The picturesque boat shown in the annexed photograph (which is
reproduced from "Country Life") is used in the estuary of Aveiro,
Portugal, for the purpose of fishing up seaweed. As the boat moves
slowly along a sort of long-handled rake is dragged along the bottom
of the sea, the weed thus obtained being afterwards dried and used for
manure, for which purpose it is greatly valued.
[Illustration]
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| Odds and Ends. |
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The Man-Faced Crab--A Lady Big-Game Hunter--Cock-Fighting in Porto
Rico, etc.
In some parts of the desert region of the South-Western United States,
where there are no springs or streams of drinkable water, Nature has
stored the precious fluid in barrel-like cactus plants, of which a
good specimen is shown in the accompanying photograph. They are known
botanically as _Echinocactus_, but English-speaking dwellers in the
desert call them "barrel cactuses." Mature plants stand from two to
four feet in height, with a diameter of one to one and a half feet,
and weigh from fifty to a hundred pounds. When the top of one of these
cylindrical plants is sliced off, the interior is found to be a mass of
watery, melon-like pulp, which, when scooped out and squeezed, yields
several pints of a fluid that makes a fairly palatable substitute for
drinking water. The serviceableness of the _Echinocactus_ as a source
of potable water has long been known to the Indians, and the knowledge
of its properties has saved the life of many a wayfarer who would
otherwise have succumbed to that most awful of all fates--a lingering
death from thirst.
[Illustration: A "BARREL CACTUS"--THE WATER FOUND INSIDE THESE DESERT
PLANTS HAS SAVED MANY A TRAVELLER FROM THE TORTURES OF A LINGERING
DEATH FROM THIRST.
_From a Photograph._]
The striking picture next reproduced was taken on an ostrich farm
in Cape Colony, and shows the stately-looking birds indulging in
their "morning dip." Ostrich-farming is a profitable and interesting
industry, and every year the demand for the magnificent plumes seems to
increase.
[Illustration: AN OSTRICH FARM IN CAPE COLONY--THE BIRDS ARE TAKING
THEIR "MORNING DIP."
_From a Photograph._]
The curious crab shown on the following page is to be found at only
one place in the world--the Straits of Shimonoseki, in Japan. Needless
to say, the Japanese have a legend to account for the extraordinary
face on the creature's back. In the year 1181 or thereabouts, the
story runs, two great tribes--the Tairi and the Minamoto--fought out
a long-standing feud at a place called Dan-no-ura. The Tairis, driven
down to the beach by their opponents, took refuge in boats, but the
victorious Minamotos followed, the battle being continued out in the
straits until the Tairi were exterminated. It is said that the dead
warriors, when their bodies reached the bottom, were turned into crabs,
each carrying his death-mask on his back. Be that as it may, it is an
undoubted fact that this particular species of crab bear upon their
backs a strikingly realistic representation of the features of a dead
Oriental.
[Illustration: THE MAN-FACED CRAB--THIS CURIOUS CRAB, BEARING THE
REPRESENTATION OF A DEAD ORIENTAL ON ITS BACK, IS FOUND ONLY AT ONE
PLACE IN THE WORLD, THE STRAITS OF SHIMONOSEKI, IN JAPAN.
_From a Photograph._]
The photograph given below depicts two very curious pieces of
ordnance--more curious than useful, one would imagine. They are wooden
Chinese guns, captured from the Taku Forts by the Royal Marines during
the operations of 1900-1. Nine feet in length, they have a six-inch
bore, and are composed of thick staves, firmly bound together by wooden
hooping, for all the world like a barrel. These remarkable weapons are
reputed to be over three hundred years old, and are at present mounted
on the parade-ground of the Royal Marines at Wei-hai-wei.
[Illustration: TWO WOODEN CHINESE GUNS CAPTURED FROM THE TAKU FORTS BY
THE ROYAL MARINES--THEY ARE COMPOSED OF THICK STAVES BOUND TOGETHER BY
WOODEN HOOPING.
_From a Photograph._]
[Illustration: A LADY BIG-GAME HUNTER, WITH A MAN-EATING CROCODILE.
_From a Photograph._]
Ladies have won renown in various spheres of activity usually looked
upon as the prerogative of the sterner sex, but really skilful female
big-game hunters are still few in number. Here is a photograph of a
lady who has achieved quite a reputation as a killer of crocodiles. The
picture shows her standing over a newly-killed man-eater, at a place
called Belochpore, on the river Jumna, in India. When this particular
crocodile was cut open there were found inside it two pairs of silver
bracelets, several copper rings, some boars' tusks, two human skulls,
and a new rupee, a truly heterogeneous collection.
[Illustration: COCK-FIGHTING IS PROHIBITED BY LAW IN PORTO RICO, BUT
IS, NEVERTHELESS, STILL SECRETLY PRACTISED--OUR PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS A
SECLUDED TRAINING GROUND FOR THE BIRDS, WHICH, AFTER BEING FED AND
SPRAYED WITH RUM, ARE STAKED OUT IN THE SUN.
_From a Photograph._]
Cock-fighting is as keenly enjoyed by the native of Porto Rico as
bull-baiting was by his Spanish ancestors. In the old days enormous
sums were staked on these birds, and not a few men were ruined by
their passion for the sport. Since the American occupation of the
island, however, cock-fighting has been made a criminal offence
and persons detected in its pursuit are severely punished. But it
is too deeply-rooted a habit to be suppressed in a few years, and
notwithstanding the vigilance of the police it is still extensively
practised. On Sundays and other holidays lovers of the sport select
a secluded place and fight their birds as of old. The foregoing
photograph shows a retired spot in the country where the birds are
trained. They are staked out in the morning sun after having been
trimmed up, sprayed with rum, and fed. The peasants seen in the
background are their guardians and trainers. The Porto Rican game-cocks
are fierce fighters, and, though they fight only with their natural
spurs, often kill each other with a single blow.
[Illustration: A PORTUGUESE PRISON, SHOWING THE INMATES BEGGING FROM
PASSERS-BY BY MEANS OF A BAG ON THE END OF A STRING.
_From a Photo by S. H. Wright._]
They have a happy-go-lucky way of running their prisons in easy-going
Portugal. The annexed photograph shows a corner of a Portuguese
lock-up, and concerning it a correspondent writes: "The prisoners seem
to spend their time in wrangling among themselves and begging food
and money from the passers-by. They have a bag on a string for this
purpose, and dangle it before the pedestrian's nose. The snap-shot
shows a kind-hearted gentleman just putting some coins into the bag,
while excited inmates protrude their heads and arms through the grated
windows."
[Illustration: AN ORNAMENTAL WOOD-PILE--THE PEOPLE OF THIS SWISS CHÂLET
TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THE DESIGNING OF THEIR FIREWOOD STACK, AND CHANGE
THE PATTERN EVERY YEAR.
_From a Photograph._]
That it is possible to give scope to one's artistic feelings even in
the building of so commonplace and utilitarian a thing as a pile of
firewood for winter use is proved by the next photograph. This depicts
a châlet in the village of Toffeln, near Berne, in Switzerland, which
is celebrated far and wide for its wood-stack, which is seen in the
foreground. Each year the good folks of this particular house endeavour
to make their pile more ornamental-looking than before, and they
usually succeed. The stack is entirely composed of cut logs, extending
right to the centre of the pile, and the structure reaches to the
second storey of the châlet. There is not such another wood-pile to be
found in the length and breadth of Switzerland, and the villagers are
very proud of it.
We are requested to state that the picture of a bear appearing on page
236 of Mr. R. A. Haste's article, "Through New Ontario on a Jigger," in
our June number, was from a photograph taken by Mr. F. C. Ballard, of
Banff, Alberta.
[Illustration: THE MAP-CONTENTS OF "THE WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE," WHICH
SHOWS AT A GLANCE THE LOCALITY OF EACH ARTICLE AND NARRATIVE OF
ADVENTURE IN THIS NUMBER.]