Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-02-16
AROUND TEE WORLD.
Some of the Strange Things to be Seen
in Australia.
MONCURE D. CoNwAY's IMPRESSIONS.

MoNCURE D. CoNwAY's IMPRESSIONS.
Correspondence Of the Philadelphia Times
Sydney, November %, 1885,
We have been witnessing strange phenomena
in this region. The blue sun which shone upon
US when we were vOyaging between Honolulu
and Auckland seems to correspond with the
green sun seen bout the same time BY yoyagers
on the Indian ocean. Ever since then. at near
Intervals, the extraordinary rose-colored after
glow has followed the sunsets The sunsets in
Australia are said to have been ALWAYS splendid.
but the meteOrOiOgists here have not hitherto
observed these aitergloWs any more than the
sea captains have observed blue and green suns.
One night at st. kilda, which looks westward
over the sea. saw tine afterglOw assume the
exact form of an aurora. with shooting and null
sating columns of pink light. There is little
doubt here that these phenomena are connected
with that tremendous volcanic commission in
Java which sank a range of mountains sixty
miles long. stranger to this region might
easily he persuaded that the sunsets are normal.
so abnormal seem some OF the ordinary phe-
nOmena. The moon is seen so clearly that every
mark on it is often visible to the naked eve.
The presence OF a new armament and new con-
steiiations is very impressive. and even one
not much given to star-gazing is likely
to discover that he had grown more ia
miliar than he had supposed with the
heavens under which he was born The Aus
trailan earth, too, presents a strange apnear-
ance. Between Melbourne and Sydney one
travels nearly day amid gum trees. whose
trunks, according to ones mood NAV appear
siivery or bianched in death. Many of them
are indeed dead. girdled by the farmers The
bush has a desoiate look. In the y1ay morning
large native bear" was seen claspng tele-
graph pole as our train passed. knowing the
passion Of bears for honey believed it was a
cub deludcd by the humming noises into the
belief that a swarm of bees was near Nv
theory was soon upset by discovering that the
native bear" Is no bear at all, but a marsupial
(koa!a) however, It loves fruit, and possibly
honey. This animal has only a rudimentary
tail; its thumb and second finger are opposed to
the other fingers. and the innermost toe Is op-
pOfaOie like thumb.
WHATS IN NAME?
The way the Australians have of calling things
by inappropriate names is inconvenient. Their
bear" is no bear. their whiting" (fish) Is no
whiting. their CHERRY is no cherry, their Fly
Ing fox only big bat. 1t used to be proverb-
tally reported that Australia is a place where
the oysters grow on trees. the fences are made
OF mahogany and cherries grow with their stones
outside There Is no real mahogany in the
country so far as can learn. except it has been
imported; the sO-caled cherry is kind of
cypress and the only truth about the OYSTER is
that about some harbOr oysters covering eyery-
thing close to the water. including occasionally
the roots and fallen trunks of trees miserable
little bits of oysters. of which it would take a
dozen to fill a tablesroon) More wonderful
is the little 'hand-flsh," which climbs up
on the beach sand, props itself on it's
nn-hands and looks at one pertly as a SPAR
row. The ''Tasmanian devii' Is good deal of a
humbug. too. At Auckland I heard him de-
scrbed as fierce untameable, dangerous; at
al in /,
Wales) he was fierce. but not often met with in
tasmania; at Melbourne he sank to IAN ugly
little beast" in Tasmania it is discovered that
the poor little nocturnal creature is rare and
tlmd. There is one creature of whose alleged
habits had heard with some skepticsm-the
ground parrot of New Zealand. On inquiry |
found the worst reports about it confirmed.
ms parrot builds its nest on the ground and
since the Introduction OF sheep has been build
ing it chiefly of wool To obtain this it perches
on the Sleeps back. For some time the worst
that was feared from this parrot was such small
thc!ts OF the golden fleece but for some years now
Ii has taken to tearing through the sheep's back
ana dragging out the liver, which it devOurs 1t
has become a pest in New Zealand since this
rapid evolution in English civilization. 1t is a
large parrot. but do not think it pretty: its
breast is the color Of iron rust
QUEER CATERPILLAR
The ,queerest thing have seen out here ia
the so-called "burush caterpillar" or ''yepeta-
Bile caterpillar" This also is found in New
Zealand, where the natives name 1t "Aweto-
Hotete," but have two specimens found in
Tasmania. The plant is fungus, sphHria
which grows seven or eight inches above the
ground, generally in single stem, round and
CurvIng at the end like a SERPENT This end is
fhickfy covered with brown seed for some three
inches. 1t grows near the root of particular
tree, the rata When pulled up its single
rnnf
three inches long. which, when dissected. is
found to be solid wood Every detail of this
grub is preserved. The spharia always grows
out OF the nape of its neck 1t is supposed that
when this grub (that of large moth) burrows
in the ground. one of the seeds gets between
the scales OF the neck. strikes root and COM
petey turns the interior of the creature into it's
own substance. Only the shell is lett intact, no
Smallest rO0tlet appearing anywhere. The alb
orlglnes also eat this pure white grub and q
Trend tells Inc that, taken raw. it is delicious
The New Zcalanders also burn the caterpillar
root and rub it into their tattoo wounds
Robinson CrxlsOc.
From the San Francisco Chronicle
What am to tell you about Robinson Crusoe
had from my father. who had it from his
father, who saw it himself and what is more.
you will find it confirmed in the official log book
OF the voyage, for after heard the yarn told in
the family circle, took the trouble to see if it
cOnfOrmed with the account given by the vow
ayers to the government.
My grandfather shipped for privateering voy-
age to the South seas in 1903 The vessel was
the Cinque Ports. a galley, mounting Is guns
and carrying G3 men, commanded by Captain
Pickering. The crew was chiefly Irish and
Scotch, and among the latter was chap named
Alexander Selkirk, from Largo. county of Fife.
While upon the coast of Brazil the Cnque
Ports lost her commander. and the first mate,
Stradling, was appointed in his place In jan
uary l704, they doubled Cape Horn and bore
AVA for the Island of Juaa Fernandez, which
was the place of rendezvous they had agreed
upon. and which several Of the men on board
had visited before. They arrived at Juan Fer
nandeZ in March, and the vessel being some
what ieaky they determined to beach and calk
her. With this view her guns and stores were
hoisted out, and tents elected to accommodate
the ships company. After the vessel was re-
paired. and preparations were being made to re-
sumo the cruise, two French men-Of-war hove
IN sight. heading for the port. and as our vessel
WAS n BETTER than pirate. and would assur-
edly have been captured and the crew con-
demned to the galleys had they renamed,
siipped her cables and ran away, leaving on
shore three OF the crew, who We're employed at
some distance from the port in getting wood
and water. Of these three men0 my grandfather
was one and Alexander Sekirk another The
third man was Irish, and belonged to kinSale
They remained on this island for six months,
during which time they explored every part of
1t and became convinced gifts delightful climate
anu aDuntant resources. Selkirk. it seems. had
made up his mind to remain even before they