The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-09-17
NO BIG ANIMALS.
WHAT VAST AREAS OF LAND IN
TORRID COUNTRIES LACK.

w
Wild Animals of Considerable Size.
islands OF the West Indian Archipel-
ago Called "GameIess Country
a Russian naturalist, Professor Ma
clay, who passed several years in the in
terror OF Papua, describes the highland
ulstrlct OF the great island as a region
as remarkable for its scenery and pro-
oucuveness as for its salubrious crimate
"a perpetual May in the terrace lands,
with March and April plateaus here and
enere IN the highest mountains. The
area of the whole island exceeds that
VI 1exas, but its population hardly
aggregates million, nine-tenths of the
aDorlglnes being lowland settlers, black
iolers gorged with the yam roots and
wild hog steaks of the coast plain. The
upiands, too, abound with game and fish,
ana the only conceivable reason why the
natives should limit their hunting
grounds to the sweltering coast jungles
Is their preference for a climate that
enables the to dispense with dry goods
the year round.
In the Torres range there are SUBMITS
towering to the height of II 900 feet, but
the close proximity of the equator has
covered the highlands with a luxuriant
vegetation. Snow is hardly ever seen,
but chill ghts-Gght frost even-occur
now and then, and the frizzle haired
coast jewellers avoid the mountains as
the 1ndios Mansos Of the Mexican low
lands avoid the terra fria Papua is a
paradise Of birds, but the kingdom Of
mammals is represented only by a few
marsuplals ground kangaroos, tree
kangaroos and opossums), besides the
wild hogs of the river jungles.
A much stranger country in regard to
the absence of wild animals is found in
the near neighborhood of our own con-
tinent. The West Indian archipelago,
with its four magnificent islands and
countless islets, has been justly termed
the ''gameless country" region Of
more than hundred thousand square
miles, monopolized almost entirely by
birds and insects (even reptiles being
scarce), as if the archipelago had been
somehow overlooked on the last two
by such creatures as could reach its
coasts swimming or flying. There are
forests teeming with spontaneous fruit,
but no monkeys, no wild hogs, no bears
or raccoons. The larger carnivora are
not represented by single species.
No pumas or jaguars Though both are
found on the coasts of the neighboring
mainland), no panthers, lynx or wildcat
Foxes, wolves and jackals. too, are con-
spicuous by their absence. The caves
Of the limestone Sierra would seem to
be admirably adapted to marmots and
woodchucks, but they are tenanted only
by bats. On the fine highland pastures
there are no bisons, no deer, no antelopes,
and, strange to say, not even rabbits.
Sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, COWS,
hogs and even dogs were introduced
after the Spanish conquest, and the only
domestic mammal kept by the natives
| at the time of discovery was a small
kind Of wolf prairie wolff imported
from Mexico, and few species of SPUR
rels. which the Cubans fattened for
culinary purposes without knowing any
| thing about a classic precedent-the
| gliraria (rat kennels) of the ancient
Romans, who preferred dormouse on
toast to the best Syrian pheasant pies.
Dogs and cats were unknown, and
that lack Of household pets seems to
| have driven the abOrigines to strange
expedients, for in "Ogilvy's Voyages
| there is an account of a San Domingo
cacique who kept tame manatee that
lmade its headquarters in an artificial
pond and was SO we'll tanned that when
called by its name, Matoom, it would
come out Of the water and go directly to
the cacique's house, where. being fed, it
returned to the pond, accompanied by
men and boys, who seemed to charm the
manatee by their singing, and it often
carried two children at time OH its
back. Being once, however, struck by
pike in the hands of a Spaniard it
would never after come out of the water
if clothed man were near.
Manatees have become rather scarce
on the coast of San Domingo, but are
often seen near the Island of Pinos,
northwest of Cuba, where shoals Of the
strange creatures may be seen sporting
about the reef like the sea lions below
the Cliff House. Of all aquatic: mann
mails the manatee, however, can claim
the championship in the art of dodgilg
a sudden attack; leveled harpoon il
enough to make them plunge under
with mo you don't" snort, and then
pop up again at unexpected times and
places, waving their fippers in derision'
and ready to disappear for good at the
first suspicious motion.
The luxury of the Dominican cacique
was therefore not apt to be shared by
many of his subjects. Puppies and kit
tens were never seen in their cabins, and
the largest land animal of the island was
an overgrown rat, known as the hutia
and measuring about eighteen inches
without the tail. It's caudal appendage
ia q cornnromiSe between that of the true