Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1904-02-04
Saint Maru's Beacon


8SCUUQ cO8 Va A<DE0 AbOtBHG0sANs 0uS
recently dispatched an expedition 20
the Polar regions 20 collect speci-
mems Of the many rare fleas that
abound there.
The principal object of both crew
and captain is to secure flea ofthe
Artic fox, for which Mr.. Rothschild
has promised a reward Of $1,000.
This particular species of the pulex
irritans is to flea fanciers what the
egg Of the extinct great aux Is 70 or
nithologists. Two specimens only
are known to have been brought to
Europe, and neither are perfect.
The reason of this Is not far to
seek. Not only Is the Attic fox it
self one of the rarest of animals. but
his fieas leave him as soon as be Is
dead. So it is to be surmised that
the hardy explorers, If they are to
succeed in their curious quest, will
have to be both lucky andalert.
Their ship, the whaler Foreet-Me-
Not, was last reported of Newfound-
land, where one OF the scientists on
board was interviewed by the aid OF
wireless telegraphy. He mentioned
that they expected to collect, in ad-
dition TO the insect mentioned above,
specimens of the flea of the Polar
bear, the reindeer, the Eskimo dog,
the Artic hare, any many other scarce
animals.
In. order to secure three speci-
cimens of an extremely small fresh
water crab inhabiting the vast
swamps south of Lake Bangweolo,
Carl Hertz spent two years in the
interior Of Central Africa.
He had with him two white assis-
tants and eighty black porters.
Both the former died, and of the
latter, only twenty-five got back to
the coast. So that these three tiny
crustaceans, each no bigger than a
two-shilling piece, and weighing
less than a couple of ounces, cost
the lives of no fewer than sixty hu-
man beings.
Nevertheless, il has been held by
scientists that the sacrifice was not
made in vain. For the finding of
this particular variety of crab, a
distinctly marine type Of organism
originally, went far toward proving
the truth of the theory all along held
by biologists, namely, that the great
African lakes We're not formed in
comparatively recent times by SUBJ
sisdence. but date back to an |, q
nitely more remote period, when I
salt waters of the ocean covered 4,
whole central Congo basin.
Ten or twelve years back a GER
tain large and exceedingly rare New
Guinea butterfly was being greatly
sought after by collectors. But the
demand very much exceeded the
supply.
Indeed, so far, at all events, as the
cabinets Of European entomologists
were concerned, no more than half
q score or so of perfect specimens
were known to exist; and even aft.
er the natives, urged thereto by the
dealersat Port Moresby, had brought
down to the coast a few dozen addi-
tional ones; really good insect cas-
lily fetched fifty or sixty guineas in
London or Paris.
IL was under these circumstances
that an adventurous and enterpris-
ing German, named Jacobsea, con-
ceived the idea of setting forth alone
to the chosen home of the butterfly.
situated in the dense and trackless
forests of the interior, near the head
waters of the Fly River.
He was warned that he was going
to his death. But he was in no wise
deferred. Butterflies at fifty gum
cas- apiece were, he opined, worth
even life for. So he set out.
one fine May morning, with o but
terhy net in one hand, and q reyol-
er in the other, and knapsack
filed with provisions and quinine
siung over his shoulder.
Eighteen months passed by, and
the intrepid collector had been given
up for lost, when early one morning,
an ma ciat e d, fever weakened
wreck of humanity struggled into
tinschafen, a small coast town in
the extreme east of Kaiser VIII
helms Land.
1t was Jacobsen. His revolver
was gone-bartered for food. So
had his compass, his XIII, and what
little money he had taken with him.
But tightly clasped in one skeleton
like hand he held an old cigar box,
aud within it were more than a hun
dred of the coveted insects. They
Melted him eventually over $500.
Even more remarkable. perhaps,
was an expedition into the interior
Of Brazil, which was undertaken
some few years back by half-caste
orchid hunter, named Manuel Gar
cir In search ofone particular bios