Edward Ell and John Eifert, of Sayville, L.I., gather clams for a living. In former days they followed the prosaic method of standing barefoot in the mud and digging with a spade. But the manner in which they supply Manhattan restaurants with these popular shellfish at present is little short of poetry.
They back their small power boats close to the banks in which the clams dwell. Then they start the propellers and let them do the dirty work. Every once in a while they have to reach over and dump a bushel or so of clams into their boat—but that is unavoidable labor.
Meantime, they lie on cushions and smoke and read. For perfection only one thing is lacking—a phonograph to play “This Is the Life,” and business is getting so good that they threaten to buy one.
The two fishermen swore before three justices of the peace and seventeen witnesses that the above story is true.
Oldest Person in the World.
Mrs. Mary Brock, aged 135 years, lives in Shades Valley, and her grandson, Sam Foley, of Pratt City, Ala., intends to give her a party in May. That Mrs. Brock is the oldest person in the United States is generally believed, and possibly the oldest in the world.
Mrs. Brock, according to a statement of Mr. Foley, was born August 2, 1780, and has lived in Shades Valley a great many years. Mr. Foley plans to have a birthday celebration at his home in May, and intends to have Mrs. Brock present. Mrs. Brock retains her faculties fairly well. Mr. Foley says:
“Although I have not seen my grandmother in a good many years, at the same time I hear from her occasionally. She is in good health and apparently enjoys life in every way. She has spent the major portion of her life in Shades Valley.”
United States Navy Gunner Sets World’s Record.
William Ruf, a gun pointer on the United States battleship Texas, who is visiting his home in Beacon, N.Y., on a furlough, has been notified that he set a new world’s record in marksmanship with the big guns during the recent practice off the Virginia capes. Ruf made eight straight hits with a fourteen-inch gun, shooting at a moving target twelve miles away.