The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-22
PRETTY BUG CATCHER.

Nothing succeeds like success. and
success has dropped her blossoms into
the lap of Mary Yoenans, so that every
one calls her a clever woman. When
she first began TO catch butterflies, her
neighbors, who Glanced to know of il.
called her a bug catcher" and many
a tale they told at her expense to
shorten the long trails over the noun
tain.
But when they found there was
money TO be had for the butterflies and
saw her increasing her stock and buy
ing more land, the farmer folk wished
they knew which of the butterflies We're
the rare ones.
Mary Neomans knew. and. because
she knew she OWNS today ranch
worth 10000 An English girl. she had
collected butterflies for pleasure at
home, and knew how rare and how val
liable some Of the species were.
She knew that in Europe rich men
and women collected butterflies, and
would journey half around the world
10 md a missing species. She knew,
too, that they were GLAD to pay we'll for
what they wanted. Besides the pri-
waite people are museums, the acade-
mics of science and colleges all wanting
collections.
She had visited great establishments
ia London and Paris where the sole
stock in trade was thousands and thou
sands of butterflies and beetles and
insects.
With her two brothers she came to
live in the wilds of northern California
twenty years ago. three gentlepeOple
who must for the first time take
thought of what they should eat and
wherewithal they should be Gothed.
Like most English colOnists. they
came out TO farm, and how Wen they
have succeeded their Well-fenced miles
of sheep lands show. Their sheep and
their wool always have a market, be
cause they use their brains in their
farming.
They took up a great tract of land,
and when they went out to open up
woods and build fences over it. Mary
was afraid to stay at home alone, and
went with her brothers, camping some
times for days. In her new home she
had forgotten butterflies till one hot
afternoon, as she lay on the mountain
side under a great messy tanbark oak
listening to the distant strokes of an.
ak. a flock of great yellow pansy-like
wings hovered a moment over her and
then flew up the mountainside TO
patch of yellow honeysuckle.
All alert in a moment, she followed
the butterflies up the steep mountain
side. She thought she recognized them
as a species known only in the higher
Alps and very rare and valuable.
when al last ! did get one in my
hands ] was sure it was the very kind.
] was too excited to wait till morning,
which is the best time TO catch butter
flies, because they are sluggish then
in the cold, damp foliage. | caught six
before night, and the rest of the flock in
the morning. / pinned one out care
fully and sketched it in water color. l
had TO be saving of my postage. so 1
sent the sketch instead of box of but
terfiies home ID England.
Such a long wait as ii was. and
fancy my delight when / had word at
last to send all the butterflies TO Lon
don You would never guess what they
offered me for them, $25 each, and as
there We're twenty-three of them, had
the tidy little sum of S575. all my own
and the first money / ever earned in
my life.
That was my beginning, and 1 was
always on the lookout for butterflies.
With my money 1 bought ten fancy
sheep"
Miss Yeomans' cellar is not for eat
ables. but is her nursery for beetles.
What appears To be unsplit stove
wood lies in rows on the floor. Each
again, and ia each piece are different
species OF beetles. They eat the wood,
making their way out, and lay their
eggs in the wood.
Il keen watch. and when a beetle
gets TO the surface l put il back The
most valuable one2 II all depends upon
the demand. A beetle is worth Just
what l can get for IT, DR.. LIE Fountain.
who came out from France to study
The insects OF California, came to our
house by chance. He did not tell Us
who he was, merely that he was a
stranger passing through the country,
but when / CHANGED to see him before
dawn creeping with a candle in his
hand under the pine trees, L knew he
must be after insects. he was in rap
t1res over a beauty he had found, and
when : told him about my butterflies
aud showed him what / had, he forgot
all his English and rhapsodized in
French. He taught me a great deal
about beetles, and told me of n certain
one he was most eager TO find in Cali
fornia. He believed il was here though
he could not find IL. 1t had been found
only in Italy, and had almost disap-
peared. An, 1od had better not look
at IL; YOU viii be disappointed" She
poSed about in box of twigs and laid
in my hand what was to me a most or
binary little black bug with long. slen-
der legs, and then she piaeed beside IL
a little round red one. no larger than
the head of a pin.
The tiny one is the one which Dr. /
lie Fontsin Travelled miles and miles
TO find and could mott found it. The