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N|^y HOW TME CREATURES Or FOREST, j^ M^^^^^^^
ELD Am STREAM SEEK TO PROTECT ||JW^^^^_^^^
~~| LUFF," the word and
Bact, is as old as the
hills. And as long
I as there continues to
be such a thing as^ inequality of
strength both men and
beasts, the effects of bluff will
be seen in every department of
nature.
The story of the remarkable
instinct of "bluffing," which is
the property of so many spe
cies of birds, beasts and fishes^
which are familiar enough to
most of us, but of whose real
life we are strangely, ignorant,
will strike a particularly re
sponsive chord in the hearts of
those who have noticed a cor
responding tendency in the hu
man family.
Mr. J. Guy Wilson is well
known by his several works on
naturalistic subjects. His arti
cle, which follows, will be par
ticularly interesting for its
unique conception and simple
expression.
(By J. Guy Wilson.)
"Bluffing" expresses more precisely and
forcibly than anything else the idea of
disguising unconfessed weakness by a
bold and defiant attitude—the legitimate
attempt at deception in eelf-defense which
1b a part of the armament of every creat
ure.
It is nothing else than an attempt to
make your antagonist believe you bigger
or stronger than you are, or, perhaps,
than he is; and thus it becomes the nat
ural tactics of the weak against the
strong. (
Most men and ail women are bluffers,
and every animal is an adept at the art
within its own range and experience.
Take, for Instance, the caterplller of a
sphinx moth—a slow, fat, green worm,
crawling sluggishly about the bushes in
plain view of every insect hunter.
It has no armor, no spines, no poison, no
ability to defend itself whatever, but the
Instant anything approaches it rears up
and wags ita horned head and looks bo
formidable that almost nothing has the
temerity to attack it. This la indeed a
bluff.
Take the cas* of the hraggert, the hog
nosed snake. He can really harm nothing
larger than a mouse or fledgling sparrow,
and he lives mainly on ground beetles
and worms, yet he has to be on his guard
against hawks and various other serpent
eaters, in respect to all of which he is
full of cowardly fear.
But he is so slow that he cannot run;
he can wield no poison stillettos as do
the rattlesnake and copperhead, and
must rely entirely upon inspiring terror.
So he Bwells out his head and neck to
twice their size by expanding his rib 3,
opens a great triangular mouth, blows
and hisses, and makes believe that he is
the vilest sort of viper—and, as a rule,
succeeds enough to be left alone.
If you "call his bluff" he will fall limp
ftnd literally go into convulsions of fear,
THE rRETFUtr^
iPORCuPinE-^
HORNBILL
or turn over in a dead faint before you
have injured him at all.
The dreadful East Indian viper, which
the early pioneers named the Cobra de
Capello—the hooded snake—has the same
idea when he lifts his head, distended,
with mouth wide open, in the face of
some threatening foe.
He has good weapons, but few animals
fight unless compelled to do so, and even
the cobra tries to work his little bluff.
We borrow the simile from the animal
world when we say that a fellow "bris
tles up." That is the notion of a wolf or
dog when he raises his hackles and rises
on tiptoe to meet his challenger; and of
puss when* she sits, -every hair on end t
waiting* the onslaught of her hereditary
enemy, the dog.
When the fight comes on they forget all
thos<*blusterlng preparations, which were
merely terrifying tactics, like the bellow
ing and pawing of a bull, the war-paint
and rattles, or the gaudy lanterns and
scare-heads of the Chinese.
The porcupine is one of the best of the
blusterers, for he not .only turns himself
into a living chestnut burr, but rattles
his quills against one another like some
mediaeval knight jangling all his war
harness as he enters the joust to proclaim
how Impregnable he is, and at the same
time hearten himself up a little.
Tf the porcunine shivered with fright
the same rattling of the hollow quills
would result, and perhaps that is really
■What he does.
At any rate, he doesn't shoot his quills,
as the old stories allege, yet he might as
well do so, for the slightest touch will
cause their needle-like points to adhere
to any soft surface, and they are pulled
out and carried away by the enemy as
souvenirs of a fruitless encounter far
more difficult to get rid of than to ac
quire.
Few of the woodland animals are un
aware of this, and consequently nothing
but the foolishness of youth or the des
peration of extreme hunger will lead any
beast of prey to forget the warning of the
quivering quills, and leap unon their ten
der-fleshed but bristling owner.
A good many bugs and some caterpll
lers and crustaceans have an armament
somewhat similar to that of the porcu
pine, but these behave, more like the
hedge hog. simDly rolling up. so that
their points stand out in every direction
and defying the enemy to «nd an exposed
roW for an attack.
There Is one sort of fish, however, rep
resented by several species In the north
ern seas, as well as many in the tropics,
which combines a strone disposition to
bluff with every strong hand.
This Is the tribe of lobe fish, of which
the little puffer or swell noodle of the At
lantic coast Is a good example.
Let one of these fishes be alarmed in
any way and an instantaneous change
takes place in his appearance. It sucks
water In by ranid gules until it swells
Mnto a ball covered with stiff spikes In
this condition It rises to the surface and
spins and bobs about, giving queer audi-
Why Little Men Admire Tall W<fmen
ATCH a tall, commanding.
WJunorsque woman enter a
church, restaurant or the
ater. Following: close be
hind her, almost hidden by
her draperies, is a proud,
complacent husband, whose hight is five
feet six inches.
Big men are usually shy and diffident
and lacking In self-assurance. The women
who appeals* to them is usually some
sparkling, vivacious fairy-like creature
with kitenish ways and rougish glances.
The little man, on the contrary, is sel
dom burdened with humility. He is a
being of great aspirations and stupendous
ambitions; he believes in himself, which
is the reason why he generally can get
the woman of his choice to smile upon
him. The dainty, wee, Titania-like woman
DSanoUCASTS thatRLUF
HOW THE CREATURES Or FOREST,
LD AND STREAM SEEK TO PROTECT
EM SELVES FROM ATTACK BY
NATURALIST
j'.G'W'WibS'on
ble grunts and presenting an extraordi
nary, appearance indeed,
ful fish wonder at the error of his Inten
tion to attack the spinning ball. As a
matter of fact, the spines of the globe fish
are neither hard nor venemous, and
would do no harm, but the little fellow
succeeds in life as well as if he wore a
real armor, for he makes his foes think *
him a real terror.
The owl and various other birds throw
their wings out or forward and use them
well in a struggle, but one. the magnifi
cent argus pheasant, spreads them all in
front of him, which not only magnifies his
warlike appearance, but serves as a shield
in the combat that may not always be
avoided.
Of great service is this shield ,in the
frequent contests that happen between
tropical Jungle fowls -and serpents, for
the snake has so little to strike at that
it Is really vulnerable.
Tactics 6* this kind are said to be a
part of the secret of the extraordinary
success the 'ground hornbill of South Af
rica has in killing the dreadful- puffing
adder and other, deadly snakes of that
region which it likes to eat.
On discovering a snake three or^ four
of the birds advance sideways toward it
with wings stretched out Rnd with their
auflta flan at and Irritate the snake till 't -
strikes their wing feathers, when they
immediatplv close all around and violently :
peck It with their long, sharp bills, I
quir.klv withdrawing again when - the \
snake lets go. — ...
This they repeat trn^l the snake Is dead.
If the rentile advances, the bird places '
both wines In front of it, completely cov
ering its head and most vulnerable parts,
Jwt as does the argus pheasant.
All the lizards having little ability for
real harm in them, are great braeerarts
and seem to know well how to profit by
th«ir spiny-crested, diabolically ugly ..
features. ,
There Is one sort, however, which has
special meana for "putting up a bluff" in
Its vast Elizabethan collar or "frill." This
consists of a great outgrowth of flesh
from behind the ears all the wav round
under the throat. It is as thouarh the •
head of the animal were wished through j
an umbrella, which lies folded back upon *g
its fore shoulders in ordinary moment!?, i
. This lizard Is an inhabitant of Australia
nnd sometimes reaches three feet In ."{
lenrrth. Tt s*>pks its food both in trees and
on the ground, where it runs swiftly, and
Is often seen about rural >gardens.
"When not disturbed it moves auietly
about, but it Is hlehly Irascible and the
Instant It is provoked open«s its frills and
makes for n tree, where. if overtaken. It
throws Itself on its st^rn, raises its fore
body as hisrh as possible and sinks its '
head between Its shoulders in % the center
of an inverted umbrella studded with
spines and prickles. _
It would certainly be difficult to Invent
a picture of armament, rage and disgust
ing dualities all together, to exceed this
bit of acting, and It Is sufficient, roanv fk
time, to warn off the attacker who had
not thought a peaceful-looking lizard ,
would make a lightning change into some
thing satanic.
As a matter *of fact, animals are prob
ably able to bluff more effectively than
men because th^v are in such-deadly earn
est about it and do it so often.
possesses no charms for him. "A nice
little thing," he says of such a one. "Fall
In love with her? Oh. no. she always
makes me want to take her by the hand,
run her along and give her sweets. Sho
Isn't grown up enough to Inspire th»
tender passion."
The five-foot-six or seven man likes a
woman to be one or two inches his supe
rior, and thoroughly mature. He dreads
any trace of the bread and butter school
girl. His ideal resembles the strong,
heroic women Shakspeare has pictured,
full blooded and vital, full of character
and spirit, with a fair spice of temper.
ERCE ASSUMPTIO
ENGTtt AND
HICH
Trig ARG-US PHEASANT
Most Costly Watch Lies in
a Pawnshop.
.... 1 N the array of personal im-
Ipedimenta which in a con
-5» stant stream finds its way
from the pockets of the gild
ed youth to the glass case of
the small but popular shops
that disport the arms of Lombardy, was
discovered this week the most valuable
* watch in America.
Unclaimed for. mere than two years, the
delicate piece of mechanism. Inclosed in .
a case ablaze with brilliants, is now "do
ing time" in a Sixth-aye. pawnshop, but
* not in the way its makers intended. Cost
ing originally mor«j than'sll,ooo, it prob
ably could not now be duplicated for half
as much again, yet Its "' owner, whose
name, were it mentioned less than a de
cade ago, wguld have been recognized as
that of one of the successful inventors of
the day, has never been able or has not
| seen fit to redeem the wonderful time
piece with which about two years ago he
I was obliged to part for a song.
: The timepiece was constructed at the
' Kew observatory, London, and the move
* ment alone is valued at $4,200. Jewelers
.who have seen it pronounce it perfectly
: adjusted. It has a double hairspring,
split second hands, chronograph, a min
ute repeater and is jeweled throughout.
It is the case, however, which makes
the watch the most ornate that has ever
been manufactured. This is of 18-karat
fineness, and [ the gold alone weighs 100
pennyweight. ; Circling each *; side are
twenty-eight 1-carat diamonds, making
fifty-six in all. -v The stones are perfectly
matched, a fact which adds considerable
to their value. On the back is a mono
gram, in which ninety-eight-small bril
liants are used. . ; ',■
If intimate association with the comedy
and " tragedy of everyday life was the
' sole gauge of history the pawnshops of
1 New York could probably contribute more
objects of interest than the British mu
seum. :■:''--
, For everything that comes to "mine
uncle's" has : a history. That's why
they're there.
In some cases the story is only a block
long dating from the nearest dramshop
3 or gaming table. That of the $11,000
watch, however, that was built at Kew,
to wind up, or rather to run down, In a
New York pawnbroker's, covers consid
erably more ground, and was told by one
who recognized it amid strange surround
lnss.
In. the latter '80s there came to New
York from the West a man with ideas.
Just at that time they concerned an air
ship. The airship, which was built here
. under his supervision, by falling to go up
showed clearly where his Ideas were. So
he wisely decided to bring them down to
the ground, and, taking a hint from the
then prevailing craze, set himself to work
on plans for a motor cycle.
When he was satisfied that his inven
tion was. perfected he sought a larger
field, went to London and put his ma
chine on the market. Its success was
phenomenal, and within three years the
inventor had made more than a quarter
of a million dollars. - .
For no apparent reason, except the very
English one that one would least expect
to find them there, cycles and motor cy
cles In Great Britain are largely handled
by the Jewelers of the United Kingdom.
The jewelers, therefore, shared the In
ventor's good fortune, and as a token
of their gratitude gave to him this
watch.
It is expected that when the ideas are
In good working order again the watch
will be restored to its former glory.
Verbal Messages May "Be
Tut in Storage.
I V combing: the telegraph, tele-
B phone and phonograph Peeler
Oluf of Copenhagen has just
completed an instrument
that records at a distance
messag-ea delivered by word
of mouth. The record is made on a steel
strip in a way that may be described as
follows:
A strip of steel is kept moving rapidly
between the poles of an electro magnet.
When the person speautng at the other
end of the wire directs his voice into this
instrument a permanent record of the
sounds made is imprinted on the steel
etrip in the shape of a continuous series
of transverse lines that vary in strength
In accordance with the spoKen words.
When it is desired to make the strip
giva up its message a telephone receiver
is attached to the electro-magnet, and the
marked band of metal is again started on
its course. The message delivered by the
person at the other end of the telephone
and recorded on the strip is then repeated
exactly as delivered to the electro-mag
net.
The invention has been patented, but it
does not yet appear to what commercial
use it can be put. By it messages may
be received automatically and stored up
until the time comes for their transmis
sion. Thie might prove useful where the
person for whom the message is intended
cannot be found immediately. A speech
could be made by telephone and stored for
use at any time. By this means an orator
could be heard in half a dozen different
cities the same night. All he would have
to do would be to telephone his oration to
the town in which ho was announced to
speak and the message, on its steel strips,
could be transmitted to the audience by
way of the graphophone.
THE FRILLED LIZARD
3T Feh Types of Girl
'Bachelors.
1 JUSTICE of the supr«me
A court has passed upon the
question of how much it
costs a society girl to live.
He puts the annual amount
*———■' at $9,000. For this sum it
Is computed that she can have a home
in town, can spend $1,500 a year on gowns,
can keep two horses and carriages, can
entertain, and can have a box at th«
opera.
Nine thousand a year might seem lika
an extravagant allowance for one un
married girl, but it must be remembered
that it provides for the maintenance of
several persons besides the girl. An
eighteen-year-old girl will naturally
entertain liberally if she has a town
house, and as modern entertainment is
expensive it will be seen that the esti
mate is, after all, not expensive.
This is one type of girl bachelor peculiar
to the times. She represents the most
sought after of young women; the heiress
who has come into a fortune which is
hers to do with as she pleases.
This species of girl bachelor holds ott
from matrimony as she does from so
ciety. She is clever enough to recognize
the fact that her money, will be her most
dangerous charm. She will grow wary of
attentions from suitors without money,
by one of whom, however, she is very
frequently carried by storm.
Sometimes he triumphs, especially if he
Is a proficient outdoor man—good at golf,
at skating, or at driving. If he commands
any special talent he will appeal to an
other older type of girl. The propinquity
afforded by the driving lesson, the com
panionship of the riding teacher through
shady lanes and level roads often leads
to tha capitulation of the rich girl
'bachelor.
Coming next In importance from a pe
cuniary standpoint is the girl bachelor of
means and independence of her own
earning. She may be briefly classed as
the successful professional woman who
has prospered so that she need not cur
tail her living expenses.
The younger and more popular of the
women of the stage are first on the list.
Many of them are very rich and have
their town and country houses
The successful actress, also, often pre
fers country life during the weeks when
she !s not playing, and has her home in
some inaccessible mountain place. Her
expenses always remain high, for very
few of the art-gifted have the talent for
counting their cents. Her annual account
will come very close to that of the so
ciety girl bachelor.
The society girl bachelor In trad* who
has established herself in a fashionable
thoroughfare, where big prices may be
charged, lives, as a rule, in very pood
style. Frequently her venture into trade
has been made with an idea of adding to
an Income of which she is already pos
sessed, but which is insufficient to meet
the expenses of her manner of living.
While she is rarely very prosperous, her
domestic instincts will aspert themseK'es
early in her experience. She will desert
her boarding house for a home. She gath
ers around her second-hand mahoganies
with brass handles, rugs, divans, cush
ions and Japanese iimbrellas that have
become the distinctive furnishings for
the girl bachelor's flat.
