The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-12-16
QUEER ANIMAL sUpERsrrrIoHs.

The pig plays part in many be.
liefs. Mr.. Hickson, who Travelled
much in the CeIebes and adjacent is
lands, says the London Globe, found
tribe who believed that the whole
earth is borne by pig belonging 70
the god Max wa-lang, who dwells
in the under world, and that the fre-
quent earthquakes in that region are
caused blythe pig rubbing itself against
the trees.
Some of the inhabitants, however,
assert that the world does not stand
on the pig itself, but on number Of
plies, and it is against these that the
porker rubs itself with such terrible
results. Another example of pig
superstition is found in the mythol-
ogy of the East, from which one
learns that when the earth was hid
den away by the malice of a giant the
god Vishnu took upon himself the
form of great boar. This animal
had fiery tusks. with which it rooted
the earth up from the depths Of Pata-
las, putting it once more in its prop
er place. This circumstances places
the pig high in the estimation of
large portion of the people of Asia by
associating it with his third Avatar,
in commemoration of which the god
is sometimes represented in, Hindu
temples with the head of pig.
Animals generally, however, have
not insignificant positions in the
realms of superstition. Thus, in
Holland and Belgium, to kill a
stork is considered one of the great
est misfortunes that could happen to
man, for i'll luck is certain to follow
him through life. In the Ural
Mountains the peasantry believe that
if wolf sees a man before the man
sees the wolf the man will be struck
dumb and remain so as long as the
wolf lives. The Eskimos consider
that bad fortune will follow a hunter
unless when he kills a polar bear he
cuts off the animals nose and throws
it on the ice. The Lapps, too, be-
lieve that the bear is invested with
supernatural powers, and consequent
ly never mention his name, speaking
of him as "Gods dog" or ''the old
man in the fur cloak" The screech-
ing of an owl or the killing Of one, as
we'll as the croaking of a raven, or
the growing of hen, are also some
times regarded as indications of CON-
ing calamity.
But some of the most interesting
superstitionsare connected with death.
In some country districts of England
and Germany there is an idea that if
the bees swarm upon rotten tree
there will be a death i'll the family
owning or living on the property
within year. In Greenland when
child dies the natives bury live dog
with it, to be used by the child as
guide to the other world, because,
they say, a dog can find its way any
where.
A prettier custom prevails among
the Seneca Indians when a maiden
dies. A young bird is imprisoned
until it first begins to sing, and then
they kiss it and set it at liberty over
the girls grave, believing that it will
not fold its wings nor close its eyes
until it has flown to the spirit land
and delivered its burden of affection
to the departed one. In this way it is
not uncommon for score of birds
to be set loose over the same grave.
The Mojaves say that all the dead
who are not cremated are turned into
owls. and the screeching of one of
these birds at night they imagine to
be caused by the spirit of some dead
Mojave.
And in the Mohammedan creed
animals have a place. Among the
beliefs of the followers of the Prophet
is one that eleven animals were ad-
mitted to Paradise. These were the
dog Khatim, of the Seven Sleepers of
Epvesus Balaam's ass; Solomon's
ant, the particular one which reprov-
ed the sluggard; Jonah's whale, Ish-
mael's ram, the camel of Saleb, the
cuckoo of Belkis, the OK of Moses
AL Borak, the animal which convey
ed Mohammed to heaven the ass
on which Christ rode into Jerusalem,
and the one on which the Queen Of
Sheba rode when she paid her famous
visit to Solomon. This is not, how
ever, by any means the only super
stitious belief concerning Paradise.
For instance, many Of the South Sea
Islanders believe that heaven can on
ly be inherited by persons whose
physical forms are perfect. Where
this idea prevails a man will die rath-
er than submit to amputation. 1t
would seem that John Chinaman's
pigtail owed its existence to the
belief thatit would form convenient
handle by which one day he would
be lifted into Paradise.