The Arizona sentinel., 1886-11-20
"METEoR AND COMET"

| Made-How (" Meteor" Brought Dia-
 mond to Light.
 A Cuban friend called on us one evening last week, holding in his hand a brown paper bag perforated with small holes. These breathing holes' suggesting to our pet-loving children '' something alive" the gentleman and paper-bag were immediately sur rounded. The girls retreated upon being told that the bag contained flying fireworks that might ''go off," but the boys boldly demanded 9 sight of the new fireworks. A peep into the bag caused every boy to draw back with disgusted face.
 Ugh! only two dead beetles," one youngster muttered. "A mean joke, 1 say"
 Here there was scream from all the children: [" The bags a-tire!''
 Truly the brown paper bag looked as if ready to fall on the floor a heap of flaming paper. But our Cuban friend. as he rescued it from being trampled on, coolly remarked:
 1.-The beetles are just opening their stock of fireworks. Now put out the gas and we shall have fine display"
 The gas was turned down, and by the intense, beautiful light that streamed from the paper bag our faces | gleamed with a weird, greenish tinge, and we could read the letters on the newspaper in papa's hand. Those two ugly beetles were the managers of this pyrOtechnic exhibition, for each carried on his shoulders two brilliant stars, from which shone light almost supernatural in its intensity, and the beetles, constantly raising their wings, as if to fly, showed their soft bodies glowing like masses of living fire.
 It seemed impossible to realize that no heat accompanied this radiant light, and the children were so afraid the bag would take fire -hse--5------.f our trlenu, Warm Darn was provided for our new pets, already named Meteor and Comet. So they were gently placed upon a mimic pond in an oyster bowl, with mimic rock island in the center. It was a lovely sight, the water becoming a sea of liquid fire; and as the wonderful phosphorescent light struck against the rock Ca quartz specimen), each diamond-cut crystal flashed and sparkled with lovely pris- matic colors.
 When Meteor and Comet were tired of their bath they leisurely climbed upon the rock and went to sleep. Their lamps went out, and again they became ugly brown beetles, with only two flattened yellow beads on their shoulders to show where the light came from. These spots looked like glass, and the luminous body, when the | beetle is awake, seems to shine through them like flame through glass win dow.
 That night Meteor and Comet slept in a ventilated ice-cream box, and a lunch of banana and brown sugar was provided for them, in case they should feel faint during the night. The Cuban gentleman told us that these beetles were eLaterS, commonly called skip | jacks, click-beetles, snap-beetles, etc. names given them because of a pe- culiar way they have of unjOinting their spines with a clicking noise.
 The legs of an elater beetle are so short that when turned on his back he is as helpless as a capsized turtle; but nat ure has provided for the poor bug machine The spine fits into a socket, and by bending the head and thorax backward - a position somewhat similar to standing on its head-the beetle can withdraw the spine from the socket, a sudden jerk causing it to slip back with sharp click, and with such force that the skip l jack is made to turn a complete sOmer- sault in the air, the beetle, like the ''springing man" at the circus, expect ing to fall on his feet. The women in South Amerlca place several elaters in a box with glass sides, and go about their work by the light of this living lamp, and Cuban beauties promenade in the evening with flaming beetles fastened in their glossy braids.
 Meteor and Comet dearly love to sleep in the daytime, and always when we take out our ice-cream box to dis play the tire-bugs, we find our pets ap- parently dead. After several frights we have learned to place the rogues on their backs; and then it is funny to | see them wake up, one leg at time, until all the legs and antenne are way ing desperately about, fiery glow coming from the exposed body and bright shoulder lamps of each strug- gling victim. Then the skip-jacks will try to stand on their heads, and the children are always delighted to see our lady visitors jump as Meteor and Comet with a sharp click turn a somersault in the air, sometimes re- beating thIs performance over and over again, until they come down right side up.
 One evening we were all disconsolate at the loss of Meteor, who, having feigned death until we left him, had flown away. Fearing to miss gleam from our pets lights, we had turned out the gas, and the whole family were down on their knees, looking un- der chairs, tables and couches. A shout from child on an expedition under the piano brought us all to the spot, and there under the piano leg, snug ly hidden against the castor, safe from broom or duster, glistened some thing" that not only dazzled our eyes, brt glsddened our hearts. This some