The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-30
,IExIco.s GIANT FrREFLrEs.
A. Mig as Chinese Lanterns. and
Sometimes Explode Like Bombs.


From the san Antonio Express.
NIr Milo F. DIlman of Denver has been
stopping in this city for a day or two
on his way home from Southern Mexico
Il have BEEN in Mexico great many
times" said Mr. Dillman. "hut the trip
have just completed conviuces me that
many wonderful and beautiful things i'm
that republic are not known by Ameri-
cans and indeed. by few MtXicaus.
'.The country. from the beautiful city
of Morelia 10 the Pacific coast IS a para
disc land Before reaching tnc coast We
passed through every CLINE and Vegcta-
ton. The mountains and forests are uled
with eagles. parrots, tucanos, humming
birds. OF which there are nifty different
varieties IN Mexico; enormous tigers,
lions, bears. partners, wildcats, mon
keys, etc. The monkeys are very inter-
es-ing and We never tired OF watching
them swinging from the boushs and
I'm this torrid country are the giant
hreh.es CLampyridae gigantesl resembling
very little our common urehies The
part OF these giant MES I'D when me
light CLOVIS is ordinarily the size OF a
base bali. but when angercd or excited
the part enlarges 10 the size Of toy
balloon The light shed IS continuous
and steady. These immense hrefies are
obtained only with great difficulty, as
they are found in the almost impenetra-
BILE depths Of the prineVal forest
Trees of all kinds grow very close to-
gether, chokingly thick; creepers, rattan
vines and dense underground I'm great
mass bar the way and seem to say. You
can ram down a stone wall, but you can
come In here Upon the rCn soil is a
tropical carpet of leaves and rotten wood
that has been accumulatlng Tor centur -es.
In only such a egetation could the giant
hretlies be produced.
"Our party OF six (amOGg them Mr..
Fred Marsh, the naturalist OF Cnicagol.
worked two days chopping little way
into the wood, and there we waited for
the coming of night. I shall never for
get the first sight had of the giant Lam
pyridae. a pair of them flew directly
above us-twO fiery globes that gloWed
i'm the darkness Ike suns aiiame. Then
others came within our limited vision,
and others and others until tens OF thou-
sands of them lit up the forest We
watched through the entire night. IL was
simply impossible to realize that they were
flies They seemed Ike Chinese lam
terms or beautiful globes Of light NOV
! ing magically through the air. Ihls, we
were told, was one or nature provisions
for the protection of the flies, IL being "a
well-knoWn fact that reptiles and beasts
are afraid of fire.
The hre Of the male is blue and that of
the female green, and each changes 70 a
flaming red as the fire ball enlarges. IheY
fly in pairs, and the sight Of nnumerab!e
blue and green fire globes, changing SUD
denly to immense spheres OF red nShI
floating hther and thither. amid the NUT
tering Of monkeys and the restless moving
of tropical birds, is beyond description.
| come together and rest upon the boughs
| of the trees. This was marvelously beau
| tiful Gracefully dropping rows of alter
nate green and blue lights-and from them
/ as they rested came humming sound-a
| sweet musical song. 1t often happens that
other insects attack the flies and the ure
! globes swell up to such a size that they
| frequently burst with a report like a pis-
| tol.
'sThe uses to which these flies may be
/ put are many. Ten thousand had been
| gathered when / was there for the Clnco
| de Mayo celebration at Uruapan and Coal
/ conan. The parties having the matter in
/ charge proposed to have them tied by
! strings, which, when pulled, would irri-
| tate the flies, causing them to change
| from the blue and green lights to red
| lights as large as cannon balls Designs
! the faces Of Juarez Gen. Diaz and others.
| These celebrations took place on the 5th
! inst, and were indescribably beautiful.
/ The illuminations were kept up for several
| hours, when the flies were made excited
| by violently pulling the strings, when
| thousands OF them burst with noise like
| the explosion of a steam boiler.
| In Morelia one night upon my return ]
| noticed several young men on bicycles, 10
! which were attached several of the blue
! and green flies that lit up the pathway
| before them in a glare of beautiful light
''Mr. Marsh is still in Mexico and in
| tends to take a few hundred of them to
I Chicago to give the people of that city
! an idea Of the wonderful things of Mexico.
| 1t is quite probable however, that the
I from the luXurant hot lands OF that re-
/ p11b1ic