Saturday, December 1, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, August 19, 1865
A correspondent of an English paper transmits the following: On Sunday morning last I had the pleasure of witnessing a most interesting ceremony, which I desire to record for the benefit of your readers. Whilst walking with a friend in a garden near Falkirk, we observed two bees issuing from one of the hives, bearing between them the body of a defunct comrade, with which they flew for a distance of ten yards. We followed them closely, and noted the care with which they selected a convenient hole at the side of the gravel walk-the tenderness with which they committed the body, head downward, to the earth-and the solicitude with which they afterward pushed against it two little stones, doubtless ‘in memorandum.’ Their task being ended, they paused for about a minute, perhaps to drop over the grave of their friend a sympathizing tear, when they flew away, and, as John Bunyan says in his dream, “I saw them no more.”
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, September 30, 1865
A correspondent proposes a new way to kill rats. His own house being overrun with vermin, a servant girl who had seen the effects of “Old Bourbon Whiskey” on bipeds, thought she would try an experiment on the rats. Accordingly, she took a small quantity, made it very sweet with sugar, crumbled in bread enough for the crowd, and set the dish in the cellar. A few hours afterward she went and found several rats gloriously “fuddled,” engaged in throwing potato parings and hauling one another up to drink. These were easily disposed of; those not killed left the premises immediately, suffering from a severe headache. It is said the medicine is quite agreeable to take-St. Jo. Herald.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, May 28, 1881
A traveler from Pekin to Siberia, across the great desert of Gobi, tells us that whenever a camel’s feet have become tender and sore from long marches, the poor creature lies down. His driver knows at once that his feet hurt him, and looks to find out if the thick skin of the feet is blistered. Whenever a blister is found, two or three strong men, usually Mongols, keep watch of the camel until it is not noticing them. At just the right moment they make a rush all together upon the camel, throw it over upon its side, and make it fast. Then, with a needle made for that use, they sew a square piece of leather, large enough to cover the hurt place, over the camel’s foot, the skin of which is quite thick enough to sew through without hurting the animal. With his new shoes on, the animal is quite ready to get up and march on. The pieces of leather are very carefully prepared for this use. It sometimes happens that a camel lies down in the midst of his long march across the wide desert, and dies. The natives take the thickest part of his skin to make shoes of. These bits of skin they take out day after day, when on the march, and pull, until they become soft and yielding that a camel with blistered feet seems grateful to have shoes made of it, although he would resist the shoeing to the last, were he not held so that he could not move.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, May 14, 1881
The Northern section of this city was thrown into the wildest state of excitement by the terrible attack on a number of persons by an infuriated bull-dog suffering with hydrophobia. For some time past Mr. James M. Epply, who resides on the Northern boundary of the city, has been the owner of two of these dangerous brutes, and has kept them confined in the rear yard attached to his residence. This afternoon one of the dogs ferociously attacked the other, and, while they were engaged in a desperate fight, a colored girl belonging to the house went to the back door to endeavor to separate them, but no sooner did she make her appearance than one of them, frothing at the mouth, seized her by the left leg and tore a great piece of flesh from the calf of the limb. Stricken with terror and pain, the girl screamed for help, and Mr. William Thompson, who was passing at the time, came to her assistance and fired at the animal through the fence with his revolver. The ball missed its mark, and Mr. Thompson then climbed to the top of the fence to secure a better aim for his next shot. No sooner did the maddened beast see him than it leaped for his throat, and, getting a savage hold, together they fell off the fence into the street. Mr. Thompson, who is a powerful man, fought desperately, and finally succeeded in getting away from the animal, but not until his coat and shirt were torn from him and he was severely bitten in the throat and breast. The dog then ran madly down Maryland avenue, and his next victim was a child named Eddie Simm, son of one of our leading dry-goods merchants. Dashing at the boy, the dog threw him down and bit and tore the flesh from a dozen parts of his body. Fainting and bleeding, the child was picked up and carried to his father’s residence close by. A crowd had by this time gathered in pursuit of the dog, but he was not finally disposed of, although a dozen shots were fired at him, several of which wounded him, until he had severely bitten a colored boy named Richard Franklin, a distance of five or six squares from where the infuriated beast had started on his blood thirsty fight.-Baltimore [Md.] May 9, Special to Chicago Tribune.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Published in the Sangamo Journal, Springfield, Illinois on Sunday, August 20, 1843
A moving incident, illustrative of the extraordinary strength, as well as the attachment of the Arab horses, is given by Lamartine, in his beautiful travels in the East:
“An Arab Chief, with his tribe, had attacked in the night a caravan of Damascus, and plundered it; when loaded with their spoils, however, the robbers were overtaken in their return, by some horsemen of the Pacha of Acre, who killed several and bound the remainder with cords. In this State of bondage they brought one of the prisoners named Aboul Marck, to Acre, and laid him , bound hand and foot, wounded as he was, at the entrance of their tent, as they slept during the night.
“Kept awake by the pain of his wounds, the Arab heard his horse’s neigh at a little distance, and being desirous to stroke, for the last time, the companion of his life, he dragged himself up, bound as he was, to his horse, which was picketed at a short distance. “Poor friend,” said he, “what will you do among the Turks? You will be shut up under the roof of a Khan” with the horses of a pacha, or an aga; no longer will the women and children of the tent bring you barley or camel’s milk in the hollow of their hands; no longer will you gallop, free as the wind of Egypt, in the desert; no longer will you cleave with your bosom the waters of the Jordan, which cool your sides, as pure as the foam of your lips. I am to be a slave, you at least may go free. Go; return to your tent, which you know so well; tell my wife that Abouel Marck will return no more; put your head still in the folds of the tent, and lick the hands of my children.”
“With these words as his hands were tied, he undid with his teeth the fetters which held the courser bound, and set him at Liberty; but the noble animal on receiving its freedom, instead of bounding away to the desert, bent its head over its master, and seeing him in fetters on the ground, took his clothes gently in his teeth, lifted him up, and set off at full speed towards home. Without even resting, he made straight for the distant but well known tent in the mountains of Arabia. He arrived there in safety, and laid his master safe down at the feet of his wife and children, and immediately dropped down dead with fatigue. The whole tribe mourned him; and his name is still constantly in the mouths if the Arabs in Jericho.”
Friday, November 30, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, June 4, 1881
In Forepaugh’s Great Show, which is to exhibit here on Monday, June 13th, there will be presented the extraordinary spectacle of twenty elephants all performing in the arena at the same time. The Philadelphia News, alluding to this feature of Mr. Forepaugh’s show says: “This mighty herd of mastodons file into the grand amphitheater like moving mountains; obedient to the commands of their trainer, they rear their ponderous bodies into colossal pyramids, almost touching the dome of the lofty canvas, filling with awe, admiration and wonder the mind of the spectator, and forcibly illustrating the Almighty’s decree that unto man is given ‘dominion over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’ These representatives from the land of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu were formerly used in the sacred and spectacular displays customary in that distant region, and wherever they appear, never fail to excite the most unbounded applause, wonder and admiration of all who witness their marvelous maneuvers.”
Friday, November 30, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, November 7, 1874
The contractors engaged on the Boston water-works, had a valuable cart-horse injured some time ago. The animal was led home to the stable, where about fifty horses were generally kept. The hostler had a water spaniel, who for some months had been among the horses in the stable, living on great terms of intimacy with them. Immediately after the disabled horse was led in, he laid down and began to exhibit signs of great distress. The spaniel at once ran to the horse and commenced fawning around him, licking the poor animal’s face, and in various other ways manifesting his sympathy with the sufferer. The struggles and groans of the horse being continued, the dog sought his master, and drew his attention to the wounded animal, and showed great satisfaction when he found his master employed in bathing the wounds, and otherwise ministering to his wants. The hostler continued his care of the horse until a late hour of the night. Forty-eight hours after the horse was injured, the faithful dog had not left the stable day or night for a minute, not even to eat; and from his appearance it was believed that he had scarcely slept at all. He was constantly on the alert, not suffering any one to come near the horse, except those attached to the stable and the owner of the horse; his whole appearance was one of extreme distress and anxiety. He often laid his head on the horse’s neck, caressing him, and licking around the eyes, which kindness the poor horse acknowledged by a grateful look and other signs of recognition.
This act furnishes a remarkable and affecting exhibition of animal kindness, and should cover with shame the unfeeling men who beat and abuse that noble and most useful of animals, with out a stint or remorse, and are utterly destitute of sympathy for the whole brute creation.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, December 9, 1865
A cat is not generally considered a very teachable animal. But there is one in a store in Concord, N. H., that has been taught to cut with its teeth the twine with which packages are tied, and performs its work with much dexterity. It is even impatient to execute the feat before the package is in readiness.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, December 7, 1872
A private letter tells of buffalo running thick in the streets of Dodge City, Kansas, and being shot down by the inhabitants.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, April 5, 1879
M. Hugo de Koppenfels writes from Eloby, Gorisco Bay, a little colony, that he has been exploring the country during several weeks of pouring rain. He ascended the Muni, the Noya, the Balinji and the Tumbini to the first falls. In the Crystal Mountains he fell in with tribes absolutely unknown to the present, or who at least had not been seen by whites, with rare exceptions-the Etemo, the Manga, the Otonto and the Toko. These people are scattered in the middle of the Fans or Pahonins and Osszeba, but speak languages different from those of the two latter.
They are obliged to give up planting on account of the ravages of elephants and gorillas which are very numerous and daring. Not a single night passed, M. de Koppenfels states, that he did not hear these animals ravaging around the villages, which are, for the most part, very large. As soon as the animals are known to be near, the whole village is out on foot endeavoring to frighten them away by shouting.
In these nocturnal expeditions, in which the explorer took part, he noticed that the head man of the village addressed a speech to the elephants, and that in this speech his own name was pronounced. He was told that the elephants were threatened to be handed over to him, and that if they did not fly at once they would be visited on the morrow and the white man would kill them. If the elephant seizes a plant with his trunk, the people immediately raise a dreadful, plaintive howling, and the principal orator address, in a lamentable voice, supplications to the enormous brute.