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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 1955)
o EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Monday, December 26, 195S Railroad, Bus Service Stalled In No, California San FrSicisco (U.R Rail road and bus service was nearly at a standstill in many areas of Northern and Central California today because of floods. The Southern Pacific reported its Shasta route closed because of a slide at Cruzette, Ore., but the Shasta Daylights ran over the longer Siskiyou route. The Overland route was closed over the Sierra because of a washout at Emigrant Gap. Work men hoped to restore the line in time for today's Overland sched ule. The San Joaquin Valley line was blocked by a washout north of Tulare. Trains detoured over Santa Fe Lines between Fresno and Bakersfield. The SP canceled nine trains yesterday. WP Line Blocked The Western Pacific's main line was blocked by slides WP trains were detoured via Bar- stow. Slides closed the Northwest ern Pacific railroad between San Rafael and Eureka. NWP offi cials denied a report that the line would be outP until April. They said it should be open in three weeks. Pacific Greyhound Lines can celed its service to Reno, run ning buses only as far as Colfax, Calif. Service to many Northern California points was subject to detours. Reno Airport was expected to reopen this morning. United Air Lines announced it scheduled a plane for Reno which would leave San Francisco at I a.m However, night flights to Reno m;Q not be restored immediately. Southwest Airways was un able to land at flooded airports at Marysville and Eureka. Its morning plane could not land at San Luis Obispo yesterday. ' uwvtvn matiovat. TITLE in Farm Bureau Federa tion's big beet contest at Caldwell! Ida., this entry by Newhall Land & Farming Co., El Nido, Cal., is in protective custody Of Policewoman Donna Hill. (International Soundphoto) Snake Charming Serious Matter in Indian Village Bob Hope Hurt But Gets Laugh London (U.R) Bob Hope has discovered after all these years that the easiest way to get a belly laugh is to take a fall. Hope took the tumble from Joan Rhodes, an English strong woman who looks like Marilyn Monroe with muscles. It came during his Christmas Eve show in Iceland. "What am I paying script writers for?" he groaned. "I could have been falling all this time forTiothing." The fall brought down the house but it wasn't very funny to Hope. He had an appointment with a doctor today for -rays and was ordered to take it easy till his condition is ascertained. Hope and the muscular Iviiss Rhodes were giving a special show for U. S. troops in Iceland when the accident happened. He had made a series of cracks about her strength when she started to pick him up to carry off the stage. She slung him across her shoulder, but he kept going and landed on his head. Read and Use Classified Ads New Delhi (U.R) The charm ing of snakes is no laughing bus iness in the little village of Mith- apur, home of the strange and fabled men whose weird flute music charms the most dreaded reptile. Snake charming is a time-honored and almost hereditary pro fession in Mithapur, 12 miles south of New Delhi. It's there that snakes are worshipped by the wedding party both before and after the ceremony. It's there that men make sacred promises to snakes and never break them. Mithapur males are taught as seven - year - olds to search out the snakes in the thick jungle underbrush and tame them with the piercing music of a reed flute. The 35 families of the village are members of a Hindu caste known as "Jogi." They pay hom age to an 85-year-old high priest who lives far away in Punjab, whereftnce a year snake charm ers from all over India go on pilgrimage to offer him coins, flowers and part of their earn ings. Touring Charmers Years of training may finally bring to a villager a certificate from the high priest that allows "use of the art of snake-charm ing for entertainment and to earn a livelihood." The severe penalty for misusing the art is excommunication from the caste The caste is so strict that out side marriages are never permitted. The head man at Mithapur is 40-year-old Nanu Nath, who ar ranges marriages between snake charmers of his village and those in other similar villages through out India. Although not allowed to in fringe on another village's terri tory, individual snake charmers are permitted to leave India to practice their profession in other countries. They have gone to Burma, Malaya, Ceylon, Thai land and even Tibet. Nanu Nath talked about these strictly enforced codes as he showed off a six-foot python, several small cobras and a two headed snake. He claimed that the two-headed snake uses one head for six months and then switches to the other one. Nanu Nath's villagers go on tour during the winter, roaming from place to place in Mith apur's territory with little more than their snakes and reed flutes. None of his group has ever traveled by train. Some' Biles Nanu Nath claimed that the snakes can be caught in the jungle "just by playing the flute." But he explained that the more than 2,000 snakes around his village were so used to .the music that they would not re spond. They have to be cap tured by hand. Once the snake is caught, the rules of the sect say the charm er must promise the snake that he will set it free within a cer tain period of time. The charm ers believe that if the snake is not freed on the promised date, then either the snake or one of its relations will bite him. They also feel that the gods would be displeased. Small snakes must be freed in 22 days. Not even the largest snake is kept for more than six months. When caught by hand, the snakes are grabbed by the tail, WJj.jl.J,ljllIHM Starts Tuesday! Johnston & Stewart's ANNUAL Of Womens Shoes! Flats : Dress Shoes Casuals A Good Selection of the Latest Fall and Winter Styles and Colors, But Not in All Sizes. Choose From These Pa mous Brands! British Walker Main Streeter Sandler of Boston Selby Westport Troylings fo4t4gm and Stecmnt THE CORNER SHOE STORE Central at Main Med ford Hi :?1 0 B S88 S 88 Sly VALUES TO $10.95 VALUES TO $15.95 VALUES TO $19.95 Is That So? Sharpen your witsf here comes a noggin crusher. Answers follow questions and each one has its individual score. If you score 95 or better, in my league that qualifies you as a Park Naturalist; 85 per cent assures you a position as Hanger Natur alist; 75 qualifies you as a will ing but lacking in outdoor ex perience; 35 as a Drugstore Cow poke; mighty in voice but weak in knowledge. Let's gw. going. I. Approximately, this first section begins with winter wea ther. 1. In which of these places did th ehighest American snowfall 884 inches occur during one winter? A. Canada; B. Northern U.S.; C. Southern U.S. 2. Snow may lie a half-year in which region of the U. S. which is heavily travelled in summer? A. Yosemite National Park; B. Yellowstone National Park; C. Arcadia National Park (Maine)? The deer makes a very im portant adjustment toward win ter's cold. A. It grows a heavier hide. B. It puts on a heavy lay er of tallow and body fats. C. It shrinks its stomach. 4. Winter's deep accumulation of snow helps the snowshoe rab bit mainly by: A. Making a step ladder so the rabbit can reach higher up. B. By slowing up the rabbit's predators. C. By help ing make the white rabbit invis ible. 5. Deer gather in herds when snow is deep because: A. A group can pack down the snow and feed better. B. It gives them mutual protection against pred ators. C. It is the mating season when a buck gathers his harem. (Ten each; 50 points) Extinct Birds II. One of earth's saddest tales is that of species' extinction. Among the more than 100 birds which have become extinct In the past century are the Great Auk, Flightless Teal, and Apa pane. Which bird came from each of these islands: Iceland? Laysan? Hawaii? (Five each; 15 points.) III. Among man's faithful dom esticated animals are: Dog, pig, cow, reindeer, sheep, goat, cat, ass, horse, camel, elephant, llama, birds, and insects. Select the appropriate animals from this group to which the follow ing statements apply: 1. I serve man for meat, milk, hide, draught, but yet I am still in a state of semidomestication. 2. I am milked from behind. My ancestors may have origin ater in Iran. Duplicating Signs Removed From Parks Washington (U.R) FoAhose who don't believe in signs or just don't like them, the parks of the nation's capital are becom ing more pleasant. A removal of duplicating traf fic signs from the parks has been underway for six months. The job is being handled by a three man task force from the Interior Department's National Capital Parks division, including one rabid sign-hater Robert W. An drews, a park landscape archi tect. "We'd like to eliminate all signs," Andrews said. That isn't possible, of course, but Andrews is doing his best. So far, 750 signs have been taken down and only 4,212 are left. The sign elimination drive was started by a report prepared in December, 1953, which said that the increase in traffic signs was having an "adverse aesthetic ef fect" on the parks and causing "confusion to the public." Ed ward J. Kelley, superintendent of National Capital Parks, took the hint and appointed Andrews, Park Police Sgt. Dave Kushner and Sutton Jett, department pub lic information officer, to cut out all duplications. The most obnoxious examples of redundancy are parking signs. There are too many of them and they are too complicated to be easily understood. So they have been coming down under the watchful eye of Andrews. Park police must now get his permis sion to put up any signs. their wriggling bodies pinned to the ground with a stick and then held just behind the head. Nanu Nath claims that noth ing is ever done to the snake, no teeth pulled, no venom sacs removed. He said that once a snake is .caught it becomes tame and usu ally does not bite. He has no explanation why music tames them. But the man who has been handling snakes all his life ad mits that he has been bitten By EUGENE BURNS Ranger-Naturalist 3. Supposedly of Asiatic ori gin, I am often rented today to help increase the yield of crops. 4. T was perhaps domesticated first in Egypt where I once pull ed chariots. During the reign of King Ethelred, I was known in England. 5. I am man's oldest domesti cated partner. (Seven each; 35 points.) ANSWERS: 1. In the High Sierra which is in the southern half of the U. S., believe it or not! 2. Yellowstone National Park. 3. Heavier layer of tallow and body fats. 4. Making a step ladder. 5. Protection against predators. II. Iceland, the Great Auk; Laysan, the Flightless Teal; Ha waii, the Apapane. III. 1. Reindeer; 2'. Goat; 3. Bee; 4. Ass; 5. Dog. Now add up your score man fully. There will be fortnightly tests in the coming year and good luck to you. ' (Copyright, 1955, By Eugene BuBrns) (Released by McClur Newspaper Syndicate) Free: By special arrangement with the editors of the Encyclo pedia Americana, my panel of judges will award each week to the reader who sends me the best true-life nature adventure, the best nature observation, or the best question on nature and wildlife, a complete 30-volume set of this world-famous refer ence work in a handsome Seal craft binding. Each week new submissions will be considered. Sorry, I simply can't answer your many . friendly letters. Please address your letter to IS THAT SO! care of Medford Mail Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito, Calif. '". . . LiqfcwX 'TH! Ti "w vnwMm FLAMING CRASH KILLS 17 The wheels of Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in the backyards of homes bordering Municipal Airport at Jacksonville, Fla., stopped short of this house. The other pair of wheels landed against the porch of another home. All aboard, 12 passengers and five crew members, died in the fiery crash. He'll Be Well-Dressed Refugee From Flood Marysville, Calif. (U.R) When flood waters forced War ren Thornton, city editor of the Marysville Appeal-Democrat, to flee his home, he elected to save what clothing he could and or dered his mother-in-law to sal vage some food. When he reached safety Thornton discovered he had sav ed a tuxedo. His mother-in-law salvaged bread for turkey dress ing but left the turkey behind. Dog Not About To Lose New Friend Santa Cruz, Calif. (U.R) Garageman Stan Prolo pulled a helpless dog to safety from the roof of a nearly submerged car during the height of . the flood and the dog has followed at his heels ever since. Prolo says the pooch consid ers "him "dog's best friend." . Grind . oats fine for hogs, coarse for beef cattle and feed them whole to sheep. REDS MAPPING ISLAND Taipeh, Formosa (U.R) The Chinese Communists have be gun air-mapping the Nationalist held Matsu Islands north of For mosa, official reports said to day. The flights touched off air raid alerts. SPECIAL - 2x4 Wood 3 Loads for $25 PHONE 2-8277 McGINTY FUEL CO. 11 mil 1 n it n il Mil SMI (December 27 to December 31, 1955) SPECIAL FEED PRICES Ground Barley reg. price $3.45 - now only $3.10 percwt. Wheat reg. price $4.30 - now, only $4.00 per cwt. Mill Run reg. price $3.00 - now only $2.75 per cwt. Cottonseed Cubes reg. price $4.50 - now only $4.15 percwt. SPECIAL PRICES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THIS SALE ONLY Limit 5 Sacks to a Customer While It Lasts 10 Off Fencing-Roofing-Hails 14 Ga. Barb Wire now only $ 7.38 12'2 Ga. Barb Wire now only 10.57 39" Field Fencing-was $24.35 now only 21.91 36 Poultry Netting now only 9.40 8 Box Nails, per keg, were $14.45 now only 13.00 90-lb Roofing, was $3.40, now only 3.06 Stock Up Now at These Special Prices 15 OFF HARDWARE Hammers - Wrenches - Screwdrivers -Saws - Vises - Levels - Oil Cans - Brae and Bits -Chisels -Rope-Etc. SPECIAL SELECTION OF HAMMERS $1.00 EACH Assorted Stove Bolts 10c per dor. Wood Screws 10c per doz. BUY NOW AND SAVE CLOSING OUT 50 OFF - Stoneware -Leather Goods -50 OFF Vases Dog Collars Planters Dog Harnesses Bean Pots Cow and Calf Halters Flower Pots Cow Bell Straps Cookie Jars Leashes Etc. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE ON THESE ITEMS! SEE SAMSON'S THIS WEEK SPECIAL 50c TABLE Here you will find a large assortment of useful items. Values to $2.00 SPECIAL $1.00 TABLE You will find just what you want on this table Values to $4.00 See Samson's This Week For the Biggest Bargains of the year. All Sales are final and limited to stock on hand. 4th fir Front Phone 2-5295 5 Medford, Oregon I "about 20 times."
