The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1891-07-04
BUGS ON THE TRACK.
They Swarm in Quarry and Stop
a Locomotive.
Thousands of the Insects Crushed BE.
meath the Iron Wheels with Re-
ports Resembling Ex-
ploding Torpedoes

Southeast of Brighton Corners on the
Lackawanna railroad are extensive
limestone quarries which have been in
operation for many years and have
penetrated deeply into the rock, says a
Syracuse correspondent of the New
York Tribune. Through the cut thus
made and into the quarries branch
track has been laid from the Lacka-
wanna road for the hauling of the
hewn stone. Night work being neces-
sary a large part of the time, an arc
light has been placed high over the
track of the darkest part of the cut.
Several cars were loaded for shipment
and left on the switch pending the
observance Of Memorial day. At night,
in preparation for drawing the cars out,
the electric light was put in and an
engine with the necessary crew left the
city for the quarries. What was the
surprise of all hands upon reaching the
scene of operations to find the track
beneath the electric light completely
thronged with strange insects Of great
size, some of them lying perfectly still in
punches and some of them playing a sort
ofleap-frog game. They covered a space
of not less than sixty feet along the
the occupied territory they grew fewer,
us The rays of light began to grow dim
mer. These pickets, Or skirmishers,
were one and all Of q most lively dispo-
sit1on, and ran over the ground with
tina, lightninglike rapidity which char
acterized the movements Of the electric
Light bugs that made their appearance
Eli over the country soon after the sys~
tenn Of electric lighting became Of gen
era1 a loption in cities.
The locomotive continued on it's way,
and as the drivers rolled over the i'll
sects the insects died with Il cracking
sound like the successive explosions of
toy torpeGloes. But this was at the be-
ginning Of the swarm. AS the iron
mons ter plowed its way along the bugs
became more numerous and the crack.
ling grew to a monotonous din, as
though some firecracker storehouse had
been touched off in q hundred places,
until n the thick Of the swarm the en-
CINE y as brought to Il STOP, the drivers
refusing to catch On the now slippery
rails, CREASED by the crushed and
slaugh tered bugs. An examination Of
the ms Gets showed q resemblance to the
electri,-ligl1t bug, though they are
somew 1at larger than those bugs, the
outer S aen of the back being about the
size and shape Of half q, shanghai-egg
shell. 1t was this turtle-]ile arlnor
with which the insects are equipped
that made the cracking sound as the
,whee S passed over them. The shell Is
blacl aua partakes of the nature Of
stone, having a slatey. structure and
being brittle. This property Of the
shell set the more thoughtful people to
thinking and observing, ana after a.
time search along the sides Of the cut
reve aled il1nulnerable small holes in the
into it by some agency not that of man,
and in them were traces Of a peculiar
ovu]a some hatclaed and some apparent
'Iy blighted. An erudita recluse whose
abole is III the neig11ioorhood Of the
qua rries had by this time appeared, for
News Of the strange occurrence had
spread rapidly. His opinion Was that
81 Z bugs that blocked the track were
the issue Of a rare species Of iitthociome, a
rocix- boring 1nolluslS--crossad with some
kim of predatory insect. To secure
Ghe shipment of the freight it became
nee essary TO let the loaded train from
above in The quarry come down the
grade Of the cut. Gathering momentum
all he time, its impetus when it came
to 'lle obstruction carried it by the
.IatltyS.