The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-04-12

dJ JDelf own sweet
will, the reindeer do damage indiscrimi-
na;eiy IN meadow, plowed land and for
est. The farmer may protest, but he is
powerless to prevent the destruction of
his young wood or the trampling down
of his crops.
If he appeals to the authorities he is
Daitied by the practical impossibility of
fixing responsibility for damage upon
the right owner. Only Laps know the
offender, and verdict with damages Of
ten enough serves no other purpose than
that of bringing Scandinavian justice
into ridicule, for, before it can be carried
into effect, the defendant has gone on
another of his annual mgrations.
This pest has at last reached such d.
mansions that special laws were made
about year ago to meet it. Norway
aud Sweden have therefore been divided
into districts, and if damage be done.
and the owners Of the offending animals
not be given up, the entire district has
to make good the damage, each family
having to pay in proportion to the mum.
Der Of reindeer which they own.
Now we will take another example of
migration from the same country.
AS We have seen, the migration of the
reindeer occurs at regular intervals, and
can be provided against, especially as it
| is possible to make the owners of the
migrators responsible for the damage
which they do. But there is one animal
in Northern Europe which has no special
time for migration, against whose APP
proach it is impossible to provide, whom
it is almost equally impossible to resist
when it is on the march, and for whom
no one can be responsible. 1t is there
fere far more banetul to civilized man.
This Is the lemming (Nyodes Lemmrs)
a little, short tailed, found cared rodent,
somewhat resembling our common water
rat in shape and size.
In its ordinary life it is nothing more
than small, vOracious, very prolific, and
uninteliectna! rodent. 1t is too stupid
to get out of the way, and if met by
cart its only idea would be to bite the
wheel. Two or three Jennings might be
indulging in their favorite habit of sit
ting on " stump. If traveller accom-
panied by dogs passed by them, the
dogs wonld be sure to fly at the lem
mings. Yet the stupid creatures would
not think of escaping, though there
might be plenty of time to do SO, but
would merely sit on the stumps and try
to bite the dogs noses. This remarka-
BILE stupidity will account for the way in
which the migration invariably ends.
Owing to its fecundity, conjoined with
its voracity, it somtimes fails to obtain
food in it's own district, and migrates
southwards.
The strangest point about this migra-
ton is its exceeding uncertainty. Fort
unately. there is seldom an interval of
less than seven years between the mi
grations, and seventeen years have been
known to pass before the coming of the
lemming. Yet, whatever the interval
may be, the whole of the jennings of
vast northern districts begin their march
southwards through Norway and Sweden
in search Of food.
They are divided into two vast armies,
which are kept apart by the Kiolens
range; and it is very curious that they
direct their course towards the south.
west and southeast. Nothing seems to
stop their progress. They only have
one idea. namely, to press EDWARDS. If
a wall OF q house be in their line of
march they will try to climb it rather than
so round it, and if they come upon a
stack of Germ they will eat it and then
go forward.
Rivers, and even lakes, are swum by
| the Jennings, thousands of which are
eaten by the fishes. They are admirable
swimmers as long as the surface CT the
water is smooth, but the least ripple is
too much for them, SO that if the day be
windy very few Of those which enter the
water are seen to leave it alive.
Their ranks are perpetually thinned by
the birds and beasts of prey which ac-
company their columns. These para
sites are wolves, foxes, wildcats, stoals
and other weasels, eagles, hawks and
owls. 1t is said that even the reindeer
feed upon them. Man eats them, and so
obtains some trifing compensation fer
the destruction Of his crops. But, while
its evasion lasts the lemming is nearly
as destructive as the locust itself, net
leaving even a blade of grass behind it.
Despairing Of checking this terrible foe
| by ordinary means, the people turned to
religion, and had special service of ex-
orcsm prepared against the Jennings.
The end of the migration is as uuac
countabe as its beginning. have NEIL
toned the instinct which forces the crea-
ture to proceed EDWARDS on the line which
it has taken. Now, Norway and Sweden
form peninsula, towards the apex of
which the course of the jennings is di-
rected. 1t follows that sooner or later
the animals must arrive at the coast.
And, having reached the shore, they still
must needs go into the sea, where the
waves almost Immediately drown them.
Now We will turn from cold to heat,
and imagine ourselves in South Africa.
From the migrates of that country VIC
will take the springbok as our example.
| Many travellers in that country have
mentioned the "trek- bokken" as the
Bocls cali these pilgrimages, but mono
! have painted them more wildly than the
late Captain Gordon Cumming, whose
description l have had the pleasure of
hearing as we'll as seeing.
One morning, as he had been lying
awake in his wagon for some two hours
before day break, he had heard the con-
tnual grunting of male springbsks, hut
took no particular notice Of the sound.
| He says:
''On my rising, when it was clear, and
looking about me, l behold the ground
to the northward of my camp actually
covered with dense living mass of
sprnSboks, marching steadily and
slowly along, extending from an open
ing in long range Of hills GU the west,
through which they continued pouring
| like the flood of some great river, to a