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Show Flying Fish I All the Cows Dry I Strang Condi tiona in District of' v ' ' 11 Kona Explained by Natives v , of Hawaii. ' HONOLULU, T. H., July 9. For, ; VH months tho cowo of tho district of! fl Kona, which b along the sea, have been ! '1 dry. Prize cows which In season could be depended upon to give bounteous supplies of rich milk have disappointed , I their owners Gteadlly, aithouRh thero : J was no physical reason for it Milk '1 has risen to a premium In the district , and could not bo obtained at any price. Naturally the natives were enspocted. I Tho white farmers organized special ' ' JH bands of vigilantes to watch, but night j ; after night brought forth no roBult-' j Cows which should have given large IH supplies in the morning would return, 1 Ja from a night's grazing- on the rich ir'lH gTass absolutely dry, although It was , !nj JH certain, no human being had ap- I i&'l proached them during the night. ll The explanation has been found at Ul last, at least, in the opinion of some IM of the farmers', and It has come from 'H the natives. The far famed and al- I ; most legendary "milk maid" flying ' fish has acaln returned to the shores , 1 of Hawaii and are plylnc their pecu- j liar vocation. It was only after many natives had been given a species of tho "third de- ' gree" by the suspicious husbandmen that tho oxplanatlon was clvon. An ancient native was responsible for it and ho Is silently corroborated by .H every other native of the district. I According' to them tho waters of the ', lH Pacific contain a strange species of flying- fish which thrives on milk alone. I The native word translated means 1 "milk maids." Theso fish, say the. na- t tlves, first appeared In the latter part 1 ) of the eighteenth century and wero1 supposed to come from the shores of' Australasia. They have long, "pliable snouts, and when once In action can not be detached. , ; Their plan, it Is said, is to swim. , ' through tho surf quietly to the shore, ,. rjl where, by jumping- up In the air they rrll can discover a herd of goats, or sheep, ' :: or cows, grazing on the sea grass. They I then arise, as if in ordinary flight, and, 1 i as If prearranged, certain ones eifd their flight on certain animals. There they dangle until their thirst or hunger Is appeased or the supply runs short. P j IH They then swing themselves loose and at the Hame time train tho Impetus IH which enables them to reach the sea ' IB again. Once in a very long while, it I ' H is said, these fish nro captured becauso ' he is so greedy that he cannot fly after 1 V his meal. ' The cows, It Is said, never heed their I strange milkmaids because tho flutter ' of the wings of the fish produce a cur- "p IH rent of air most pleasing on a warm i aJH night. tul That is the explanation given by the- t. natives. Some of the farmers profess ; to believe this and have surrounded jfH their cows with gill nets. Others aro .1 H not doing this, but are guarding their f cattle with shotgunB loaded with flno shot, which is surely not a bait for IH flying or any other kind of fish. jH |
