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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1907)
THE OREGON SUNDAY -JOURNAL PORTLAND,: SUNDAY MORNING JUNE 30, 1S07.' "V" $ Cnrions of Tiiitles a su d Eizaids :.. .' 1 'X - jT'. V Is A v.w ' " ' JT ," A- i n I --. iV . .. - . f . . -as -- m 9 am.-- v-a.- XT 9 . - .a I . , I th rlcUm to riirulf It from-aueh " ' , w - . r, . , -iOM " position, when, after much mnuverlng livI'VI . - i ' i'' , ' with th writhing quary, the .n.k. , f 1 , ' - -Si li " ' ' topa In jomt mbarraament. Thar ia ' . iVl' - . " l f ' ft if i1 1 no haad.-Th object that ha encaged - 11 ' CUstiiVCtlVj1 ao much attention 'la -simply the long , . . J-rrSSBs5, 'PPfltfZ TrPTLT ' UH of the lisard. and the abbreviated I i 1 y ' " . JL--iSSBl fQ'JVtrJZJr(74 lJ&lJG . 1 owner has gilded to safety." ; v-.. .., 1 ,' 4lSr:tS'X -i:;v v - , I I '. i - f U"T!Sss , .v . (PACIFIC K032KB3 , By H. A. Larrelamo, In the 0oiraDhlc Maraxlne. f 11E alligator snapping turtle (Ma- I crocbelys lacertlna) Is found In 1- the Mlsalssippl rlvlr and the other rivers flowing into the . Gulf of Mexico, all the way from Texas fa Florida, and as far north as Missouri. Although turtles are not . provided with teeth, the, bits of this giant turtle may well be feared, for It is quite cap able of snapping off a finger or hand at a single bite. It possesses a pair of keen-edge .cutting manlblea and . Jaw muscles bf great power. It snaps off a larjre section of a flab like a shad as cleanly as though removed with a cut ting die. It is unable, however, to swal low Its food unlesn lis head Is com pletely Immersed. IT kept in water too shallow for this it woulcVstarve In the midst ojiitty:-ii-oeld take the food, To Snara Guileless Fish. : , The alligator snapping turtle, when lying at the bottom of the muddy water it frequents, can hardly be distinguished from a great boulder stone embedded in the mtMl. It is 'provided with a very re markable appendage, which It uses to entire fish rieht into lta mouth. The appendage Is found on the inside 'of the lower Jaw, close 'to the region of the tongue. Mr. Raymond Lee Ditmars, In his fascinating took upon :, Keptlles, says: - "This Is a well-developed filament--of flesh, white, and distinct from the yel lowish mouth parts, and resembling a large grub to such a degree of nicety that the popular-minded observer, see ing the object-in the reptile's mouth, would declare it to be the larva of some Insect. More striking, however, Is the reptile's power to keep this appendage in motion, giving it the aspect- of crawl ing about in a small, circular course. "With the mud-colored shell lying close to the bottom, the Jaws thrown open to a great extent, this organ is put in motion, Every other portion of the creature Is aa motionless as a rock. In thl( position of rigidity the shell looks like a great round stone, and blotches of fine waving moss intensify the de ception; the big head looks like an other stone, beneath which there Is a cavern, and In - this cavern crawls the white grub to all appearances, an ob ject dear to the hearts of finny wander- era iiut woe to tna iucxiess iisn tnai swims within reach of thoss vawnlna jaws. ' . ; r; ? How Liiards Lose Their Tails. We are all more or less familiar with (he difficulty of catching lisarda with out causing them to lose their tails. The talis come on 1 on the slightest provocation. This decapitation - or. rather, decaudatlon is not of so much consequence to a cold-blooded reptile as it would be to a mammal, like a dog or cat; for the lliard soon grows an other tall, which, though it may not equal the original tall in length, la yet a good serviceable organ. How many times the tall may be removed and yet replaced we do not know. j IL I I II III' ' The removal of the tall Is not al ways the result of violence, for some llsards, the plated Usaras, for example are able to discard tne tan voluntarily in tne ace or an enemy. Tne abandoned tau acts as a decoy to tne pursuer. The tail wriggles and writhes and thrashes about with sucn liveliness among the dead leaves into which it Is thrown aa to distract tne attention or tne pursuer, and thus the original owner escapes. Remarkable Glass Snake. ' The glass snake, which Is really a lli ard, although it has no feet. Is unable to make much speed; and for this reason. It Is very-easily overtaken by its enemy, the king snake. As the - pursurer catches up with his vrey he grasps at once at the first part offered. "There is a sudden twisting movement on the part of the glass 'snake,' and the victor finds that the smooth, scaly length he holds in his jaws Is so vig orous that It requires much attention, for It twists and wriggles with great energy. Swallowing -all his prey head first, the cannibal works his jaws along Horned Lizard Spout Blood. The exnulslon of lets of blood from the, corner of the eye Is a remarkable habit sometimes . attributed to horned lizards! We can hardly wonder that so eminent' an observer - as . Raymond Iea Ditmars,. Curator of Reptiles In the Mew rorit zooioaicai pars, alter navinr examined several hundred specimens without observing the effect, should have become somewhat skeptical about tne alleged nabit. His .skepticism, bow- ever', has been suddenly dispelled with a rather startling denouement. . Mavinar received an unusually' larre and fat specimen of the' Mexican horned llsard (PhrynosoVna orbloulare), he pho tographed the specimen and then .began to measure it. . ... "The letter nroceaa." he sava. "seemed to greatly excite the creature. It final ly threw the head slightly upward, the neck became rlirld. the eves blurred from the sockets, when there was a dis tinct 'sound like ' that produced If one presses the tongue sgainst the roof of the mouth and forces a small quantity of air forward. This rasolac sound. consuming but the fraction of a second, was accompanied by a jet of blood at ?reat pressure. - It hit the wall, four est away, at the same level as that of the reotlle. The duration of the flow of blood appeared to be about one and The World's Biggest Motor Track Nearing Completion tegMiii Lif. ' " (i i , ":-.. ?HWJs.vsr.v.-.-.L-.-. -.v ,'..v..v - . ........ .'TWM I " w v t w fww r 1 " t At "USA"' t , , .. ,m-,,-j.A. ... . -'i ' -w ... . ."Sv , --rj -' IiNl .a ji -- iii i i m.vMimtlimmm gr. , , The Brooklands motor track, covering a circuit of three miles and 100 . feet Mn width. . It is the biggest in the world. ONDOJ. At Weybridge. some 20 miles from London, the world's T I ' greatest motor track vis now , practically completed. . The . first race meeting, for prizes aggre gating $22,0000, it is announced will be held there on July , The best cycling and running tracks. the most famous .athletic grounds, the most Imposing of race courses sink Into comparative Insignificance by the. side of this great smooth artificial road. Ten cars at a time will be able to rush al mqrt around the . three-mile concrete track. Its promoters predict that It will revolutionize motor ' racing. Hitherto record-breaking ' and ' competitions for coveted trophies have been attended by frightful risks, and ' many discomforts. They have demanded a heavy ' toll of human eacrlflce. .. The dangers of the roadtreacherous corners, perilous re , vines and blinding dust have re strained the enthusiasm of the most ar dent automcblliBta. - On the new track they will -be able to experience the Joy or an joys tor motorists to let tnem pelves go at the highest speed their n hanlcsl steeds are capable of. ' And they will be able to do it with the mini mum of risk. Until- similar, or more ambitious courses are provided in other countries tne world a records it is pre dicted! will be made on- the Brooklands track, as it has been named. And John Bull, who has been in a rather pessi mistic mood lor torn umi is not -a little tickled to think that Be can claim the biggest and best -motor track on earth.- Built by Locke King. But it owes lta constitution to Indi vidual enterprise. Locke Kinc. through whose fine rotate it runs, conceived the idea and baa carried It out at a cost, approximately- of 11,000,000. ; - , . : Th work of conxtruction was com menced last September and the s fact that 1,600 men have since been continu ously engaged upon it will give aome JJf of the magnitude of the tusk. S, The form of the track is that of an KYreKular oval. It resembles an egg in hup more than anything else to which il i n be -i!kn4. with a diagonal stretch f -ri! its smaller end for the finish line. ( the Inner edge of the track one com te circuit measures Just i 11-1 miles, t the last lap from start to finish :'s 3 miles, as this includes the -al jus. TJirea in lies la but a step i pn a main road for a fast motor car; a" itu-ee-mue circuit, cut through private Ki-opriy, wears a very oirrerent aspect, Owever. nnd when ft la ratnemhered that the ivAraM vnlA trnnlr talrefl thre "pa io tne mile, the area covered by. the Brooklands course, within a. fraction of inree miles to the lap, is brought home iviq iurcioiy,. (. f - ... 1 Banks Are Steep. ' . To anyone familiar with -vrl nplns ing at the curves Indicates how tremen dous must be the speed which renders mciH mwBiary. ? Tnere are two'benda The tonaer of them haa on atvnlr tn 2 r,tal"" ' 1.550 feet, the shorter 1,000 feet. Even that latter la n.vrv mnder. ate curvature. Tet to enable motor cars "negotiate it safely at the dizzy speed With Which thav will whirl imiin Ih. irucn. nwi neceaairatAi a .iffff.ran. in level between the Inner inH miter aHa-aa of the course of no less than 2S feet. ne outer edge the slope is no less than one in two -that a ih. in.i. nt InoUnatlon is 45 degreea This means that a car having a track of four feet six inches Would travel uminil thla nart of the course with its outer wheals raised two feet three inches above those on the near side . With the exception of a slight rise of about on in Jo to ! ii T"'i "na ne icourse is prac tically level, fin Arrfat i ..(. hibitorg la "puUlcg: up" tha track rtaaaj steeply just pant the finishing post. The level "straignts - between tne two oenas are respectively about one kilometre to hair a mue in lengui.. Will BrearRecords, . . S.' F. Edgey'the famous English' rao- .ug inuiuii.i will ..jioviq niMa ill' eral records on the new track, is en thusiastic about it. ;"Wlth our present machines," - he said, ''we shall be -able to make 120 miles an hour on it easily. But there is -no reason s-why they snould not be made to gcr faster. It is purely a ques: tion of exnense. s .,.- , - "After a certain speed every mile of increase is more dirncuit to get. -. But If 1 had the Bank of England to draw upon. I would make a motor to travel at 200 miles an hour." . For soma- distance- the -lines' of the lyonaon and sou to western Katiwav com pany parallel the. Brooklands track and spectators will occasionally have oppor tunities -or. noting now mucn raster a racing motor, car travels than the speed iest of exoresa trains, r as a eoectacia motor car races nave Hot neretorore vied in popularity with horse racing, one reason undoubtedly being the difficulty of . obtaining from any. one point more than a fleeting glimpse of the competitors. Prom the high gTOunit In the center of the Brbok lands -track nearly the whole : of the mutm caa p aean, aod aa thara will , i be-no clouds of dust -to screen the cars I rrom signt their progress can be -watched practically from start to finish. Accommodation will be provided for as many, aa 60.000. spectators, and the or- ganlzers believe that under the condi i tlons provided motor car racing wlll prove as attractive to the crowd as the Iblg turf events. Visitors Are Safe. In view of the high speeds to be at tained - every precaution will be taken to Insure the safety of visitors. - They will be separated from the inside edge of the track by two substantial fences. Between these fences 'policemen will gatrol. It will probably be some time efore the policemen-will be able to overcome their feelingr at the sight of the- speed limit- being so constantly ex ceeded, while the - drivers themselves will doubtless have some difficulty at first m keeping their hands, and ; feet off their brahjs at -the sight of a uni form. .. . ' - flajtuJI m Thla bold tfiterprlse haa referred the warm approbation-of the leading auto- mfiKJUola Ka ..nntmJfln .1 i.iuu.iiuiu r i -HO VUUIIII i 1UU WAfUIli have already joined the Brooklands Au- tomoDiie itacing club, by which the in stitution lg- to be- known. A ' strong committee has been appointed , to con- auct tne general management or tne club, of which the Karl of Lonsdale Is president and Lord Montagu of Beau- lieu vice-president. , f , ' Rider Attacked by Hobcat. Crookston Correspondence Pioneer Press Joseph" Dobias, a "farmer ' of :Tabor township, had an exciting adventure with a bobcat, and perhopa would have been killed but for the Intervention of h's dog, Dobias was riding from hia farm to Angus and the first intimation he had of - the animal's presence was when it suddenly sprang at him from the side Of the road and bit ivielnuslv at nis xoot. 1 The animal which Mr. Dobiaa was riding was a colt, and it became fren zled at the presence of the wildcat and throwing its rider, started to bolt. The bobcat was about to leap upon the pros trate man when the dog Interfered and enroiia aamelv at the creature's throat. A fierce contest ensued In which the dog was getting the worst of it By this time, however. Dobias had' nicked him self ud- and secured a "club. With this weapon he waded into the melee - and between the man and dor the cat was soon killed. It was a big fellow, meas uring S feet 4 ' inches in lenrth . and standing Xeet I Inches bign.. . -v. , a half seconds, and toward Its termina tion the force gradually diminished, as noted by a course-of drops down the wall and along the floor to a position almost under the snot whera the rep tile had been held. The stream of blood seemed to be as fine as horse hair and to Issue from the eyelid, which was momentarily much swollen." . ; "For some months after the perform ance the-eyes we're tightly closed and nothing could Induce the lizard to open them. Within two minutes after it wss placed an the ground the protrud ing aspect of the - eyeballs and -the ) swelling of the eyelids had disappeared. "Most surprising was the amountof bloed expended. The wall and floor showed a course of thickly sprinkled) spots about one-eighth of -an lndh In diameter. , There were "10 of these spots.".1 - v - - ' - . ! The shove quotation Is also taken from "The Reptile Book," by Raymond Lee Ditmars, published by Doubleday, Page 4k Company, 1907.. This book Is sn admirably written and -well illustrated work on the structure and habits of the Turtles, Turtoises, Crocodlliana, Lizards and Snakes which inhabit the United. States and northern Mexico. While thoroughly scientific In Its treatment of the subject, the work Is written largely in un technical language and the Illustrations are the best we have - seen. -. KingLdward Adopts YoungAstor's Scheme VjsINO EDWARD is quick to appro- I f , elate a good thing, and to adopt l 11 himself - when the chance oc- sV ; oura. , Ha heard of. how young .' Aator Is transforming the In terior of Clieveden house, the historic mansion on the Thameshlch hia, father prcaeutea - to nun . as a - weaaing girt, His , majesty sent a merabei of his household staff to Clieveden to see what Is being dona there. The guest ipart ments have been converted into elf- contained suites; complete, each having tim separata-sitting-room, Datnroom, etc. The kins-.waa so imDreased with the re- Port of his functionary that he at once issued i orders' that the aome system should be adopted in Buckingham pal ace. . The, work is now well advanced. As their majesties' guests only meet their host or hostess at one meal In the day, -or-two at -the most-the ar rangement by which - the visitors are quartered in their own complete domain Is particularly convenient. The great white house on the wpoded heights overlooking the Thames has seldom had any air of life about It since Mr. Astor bought.it from the late Duke of Westminster, - who sold It to provide for the children of his second marriage. The Duke was very popu lar in Taplow and Haldenhead; ha was a good landlord, and had that broad tol erance for "the people" which the pub lic, expeota of a great English noble man. -Mr. As tor's action in closing the riverside walk of Clieveden woods save one part. : between two public ferries, which he reluctantly fenced off with oak, barbed wire, and padlocks, was not popular. People said that It was the American who was the aristocrat,: and the duke the ; democrat. . Then v he stopped tea being sold at one of the lodges. The people would have stood it from an Englishman better, they are still ready with feudal submission-" to a feudal lord. "Rut whan . ator all this exclusion, Mr. Astor was seldom seen at Clieveden and having a million aire owner for- the estate waa -found to be practically no benefit to the town and- country round about, fringing lit- i ana less visiting, puDUO opim ma Decame aggressively insular in tone. Fond of Entertaining.' ' ' 1 1 ' - 1 Now the district Is hoping for better uunga i m nanas or nis son. Be sides, Mrs. Astor is said to be' very fond of entertaining and It . Is- that wnicn causes money to cirouiate In the neighborhood. Toung Astor and his wife have an opportunity- to gain the gooa win trr tne 1 neignnornood - which was withheld from the older man. -.?: Half the battle in social success here is won if you manage to get talked about There are scores of lovely wo man and girls rich and .agreeable who get -scarcely a passing glance because they have not set the tongues of gossip In action. It is much better to be spoken about unkindly than not to be reierreq to at ail, lndirrerence being the most disastrous portion which can fall to the lot of any aspirant for position in ui iuDionQi worm, - Many Pretty Girls. At - Mps-l' Whltelaw Reld'a Thni-o afternoons- there is a creDonderaiioa nt pretty girla and those of them who nave been most 'discussed 'in- luiaa Carter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ridg ley Carter. . She ia certainly very good looking and wears .her clothes with, real distinction. She was voted the pret tiest girl at the last recentlon at the embassy." Mrs. Wybors- of Cincinnati. Is taJUAsT about aa interesting daugh-l ter whs is to be presented at the first June court Tor so young a girl she has a great deal Of - repose, which Is usually . lacking in American women. She and her mother have a suite of rooms in the Hyde Park hotel which they are going to : make their' head quarters until the - end of July.- May Van -Allan Is 'another debutante -who Is much-admired and is a real success. The president's - niece has -come and been well received.- She is well-bred and pleasant,' but she is not the type that sets the Thames on tire. When the Princess of Wales dined at the em bassy the other night she talked to her for a considerable time and I hear the princess was vastly pleased ' when this tactful - young woman said ' It would mean "the time of her life" - were .she permitted to have tea In the nursery with the young Waleses. . This, wascs concession - which - was Immediately granted by tne princess wno adores her children and was charmed to find Cor- Inne Robinson so interested in them. It seems that the Princess of Wales I beginning to regard;' Americans - with more favor. A year or ao no there were but two of that -nationality on her visiting list the Duchess of Marlbor ough and;. Lady Paget;',;, -.H'.c-';;', Japanese' Prince Attentive. .. X Mrs, George Cornwallls West waa one or tne guests invited to .meet the Jen- anese Prince Fushlml at the Duke and Duchess - of Connaught's dinner party ana airectiy neoinea tne lacnes in the drawing-room after dinner he never quit her side until 'the lady rose to go home. They talked French nearly an tne while tnougn now and again Mrs. West, who Is a splendid linguist, was able to say something in Japanese, a fact which pleased the great soldier considerably. It , is a fortunate thing that the Ducness or uonnaugnt is not a Jealous woman or shei would naturally have felt hurt at the manner in which she was left "out-ln the cold" by the guest of the occasion. - , - But this is not all. Fushlmi was to have gone to Aldernhot to see a review at which the king was also to be pres ent. It was iso wet, however, it had to be put off so the Jan had the after noon to himself. After making a brief visit to the national gallery to see pic tures wnicn nored him unmistattsbiy, he drove straight- to Winston .Chur chill's, the present address of Mrs. West, who Is keeping house for her son and to the -. unutterable amazemfent - of the household, explained that ha had come to nave another '-chat with Mrs. West Winston, who thinks there In no woman on-the face of the earth like his bril liant American mother, was immensely amused' and flattered. After tea the prince seemed to jret fixed in a glue-pot ana never movea to go until nis nostess was compelled to tell him that she and her son were going out to dinner. Tt was then past 8 P. m. and . thev had Only about a quarter ef an hour in wnicn-to areas.. ... ..;; -. Lady Essex Is Vegetarian. For Quite a lonsr time the-Countess of Essex "drODDed" out of society and she wss rarely to be seen anywhere. This was partly owing to her health, which has been very Indifferent - She Is now much better and able to get about as usual. She - has. - however, to live by rule, and is still an enthusiastic vege tarian. -Lady Essex has always been In the magic circle of the kins's : friends. being one of the bright amusing well dressed American women he likes.- It la, however, doubtful Jf she will ever again be able i to stand that gay. crowd who have the constitutions ot horses.! ( 'The Countess jbf Essex 1s "one of the only, women who has had the backbone ; to refuse his majesty's invitations. . As e late as last spring she declined to go to Biarritz to join the king's friends and aelected quiet Beaulieu instead, i Everyone will be glad to welcome Gladys Deacon again to London. Sha was a great favorite and Is well known In the English as -well as the American set Do you remember how the crown prince of Germany, when he waa stay ing with the Harlboroughs at Blenheim, lost his head over her and the, furore the affair caused T It waa said at the time that the kaiser was very- angry with the Duchess of Marlborough for having such an extremely beautiful girl of her house-party putting as it were , temptation In his son's way. Gladys's mother made an ' absurd fuss In ' the newsDaoers about the affair, which was . very silly of her. for no one with any sense regarded the matter as anything beyond a boy and girl flirtation.. '"WHEN-HE GETS KICH. For One Thing:, This Man With Toothache Will Hare Prl. "If I aver get really rich," said the man with the toothache, "I shall have a private dentist - What do I want of a private dsntlstT Wall,4 I'll tell you. "It's bad enough t anyway - to suffer from your teeth, but to me thla suffer ing Is made doubly distressing by the oircumstapces attendant upon., my visit tp the dentist's office. j ;--f--l- arrive there to find the dentist working away upon ' the teeth of sortie patient in his chair, and that always sort of disturbs me to find somebody else being worked over and cared for while I wait In distress, I think I am entitled to all the care apd sympathy. And maybe I find somebody else wait ing, perhaps a friend of the person-in the chair, or somebody waiting: his turn. come ahead of. time; and that disturbs me, for I like t wait with my pain In - SOlltUOe. :'.,'.!(',- ,!,,. :.,,, ' ' "But the dentist rets 'through with . J the patient In the chair on time for ma-'eT hanHi ncen 1 skillVjv and I take mv dace Under -h la han And I don't doubt that I set hia concen tratea ana complete attention and Whiltt llA' 4A. An...HllW ' mnn , m n 1 ...... v . . . ' ...' .jnill HID. uu, A can't get away from, the idea that he is woraing as raDiaiv as tie can so as - to be ready for the next patient ' 'And then, with all my pain, I cannot : . forget either, that person In the waiting , ' room. ."waiting for hia turn -&ftn mm. and waiting without a particle of sym pathy -for me, and In-fact rather Impa- r tlent of 1 my presence and thinking of -; himself alone: this la 'rather wounding - to my self-esteem. .;-:.'-v- -. --...r.t' "In fact however I regard It a visit to the dentist's office is always a Jar- -ring experience.. My dentist. is a man of the highest professional Skill, and, as I said; I am sura I get his best care: but still all these familiar things that I have mentioned to you jar me, and I would avoid them all If I could. So when I get real rich I shall certainly have a private dentist" Vain Sacrifice. . . .From the Washington Star. ' -&' "So- you ault smokina because ehe' -- sked you- to." -said tha vouth with the clamshell cap., , , "Yes," answered the lad with .the turned Up trousers. " "And tnen?" j "Then she went walking with a man who smoked a vine, because aha said, it kept away mosquitoes.".