The evening times., 1900-01-11
PESTS OF PORTO RICO.
Insects Which Hake Life on the
Island uncomfortable


To northern men, campaigning iu a Jrop-
ical country during the rainy season, are
presented many dlseOmfOrIs and disadyau-
tages: buJ all Ot these. being recognized
as unavoidable Incidents 20 the climate
have been accepted by oar soldiers iu Cuba
and Porto Rico IN remarkably cheerful
spirit
The taraHiuIa OF Porto Rico fs the most
VeDomOu- and aggressive spider ID the
world II has a brown. furry body as
I large as. and sometimes larger than So
cent piece. supported By long hairy legs
IL does not spin "a web. hgt makes it= home
iu holes Thich De- gycavates in the ground
and lines with iJ= slb. IL is the terror Of
insects wandering aoout after dark In
search Of its prey. ana pCuueiug upon and
Cev0urIug It's victims with surprising ac-
tiyity.
Almost II no, quite. as dangerous as the
rarantula Is the scorpion. whose sting IS
greatly feared. Il resembles somewhat a
tiny lobster and has curved and sharp
stiGgiuE apparatus, through which iJ emits
the venom contained IN It's poison glands.
It lives in the ground and in dark places.
often invading dwellings. When disturbed
it runs very fast. with It's tail curled over
it's back It's bite Is painful, but there IS
some doubt as 90 its ever proving fatal, eX-
cept. perhaps. 20 persons in low state OF
being bitten by q scorpion.
Then there are swiftly moving cent?
pedes OF various sizes. They travel with
d suake-like movement, and are very Ie-
pulsive IN appearance. The ones I saw
were about four inches in length. but
others twice as long exist They feed on
insects. and conceal themselves in dark
places Their bite is said TO be very pain
ful and possibly dangerous
EI-HH rains
dinner-pIate size such as the American
soldiers encountered in Cuba. are as com
mon in Porto Rico as hop tcads In the
United States Aside frcm the pluchIng
propensity possessed by all crabs they
are harmless The natives consider them
20 be good food. One morning al Ponce
I met a native fairly loaded down with a
/ string Of them. which he had caught dur
ing the night which is the time they sal
/ Iy forth in search of food. These crabs
/ live mostly on vegetables.
There are several kinds of lizards on
the island, including small and large
/ black ones. which wCuld chase up and
| down our tents. One day / saw one run
up on the back Of a horse tied on the
picket line These are innocent, there Is,
/ however a brilliant-hued variety which
/ occasionally observed. and which IS said %
I be dar s,erOus. al least. the natives warned
3 TO Keep out OF rs way tta7Nt f'L--7 N--e-'
no cure j. known for lis bite
1 The mosquitoes O. Porto Rico might fee
{ sggricved If failed 10 make some menuCl
/ of Them. Tnev are distinguished by bodies
I as big as our housefiies. During the nign,
/ they would -cOngregate in the little shelter
{ tents and amuse themselves by singing
/ and making onslaugbts on the soldiers
I drawing blood every time. Ii the morn
/ ing we would see them al the top OF ths
/ tent. gorged after the banquet In fact
( these buzzards OF the insect tribe spilled
I more American blood than did all the
/ Spaniards in Porto Rico. Al first they
/ were very annoying but after a time We
! became mosquito-immunes. and Indifferent
/ % them: or. perhaps they ignored US
/ when the climate had reduced US in
/ weight 81 the way from twenty to fifty
! pounds apiece. Mosquito netting was
/ early discarded by the men. the atmos-
/ phere being too close for its use with am
comfort
| The ants should not be forgotten in thi.
| connection The large black ones would
I infeSt our mess kits by the thousands. and
! the little red fellows would get between
! our fingers and bite with a ViciOusness Oui
/ of ali proportion to their size. Then ther-
are the wasps. which one Of the men stir
red up one day while knocking down a
/ green cocoanut and which swarmed over
] the horses and caused them TO stampede
| Apother insect well 10 avoid is the Zig
\ ger" ilea, which is fond Of burrowing in
a persons flesh anil laying its eggs under
/ the skin. neeessfta ting surgical attention
/ The soldiers we're not troubled by them
however. as they prefer 10 devote them
selves to persons who go about in bare
I feet