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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1956-11-29, Page 6Paradise Este nulled '' =y Cats From the deck of the schooner the man with the suitcase stared at the island, enraptured. It was a perfect South Pacific atoll, cir- cular in shape, with palm -stud - tied barrier reefs enclosing a wide, deep and very blue lagoon. The man had come far to find this paradise island, but it was 'worth it. "Here," he thought, "I can escape from the disillusion- ment of civilization and live sim- ply, next to nature." The schooner's boat landed him on the palm -shaded beach of Tetiaroa.. 'Three •days later, another trad- ing schooner en route to Tahiti from the Tuamotu Archipe&aeo, sighted an outrigger canoe float- ing off the reefs of Tetiaroa. In it was the lone white man who bad gone ashore on the coral Isle. His clothes were in shreds, bis body was Iacerated all over, as if some sadistic fiend had tor- tured him with knife slashes. He had . lost much blood and was delirious. In his eyes was an expression of utter terror. From his blood-flecked lips burbled the words: "Cats! Thousands of 'em! They tried to eat me!" The captain and crew of the schooner knew what had hap- pened—the wild cats of Tetiaroa bad increased to a dangerous number again! The French gov- ernment in Tahiti would have to send natives and traps and wea- pons to dispose of them, as they had in the past. Until this was €ompiet d a danger sign would have to be posted on Tetiaroa. The history of Tetiaroa is in- triguing. This coral isle in the early pagan days of the Society Isles was considered a resort is- land, where the high chiefs, royal members, and sorcerers and con- cubines gathered for their feasts and secret rituals. Formerly owned by the ruling Pomare family of Tahiti, it was deeded after the first world war to Dr. Walter Johnstone Wil- liams, acting -consul for Great Britain in French Oceania, and Tahiti's only dentist. It was given to Dr. Williams by King Pomare to settle the royal fam- ily's dentist bills! Dr. Williams found Tetiaroa plentifully covered with coconut. palms, and he hired workers to plant others for regular crops. In a short time he had the island en the way to becoming the largest eo.,,- •--oducing atoll in the South Pacific. But soon a serious obstacle ap- peared. This atoll had been aban- doned for hundreds of years, and during this time rats had in- creased in large numbers in the groves. They were a menace to the success of his copra enter- prises on Tetiaroa. They nibbled off the young coconut shoots, and even climbed into the mature palms to nip off the almost -ripe coconuts. Rats in the islands can husk a coconut with their teeth, mak- ing a hole large enough to crawl Into to nibble the meat and drink the milk. Dr. Williams knew it would be a prohibitive cost to band each palm with a strip of wide anti -rat anti -crab metal to thwart the ascents of the rats mod large land -crabs into the clusters of coconuts. But he did have a reasonable idea how to control them. Why not turn cats, 'r'ma rather nervous= about elec- tricity, so I think 1'Il have one of those steam radios!' the natural enemies of rats, loose nn Tetiaroa? The dentist -consul posted a sign on the lagoon front palms and buildings of Papeete: CATS WANTED—ONE FRANC EACH. Instantly, a steady stream of ju bilant Tahitians galloped into his office and' home lugging yowling cats m bags, crates and nets. When Dr. Williams had 500 eats, he chartered a trading schooner and transported the spitting, cursing felines all the way to Tetiaroa. It must have been quite a shock when the rats heard the chorusing from the strange ark approaching the shores of Tetiaroa. And it must have been quite a sight when Dr. Williams gave the order to release the cats from their deck -cages. The furry hunters, starved for days, leapt over the gunwales in voracious pursuit of the startled rats. There were about 7,000 rats on Tetiaroa but the 500 cats made short work of them. With plenty to eat, the cats° birth-rate soared. Soon, the ori- ginal 500 cats had multiplied to 3,000. But with their supply of rats gone, a famine came upon them. First, the toms and tabbies raided nests of new-born kittens; then they waylaid weak cats, Gangs formed against each other, with stronger ones overpowering weaker units. Cannibalism raged on Tetiaroa. Dwindling numbers forced gangs to break up with members at- tacking each other. The quicker and stronger cats soon defeated and ate the weaker ones in this amazing feline survival -of -the - fittest. It seemed that this would continue until at last only two cats would face one another in mortal, cannibal combat. But, strangely enough, cat - sense seemed to manifest itself suddenly among the hundred or so left on the atoll. Probably they held some sort of truce, with all agreeing to end the insane war of extinction. Immediately they reverted to an almost forgotten instinct of fishing. And the lagoons of Teti- aroa swarmed with succulent fish and shell -fish. Lying on their stomachs on the coral strands the ravenous cats hooked with their sharp claws the fish which swam close into the shallows or into the many pools dotting Teti - area's shores. These remaining cats on the atoll, ruled by a king and queen, were fierce as leopards, and they began to multiply again, but not so rapidly as before. Still, it was not safe for a na- tive or white man to get corn- ered by a pack of these felines, as our escapist -adventurer dis- covered. So Dr. Williams arrived suitably protected, one day, and reduced them to a safe and small number which could deal ade- quately with the rats that came ashore periodically from copra schooners visiting Tetiaroa. To -day, the cats of the atoll are lazy, sleek and fat. Food supply and demand are once again under control. But if any adventurer should have the urge to land on Teti- aroa's coral beaches, he should first make sure that there isn't a sign tacked to a palm which says in French the equivalent of: BEWARE OF CATS! Facing Fat Facts If you want to slim, eat—FAT! The way back to a slim figure Ls via butter, cream, kippers, fried eggs, bacon, cream cheese and steaks with the fat still on them. This is what Professor A. Kekwick, of Middlesex Hospital, says in a recent issue of the 'Lancet' Eat fat to get thin! Professor Kekwick found that the loss of weight was more rapid on diets with a high fat content, and lass rapid on high protein diets. Loss of weight was exceedingly slow on diets com- posed mainly of carbohydrates. The conclusion drawn from Pro- fessor Kekwick's report is that you must eat fat and lots of it ti you want to be slim. Imagination is something that sits up with a woman when her husband is out late. SOMEBODY GOOFED * All propped up and nowhere to go, this car dangles from a hydraulic lift after it slipped from the rack at a service station. The driver had driven the car onto the lift, but made one mistake -. he forgot to put on the brakes. to jiggling the car to make it squeak while on the lift, he caused the auto to come tumbling down. Lift lowered, the :embarrassed driver drove squeakhgly away. HOW NAVY JET PLANE 'SHOT' ITSELF This F11 -F1 Grumann Tiger is the type of plane that caught up with its own cannon shells, ' At 880 m.p.h., plane in shallow dive tires four- „ second burst of 20 -mm. F shells toward ocean. Shells travel 1500 -feet - per -second faster than inn steeper tne then goe� dive(A) tees Gravity and air friction slow down shells so they fall from firing path in curving course toward ocean. Plane and spent shells arrive at same point and collide. ______ 2.3 miles Diagram at left shows how a supersonic jet "Tiger" fighter ac- tually "shot itself down" in one of aviation's most freakish acci- dents. Test Pilot Tom Attridge was test -firing new 20 -mm. can- non shells over the Atlantic. His straight -diving Grumann F11 -F1 jet caught up with the shells on their slower, curving drop to- ward the ocean. One shattered the plane's bulletproof glass can- opy, another pierced and killed the engine. Attridge headed for nearby airfield, but was forced to crash-land in ' woods. He escaped with broken leg and • three broken vertebrae. atvzAnd w5. No apple dumplings or apple puddings have ever tasted so wonderful to me as those made at the farm with dried apples. They weren't just homemade, they were neighborhood-xriade! All the apples were prepared at our apple -paring parties You seldom hear of apple - paring parties these days. They have become almost as extinct as the old quilting bees. But when I was a very little girl, my grandparents had an apple - paring party every year. And so did our neighbors. Though these parties were considered "after -supper frolics," yet they were the means of getting a valuable piece of work accom- plished. All through the fol- lowing year, we had hardly a meal without an accompani- ment of apple pies, sweet -sauce, and apple preserves. On Satur- day nights 'those apple dump- lings or apple puddings — ummmm. * * * There were two methods of drying apples used by the country people. In one case the fruit was pared and cut into pieces one-half to three-quar- ters of an inch in thickness (the covet being extracted) and spread upon a platform, or tem- porary scaffolfding of boards, to dry in the sun, When sufficient- ly dried, after several days of good weather, the apples were removed to an upper room in the house and pied up in one of its angles. If the drying pro- cess had been thoroughly done, they would stay sound and good for a couple of years. * * * I recall that the first money I ever earned was the 3 cents a day paid me by a neighbor to turn the apples, periodically, so that all sides would get equal exposure to the sun! writes Harriet Patchin Botham in The Christian Science Monitor. * * The other method was more general, and was the one we used. The apples were strung on strong thread, and hung to dry in the kitchen (where we had a large wood stove). Dur- ing the months of October, No- vember and December, the ceil- ing was decorated with strings of apples intersecting one an- other in every direction, with an ever-increasing amount of string showing, as the apples shrank. This method was the most pleasing to me, too, be- cause I loved stringing them. It was for this system of dry- ing that the apple -paring party took place. * * When al] the neighbors had ben duly notified, it was ex- pected they would appear at our house at the time appoint- ed. This annual paring -party, as I have said was what we called "an after -supper frolic." but then it should be remem- bered that supper in those days was at an early hour. So esuall.y 'before 7 o'clock the parers would arrive and form them- selves into small groups. Each group surrounded a large bas- ket into which they would drop the cuttings, and my grand- parents took care to supply their helpers with plenty of raw material! * * * While fingers and knives were busy, the evening was always enlivened with songs, banjo and guitar music (prepared espe- cially for the occasion) and sweet cider. Although the par- ers bad had one supper, five or six hours of diligent work re- stored their appetites. So about midnight, more sweet eider, and an abundance of Johnny -cake, doughnuts (homemade, of course, and always still warm), pumpkin pies, apple sauce, etc., were spread out. After this replenishment, many of the younger people began all over again with the paring; while the more sedate members, out of respect to the lateness of the hour„ left for home. * * * During the winters we had memories of laughter, work, and song cooked into the flavor of every apple dumpling and apple pudding. A few weeks ago I found some of the apple recipes grandma used.. And here they are, just as she wrote them: * * :k Apple Dumplings', In An Extraordinary Way From Mrs. Johnson (the Mrs. Johnson across from the cow pasture). Take the apples and cut into small pieces, and with ,a large Grater, grate in a Quince, when it has been pared and cored, for if you was to slice in a Quince, to your Apples, in large pieces, the Quince would not be boiled equally with the apples, for the Quince is of a tough nature, and will not boil un- der twice the time that the Ap- ples will; therefor:: to grate them, will be enough to give their flavor to the Apple, and make all enough at one time. Put what Sugar you think proper into each Dumpling, when you take it up, and the necessary quantity of Butter. It will then eat like a Marmal- ade of Quince. (Copied from my great-grandmother's cook book, 1799). Grandmother's Apple Puff , Bake the fruit; when cold mix the pulp of the apple with sugar and cut lemoi, peel, lay it in thin paste (crust), and bake in a quick oven; 20 minutes will do them. • Apple Pudding and Paste From great - grandmother's cook book, • 1802. One pound apples sifted (strained); one pound sugar, nine eggs, one quarter of a pound of butter, one quart sweet cream, one gill rose-wa- ter, a cinnamon, a green lemon peel grated (if sweet apples, add the half a lemon). Put onto paste. Paste for Apple Pudding Rub one-third of a pound of butter, and one )ound of lard into two pounds of flour, wet with four whites well beaten; water to make a paste, roll in the 'residue of shortening in ten or twelve rollings bake -,- quick. ys Plot O t&Ilp .i Bosses One bitterly cold winter morn- ing worshippers from a distant camp came to a temple in Mon- golia and found the gate closed. They banged and shouted, but got no reply. Standing on his saddle, one peered over the wall and was horrified to see two priests lying in a deadly embrace on the blood -covered flagstones of the courtyard, one with his skull smashed. The party rode off to report to their ruler, Prince Teh. Later, an officer and some men came and broke the door down. Both dead lamas had been drunkards who often brawled and fought. The one with the smashed skull, known for his fiendish temper, had his hands locked round the other's throat. Inside the temple the third lama —a saintly, rather timid man— was found hanging from a rafter, with a bloodstained hammer near him. The mystery of their deaths was never cleared up. It was surmised that the good one, see- ing the strangler at grips with the other, and fearing he would be thrttled, attacked the strang- ler with the hammer, accidental- ly killed him, then hanged him- self in remorse. The half - strangled one, exhausted, had apparently frozen to death. A. H. Rasmussen, Norwegian traveller and China trader, heard this story on a trek into Mon- golia from Tienstin to buy wool, and relates it in a vivid account of his adventures, "Return to the Sea". At Chapsat, on his way up- country, he had a startling ex- perience. His party included a man who carried a bag contain- ing a thousand jingling silver dollars. As they drew up at the inn they saw a crowd of dirty, slovenly frontier. soldiers from a near -by watch -tower, and later in the darkness, Rasmussen heard them planning. to murder and rob the party --caught the words "plenty money", "easy job", "no shooting", "0 n 1 y bayonets." Rasmussen decided at once that they must get away from that inn in the car before the soldiers could stop them. He drew the driver aside, tipped off the others, and on the pretext of getting gear from the car, they went out to the shed, past the watching soldiers, jumped in .., quickly, and were off at full speed. But he had no idea of the appalling mountain -track they would now have to climb in the dark, A black chasm fell away from its edge. A snowstorm was raging; the weak headlamps lit up only a narrow semicircle ahead. Soon the -> ir'dsilie clogged up, the driver could tee nothing, and stopped near tee top of the pass to musscn 'keel him they'd just bee to t:ta:r where they were untli they eo' id see,' "But that is imposeiblc," s;ere: the driver, "the radiator will freeze and the wolves '1;vi1l at- tack us if we stand still for lone." They could hear the veleta? hunting -call in the distance. 22.Ee then suggested going back slo : •- ly and waiting two miles frees, Chapsat until they could be sieve the soldiers had returnee" to their wathctower, and it would 5a safe to shelter at the inn. Rasmussen says he'll nc!:-a: understand how the driver get the car turned on that narrea track on the chasm -edge; he was trembling with relief when the; headed downhill again., The la_': mile was a nightmare, as thee had to switch off lights to ave:! discovery; the snow would deal - en the sound of the car. Ho j'e t shut his eyes and pra,:'ed oe thy; slithered round hairpin bcnde• They pushed the car Into tee shed out of the wind, anti 'wee e off again before dawn. Once, in Tientsin, ho le r warned that Red seletiers h_ `i arrived in plain clothes to shoe. up the Chinese city end mine - sin ate foreigners. On arriving at his office tee next morning, he fonud t.tetec- tives in charge of the building and two office -boys under a_ - rest. Twelve office-hoys had been appointed to kill the sesecee tives of six leading foreign f:irrr_, but were all caught as soon as they arrived at the offices It was a neat plot, he says, f:: it would have been ccn''rparative- l.y easy to dispose of an unsu2- pecting man sitting at .h k desk, either with chopper or ,ilk Lor!; then go on • the next office ar-i do likewise. The boys were cor.- demned and shot, but the req; got away. "Return to the Sea' culprits, the brains he . 1.n d thee.:,. is an enthralling beck. Chilly Dish For Chilly Davy "The melancholy days are sere," sang -the poet Bryant (wise didn't like autumn). The sno - will soon be flying, the wind's piercing, the puddles freezing over, and the demand for tongue - cooling, bone -chilling ice cream: — will keep right an! The sales saturation point for ice cream and its allied concoc- tions, observes one member o� the icecream industry, is .titnitew only by a certain eeono.rnic in- elasticity of youth's v,; eokly al- lowance.. As for its allied concoctiorra, Mr. J. H. Bushway of W e.st News ton, is quoted as saying he serv- ed the first ice-cream soda suits unintentionally to a chayrna: , who wanted his soda �,vate: colder, by dropping in a scow of ice cream. The ice-c:earn cone; it is said, was introduzed at the Louisiana Purchase Expositiott in 1904, also inadvertently, by an ice-cream, parlor proprietor •P7he ran short of dishes and ".rade do" with a stack of thin v; afflez ht, had on hand. At any rate, winter as 1,vel as summer, American, rou'tha (and about as many grownups. will keep right on consuming ice cream at the rate of 600,000,00 gallons (much in fon' billion cones) a year. From the Chris- tian Science Monitor. uo Can t? Aasre 9skle79 Q. How cam I prevent !ea•vi;al to scrape cake tins, after vane' A. Where a number of kitch- en utensils are required, :poet as during calm baking, keep the &shpa,n in the sink, filler" with hot water, and as each utensil is used, place it in the hot water. Washing of these articles: will he greatly simplified. WE ME before a guests of zeros for Henry H. IICEE--Giving an Oriental twist to the banner reading °'I Like Ike," in Chin Chinese ancestry honored at a ,recent Eisenhower -Nixon. All voting for Les, and June Yung, political scene, this trio of Chinese lasses stands ese characters. The girls were among 0 reception in New York City by the state's Ci•;i' the first time, the girls are: Lucy Ting, Mrs.