Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-23
ORIENTAL SIDE LIGHTS.
Quaint and Interesting Stories of the
Malays.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
A species of wasp frequentlng the bar
racks used by the American soldiers In
the Philippines has caused several acci-
dents So hard set Is this insect to pre-
serve its larvae. of which certain birds and
Insects are inordina tely fond, that it seeks
all manner of strange places to hide the
dead grubs or insects in which 1t deposits
its eggs 1t has frequently been known to
fill the muzzle of Krag rife with clay. In
which 1t incIosed the dead grub. The ball
OF clay hardening, invariably causes an
explosion il the gun be fired before the OBJ
structlon is withdrawn.
The natives of the settlements along the
Malay straits keep as pets the tiny fish
Toxotes jaculator, which feeds on files and
other insects obtained by firing drops of
water from its elongated mouth, generally
hitting its prey.
A curious Malayan legend says that in
olden times the waters surrounding Singa-
pore were so infested with swordfish as to
make 1t impossible for the fishermen to
pursue their daily task. A boy advised
the rajah to let down into the water
freshly peeled stems of the banana plant,
and this being DONE the fish fmbedded
their swords in the stems and were easily
killed. The boy genius was, considered
danger to the throne and he was executed
lest he grow UP and become a conspirator
The sap of creeping plant (DalbergiD
is used by the Malays to stupefy fish, A
few bucketfuls thrown into the water will
bring to the surface every fish within a
radius of 100 yards The use of this poi
son does not appear to injure the food
value of the fish.
The turkey is regarded by the Malay
Mahommetans as an unclean bird owing
to the tuft on the breast of the fowl
which they say resembles the bristles Of
a hog.
The Malay tribes possess but little in the
way of literature. the greatest part. like
0f
known under the Sanscrit name of ''cheri-
tra." or the Arabic one of "hikayat."
Their subjects are taken from the Eindoo
epics. from the local legends of Java. from
the AIahommetan tales from Arabia and
from the stories of Malay princes. hardly
less fabulous. Such. compositions differ
from those of the Japanese. in that the
greater number OF them are in prose The
MaIays are possessed of no ancient manu-
scripts or inscriptions on stone or brass
Their whole literature, all In the Arabic
character. Is certainly not of greater an
tiquity than their conversion to the Ma
hommetan religion. the earliest recorded
specimen of 1t being vocabulary of the
Italian. Pigafetta, collected In the Moluccas
In 1921
dents of oriental countries frequently mix
with the food of the person OF whom they
would be rid the tiny black specks found
under the <sheath leaves at the Joints of
bamboo. These specks seen under a mi
croscope are yeritable barbed arrows, and
once taken internally resist the action OF
the gastric juices and set up an intestinal
Inflammation that invariably causes death.
Malay houses are invariably built on
posts. so as to raise the floor from four TO
six feet above the ground The floor is
composed OF bamboo. with interstices be-
tween stats. the earth beneath being the re-
ceptacle OF the drainage of the establish
ment. The universal plan of the weii-to-
do natives is TO build the house In two
divisions. the front one for receiving visi-
tors and lounging generally, while the
rear portion Is reserved for the women
and children.
The name junk. usually applied to large