A wild woman has been seen in the woods near Liberty, Texas. A man on horseback got sight of the strange creature, pursued and overtook her; when she halted, found her to be a medium-sized, middle-aged, well-formed woman with long, dark hair, and clear blue eyes. She was in a state of nudity, save a girdle of moss around her loins. Her body and limbs were covered with a coat of hair about four inches in length. She was much frightened, and seemed unable to talk. The “solitary horseman” attempted to drive her towards the settlement, when she became enraged, seized a club, and turned upon him with the fury of a demon, and it was only the speed imparted to his steed by a liberal use of the spurs that he kept out of her way. Other parties had previously reported seeing this home-made gorilla, and an organized effort to capture her is to be made.

That Chinese are capable of enduring much for religion is to be seen by the long and toilsome pilgrimages untertaken by many, as also in the works of mortification of the flesh in which their zeal finds vent instead of in proselytism. On one occasion a few weeks ago I was witness to the mortifications of the flesh. The place was New Wang, a temple close to Ningpo, which has recently gained a high reputation for the piety of the inmates. At the time I entered, two priests were undergoing the operations of having the finger burned off. The way it was done is as follows: A string was tied tightly around the finger under the second knuckle; the hand was then surrounded by a ball of clay, and the fist doubled up, leaving one finger sticking out. Round this finger was tied sandal wood, which was lighted, and boiling and blazing resin and oil poured upon it. The person operated on sat in a chair, untied, with the burning hand on the altar. Noting prevented him from moving his hand at any moment. At any time he could have asked, and the torture would have been discontinued. I staid for an hour and a half witnessing this strange sight, all of which time gongs were beating and prayers beying [sic] said. Behind one of the sufferers stood an aged priest, his hands on the shoulders of the sufferer, a young, healthy looking man. From the hands of the old Bonze five fingers were missing, they having been burned off. I must confess that, though I am used to see operations, etc., without a shudder, I sickened at the sight of this needless pain and deformation of God’s image.–The Shanghai (China) Recorder.

A mere accident, less strange, to be sure, than that which made Berthold Schwarz invent gunpowder, but which, nevertheless, must be regarded as a hint of Providence, directed him to another, and we can now say, the only right way. It was thus: It sometimes happened that quantities of percussion caps were sent back to him, having been spoiled by moisture. In order to prevent this, Dreysse conceived of the idea of protecting them against dampness by covering them with a thin film of paper. The result proved to be the very opposite, for the paper attracted moisture, and a very large order, which had been constructed in this way, was sent back to him, as they were entirely spoiled and unfit for use. This was a great loss to the firm, as copper was very dear at that time. In order to obtain the copper of the caps for further manufacturing purposes. Dreysse decided to remove the fulminating composition. In order to effect this with as little loss of time as possible, he wanted to do it by explosion. After various unsatisfactory attempts, the idea occurred to him of accomplishing it by means of a pin or needle constructed for that purpose. This experiment proved to be entirely successful, and like lightning the idea struck him of using the needle altogether for exploding the cartridge. Not less quickly a second idea dawned on his mind–that of removing the entire explosive material into the cartridge, to save the expensive copper used heretofore for caps. This was the first important step in the construction of the Prussian needle-gun. Dreysse at once set to work, and in the beginning of 1829 the first needle-gun was made.–Hours at Home.

It is stated that at Niagara Falls, during a recent storm, the strong easterly gale sent the waters of Lake Erie westward, leaving the Niagara River and tributaries lower than were ever known before. Buffalo Creek was so low that all the vessels in it were grounded, and Niagara Falls was a rivulet compared with its native grandeur. The bed of the American branch was so denuded that you could travel in its rocky bed without wetting your feet, and mysteries that were never before revealed came to light on that day. Rocks that were heretofore invisible appeared in their full grown deformity upon the surface, and great was the consternation among the finny tribes. The Three Sisters were accessible to foot-passengers, and many traversed where human foot had never trod, with perfect impunity and dry feet. Below the falls was the wonder of wonders. The water was full twenty feet lower than usual, and the oldest inhabitants gazed in wonder at the transformation. Near Suspension Bridge the celebrated rock at Witmer’s mill, upon which a drowning man caught and was rescued several years ago, which barely projects it head above the water, was laid bare 20 feet above the surface. Suffice it to say the wind subsided that evening, the waters returned to their wonted haunts, the fish breathed freer, the rocks again hid their diminished heads, and the roar of the cateract [sic] resumed its ancient tone, and the waters rushed onward to the sea. Niagara was herself again.

The Bucyrus, O., Journal says: Our readers are aware that a large portion of the cranberry marshes were burned over last fall, and that portions remained burning for many weeks if not months. The owners have been digging and ditching, draining and fencing, at all seasonable opportunities, during the winter. Last week, while some workmen were digging upon a knoll that had been burned over, for the foundation of a barn, they found the earth still warm as they penetrated deeper, and a hollow sound induced the belief of a cavity, and cause them to prosecute their researches. Suddenly one of the spades struck through, and out squirmed a large rattle snake. This made them cautious, and further search revealed a hole four feet by three, and three deep, in which were 17 huge rattlesnakes, and divers smaller fry, besides one or two large frogs. Inspection revealed the further fact that there must have been other large frogs, and smaller snakes that had served as food, for the survivors through the long winter. The snakes had evidently been used to this retreat for winter quarters. The fire had driven them and other reptiles, in there, early in the season, and while the warmth had prevented them from their usual torpor, the small fry had kept them all alive and kicking.

A correspondent of a Coldwater paper gives the following particulars concerning the strange disappearance of Ottawa Lake, in Bedford township, Monroe county.

For some days past Ottawa Lake has presented a very exciting scene. The occasion was this: Those living near the lake observed for some days previous that the ice on the lake was falling. Soon they discovered that the fish were crowding to the holes in the ice where they watered their cattle. They increased in numbers, large and small, the former having their mouths wide open, and so exhausted that the people caught them with their hands.

As many teams daily visited the lake, hauling stones from the shores for building purposes, the news soon spread to a distance all around. The work of quarrying and hauling stones was soon abandoned, and in a short time scores of teams and hundreds of men might be scene on an about the lake. The men with hand-spikes, crow-bars and axes, were busily engaged in cutting and raising huge pieces of ice, and then stooping down and lifting the fish, some of which were dead, some alive, and some frozen fast in the ice, for the water having departed from the lake by some subterranean passage, the vast sheet of ice lay on the bottom.

For three days immense quantities of fish were carried away, principally pickerel and bass, while vast quantities of white fish were left to rot on the ice and in the mud–for mud and ice is all that is left of Ottawa Lake, numerous pieces of ice being left standing on edge, like so many grave stones. The lake, or rather its bed or grave-yard, presents a novel scene. Some say the water will soon return by the same source by which it departed, bringing a fresh supply of fish with it, for Lake Erie is supposed to be its headquarters. It will be well if it does, otherwise sickness may be feared in the burying ground of Ottawa Lake. In the meantime the farmers will greatly feel the loss of the departed waters.

About seven years ago, I am told, this lake departed in the same way, and old men say it departs and returns periodically.

Weston, the pedestrian, on his walk from Portland (Me.) to Chicago, a distance of 1,237½ miles, is “marching on” with a good prospect of success. He arrived at Syracuse (N. Y.) from Oneida, a distance of 28 miles, about nine o’clock on Monday morning. He says he is now 18 hours ahead of time. We have before published the conditions upon which Mr. Weston attempts this almost unheard-of feat, but the following brief resume of them will not prove uninteresting. He is to walk 100 miles in twenty-four hours during his journey, and has the privilege of trying five times to do it. He has made one attempt, starting from Dedham (Mass.) in which he failed, owing to injuries received from the crowd at Pawtucket. He will try again after leaving Buffalo. If he does not succeed in any of these attempts, he forfeits six-tenths of the stake, whether he walks the 1,237½ miles in twenty-six days or not. Six men in carriages accompany him to see that all is fairly done. The stake is $10,000, and he is confident of winning. Edward Payson Weston is twenty-seven years of age, five feet seven and a half inches high, and weighs 125 pounds. His walking dress, is a jacket, tight-fitting black pantaloons, stout brogans, with red tops, round top hat, and buff gloves. He is a canvasser by profession, and is to distribute on the road 30,000 copies of his little paper, The Time Table.

The cold backward spring weather which we are experiencing has led to much surmises as to the cause of the failure of the earth’s heating apparatus to do its work. In regard to the matter a contemporary remarks:

Some have supposed that we are entering upon a change of seasons, and the rather appalling theory has been broached that the poles are changing position, and that the arctic region is to swop places with the equator. The astronomers have, however, brought forward an explanation of the late “cold spell” somewhat less disturbing to the nerves, though not altogether tranquilizing. They say that the sun’s disc is at present riddled with holes, in other words, with spots, one of which is of very considerable size. It is a deep cavity in the photosphere, and so wide that the whole terrestrial globe would find room in it without touching edges. There is another spot which, though much smaller, still has one of its diameters as large as that of our earth. Herschel and Arago having conceived the idea of comparing the annual price of corn to the number of solar spots observed each year, found on comparing a series of twenty-five results, that the greater the number of spots the higher was the cost of bread-stuffs. This shows that these phenomena may reduce the heat of the sun considerably.

On this theory a piece of smoked glass will be a handy thing to have about the house; and in laying in the coals or providing for winter clothing the first thing in order will be to take a squint to ascertain the dimension of the holes in the solar atmosphere.