Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-07-15
I apir Nuisance in
Zooon Board Ship
Takes Fancy to Carpenter
Who Dislikes Species.

New York.-An unusually large and
valuable collection of rare birds and
beasts from the Upper Amazon ar
rived in New York from Para and
Pernambuco.
The collection arrived in charge of
Philip Schuman, who had spent five
months, and had employed six hun
dred Indians in bring ing it together
The gems of The collection are
Moracaja jaguar. a beast about the
size of a fox-teI rier, with a curious
mark on its forehead resembling a
Chinese laundry ticket; three alinkers,
large birds the size of pheasants, with
unicorn-like spike on their heads
and sheathed spikes on their shoulders
for offensive purposes; rare and
very valuable yellow parrot, a white
marmoset four inches long, and a.
three-year-old tapir, the size of a
shetland pony, very affectionate.
The collection also includes "A
monkeys, 10 macaws, % marcos ducks,
8 maracas, 6 garsas, 8 kutios, antas,
70 parrots, 3 jacamees, mutuns, ;
alligators, s snakes, including a fifteen
foot boa-constrictOr; 3 owls, 81 land
turtles, l gwara, l three-toed web
footed giant Brazilian waterhog,
which resembles a highly magnifed
guinea pig, and anteaters.
The entire collection was housed on
the forward hatch and covered by a
canvas tarpaulin. This unusual dis
position of such perishable cargo
was explained by Capt. Walter benson
as due to the light cargo and the at
utude of the crew.
A Royal Feast of Nuts.
Except for a little rubber and the
animals the only cargo aboard was 500
tons of Brazil nuts. If we had struck
any sort of sea the cargo would have
shifted the animals would have
broken loose and, let alone the job of
recapturing them, would have Toasted
royalty on Brazil nuts from Para to
Sandy Hook.
I'VE tried to have the animals
housed in the forecastle, but the crew
objected.
so the only alternative was to put
them on the forward hatch, which we
did. There was room for all but the
tapir. AT first the chief officer tried
to have the beast slowed separately in
the carpenters shop. But the latter
came to me and requested to be put
in irons.
1t amt Christian was all he
would say. Aft Moore was his name.
and he said he had lost a cousin in
Australia from the kick of a tapir.
It's orl right for i'm to sye that the
beasts GENTLE Moore declared, but all
/ knows is that you'll ave to put me
In the brig for mutiny afore l ships
with that bloodthirsty reptile
THE worst of it was that the tapir
seemed to have taken a fancy to Alf.
We made him fix the cage on top of
the others, surrounded by the ant
eaters and the waterhog to steady it.
But every time the ship rolled the
cage swayed, and no amount of stay
Ing could make it fast. All the time
ALT was working, the tapir kept wrig-
Cling his nose at him and uttering low
whistles of affection. But Aft took no
notice.
'All went well until two nights out
from New York we struck a nasty little
sea crossing the Gulf stream. Aft
falt hungry along toward midnight and
stole aft to the galley to brew mug
of hot tea on the sly. AS he passed
the tapir the beast gave a mournful
cry of recognition, but Alf hurried on.
Frightened by the Tapir.
"a bit later the chief engineer, Mr..