The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-19
SIGH A PLAGUE OF U G
VISITATION THAT alarms AND
4NSOrS NEW ORLEANS.
-, 40 thick ne to Drive People OF the
etrrsts at NiEht-vnried discomfort Caused
-supersutious Pears-Thc Plague n Result
n, the siauuhter or the pirdsAFevsr Bura.

R-@. e0 Thick nn 70 DrtVo Feonto Oh ynO
s,reets at N~ight-vnried Discomfort Caused
-s-uper,tulous Fears-Tho Plague n Result
or the siaughter or the B~irds-Fevsr BuEa.
NEw ORLEANS, Sept. 14.-Tho bugsi Tho
Arss, The bugs! is now the universal cry in
New Orleans. 1t seems strange that a city fac.
Inc tho threat OF a yellow fever epidemic should
!. worried by so small a matter as buRs but
10 the great majority Of the people the latter arc
tsr more troublesome than the disease, and tho
.rpoyance is more Immediate. They can read
,hout the fever in tho papers, but the bugs they
can see
They came SO suddenly and mysteriously that
,hsv have caused no little scare among superstI.
tious and ignorant people, as though they are the
locu,ts which swept down upon the people OF
Egypt as one OF the seven plaques. New Or.
leans Is strong entonolosically. 1t Is famous
for It's bugs. Its mosquitoes of various kinds
are among the largest and most voracious In the
Union, and its electric light bug 1.-THE giant
water beetle is the iercest and ugliest OF in
,.cts, and actually has feathers on it's legs.
me new visitant is a stranger, and its coming In
inch quantities and at such a time has disturbed
the nerves Of the superstitious. The very name
siyen 1t by the negroes. the yellow fever bug,
caused o thrill OF anxiety. The bugs are SO
called because they arrived the day the first case
O, yellow lever. that Of young Gelpe, was an.
pounced and have remained here ever since.
They will DO n new feature of the legendary
lore OF the fever. Of which We had 90 much In
the past. Thus when the winds In the summer
Of old drove the pollen from the trees and scat.
tsrcd 1t over the city, creole householder
invoke the ueht morning to ind. in horror. a yel.
bu or saffron dirt On their front steps, and shook
their heads gravely with the prediction that it
meant fever.
t. a.. .1,,AaN ;r,n1lofhIn 81 A.
smount Of annoyance caused By the bugs. Tho
frt night the, drove people from the street
ears and even from the streets. Along Canal
street. the principal shopping ~thoroughfare of
the city, they were an inch or moro deep on tho
pavement and three and four inches deep In
drifts against the walls. 1t was impossible to
walk on the street with comfort for not only
did you slide and alp upon the greasy insectA,
bat furthermore they pelted you In tho face,
hating Is hard as hail, and they chung to your
clothing and hair, and could with difficulty be
dislodsed. The bugs were hard, black beetles.
almost half an inch long. Such was their force
bat they fell never to rise again whenever they
struck anything, but they crawled along the
pavement and over one another in 4 seethinS,
fspulsiye mas.
The discomfort made itsolf felt in q hundred
vAIs The bugs few into the brightly lighted
the floor and seats an inch deep-that women
screamed and sought refuge on the back plat
lrms. Tho motormen had q hard time Of il,
pelted in the face by the bugs, SO that they could
with difficulty hold on I" their grip and see
Thousands of the insects were crushed under
the wheels Of the cars. and as they exude an
Ssy May'e en s sae c tfsSks Became :; t5s siPPPPs s yb psTs
slipped around and the cars slid and 1t was i'm
possible 10 stop them at the corners. On the
streets the bugs were piled SO high that it was
nt only unpleasant. but inconvenient to walk
there, and men as well as women sought the
centre OF the street, where the bugs were not
nund to the great nuisance of bicyclists as the
paSements were TOO slippery for their wheels.
Hour after hour the nuisance con tinueG until
Eramids OF bugs were piled up under each cleo
hic light, and yet fresh armies seemed to come.
attracting the bugs. were extinguished in front
Of many OF the stores and restaus ants, the peo-
pie pseterring darkness TO bugs.
When New Orleans awoks the next morn
mg II WAS to lind still another nuisance created
% the bugs Il had congratulated itself that
tine. as they seem to be altogether night ma
fauters, and 80 it was. but the pavement was
suewn with the corpses OF the dead insects.
each corner. and the Commissioner OF Public
Works removed the next lay some 10000 bush.
100000 bugs TO the busheL. Nearly all the in
sects had been crushed or trampled to death BY
pressed out Of them has soaked deep into the
~pavements ever where, not only making them
oSsSPeG ~ sus ais0 giving them ,.PInI a mot offensive 4t
oeor now permeates New Orleans from end to
end. The bugs have been carted away by the
city authorities, although this has been done
only at considerable expense and ineonven.
isnce, for frs.A sTarms arrive every night
Up and 3 sanqea' eT eIer shG mo aafe % but q The sS os1s
nsied In bug oil, and SO Tar has resisted scrub
hing as thoroughly as the blood on Bluebeards
ley. The chemists have finally been appealed
70 TO ind some means Of extracting the oil and
gstting nd OF the odor, which clings to the pave
ment.
The new invader is the Chalepus trachypy-
Eac Very little IL known of the species as yet,
bat ltB coming this year Is attributed to two
causes, one natural. the other due TO man. The
bug is e beetle which lays its eggs In the grass.
II q few days these eGSs hatch into small grubs
that feed upon the roots of various plants. The
Rruos remain in the ground feeding and increas-
hSs in size until the following summer, when
come forth as beetles.
Along the Gulf coast, particula rly to the
Eretches of sea marsh, in which billions Of these
ouss are Matched and bred Usually they re
T Stn5. there here; but this year a suceession Of east
Belled TO change quarters. Formerly on the
Saich fed and tattened on these bugs, but OF
hie, owing TO the mad demand for feathers.
Ave ave- b s,sa'' ki fIsn o e t the ,s EslI sun ana sea and Sir q:
sonseqqencs is that the insect posts have in
creased In numbers. Blown by the easteriy and
New Orleans. where the electric lights attract
Sem' The mystery. Of the bugs. II considered
uon q scientific point OF view. In no mystery
= al, but merely the result of mans improvt-
Pence In destroying the birds. The destruction
~ been going on In Louisiana, particularly on
ne dulf coast, for some years with an energy
MaI promises III for the city. There are a
tanner OF professional hunters who kill the
birds merely for millinery purposes, and the
amount OF money to be made In this way-with
zoe present fashion-is 40 large as 10 prove a
Eeet temptation to the hunters. There In moro
y oe made By shooting birds for the bonnets
in,s sh9otirs the ducks, snipe. and other birds
tntehded for the table. Nature has Tevenged
aself on New Orleans with q plague OF bugs.