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<ie waves against the rocky bluffs like
the modern dynamite of the American
navy —an enemy so furious and de
structive and ready to devour that the
Indian tribes suffered the loss of many
of its braves. At last in council a sac-
THE COoNT DE CASSINL
This ffeiitleman has recently arrived at Wsnhfng-ton an th» ambassador of the
ciar of Russia. The count is a diplomat of great distinction, his work for Russia in
the orient ranking with that of the best talent in the world. lie was the czar's rep
resenta.ive in the complications which followed the Chinese-Japanese war, and it
Was he . ho secured all the important concessions to Kussia recently granted by the
Chinese er..oeror and foreign council.
rifice was agreed upon to save the
tribe. The son of the chief was to offer
himself. In great sorrow the Indians
assembled to witness the sacrifice, and
if possible to do battle to save their
youthful chief. In the final struggle
the bird was pierced by arrows, and
the boy delivered. For centuries, it is
Raid, many tribes came from distant
hunting grounds to feast and return
thanks.
Everything on this recent occasion
was as like as could be to the story.
A huge bird of monstrous dimensions,
of fearful form, its tail that of a great
serpent, its face slightly human, with
horns like an antelope, body like both
bird and beast, its wings black and
widespread, its limbs and talons the
exaggeration of any and everything
large and strong and cruel, was start
ed across the valley from the highest
rock on one of the adjacent bluffs, sus
pended on wire. The lied Men, with
their war whoop, rushed to attack this
GOOD-BYE, TORAL, OLD BOY, GOOD-BYE.
** ' ~ "
R 1 Of N
"Just tell them that you saw mc—
And that I was looking well."
. . - _ .
enemy in the :ipper air. And sure
enough, as though loud shouts added
to the skill of the arrow, this monster
fell, eneveloped in a cloud of feathers.
The braves completely encircled him
with the circular war dance of noisy
triumph.
Keep TII h on the UliniNter*.
Every time a Russian minister leaves
town his colleagues are notified of the
journey, besides the council of the em
pire, the cabinet of the emperor, the
empire's comptroller and secretary,
the sacred synod, the emperor's mili
tary secretary, the empress, the gov
ernors of Moscow, Vursovie, Kieff, elc.,
ad infinitum to all appearance. When
he returns the same minute notifica
tion performance is gone through.
IS'«poleoii'M I'll > 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
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Isr NEW YORK OVTICSS 4
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3