The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1890-08-22
FREAKS OF NATURE.
Certain Animals which Have CAsrastsristiets NJ
which No Rsasen Can n Fsusd.


Certain Animals which Have CAsrastsristieh NJ
which No Rsasea Can - Fsssd.
Prof. Agassiz used 10 tell a good
story about his friend auckland, the
British naturalist who. on ono OF his
visits TO the London zoo, was attacked
by babiroussa. or horned boar. and
had to save himself by a headlong re-
treat
THAT brute would have knocked
you down II no had struck you with
his horns" remarked sympathizin q
friend.
'.Oh. don't care" said the philo-
sopher; but 1t worries mo 70 notice
tina. he never docs use his horns, as
you call them. They are horn shaped
tusks ind curved too much backward
to be Of my service In fighting. What
in the world can be their practical
purpose'"
Naturalists Of that sort arc liable To
good deal Of worry. says Felix l.
Oswald in the New York Ledger. Ma
ture abounds with unexplained pheno-
mcna. OF what use, for instance, Is
the long tail OF tho male pheasant to n
bird that has often to save itself by
flghtP In some varieties (as In tho
Chinese silver pheasant the problema-
tic append &c is nearly six feet long,
and makes it almost impossible for its
proprietor TO take wing at short notice.
In running through the tangled
underbrnsh OF tropical forest the tail
is hardly less obstructive. and 10 cor
tainly not ornamental enough to com.
pcnsate Its undesirable tendencies.
And. again Of what benefit to lis own
or are the enormous horns OF the
Wapiti stag-antlers with u spread OF
So inches and weight Of % poundsP
81 would not care for the bite Of a
mosquito II II wasn't for Its inform al
whine" 1 have heard many people
say;- and II seems. indeed, not quite
easy to understand OF what profit the
droning and buzzing sound OF its wings
can be to any blood-suclsing insect 1t
merely serves TO warn or annoy its In
tended victims. TO whom IL can hardly
be more aggravnting than TO the whin-
ing little vampire itself.
a still greater enigma is the deadly
virus OF the African tsetse fly. In
southern Nubia there are districts
where herdsmen have to drive thei r
cattle hundreds OF miles every spring
TO avoid the bite OF tho little pest.
whose private purpose is limited 10
the extraction OF a few drops OF blood.
and whose interests have no imugin.
able connection with tho subsequent
agony OF its victims. A day or two
after stout steer has been bitten
strange dwellings appear under his
jaw and about the groins; tho animal
shivers and witches as II In extreme
distress. and finally dies In convul.
sions. often attended with outbreaks
OF fury similar to those observed In an
advanced stage OF hydrophobin.
The gratuitous destructivcnes, Of
certain canivcrous animals presents a
very similar problem. An otter in n
well-stockod fshpond will kill abou,
fifty fishes for one II eats and the
murderous instinct OF the weasel and
the European pine marten far exceeds
the needs and conceivable interests OF
the little demons. An amateur poul.
try fancicr OF my acquaintance once
lost twenty-eight imported chickens in
n single night. all OF them having
been killed by n small. sharp bite into
the base o! the brain. In thrcc OF
four cases the murderer hnd gnawed
the skull OF Its prey and torn open the
neck In quest Of blood. but with those
exceptions the massacre seemed "a
have been prompted by sheer wnnton
love OF havoc. With n little more
prudence the poultry-lovIng marten
could have repeated his visits and
banquets for long series OF nights,
and have all his dcpredations credited
to one or other OF the hali-hundred
different disorders fowls nrc heir TO.
for the henhouse harborcd an army
OF feathered bipcds, some OF them on
the sick list But that one night
mischief ended the game. The Aend
was tracked TO his loopholo ind trapped
tho very next evening.
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