“Billie Bitters,” as he is called, is a horse of more than ordinary intelligence. He will point at a crab in a crab hole as a pointer points at a bird. He will follow his master from one digging ground to another, and should he be spoken harshly to, he will sulk like a scolded child, and the only way that he can be persuaded to follow his master again is to feed him some more clams.
Billie understands nearly everything that Mr. Scott says to him. Should he say: “Billie, it’s time to go home,” the horse will immediately turn the wagon around and start on the return trip for home.
Billie is a bunch-grass seven-year-old, and a native of eastern Oregon. He was brought to the beach by W. B. Scott, of Seaside, when but three years old and broken into the clam business. Billie has followed this line of work ever since.
Belle of the Ranch is Won by Movie Manager.
When Leonard B. Gratz arrived at the Laflin Beumer ranch in Vici, Okla., three years ago in charge of a moving-picture troupe, he found that not one of the movie actresses was capable of making one of those mad dashes on horseback that causes thrills in Western dramas.
He was about to give up hope, when he observed a pretty girl, with her hair streaming back, riding a galloping horse down the roadway. Gratz learned that the fair rider was Nellie Beumer, the ranch owner’s daughter. That same afternoon she successfully portrayed the rôle of the heroine before the movie camera, and Gratz was more than pleased.
When the picture players left the ranch, they observed a strong friendship between Miss Beumer and Gratz. This[{57}] friendship was kept alive by correspondence, which finally led in the direction Gratz desired.
As a result they were married in a Congregational church in Chicago. Gratz is now president of a movie ticket company. The couple will spend their honeymoon at the Panama Exposition.
Interesting New Invention.
A machine with which he says any child can cut its own hair has been perfected by Joseph J. McDonough, of Rochester, Pa. The invention consists of an ordinary comb so constructed that a safety-razor blade is held firmly against each side, at any desired distance from the edge of the comb. By a system of springs these blades can be regulated so as to make the cut long or short. According to the inventor, a man can cut his hair while riding on a fast-moving train, an automobile, or even an aëroplane, without danger of cutting himself or spoiling the job.