The age-herald., 1900-01-21
PESTS OF PORTO RICO
Insects Which Make Life on the Island
 Uncomfortable

1 From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
 To northern men, campaigning in a trop- ical country during the rainy season. are presented mamy discomforts and disad- vantages but all of these, being recognized unavoidable incidents to the climate, have been accepted by our soldiers in Cuba
 and Porto Rico in remarkably cheerful spirit.
 The tarantula of Porto Rico is the most
 yenomous and aggressive spider in the
 world. It has a brown, furry body as large as, and sometimes larger than a 50-
 cent piece, supported by long. hairy legs.
 It does not spin a web, but makes its home in holes, which it excavates in the ground and lines with its silk. It is the terror of insects, wandering about after dark in search of its prey, and bouncing upon and devouring its victims with surprising ac- tivity.
 Almost if not quite, as dangerous as the tarantula is the scorpion, whose Sting is
 greatly feared. Il resembles somewhat a
 tiny lobster, and has curved-SandS sharp stinging apparatus, through which it emits the venom contained in its poison glands.
 Il lives in the ground and in dark places.
 often invading dwellings. When disturbed 1t runs very fast, with its tail curved over
 its back. Its bite is painful, but there is
 some doubt as to its ever proving fatal.
 except perhaps, ito persons in a low state
 of health. I know of no instance of a SOL
 dler being bitten by scorpion
 Then there are swlftly-moving centipedes
 of various sizes. They travel with a snake-
 like movement, and are very repulsive in aDDearanca Tho ones I sour ,,-orS
 four inches in length, but others twice as
 long exist. They feed on insects, and con-
 ceal themselves in dark places. Their bite
 is sai dto be very painful and possibly dan
 gerous.
 The loathsome, dark-brown land-crabs
 dinner-plate size, such as the American sol
 diers encountered in Cuba, are as common in Porto Rico as hop toads in the United
 States. Aside from the pinching propensity
 possessed by all crabs they are harmless
 The natives consider them to be good food
 One morning at Ponce l met a native fairly
 loaded down with a string of them, which
 he had caught during the mighty which Is
 the time they sally 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 would chase up and down our tents. One day l saw one run upon. the pack of horse tied on the picket line. These are innocent; there is however a brlliant-hued variety which I occasionally observed, and which is said to be danger ous; at least, the antives warned us to keep out of it's way, asserting dlat no cure is known for it's bite. The mosquitoes of Porto Rico might feel
 aggreved if I failed to make some mention
 Of them. They are distinguished by bodies
 as big as our housefies. During the night
 they would congregate in the little shelter tents and amuse themselves by singing and making onslau2nts cn the soldiers draw Ing blood every time. In the morning we would see them at the top of the tent
 sorged after the banquet In fact these puzzards or the insect tribe spilled more
 American blood than did all the Spania rds Tn Porto Rico. At first they were very an hoylng, but after time we became mos quEto7lmmunes and indifferent to them ar perhaps they ignored us when the climata mad reduced us in weight all the way fror, twenty to fifty pounds apiece Mosouito netting was early discarded by the men the atmosphere being too close for it's use with any comfort 7N The ants should not be forEutten in tbss connection, The large black ones wouId 1r;1 fest our mess kits by the thousands ar5 | the little red fellows would get betwaa,, our nngers and bite with a vic.ousness out l of all proportion to their size. Then tbore are the wasps, which one of the men stir red up one day while knocking down q 1 green cocoanut, and which sWarmed over 1 the horses and caused them to stampede Another insect well to avoid is tsry siieeer,, 1 flea. which is fond of burrowizs in a per- l sons flesh and laying it's eggs urNer the
 skin, necessitating surgical attention The soldiers were not troubled by them. .o how
 ever, as they prefer to devote themselves to persons who go about in bare feet z