Small Boy Thought It Was a Giant Fire Cracker

A small boy, whose name was not disclosed, found a dynamite bomb weighing two pounds on the bank of Indian Creek, near Frank Street, Council Bluffs. The stick of dynamite was encased in a steel tube, and at the fuse end there was nearly half a pint of blasting powder.

The boy, under the impression that it was a giant firecracker which he had found, took it to the news stand of C. Kringle, on East Broadway, for the purpose of selling it. Kringle, recognizing the dangerous character of the thing, notified the police and the bomb was taken in charge by Deputy City Marshal Leuch.

Who manufactured the bomb or how it came to be lying on the bank of Indian Creek are matters which the police department is now investigating.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 10, 1903, page 1.



Harry T. Spotts Suicides

Harry T. Spotts committed suicide by hanging at Battle Creek. He attempted suicide several weeks ago by poison, but failed, owing to prompt action on the part of his relatives in summoning a doctor in time to save his life. He has been suffering from sunstroke for the past two years and to this cause is attributed the determination to end his life.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 10, 1903, page 1.
(Battle Creek is a town in Iowa, near Ida Grove and Correctionville.)

Many Persons Drop from Sight.

"The most remarkable instance of disappearance ever known," were the words used by a detective a few days ago when speaking of a case he was employed upon. It was not a haphazard expression, nor was it original, for it has been used of many in the list of those who have mysteriously disappeared. A report of the Commissioner of Police of London recently noted that 174 men and women of that city had sunk out of sight of their friends in the year. Many persons disappear every year in this city. One of the most remarkable cases of disappearance was that of Lieutenant Edward W. Remey of the navy, a brother of Judge Advocate General William B. Remey and Rear Admiral George C. Remey. The last seen of him was when he walked down the gangplank of the steamship Roanoke in this city on Feb. 17, 1887. Every effort was made to find him, but no trace was discovered. Had he been a man of irregular habits there might have been some suspicion as to the cause of his disappearance, but he was a sober, straightforward officer, and no officer had a better record, stood higher in the profession or was more greatly esteemed.

Another naval officer who disappeared a few years ago was ex-Passed Assistant Engineer Richard H. Buel, an officer who had served in the civil war with distinction. He started for Boston on Dec. 20, 1889, after which no trace of him could be discovered. His father was the Rev. Samuel Buel, at one time dean of the General theological Seminary of this city.

There are many who will recall Stillman S. Conant, one of the editors of Harper's Weekly, who started from his sanctum for his home in Brooklyn on Jan. 16, 1885, and though search was made for him in various parts of the United States and Europe, where he was reported to have been seen, nothing about him has ever been learned.

Thomas W. Fisher's disappearance more than ten years ago attracted a great deal of interest. He was a real estate broker in Washington, and, as was his usual custom, he one evening went to Baltimore to visit the young woman to whom he was engaged. The couple became involved in a dispute over a trivial matter, and the young woman declared their engagement off. Mr. Fisher left the house, and, after wandering about the streets for some time, left Baltimore for New York. He at once wrote to his former fiancee, apologizing for his rude conduct and begging her forgiveness, but she was bent upon punishing him and did not reply to his letter. Fisher then left New York and went to Albany, from which place he wrote again to the young woman, saying that he would not burden her again with his petitions, and that he intended to commit suicide. The young woman then replied to his letter and asked his forgiveness, but the letter was returned with the stamp upon it, "Not found," and nothing has been heard from the young man since that day. -- New York Tribune.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 10, 1903, page 3.

Found The Missing Link

Boston Traveler Claims to Have Discovered Darwin's Ape Man.

Charles J. Frewen of Boston, an extensive traveler, is an ardent believe in the theory of Darwin. Recent investigations on his part in Africa have convinced him that men originally sprang from what is now known as the ape. He is registered at the Windsor and is on his way to the Phillippines to study the natives of that archipelago and the conditions under which they live. He says:

"I have just come from Africa, where I studied all types of human beings. Some of the negroes there are very akin to the ape. They dwell in the Congo forests of central Africa in the western section. These ape-like people do not seem to dwell in organized communities, but hang about the edges of the forest. They speak a sort of dialect that is of the most crude form. Some of them are not really black, but have a skin of dirty yellowish-brown hue. Their bodies are covered over with a yellow down. Their intellect is not developed and their morals are on a parallel with those of the lower animals.

"Human instinct are prominent, of course, as they are human, but their stage of development is so low that they border on the edge of the brute world. It seems, however, that as time advanced that these primitive people have intermingled with superior tribes and, where intellectual advancement has been attained, the characteristics of these apelike people will crop out a following generations.

"Where or not this section of Africa is the cradle of the human race I am not prepared to say. Certain it is, however that these primitive people are the nearest to the ape of any on earth." – Denver News.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, June 26, 1903, page 1 (doesn't actually look like a page 1.)

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Lecturing at the Royal institution on the retardation of the earth's motion, Prof. George H. Darwin said the time would come when the length of a day would be prolonged to fifty-five of the present days -- "a very leisurely age to live in," he interpolated -- and when the moon's journey around the earth would occupy fifty-five days.

--The Racine Journal, Racine, Wisconsin, July 14, 1903, page 7.

Fake Sleuths Dupe Boy From Kentucky

"Willie" Pays $5 to Escape Jail for No Offense.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 20. – Folks, meet "Willie" Gross of Russell County, Kentucky.

Altho little Willie is 18 years old, he never saw a policeman, or rather a detective, until he came to the great capital of Illinois. And then his first experience with the detective was not what you might call real. As he sauntered up the street with his 6 feet and 2 inches he was approached by two pompous-appearing persons of the male sex.

"You're under arrest," they told Willie, who groaned in surprise as the men backed him into a door.

One displayed a tin shield like regular officers wear. The other hiked down the street.

While he was gone the other with the star got confident to William.

"Aw, say," he said, "I don't like to do this. I wouldn't either if----"

Well, Willie greased his palm with a five-spot note and was free.

But when he got away he didn't like it a bit, so he decided to go down to the jail and see what it was they had against him.

"Nothing," they told him.

Then Willie explained he had never seen a detective before. Now Willie is mad all over and he and the police are looking for the tin-star "slickers."



Insane Horse Attacks and Injures Farmer

Man's Life Is Saved by Timely Arrival of Help.

MOBERLY, Mo., May 20. – E. M. Harrison, a farmer near here, is nursing some severe wounds as the result of an encounter with a mad horse on his premises and he barely escaped with his life by putting up a strong fight and because of the timely arrival of help.

Harrison had been to town with the horse, always regarded as the most gentle animal on the place, and while there he had the horse shod. He had reached the barn on his return and was preparing to unharness the animal when it suddenly became enraged and attacked him without apparent cause.

It bit and pawed him and knocked him to the ground. Harrison kept his presence of mind, defending himself as best he could and calling for help. The horse embedded its teeth in his face, legs and arms. As a result the muscles of his legs and arms were badly lacerated and torn. Attending physicians say that while the wounds are painful, Harrison will recover from them.

He has been unable to determine what caused the animal to attack him unless it was temporary "insanity."



Hotel Collects False Teeth

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., May 20. – Departing hotel guests forget many things in their hurry, but when they forget their false teeth they never call for them, according to Capt. James J. Coyne, superintendent of service as a downtown hotel.

Captain Coyne has just added another set of "store teeth" to his collection.

"They will never be called for," he said. "People are too sensitive about wearing them."

--All from The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 7.

Fisherman Drowns When Line Breaks.

Fisherman Drowns When Line Breaks.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., May 20 – When John Scott, in a boat in the Wabash River, was drawing in a trout line he called to his son on the bank that he had caught "a big fish" and the son saw him straining to haul it in. Then he saw his father fall backward from the boat into the water when the line broke. Scott was drowned. The body was recovered.



First Anti-aircraft Guns.

Fifty years ago, during the Franco-Prussian war, the first anti-aircraft guns were made by the Krupps to enable the Germans to shoot down the balloons leaving Paris.



Gets Hot Tobacco in Sleeve

Sparks Set Shirt Ablaze and Smoker's Arm Is Blistered.

MAPLE BAY, N. Y., May 20. – When Ben Gabble left his home to go to the post office he was smoking his pipe. When in front of Donian's blacksmith shop he paused to knock his pipe bowl against a tree. A strong wind was blowing at the time and it carried hot tobacco ashes into the left sleeve of his coat, setting fire to the sleeve of his flannel shirt.

He ran into the hotel, removed his coat and the bartender extinguished the fire – with a siphon bottle containing seltzer water.

Mr. Gabble's arm was blistered from wrist to elbow, but no serious results are anticipated.

--All from The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 7.

Scarecrows Shock Jersey's Fair Sex

Dummies Are Indecently Clad, Say Women.

Skirts Are Six Inches Too Short and Wealthy Neighbors Steal Usable Clothing.

NEWARK, N. J., May 20. – The attention of the State Committee on Public Safety and Morals has been called to what is believed to be a menace to public morals, namely, the costumes worn by scarecrows in Newark in particular and Essex County in general.

The first letter sent to the committee comes from the North Nutley Housewives' and Housekeepers' Protective League and reads:

"To the Committee on Public Safety in Newark,

"Gentlemen: Your attention is called to numerous and sundry scarecrows within the limits of your fair city and the costumes or lack of adornment worn by said scarecrows. Many of them have skirts over six inches above the ground and their garments, or rather lack of garments, is enough to shock the most violent movie fan. We trust you will see that the limbs of these necessary evils are properly covered. Yours, &c., MIRANDY DRAPER, Secretary."

Wealthy Neighbors Rob Scarecrows.

The communication received immediate attention and the committee soon found out that the minute any sort of usable clothing was put on scarecrows it was stolen by some of the neighbors, many of them living in wealthy sections of the city.

The high price of scarecrows this year is the worst kind of profiteering. In many cases the prices of scarecrow styles for 1920 are fully 300 per cent above what they were before the war. They, in turn, rise the price of corn.

The latest fashion sheets have come from South Jersey, where it is assumed they were stolen from Philadelphia, the home of all rustic styles.

Burlington County, N. J., comes to the front with the suggestion that scarecrows be draped, dressed, or merely smeared with tar paper of one inch thickness. It has been found that crows cannot see black because it is their own color, and that they fly straight into the paper and dash their brains out.

No Second-hand Hats.

As far as hats are concerned as an addition to the beauty or usefulness of the scarecrows this season, there is no such thing as a second-hand hat. They will all be used, either as is or as dyed.

Positive information comes to the committee from Bennie Norwood, the Caldwell, N. J., newspaper man, that one post-war gardener there has dressed his scarecrow with a full dress suit, plug hat and "biled shirt," and that the suit or any part of it has not been stolen as yet.

There is no denying that it is a puzzle what to stuff the scarecrows with. Hay is now on a part with platinum, and fathers-in-law or prospective fathers-in-law are presenting their sons-in-law-to-be with loads of hay as wedding presents instead of small farms, as was the case before the war.

Anyway, the scarecrow situation in Essex County and elsewhere is serious.

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 7.

Men Struggle On Dizzy Ledge

Firemen Try to Rescue an Insane Patient Who Wants to Jump.

NEW YORK, April 25. – Crazed by pain, caused by an abscess in one of his ears, Robert Hindman, a patient in the eye and ear hospital yesterday gave battle to three firemen on a narrow window edge of the hospital, seventy-eight feet from the ground. While his nurse was absent from the room for a moment Hindman ran to the window, leaped to the ledge, defied any one to come to him. A fire truck in charge of Captain William Clark, was summoned to capture the mad man. A ladder was run up to the high ledge and Captain Clark and two of his men ascended. When the captain reached the ledge Hindman seized him and shook him as though he were a child. At times the fireman was turned head over heels and the mad man was playing with him before hurling him to the street. The other firemen tried to reach their chief but the narrowness of the ledge would not permit. Suddenly Clark seized Hindman by the throat and pushed him toward the window where waiting attendants pulled the struggling men into the hospital ward. Hindman, who seemed to have the strength of ten men, was overpowered at last and bound hand and foot. Later he was taken to Bellevue hospital in a straight jacket.

--The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 25, 1904, page 1.

Thrown Off By Brakeman and Had Hand Cut Off

NORFOLK, Neb., June 30.
—Special to The News.—
While stealing a ride on a freight train near West Point today, Anton Niedemeier, of Wisner, was ordered off by the brakeman, and he stubbed his toe and fell. His hand was run over and was amputated.

--Lincoln Evening News, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 30, 1905, page 1.


A Dog's Queer Taste.

"Old Peter Jenkins of our town has the only tobacco-chewing dog ever heard of," says a Bristol, Pa., man in the Philadelphia Record. "The dog is now over 10 years old, and, so far as anybody knows, he has been a slave to the habit ever since he was a puppy. Peter himself says he doesn't remember how the pup acquired the taste; maybe he was born with it. At any rate Peter never takes a chew without offering one to the dog if he is around, and the dog never refuses. If Peter should happen to forget he would soon be forcibly reminded of his oversight. It is a curious thing to see the dog lying with head in his paws, working his jaws over a juicy quid. He swallows it, too, and it never seems to make him sick."

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 24, 1903, page 4.


A Mean Fellow.

Clara -- Of all mean, selfish, worldly, despicable creatures, I think Mr. Huggem is the worst.
Dora -- Why, what has he done?
Clara -- When I refused him he did not commit suicide, or go to a mountain cave, or anything. He's engaged to a girl I hate. -- New York Weekly.


A laugh is worth a hundred groans in any market. -- Charles Lamb.


Happy, Nevertheless

Oh, he was a trusted employe,
With a life in obscurity spent,
He found 'twas his lot
To be wholly forgot,
'Cause he never embezzled a cent.
--Washington Star.


Beethoven's mother was a stout, brisk, hard-working housewife, who seemed to have not a thought about her daily duties.

--The Sioux County Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 24, 1903, page 4.

Stabs Man of Same Name

Two Tony Precaros, One Wounded.
One a Fugitive.

Chicago -- Similarity of names and rivalry over an Italian girl caused a stabbing affray at 816 West Huron Street. Tony Precaro, victim, was sent to the county hospital, while Tony Precaro, assailant is being sought by the police.

The men are cousins and reside a few doors apart. Both are 22 years old, and both have courted a girl who resides close by. A missive sent by the girl reached the wrong cousin, and when the tangle was straightened-out accusations were made by the rivals.

They met in front of the house of the wounded man and engaged in a fist fight, which terminated by one cousin drawing a knife and slashing his rival across the breast.

--The Sioux City Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 24, 1903, page 1.


Short Notes
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Laugh and the bunch laughs with you.
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Some men have an idea that heaven is one long pay-day.
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You are all advised to give vent to your mirthful feelings.
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Since the latest auto race in Europe the horrors of war do not seem too dreadful.
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When you get right down to the true inwardness of it you will find that a man's best friend is himself.
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When our shafts fail to hit the mark, we generally have a feeling that it is because the mark is too low.
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With Edison and Marconi working in cahoots, electricity may as well prepare to give up its remaining secrets.
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If a man should fall to hating himself and wanted to get even he should sit down and give himself good advice.
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The arbitration germ is doing well, considering the backward season, but is still a pygmy compared with the strike microbe.
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One preacher thinks the American people laugh too much. This is the worst case of trouble-seeking that we have ever heard of.
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All men want to laugh, but most of them are generally discovered because they have been laughed at for one thing or another.
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If the fish that a man catches would only get away and he could nab those that get away he would bring home more and larger fish -- perhaps.
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The humiliating fact remains that with all our losses and disfigurement, the flood record has not been broken. Old 1344 still wears the championship belt.
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A poet has been elected president of a railroad. Will probably have a grand career. A man who can work his way up through poetry must have great stuff in him.
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"Great divinities!" exclaimed the shade of Nero, watching the automobile race. "Could I have had a bunch of them what sights of royal carnage the arena would have been!"

--The Sioux City Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, July 24, 1903, page 1.

Mrs. H. D. Spencer Tells of the Art of Letter Writing

OF UNUSUAL interest to Decatur people was a paper read before the Bloomington Woman's club, last week by Mrs. Henry D. Spencer, formerly Miss May Rogers, daughter of the late Hon. Jason Rogers of Decatur. She is often in Decatur and has as large a circle of friends here as in Bloomington where she has made her home since her marriage to Attorney Henry D. Spencer.

"Of all arts none is more satisfactory, more comforting, more delightful than letter writing," said Mrs. Spencer. "It is founded on a need as old as humanity, the need of one human being for another. The French were the best letter writers in Europe some generations ago, and in no other country have letters formed so large a proportion of published literature."

FRENCH WRITERS

Particular reference was made to the letters of Madame Sevigne, beautiful, rich, cultured, and admired in the most exclusive circles of France. She became a widow early in life and her letters to her daughter who for several years was separated from her, were models of elegance and wit. An earlier French writer was Jean Louis Balzac, royal councilor under Richelieu.

Mrs. Spencer quoted one of those letters as an example of the stilted, ceremonious and fulsome style in which letters of that day were written. It was of date 10 March, 1624.

FROM ENGLISH WRITERS

"If the French of the early days excelled the other nations as letter writers, what cannot be claimed for the English in the art of correspondence in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Horace Walpole was the king of English letter writers, but Lamb, Cowper, Gray and Carlyle rank very high as such. Walpole's letters to distinguished people of his day have survived time's influences and are still read with interest.

A FAMOUS MODEL

"Of course, Lord Chesterfield must be reckoned with every list of English letter writers. He belonged to an exalted social station and his letters to his son are models of elegance, good sense and wit, but are not of a moral tone that one would expect from father to son. They began when his son was 7 years old and first treated on simple facts of history and mythology and then as the son grew older, upon political and social philosophy, anecdotes, criticisms and comments.

LOVE LETTERS

"The love letters of Browning, Hawthorne and Hugo have found their way into print, and although they are delightful, many of you will share with me a feeling of sacrilege in reading epistles meant only for the eye of those long passed away.

"The letters of our American ancestors are of a stiff and ceremonious style and not particularly interesting." A letter was read by Mrs. Spencer written before Washington had appointed a regular Thanksgiving day.

BEFORE THANKSGIVING

This missive was dated at Westfield, Dec 7, 1783, and begins thus

"Dear Miss--How do you stand affected toward Thanksgiving? I begin to hear much talk about it, and guess that will be all." In another place he says, "I've been trying for many days to get a spark for Thanksgiving, but they all say they are engaged, so that I almost despair of success."

OLD SCHOOL GIRL LETTER

Mrs. Spencer then quoted a selection from a letter by a boarding school girl at South Hadley, Jan 1, 1783. It was addressed to the man whom she afterward married, and begins thus

"Sir - I am retired from the busy crowd in order to solace myself by writing to a friend, and what shall be my theme? Shall it be virtue? Alas, then, my pen will fail. Virtue deserves the most exalted name; it is a native of heaven, a mother of friendship and friendship constitutes the greatest part of human felicity." This young lady closes her letter by saying, "I am, sir, your humble servant."

THEY'RE A RELIEF

"While these letters may seem exceedingly stiff and formal," said Mrs. Spencer, "I think they are a very agreeable change from the silly, sickening, slushy, breach of promise letters which too frequently flood the twentieth century newspaper."

Mrs. Spencer exhibited a letter which she secured on a trip to old Kaskaskia in this state, which was written by once Governor Pierre Menard to his son Edmond. It was dated in August, 1884, and was written in French.

PRAISES CELIA THAXTER'S

The letters of Celia Thaxter written from her lonely home on the isle of Shoals were enthusiastically praised by Mrs. Spencer.

"Celia Thaxter continued writing poetry and charming letters to the end of her useful sixty years, after she had become a grandmother several times, and so indeed she 'slipped away' from those who loved her, leaving suddenly this beautiful sorrowful world wherein she had loved and rejoiced with the children of men. No letters, no record, no description can express adequately the richness and tenderness of her nature."

MODERN LETTER WRITERS

C. L. Dodgson, whose nom de plume was Louis Carroll, was the most famous as the author of "Alice in Wonderland," but he too, was a charming letter writer. He wrote many letters to children, sometimes about his three cats and all full of quaint humor. He hated publicity and "Alice in Wonderland" was a tabooed subject when he was present. The many letters of Richard Mansfield as lately published by William Winter, were referred to by Mrs. Spencer who closed her paper with a quotation from a letter once written by Sir Henry Sidney to his son Philip: "There is nothing that winneth so much with so little cost, and we know in times past how a kind and courteous letter has won almost everything from a heart to a kingdom."

--The Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, February 20, 1910, page 7.

Comment: I left Lewis Carroll's name as spelled in the original article.

Noted Surgeon Produces a He-Hen

Causes Biddie to Grow Spurs and Crow

The experiments of Dr. Victor D. Lespinasse of the Northwestern University in tinkering with the sex of the common hen and his demonstrations before medical experts have aroused the interest of chicken growers.

"It was a simple enough operation," explained Dr. Lespinasse; "just the transplanting of the interstitial glands of a rooster to a hen. But the result was surprising and perhaps no one was more surprised than the hen herself. Within a few weeks she began to develop all the characteristics of a chanticleer.

"She grew a comb and wattles. Saddle feathers appeared next and finally a pair of spurs. She took to strutting pompously about the barnyard, lording it over the other fowls.

"Instead of cackling, our near-rooster would essay a feeble kee-a-kee. A full sized he-crow is about the only think that's lacking to complete her -- or, I might say, his -- roosterhood."

The he-hen is now on a farm in the suburbs of Chicago.

In further experiments with animals, Dr. Lespinasse succeeded recently in producing "Siamese Twin" dogs. These didn't live long, but were perfect specimens.

In his laboratory, just at present, he is working on the ovae of pigs, attempting to bring forth a baby pig without the usual formalities.

"Lower forms of life," says Dr. Lespinasse, "have been produced from germs. It ought to be possible to produce the higher forms."

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 7.

Eating Snakes to Cure Leprosy

----------
Has Faith In His "Cure"

Only Patient who Tried Snake Diet for Leprosy Died, but Doctor Holds to His Theory.

In practicing medicine for the benefit of the natives I worked out one theory in regard to leprosy, which is a fairly common ailment in the Archipelago. I asked myself why, since a snake sheds its skin, a man who is afflicted with disease should not be able to do the same thing.

In Singapore there was a rich Chinese leper, known as Ong Si Chew, who asked me repeatedly why I did not bring him some new remedy for his disease. Since he had a large household of servants who took care of him, and his own carriages and richshas when he traveled, he was allowed to live untroubled by the authorities; but he was very unhappy, because he had tried all the remedies of the native doctors and was steadily growing worse.

At last I told him that I had something that might help. He asked me what it was, but I would not tell him. When he insisted, I answered, "Snakes."

"Ul-la!" he exclaimed, waving his arms in the air.

Then I explained my theory. The ability of a snake to shed his skin might be transferred to a human being if he ate snakes; and if so, the person would be able to shed his leprosy. Ong Si Chew did not care for the idea at all, but I told him it was worth trying and I argued that a snake is much cleaner than an eel.

At last he consented, and I furnished him with a number of small pythons with the instructions that they were to be killed and cleaned immediately before they were eaten. He was to eat them raw with his rice.

I left Singapore soon after that, and when I returned I found that Ong Si Chew had died. People thought it was a great joke on me because my patient had not survived the treatment, but I am far from being convinced that the cure will not work – or, at least, help to throw off leprosy. Ong Si Chew was in the last stages of the disease, and his case was not a fair test. – Charles Mayer, in Asia Magazine.

--The Indiana Progress, Indiana, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1921, page 4.

Famous Missouri Parrot Dies At 52

Was a Wise Old Bird and a Great Talker.

Could Carry on a Conversation With Herself -- Cyclones Her Only Terror.

WEST PLAINS, Mo., May 20 -- "How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord" ----

The shrill voice of "Polly" Langston, singing her favorite hymn while perched on the rail of the front porch of the home of Mrs. T. J. Langston, will be heard no more, for "Polly," Missouri's most famous parrot, is dead. And in the yard where "Polly" was wont to strut before strangers and play with the children, a grave has been dug and "Polly" laid to rest.

"Polly" died at the age of 52, after a very strenuous career. Born in Cuba, she swore in excellent Spanish at the age of 3. Taken to New Orleans, she attracted the attention of Dr. Thomas Bradford, Mrs. Langston's father, who was killed in the Marshfield, Mo., cyclone in 1880.

Taught to Pray and Sing.
When "Polly" was in her teens she was taught to pray and sing. Her favorite hymn was, "How Firm a Foundation," and she could sing several stanzas. But persons not in the family taught "Polly" to swear equally well. One night Dr. and Mrs. Bradford took her to a Methodist camp meeting. When the minister began "Polly" interrupted.

"Preacher, preacher! Pray for that ornery ------" and "Polly" named a prominent citizen. It almost broke up the meeting.

On another occasion, when a prayer meeting was held in the Bradford home, "Polly," overcome by the emotion of a sister, broke into prayer, and concluded with a volley of oaths in English and Spanish.

In the late '70s, the Barnum and Bailey circus visited Marshfield. "Polly," on the porch, volubly cussed the passing performers, roustabouts, animals and canvass men. P. T. Barnum was attracted and tried to purchase her.

"Do you think we'd sell one of our children?" Mrs. Bradford demanded.

Polly Survives a Tornado.
The Bradford home was demolished by a tornado in 1880. Rescuers, removing the dead and injured from the ruins of homes, heard a voice wailing, "Mamma, oh, mamma."

Thinking it was a child, they dug into the ruins of the Bradford home. They found "Polly" near the unconscious form of Mrs. Bradford. The doctor was dead.

Mrs. Bradford recovered, but her son died of his injuries. The pitiful and almost constant calling of "Polly" for "Pa" and "Buddie" caused Mrs. Bradford to send the bird to a married daughter, of this city.

Could Imitate Women's Small Talk.
"Polly" always attended the meeting of the Ladies' Aid and W. C. T. U. in the Langston home. She remembered the small talk on such occasions and one of her favorite pastimes was to carry on a conversation with herself.

"Good-by, Mrs. Smith," she would say.

"I had such a pleasant time."

"The cream was excellent."

"Do come again."

"Yes, thank you."

"Polly's" experiences in the tornado made her wary of storms, and with darkening skies she would hurry into the house. At the first peal of thunder she would cry, "Cyclone! Cyclone!" and seek the darkness of a closet.

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 7.


Comment: The following article is from almost a year later, and in it Polly is 53 years old at the time of her death, not 52.

Polly Remembered Cyclone.

A parrot, named Polly Langston, died recently at the age of fifty-three. A native of Missouri, Polly was a feathered prodigy whose remarkable talents included many vocal and linguistic accomplishments. She could sing and talk in English as well as Spanish, her mother tongue; pray and sing several of the old familiar hymns, which she had picked up at church and social gatherings, besides having a wide repertory of conversational "small talk." At one time, when the circus came to her local town, and Polly had poured forth her sage salutations to the passing paraders, the attention of the late P. T. Barnum was attracted to her and a large cash offer was made for her, but her owner could not be induced to part with her. She remembered to her passing hour an event of her early life when a cyclone wrecked the town and brought death to scores of the inhabitants. Polly survived by a miracle but for more than 40 years afterwards whenever the dark clouds gathered she became so frantic with fear that it was necessary to put her where she would escape the lightning's flash and the roar of thunder.

--The Indiana Progress, Indiana, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1921, page 4.

Woman Hides From Husband 24 Years

Lives Life of Strictest Seclusion in Mysterious "House With the Green Shutters."

LONDON, England, May 20. -- A dilapidated dwelling in the quaint little village of Midhurst, Sussex, surely will be known as the "House with the Green Shutters." Altho a woman has occupied the house for twenty-four years, very few of the 1,000 villagers knew she lived there. She was almost as completely hidden from the world as if she had dwelt in a wilderness.

The secret was revealed only when she died recently. Years and years ago, when she was 30, she married a man younger than herself. Soon she regretted the step; suddenly she disappeared. Undoubtedly, her purpose in hiding herself was to deprive her husband of any claim on her money, which was her own.

So well did she seclude herself that her husband believed her dead -- until she died. Learning of this thru the law's channels, the applied for letters of administration to her estate.

Closest Kin Not Informed.
Even the woman's closest relatives did not know her whereabouts for years. She had not even told her sister. "If ever you need me put an advertisement for a cook in certain newspapers," was her only message when departing.

Years passed. Every day the wife without a husband must have studied the advertisement columns of the newspapers she had fixed upon. The call came in 1896. The woman answered it and went to the "house with the green shutters," to her sister. There, too, lived their brother, but, unknown to him, this secretive, lonely woman entered the house. Unknown to him she occupied a room there. He and the sister died. The woman in hiding dwelt there until her last day. No one ever saw her out of doors.

The weather-beaten house is really two houses made into one. The two front doors have remained locked and bolted for at least twenty years. And all that time the ground floor windows have been barricaded by the heavy green shutters.

"She was a complete puzzle to us," said a neighbor of the mysterious double house. "We knew she was there, but for years and years we never saw her. She never put her face outside the front door.

Her Wants Were Few.
"When the war broke out and my husband joined up she became friendly," said the neighbor woman. "Occasionally she would put her head out of the back door and inquire about the war. She did not seem to know anything of what was going on in the outside world.

"How she lived is a mystery. Once a week a little boy would call at the house to run the errands. Her wants must have been very few, for the boy seemed to buy very little. On very rare occasions a bag of coal would be delivered.

"In the depths of winter I've seen her hands swollen up with cold, but she never complained. Her clothes were old and ragged and her appearance suffered from general neglect.

"Only once she confided to me:

"'If only some one knew I am living here my plans would be upset.'"

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 2.