The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 31, 1897, Page 25

i (R s SPIN UNDER SAIL ON THE LARGEST BIK ESS than a minate to a mile. | Two large sails have just been rigged on s bicycle driven by seven iders and they wiil shortly attempt ver a mile in less than sixty s : ne with its spread ges le. victor, designed [ g sensation. | f a machine which could carry | s and seven men is abst g about for some means by h the rigers of this the largest prac cal machine ever constructed co record-breakin ion one day conceived the dding sail power to the machine, Is to »n and study of the ma d to rig the huge machine seven stro awing sails exact counterpart ced the Empire 28, with the single excepiion as the sextet carried six riders, uplet, as its name implies, has | It has never been shown in this country, tu sent as soon as it was constructed where it remained for iwo , after which it was shown by its | n a number of cities of Europe. It | then taken to London, where it wasa ant source of wonder and comment e English riders. he machine has just been returned to this country, and immediately on its ar-| rival here Severn Dorion, a well-known designer of small sailboats, was consuited, and after consideration of the plan said that he saw no reason why a suit of sails | shouid not work as well on a big machine as upon a sailboat or icenoat. | He was accordingly given the order to make a proper of sails for the ma- hine, and these have just been fitted on to light spars which carry them. e masts are of wood, light but very ong. The forward one is fitted or stepped into a metal holder or socket, | the which rises from the framework of machine just back of the seat of the | rider, while the second mast is placed be- | tween the sixth and last rider. | ~ Seorching On a Bicyele Under THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 1897. IN THE WORLD. | Rattlesnakes May Become a Popular Dish |Frank Goolsby Says the Meat Is Jender, Delicious, White and Pretty, and Only Prejudice \RANK A. GOOLSBY of Zellwood, Fla., has discovered that rattle- snakes are & very tempting dish. | | Evety day he kills one, which is served up later on the family table. | Mr. Goolsby is the first man on record | who has made a meal off rattlesnake, and | he declares that the reptiles wre, without | doubt, the most delicious food known to | man. He has made a fair test of the dish, | having had them cooked in adozen dif- | ferent styles. | _ Mr. Gooisby is something of an epicure. | He has a little money and all the leisure | he desires, and so can devote considerabie | time to the pursuit of new things, includ- i ing those that are good to eat. And so it | | ] | comes about that, after running the gamut of ordinary kinds of food he de- cided upon testing something novel, and tried a ratilesnake. According to what he says, it is only a question of a short time before rattle- snake—fried, stewed or curried—will be- come so fashionable a dish that no first- | class dinner will be complete without it. | There is no doubt that there are dozens | of appetites so jaded that they are will- | ing to test anything new in the form ot | food, but in this instance the epicures will ! have the advantage of having something ! forced upon them by fashion thatis pal- | atable, and will not tave to go through | their usual punishment when adopting a | new dish and 1 acquiring the taste. Of course, there will be the usual cry The forward mast is about twelve feet in length while che second or rear stick is some two feet shorter. The rig is almost a canoe rig. The sails are somewhat tri- ape and when set are kept in numerous small gaffs which ature of small booms running mast through tho sails to their edge arin s are controlled by the second ysin the same manner s 10e are governed. The lower booms are on a level with the seats of the riders, but inasmuch as there is very little tacking done when the ma- hine is under o to speak, this is not so great a disadvantage as it ai first ap- pears. Wuen, howev it is 0 sary to come or set the sai the other side of e, the booms can be raised by 50 as to clear the heads llow the sals to swing of the rider across clear. The upper gaff of the front or larger sail extends several feet above the top of the mast, while the boom projects outward about twelve feet from the machine. This gives a sail area of approximately 126 squ et, while the second or rgar a of about 85 square feet, nbined sail area of some- re fee rials sail thus I ving a cc sver 200 sq which have een made with this machine it uite the sails of the wind to the riders 1n cannot be used w.ich may the matter of speed, tn blow. litions of wind the wind and on sev- 1 riders have had den and wonder:ul gym- rmances in order toavoid a 1 area 1.0 eral occasions to do son nastic p nasty spill. When, however, the wind is fair the s carry the machine slong at a rate which equals that of a railway train and in fact exceeds the speed of many local trains. The big machine with its sails and its crew of athleticri the race agains ord, when it is confidently expected that present records wili be practically annihilated and a won- deriul new world’s record for one mile es- tablished. T. e weather is thus far to blame for the round having been frozen has re- in a rough and unsatisfactory con- on and tue crew of the septuplet are ame for not caring to risk tainly their imbs and possibly their lives in a winter attempt to break the record. Ithas been demonstrated, however, by the preliminary trials that better results are obtained from the machine when it is ridden across the wind than under any other conditions, and Mr. Maslin, who is postponement of this interesting event. | | s by means of a system | | con: ders is now all ready for | 1 greatiy interestel in the performance of this machine, has just completed arrange- ments for the attempt to smash the record | as soon as the weather permits. The tests which have already been made have taken place on the lakeside boule- vard, a fine stretch of road running out of Syracuse, and those interested in the big machine and its work are well satisfied | with the showin ‘s thus far made, and are confident that when forced along under the impulse of a favoring breeze and the | fourteen muscular legs of its riders the machine will cover a mile in less than a | minute. Its riding crew is composed of seven of | the best-known riders of the country. The | steersman, William Bex, has already had h the machine | before the masts and sails were put in He has guided t:e machine over a circular mile track in 1 minute and ng the machine and crew 1ish line and to a stop in iderable experience w! position. 39 seconds, ta. across the safety. Anong the other riders of the crew of echine are Robert F. Darling, the designer and buiider of the_ septuplet; -orge Beakbane, Frank Charles | the n Frank L. Troppe. G La Velle, racing cyclists. Several of these men were in the crew | raced with the Empire State ex- | them bave had long whic press, and all of cperience in multicvele-riding. Life Within Narrow Limits Near | Henry Triebert and Duckrow, all of whom are well-known Full Sail Largest Bike in the World, Ridden by Seven GCrack Riders, Fitted Out With Large Sails, Will Gut the Mile Record Down to Less Than a Minute this coming trial of the septuplet against time the machine will be handled in much the same manner as an iceboat is, the sails being set as shown in the | illustration. 'Two Men in a Box. the Top of Nob Hill. Sixty-three hours a week in a box two | | feet square—that is the karma of two steady, hard-working men in San Frao- | The box stands upright on the | southeast cornet of California and Powell | Possibly it is an inch or two under or over two feet square, but at all | events it is not big enough to permit its a comfor'able ‘The box has four glass windows. | On three sides of the box just below the | windows are bullseye signal lights, which | alternately flash from white to red end | If a California-street cable-car | is coming up the . hill on its westward | | journey, then the bullseye that faces Pow- | ell street will flash a red light. Powell-street car is nearing the top of Nob Hill, northward bound, then the | licht that faces California street will | And itis tie duty of these two men whose karma | it is to be imprisoned in this tiny box for cisco. streets. occupant the luxury of yawn. vice versa. gleam with a dark reddish hue. CURIOUS CAR BUILT ESPECIALLY FOR SAURIANS. omtm e e | El T (i i It the | | sixty-three hours each week to change the color of these lights. It isn’t every man who could endure the awful monotony of a six hours’ stretch as a prisoner, day in and day out, every al- ternate six hours, from one end of the long, long year to the other. And yet the 1onotony of the job is not so greai as one may imagine, though there is, of course, a good deal of sameness about it. But to the man inside the box there is no time for day dreaming and no time for a comfortable yawn, even if there were room enough in the box to enjoy it. For this is one of the most dangerous crossings in the City. Notonly do two lines of cable- cars cross each other here, but each line | has a double track, with cars moving at | all quarters of the compass at the same time, and, most important consideration of ali, immediately to the east and south of this crossing the grades are remarkably steep, 0 that cars coming northward and westward do not bring the motormen in sight of the crossing until they have | reached the summit and are nearer the { danger point than even the conscience of | a street railroad corporation is willing to | permit them to be without intimation of approaching or passing obstacles. Now, in order to fill the position of sig- | nal man at this point perfectly, the occu- pant of the little box ought really to be gifted with no less than four eyes, and able the signal man to encompass wit his sight north, east, south and west, all | at the same time. is would prevent a | good deal of the head-turning and neck- twisting that is now nec ‘ssary. But, upon second thought, it would add greatly to the monotony of the situation and rob th occupant of the signal box of his only per- missible diversion. The little signal box is quite comfortable inside, all things considered, only there isn’t sufficient room in it for an open grate and an easy chair, and the ventila- | | tion is not what it ought to be. It's ail | ventilation or no ventilation. When it’s | all ventilation—a good many days out of | the year—it means a draught and a cold. When it's no ventilation—well, it's just what those words imply. After dark it is warm enough from the waist up, for the lamps give plenty of heat and to spare, and a blanket or two over the feet enables one to preserve a nornal | temperature when the fogs roll in or the wind blows down from the north. Sull there's that everlasting twisting craning of the neck and the incessant en- deavor to look four ways at one time that seems very painful to the uninitiated. each eye should be so adjusted as to en- | and | against the eating of snakes, but this will give way to curiosity and desire, just as on the outery against frogs, and the fashion- uble diner may look forward to a dish of rattlesnakes as a certainty in the near future. Mr. Goolsby, the rattlesnake pioneer, was so delighted with the success of his new dish that he persuaded his family to taste it. He had not the slightest fear of to their feelings was over, he declares that every member of his family became so it to any kind of meat he cou!d buy. Assoon as it became known that Goolsby bad been feeding his family on this strange food, his house was thronged with visitors, all anxions to learn the details. These were few and easy to give. He simply thought the dish might be good to at and tried it. His family followed suit, and became so fond of the food tbat they could eat nothing else for a time. But there are many things to consider before using rattlesnakes as food, accord- iug to Mr. Goolsby. In fact he strongly advises against the use of the dish uuless the eater is sure of the mannerin whick the snike was killed. The snake, he says, should not be made angry nor be allowed to bite itself before death, as in either case the flesh wou!d become poisoned and might result seriously to the eater. Of course there would not be any danger of deatn, for to result fatally the poison must be inlused into the blood. Illness might, however, result, and this even in any ill results, and after the first shock | fond of the delicacy that they preferred | ever so slight a degree would be undesir- | able. Therefore Mr. Goolsby thinks it | well to impre-s upon those who intend to | test this latest dalicacy that the most 1m- portant thing to be considered is the kill- | ing of the <nake. | | “Mr. Goolsby advises the use of a shot- | gun. The first reptile that he ate was killed with a'load of buckshot, the head | being blown entirely. off the body some | four or five inches below the neck. But, | | whether a shotgun oran ax is used, the | head should always be completely sev- | | ered and the killing accomplisned in the | | quickest possible manner. This latter result is accomplished by vigorously thrashing the tail with a good stout stick. Once the snake is killed the rest is eas The cooking is a matter of taste. The | snake should be cut up into small pieces, can be either fried, broiled, stewed, boiled or fricaseed, according to desire. Mr. | | Goolsby thinks that the most delicate | The meat is as white as that of a spring | | chicken and as tender as a frog's leg. The | | flavor, he says, is so distinctly novel and | delicious as to be indescribable to onme | who has never tasted it. There is one great advantage derived | the fact that the rattlesnake does not get | tough with age. | be finds no aifference in the texture of the | flesh between young and old reptiles, each | being equally tender. | | carefully cleaned and skinned, and then |and cover it with | Bavor is secured by broiling. | from this latest dish, and that is found in | Mr. Goolsby says that | Will Prevent Rattlers From Being Generally Eaten After describing the manuer in which he killed his first snake, as told above, Mr. Goolsby spoke on the various points in favor of cookinz ratilesnake. “Be- sides being gzood to eat,” he said, “if it is fried one can use the oil for medicinal purposes. What its pecaliar properties are I do not know, but certain it is that rate tlesnake oil is the finest thing yet discov- ered for rheumatism and stiff jonts. In fact it is good for anything that may be treated by a liniment.” Mr. Goolsby explained that after eating the meat what is lefu is collected and stewed into oil, much m the same manner that one would make beef tea. “Why,"” he said, ““we would not think of | being without a jar of Tattlesnake oil in the house.”” | Perhans the most attractive way to serve this new dish is to boil the snake parsley sance. Mr. Goolsby himself does not like the flavor of parsley, so says he cannot judge of this; but others declare that thig is the only way to bring out the full flavor of the snake meat. Mr. Goolsby has replied to dozens of letters of inquiry regarding the prepara- tion and cooking of rattlesnakes. These | have arrived from all parts ot the country, | especially from the big centers. There are many inquiries by caterers and those in charge of the culinary departments of fashionable dining ctubs, which fact indi- cates that beore long ratilesnuke soup and rattlesnake a la Zellwood will take their places on the fashionable menu card, FRANK GOOLSBY INTRODUCES RATTLESNAKES AS A TABLE DE{?ICACY. Alligators T “But I don’t mind it so much as vou one of the men who occupies this box. “I've got rather used to it now and I find that by sitting in the with my back about east end south Ican cover the ground pretty well without twisting. When I first went into the box it used to bother me a good deal, and at one time I was afraid of cultivating a nervous habit of neck craning even when off duty. But I'vegot bravely over that. Though the job doesn’t pay so much it's & gooa deal better than a good many other jobs, anda sinecure when compared with no job at all.” Mr. Cox receives the munificent sum of $600 a year, payable in monthly install- ments, for his services as signal man. He is employed by the Ferries and Cliff Houze brancn of the Murket-street Railway, while the man who si.ares the i8-hour day with him is Sheldon A. Finney. And his emoluments are no less nor greater | than those of his partner, though they reach his hands through the coffers of the California-street Railway. Both men look agood deal alike, dress a good deal alike and might easily be mistaken one for the othereven on a fine day. Their time of service is divided into watches of six hours’ duration, that being about the length of time that a good strong man is enabled to stand the sameness of the situ- tion as a regular occupation. Of course, Christmas and holidays in general—or in particular, either—have no place in the calendars that tell off the lives of these two signal men, for street- cars, like mornin - newspapers, are public atilities, in the maintenance of which the personal pleasures and conveniences of the few are sacriticed to the needs and the comforts of the many. —_———— The Prize in Store. A Kansas boy who smoked 1200 pack- ages of cigarettes saved the pictures and sent them to the firm, asking what they would give for them. The answer was as follows: *Smoke 1200 moro and we'll send you a half way between | might think,” says Timothy Cox, who is | | corner of the box | ¢,N innovation in railway-car build- 2 ing is the recent copstruction 9 of a *‘Palace Alligator Car.” t is designed 10 carry in safety and comfort to any part of the world the huze inbabitants of the swamps. This car was built by a St. Louis car company for J. B. Colton of Kansas City, Mo., who will utilize his odd conveyance in a business enterprise. Cars have been built for the transportation of many varieties of queer animals, but this is the first saurian one. The term “palace’” used in the title might seem a misnomer, but when its equipments are compared with the slimy mud banks where the alligator makes his home Mr. Colton may be pardoned for in- cluding the word in the name of his novel car. In dimensions the car is about the size of the ordinary freightcar; about forty- two feet long, nine feet high and the regulation width for running on broad- gauge tracks. The frame is built of steel and seven heavy steel stanchions hold the roof on either side. Along the sides the upper space is leit open, so that the occupants may be almost in the open air when tray- eling in their native climes or boarded up when the colder latitudes are reached during a journey. The lower half of the side can also beremoved, which is often necessary, especially when driving the long-jawed creatures into their queer quarters. At either end are steps precisely like those of the ordinary passenger coach, On top is a modern ventilator, which performs its functions when the sides of the car are closed in cold weather. At one end are quarters for the attendants or keepsrs with berths and other appoint- ments desizned for comfort. The interior presents the more interest- ing view. Running down one side of the car is a iarge water-tank constructed of cypress wood. This iank is three feet wide and three feet deep, and extends nearly the entire length of the interior of the car. The object of the designer in placing the tank on the side was to give coffin.” —————— A thunderstorm in hot weather travels at the average rate of thirty milesan hour, the aquatic occupanis an occasional op- portunity to view the outside worid dur- ing their temporary captivity, as well as hat Travel in Their Hostelry on Wheels Is So Built as the Outside World. accommodate the curious public where the car might stop. s In a far corner of the car,opposite the keeper’s quarters, is another tank for the purpose of keeping live fish as food for the alligators. It is almost twice the beight of the main tank, and solidly cov- ered, so that the travelers may not gorge themselves between meals. This tankcan be reached through a window in that end of the car, as an attempt to go among them with food would not be an alto- gether safe proceeding. A stove is also one of the pieces of furni- ture in the car. This is necessarv (o pre- serve an even temperature while journey- ing through frigid climates, as the alliga- tor, being used to tropical or semi-tropical suns, cares as little for the snow-clad North us a wairus does for equatorial waters, pends, of course, largely on the size of the lizard-shaped beast. Sometimes they grow to a length of seventeen or eighteen feet, and not many of that size could wad- dle about in the comparatively small tank, but of the average size, eight or ten feet long, Mr. Colton believes he could crowd in as many as a dozen in a pinch. The car has already made several success- ful trips with small cargoes of the queer freigut consigned to circuses and aquari- ums and is at present traveling some- where in the South. Many are the queer adventures of those in charge of the unique caravan. The accompanying illustration shows the alli- gator family enjoying the scenery while the car is side-tracked at a small station, waiting to be switched on to another train. Mr. Colton, it 1s said, has found these young alligators of which he has made pets, and it is higdelight during long stops to take them out for a short frulic, When this occurs the remaining cap- tives show their disapprobation of not being the recipient of similar favors by snapping their huge jaws and viciously displaying their conical sharklike teeth. Small boys on occasions find amusement by poking the enraged alligators with long sticks, but you may be sure the per- formance is done at a safe distance, The The number of alligators whici might | be accommodated in the novel car de- | Palace Cars to Admit of Viewing enraged captives become so unruly that it | requires a vast amount of prodding with | pikes to subdue them, after which it is | necessary to shut them up in the car. | Variations in Acorns. It is said that in individual treesscarcely two leaves can be found exactly alike. What is true of leaves is true of seeds, | and, indeed, of every part of a tree. Itis also true of the behavior of trees during their iife career. In acorns especially one may note a remarkable difference in their behavior. Some species of acorn will pre- serve their vital power without much difficulty for a couple of years, while others can rarely be found with life after a few months. Some, when put into the earth, will remain montns before sprout- 1ng, while others will sprout before they are fairly out of their cups on the trees. The acorns of the live oak of the South often sprou: before they fall. The process of germinating 18 among the most remark- |able of all American tree-. The root | pushes out from the acorn 10 a distance of many inches before it enters the ground, the root then goes into the earth while the bud or plumule ascends to form the in- cipient tree trunk. T'he young tree of tue live oak will frequently be a distance of six inches from the acorn. In this re- spect the behavior of this species of oak | corresponds nearly with what is alinost universal in monocotviedonous seeds, Another early sprouter is the common white oak. These have not been known to sprout on the - tree, but they scarcely reach ti.e ground before the little radicle prepares to enter the earth. It does not wait to get to the surface of the earth be- fore doing this. On shelves or boxes where there 1s some number of them to- | gether the whole will be a mass of roots before a few weeks after gathering. On the other hand the nut of the burr oak will remain a long time before showing any disposition to sprout. It is these varying characteristics which make rales for the transportation of seeds difficult; each kind hus to have a method of it own. ‘So far as the two ouks are con- cerned, it has been found better to send young plants long ,distances than the acorns themselves.—Mechan’s Monthly.