The Washington herald., 1912-01-28

~e-eNI VI - aAA1AAAAl8 AAlAia WHICH u COW
cred with warts and moles. It Is always
unhappy. Hunters are able to follow the
squonk by its tear-stafned trail. for the
animal weeps constantly. When cornered
and escape seems impossible. II may even
dissolve itself in tears. On frosty, moon-
light nights. IL Is often heard weeping un-
der the boughs OF dark hemlock trees.
Mr. J. p. Venting. formerly of PENN
sylvania. but now residing at St Anthony
Park, Mimi, had a disappointing expes
rience with a souonk near Mont Alto.
He made clever capture by mimicking
the squonk and inducing It to hop into
sack, in which he was, carrying is
home. when suddenly the burden lightens
ed and the weeping ceased. Venting
unslung the sack and looked in. There
was nothing but tears and bubbles.
Every lumber region Csays Mr.. Cox)
has its strange animals, almost or wholly
unknown to science. Thus in the foggy
country along the Pacific Coast, from
Grays Harbor to Humboldt Bay, there
ranges a kind of creature that has caused
much annoyance. This Is the gumberoo,
which, fortunately, Is so rare that .
specimen is seen only once IN long
while. 1t Is believed 10 remain in hiding
most Of the time inside OF huge, burned-
out cedar trees, from which It sallieS
forth on ma-auding expeditions. occas
sionally II will eat a whole horse at ons
sitting.
GumberoO Sheds Bullets.
No other animal within its range haa
ever found a successful method Of att
tacking a gumberoo. Whatever strikes
the beast bounds on A stone thrown at
II is liable to rebound from It's elastic
hide in such a way as to strike the
thrower deadly blow. Even bullets
are similarly shed. The scarcity OF gum
beroos IS thought to be due to their come
bustible character and the prevalence OF
forest fires. Fire, indeed, is the only
thing that will destroy them, and they
burn like ceIluloid, with explosive force.
Frequently during and after a forest fire
in the heavy cedars near Coos Bay, woods
men have insisted that they heard loud
reports. quite unlike the sound of falls
ing trees, and detected the smell Of bum
ing rubber in the air.
1t is a sadness to speak Of the Funeral
Mountain terrashot, which is certainly
the most unfortunate OF animals. From
II probably comes the name OF the Fun
eral range In California The creature
has a cofin-shaped body, six TO eight
feet long, with q fat shell running the
whole length OF its back. It was first
seen and reported by some Norman emil
grants, who observed a peculiar process
otOh Lnc ut6cIL AENAh . NcEh1lA
range Of mountains. afterward named the
Funeral Mountains. They witnessed ths
tragic fate OF the brutes.
TerraEhots Blow Up
One Of the Mormons. his curiosity
aroused. made an investigation, which
resulted in finding out all that is known
of the terrashot- 1t seems that the anil
NAL lives in the little meadows and
parks in the higher portions Of the
range, where It gradually increases in
until seized by a strange i'm
pulse to migrate. The beasts then
form long professions and march in
single file down into the desert valley,
with the intention OF crosse
ing to other ranges, that can be seen In
the distance. Not one OF them, however,
ever gets across. AS they encounter the
hot sands. they rapidly swell with the
heat, and one after another they blow
up with resoundinS reports. leaving
deep. graye-shaped holes in the sand
In the mountains OF Colorado. where in
summer the woods are becoming infested
with tourists. much uneasiness has been
caused by the slide-rock bolter. This
frightfuI animal Hives only in the Steep
est mountain country. where the slopes
are greater than 45 degrees. II has an
immense head. with small eyes, and an
enormous mouth. running back behind
its ears. It's tail consists of a divided
hipper. with huge grabhooks, which ie
fastens over the crest Of mountain
ridge, often remaining there motionles5
for weeks at a time and watching the
gulch for tourists.
At the right moment after sighting
tourist II will lift its tail, thus loosen
ing is hold on the mountain, and, drool-
ing thin skid grease from the corners
OF its mouth thus greatly accelerating
its speed. comes down like a toboggan,
scooping in it's victim as 1t goes, its own
impetus carrying IT up to the next slope.
where it again slaps its tail over the
ridge and waits
forest ranger, whose district Includes
the rough country between Ophir Peaks
and the Lizard Head, conceived the bold
idea OF decoying a sljde-rOck bolter to
its own destruction. dummy tourst
was rugged up, with plaid Norfolk jacket
knee breeches, and a guide book of Colo
rado. It was then filled with giant pow
der and illuminate caps, and posted IN
a conspicuous place. where, sure enough.
the next day it attracted the attention
OF a bolter which had been hanging for
days on the slope OF Lizard Head. The
resulting explosion flattcued half the
buildings in Rico, which were never re-
built
TrIpoderO Resembles Kangaroo
In the chaparral and fOo.hin forests
of California is found the Tripodero-an
animal with two telescope legs and a
tail like a kangaroo's. This peculiarly
Of structure enables the creature to ele-
vate itself at Will, SO that # may toWer
above the dense Chnparral- or, II II
chooses, to pull in its legs and assume
a compact form for crowdmg through
the brush. Its head Is nearly all snous
and IL kills its prey by discharsing from
the end thereof pellets of sun-dried clay
which are projected at the target Win
astonishing force and accuracy.
For lack of space reference can be mada
here only TO a few OF the interesting and
little-known animals described by Mr..
Cox; but. in conclusion. just a word
ought to be said about the whintosser'
This creature, seen occasionally along the
coast ranscs OF California, is Of no great
size but remarkably constructed It's
head is fastened to it's body by swivel
neck, and so likewise Is his short, taper
ing tail, and both can be spun around az
the rate OF 100 revolutions minute. me
body Is long and triangular In section,
with three complete sets OF legs This
is a great convenience in an earthquake
country. If the floor suddenly becomes
ceiling 1t does not matter. for the whin-
tosser Is always there with the legs All
OF its hair is bristly and slants forward
at sharp angle
A cats nine lives are as nothing to the
ones possessed by a whlntosser. This
beast may be shot. clubbed. or strung on
a pike pole without stopping its wrtg-
giing whirling motions. or its screams or