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The Seaforth News, 1928-08-23, Page 7Firefly of Caribbean Is L.. rap to Natures—Beebe Tries One Too "Mr. i'esrte, ," Whether. on One`s.,Shoes, in a Bottle, or Fly ing Freely Abc►ut, Gleams in Tropical Forests With His Amazing Headlights Four hundred years ago, when Co- Mg.. wood and vegetable. matter and lumbus landed on the beautiful Is- lands of the Caribbean, he found the palm -thatched Irate o the Carib In- dians lighted at night by the tropical are perfectly harmlese. Natives Are Fond of Them.. When the natives wish to catch them they wait' until it le dark. Then lighting the end' of a stick they go ,firefly which the Indians conflued 'in out of doors and wave it above their cleverly wrought cages of palm fibre.. head. In a few momenta dozens of Today the gentle Carib Indian 1,1' beetles, ewill beattracted flying around the stick,'l gone, but travelers In the `interior of when caught they show their the islands will find the "peen0y'' or d(s• cucujos, as the natives call the Ire- pleasure by (clicking" loudly and fly, lighting the huts of an alien race, vigorously. The natives have the greatest affection for thebeautiful in. To a' northerner the troliioal firefly , or big 'slater. beetle is anever-ending sects and no child or grown-up would dream of harming oue, I The firefly's light is one of the se- crets natural scientists are trying to. solve. Man cast, fly; tunnel through mountains and under rivers; he can' send hie voice thousands of miles without the aid of wires; he can pro- duce light by candle, oil, gas and electricity, but he cannot do what this little beetle, does—produce phosphor- escent light without heat! source of delight and interest. It is difficult to imagine anything lovelier than the pageant ori dancing, flashing, fairy-like lights presented by ,native North . "American lightniute bugs on warm sudunei' evenings, but beautiful and unforgettable as this le, it cannot be compared in brilliance to that of the tropical firefly, The northern tire - fly might be said to bo nature's can- dle; the tropical drafty her incandes- cent lamp. Looping down upon a val- ley filled with countless numbers •of these dancing fireflies is like looking upon the starry heavens inverted—a scone never to be forgotten. The luminosity of our North Ameri- can firefly comes from three segments Of the abdomen and is only visible when the little beetle raises its wings. It is this raising and lowering of the wings:- that causee the iutermittent flash. The elater beetle of the West Indies and tropical South American is fear or five times the sizeof the north - A Wild r eastrive With Africa Ablaze The weird throb of tcmtoms,souuded all night through the Mashalculumbiwe village; and in the morning the natives loft for the wildest, bloodiest, most dangerous spectacle in Africa—the annual game drive. The hunters took thein' positions. Presently billowing ern lightning -bug anid itschief light la clouds of dense smoke rose from the grass for several utiles around given out by two eye -like (Tote on the Tongues of red, leaping flame played thorax. There is also another area of underneath. The valley of the hunt illumination ou the abdomisa but this cannot be seen except when the in- sect is- on wing: �. was on fire from the river to the edge of the encircling bush. A vicious crackle and snap drifted down the Two Headlights. wind as the tinder -dry grass, lighted Unlike the .intermittent gleam of by the natives to drive the game to - the northern firefly these two thoracic ward the hunters, flamed. But not a 'lights glow steadily and colninuously . sound tense from thegwatchers, and in a dark room their resmblance pearscroucet tense, waiting with their to the .electric headlight of a tiny, toy spears to kill whatever - animate es - automobile is both startling and amus- caped the pitfalls which had been dug. ing. William Beebe, the naturalist,! Standing, expectant, with his 'rifle tells of: finding one that carried the it- clutched in his hand, was Wynant Melon so far as actually to show a' Davis Hubbard, whose business is that rt thid- of capturing wild animals for zoos and red taillight! To awaken e m rile of th night and discover one of circuses. This drive, from which he hoped to obtain some specimens, he these living, toy "motor -cars" gliding swiftly and surely aoross the ceiling, describes for.ne in The Elks Maga- zine: its headlights lighting up the gelling for an ?itch or more around it, is I I pictured in my mind the happen - something' one must experience to ap- Ings in the grass In front of us. Herds predate, particularly if onehas not of puku, lechiwe, and'wildebeesto ante - had the pleasure of making "Mr. Pee- lope would be moving slowly ahead of ney's acquaintance before: The first the advancing fire. Buffaloes ousted impulse is to pinch one's self to be from their cooling, muddy wallows sure one isn't dr'eamtng. .would be sullenly getting to their feet find eater resting -places. There to g p While only these two beetlethis tights would be zebras and sitatunga, jack - are visible when the is at rest, the light is strong enough to read by. als, hyneas, and, perhaps, a roan Several beetles placed under a glass antelope; undoubtedly somewhere he 1s quite frequently the only light used I tween.us and the fire there were. lions by the poorer natives and Dr: Beebe and leopards slinking along, avoiding the buffaloes, angry at being disturbed at such a time of day. As yet the animals would not be afraid. They are used to fire, often feeding close behind it to get the salt residue from the ashes of the burnt grass, 'Every: er pocket. • Glancing down a few mo - of all Africa burns. Seven months mems later he discovered that his of bone-dry'weather mean but one. ' thin — fire. DuringAugustust and Se - trouser leg was brightly illuminated. tember, all Africa south of the equator He realized that this would betray him to the wild folk he had come out goes up in smoke. to study, but the beetle was a particu- The sun was well up. Its hot rays 'tarty fine specimen which he wanted burnt comfortingly into my back. The to keep, so feeling around in hiss, roar and crackle of the fire were with - pocket he found a thick piece of paper in a mile of us. Acrid smoke swirled in which • he careully wi' pped the over our heads Through it and above vial and replaced it in his pocket. But it, hovered and flew thousands of birds the beetle refused to "hide, its light." 01 all sizes intent on catching the te- lt continued to shine undimmed sects driven from cover by the heat through paper and khaki and Dr. Beebe was forced, most reluctantly, to give the marvellous. insect its free- dom. But Dr. Beebe relates an even more astonishing experience he had with There was 'a startled bleat. Then the elaters, Two of the luminous silence. First blood had been drawn. beetles were chloroformed and. placed The smoke grew denser and hotter in: an insect box. Several evenings The roar of the fire increased in vol - later the naturalist opened the box I ume. A tenseness gripped the wait- to put in more Insects and was { ing line of spearmen. Mrhands were amazed to find the little "lanterns" wet with excitement, and I breathed of the dead elaters still- glowing al- in choking gasps. Suddenly yells and .most as brilliantly as when they were shouts broke ;forth from the natives alive, "lighting up all the other in- following the line of fire. They were sects in tlio box" with a 'ghostly almost on us. Running animals ap white light." peered as if by magic. Through the swirls of smoke I caught glimpses of LIghting Tropical Forests. puku dashing madly toward the line In tropical/South America travelers of bush to abruptly disappear from who are forced to .pass through, the sight as their feet went through the. forests at night, it said, attach the treacherous covering on the Pitfalls. :fireflies to their boots - to light the A bellowing, grunting herd of buffs - path for hem, avoiding in this way the 'loos galloped past and I•flred at one. danger of etepping on Snakes; and Spears flashed in the sunlight for a .certain birds fasten them to the clay moment, then disappeared in the of which their` nests are built, utiliz- grass, the long shafts quivering from ing their light, perhaps,to frighten the force with which they were :away predatory animals, But per- thrown. Behind us, frantic yells rose 'haps the etrangoet use to which the. In a crescendo of excitement. The beautiful insects were ever put was booming, throaty roar of an : angry at a fancy dress ball given solhte-years lion told the cause Bedlam broke ago in Jamaica, when the Gf' er'nor's loose. ,Shrieks, yells, curses, • the roar wife appeared in the darkened ball of the fire, and the grunts and squeals' room with hundreds of the beetles of the trapped' aa speared animate ,gleaming brightly under the gossamer swelled intoa deafening pandemonl- Bice tulle of her evening gown . Skill- um: Naked :natives tore .whooping ful tackingof the tulle`: held them along the line of Pits waving blood- gently in place and as soon as the stained spears and knives. It was lights' wore turned on the'beetlee were like a Scene from the Inferno. - liberated quite unharmed. Just in front of the pits the fire: By day the beetle looks like the readied a cleared space, The flames ordinary booties of the northern hem- died 'down, and., gradually the sreolco isphore. It measures from 144 to 14 and dust cleared away. The drive laches in length, and Is inky -black in was over. color. Both the male sad female Nearly overt' pit had claimed' its beetles aro luminous as are 40 their viotim. Scattered in front caieboliiud. eggs and larvae. Thoy live d1: deoxy- lay the bodies of those animalsWhich tells o using them in this way in place of his electric flash. On -one 'occasion when he was "night -stalking" with his Indian guide he caught one of the big beetles and put it in a glass vial Inside his trous- of the fire. Suddenly a-puku antelope appeared for a- moment through the grass. The advance guard of animals was close. Three spears flashed through the air above the grass. Military Training Good For Man and Beast. 111x11111/ sura milia I•lai ►nes sown, f1: ,1(4,1,lal5Jl e111iq.MM1.4C1!ilr 10 c •.•ile►111►erIilUuiU lith.M'}ii! O a r}iI111111111Y 1 1111:'11 1111r1illlll ii x'11111111; 111111114 ulilntai 1'1 r 1 fy', t �n'' 11 "1' , lip 1 111:''- uiOIt ii111.1:i, JUMP AS ONE hompetition at the Iniber Court Horse Show. Cobbett's Plain English First among Oobbett'a virtues I ptaeo his English style.. l Cannot imagine any English prose more sutt- able 10:be .given; as a pattern and Model to the, Ordinary man and wo. man. If England ever.:becornoe a civilized country, ninety- per tent. of the population wilt write like William Cobbett, mils English is plain, ab' IsolutelyUnaffected, vigorous and sup' pie, beautiful. He knows instinctive. Clean. A clean dog is generally free Ily not Only exactly what he wants 10 fro'nl mange or vermin. if Yee have Take Care of Dogs (Falt+ted by The Annual ileactle. Lea- gue, Boston, Mass) Mae your clog your coltlpailloll and frienri. Treat him kindly and he will. reband in land. ilenrember that ills' health and Comfort aro absolutely do. pendent en.u, $Ieepindyorcarequarters Airs him a dry place to sleep in•-» warm in winter and cool in summer, See . that his sleeping place Is kept say; bet ale* the words which will most naturally and harmoniously ex- press hls meaning. , .. la' each case I the "flit" is so perfect and so natural. Cobbett's style is extraordinary'Jing' lish. There are, of course, far great- er 'English prose -writers than be is, but no one, I believe, has over writ- ten seuteuces which are mere perfect- ly In keeping with the peculiar genius of the English language. (It is bo - cause this faculty is natural and un- consciou's In him that I say that in an English Utopia we ordinary persons would all write dike Cobbett,) When you read a paragraph of Cobbett, all you can say is; "Well, that simply is English"; you cannot say the sable of Sir Thomas Browue or of Milton or of many fess Latiuized prose -writers. Cobbett seems to me to get into his a house for him, see that the door is tight and raised six inenee from tile greund, Cr he will be sure to bave rlteuntatism. A dog house should be p'rote'cted from cold winds, should face the south, and In winter should have'a flap of .Carpet or canvas over the door to keep out anew and rain, None' but dogs of strong, vigorous breed, used to out -door life, should be kept in such quarters, Plenty of Water Give your -dog plenty of clean, fresh water, where lie can ,get at it at any time, day and night. . This will help more than almost anything else to keep himwell, baPPY, and good tempered. Washing ' Do not wash your dog too often: sentences something of the atmos- Careful Oily brushing will keep ltim here of the English country and the' clean for a long time, and rubbing English climate as well as of the Eng- lish language and the English char- acter. This is true of all his ') ratings. . . , bet it is what gives a peculiar quality and charm to his descritions of English country and so to his Rural down with chamois mittens will give the Coat the gloss so highly prized by fanciers, Wash when necessary at least two tours after feeding, using lukewarm MOUNTS water, and some good, soap, Rinse The'winning pair in the .half -section jumping Rides, What could be simpler or 01)-I thoroughly in lukewarm water and parently more easy to write than the I dry carefully with coarse towels.,:. pie -could ride out on a January MOM' pose. Large rough haired dogs like St. Bernards and collies can best be cleaned by sponging off the outer coat and then giving a good brushing. Delicate long-haired breeds, such as Yorkshires and poodles, should be dried before the ilre. Comb and brush carefully, being careful not to snarl or break the hair. Never use a fine tooth comb. Exercise All dogs, large or small should have plenty of exercise, To a dog, exercise is life. Do not chain your dog or keep him tonfined for ctny length of time. It Yee do, the chances are than when you release him he will run away. If you avieh to keep hint in restraint for just when the oak.buds begin to look a few days till he gets used to his reddish, cind not a der before, the home, stretch a stout wire between whole tribe of finches burst forth in two points forty or fifty feet apart songs from every bough, while the , and loop a chain on the 'wire so that lark, imitating them all, carries the the dog can move freely back and joyous sounds to the sky."—Leonarcl forth. Woolf in "Essays on Literature, His- Fits tory, Politics, Etc." Fits are convulsions of an epileptics nature and may be caused by excite- ment worms, teething, ethane. - OUT I'D MR BUG had fallen to the deadly throwing spears. Here were puku 'bulls and zebra mares, farther on a two -thou- sand -pound buffalo, then a lechiwe and a wildebeeste, enough meat and skins for every family. A few young ani - male had been .caught alive. These were taken to the village with the bodies of the lions, leopards, jackals and smaller cats whose skins could be used, as skirts for the women; -.or to make bags and pouches for the men. - This yearly Mashakulumblwe drive is held to secure meat and skins. On a smaller scale the same thing takes place in many parts of Africa all dur- ing July, August and September. This drive was of more than ordin- ary interest to me as the entails do not have to be used to kill. The animals trapped in them can be taken out alive. very easily with the help of a few natives, and the use of •0 shovel and some rope. The V -bottomed pitfall is a deadly affair. The apex, of the V is about four inches wide, the width of a na- tive hoe An antelope, buffalo, or zebra falling through the covering 1 on behind the other. jams its legs e g No matter ho wit struggles it cannot work loose. Dirt"Toosened from the long the animal is standing in a pit, sides falls down into the V, and b..fore its weight resting on its chest and. belly, with its legs firmly held in a mass of soft compact dirt. Three methods of catching animals, pitfalls, nooses and nets, are used by the natives. They are so effective that white men have adopted them and use them almost exactly in the native manner- But there are other methods besides these three,the writer explains: Some animals, such as the elephant and rhinoceros, can only be caught as calves. To capture a rhino we hunt until we find a cow with a calf suf- ficiently. small for us to handle. We shoot the cow end then take after the calf on'the flat of our feet. A calf elephant or tthino will not leave its mother's'body. We chase it back and forth and all around- until someone gets hold of an oar, a leg or a tail and tangles himself up with it. This is the most dangerous form of captur- ing. Trying to lay hands on n buffalo calf or a young elephant is risky, to say the least. An elephant four fent high can break trees six inches in diameter as if they were matches. They can run faster than any horse. But every now and then we do cap- ture them, although someone nearly always pays the price in broken ribs, -- -- _ following passages, yet how many poo- I Salt or flour bags answer the pur• a gored shoulder, or even by being' were shut, and that all our adopted children were comfortable for the night. "Sldllum" hada to have his ards, we catch in heavy box traps good -night word and rub, and then we t made either of logs or of iron bars too went to bed, turning over the re. and heavy beams. We snare birds sponsibility for the safety of the camp when they come to drink, and on to Pandy. every possible occasion ' chase game with dogs A good pack of dogs will tree a leopard in short order or run a warthog down a hole within a mile. lolled. The big cats, such as lions and leop- NATURE'S TEACHING ' The natives on their daily rounds elan has by no moans reached the of inspection are constantly on the ultimate goal toward which he is tra- lookout for. tortoises, turtles, young veiling, and the growing children are birds or baby antelope, With their the ones who must take the forward dogs they often Chase small cats into steps, as they come to manhood, if we hetes or tree young baboons or have tried to make them into a pat-' tern of ourselves, progress is !moos. monkeys. I Bible, and 'Nature's aim by so much defeated, All the animals, birds and snakes caught are brought Into one centralI Let them drink in all that is pure camp, where they are tamed: and, and sweet, don't stuff platitudes, sen studied. In addition to the specimens i timentalism or dogma down their captured by members of the camp,' throats, and whatever you do, don't occasionally animals are bought from frighten them olther of dark corners other white, men, and there hardly I in the house or of a dark corner in passes a day during which village life! natives •do not bring in animals and Let nature teach them the lessons birds for sale. I of good and proper living, put them Often Mr.' Hubbard and his family in touch with the best contracts you made friends with their captives. For, know, let them absorb truth and example: Ibeauty end human brotherhood as the leopard, was n "6killum," a full-grown Cop plant does sunshine and dew, and a great pet. He would lie for hours incise children will grow to be the best stretched in the sun on top of his' men and women.—Luther Burbank in shelter and keep watch over the camp. Whenever either my wife or myself appeared lie would "umph" and "yeo" an deall until we came over toward him. As soon as he saw that we were really coming he would bound down from his perch and stand strain- participation in the world's affairs. ing on his chain, his back arched and The Americans found it so after their his tail thrashing, waiting for us. He knew that he must always back up to 1 t as a had taught him that, us. We g and claws are too po- tentially paws P tentially dangerous to risk even in play. Grabbing hold of his tail, we would rub his chin, scratch his ears and tickle his -tummy. "Skillum" talked and grunted and strained in an ecstasy of pleasure. He was like an enormous tabby cat. The Harvest of the Years. Colonial Status Round Table (London): Colonial status is an Indifferent training for revolution; the Dominions are finding it so now. They are only gradually awakening haprivi- leges tothe fact that new entail new responsibilities, P and that political isolation and !mutually can be attained only by a Chinese policy of commercial abnegation which they are not prepared to adopt and their neighbors can hardly be expect- ed to suffer. "SkilIum" was so tame that sbme- Ina certain foreign state the rail- thnos we would telco him for a walk way system Is Inclined to be rather on fire end of a leash. Three or four haphazard. Recently a cow strayed times his collar or wire broke and he on the line and was killed by a pass - got loose Then his one idea was ing train. An action followed, and to enter either.... the kitchen or the the driver of the train was asked to dining -room. As we had two Young give evidence of what happened. children, these escapades of his used "Well," he began, "it weren't my to worry us, but "Skillum" never gave fault at all, 'cos if the train had bin runnin' ter proper time; if the brakes worked properly; if the whistle had After supper, my wife and I, ac- bloomed as it should, all of whiglt companied by Sandy, our Great Dane things didn't happen - the cow watch -dog, wuold make the rounds of wouldn't have been injured at all the cages to see that all the doors when she was killed." the slightest indications of vicious tendencies. A BROADSIDE ing from Kensington and return with this in their note -books? .. - "Even in winter the coppices are beautiful to the es'e, while they com- fort . , . with the idea of shelter and warmth. In spring they change their hue from dayto day during. two whole months, which is about the time from the first appearance of the delicate leaves of the birch to the full expan- sion of Ulnae of the ash; and even before the leaves come at all to inter- cept the view, what ... is so delight- ful to behold as the bed of a coppice bespangled with primroses and blue- bells? The opening of the birch leaves is the signal for the pheasant to begin to crow,. for the blackbird to whistle, and the thrush to sing; and - GEE, HATE tree - LITTLE SAWED- OFF' YOU, OH, IT'S NOT SO -1 BAD. tIR,GRA.ND- DADDY LONGLEGS - I DONT HAVE TO SPEND A YEAR'S n 1 SALARY OM A • 4 PAIR OF PANTSI bles, suckling puppies, or indigestion. Do not make the mistake of suppos:. ing-that because a dog has a fit he !has gone mad: When a dog has a fit, put him In a dark, quiet place, in a cellar or a large closet. Pour cold water or put ice on his head and keep, the body warm. An old and standard remedy is to put a teaspoonful of salt wellback on the tongue. r Do not let him get on the street as he will be called "mad," and shot at, or chased. or stoned to death. In this, as in all a itiswise to sus dies see e other a ne consult a good veterinarian as prom- ptly as possible. If any person is bitten by a dog, instead of killing tate animal It should be quietly ehut up and taken care ot, for a few days. The chances are that 3t will recover, and when it is found that it Is not suffering from hydro- phobia, the person bitten need not die of fright, The best way to keep a dog that needs restraint is to put him in yard with a high fenee,•'If this is not• practicable fasten a wire across any ,v 11 o tLthie put au Iron ring which, when attached' y a cortd to the doge Giant Motor Ship to Cross Deserts Luxurious Four -Decked Car Will Take Passengers Over Sands , Paris.—A giant automobile resem- bling an ocean vessel on wheels has collar, will allow him to run backs been designed for desert travel by a vrard and forward, the full length of German engineer, Ii. E. Schuetter. the wire. One man had a ro.0 The "super -vehicle" is said to be twenty feet long ,oii a ling" wh about 125 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Its wheels will be 40 feet in diameter and it will be able to carry 160 passengers and 200 tons of merchandise. The desert -vessel will be propelled by a Diesel engine of 450 horsepower and a second engine will be on hand for emergency. The machine, it is claimed, will be able to climb 30 per cent, grades. Its speed is estimated at 25 kilometers per hour. The four decks will provide cab- ins, promenades, sitting and reading rooms, baggage and store rooms and a "cooling room," where a low tem- perature will bo artificially main- tained. The designers of the road vessel, 1t is explained, wished to invent a vehicle which would be able to carry a high tonnage on deserts where other moans of transportation involve un- warranted expense. The Pinta did not win the United- States.Spale race for Class ,13 yachts, but she bettered the record made by ch could slip on a wire about .thirty feet long stretched between two trees, The yard dught to have shade as well as^sunshine to protect the; dog from too great heat of the sun.: In stopping -a dog fight, a large pall of cold water thrown over the doge' Beads will almost always prove ef- fective. "There is something very touchy. ing in the love of a dog. It' is inde- pendent of all our misfortunes, mks takes and sins . . that is because a dog is a dog. It may be said, 11 1t had a proper sense of sin it would instantly leave the house. Perhaps so, perhaps not .. , Anyhow, it loved me now, and I take its fidelity to bel; significant of something beyond sin." What's in a Name Fairview, Alta,—Fairview is the now name of this town, located Isi the thriving Peace River District- For many years it has been known as. Waterhole, an .attractive We to ranchers and stook, Wren but lacking, the Pinta which was in Christopher somewhat in its 'aesthetic suggestion, Columbus' fleet, The offence to mbdern sensitiveness "Another need of the times' says has bean overcome 'by the new' itnt appropriate name of . Fairview: the Indianapolis News, "is a furnace that will remove its own ashos and Rolland has a bicycle for every twc carry them out" That may bo so: in and a halt inhabitants. '►That,"a ta11• Indianapolis, but up here the cry is they're quaint," sera the Branekre. tor a lawnmower that will shove it- Sun "Plaine t0 half a r utcitman an R self round the, front yard.' I bicycle,"