The midland journal., 1902-12-26
ARMIES ROUTED BY INSECTS.
Pesu1ts of Important Battles DeteRs
mined by Wasps, Bees and 9th
er VenomOus Creatures.

In the recent fighting in Hay wasps
were used with startling effect against
the revolutionists by the townspeoplc
of place bearing, under the circnm-
stances, the not inappropriate name Of
Marmalade, says the Chicago Tribune.
An assault had been ordered after
considerable fighting of more or less
sanguinary nature had taken place, and
the attacking troops, flushed with the
hopes of an easy victory, with unlimit-
loot to follow, had formed up at the
foot of steep hill, when several old
sugar puncheons filled with the in
sects were rolled down amongst them
from above.
The barrels were broken by the inn
pact, releasing their swarms of
angry prisoners, and these commenced
forthwith a savage and pertinacious
onslaught against which neither rifles
nor bayonets were of the slightest
avail. For a few brief moments the
unequal battle was maintained, then
the rebels broke and fled in all direc-
tions, leaving their insect enemies mas
ters of the field.
Curiously enough, another incident
of a similar nature was reported at
about the same time from ST. Meen, in
France. Here the inha bitants, in or
der to intimidate the gendarmes who
came to close their schools, put hives
of bees on their barricades, the eff
feet upon the attacking party being,
for awhile at all events, precisely the
same is in the case cited above.
The use of venomous insects as aux
lliaries in warfare is no new thing. His
tory tells us that the Roman legion
aries were routed by bees as long ago
as the time of Mithridates; and at a
much later date the forces of Moham
med IL, while operating in the Morea,
were seriously incommoded by swarms
of hornets which the peasants used to
let loose among them by night from
big, wide-mouthed linen bags.
A striking incident of the relief of
Cawnpore, again, was the rout of the
Ninth lancers by swarm of bees. A
village in the line of march was found
to be defended by hastily improvised
stockade, on top of which a number of
hives were stuck. Into one of these a
young officer jabbed his sword, with
the result that, in far less time than
1T takes to tell it, the whole advance
guard was racing for dear life to the
rear, and Sir Hope Grant hastily formed
line of battle, believing it repulsed by
the mutineers in force.
twas during the operations in Spain
which Immediately followed the battle
of Almanac that the strange spectacle
was seen Of an entire army, including
at least three regiments of British in
fantry, in headlong flight from a
tarantula infested camping ground.
The insects appeared in enormous
quantities and without any warning,
and almost before anyone was aware of
their presence a number of men were
bitten and were suffering cruelty.
The Portuguese were the first to
take alarm, flying pell-mell to the hills,
with wild cries of "Tarantela! Taran-
tela!" The phlegmatic Dutch stood
their ground bravely, and tried smok-
ing the insects to death with green
wood, but eventually they also had to
take to their heels, and they were
quickly followed by the "Tommies," :"
who one and all declared that, while
perfectly ready and able to fight and
click" all the "Frenchies" in creation,
they did not relish also having to
tackle cold Nick" in the guise of a
spider.
The gigantic tropical firefies which
swarm the forests and canebrakes of
most of the low-lying West Indian is
lands once proved the salvation of the
city of San Domingo. A body of buc-
canneers, headed by the notorious
Thomas Cavendish, had laid all their
plans for a descent upon the place, in
tending to massacre the inhabitants
and carry away all the treasure they
conveniently could and had actually
put off in their boats for that pur-
pose.
AS they approached the land, how
ever, rowing with muffled oars, they
were greatly surprised to see an in
finite number of moving lights in the
woods which fringed the bayou up
which they had to proceed, and, con-
cluding that the Spaniards knew of
their approach, they put about and re-
gained their ships without attempt
ing to land