New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-04-14
THE Gy4SCUTTS CAUGHT


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THE GYASCUTUS CAUGHT
With mingled amazement and delight we
learn from The MGrysTile appeal that " Tom
! Clyma, of North Butte" has captured by means
of a steel trap a specimen of that remarkable
animal, long supposed TO be extinct, known as
the gyascutus" We observe a strong like
ness in tho eyascutus captured by "TOm
Clyma" to the gyascutus Of our youth az he
appeared in the scrap-book of the period. That
gyascutus was advertised in Western town by
two middle-aged scientific persons as an animal
of great strength and extreme feIocity, long
supposed to he extinct and believed now to be
the only specimen of his kind in existence,
which would be on exhibition In the local ten
pie of the muses. on certain evening named :;
admittance twenty-five cents; curtain 20 rise
at eight On the evening appointed a large and
intelligent audience of the first citizens was
early in attendance, and the heart of the enter
prising scientist at the door was gladdened by
the chink of many shckcls The audience hav-
ing been fairly hived, and In state OF enthusiast
tic expectancy, Just at the moment appointed for
the rising of the curtain there was the noise OF
great rearing and confusion behind the scenes,
which was followed by the appearance OF scientist
number two disheveod and wild Save your
selves ladies, and gentlemen y he cried " the
gyascutus is loose Then there was what the late
Lord Byron finely described as hurrying to
and fro -" though rather more of the fro than
the "to" and they were first citizens who
reached the sidewalk first. Every citizen saved
himself entirely..whole barring the twenty-five
cents paid the scientist at the door. The two
scientists also saved Themselves as was gen
rally believed, by taking TO the adjacent timber.
Scientific circles In that town were agitated for
months afterward over the question whether
the gyascutus got away with the scientists or
the scientists got away with the gyascutus.
Only one thing was certain that somehow the
three together got away with two or three hun
dred twenty-five cent pieces
We have said that observed a strong like
ness in Tom Clyma's" gyascItus to the gyas-
cutus which got away from the exhibition. The
resemblance lies in the circumstance that no
one ever saw the earlier gyascutus. In saying
this we have no desire to impeach either the We
racity of "Tom Clyma' or the intelligence of
The Ma,ysriHe appeal. On the contrary, We are
quite inclined to accept tho narrative without
gyascutus as not only tho gyascutus of
science, but the yeIitable gyascutus that
got away. A d just here it occurs to us
that the legal heirs of the first citizens above re-
fcrred TO have the right to demand of " Tom
Cyma' that the gyascutus he opened and
search made for the remains of the missing
scientists and the receipts of the box office on
the evening in question. We leave for the
courts to decide whether if the remains and the
receipts be found the heirs are entitled
to inter est on the investment. The
.na,ySriUe appeal gives, i'll the interests of
science, full description of the animal "The
most singular thing about the quadrnped,' it
saws, ais that the legs on one side of its body
are several inches shorter than those on the
"othcr side.n 1t goes on to say that it is
never found except in hilly regions. its peculiar
structure uniting it for n level country. But
It is peculiarly adapted for hlly regions, as it
can walk with ease on the side Of a steep slope
where even IA goat would have precarious
foothold This is not all an advantage,
however, as although it can travel around a
hill from right to left with great speed and
the utmost ease, If it ever turns to go the
other way it lops over and rolls hopelessly to
the bottom. 1t is stated that "hunters Of
the gyascutus, whose fur was held in high
esteem, used to avail themselves of this fact
to capture the animal F" by adopting " the ar
" tfce of travelling around the hill in direc
" ton contrary to that pursued by the ANIMAL"
and so meeting him face to face. The source
Of this information is not given, nor do we
discover whether 1t was the fur of the hunt
ers of the gyascutus or of the gyascutus
himself which was held in high esteem but
we see no reason to doubt the fact that the
gyascutuses or gyasouR were hunted in that
way. That would be our way
And that indeed is precisely the way in
which Massachusetts, hunter, much better
known than "Tom Clyma," finally captured
the political gyascutus of that State an ami
NAL not 80 rare as the one above described,
and which is not yet extinct, though it Is
hoped 1t soon will be. This hunter pursued
tho Massachusetts gyascutus from behind
for a long time without success. At
length the early hunters artiflce occurred
to him, and he sat down and waited
for the gyascutus to como round. When at
last they came face to face the gyascutus,