The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-10-05

,Is OyERCOAT.-I saw Bufo eat his old ?
lothes. 1t was a dry summer day, and =
came suddenly upon him when he was 9
90 busy to mind me. His garments
we're rent, and he was doing his best to !
Va rid of them. They were divided :
Town the front and back, and he wiggled ,,
md souirmed till they hung loose about
nim. then he made boot-jack of his :,
arm and body, stuck leg through,
,tripped off one half of his pantalOOns,
and served the other half the same way.
Then with the aid of his mouth he
to pull the rest of his clothes
off, and, wadding the whole into a little
ball, instead OF sending them to the
washerwoman or the tailor, his great
barn door of mouth opened, In ana
down went the old clothes, and Buio
stood in a new, clean suit, ready ior
"Good morning, Mr.. Bufo," said 1;
but he said nothing. If he could have
spoken l think likely he would have
told us something like this, in answer to
a question you were about to ask me:
ANY father and mother were both
members of large family connection.
We have relatives-sOme near, some
quite distant-in almost every country
on the globe, but their names are not all
the same. Some of our kinsmen lived
thousands of years ago. They were the
roots of our family tree. IL was rather
near relatives of mine who played a
trick on some of the early settlers in
Connecticut one dark night long ago,
and frightened them into sitting up,
with guns in their hands to keep OF
Indians. when it was nothing but lot OF
registering cousins out at cold-water
tea-party.' Bufo winked at me as this
Thought passed through my mind, just
"a if he understood the joke perfectly,
and that reminded me that Bufo has
three eyelids, one ofwhich is transparent,
and shuts across the eye, while the
others shut like yours. If he could tell
us how he breathed it would be some
thing like this:
You see my throat is made with a
valve like a pump. When l swell out
the muscles of my throat the valve drops
down from my nOstrils, and the air goes
in through my nose but l can't blow it
ont that way, because the valve closes up
the nostrils, and l have to open my
mouth to clear my lungs, and that makes
| me look as if was always eating some
thing. The valve is my tongue. 1t is
fastened at the front end instead OF the
lower end, as yours is, although some OF
nv cousins have theirs arranged differ'
emily, but like our way best. Some OF
E my cousins have teeth, but see no need
E of teeth, for my. part. One cousin O
, mine that met this morning has fort!
!, teeth on each side of his jaw. and he
! welcome to them, Pm sure. What woult
g lido with teeth?
Z "There is very distant family of m!
y relatives who wear tails, but what goot
k would they be to us? l have neve
wished for tail since was wee bit o
d fellow. thought should always Xix
! to have a tail, but I've got over tina
=. nonsense, and don't know what woul'
4. do with it if / had one. Those cousin
that lust spoke of have an advantage
IS would like perhaps some time, thoug
n Pm not envious-not l They can groN
e out a new leg or arm, if it is cut of, an
% the second is as perfect as the first was
e and it is said they can do that sewers
n times on the same limb. l have som
a. yery funny relatives, though. Som
'r have four feet, some only two. Som
y, have FIVE toes, and some have to &c
u along with only one pair; can't see ho'
10 thew do it /; and there is whole branc
st of our family tree that can only boast {
re one lung!
"Nearly all my relatives are musics
a people. For my part never received
CT musical education, and don't believe
have much of voice. very seldom tr
It: but a cousin of mine that l knO'
very we'll has a splendid bass voice, an
he enioys serenade music very much. II
OF is one of my largest relations, an
in dresses very finely indeed, swallowin
y his old clothes several times year, an
70 getting new suit, as did just nov
every time. His first cousins are som
n n of them very fine singers, their voices
te sharp and high l suppose they would Z
a. called sopranos or tenors."
" Bufo showed me how he manage
~ about dinner. A fly came buzzing abou
DO and sat down near his nose. Both wei
Sc perfectly still for moment, each appea
ee ing to regard the other with astonisl
ne ment. Then the fly turned as If to SO
Id to me, Chow do you like the shades
n color on my wings?" when-snap!-tl
C. fy was missing, and Bufo winked, as
ul to say, "That's the way to do it," as M
be Punch said when he hit Judy with
RS club in the puppet show. Mr.. Blu
OF didn't snap as bird snaps, or snap as
TO dog snaps. Perhaps | should not say |
Ut snapped at all, for he opened his mont
or and threw his tongue at the fly, and Il
g, tongue being soft and sticky, it took Il
OF fly in. But if the fly had sat still
1t, might have stayed week without da
rs, ger. He was one of those cases where
ed is safer to stay than fly from threatens
on danger. BufO never touches dead I
he quiet dinner. His tongue, you rememb
!c- told you, is fast at the outer end, al
ut the inner end is 30 soft and sticky that
ne feels more like jelly than like meat.
n In Africa there is distant relative
Bufo's that the natives call the MatlaI
etlo." His name is nearly as long as Il
little fellow himself. He dresses We
rs, neatly in tightfghting suit, greeni
. brown above-that is, on his back
he variegated with rustic brown and spC
ly ted with yellow. Below his cloth
Dr., are yellow, notified with orange, al
or his chin has spots and stripes
ny brown. His eyes are beautiful che
at nut, covered with spots which glisten Ii
ar little grains of gold. DIR Livingsto
es, ate some of the little fellows.
at There is a story told by sonic writer
wo one of Bufo's cousins once winning ra
he with an Indian. The distance mark
lis off for the race was forty yards. AS I
,g, Indian had the longer legs, his CO
nd petitor was allowed few feet the sta
he and at the signal away. they we
ed Rama, for that was the little racers II
.as name, only touched the ground once
he ten feet, and the Indian was left
ed behind.
res In southern America lives the fam
uf- of Cousin Ceratophris, who have
Up, funniest kind of eyelids The upper e,
nd lids have each horn, and their mou
ne are almost like the opening of satch
,ut They some times eat their own cousiI
led The different branches of the family
Ied distant and near cousins-have W