The sun., 1898-06-05
CURIOUS ANIMALS
Some of the Living Things Our Sol
diers Will See Including Spiders,
Snakes and Firefics.

The Spaniard is not the only foe the
soldier will encounter on his Cuban
marches. Cuban sandtiies and mosqui-
toes are much like our own, but we have
nothing to match the huge spider whose
bite causes fever, nor the belIigerent ant
known as vivaiagua.
4 scorpion, though not 80 dangerous
as the European variety, proves itself
unpleasant enough to the careless
traveller, and the chigoe, cor ''jigger"
deals swift retribution 10 an offender, Its
method OF attack is inconyenient, for it
burrows under the toe nail, and unless
removed at once builds its nest there. In
that case inflammation occurs and the
only relief is the painful operation Of
having the little animal cut ont.
Snakes are not numerous, but they in
clude some of the freaks ui the animal
kingdom. The huge maja, longer than
| two six feet u.en SET end to end, with a
body twenty inches III circumference,
| looks fierce enough and fnlmdale enough
to put whole regiment to flight. 1t is
all bluff, for the big reptile is harmless.
Among the birds, the soldier may
exercise his taste for pets. Those pecu-
liar to the island have beautiful plumaee,
/ rich in coloring. There are nearly POO
kinds to be fouEd there, and among
them all the vulturc and the turkey buz-
zard are almost the only birds OF prey.
They are 50 useful as scavcngers to carry
away waste material that they are pro.
tected from death by law.
Geese, turkeys, rcacocks and pigeons
,r. H., p,,lt fa,,i lar dam CT i. f,y L., ~ Il
pigs sleep, goats, mules and horses, the
animals used.
Tie Cuban horses are almost & race by
themselves. They are very gentle, they
never kick nor bite nor play any un-
seem y tricks on their riders. In some
parts Of the island horses receive as
much consideration as Il member of til,
family. They are not tied or confined
but they wander about the door yard
put their heads into the kitchen WIN
doWs to exchange the time of day, and
even on occasion have the privilege OF
entering the house. The sight o
humans and equincs on terms OF such
easy familiarity makes one wonder if the
days OF Gulliver and his horse country
have come again.
the mud so sticky that it holds any for
eign substance like glue. For this rea
son farmers braid their horses tails
turn them up over their backs and tic
them to the saddle. No northern pony
would stand this indigntv, but the
Cuban pack animals seem quite willing
to endure it. In mountainous regions
mules are used to carry coffee and sugar
down the mountain paths, andto save
drivers mules IN long procession are tied
together, ones head to another's tail
and with only one man at the head Of
the column to guide the leader, they
carry down their burdens safely. The
hind legs Of Cuban mules must be worked
on different principle from that in
vogue among United States mules.
Here no insurance agency would insure
a man whose business was tying mules
to one anothers tails.
The only wild animal peculiar to Cuba
is the jutia or hutia. 1t is rat-shaped,
black, and small. 1t lives in the holIows
OF trees, like our squirrel, and eats leaves
and fruit. Its flesh is nsipid but it is
often eaten. Curious notifications of
felines and CANNES inhabit the woods.
The animals have sprung from dogs and
cats III the domestic state and differ from
them only in their size and habits.
Some OF the intelligence of civilization
seems to remain with them, and they
cause the farmer much anxiety by their
carefully planned attacks upon his poul-
try and cattle.
The matter of lights is q small item of
expense to the poor man in Cuba, for in
the phosphorescent fly nature provides