Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-11-05


happy skipper and jubilant crew. The
cargo was one Of feas-fleas from the
polar bear, the thick hair Of which
forms a haven for millions Of these
parasites; fieas from the musk OK, the
gray wolf, the blue fox, the husky dog,
and. best Of all, from the silver fox. 1t
was this elusive type Of flea that had
kept the ship so long in the Arctics.
The silver fox is hard to capture Day
after day the crew Of the Bluebell
tramped the wastes. setting traps,
hunting and searching, but the stealthy
silver fox refused to surrender. At
last however, patience had its reward,
and not one but many inimitable speci-
mems of the silvered variety were
brought to bottle and the port. Charles
Rothschild read cablegrams that night
and was jubilant. What were a few
thousand dollars compared to a new
make Of flea?
That he may further enhance his flea
collection, Mr.. Rothschild has repre-
sentatives in every part Of the world.
These men, who are professional in
sect catchers, get their orders to go
out and procure especial types and
then ship them to England, and they
are hard at it every day in the year.
There are other flea collectors with
whom he exchanges specimens for in
stance-C. F. Baker, now in California
on a flea hunt. California, be 1t known,
has more earnest and Industrious fleas
than any other part Of the world. Mr..
Baker Is the author of book on fieas
and the wicked part they play In
spreading leprosy.
For his African insects, Of which
there are many, Charles Rothschild
has peculiar facilities. His brother,
Walter Rothschild, is as interested In
animals in general as Charles Is in these
parasites. His museums at Thring are
the greatest show places Of the little
village, and he is constantly on the
hunt for new specimens. A few years
ago he decided to make an expedition
into Africa. The trip was one of dan
ger and many hardships. There were
camps in the desert, in the jungles and
on the sun baked veldts. There were
the dangers Of the hunt, but through 1t
all Walter Rothschild did not forget
the instructions he had carried with
him from his brother Charles:
For goodness sake, save all the
fieas!"
And so, when some strange beast fell
before the hunters bullets their first
task was to get out chloroform bottles
and brushes and begin dipping up aeas
Twenty or more would be taken from
the animal and placed in individual
bottles, labelled and packed carefully
away. From every animal killed by
the Walter Rothschild expedition were
taken fleas for the brother who was
waiting in England. There was joy in
Thring when the expedition came
home. Fifty new varieties Of fleas!
Rapture!
This eminent collector with his single
speciality is the envy Of all other ento-
mologists. He has the best Of all the
rest of u.s." New York entomologist
said regretfully the other day, "be-
cause he has all the money he wants.
There are many insects we would like
to have, but we can't get them because
they would cost so much. That doesn't
bother Mr. Rothschild. When he wants
something he gets 1t, no matter what
the cost may be.
mo, he doesn't bother much with
the other entomologists Of Europe, ex-
cept when there is something he
wants." he continued. He plays his
own game and we rarely hear Of him,
except when he has made some big
purchase or when he fits out an expe-
dition like that Arctic one. A man can
collect a lot of bugs when he has the
money to pay for them"
When the world learned that Mil
lionaire Rothschild had sent an expedi-
ton into the Arctic regions for the flea
Of the silver fox it decided he must
need other sorts of fleas, too. And the
generous world decided to help him.
Packages piled in by mail, others by
express, containing the animals upon
which the fleas lived. There were mes
sengers and letters by the hundreds
and all bore on one subject-feas. Men
were willing to collect fleas for cent
apiece, and sent along samples to show
what they could do. Others had heard
of fleas in various parts Of the world
that grew to the size of mans hand,
and wanted to go out on expeditions
after them. Adventures, soldiers OF
fortune-all begged just for the chance
to sally forth and capture the wild and
ferocious parasite.
At last the British government inter-
vened. Knowing the possibilities for
the transmission of disease through
fieas, particularly leprosy, the grandees
Of the general postofflce held hurried
meeting and then announced to the Hon
Rothschi!d that until the influx was
over it would be necessary to fumigate
all letters and packages addressed to
him.
But that time has passed, and life
has become less eventful for Charles
Rothschild. He spends his days In
quiet contemplation Of his flea cases
knowing that when the various collec-
tors who work for him find what he
needs they will send it to him, and that
he need not worry.-New York World
GrizzIy's Great Strensth.-It is re-
lated that a grizzly bear that had one
of it's forepaws so shot as to render
it useless, employed the other to