The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 14, 1901, Page 3

THE SUNDAY CALL. of California Ny be found in ties where Vegetation is whe it exists on the bor- the southern deserts, near the on the cliffs of recesses of the ¥ open hillsides. ctive coloring e, open-air of the Sierras, in the are always objects of the naturalist and the admirers ot rn butterfi vellow from four to four and fon and differs from presentative only in minor and markings. It is com- n summer in suburb- feeding upon of fruit and he perfect insect pos- a scavenger. which makes its some of the coast stinct points, or tails, instead of the single the beau- swallow-tail spec wer wir il is a smaller but- ) in the Sierras and the wings are decorated e-colored disks and of blue and yellow. wild carrot, p erous plants, and, the chrysalis par- hue of its surround- es on fennel, “the green-clouded is one of the most the middle portion cov- while a t spots of different sizes green sc es, s often appear even in city easily recog- tly veined, dark ed with white on the with a black band, con- ~ WONDERS BENZRTR THE WAVES. rarles F. Holden. Professor « By O the layman, th the s of the deep sea, to realize how the press reader who has stigations of it 1s aif- life can exist e is €0 great that train of cars loaded ring down upon a man’ the square mpared to a ny tons to re the conditions of 1 od a depth where a never has reached, where reigns; where the rly at the freez! probabllity a s a sound has never t of ages. . finding its extreme depth e or six miles, does not appear to of- fer man ements to the investigator; most fruitful fleld, and which have been made last few years have entirely ment regarding it. e forbidding and un- s inhabitants that are well e strange conditions within borders, where eternal darkness was We have every reason ere is at times a wonder- of light-givers, who illu- homed caves of the ange its abyssmal regions of weird splendor. which is popularly sup- three-fourths of the be laid e main find a dupl The bed of arent] yet it has been 2 scoveries adapted to t the ocean bed 1 conditions. has at some time been cut by wind and weath- river beds by streams, action into mou ed by oscil- indergone all and with which we are embles it ity T will r capable he is equip- of re- me into > the blue entered ents and phere. Pacif It we and Almost s0 that when Deepe we de- sally fading, un- arter of mile the so far as the sun is w water we e passed throug the region of abundant life. g the shore are schools of porpoises, 3 hat occasionally ven- ce, and a number fishllke animals that the surface by their struc- rements. Her nd sardines: are school and pas: herd of seals: Deeper m behind, de- 500 feet in dark- light would s Many of the £ colors, and could we surface its eyes would d when it arrived change. nimals inhabit this region, ieeper we go the more remark- id finally at a mile 3 mpel our admiration. scarlet shrimps, crabs on stilt- thers that are blind; more r own lights, for long ago ars, moons and comets ng ysmal region that serve a va s in the economy of na- taining two rows of small white specks. They are remarkable for their strong, well sustained flight, and during migra- tions often unite into large swarms or ficcks, sometimes venturing out to sea many miles from shore. The caterpillars feed voraclously upon the leaves af the milkweed and are yel- ture. is life Every alive; and standing in this strange reglon, at a deptk of a mile siverywhere chere drop of water is or so we find ourselves in a rainstorm beneath the sea. All about are count- less objects dropping upon us, invisible to the eye, but so result-producing in the aggregate that the raindrops pile and heap up in such masses that with those théit die on the bottom round off the tops of marine and moun up the valleys, and the thick tains, fill gelatinous ooze through which we have walked with so much difficulty is the visible result of the rain. In brief, we are in the region of the globigerina ooze— a condition found in great depths, but not always in the greatest: It has bheen estimated that if lime-secreting organ- isms are as numerous down to a depth of 600 feet as they are near the surface there would be more than sixteen tons of calcareous shells or carbonate of lime in e uppermost 100 fathoms of every square mile of ocean The rainstorm is the falling of these countless shells to the bottom. They are ever dying; the animal is destroyed, and the little shell sinks, piling up at the bottom and forming the well-known globigerina ooze. The increasing weight grinds up the lower stratum into an im- palpable powder and slowly piles up the bottom, forming a m which, if elevated above the surface, would re- semble the chalk cliffs of Dover, which were formed at the bottom of the ocean fn much the same way. Descending into deeper depth we still find life. Many of the fishes are blind; nearly all have phosphorescent lights, and their shapes and forms are strange and uncanny. Sunlight does not reach below 1000 fathoms; beyond this no plant life exists, and the various forms of life pr. upon one another. Among the deep sea fishes especially there is constant.w fare. . Assuming that we are walking on the ocean bottom at the depth of over a mila, we move cautiously along in water icy cold. and suddenly are confronted with a blaze of light, and fipd ourselves in a field of light-givers. Imagine a cornfield with stalks from two to four feet in height, the tips gleaming with light and waving gently to and fro. Such an appearance the fields of umbellularia present. Off St. Vincent the Challenger dredged in a fiedd of light-giving gorgonias with stems about two feet long. The trawl came up choked with them from a region a mile below the low, with black markings; but the short, thick chrysalis is a bright pea green, or- namented with small spots of gold color. As, on account of its strong taste, this butterfly is not eaten by birds, its habits are closely mimicked by what is known as “the sovereign,” a similar insect, which is & favorite tidbit with the feathered tribe. surface, each one emitring a vivid, lllac- colored light. Above this forest of living lights strange and weird fishes are passing, which we recogn as forms that have been dredged s, Chal- modon, own we see it bulk :nrd from great depths by the Albatro lenger and others. One, the Chia dashes by emitting light from bedy, and wonder of wonders, seize a fish five times its own draw itself over it like a glove. Its jaws by a special arrangement separate, and the mouth is a cavern of India-rubber- like possibilities. A similar fish, mala- costeus, is of a rich black velvet hue, and as it poises we see upon its head two large lights. One emits a golden Ii the other throws out fitful green which have some hidden meaning in company of nature, Some of the fi seem to be literal mouths. Such is the Eurypharynx or pelican fi The mouth is enormous, the bones of the jaw being attached to the skull by movable joints, so that it has enormous powers of dis- tension. A curious black fish eafled Echlostoma has Its lanterns arranged about its head: two are just below the eyes, while there are several others at various portions of the head. At a depth of two miles we find the fish Bythites, and at three miles we shall find others more remarkable. A hideous snakelike creature {s Stomias, with pointed teeth and a row of lights along its ventral surface like the lights- that are seen in a dark night in the car window as the train dashes along. This fish has been taken from a mile and a quarter beneath the surface by an Eng- lish dredger. Beneath our .feet are forms equally welrd, the bottom blazing with light at every step. Hera are phosphorescent crabs, and seafans that emit golden, green and lilac hues. Blue scintillations come from seapens, while others give out gleams of gold and green. Almost every animal is a light-giver. Some of the crabs are phosphorescent over the entire sur- face; others have their lights on staiked eyes, while the very mud that rises seems to scintillate with light that would appear to be an essential feature of the deep sea. We might in this walk of the imagination descend to a depth of six miles beneath the sea and still find life. In all probability the largest and most remarkable fishes have not been seen, and escape the dredge. Many of these strange forms of the abysmal depths are types of its extinet forms, and we only imagine what wonders the deep sea hides. In the At- lantlc and Pacific gigantic squids from fifty to seventy feet in length are found, and glimpses of strange snake or cell- like sharks are suggestive of the uncaught mysteries and unseen dwellers in the deep gea. Among the curious light-givers is a ghark which was caught by Dr. Bennett, It was perfectly black, but emitted a strange phosphorescent light which re- mained some time after the animal's death. The shark was placed In a jar In the cabin of the vessel, and s described as presenting a ghostly appearance, emit- ting a rich green light almost sufficient to read by. In descending into the depths, the jelly-fishes and forms live in the open water attract our tion. Here is a jelly-fish, its disk six feet ACTOS! s train of tentacles possibly emit- ting a vivid light and stretching away in a maze of brilliant lines for, perhaps, one hundred feet. Such is the Cyanea. one of about this dimension being seen by Mrs. A z off Nahant. Such a Jelly-fish, moving through the upper depths, might well be compared to a great comet. Other forms—huge disks—are the moons and lesser planets of this submarine world of space. The variety of tints and colors emitted by the jelly-fishes is al- most bevond comprehension, and so- di- verse are the lights that the belief is forced upon the beholder that they have some marked significance in the economy of nature. One known as Lucernaris emits a pale-bluish light all over its sur- face. Obelia has a luminous stem alone. Cestus, or the Circle of Venus, nas a vel- low light. Idyla emits a roseate hue, while the light of Aurelia is of such a bril- llant yellow that when one of the animals was squeezed into a glass of milk the latter was rendered so luminous that a letter was read by it. From these Instances, and they are but a few in many, it is evident. that the stroller through the ocean, either in the moderate depths at night of the abysmal realms of day, would not wander about blindly, but would have his pathway illuminated by lights effective, and bril- liant, rendering the deepest ocean a reglon the opposite of the conditions of styglan darkness that it Is erroneously supposed to " THE TOWN DESTROVED By A QURSE. WHOLE town destroyed by Awronged man’s curse. 8uch, de- clare the people who once lived there, is the fate which has finally overtaken Kaskaskia, the old town which was the first capital of Illinols. Kaskaskia was situated on a peninsula at the junction of the Kaskaskia and Mississippl rivers, and in 1882 the Missis- sippi cut its way through the peninsula, leaving the remnant of the town on an island. The water continued to wash away the rich alluvial deposits on which Kaskaskia was bullt until, during the winter just passed, the last foot of the intermediate that “f tten-, Another familiar butterfly is ‘“the mourring cloak,” or ‘‘camberwell beau- ty,” which is found all cver North Amer- ica and in certain parts of the Old World. It may frequently be seen flitting around elms, poplars and other garden trees, and is greatly prized by entomologists, as its velvety, chocolate brown wings, tinted land where the town once stood has nn- ally disappeared. According to the people who knew the story, it had taken two hundred years for the curse to act. Jean Benard came to this country from France in 1698, bringing with him his wife and his 10-year-old daughter, Marie. The family settled in Kaskaskia, where Be- nard established a merchandising busine: The Frenchman soon became one of the most prosperqus and most influential men of the town. rie, his daughter, srew to be a beautiful woman, much courted by the mest eligible young men of the new country. A young chief of the Kaskaskia tribe of India having become converted to Christianity. after several years of study undar the tutelage of the Jesuits, built himself a house in Kaskaskia and was taken into partnership in one of the trad- ing houses there. He was prosperous, handsome and well educated and was soon received into the homes of the wihte set- tlers. One night at a ball he happened to meet Maria Benard. The girl was at once fascinated by the tall, fice looking Indian, who fell in love with Ler at first sight and made no secret of his admiration. But Benard pere soon noticed the attachment and forbade his daughter from communication with the young Indian. To make sure that there would be no more meetings Benard used his influence to prevent the chief from at- tending any of the social entertainments given In Kaskaskia. But love always finds a way, and the young couple managed to see each other despite all the precautions of the girl's father. Benard Dbecame aware of these meetings and again tcok means to prevent them. He was a man of wealth and influence, and he had the Indian forced out of the partnership in the trad- ing company. The Indian left Kaskaskia. For almost a year nothing was heard of him, and Benard thought that his daughter had forgotten her lover, for she appeared gay and careless, and she zccepted with apparent pleasurs the ' attentions of a young Frenchman. One night when a large ball at Kaskaskia was at its height with royal purple and edged with a broad band of gold and a row of small blus spots, are valuable ornaments in a cabi- net collection. ‘What is known as “the red admiral” is & medium sized, purplish-black butterfly, with white splashes of different sizes and bars of reddish orange om the forewings Marle Benard disappeared. Those who searched for Marie discov- ered that the young chief of the Kaskas- kians had been seen that evening in the town, and the conclusion was at once reached that the girl had eloped with him. Benard at once organized a party to go in pursuit of the fugitives. As there was heavy snow on the ground, thelr trail was easily discovered and followed. The Indian and Marie had crept away afoot, and as their pursuers were supplied with fast horses the young lovers were cap- tured after a day's chase, about forty miles from Kaskaskia. Their destination had been the French settlement at St. Louis, whete the Indian had provided a home for his wife, The Indian surrendered without resist- ance, and the posses started on-the jour- ney tack to Kaskaskia, taking the two captives. Most of the men who composed Benard's party wanted to kill the Indian instantly, but Benard would not allow it, for he said that they should leave him to deal with his daughter’s lover, ‘When the party reached Kaskaskia the girl was placed in a convent there. Then Benard took the Indian to the bank of the Mississippl and, binding him tightly to a log, turned him adrift in the river. As 'the heipless Indian floated away to his death, he raised his eyes to heaven and cursed Benard, who, he declared, would die a violent death. That Indign's last words were a prophecy that ‘within 200 years the waters which were then bearing him away would sweep from the earth every vestige of the town, so that only the name would Le left. The unhappy girl died In the convent. Benard was killed in 1712 in a duel. The last trace of Kaskaskia has been obliter- ated, and the superstitious declare that the Indian's curse has had something to do with the passing of the ouce flour ing town. On dark and stormy nights the ghost of the Indian is said to appear. The specter, with strong arms bound and face upturned, floats slowly by on the river where the stream sweeps by the site of the vanished city In which Marie Benard once lived and in which she died mourning the red man that she loved. and a margin of the same bright hue, dot= ted with four or five black spets, upon the lower pair. It is one of our most at~ tractive specles and is comparatively common in hop flelds or around nettles imi pastures, though it also frequents or« chards, feasting on the juices of overripey fallen fruit. In the neighborhood of shady ereeks in| the Coast Range may often be seen *“the. nymph butterfly,” floating high up among | the tree trunks, its dark-brown colors, varied with bands of white and streaks and dashes of yellow, blue and orange- red, being sharply contrasted against their follage; and, in elevated regions, in midsummer, is found “the mountain but= terfly,” which has white wings lbeut: three inches in spread, diversified withH spots of black and ruby. The most familiar California butterfiy is “the painted lady,” varieties, of which are found all over the world. It is usue ally common in gardens, hovering over hellotrope, sweet-peas, mignonetts and other fragrant plants, but it also inhabe its open flelds, often resting upon the heads of thistles. The ground color of" the wings is a sort of tawny red, elabor- ately marked and mottled with brown, black, orange or grayish-white, and their width is almost two inches. Cabbage butterfiles belong to a family which i{s widely distributed throughout the United States and are well-known pests In vegetable gardens, their green, worm-like larvas devouring the hearts of cabbages, lettuce and similar products. They are also frequently seen around flower-beds, and are small, rather pretty insects, with white wings, dotted with a few black spots and sometimes tinged with lemon. Among other varietles are the banded butterflies, the dark wings of which are crossed near their middles with bars of round, white splashes; the dainty, little sulphur-yellows, flitting over clover-blos- soms in country meadows; and the “skip- pers,” or dwarf butterflles, which are distinguished by their queerly shaped wings, broad heads, long beaks and slen- der antennae recurved at the tips, as well as by their habit of flying in jerks, near the surface of the ground. BERTHA F. HERRICK. " THREEZ MEN ARE TOWED RBY & SHARK. - r‘ MONG the “Queer Steeds™ of which ?2 § C. F. Holder tells in St. Nicholas > perhaps the queerest’'is a “nurse” shark, captured at sea and im= pounded in a tide-water aquarium in Flor« ida. With no little difficulty, says Mr. Hol- der, we caught the nurse, towed it to the aquarfum, which was an inclosed meat half a mile long, fifty feet wide and from six to eight feet deep. It required a dozen or more men to haul the fish, which was eleven feet in length, over the little tide gate, Just before it was released a rope bridle was passed over it—a loop that fitted over the head and was tightened Just behind-the fins, so that it remained in place, a perfect saddle girth. To this a rope about ten feet long was attached, and In turn made fast to a float. All this was prepared in advance, and it did not require much time to attach it, though the plunges of the shark knocked several men from their feet. Finally all was ready and the shark was rolled over into the moat, where it went dashing away, the telltale float following at the surface. For some time we had been bullding a boat which was to be the carriage of this steed. The m ns had given to us the frame of a great brick arch upon which they were working. This resembled a scow with sq ends. It was a perfect skiff, except that the planks were an inch apart; but we filled these crevices and calked it with oakum. The day before the shark was caught the boat was launched and tested, and it was found that it would hold three boys, two on a lower seat and ore on the box seat of the coach. The “shark ride” was looked forward to with the greatest interest. Finally the day arrived, and very early, while the great tropical sun was creeping up through the vermillion clouds, we made our way around the wall and to our marine carriage. Being the originator of the scheme, the privilege of the box seat was awarded io me. Literally, this seat was a box—a discarded cracker box. My two companions sat upon a board in the stern to balance the skiff. We were soon in place, and sitting on the box I care- fully paddled the little craft out from the tide gate and began the search for our steed. I paddled down one side of the great wall, keeping perfectly quiet, as every quick movement threatened us with a capsize. Presently we saw the float lylng mo- tionless on the water near the wall. The shark was undoubtedly asleep, little sus- pecting the rude awakening that was in store for him. I now handed the paddle to one of the boys behind me and took in hand our painter, the rope fastened to the boat, and it was now my business to se- cure this to the float and to arouse the shark. One of my companions paddled gently and the flat-bottomed boat slowly arifted on. Leaning forward, I picked up the float and-qyickly ran the painter through a hole tha had been left in the float for the purpose, and fastened it with a bow- line knot. When this-was done I hauled in the slack and gently pulled the rein, while one of the boys “clucked” at the shark and the other said “Gedap!” No response. Then I gave another jerk at the line and the shark woke up. I have often read of boys who awake at sunrise and bound/ out of bed with a sin- gle leap, and have always thought that such sudden awakening could be true only in books. But that was exactly how this shark woke. It fairly leaped out of a sound sleep and jerked the skiff ahead so violently that the box seat upset and I fell backward upon my companions. This upset was certainly not a dignified begin- ning, and I heard a roar of laughter from some fun-loving lookerson. The shark, now feeling the rope, dashed along at a rapid pace, making it ex- tremely difficult for us to retain our places; but my companions aided me. Carefully ralsing me, they righted the box. I secured the painter and held the single rein in triumph. It was a signal success. We had harnessed the shark and were moving at a rate that was wildly exciting. The speed was so great that the boat was pulled almost bow under, and a wave of foam preceded us.