According to an order of Judge Beall, in special sessions court, of Yonkers, N. Y., a flock of pigeons was permitted to determine ownership. The birds were in the cote of William Warholy, who asserted they belonged to him. John Yosko was also a claimant, charging the pigeons had been stolen from his cote.
Recalling that pigeons are credited with a wonderful instinct in finding their own roosts, Judge Beall ordered two policemen to release the pigeons in dispute and report the result.
One-half of the number of birds flew to Warholy’s cote and the others to Yosko’s cote, thereby reserving decision for the judge.
Garden Rake is Life-saver.
Jennie Reed, four-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Reed, of Grand Rapids, Mich., owes her life to a garden rake. The little girl fell into a cistern while playing with little Raymond Algra, a neighbor boy. The boy called his mother and told her Jennie was in the cistern. Mrs. Algra seized a garden rake, which had been left near by, and drew the child to safety. Jennie was delivered to her mother little worse for her cold plunge.
Prehistoric Race Relics Found in Nebraska.
Ruins left by some prehistoric race in the vicinity of Howe, Neb., have recently been inspected and studied by Professor Gerard Fowke, the St. Louis geologist, who is curator of the St. Louis Museum.
Mr. Fowke has been gathering scientific data of the primitive inhabitants of the Missouri Valley, and he investigated the remains of their civilization. He began with the ancient ruins north of Kansas City and followed the west bank of the river northward, tracing the northern retreat of these ancient farmers and gardeners.
After an exhaustive examination of the ruins found at Howe, Neb., and at Peru, the professor is of the opinion that the ancient remains recently discovered near White Cloud, Kan., were of works made by the same race. Considerable work has been done at Howe under the direction of C. L. Meek, and a large number of the bone and horn gardening instruments have been unearthed. The tools for the most part were found cached beneath what had once been the floors of the dwellings, where they were buried in beds of ashes.
Scientists are now of the belief that a number of the remains found along the Missouri River and the neighboring country were those of a civilization which preceded that of the Indians.