STORY WITH A MORAL Remarkable Natural History Phe nomena in Jamaica, W. L How ii Siiunr planter'* Kiper I nii'U t Ipni't Nature's llulnnee anil \nirl> Destroyed the Cuttle anil I'uultry ImltiMtrl*'*,. [Special Kingston (Jamalcai %etter.] Jamaica has passed, or is pass ing, through the experience »iat de served to have world-wide pub licity, both on account of its in trinsic interest and because it points a significant moral as well as adorns a tale vwell worth the telling. It is a story of man's short-sighted tampering with nature under the spur of the immediate exigencies of his own narrow interests, and nature's inex orable reprisals in her inevitable ef forts to recover a rudely disturbed bal ance. Ai will be seen, in this struggle be tween mail and nature some of the 4 JAMAICA PEASANT HOMESTEAD. island's most important and promis ing domestic industries have been nearly ruined, and incalculable finan cial damage indicted on it —all because an ignorant but self-opinionated sugar planter laid the flattering unc tion to his soul that he had discov ered a royal road to saving his cane pieces from the depredations of rats. Fortunately, nature is a benign mother whose chastisements are inflicted in loving kindness rather than anger and nevr exceed the bounds of necessity. Hence, the crisis over, the disturbed "balance of nature" is now calmly but certainly readjusting itself, like the needle of a shaken compass. But the facts of the case, briefly stated, will be found of general interest us well as serving to furnish a warning to other countries and future genera tions. A quarter of a century ago Jamaica was still a flourishing sugar island, al though the advancing shadow of the substance of European bounty-fed .sugar that has since fallen on the \V<;st Indies with more or less fatal force even then trailed up over her in dustrial outlook. But in those days the planter had other and more im minent cares than the bounties, none of which was more formidable than the plague of rats that threatened de struction to his cane fields. Jamaica, especially, was overrun with the crea tures. They swarmed over the land like locusts in Africa, until the very existence of the sugar industry was imperiled. In those days it had hap pened that in a single night a score of acres of magnificent cane fields had been laid utterly waste by an invasion of the rodents —so, at least, I have been told. At any rate, the plague was formid able enough, and in 1872, aM normal ef forts having failed to reduce the evil, one of the foremost plafiters, Mr. W. B. Espeut, conceived the brilliant idea of pitting the mongoose against the rats. And he carried it out; with what result it is the purpose of this story to briefly set forth. The rats were wiped out, indeed; but so, also, was to a most alarming extent the fauna of the iuland, what is called in natural istic parlance "the balance of nature" receiving so rude a shock that the A THREATENED INDUSTRY, country is only now beginning to mani fest signs of recovering from the dis astrous industrial effects. Jamaica welcomed the mongoose with open arms, for the losses incident to the rat plague, including the cost of the important trade of "rat-catching," itself half a million of dollars, amount ed to a ruinous annual aggregate. Nor did the carnivore disappoint the most sanguine expectations. The animals increased and multiplied marvelously, and in ten years' time the island re jsounded with the praises of the mon goose. By that time the dreaded ruts had been practically exterminated. The mongoose had done his work swiftly and thoroughly. Dr. Morris, then di rector of the government botanical plantations, now of Kew in London, was authority for this, stating after an official investigation that the re kuiu were most satisfactory, and that the saving l to plantations, dlroetly traceable to the diminution of rats, amounted to an enormous round sum almost equivalent to the actual losses annually incurred before the animal's introduction. So far well. Hut nature had been outraged. The moiuroose proved —as may have been foreseen, only that it was not —a deadly foe to other in digenous species besides the rats. So long as his obvious natural foe, or rather victim, survived, well anil good. But as the mongoose increased and the rodents decreased to the vanishing point, the former had to adapt them selves to other diet —and they did, with a facility that soon rendered them a greater menace to the island than the rodents ever were. And now for the aftermath. Poultry rearing was one of the most important of the minor industries, and it was to the domestic animals that the mon goose first turned his attention after the rats failed to supply his necessi ties. And dolorous was I he destruction that he wrought. Entire poultry yards were wiped out, and the industry was seriously menaced, But once on a new scent, the mongoose—perhaps fortunately for the island—became more and more catholic in his tastn and did not proceed to exterminate the various indigenous species one by one with the unswerving determina tion with which he had followed up the rats at first. It soon became apparent that other groups were diminishing, particularly the birds and reptiles—■ and this opened up another phase of menace to the island, in the form of a threat against the very "balance of nature" itself, which was only too swiftly and fatally realized. The story from this point onwards of the depredations of the mongoose, from a scientific point of view, would be too lengthy and lacking in popular inter est to be gone into in detail. Suffice it that in a surprisingly brief lapse of time the five species of snakes and 22 of lizards common to the island had been practically cleared out of exist ence. Here and there individual speci mens were occasionally found; but as occupants of the island they had dis appeared. The same applies to the croc odiles, which had been formerly abun dant in the waters of Jamaica. Sim ilarly with the land and fresh-water tortoises, and, above ail. with the fa mous sea or green turtles that gavelife to an important industry, to the eggs of which the mongoose took onlj too aptly. The island was getting in a had way, truly. But this is not all. The bird* suffered as much, especially the nu merous ground birds for which Jamaica | MONGOOSE AT WORK. was famous. And the inevitable restil* soon made it.self feit. Nature began tsj putin a protest against this disturb ance of her balance. This wholesale destruction of the insectivorous birds and beasts, besides affecting various industries directly, as we have indi cated, led to an excess of injurious in sects which also commenced to affect industries. Various insect pests ap peared, particularly the pimento borer and the cattle tick, which in a short time created a grievous menace to the pimento plantations and the stock farms throughout the land. By the year IS9O the situation had become so grave that the government appointed a commission to Inrjuire into the matter. They were unanimous against the mongoose, and, whilst giv ing him credit for his services, decided that his evil deeds counterbalanced them. It was proved that besides de stroying animals, birds, reptiles and their young ones and eggs, the mon goose had by his adaptability become omnivorous, and, the meat menu de clining, was making himself a pest to the l'ruit farmers. But no action was taken on the re port, and in a few more years the tick plague was destroying the cattle whole sale, whilst the mongoose himself was creating havoc among the fruit planta tions and rendering the Jamaica peas ant homesteads desolate. A commis sion was appointed some time ago to in vestigate the tick trouble, but nothing material came of ths;t, either. What might have been the fate of the island had things gone on thus it is not pleasant to contemplate. But na ture is no blind force. Behind her stands her Almighty Lawgiver, whose fiat is that justice be tempered with mercy. And in this case nature is righting matters in a marvelous way. Mr. .1. K. Duerden. the curator of the Jamaica museum, tells me that an other, a more hopeful and probably the last, phase of the question has been reached. Recently the mongoose itself has decreased very noticeably, and the results are shown in 'he reappearance of species supposed to have been ex terminated. There is not nearly the same outcry against the loss of poul try, domestic animals and fruit as for merly, and he is convinced that the maximum influence ooth for good and for evil of the mongoose is passing away in Jamaica. Hut the story points a mora!, I re peat, of which the world may well taks heed. X.». rQKTfia. CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1898. KILLING THE PIASA BIRD. I'he Onl«-r of Ited Men front S|irlug- Held Kepeat the luriuua lu ll Inn Ceremony. An unique spectacular programme ivas lately carried out on the grounds >f the I'iasa Bluffs, Chautauqua, by the organization of lied Men from Springfield. The exhibition was a pau tomimic portrayal of the old Indian legend oft he original l'iasa bird, w hich Is supposed to have once lived in this region. The story told is of a huge bird so great that its wings gave the air vibrations like the tones of thun der, its talons and beak and pow erful body foauud the river, dashing t Mieian. The present war litis brought to light the faot that Dr. An lommarchi, who attended Napoleon during his last ill ness at St. Helena, is buried at Santiago de Cuba, where he gave his services free to the poor for many years. EFFECT OF WEATHER ON FISH. Why Trout Hlae Merrily In the Midst of h Storm nud Sulk When tlie W uter la Uuiet. If trout rise merrily in the very midst of a storm, why do they invaria bly sulk when the thunder is only "in the air?" The explanation is simple, but it occurred to me only the other day, says the London Review. Trout sulk when the storm is gathering from the cause which makes men at the club decline to look at the billiard cues dur ing the same weather. The atmosphere lacks oxygen, and therefore all sen tient life is languid. When the light ning has come the sultriness is dis pelled; fish and men have something more cheering than carbonic acid gas to breathe; both are in a humor for food or play. The same reasoning, I think, ex plains why, as a rule, It is necessary to have a ripple if you are to catch trout. The accepted explanation is that the ripple conceals the casting line, leaving visible to the fish the flies alone, but one has only to use one's eyes to discover that that is no ex planation at all. Even in a gale, if there is no sunshine, the gut is as easi ly visible to the human eye as it would be in a dead calm, and to what the hu man eye can see in the water the trout is surely not quite blind. No; trout rise in a ripple more rapidly than in a calm simply because the wind is oxy genating the water. Whoso doubts tiiis is invited to make nil experiment. Let him put half a dozen live trout into a pail of water. Within an hour they will be sickening; some of them will bo near death and turning on their backs. A few quarts of water plunged a yard or two through the air into the pail will make all the trout revive as if by magic. The fish want oxygen just as the fellows at the club on a sultry aft- ernoon want a thunderstorm or other stimulant. A Puerto Itieo CuMtoin. William E. Curtis, who litis been a good deal of a globe trotter, writes from Washington to the Chicago Rec ord: "I observed phenomena at San Juan, and the same at Ponce de Leon, for which 1 have never been able to ob tain a satisfactory explanation. The old negresses who sit around the mar ket place and the shady street corners selling dulces from large baskets are habitually smoking long black cigars, and they put the lighted ends in their mouths. Wlij they do so and how they can endure it are mysteries that could not be solved, but it is nevertheless a fact and a custom that is unique in Puerto Rico." Vaccination Before Marriage. In Sweden and Norway a legal mar riage is not allowed to be solemnized till both parties produce certificates attesting that they bear genuine vac cination marks. PONCE IS TAKEN. Miles' Troops Capture An other Porto Rican Town. A SKIRMISH AT YAUCO. Spaniards Ambushed Our Volun uuteers, but Were Routed. GARRETSON LED THE FIGHT. Enemy rt Fonr Men on the F!pl4 and Several Olio of Our Men Wits Killed aud Only Three Wcru Wounded. Ponce, Porto lUco, xi'oi St.. Thomas, I). \V. 1., July 30.. —Ponce surrendered to ConmiiiiHler ('. 11. Davis, of the aux iliary gunboat Dixie, on Wednesday. There was no resistanee and the Amer icans were welcomed with enthusiasm. Maj. (ien. Miles arrived here in the morning with (ien. Ernst's brigade and (jen. Wilson's division, on board transports, (ien. Ernst's brigade im mediately started for the town of Ponce, three miles inland, which capit ulated in the afternoon. The American troops are pushing towards the mountains and will join Gen. Henry with his brigade at Yaueo, which has been captured by our troops. A tight before the latter place on Tuesday was won by the American volunteers. The Spaniards ambushed eight companies of the Sixth Massa chusetts and .>ixth Illinois regiments, but the enemy was repulsed and driven back a mile to a ridge, where the Spanish cavalry charged and were routed by our infantry. (ien. (iarrctson led the fight with the men from Illinois and Massachu setts and the enemy retreated to Yaueo. leaving four dead on the field and several wounded. Not one of our men was killed and only four were slightly wounded. The l'orto Kicans are glad the American troops have landed and say they are all Americans and will join our army. The roads aie good for military pur poses. Our troops are healthy and (ien. Miles says the campaign will be short. (Jen Miles has issued a proclamation to the people of Porto Rico in which he says the American forces have come to occupy the island and that the people are released from allegiance to their former masters, and that the largest measure of liberty will be given to the inhabitants that is con sistent with a military occupation, lit' says all property rights will lie re spected and existing laws continued. A liursted llubbte, I.ubec. Me., .Tilly .'!().—The Electro lytic Marine Salts Co.. organized for the purpose of extracting gold from sea water, which has been brought into great prominence on account of the alleged course of its vice president and general manager. Rev. I'. F. Jer nagan, in buying thousands of dol lars' worth of government securities just previous to his departure for Eu rope last week, has suspended opera tions at the plant. Its force of <>oo men has been discharged. The com pany was organized last year and it is ciaimed that 2,40(1.000 shares of the stock were disposed of. Can't Concede Anierhan Control There. Washington, July 30. —It was stated Inst night in a high diplomatic quarter in such manner as to give semi-offi cial character to the expression, that if American control of the Philippines was an indispensible condition laid down as the basis for peace negotia tions, it was certain that the Spanish government would not accede to this condition, but would continue the war. As to the other peace conditions un derstood to have been decided by the cabinet, it is believed they will be ac cepted. _ A Timely Loan. Philadelphia. July .'io.—T)r. French, general secretary of the national re lief commission, has received a com munication from Alexander Van Renn selaer stating that he has placed his yacht May at the disposal of the na tional relief commission as a supply vessel, at his own expense, with the assurance that any orders the com mission might impose upon him will be faithfully executed. Had Not Attaeked Manila. Hong Kong, July 30. —The 1 Sriti 'i gunboat Plover lias arrived here fro Manila. She reports that when she left there oil July 27 the situation there was unchanged and the Ameri cans had not yet attacked the city. Fixed the Date. Ottawa, Canada, July 30.—Sir Wil fred Laurier, the premier, announces that the international conference to settle the differences existing between the United States and Canada will open here on August 10. Additional Troops Sail for Manila. San Francisco, July 30. —The Third battalion, First South Dakota volun teers, and the Minnesota and Colorado recruits sailed yesterday to join their comrades in the Philippines. Spanish Prisoners Die. Portsmouth. X. 11., July 30.—Three of the Spanish prisoners died yester day at Camp Long. There are ten prisoners dangerously ill at the pres ent time and more deaths are expected from penumonia. The fever has prac tically disappeared from the camp. A Train l.oad of Sick Soldiers. Cincinnati, July 30. —A hospital train arrived at Newport, Ky., last night with 139 sick soldiers from Tampa and transferred them to the hospital at Fort Thomas. All except one wounded soldier were suffering from typhoid fever. SSOO Reward Tks akova Rsward will ks paid A* W fWraatica that will l«ad to tb« srreat mmi aaarietloa of flu party sr pvt« ofco Saoad Lroa and slabs oa the trunk rflkt mporiuaa 4 Riak Vallay R JR., Mat, tka eaat line ot FraakJia Hoaalanr'i hmm, aa tha araning of Not. 21ft, 180*1. fluir A core, n-tf. iV«jUm*. FINE LIQUOR SIORB EMPORIUM, PA. THIS ndtnl|Md Km ©panad A If* elaaa Liauor iton, sod lnvftss Mm trad* or Hotela, ItutaarutL a* Wa shall carry none bit tka baa* !■(» lean and Imported WHISKIES, BRANDIES. GINS AND WINES, BOTTLED ALE, CHAMPAQIiE, Efts. cmmbM«T Bottled Goods. riMltlnhßflHp Bw nutuUr ta itoek a M Un at CIGARS AND TOBAOCa ./ »PNlu(iniMlHßliaMMltoV| O*LL AXD BBC MB. A., A. MCDONALD, PBOFBIBTOB, BWOBICM, FA. , ■ 1 & F. X. BLUMLE, G W IKFCBIDU, PJL XK W Battlar at mm 4 lubi It A & WINES, |[ & WHISKIES, ft M Aid Liquors of All Klid*. A Q The bast of foods always jjl W carried In stock and trary- » n thing warranted aa rapraaaat- T7 * Eapactal Atteaitlea Pal d *• ■ flail Ordars. «■ $ EMPORIUM, PA. § / 60 TO S sj. /L siDsler's, i 1 Bread Street, Eaytrin, P*., 1 J Where eaa fe» eaythlaj jree *ul te C C tb* Its* at 1 s Groceries, s \ Provisions, ? y FLOUR, SALT MEATS, ) C SMOKED HEATS, \ J CANNES 60&M, ETC., > I hi Mta, Mk, CnMin> Y S Mum ul Clgtri. ( % Oooda DsllyarcS Pre* say / / rises la Tswd. \ I QUI in mii in or rucuA t BU Ml. »EM? C BHPOKIUB Bottling Works, SSHN MCDONALD, Proprietor. Was* I.SL Dtp*l, lanriia, Pa. Bottler sad utnsf •+ Rochester Lager Beer, ItST BUm IP ETPBEI. The Macnfertarer of Safl Ortatj ui Dmlm la Okdn Vlbm sad Pan Liqaori Wa keep none bat ths very best Baar and tra prepared to fill Orders mm •kort notice. Private fiunlllaa sinrsl i+Ujr tf daalrad. JOHN McDONALJX i|T IPlilfMßl I N- I j Omsat*, aod Trade-Maries ofrtalaad and all fcot Wmu oood far Moderate Fees. Sou* OPTICS is OPPOSITE U. 8. PATINTOpho* > ar.fi wa caaseoura pateoiia iasa Una than tnaaa J remote from Waahiaatoa. J ftead modal, drawla* or photo., with dtacrip >(ioO. Wo acvisa. If patentable or not, free ci 'cbarfe. Oar faa not due till patent la secured. , J A PAHPH LET, 44 How to Obtaia i stents," wHk #oosl of skme in tha U. &. aa£ k*««o countries I»ent free. Address, C.A.SNOW&CO. Ow. P*T*NT Orriot, Wsshimitow. O. C. vwwn ■rSS'i"™* CHICACO Isr NEW YORK OVTICSS 4 A. M. KELLCfIB MWIP#»H CJb 3