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About The Medford mail. (Medford, Or.) 1893-1909 | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1896)
t t 9 THE FATTEST FAT BOY. Younr XJolored- plant Heads the List of Heavy Weights. He Is Fourteen Tears Old and Weighs-3 63 Pounds Some Surprising Measure- ' ments of Elmore Sheppard, Who Is Still Growing. . 1 A great number of fat boys ha ve been heard of since the New York World printed the picture a few weeks ago of one fat boy who seemed to be unusually large for his age. He has been wholly eclipsed, however, by later reports, which have been coming . into the ..World office from all parts of the coun- 'try.1"1. ' -- V According to these figures, there does' not now seem to be any use of wasting time on fat boys under 200 pounds and in the neighborhood of 14 or' 15 years of age. There are a good many of these boys scattered about, and each of them 1 seems to have been offended at any men tion of boys not quite so fat. . - Their fathers have been writing let ters to the editor of the World demand ing recognition of these prodigies. In one or two instances the old gentleman has been indignant as if at an unjust discrimination against his son. - Fathers of fat boys have hurriedly taken their sons out to be photo graphed. They have likewise taken them to the corner grocery to be weighed, and in one or two instances they have gone to the trouble of en listing the services of a notary public who has certified to the weight and other measurements. It now seems, however, that these fond parents will all have to cease boasting of having the fattest boy in the world or else try to regain the first place by stuffing their sons like the stalled geese that go to make a Stras burg pie. A colored boy has turned up at Pocahontas, a-, beside whom all others pale into insignificance. This boy is named Elmore Sheppard. Ke is 14 years old and he tips the scale at the astonishing figure of 363 pounds. Sheppard was born in North Carolina and left that state with his parents when nine months old, going to livo Pocahontas. He was 14 years old last December. His father and mother are of normal size. So proud is Pocahontas, Va. of Elmore Sheppard that the citizens decided to enter him for "the great fat boy contest. He was accordingly weighed in the 'presence of Attorney W. W. French and Dr. Haler, of that place, and his weight was found to be 363 pounds. Then he was carefully measured. He was found to be 5 feet 5 inches in height. Around the chest this black oung giant measures 58 inches. Around the waist he measures 70 inches. His thigh is 24 inches in circumfer ence and the calf of his leg is only half an inch less than 2 feet in circumfer ence. His feet are stout, but of aver age size and length. He is active and in good health and has a voracious appe tite. This fattest of fat boys smokes a cigar "when he can get one," as a Poca hontas gentleman states. He is good natured, like all of his race, and he can read and write, and his mind is bright and acquisitive. He wears a 7 hat and measures 17 inches around the neck and 20 inches sround the upper arm. He has gained Z9 pounds in weight since the 28th of December and is still gaining. Several other fat boys have turned up who were of colored parentage, and they were all good natured, which may have some mysterious connection with their size and health.. No boy can hope to be fat who is cross or ill-natured, and the same appears to be true of men. Here are some of the fat boys weigh ing 200 pounds or over whose .friends or parents have written to the World fibout them: Fay Houser, Groton, N. Y., 12 years old, 212 pounds. Joseph Young, No. 773 Columbus avenue. New York, 13 years old, 204 pounds. Theodore Tieman, Cincinnati, O., '14 Mich., 11 years old, 265 pounds. Angel, Nantic, R. L, 15 years old, 315 pounds. . - Martin , P. Burman, Coopersville, Mich-, 11 years old, 265 ponuds. Charles Schwartz, No. 42 Perry street. New York, 15 years old, pounds. - Howard N. Gosner, Eleventh and Huntingdon streets, Philadelphia, 11 years old, 200 pounds. , ASPArUaaUS IN FRANCE. ; Vineyards Devastated by the Phylloxera Planted with the Vegetable. Asparagus, like many other table delicacies, is much more of a luxury in Europe than in the United States. Ac- cording to a Parisian periodical, of ninety thousand bundles of asparagus consumed daily in Paris between April 15 and May 15' nearly sixty thousand were delivered to the restaurants. . The region of ArgentenO is regarded as furnishing the finest asparagus for the Parisian market, and it is from that region that large quantities of the veg etable are sent to England and Russia, The region about Alost in Belgium also produces an asparagus that is greatly esteemed by epicures. The asparagus of Argenteuil at its best measures from three and one-half to four inches in circumference, and half the length of the stalk may be eaten. ' The culture of asparagus has saved the fortunes of land owners whose vineyards have been ravished by the phylloxera. Asparagus has been substituted for the ruined vines on suitable lands and market gar dening has succeeded wine making. Asparagus has replaced the sugar beet about Laon, and the crop throughout France is worth many millions of francs a year. . ' " - It is the rule of the most careful French asparagus growers never to cut asparagus after May 20, though some coatinue cutting considerably longer. Large cultivators have asparagus fields of different ages, and prolong the cut ting later than May 20 only on those that are sure to run out and -need re newal in a year or two. It takes five years to make a proper growth of as paragus,' the French cultivators say, and the earlier -sprouts should not be cut at all.' One ' French amateur as paragus grower leaves home when the sprouting season comes, in. order that he may not be tempted to do the young shoots a wrong. Some giowers devote themselves to producing monstrosities, and a single stalk of French asparagus may make a dish of the vegetable large enough for a family . of moderate size. These great stalks are produced by the aid of, a bottle in which the stalk grows. When the young stalks : are found side by side the points are gently brought together and a necklcss bottle is placed over them. ' They unite as they grow, and the twins gradually fill the bottle. Another plan is to intro duce a single stalk into a rather short bottle and let the stalk double upon it self. Stalks two inches in diameter are thus produced, and they are said tc have an especially delicate flavor. MARY ANDERSON'S BEGINNING. Rehearsing In the Kitchen Before a Lit tle Negro Servant. In the south roost of the servants were negroes. Among ours was a lit tle mulatto girl ("nut-brown maid" she called. herself) whose chief attrac tion to. me was her enthusiasm for the theater. One night in desperation I went to her while she was washing dishes in the kitchen and there unfolded all my hopes. It was to her I first acted, and she gave me my first applause. The clapping of those soapy, steaming hands seemed to me a veritable tri umph. Believing that a tragic manner alone would sufficiently impress the situa tion on the "nut-brown maid," I began with a hollow voice and much furrow ing of the brow: "Juli, wilt thou fol low and assist me when I quit my child hood's home to walk in the path of Siddons, Kemble and Booth?" "Oh, Miss Manie, you kin count on dis pus son, fo' de Lor you kin! Why, my stars, what a boss actor you is! But you- tans' "low me to call you maw.P and in a trice she was gone. A few moments later she reentered the kitchen with my mother, who was greatly surprised by my performance in the fourth act of "The Lady of Ly ons," which could not have been acted in a more appropriate part of the house. She, in turn, called the critic of the family. Dr. Griflin, who, likewise. was astonished, and made my heart beat with joy by saying: "You'll make a good actress some day. Your scene has thrilled me, and I would rather hive rough work and a good thrill than any amount of artistic work without it." Spurred on by such encouragement I worked harder than ever, often stay ing up half the night to get some effect while trying to look into the heart and mind of the character under study. After that evening in the kitchen I read scenes or acted them nightly to our small household, usually from "Hamlet," "Richard" or Schiller's "Maid of Orleans." Mary Anderson, in North American Review. DEER HUNTING BY LOCOMOTIVE The Reason Some Adirondack Railroad Men Didn't Feast oa Venison. Once in awhile the engineer of a train on Dr. Seward Webb's Adirondack railroad has a race with a deer. Some times it happens that the frightened deer won't leave the track and is killed. One night in September, when Tat Cummin gs was pulling the through train down to Utica, he walked back to Conductor Clarke, while his fireman was taking water at Nehosene, and raid: "Bill. I killed a deer back there by the river. It was a fine big buck. He run ahead of me for a long piece, and I could see him. plain. , When I hit him he went up over the pilot higher" n he ever jumped before in Lis life, I bet. He landed just out there in the ditch, and I had a notion to stop and get him, but I was afraid you'd kick." "I wish 'you had stopped." said Clarke. "The next time you catch a deer that way you stop. It won t take so long to get him, and we can easily make up the. time. Deer meat is too scarce and too high to let it go like that." Cummings said he surely would stop the next time, and Clarke got the agent to telegraph to the agent at Horseshoe to send the section men down to the river with their hand car to get the deer. - Tt was after 11 o'clock, but the section men started out. md after a smart pull got down to the river. They looked a long time, but could find no deer. Up and down the track they went, and at last were just about to give up in disgust when one of the men found it. It lay out on the bank of the ditch beside the track. It was a fine large yellow dog. . Now if you ask Pat Cummrngs if he .has killed a deer lately, you want to be ready to dodge, and dodge . mighty quick, for Pat is a husky citizen. N. Y. Sun. .- 1 - ' .- ' A Small Jnstlee. ' This Btory is told by Chauncey F. Black, of Pennsylvania: "There is in my town a member of the legal pro fession of very diminutive size who re joices in the name of Chris Magee, though not of kin to the well-known politician of the same name. Some time ago Magee was elected to the bench, and one of the first cases before his honor was that of a brawny Irish man whose colot'-sal figure was in per fect antithesis to that of the little judge. The son of Erin had commit ted an assault and battery, and was told to stand up by the court. The de fendant did so, and though he was six feet six inches tall, he could barely see the top of the magistrate's head ap pearing behind the desk. Raising him self on tiptoe and bending forward with his hands before his eyes as if to peer at some distant object, the Irish man shouted: 'Holy Moses! and is Patrick 0'Minehui going to be tried by a fairy T " Troy ' (N. Y.) Time. TASMANIA ZEBKA-W0LF. The Most Destructive and Dan gerous of the Marsupials. It Has the Face of a Dog, the Eyes of an Owl, the Stripes of a Zebra, and Pouch Like Ills Cousin, the Giddy Kangaroo. This animal is also called the native tiger; but, strange to say, it is lioteven a cousin to zebra, wolf or tiger, belong ing to the same family as 1 he kangaroo, the slow and gent le woiubat.und the sly old opossum all those aninuils that car ry their babies in their pockets. Com mon names are usually given from fan cied or external resemblances without regard tokcientiflc classification, and in this case the dark stripes, like belts around the body, have suggested the name of zebra, while the ravenous and fierce nature naturally suggests the tiger and the wolf. Opce the zebra-wolf roved at large through Tasmania, bringing terror and destruction to thesmalleranimals which inhabit that land, but since the island was settled by Englishmen they have made systematic attacks upon this most dangerous of the pouch bearers, or Mar supials, and have driven him into the thick forests and rocky gullies. When population becomes more dense this en emy of the sheep and poultry, as well as of defenseless wild game, will be swept from the ir.ee of the earth. No doubt the shepherd and farmer will be glad when the lost zebra-wolf has prowled his last prowl around the henhouse and sheep fold: but the naturalist, who is al ways a friend to what is rare .and strange, will regret exceedingly the ex termination of this queer beast. Another thing that makes this strange creature peculiarly interesting is the fact that he is the most formidable Marsupial of the more than 60 varieties of this class, and is indeed the largest and most dreaded of all the mammals in Australasia. One reason why the shepherd and the farmer find it difficult to guard against its attack is because it loves darkness rather than light, on account of its evil deeds. Now and then, when driven l hunger, it will come creeping to the sheep fold in the daytime, but its pr.cs ts then very slow, owing perhaps to its imperfect vision in the sunlight. At such times it is easily captured, as it is inactive and stupid. The eyes, which are large, ore fur nished with a membrane, like the eyes of owls; and this is called the nictitat ing membrane. This is almost contin ually movir.g in the daytime, as the cyea n re eA post d to more or less of sunshine Without this membrane the amount of light admitted through the large pupil would puzzle the, zebra-wolf. The general color of the somewhat short woolly fur is grayish brown, a lit tle inclined to yellowish. Across this ground color the black bands show up sharp and clear. These stripes ore usu ally It in number, beginning just bark of the shoutders. where they are narrowest, and growing broader and longer back to the haunches. The skins are in demand for laprobre and rugs, which give an added reason for hunt ing the wrarcrs. The ebra-woUes were taken to the Zoological gardens in London, where they nourished and raised a family. When they came it was thought Great Britain would be too cold for them, but there see ins to be uo reason why they would not thrive even in Canada, a they are known to live on the moun tains of Tasmania 3,500 feet above sea level, where the ground is sometimes covered with snow for many weeks, and frosts ore severe. Do you wonder that his name is slight'' ly mixed ? The marvel is that he is not named "menagerie" and done with it: for with bis dog-like face and short' wolf ears, eyes like an owl. zebra stripes. and pouch like a kangaroo, his mixed- i pickle breastship could answer to al most any name you might wish to call him. When he becomes extinct we can truly say we ne'er shall see his like again. ANOTHER DEGENERATE. Dr. William Hammond, Preacher, Doctor and ConOdenoe Man. With scarcely. half a century of life behind him. Dr. William Hammoud has a record that would cut up into his tory for six or eight men . He is now under arrest in New Orleans and is charged with nearly every penal of fense in the code, and is said to have practiced medicine and law and preached the Gospel according to the rules of four different denominations. His religion knew no arbitrary bounds . and be taught the Methodist, Baptist. Roman Catholic and Dunkard creeds indirectly. Chief Inspector J. M. Coul ter, of the Boston, police, has taken much care in searching Dr. Hammond's past. He says the prisoner has rare native ability and a liberal education. According to Inspector Coulter, Dr. Hammond was bora ' in .Montreal in 1841. He married early, but his wife died young and he entered the priest hood. He subsequently had charges in the other churches mentioned. He lost a church in Montreal -and is said by his Boston Nemesis to have forged the recommendations which secured him a place in a bank. In 1855 he came ' to the United States and, Mr. Coulter says, he settled in Yreka, CaL, as pas tor of a Baptist church, married a member of his congregation and in sured her life.- This is asserted to have been a practice with him. He subsequently is said to have secured policies on the lives of different wives at Indiana Valley, Ind., Melbourne, Australia, and New Haven, Conn. An other wife, Mrs. Brockway, widow of a wealthy physician at Franklin Falls, N. II., was taken suddenly ill, but re covered. Hammond,, it is charged, had $12,000 of her money in his posses sion, but returned it on the agreement that he was not to be prosecuted. He was arrested ut Macon, Ga., and Savan nah, -Ga., on charges of fraud in real estate deals. From 1890 to 1894 Mr. j Coulter is unable to trace Hammond's' movements. Something more than a year ago he began the practice of medi cine at llallowcll, Me., and built up a large patronage. He ordered medi cines largely and then, it is Baid, sold them to others without first having paid for them. In the latter part of November he was taken in charge in New Orleans . . on - complaint of those with whom he had transactions - in drugs. Hammond has lived and pur sued his various professions on three continents. Inspector Coulter is au thority for the statement that he has had six real or ostensible wives in ten years, nis many adventures will not bear publication for general circula tion. CONGRESSMAN PAYNE. One of the Popular Members of . the Re - publican Side of the House. '. One of the most prominent repub lican members of the 54th congress is Hon. Sereno E. Payne, of Auburn, N. Y., who has represented the 28th New York district for many years. He is an inti mate friend of Speaker Reed, and it sur prised many members of the house when he failed to be appointed chair man of the committee on ways and means, ne is, however, the second mem ber on that committee, and his influ ence is bound to be felt in the shaping of tariff legislation. Mr. rayne was born at Ham U ton, N. Y in 1343; graduated from the university at Rochester in 1864; was admitted to the bar in 1S66, and has since practiced law at Auburn. He was elected to the 4sth congress and has been a member of the house ever since. TOLD ABOUT LINCOLN. Senator Palmer's Account of His Last Meeting with the President. A great many Lincoln stories were told about the capitol at Washington the other day, four of which are cred ited to. Senator Talmer, of Illinois. Many of the stories were old, but one of Mr. Palmer's seemed to be new and in teresting. It is this: ' "The first time I met Mr. Lincoln was in 1S39, when I went to Springfield to be admitted to the bar. He was already recognized as a whig leader. He wore, I remember, a suit of linsey-woolsey Ihat could not have been worth more than eight dollars, cen in those days. The last time 1 saw him was in Febru ary of 1865. I had come to Washington at the request of the governor to com plain that Illinois had been credited with 1S.000 too few troops. I saw Mr. Lincoln one afternoon and he asked me to come again in the morning. The next morning I sat in the ante-room w hile several officers were received. At length I was told to enter the presi dent's room. Mr. Lincoln was in the hands of the barber. " 'Come in, Mr. Palmer, he called out; 'come in. You're home folks. I can shave before you. I couldn't before those others, and I have to do it some time. "We chatted about various matters, and at length I said: "Well. Mr. Lin coln, if anybody had told me lhat ir a great crisis people were going out to a little one-horse town and pick out a oiie-liorse lawyer for president J wouldn't have believed it." "Mr. Lincoln whirled about in his chair, his face white with lather and n towel under his chin. At first I thought be was ougry. Sweeping the barber away, he leaned forward, and, placing one hand on my k nor. said: " 'Neither would I. but it was a time when a man with a policy would havu been fatul to the country. I have never had a policy. I have simply tried to do what seemed best each day as each day came.' " Pigeons in Mining Camps. Experiments are being made in Ari zona in the establishment of carrier pigeon messenger service between re mote mining camps and the nearest towns or railway shipping points. So far as tried the service has proved suc cessful and very valuable The trails out from some of the large camps are long and difficult to traverse at times, and the carrier pigeons insure a great saving of time in exchanging comasani eatiens. That hideous and deathly demon of sickness constipa tion, is an easy enougn uung to cure It Sou take the right medicine, Constipa ion is one of the commonest things in the world. It is really one of the most seri ous things. Fully nine-tenths of all the ordinary sickness of mankind is due to this one cause. If you place an obstruc tion in the gutter, it will stop the flow of water, and gradually a mass of poison ous, putrefying matter will accumulate. That is exactly what happens in the digestive organs when constipation be gins. Poisonous matter accumulates and is forced into the blood. It goes all over the body sad causes all sorts of symp toms. A few of these are dizziness, flatu lence, heartburn, palpitation, headaches, loss of appetite, loss of sleep, foul breath, distress after eating, biliousness and erup tions of the skin. These things are un pleasant, but they are not serious. The serious things come afterward. Doctor Pierce's Pleasant Pellets are for the cure of constipation. They are tiny, sugar coated granules, essy to take, mild and efficient in their action. One is a gentle laxative, two a mild cathartic. There is nothing else in the world like them. There is nothing that takes their place. There is nothing " just as good, " although lieing and unscrupulous druggists may sometimes tell you so for their own profit. Do you wsnt to lose your health so that the druggist can get rich ? The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser, in plain En glish, or Medicine Simplified by R.V. Pierce, M. D.,CIieV Consult ing Physician tothe invalids' He ld and Surgical Institute, Buffalo, N. Y., ioo8 psec, illustrated. 680.000 copies sold at $1.50. Now sent, paper-bound, ausolutblt PS k on receipt of St one-cent stamps to pay for mailing onljf. Address tsa Anther, ss sboro. '7 T? sU .U afTnsrT"-assslsslTM,l for Infants and Children. " OTHERS, Do You Know that Paregarlc,; Bstemsn's Drops, Godfrey's Cordial, many so-called Soothing Bjrraps, sad M most remedies lor children are composed of opium or morphine? TM Ty Know that opium snd morphine sre stupefying narcotic poisons ? Be Ton Know that in most countries druggists are not permitted to sell narcotics without labeling them poisons? t Ton Htnow that yon should not permit any medicine to be gives your child anles you or your pbyiician know of what it is composed ? TKt Twt Know that Castoria is a purely vegetable preparation, and that a Hit of hs ingredients is published with every bottle? TQ Tail ICpow that Castoria is the prescription of the fsmoos Dr. Samoel Pitcher. That it has been in use for nearly thirty years, and that more Castoria is now sold than of all other remedies for children combined ? TX Yon Know that the Patent Office Department of the United States, and of other countries, have issued exclusive right to Dr. Pitcher aud his assigns to use the word Castoria" and its formula, and that to imitate them is a state prison offense? TQ Yoci Know that one of the reasons for granting this government protection was because Castoria had been proven to be absolutely harmleM? Po Ton Know lhat 35 average doses of Castoria are furnished for 35 c?entst or one cent a dose ? Po Tod Know that when possessed of this perfect preparation, yocr children may be kept well, aud that you may have unbroken rest? Welt, ttMMse things are worth knowing. They are fads. The fttoalmlle alsrnatwre of Children Cry for ...THC.s SECOND ...MAN... Located on West side of railroad track, I Am Now in New Quarters And am better prepared than ever to furnish my patrons with what they need in the line of Harness and Saddlery My stock is up to date, my work guaranteed; Repairing neatly and promptly executed J VV LiAWTON Adkln6-peuel Block. Medford. Oregon Now the Roads are Good ... We want to call your attention to our VOLUNTEER BICYLE, a strictly first-class wheel at a moderate price. When yon go angling we can fit you out with anything you need in the line of fishing tackle. Our garden hose is all new and fully guaranteed. We have anything you need in garden tools hoes, rakes, forks, spades, spading forks, etc., etc. Satisfaction as to price and quality. Kame & Gilkey, Medford, Prep u rn QONTRACTOR and JgUED'.DER. JOBBI3STQ OF ALL KIVDS. All work guaranteed first-class. Plans and estima' Xi fomigbed ' M all kind of work either brick or Bills ot LUMBER of all kinds Sited on short notice. Sash, sod vni wnPt, , , klnds-aay tains- in tha shape of wood work can be M notioe. Medford, THE VERY BEST OF BRICK AND MASON S. CHILDERS, I manufacture a splendid article ol Brick see samples , everywhere about the city Yard one block north af -,. Brewery. Residence north C street, Medford, Oregon. MEDFORD BRICK O. W. PBIDDY, iProp'r. MEDFORD, - - - OREGON. First-class quality of Brick always on hand. Large and small trtorr promptly filled. . . . . BRICK WORK OF ALL KINDS PROMPTLY EXECUTED. 41 Give me a call when in need of anything in my line -4ii Is OH Pitcher's Castoria; . i S : i : "1 I Jaek (Howis..: THE SECOND HAND MAN Wants to see you at his new store, one door sonth of the old stand. A large stock of fumilure, stoves, dishes and lamps, also a new line of matting. Horses, harness and wag ons for sale. near Western Hotel, Medford, Ore. him 9 - Oregon WORK. YARD, J