ASSUINC wherever sundries amount t per person, the food chased or produced will amount to i then only ny and Hing two dollars even of valuation, expenditury pet reach seven children about twenty Edward Atkin. cents person, including which would represent cents a day per adult Rhinoceros versus Elephant, his “Oriental Field Sports,” speaking of the Indian rhinooc- crow. describes it as an inveterate enemy of clephants, attacking whenever he can find them at least, not pro. Williamson, in single, or, without mercy, and confiding in his coat of mail to defend him from the puny at the tusks of young males. He relates that the apparent bluntaess of the horn weapon, and inadequate to penctrate any hand tough substance. This, how ever, we are informed, is not the case, clephants often being found dead, obwi: or ceived from the hors of the rhinoceros; and in one case, as is related by William. son, a large male elephant and rhinoceros were found both dead together, the ele phant's abdomen having been ripped open, and the rhinoceros’ horn found transfixed beneath the ribs. Williamsox also states that Major Lally, an officer o the Indian army whose veragity is be yond question, while engaged in one oi his hunting expeditions, and having ar rived at the summit of a low range hills, was suddenly presented with a dis. tinct view of a most desperate engage ment between a rhinoceros and a large male elephant, the latter, to all appear. ance, ecting a small whick were retiring in. a state of alarm. Tha elephant was beaten, and decamped, fol lowed by the rhinoceros, into a hea Jungle, where much roaring was hoa t nothing could be discerned. From this we may conclude that the habit which Pliny describes, of the rhinoccro ri open the elephant, is confirmed Hi observation. —{ From Cassell’ atural History for September, i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers