Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-08-08
WHIPPING HIS WEIGHT.
The Champion Logger Overestimated His
Fistio Ability.

WHIPPING F1iS WEtGf ].
The Champion Logger Overestimated His
Fistio Ability.
In the logging camps of Michigan
might makes right and the man who
has whipped all comcrs in fair fights is
king of his camp.
One cf these, said logger to re-
porter, was very boastful of his exploits.
He had been the victor i'll dozen fights
and no one cared to enter the lists with
him, but every man in the camp hated
the champion. Going into q saigon ono
day he announced: I'm tired Ct these
babies in camp. amt had good fight
in Michigan. can whip my weight in
dogs, wildcats or anything that breathes
for $100."
A meek looking man took the bet and
arrangements for the fight We're made.
1t was to take place in q closed room
one week from the time tho bet was
made
The day came and the champion
called, Bring on your animile. " The
man who had bet against the king Of
the camp brought his antagonist in q
large sack, which had been deposited
behind the stove i'll the saloon where
the match had been entered into, the
weather just beginning to get cold. The
gladiator entered the room, the sack
was emptied and the people crowded at
the window to see the contest. Out Of
the sack came three large hornet nests,
the occupants of which had been revived
by the heat
They issued from the nests in swarms
and lit all over the man. He fought
them for a minute or two, then with q
yell jumped through the window, carry
ping until he reached the river, into
which he jumped.
"Said he could whip his weight in
anything that breathed," remarked the
meek little man as he pocketed the
stakes, "but about five pounds Of hor-
nets knocked him out in the first
round "-Washington Star.
A BEETLE THAT GNAWs SHELLS.
And 1t Does Other Things Calculated to
Make Its Prey Tremhle.
Of all the insects the beetles are the
most interesting. There is one that car
ries Il cannon, which naval man
would call stern chaser, and is loaded
with fluid When pursued, the beetle
fires it, and the other insect, usually
carniverous beetle, is blinded by the dis
charge Of fine acid spray. Hence its
name of bonibardier. The latest thing
that has been learned about beetles Is
that Dytiscus marginalis cuts its way
through the shells Of snails and mollusks
and cats the inhabitants.
w. B. Tegetmeier writes to the Lon
don Field and tells about the curiosity
of naturalists at finding shells manifest
ly gnawed by some insect Or other and
the final discovery Of Dytiscus margin
alis at work on the shell. Then he tells
some things about the Dytiscus family.
Says he:
II know of no more interesting ami
nal in an aquarium than Dytiscus,
who soon acquires the habit of follow
ing the fingers for food and amuses
himself at night, if the aquarium is
open, by flying round and round the
room, and occasionally misses the way,
and, being unable to return, is found
on the floor in the morning. There is
one drawback to the habits Of this crea-
ture. He is a bloodthirsty tyrant of the
aquarium, requiring the whole place to
himself, for if kept with tadpoles, frogs,
fish or any other animals, he quickly
destroys them, even if many score times
his own size"
What hawks are to the other birds,
cats are to other mammals, sharks are
to other fish. the Dytiscus is to other in
Sects.