The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-12-08
The Great Tumble. weed Of the PraIrIes.

West. Mr.. Daniel G. Beard, the we'll
known artist and naturalist, came upon
a curious vegetable growth known popu
IarIv as the tumble weed and scientiti
csiIy as CIycloloma platyphyllln1, Al
the time we were unable to secure g
specimen of the weed, but lately, thro
the kindness of Mr.. Henry Worrall. OF
the Department of Agriculture, Tope-
ka, Kansas, he was enabled to obtain
photograph of some of the finest speci-
mems of the great weed preserved in the
buildings Of the department. The gen.
ial gentleman referred to was even cour-
teous enough to permit himself to be
used as a medium for comparison.
A startling story is told by the vera
cious Western man of a party of Eng
lish tourists who were on the plains on
a shooting excursion. They had been
out the greater part of the day without
meeting with any game, and one OF
them were repeating for the huniredth
time that their luck was 'beastly' when
they noticed large animal some dis
tance away, which was approaching
them in a leisurely but apparently in
quisitive manner, for it paused OCCASION
ly as IL to study them.
The Englishman pointed the animal
out to his companions, and they agreed
among themselves that it must be bis
on. though its movements were different
from those of any four-legged animal
they had ever seen before. However,
they did not make much of that fact, as
a breeze that had sprung up had raised
considerable dust and made it impOssi
bic for them TO see clearly.
1t was so evident that THE bison-if
such it was-was attracted by curiosity,
that one of the hunters determined to
beguile it by device he had heard spo-
ken of as very successful with the ante
lope. Accordingly he lay upon his
back and kicked his heels in the air,
while the crack shot of the party pre-
pared to shoot when the proper time ar
rived. The creature was so far away
and approached so slowly that the decoy
grew tiredI and had to be relieved. 1t
was evident that they were drawing the
creature toward them, however, that
each in turn cheerfully and very enthu-
siastically kicked himself tired.
The breeze had grown momentarily
stronger, and though il was fortunately
blowing toward them, il created so
much dust that it was not easy to get
good aim. However, the animal had
Increased its pace, and with an occasion
al bound into the air, rapidly approach
ing them. 1t was impossible TO tell
which was its head and which the side,
so the appointed hunter, with as careful
aim as the strange cEaracterof the game
rendered pOssiblble, fired.
The animal had been hit, for they
could see the fur fly, but it paid no at
tention to the shot, unless it it was to
bound into the ar and increase its pace
30 much that in few minutes it was
near enough to be easily distinguished.
It was an uncOuth mOnsterOf huge pro-
portions, and progressed not in the usu-
al way, but by a series of pr0digiOus
leaps. The hunters were greatly start
led by the appearance of this unknown
animal, but they realized that they must
lose no time in shooting them if they
wanted.tO keep it away. They all fired
at once but whether wounded or not
the monster sped only the swifter.
They paused in amaZement for NOM
ent, but were reused to sudden activity
when one of thesnumber shouted that
whole herd of the monsters were upon
them. True enough all over the plain
they came with frightful Tapidity, ma
king such tremendous leaps that there
seemed as many in the air as on the
ground The hunters fingered no long
er, but with the haste of terror threw
everything from them, and ran to such
purpose that they soon distanced their
pursueTs and found shelter, late in the
town from whence they started. Their
story had caused a great sensation, but
not exactly the kind they bad expected.
Next morning it was found that the
tourists had left for San Francisco.
The story, if not true, at least serves
well to illustrate the peculiar habit of
the great tumble weed This strange
growth, which belongs to the pig weed
family, is very abundant in the great
Arkansas valley, and varies in size from
the huge specimen shown in the illustra-
tion to one foot or less in diameter. 1t
grows upon a disprOpOrtiOnately small
stem. which, however, is of sufficient
stoutness to sustain the mass until it is
ripened and dried, when a slight gust
OF wind will suffice to bow it over and
snap the brittle standard.
1t now rolls over and over at every
puff off wind, and being both light and
elestic will perform a series of bounds
over any impeding powders or bushes.
In high wind the fantastic spectacle
produced by q number of these balls OF
varying sizes can easily be imagined.
And as the English tourist with his
store of wonder adjectives and odd ex-
pletives is the stock butt of the Western
man, it is not so strange that be should
be brought into service to illustrate the
most striking feature OF the tumble
weed.
Aside from its spectacular phase, this
habit of the tumble weed may be view
ed in an even more interesting light.
Man sees everything from the stand
point OF utility to himself, and he may
not comprehend the necessity for the ex-
istence of the tumble weed at all but
in every created thing there seems to be
inherent a continual effort to propagate
its kind. Examples for the working of
this spirit cannot be necessary, for even
in the cities, the tTees-the ailantus,
for example, with its winged seeds
give evidence of it. The fantastic and
seemingly senseless ~hirling. rolling
and bounding of the tumble weed when
understood, tell the story of a unique
method OF scattering seed.-Jobn Cory
ell IN Scientific american.
7 A r-rrr-e CCr-,rr 81