Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 1, 1879
    A Dublin woman was arrested for simply setting a bull-dog upon her husband, aged eighty years, while he was sick in bed, the animal injuring the man so badly that he wa not expected to live. It seems that a woman can’t have any fun at all over in that down-trodden country. There is no encouragement to keep a cross dog in Dublin.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukrgan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 1, 1879
    A cat bit Mrs. Crittenden of Middletown, Conn., two years ago. She was strangely ill for a time, and has since been almost helpless, her nervous system being thoroughly disarranged. She cannot speak without stammering, and some of her symptoms are like those of hydrophobia in a mild form.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 1, 1879
     A New Orleans gentleman tells the following curious anecdote. In Natchitoches parish, a pedestrian noticed on a lonely road a frog fighting desperately with a tarantula and the taratula returned the compliment by stinging the frog. Every time the frog got stung he would hop to the side of the road, where some green plantain was growing, and nibble off a piece, after swallowing which he would hop back to the fight. This being repeated about half a dozen times, the human spectator resolved to satisfy his curiosity, took out a jack-knife and lopped off the plantain close to the roots, while the frog and taratula were carrying on their duel. When the frog got stung for the seventh time he leaped to where the plantain had been, and not finding it, uttered a peculiarly helpless cry, staggered a little, vainly tried to hop into the high grass, shuddered, fell over on his side and gave up the ghost.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazete, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 8, 1879
    One of the best stories we have seen is contained in London Nature. A brave, active, intelligent terrier, belonging to a lady, one day discovered a monkey belonging to an itinerant organ-grinder, seated upon a bank within the grounds, and at once made a dash for him. The monkey, who was attired in jacket and hat, awaited the onset with such undisturbed tranquility that the dog halted within a few feet of him to reconnoiter. Both animals took a long, steady stare at each other, but the dog evidently was recovering from his surprise, and about to make a spring for the intruder. At this critical junture, the monkey, who had remained perfectly quiet hitherto, raised his paw and gracefully saluted by lifting his hat. The effect was magical; the dog’s head and tail dropped, and he sneaked off and entered the house, refusing to leave it until he was satisfied that his polite but mysterious guest had departed.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 8, 1879
    It seems that the Belgians have formed a society for the mental and moral improvement of cats. Their first efforts has been to train the cat to do the work of the carrier pigeons. The most astute and decomplished scientific person would have the ideas of locality totally confused by being tied up in a meal-bag and carried twenty miles from home and let out in a strange neighborhood in the middle of the night. This experiment has, however, been repeatedly tried upon cats of only average abilities, and the invariable result has been that the departed animal has reappeared at his native kitchen door the next morning and calmly ignored the whole affair. This wonderful skill in raveling through unfamiliar regions with out a guide-book or a compass has suggested the possibility of cats being used as special messengers. Recently thirty-seven cats residing in the City of Liege were taken in bags a long distance into the country. The animals were liberated ay 2 o’clock in the afternoon. At 6:48 the same afternoon one of them reached his home. His feline companions arrived at Liege somewhat later; but it is understood that within twenty-four hours every one had reached his home. It is proposed to establish at an early day, a regular system of cat communication between Liege and the neighboring village.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 15, 1879
This afternoon, [Jan. 24th,] Mr. Andrew Wallace rode his horse across the ice bridge-a difficult feat in itself-but not satisfied with this, ascended to the summit of the ice mountain at the base of the American Fall. The sight from the cliffs on the Canada side, which were covered with a large crowd of visitors, was a thrilling one. Slowly the horse toiled up the slippery side of the great ice cone, winding round the foot path till the summit was reached. Here, enveloped in a cloud of mist, which concealed the white cone itself, horse and rider looked like some weird apparition suspended in mid-air. For some time the horse went careering about over the crest of the cone, where one false step might have hurled both him and his rider into the fathomless, foaming gulf, full seventy feet below. Presently, the daring horseman rode down the path, and, crossing the ice bridge, regained the Canadian side. Both he and his horse were completely drenched with spray. The intelligent, sure footed animal who played such a prominent part in this feat of unparalelled daring was a moderate sized brown gelding, with four white feet and a stripe on the nose. This is certainly a strong argument in support of the theory that horses marked with white are more intelligent than wholly colored ones.-Niagara Letter to Toronto Globe.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 15, 1879
Lieut. Lyle, of the United States Army, has made some interesting observations on the food of the robin. He details in the American Naturalist his experience in feeding young birds and testing their decided preference for beetles and other insects, showing that they ate seeds only when there was a lack of insects and that for every cherry or grape they eat they destroyed thousands in injurious insects. In the Springfield armory grounds twenty-three pairs of robins were known to be nesting in one month. It was estimated that, as one young robin was found to be capable of eating seventy-two large beetles in one day, it is not unreasonable to assume that each bird would destroy at least one hundred insects per day, taking them as they come, small and large. Hence the forty-six birds known to feed on these grounds and vicinity would require 4,600 insects each day, or in thirty days they would dispatch 138,000 insects.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 15, 1879
For some years the Russian army has been experimenting with passenger pigeons, and has met with much success. Something like 2,500 trained birds are now at the disposal of the military staff. The principal depot is at Warsaw, and there are stations at all the fortresses. Each station consists of several dovecots fitted up separately, the number of them corresponding to the directions whence the pigeons will be flown. Each station is in charge of an experienced pigeon breeder, and some stations are imposing buildings.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Published in the Waukegan Gazette., Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, February 22, 1879
A French savant having been called upon to give his views regarding the eating of horseflesh, says: “It is like third rate beef; it cannot be said to have a disagreeable taste, for it has no taste at all. Donkey, on the other hand, is delicious, and infinitely better eating than beef or mutton. This the French soon discovered during the siege of Paris, for a ‘portion’ of donkey cost about six times as much as a ‘portion’ of horse. Cats taste exactly like rabbits; it is impossible to distinguish between them. The objection to rats is that when cooked their flesh is gritty. This objection, however, is somewhat epicurean, for except for this grittiness they are a wholesome and excellent article of food. I am surprised that there is no society for the promotion of eating rats. Why should not felons be fed with these nourishing little animals.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Published in the Waukegan Gazette, Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, March 8, 1879
A real whale was caught in the Raritan Bay, near Monmouth. The carcass of the enormous fish was anchored near an old fish-oil factory, where the lucky fishermen who struck a bonanza in the capture of a sperm whale melted the blubber in large iron pots.
The whale was first seen about sunrise by a fisherman named Ludlow, on Port Comfort Shoals, about nine miles from Sandy Hook. He saw the large black object in the water, but thought it was a wreck of some vessel, and did not go near it. George Pope, also a fisherman, went out in a small boat for the purpose of catching some oysters, and on nearing the shoals noted the large dark body in the water. On approaching it, he found that it was a large, live fish of some kind, and having no other weapon, he commenced sticking his oyster knife into the side of the whale, but, seeing that it had no effect, he went to the shore and procurred the assistance of a fellow fisherman with an axe.
They returned to where the whale was still lying; the boat was then backed up to the whale’s head, when one of the men commenced chopping it in the head with the axe. Fortunately for the boatmen, the whale did not struggle much until they were some distance away, when it commenced to flounder, and roll, and in a short time succeeded in getting off the shoal and started toward Sandy Hook. The fisherman not knowing the danger they were in, started after it and tried to catch or drive it toward the shore by throwing their anchor into its spout, and at one time, while thus endeavoring to catch the enormous fish, it passed under their boat, almost lifting it out of the water. The whale was followed down the bay several miles, and with the aid of other fishermen who were in boats, it was driven ashore. With a scythe borrowed from the farmer, the whale was finally killed by stabbing in the side. A schooner then took the carcass in tow and brought it to Brays landing.
Captain Bilson, who is an old whaler, and has been in the South Indian seas, stated that this was a very large cow whale, it being thirty-five feet long and about nine in diameter, and yielding over thirty barrels of sperm oil.