Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, August 28, 1875
    At Hamburg, the keepers of the Zoo thought that it would be more economical to give the elephant a stone floor as the wooden one had to be replaced too often. One was laid, but the elephant would not lie down upon it to sleep. Something told him that if he did he could not get up again. Hence he slept standing, or leaning against the wall. But the other night his feet slipped when dozing, and he came down. He could not get up in fact, and twenty men with ropes, pulleys, and ingenious contrivances worked all day trying to get up. He was finally raised until his feet were four inches above the floor, when the hinder ropes broke, leaving the poor beast hanging by the neck. He gave one piteous roar and was dead.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, August 28, 1875
    War horses when hit in battle, tremble in every muscle, and groan deeply, while their eyes show deep astonishment. During the battle of Waterloo, some of the horses, as they lay upon the ground, having recovered from the first agony of their wounds, fell to eating the grass about them, thus surrounding themselves with a circle of bare ground, the limited extent of which showed their weakness. Others were observed quietly grazing on the field between the two hostile lines, their riders having been shot off their backs; and the balls flying over their heads, and the tumult behind, before, and around them, caused no interruption to the usual instinct of their nature. It was observed that when a charge of  cavalry went past near to any of the stray horses already mentioned they would start off for themselves in the rear of their mounted companions, and though without riders, gallop strenuously along with the rest, not stopping or flinching, when the fatal shock with the enemy took place.
    At the battle of Kirk, in 1745, Major Macdonald, having unhorsed an English officer, took possession of his horse which was very beautiful, and immediately mounted it. When the English cavalry fled the horse ran away with his captor, notwithstanding all his efforts to restrain him, nor did stop until it was at the head of the regiment of which, apparently, its master was the commander. The melancholy, and at the same time ludicrous figure which Macdonald presented when he thus saw himself the victim of his ambition to possess a fine horse, which ultimately cost him his life upon the scaffold, may be easily conceived.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, August 21, 1875
    There are few of the patrons of Porter & Merrill’s livery stable, in this city, but have, at some time during the past half-dozen years, had the pleasure of driving a chestnut horse, known as “Gold-dust.” This horse as been in the stable almost from his colt-hood, and has always been a favorite with the regular customers. Recently, however, he has been lame, and last Monday the shoe was taken from the lame foot and the horse turned into the street. Shortly after being turned out the horse deliberately walked down to Gibbons blacksmith shop and placed the lame foot inside the door. Being driven away he walked back to the stable, but afterwards returned to the shop only to be driven away again. This was repeated many times until at last Mr. Merrill tied it in the barn. The foot, doubtless, pained the animal who-shall we say, reasoned-that he could be relieved as on pervious occasions, by having his foot properly trimmed and the shoe again put on. Call it reason or instinct that prompted the horse to this course, the fact remains that Gold-dust is a remarkably intelligent animal, and knows pretty nearly enough to reason.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, January 20, 1866
    A curious and cruel way of cooking turtles appears in a Chinese cooking book. The turtle is placed in a vessel of water on the fire, with a lid over it, having an aperture of such size and so arranged that the turtle can just get his head out, and in reach of highly spiced wine. As the temperature of the water increases, so does his thirst, and he gradually goes on drinking the seasoned fluid until the heat kills him, by which time his whole system has become impregnated with the vino-aromatic seasoning, and a flavor described as delicious, is imparted to the flesh.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, January 20, 1866
    The latest farmers’ visitation in Central Ohio is an increase in the field mice, which have never before been seen in such numbers. They are very destructive to the orchards, and it is estimated that over 5,000 trees have been ruined.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, January 20, 1866
    At St. Amant, in France, a little boy was playing in a farmyard, when he fell headforemost into a water cask. A colt. three years old which he had been in the habit of feeding, was seen to take the boy’s clothes in his mouth and lift him out.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, September 11, 1858
    Four hundred alligators have been captured by a single hunter in the swamps near New Orleans, since the 1st of May.
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, June 2, 1866
  The Reading [Pa.] Times has the following: “Bear’ Miller, an old hunter, 92 years of age, was in this city on Monday morning, having walked from Maidencreek, a distance of twelve miles. He is a resident of Huntingdon county. He wears a beard about a foot long and as white as snow. He has killed in his time 70 bears, 50 wolves, and 500 deer. Notwithstanding all this, he looks as if he might live twenty years more.”
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Friday, July 6, 1860
   The Jackson Standard spins the following story of the tornado in that vicinity.
    A young horseman was leisurely wending his way along through one of our byroads, when the storm suddenly arose, and commenced felling the timber all around him. He became alarmed and put spurs to his horse; but what was his surprise to find himself and horse lifted in a twinkling by the wind, and carried over a stake and ridered fence, and deposited in the middle of a large meadow, where he concluded to remain until the storm had subsided.
   Another incident is as follows and related to us:
    A gentleman not a thousand miles from here, was driving a team when the storm came up-happening to be near a stable on the banks of Salt Creek, he unhitched his team and placed them in the stable. He had just left the stable when a sudden crash surprised him, and turning head to see the cause of the noise, he beheld the stable standing on the opposite side of the stable, but the team standing on the identical spot where he had left them, minus the stable.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Daily Sun, Waukegan, Illinois on Friday, November 24, 1922
    It is not generally known that wild cats are still found in parts of Scotland and are extremely fierce. They make their homes in rocks and hollow trees. At one time they were found all over England, but , like snakes, they have not been seen in Ireland.