Animals That Never Sleep

1895

According to observation by scientists, there are many creatures which live without sleep. This is the case with some members of the insect tribe, such as the mayfly, which only lives for a limited number of hours and spends its short term of a single day's existence in flying over the surface of some stream, never pausing to rest or sleep, with some fishes and with the animalculae. These last, which increase in division and subdivision so rapidly as to make their numbers almost past belief, are in ceaseless motion, never resting, and sleep, in their case would seem to he entirely out of the question.

Fishes are not generally supposed to enjoy sleep, although many species do periodically rest for about a couple of hours at a time. Experiments have shown that the salmon, pike, goldfish and angler fish do not sleep at all. Fishes have no eyelids, like the higher mammalia, and their brain is very small in proportion to their size. Animals which have no real brain cannot be said to enjoy true sleep, the chief feature of which is the cessation of automatic activity of the brain.

On the other hand, there are some animals which obtain an excessive amount of sleep, such as snails, which have been known to sleep for four years at a time. — Brooklyn Eagle.

All Kinds of Queer Pets

1895

Frogs, Owls and Cockroaches Trained by a Maryland Scientist.

Harry C. Hopkins, one of the youngest members of The Maryland Academy of Science, has a special fondness for animals. Among his earliest pets were three frogs, which he raised from tadpoles. They became so tame that they would recognize his voice and hop eagerly to him whenever they heard him speak. His next pets were five screech owls, which he kept in the garret of his home. One of the owls, which he called Bob, became so accustomed to his voice that it would screech back a reply when he called and would haste to join Mr. Hopkins in the lower rooms of the house.

Mr. Hopkins had at other times raccoons, opossums, foxes, white mice and white rats for pets. The latest pet in his collection was the most unique of them all and was perhaps the only pet of the kind ever heard of. It was a roach — an ordinary brown roach — that ran out of his desk one day and took a sip from a drop of ink that had fallen on the desk. Mr. Hopkins let the little creature indulge itself undisturbed and one day induced it to take a sip from the point of his pen. After that to tame the roach was an easy matter, and he soon had it so tame that it would come from its hiding place when called and would follow the pen over the paper while Mr. Hopkins wrote.

Mr. Hopkins did not enjoy the society of his little pet long. A new servant, with a mania for "cleaning up" and antipathy to roaches, saw the pet on the desk one day and killed it. — Baltimore Sun.

Reason In Animals

1895

A THEORY THAT IT COULD BE SUCCESSFULLY CULTIVATED.

Truly Wonderful Examples In the Dog Family—One Taught by the Kindergarten Method—A Black and Tan That Displayed Human Intelligence.

"Instead of trying to learn the speech of animals," said a gentleman interested in science recently, "there may come a time when what we now consider dumb brutes may be endowed through the efforts of man with an intelligence approximating the human intellect. In other words, the higher order of animals may be taught to reason and demonstrate their power of thought in a way that would indeed be marvelous considered in the light of the laws of nature as we now have them revealed to us. But we are forced to believe from the world's experience in the past that all things are possible, and that we have not by any means attained the climax of the knowledge which we are to obtain in this life. In regard to the education of animals I am not speaking from theory, for I have but recently had examples of the great development of animal intelligence which, as a starter in a new line of scientific teaching, is extraordinary. But recently there was exhibited at one of the theaters of the city a dog whose exhibition was so remarkable that every person attributed it to a trick. A wink of the eye or some movement of the hand by the owner signified to the dog when he came opposite the correct card. Now, this dog, the owner told me, really did not reason. His power was developed by the kindergarten system of instruction and was discovered by a small child, who for amusement was accustomed to have her constant playfellow pick out numbers and cards while she was at her kindergarten lesson. The dog was with the child continually and soon showed signs of reasoning and evidenced an intelligence which would seem unusual in a brute. The dog had had the advantage of all the kindergarten instruction given the small child and strangely had made use of it.

"It had learned by observation just as a child does in the kindergarten. It is nothing surprising either when you observe how rapidly the mind of a child develops under such teaching. Why, there are many instances of a child being deaf and dumb or not knowing the English language, yet making almost as fast progress in the kindergarten as the child more fortunate. To a person not knowing that children have reasoning powers an untutored deaf and dumb child would scarcely show more intelligence than a dog. So why should we assert that a dog has no intelligence that can be developed simply because we do not know anything about it? Who knows what results could be obtained in the education of dogs if the systematic teaching that is bestowed upon children was given to the canines? Whether the dog which was exhibited here was really educated as the man claimed or not is immaterial. But that such a possibility exists was proved to me by a personal experience I had with a dog in the east recently. I was in a small town in Jersey, and in walking down the street one day I saw an elderly man carrying a small black and tan dog wrapped in a sort of a blanket which had been made especially for it. I approached the man and ventured that he must think a great deal of the dog from the care he took of it. 'A great deal,' said the old fellow. 'Why, if he was may son I could not think more of him. He has actually a human intelligence.' I told him I had heard of such cases before, but had always attributed the show of intelligence to a well devised trick. 'Well,' continued the old man, 'my friend, I can prove to you that this dog really does reason. He will do anything you tell him to, discriminate between objects and men, and, in fact, show an intelligence which will surprise you.' By this time three or four men passing by, hearing the conversation, became interested and stopped. The owner of the dog then took a little square piece of black flannel from his pocket and spread it upon the pavement. He then placed the dog upon it and asked me to tell him to pick out any one in the crowd by the description I should give of him. I then spoke to the dog, 'Pick out the man who has the red mustache and red necktie and wearing the light checked trousers.'

"I referred to a man in the rear of the crowd. The little dog sat up, and raising his ears looked all about the crowd. Then, as soon as he spied the man, he ran to him and jumped up, putting his fore paws on the man's legs. I tried this several times on different people, and never once did the dog make a mistake. Then the dog was asked his age, and by a number of barks told it. he then did some addition and subtraction. I then told the man that I thought there was some trick about it, so he said he would convince me fully that the dog really reasoned. 'Now,' said he, 'tell him to go to any object you may see within two blocks of here and tell him to point it out by placing his feet upon it when he finds it. I will go into this store, out of his sight, so that there will be no chance of my giving a signal.' After the man had retired I noticed a bicycle leaning against a post about a block and a half up the road. I turned to the dog and said slowly, 'Go find a bicycle up the road, and when you come to it put your hind feet on the back wheel.' The dog started on a lazy walk, looking all about him in the direction of the bicycle, and when he saw it he broke into a little trot. He then set his foot on the hind wheel and stood in this position looking toward us until a shout of approbation told him he was correct, when he got down and ran toward us as fast as he could. When he reached us, he jumped up and down, seeming pleased with his accomplishment. Of course there was no room left for me to doubt. I had to believe that if I ever was to believe anything. After this the dog pointed out an open carriage from a number of vehicles; also a drug store and a grocery from a block of miscellaneous stores. His scope of tricks, if they could be so called, seemed unlimited. He was able to do anything that was told him. The man told me his education had been like a child's. At first he could tell but one object, and by degrees he was taught to know more until out of 36 various articles placed in a room he could pick out any one that would be mentioned." — Pittsburg Dispatch.


Utility Vases

A large vase, such as usually serves for a potted plant, makes a good umbrella stand, and these are found in every variety of color and style. One of the big, pot bellied Moorish or Spanish peasant pottery, in rough, quaint designs of blue and yellow on white or of a rich, dark green solid color, relieved only by gradations of color in the glaze, would be effective and substantial.

The King of Beasts

1895

THINGS WORTH KNOWING BEFORE TRYING TO TRAIN HIM.

Why Dogs Are So Often Seen With Trained Lions — Edward Darling, the Trainer, Tells All About the Processes of Training and Teaching Them.

"You have often heard it remarked of some person or other that he could not be driven, but must be led," said Edward Darling, the famous lion tamer. "If you have ever tried to accomplish anything with a person so disposed, you will appreciate that a great amount of discretion and discrimination must be exercised if you desire to be successful. Keeping in mind the difficulties that present themselves in a human individual who cannot be driven, you will at once concede that a lion tamer's task is not an easy one when I tell you that the king of beasts can neither be led nor driven. I mean this literally. If you succeed in having a lion permit you to lead him — and I tell you that it requires no little patience and work to accomplish this apparently simple trick — you can rest assured that the balance of his training will come easy.

"Many people have wondered why dogs always accompanied lions while performing on the stage. I have heard some offer the explanation that they were there for the protection of the tamer. Others claimed that there was a psychological connection between the dogs and the lions, by which the former had the latter hypnotized, so that the least bark or movement from the dog would bring the lion to a realization of what he was then to do. While these theories may sound very well, they are all wrong. The dogs are simply there for example. They are of course the most domestic of all animals, and their association with the lions makes the latter take on some of their habits.

"From the time a lion is first placed in the trainer's hands, which is at about the age of 9 months, young dogs are placed in its cage. At first there is some antagonism shown, but after they have been together for awhile they begin to romp and play with each other like kittens. Lions are usually trained in pairs — that is, two in one cage. This is done to make them bolder. If they have company, they do not have the same fear of the trainer as they would if alone. And it may seem strange to you to know that a trainer dreads fear in a lion more than boldness. If when you enter a cage a lion sneaks away from you and commences to jump about, striking its head against the bars as if it would dash its brains out, seeking to escape in every possible way, then look out to protect yourself, for as sure as death that lion, after having exhausted every way he supposed he could gain his liberty, will turn his attention to you and deal with you in a manner not the most polite. A timid lion is to be dreaded, but a bold one you can always tell how to deal with. The only protection the trainer takes with him when he first enters a cage is a board about four feet long. This is to hold up in front of him in case the beast makes a plunge at him. The tamer usually enters the cage as if he had some business there, such as sweeping or cleaning, doing his work, apparently not paying the slightest attention to the lions. He keeps this up for a long time, and gradually the lions become accustomed to his presence. Then he offers them food out of his hand, cautiously, for the lion usually makes a grab for his food with his paw first, and there is danger of having an arm taken off. After this is accomplished he begins to stroke the beasts with his stick, which shows them it is not for beating them, then with his hand rewarding each advance with meat.

"After a lion has permitted his trainer to stroke his back without a remonstrance he is considered to know the difference between right and wrong, and from that time on is punished for bad behavior. Before this no punishment has been administered, as the prime object is to first get the confidence of the beasts and let them know what you want them to do. But after the trainer has petted and rewarded him for it, should the lion show any desire to go back to his primeval wildness and make any attempt to claw or bite his master, then the whip is applied and not sparingly either. He is whipped and whipped until his will is broken and he permits a renewal of the familiarity. I have seen lions almost beaten to death before they would give in, but at last they were conquered. The trainer has become the master, and, strangely, the punishments inflicted are never remembered against him by the lion.

"The first and most difficult step, as I have said before, is teaching them to be led. The idea of being led seems to be contrary to the lion's nature. And no wonder, for what king would not revolt at such treatment? But the king of beasts can be taught, although it requires many long and severe lessons before he will bring himself down to it. Even after a lion has been fully trained you can never be absolutely sure of him. They are very peculiar animals. Sometimes they will not get out of sorts for years, yet in a day will develop nasty traits that make them decidedly dangerous. These spells only last, luckily, for two or three days, when they return to the former condition. We work upon the jealous feelings of a lion with great success while training one. I have seen some animals that could never have been conquered had it not been for the jealousy that was created in them. They became so jealous of dogs, and other lions that were having a great deal of attention paid to them by the trainer that they absolutely forgot themselves and came up to him as the other beasts had done. Naturally we got very much attached to our own animals, but you cannot develop the same affection for a lion as you can for a dog, I suppose because you cannot have the lion always with you. My lions know no one but myself. I attend to them exclusively, with the exception of cleaning out the cages. I feed them every morning and let them exercise, so that they are almost part of my family." — Pittsburg Dispatch.

They All Come To See This

1920

Up in Hige River, Alberta, Canada, people are coming a long way to the farm of Mrs. J. A. Osborne to see one of the most curious nature freaks ever known. Out in the barnyard a large hen is mothering five black and white terrier puppies, taking care of them as maternally as if they were her own brood. It all came about when the mother dog stole the hen's eggs. Biddy, to get even, appropriated the pups. Since then the dog will have nothing to do with her offspring. But they don't seem to care, and appear to be just as happy with the hen. Biddy will fight furiously if anybody tries to take one of the puppies from her.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 5.

Porcupines Overrun a City

1920

KANE, Pennsylvania. — This place is overrun with porcupine which come out of the mountains near by. Damage is being done to gardens, fruit trees and dwellings. They are so tame they invade the houses and have to be driven away, which is no easy task. Several have been run over by autos, causing tire troubles.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 5.

Chinese Swine

1895

The American swine of today are very different from their English ancestors, who a few centuries ago constituted one of the chief sources of British wealth. The improvement in the race is largely due to the introduction of the Chinese and Neapolitan breeds. The crossing of the former upon the English hog has resulted in the production of the Berkshire, Essex, Poland-China, Small Yorkshire and Suffolk breeds.

The Chinese hog is remarkably prepotent, as is shown by the tendency of the modern breeds to revert to the original type. This is doubtless owing to the many centuries of inbreeding which have so firmly fixed its characteristics. One of the most important of these is its propensity to fatten under the most adverse circumstances. This superabundance of fat prevents the flesh of this breed being highly esteemed in this country, but it has had a most valuable effect in modifying the lean, gaunt hogs of England, while the Neapolitan has added delicacy of flavor.

The original Chinese hog is a very peculiar shape. It has a long body, with short legs, very heavy jowls, small prick ears, short head, neck and snout and the eyes wide apart. In color it is white or black, or a mixture of both, with the white predominating. — St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

From The Black Forest

1895

Wild Boar and Boarhounds for Austin Corbin's Game Park.

Six passengers on board the North German Lloyd steamship Scandia which arrived at her pier in Hoboken on Monday were neither seasick nor homesick on the voyage. One of them was a wild boar, who thrived on the kitchen slops, and the others were young boarhounds, who learned German and chased each other around the decks. The wild boar came from the Black Forest in Germany. He and the hounds were consigned to Austin Corbin, and they will be sent to his game park, Blue Mountain Forest, in New Hampshire. Mr. Corbin has enough wild boars roaming around his park now to relieve the monotony of the landscape, but he has been unable to capture any of them for breeding purposes.

The boar that arrived on the Scandia is about half grown. He suggests a big gray rat old in wickedness, but the ship's butcher, who has taken care of him, says that he has behaved like a perfect gentleman. He grunts like an ordinary pig and his appetite, too, suggests that animal. He has been confined in a large wooden box with bars across the front. The crew paid him a lot of attention, and he grunted his thanks for anything eatable from potatoes down.

He didn't hold a candle in popularity, however, to the five young boarhounds. They were permitted to roam on deck in pleasant weather and every one made friends of them. They still have much to learn, but they are not a bit proud. When the butcher talks German to them they wag their tails and mind. Several men offered them good advice in English and they ignored it. — Sun.

Man Dragged By Lioness To Her Lair

1920

Escapes After Having Had Fingers and Ears Chewed by Cubs — Will Survive His Wounds.

CHESTER, California. — That after firing four shots into the body of a lioness and stabbing her with a dagger he had been dragged to the mouth of the cave lair of the beast, when he became unconscious, and that two cubs had chewed his ears and fingers, is the harrowing experience told by Giuseppi Martin, a shepherd.

When Martin recovered from the unconscious state caused by his desperate fight with the lioness he says he found her carcass within four feet of him.

This is the story Martin told Everett Goings and others who found him in his camp some miles from here, trying as best he could to dress his wounds.

The party headed by Goings dressed the shepherd's injuries with the aid of a first aid kit.

Ears and Fingers Chewed.

Martin's ears had been nearly chewed from his head, his fingers were badly mutilated, and his body and face severely lacerated.

According to the tale of Martin, he drove his flock of sheep toward the summit of a mountain when the sun arose. Leaving the sheep, he walked to the top of a crag, where he found himself confronted by a mountain lion, which promptly attacked him. He fired four shots from a .32 caliber revolver and then drew a knife from his belt when the beast closed with him, inflicting several stabs.

Martin lost all sense of what next happened. When he returned to consciousness, apparently some time later, he found he had been dragged a short distance to the mouth of a cave in the rocky ledge. The lioness was stretched dead four feet from him. Two cubs had gnawed upon his ears until they were almost gone and had chewed upon his fingers.

Following his return to camp Martin did the best he could to dress his hurts with the conveniences at hand. When the Goings party happened upon the camp his wounds were further cared for. Shortly after the owner of the sheep arrived and Martin was rushed to a nearby town for surgical attention.

Tells Story of Escape.

"I was caring for my sheep up in the lonesome and deserted section of the hills," says Martin, "when I heard a great commotion among the flock. I looked about me but could see nothing. Then I left the sheep and walked over to a crag near there.

"I found myself face to face with a huge lioness. I drew a .32 caliber revolver from my pocket and fired four shots point blank at the animal. It only wounded and served to enrage her.

"I just had time to draw my knife from my belt when the brute closed it with me snarling in a horrible manner.

"I knew that it was a fight for my life, so I exerted all my energy. I was badly clawed and knocked down several times, but I inflicted several deep stabs on the lioness. I felt everything growing dark in front of me and knew that I must fight harder if I wished to save my life. But I was so weak that I could no longer hold my knife in my fingers. That is the last thing I remember — the knife dropping to the ground and the hot breath of the lioness, its gaping jaws only a few inches from my face.

"It seemed years later when I awakened. I heard snarls as when I had dropped into unconsciousness. The light was very dim, but finally I made out the forms of two lion cubs. My ears pained me. I reached my hand to them and found that not only my ears but my fingers were terribly lacerated. The cubs had chewed them and were at that moment snapping ferociously at me."

Surgeons at the hospital said that Martin's injuries were serious but not necessarily mortal.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 1.

Antique Clocks

1901

A common trick of clock makers and repairers of years ago, when the craze for antique "grandfather" clocks first showed itself, was to alter the names and dates of the original makers on such of these clocks as came to them. This trick has made it difficult to prove the exact age of an old clock now, even by experts, and still more difficult to learn the name of the real maker. Reputable repairers do not follow the practice in these days, having realized that it results in the end in injury to the business. — Jewelers' Circular-Weekly.


Lions and Tigers

There is nothing odd or peculiar about the sleep of the lions and tigers. In captivity they show the same indifference to danger that they manifest in the jungles and by day or night will slumber through an unusual tumult, unmindful or unconscious of the noise. Their sleep is commonly heavy and peaceful.

Note: Interesting for the eye, the combination of u's, m's, n's together: "an unusual tumult, unmindful or unconscious."

The Florida Razorback

1901

The Florida "razorback" is the hog indigenous to this climate and soil. He is usually large of limb and fleet of foot, being the only known porker that can outrun a darky. He has a tail of wondrous length, which, while he is in active motion, he twists into the tightest corkscrew, but with which while quietly feeding he raps his leathery sides much in the same manner that the docile cow uses her tail.

He is self supporting. He earns his own living and thrives equally well in the highwoods, in the flatwoods, in the hummocks and in the marshes. He subsists upon anything he can find above the earth or underneath its surface. He has a clear, farseeing eye and is very sensitive of hearing. Nature has equipped him with a snout almost as long as the beak of the wild pelican of Borneo, with which he can penetrate the earth many inches in quest of worms, snakes and insects.

He is the most intelligent of all the hogs and is likewise the most courageous. He has been known to engage in mortal combat with a coon for the possession of a watermelon and to rend asunder a barbed wire fence. — Forest and Stream.

An All-Embracing "Tabby"

1916

Dog, Rabbit and Chicken Are Part of Her Family.

PERRY, Maine — A black cat, Dinah by name, in the family of John Clark of Perry, adopts everything on the premises small enough for her to cuddle. Of her latest brood of kittens she was allowed to keep one, and a neighbor, coming into the house suddenly, surprised the maternal one in a clothes basket with her own jetty offspring, a gray kitten of another pussy's family, and a white rabbit. The assortment made quite a medley. Later on she added a puppy to her tribe, and she also cuddles an orphan chicken.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 7.

Daring Woman Hunts Jungle Beasts With Both Movie Camera and Rifle

(Click graphic for a much bigger view.)

1920

BY ELLEN MARIE BAYARD.

"I'll tell you a secret," said Lady MacKenzie to me in her charming, well modulated tones, with just the slightest trace of an English accent, as I was admitted to her superbly furnished apartments in a Broadway hotel at New York City, as the special representative of The Saturday Blade to interview her. "But you'll promise that you'll keep this a secret?"

I promised that I wouldn't tell a soul — excepting the readers of The Saturday Blade.

"It's this," Lady MacKenzie replied. "Just a few days ago I was visiting one of my friends in New York, telling her of a thrilling experience with a tiger in Africa. Just at the most dramatic point of the story, a mouse ran across the room in my direction, and — "

"And you, of course, ignored — " I hastened to interrupt, feeling certain that I was showing the keenness of my powers of anticipation.

Lady MacKenzie smiled at me, that charming, friendly smile of hers.

"Far from it! I picked up my skirts and mounted a chair, just as my hostess did, or any other woman would have done."

Is Wholly Feminine.

This incident, more than any other mentioned during the short interview, seemed to be most indicative of Lady MacKenzie's character. Here was a woman who could shoot a charging elephant in the fetid jungles of Africa without a tremor of an eyelash, but who mounted a chair to escape a mouse in a luxurious New York apartment. This Englishwoman had penetrated further into the dank wilds of Africa than any other living white woman, and as a nimrod had to her credit a long list of such harmless little pets as bull elephants, tigers, leopards and lions — to say nothing of snakes as large thru as the trunk of a tree. Yet she balked at a mouse!

The answer is easy. Lady MacKenzie is wholly feminine. Tho inured to the hardships of the jungles, she dresses in dainty laces while in civilization. In the undramatic environment of a New York hotel, it is hard to believe that this charming, attractive Englishwoman has earned the admiration of the world by her contempt for danger and hardship in tropical jungles.

But it is so. Lady MacKenzie has made two long trips into darkest Africa. She is off now on her third explorative tour and hopes this time to penetrate further and learn more than on either of her previous trips.

War Interrupted Last Tour.

Her exploration of the Tana River, one of the most treacherous streams in the world, winding thru 2,000 miles of dense thicket and papyrus swamp, was interrupted by the war. Her camp at the junction of the Tana and Theka Rivers was taken over by the British as a military base.

Lady MacKenzie's tours are not for purposes of sport. She photographs specimens of wild animals for the Smithsonian Institution and for the American Museum of Natural History.

And with all its hardship and danger, she finds big game hunting an attractive life. She loves adventure and "real life," the life in the open and the thrill of the hunt. And why not? Have men in these days a monopoly on those things? Not that Lady MacKenzie knows of! She likes the ponderous silence of the inky jungles, the sense of stealthy peril ever slinking near, the sharpened instinct of self-survival. She just wonders how people can settle down to a dull, quiet life while Africa is still on the map.

Lion Didn't Like Camera.

"Tell me how you photograph 'em," I pleaded.

"I took a second too long to take a lion's picture once, and he charged me," Lady MacKenzie answered.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? I know that it did to me, as I sat in a soft divan in the New York hotel. But how it really happened in Africa, as I found by questioning the modest English woman further, was this way:

Instead of setting her camera to take a picture by pulling a wire from a convenient retreat in the rear, Lady MacKenzie got right into the thick of things, with her moving picture camera out in front of her.

The lion, of course, didn't like it. Lions often don't.

"G-r-r-r-r! G-r-r!"

Lady MacKenzie kept on turning the crank of the machine as the lion stepped in front of the lens. The animal's tail began switching furiously. Lady MacKenzie coolly adjusted her camera to get a better view. Then the inevitable happened.

Barely Saves Own Life.

The lion leaped. His tawny body describing an angry arc in the air, he met the target directly. Lady MacKenzie's, leap for safety was too late, and the shaggy shoulder of the huge brute dashed her to the ground.

But that was his majesty's last second on earth — for Lady MacKenzie always had her rifle ready and knew how to use it. There was a muffled report and the king of beasts fell with a bullet thru his brain.

"That was a narrow escape," sighs Lady MacKenzie, in recollection of the moment, "but not nearly so exciting as to be caught in a stampede of wild beasts in the heart of the jungle."

It was this way, as I learned in the next few moments. The modern Diana came upon an immense herd of buffalo one day, and was intent upon obtaining an "action picture." To get the desired action she shot the leader of the herd with her rifle. The rest of the animals stampeded.

On they came, a mighty, bellowing avalanche of hoofs and horns. There were hundreds of them, bolting directly for Lady MacKenzie and her party.

Quick as a flash milady threw herself flat on the ground and waited. At any moment she expected to be trampled to death beneath the beating hoofs. With the thought came a fleeting picture of being buried by black savages in the wilds far from home and civilization.

Then the unexpected happened — an intervention of Providence, Lady MacKenzie calls it. For some unexplainable reason the herd parted just in front of where she lay and passed around her on the right and left, leaving her unharmed, but killing several of the native guides.

"But outside of the danger, is there much else of romance in the jungle life?" I asked.

"Too much — sometimes, I'm afraid," replied Lady MacKenzie, with a whimsical smile.

African Chieftain Proposes.

Then she told how an African chieftain became enamored of her when he saw her powder her face one morning. He was curious, and when Lady MacKenzie gave him some powder he applied it to his face, and then got her mirror to see if he had achieved the desired result.

By this time he had lost his heart to milady, and immediately proposed, tho he had several score of native wives. He offered to give members of the party ten sleek cows for the Englishwoman's hand in marriage. It required all kinds of tact and diplomacy to turn down the offer without incurring the anger of the chieftain and his powerful tribe of savages.

The Masals are the most interesting of African tribes, says the huntress, but are fast dying out. They are deliberately practicing race suicide to wipe out their own race rather than endure the encroachments of the hated white man. They are a race of polygamists and have no religion.

Africa Is Little Known.

"The world probably knows less about Africa than any other country in the world," says Lady MacKenzie. "And there is so much to know. I predict that Americans will before very long get into Africa in larger numbers. Then we may expect to find out all about it. For the American has a faculty for developing the commercial resources of a new country — of any country. And there are such wonderful resources in Africa — only the surface has been scratched."

But, altho Lady MacKenzie was too modest to say so, I might add that she had contributed a mighty share toward enlightening the world about Africa. She has brought home valuable records containing the native speech of unknown African tribes and thousands of feet of moving pictures on which are forever recorded the habits of the wild jungle animals and the life and customs of the jungle peoples. She has returned with tons of educational trophies. And she's not thru yet!

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 14.

Comment: This article and Lady MacKenzie are offensive at several levels. To me, the worst has to be when she wanted an "action picture" of the buffalo, so she shot the leader of the herd and made the rest stampede. Then she was in great danger, but, thanks to Providence, she was left unharmed, but the incident killed several of the native guides! That's terrible all the way through. And check out the photo essay, as they hunted animals with "a camera."

Food Oil Is Derived From Seed of Grape

1919

Newly Discovered By-product May Rival Olive Oil.

From the grape, source of wine now under a ban extra dry, is being derived a new food oil. It is pressed from the seeds which formerly were discarded. This recently discovered by-product has been tested by scientists who say that it is edible and nutritious and may become a rival of olive and cotton-seed oils for cooking and for salad dressing. The news has given comfort to growers of the vine in California, Ohio and New York State, as the preparation of the oil on a large scale may increase the profits from grape juice. Even after the oil has been pressed out the residue of the seeds is found to be of value as a feed for animals.

Dr. J. H. Shrader, who is connected with the bureau of plant industry, United States Department of Agriculture, has investigated the commercial utilization of grape seed. In a paper read before the division of industrial chemists and chemical engineers of the American Chemical Society, he suggested that all waste of this character from the vineyards and canneries be assembled at a center, so that there would be enough tonnage to make its fabrication profitable.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 9.

Faithful Shepherd Dogs

1901

A cold spell in Montana killed a sheep herder in the Great Falls district. Two feet of snow covered the range in places, and the thermometer indicated 40 degrees below zero. The herder was frozen to death on the prairies while caring for the sheep, and it was three days before his fate was known to his employers.

Two shepherd dogs were with him when he died, and one of these stayed with his body while the other attended to the sheep, just as though the herder had been with him. The dog drove them out on the range in the morning and back again at night, guarding them from wolves and preventing them from straying off.

Neither dog had anything to eat during the three days' vigil, so far as could be ascertained, but the 2,500 sheep thrived as well apparently as though directed by human agency. The singular fact about the matter is that these faithful creatures would have starved to death rather than harm one of the sheep left in their charge. — Portland Oregonian.

London's Donkey Famine of 1898

1901

The donkey famine in 1898 was one of the strangest scarcities that ever befell Britain. One cannot eat donkeys, but the dearth of them caused a terrible lot of inconvenience and sent the price of Neddy up to a prohibitive sum.

There was an epidemic of disease among the donkeys of the towns, especially those animals belonging to poor people. This so thinned out the donkey roll call that these useful beasts became scarcer than they were ever known to be. It used to be said that no one has ever seen a dead donkey, but the proverb was broken that year — there were and quantity. The price of a good donkey jumped from £6 or £7 to £12 within three weeks, and soon donkeys were scarcely to be had at all.

Costers and other donkey owners held meetings to discuss the situation, but the price rose to £15, and many a poor man was forced to pay it. It was the worst year on record for costermongers. Nobody knows to what price the donkeys would have risen, but an enterprising firm of shippers imported some big freights of donkeys from Spain. These sold like wildfire, and in a fortnight the donkey trade was at its old level. Meanwhile the country districts had been emptied of donkeys to supply the town. — London Answers.

Trappers Laugh at "H. C. L."

1919

POINT A LA HACHE, La. — The high cost of living isn't worrying trappers along the lower coast. They are earning as much as $150 a week, because furs are bringing the highest prices ever known here. Muskrat pelts bring 90 cents each, and raccoon pelts $4. School boys who look after traps during their leisure hours are making about $3 a day.

Animals Asleep

1901

The Attitudes Some of Them Assume During Slumber

The chimpanzee, as far as I have been able to ascertain, never sleeps upon its back, its favorite position being on its side, with one arm under its head. In this respect it resembles children of from 4 to 10 years of age. The only gorilla which I have had an opportunity of observing also apparently preferred this attitude, but occasionally seemed to sleep comfortably in a crouching position, with its head bowed down between its knees. This latter attitude appears to be the one adopted by nearly all the lower monkeys.

When turned out at pasture, all horses, except those which are crippled by disease or injury, lie down at night with their legs folded beneath their bodies. Some of the short limbed and thick jointed animals, such as the elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros, find a difficulty in bending their legs under them after the manner of their more slender kindred. Hence they sleep upon their sides in a pig-like attitude.

Bears, as far as I have been able to observe, have no characteristic sleeping attitude, for you see them lying in all sorts of grotesque positions, as if they found one quite as comfortable as another. Indeed, a well favored bear. covered with a good layer of fat and a thick coat of fur, may be said to carry his bed about with him, and any part of his skin will serve either for mattress or coverlet, as occasion arises. Nevertheless, the bear, when sound asleep, tends to curl himself up with his nose and paws inward, and this is probably the attitude which in cold climates he adopts when hibernating in his den during the winter season.

Kangaroos also appear to be quite indifferent as to the position of their bodies during sleep. Any sunny afternoon at the zoological gardens you may see them sprawling on the straw in all imaginable attitudes. The only things they seem to demand in order to be perfectly comfortable are reasonable warmth and plenty of elbow room. — Dr. Louis Robinson in Pearson's Magazine.

Largest of Animals

1901

Mr. Beddard in his book on whales reminds readers that although imagination is apt to picture the giant reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods as having exceeded in size all modern animals yet in fact there is no evidence that the earth has ever contained either on the land or in the sea creatures exceeding the whale in bulk. The mammoth was larger than the elephant, but the ichthyosaurus could not match the whale for size, although with its terrible jaws it would doubtless have been the whale's master.

Boats to Prevent Suicide

1906

For the saving of would-be suicides, the municipality of Rome has decided to employ police motor boats on the Tiber.


Decided Horse Committed Suicide

In a lawsuit at Aberdeen, Washington, over a horse whose death the owner attributed to a man who had hired it, the court decided the animal had committed suicide.


Suicide Statistics

Sundays from 9 to 12 at night is the favorite time for women to commit suicide. Taking all days into consideration, more men kill themselves than women in the proportion of seven to two.


"Anatomy of Melancholy"

Robert Burton published the "Anatomy of Melancholy" at 45. It was written to relieve the strain of mind bordering on insanity.