History of La Porte County, Indiana, Part 33

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman
Number of Pages: 930

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ORDER LXII. SMILACEA. (Sarsaparilla.)

1. Smilax. (Greenbrier. Catbrier.)

1. Smilax rotundifolia. (Common Greenbrier.) A strong, thorny vine, running from 10 to 40 feet in hedges and thickets. Stem woody and smooth, except the thorns; berries black.

2. Smilax Sarsaparilla. (Medicinal Sarsaparilla.) Grows in swampy thickets; roots long and slender.

ORDER LXIII. LILIACEAE. (Lily Family.) .

1. Lilium. (Lily.)

1. Lilium Canadense. (Yellow lily.) A plant of much beauty, adorning the meadows and prairies in summer. Flowers pendulous, yellow or orange-colored, and spotted, with dark purple inside.

2. Lilium Superbum. (Superb Lily. Turk's Cap.) There are but few, even of those which are cultivated, that are more beautiful than this prairie and meadow flower. Flowers are a bright orange- color, with purple spots.

3. Lilium tigrinum. (Tiger-spotted Lily. ) Cultivated, com- mon.

2. Asparagus. (Asparagus.)

1. Asparagus officinalis. (Common Asparagus.) Cultivated. It is one of the oldest and most delicate of garden vegetables, and is no less praised at the present day than it was in ancient times. Pliny and Cato and other writers have praised it.

. 3. Allium. (Onion. Garlic.)

1. Allium cernuum. (Nodding Garlic or Wild Onion). Found in the woods and thickets; small bulb. Not very common.

2. Allium sativum. (Common Garlic.) Cultivated. Used in seasoning, and sometimes in medicine.

3. Allium Cepa. (Common Onion.) Cultivated universally for the kitchen.

ORDER LXIV. GRAMINEE. (Grasses.)

1. Calamagrostis. (Wild Grasses.)

1. Calamagrostis Canadensis. (Reed Grass. Blue-joint.) It used to be common on the prairie lands. It made good hay.

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2. Calamagrostis coarctata. (Slough Grass.) Found in sloughs and bogs. Very common.

2. Alopecurus. (Fox-tail.)

1. Alopecurus pratensis. (Fox-tail Grass.) Found in fields and meadows, and is well known.

3. Phleum. (Herd's Grass.)

1. Phleum pratense. (Common Timothy.) It is extensively cultivated, and is probably the most valuable of all the grasses.

4. Digitaria. (Finger Grass.)

1. Digitaria sanguinalis. (Purple Finger Grass. Crab Grass.) Common in cultivated fields and gardens.

5. Avena. (Oat.)

1. Avena sativa. (Common Oat.) Cultivated, and one of the staple field productions; a very important grain.

6. Bromus. (Chess.)

fields.

1. Bromus secalinus. (Common Cheat.) Found in wheat- It is quite troublesome to the farmers.

7. Poa. (Pasture Grasses.)

1. Poa compressa. (Blue Grass.) Common everywhere; a fine pasture grass.

2. Poa serotina. (Meadow red-top.) Common in meadows and on wet, moist lands.

8. Triticum. (Wheat.)

1. Triticum sativum. (Winter wheat.) This is the most valu- able plant of the order, and is largely cultivated. There are several varieties.

9. Secale. (Rye.)

1. Secale cereale. (Common Rye.) It has been long cultivated. 10. Hordeum. (Barley.)

1. Hordeum vulgare. (Barley.) Extensively cultivated.

11. Sorghum. (Broom Corn.)

1. Sorghum saccharatum. (Common Broom Corn.) Its use and appearance is well known.

12. Leersia. (A kind of Rough Grasses.)

1. Leersia oryzoides. (Cut Grass.) A very rough grass, com- mon in swamps and by streams, etc.

13. Zea. (Maize.)

1. Zea Mays. (Indian Corn.) This plant needs no description, and its value is incalculable.

CHAPTER III.

ZOOLOGY.

ZOOLOGY-EXPLANATIONS AND CLASSIFICATION.

The word " zoology." has come to the English language from the Greek, and is made up of two words, " zoon," an animal, and " logos," a discourse; and hence means the science which treats of animals. The animal kingdom is a unit. Investigations which have recently been made in comparative, or animal anatomy would seem to indicate that the numerous and varied forms of animal existence shade and merge into one another in such a way as to leave no sharply-marked dividing lines between them; and could those forms of animal life which have become extinct be grouped and classified with those now in existence, it seems that the entire series, from its highest representative, man, to its lowest, the ani- malcule, would be unbroken,-the succession would be perfect. " This panoramic view would give an idea of unity in the same sense as when we speak of a herd of cattle, though the individuals differ in size, color, and form; or a landscape in which there is no break in the undulating outline of the far-off horizon, though it include river, mountain, and valley."

The animal kingdom, embracing all its various species and indi- viduals, is a vast exhibition of creative energy; more wonderful than the thought of man can trace out, and more numerous than his figures will enumerate. But while this is true, it is equally demonstrable that the whole of this vast display of infinite power, this superstructure of animal life, is built upon but six typical ideas; but each of these is developed, however, by the all-wise Creator in the most wonderful diversity. These six typical ideas furnish the bases upon which the animal kingdom is subdivided,- each of these being a sub-kingdom. Following are these six sub- kingdoms, with the classes of animals which they embrace, together . with the destinctive, or typical idea, upon which the classification is made.

1st. The Vertebrates. This sub-kingdom includes mammals, birds, reptiles and fishes. Its typical idea is, a nervous system which is composed of a brain, a spinal marrow and ganglions; an internal, jointed skeleton; red blood; a heart; and five senses.

2d. The Articulates. This sub-kingdom includes insects, worms, lobsters, etc. Its typical idea is, a nervous system which is com- posed of ganglions and nerves only, which nervous ganglions are united on a middle line in a sort of longitudinal chain; body

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divided into rings with an external skeleton formed by the skin, more or less hardened; no internal skeleton; blood nsnally white; a heart; and the senses more or less incomplete.

3d. The Molluscans. This sub-kingdom includes cnttle-fishes, clams, snails, etc. The typical idea of this sub-kingdom is, a nerv- ons system which is composed of ganglion and nerves only, which nervous ganglions are placed in different parts of the body ; a body which is soft without external skeleton, but which is usually pro- tected by a shell; no internal skeleton; blood usually white; a heart; and the senses more or less incomplete.

4th. The Echinoderms. This sub-kingdom includes sea urchins, star-fishes, etc. Its typical idea is a radiate structure with the alimentary canal distinct from the cavity of the body.

5th. The Colenterates. This sub-kingdom includes jelly fishes, polyps, hydras, etc. Its typical idea is a radiate structure, with the alimentary canal not distinct from the cavity of the body.

6th. The Protozoans. This sub-kingdom includes animals which are very minute, and of simple structure, and which cannot be placed in any of the other sub-kingdoms. They are sponges, infu- soria, rhizopods, etc.

These six subdivisions include all of the animal kingdom, and they rise in importance in the inverse order in which they are given. It is said by some that the genus " Bathybius," a microscopic mass of albuminons jelly neither distinctively animal nor plant, is the simplest structure known to man, though it may be affirmed on the later declarations of Prof. Huxley that "Bathybius " possesses no vitality. But if it does possess vitality, then from it, the lowest, up through all the six sub-kingdoms, there are recognized a continual progression in typical idea and actnal development until the verte- brates are reached, at the head of which we find man.

" Man-the lord of the animal kingdom-is constructed after the same type as the cat which purrs at his feet, the ox which he eats, the horse which bears his burden, the bird which sings in his gilded cage, the snake which crawls hissing across his pathway, the toad which hides in his garden, and the fish which swims in his aquarium. All are modifications of one creative thought, showing how the Almighty worker delights in repeating the same chord, with infinite variations."-Steele.

THE ZOOLOGY OF AMERICA.

That we may the better connect the fauna of the district of country of which we write with those which surround it, we first take a broader and more comprehensive view of it than if we were to con- fine ourselves within its limits. The zoology of America, like its botany, may be divided as touching its faunas into three great divisions.

1st. The Arctic Division. In the arctic or northern division may be included those frigid regions commencing between 55° and

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60^ of north latitude, and extending to the shores of the frozen ocean. The typical animal of these regions is the Polar Bear.

2d. The Temperate Division. The middle or second grand division of American zoology commences where the northern divis- ion begins and terminates with the Gulf of Mexico, thus embracing the most temperate and healthful regions of the New World.

3d. The Torrid Division. The equatorial or third grand divis- ion of American zoology begins with the Gulf of Mexico, and extends to the southern limit of Paraguay, beyond which lie countries that have not yet been fully developed by scientific naturalists.

Of these three divisions, we are to do only with the second, for the latitude of La Porte county is near its center. Touching the fauna of this division, the following is worthy of transcription :

"In regard to its ferine inhabitants, little can be said : for, although the species have been described in systems, no traveler has yet taken a comprehensive view of their geographic distribution. Many of the northern quadrupeds range over a large portion of these temperate latitudes, while the others, not found toward the Pole, do not exhibit any striking peculiarities in the zoological distribu- tion of genera. But the ornithology is more distinctly marked. Numerous tribes of insectivorous birds, unknown in the temperate latitudes of the Old World, or the equatorial regions of the New, spread themselves over this fruitful portion of America, either as permanent residents or as annual migrators from the more genial shores of the Mexican Gulf. The most celebrated of these is the Mocking-Bird,-plain, indeed, in colors, yet endowed with a perfec- tion of voice far surpassing any other in creation. Toward the beginning of May, when the insect world has just begun to assume life and activity, innumerable flocks of Warblers, Flycatchers, Woodpeckers, Starlings, Thrushes and other families, appointed to keep the noxious insects within due limits, make their appearance in the United States; prodigiously increasing the usual number of the feathered inhabitants, and making the woods resound with their note. The process of incubation finished, and the young sufficiently grown to undertake their autumnal passage, nearly the whole return to winter in latitudes less cold, and where their animal food will not fail. Very many of these species have been traced to the warm shores of the table-land of Mexico; others appear in some of the West India Isles, the Bahamas, etc .; but not more than one or two have yet been detected on the main land of equinoctial America. The birds of game, in comparison with those of the northern regions, are few and insignificant,-always excepting the Great American Turkey, for it is this part of the New World which first gave us this noble addition to our barn-yards. Increase of population has had its usual effect, and has long driven these birds from many of their former haunts; they still, however, are to be found in large flocks in the back settlements.

"Of the other animals, there are few which are the same as those of Europe. The fish are numerous; and several species, like the

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

cod of Newfoundland, occur in sufficient profusion to create a dis- tinct branch of commerce. Reptiles, in point of variety, seem also to abound. Morse has enumerated nearly 40 kinds found in the United States; and Virginia, in particular, prodnees great numbers. The most formidable of these are the well-known rattlesnakes, of which there now appears to be more than one species; some few of the others are venomous, but none can be compared, in bulk, to the monstrous serpents of South America. The savannas and swamps abound with immense bull-frogs, five times the size of the Euro- pean; while a partienlar species of alligator is said to occur in the Southern rivers."-Encyclopedia of Geography.

This gives sufficiently, though perhaps it might be made a little more accurate now since the investigations in this direction are more accurate than when the above extraet was written, the zoology of the middle division of America, so that a fair estimate may be formed as to the typical zoological idea which prevails among the vertebrates of the smaller district of country of which we write. It is possible that there is not a single one of the species of the fauna of La Porte county which is peculiar to itself; though it is possible that a close investigation would reveal one or more. As the flora of a country is important, enabling one, though he may be far away if he understands that flora, to determine the character of that country, so also is the fauna of a country. As it requires a peculiar soil, temperature, and other meterological conditions to produce a particular kind of flora, so also does it take a particular vegetation, climate, and other local surroundings to produce a par- tienlar fauna. So then if one has the botany and zoology of a country he has the means of determining the characteristics of that country. For these reasons we are constrained to give, as we have already done of its flora, the fauna of the county, though it will be but partial, and in some particulars it may be imperfeet. In giv- ing this fanna, we shall follow the same general plan as we did in compiling the flora. Both the common and the technical names will be given, and a partial description. Arranged in their species, genera. and orders, it will be an easy matter for those who may desire to investigate closer, and to have a more elaborate description of any species than is here given, to consult works on zoology where these descriptions will be found.

FAUNA OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

As we have said, the crowning excellence of the creative idea, so far as is determined and worked ont in animal life, seems to con- centrate in the vertebrate sub-kingdom, at the very head of which is man.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

SUB-KINGDOM, VERTEBRATA. ((Animals which have a Back- bone.)

Class 1. Mammalia. (Vertebrate animals whose Young are Suckled.)

Order I. Bimana. (Animals having two hands. ) Family 1. Homonida. (The Human Race.)

2. Homo sapiens. (Man.) Of this order there is but the one species, Man; but it has been separated into five divisions, three of which, and it may be four, have found citizenship in the county.

1st. The Indian. The first inhabitant of this country was the Indian, so far as history can inform us, or tradition reveal the facts of the past. He had no power to reclaim the wild wastes of nature; but during his habitancy it was wild nature, wild beasts, and wild men. These were supplanted by the

2d. The Caucasian. The White race is renowned everywhere for its mental vigor, for its culture, and for its power over nature to bring it under subservient control; and hence under his control the country has been changed from an uncultivated wilderness to fields of surpassing beauty, bearing bounteons stores of human necessities. Intermingled among thiese are a few of the

3d. The Ethiopian. Whatever may be said of the Negro race in the future, it is evident that they do not stand by any means the peer of the White race, but serve in subordinate and subservient positions to the dominant White race.

4th. The Mongolian. It may be that at some time a few indi- viduals of the Celestial empire have found residence in the county. If so, then these four races of men have been inhabitants of it.

Order II. Carnivora. (Flesh-subsisting Animals.)

Family 1. Felidae. (The cat family.)

1. Felis domestica. (The Domestic Cat.) In nearly every home this useful animal may be found.

2. Lynx Canadensis. (Canada Lynx.) This animal may not now be found, but it certainly was a, pre-settlement animal, and perhaps subsequent to white settlement of the country.

3. Lynx rufus. (The Wild Cat.) This was another of the former animals of the county. The latter two are fierce inhabitants of woods that afford protection from view.

Family 2. Canidæ. (The Dog Family.)

1. Canis Lupus. (The Wolf.); This is a well-known and destructive animal, especially in flocks of sheep.

2. Canis familiaris. (The Common Dog.) This needs no description.

3. Vulpes vulgaris. (The Fox.) The Fox is a nocturnal animal, noted for his slyness. He is very fleet of foot. His tail is bushy.

Family 3. Mustelidc. (The Weasel Family.) .

1. Putorius ermineus. (The Common Weasel.) The weasel is not now very common. It is a mice destroyer, and that far useful.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

2. Putorius lutreolus. (The Mink.) It is found mostly along the streams and sloughs; is of a brown color, with a white spot under the chin. It is valued for its fur.

3. Mephitis mephitica. (The Skunk.) It is striped with white and black. It emits a most intolerable odor as a self-defense. It hibernates in the ground.

4. Lutra Canadensis. (The Otter.) The otter is web-footed, lives in burrows, feeds on fish, and spends its spare time in sliding down snow-banks in winter time and slippery banks in summer. It is valuable for its fur.

Family 4. Procyonidc. (The Raccoon.)

1. Procyon lotor. (The Common Raccoon.) The "'coon " is a nocturnal animal, having the instinctive cunning of the fox, the inquisitive meddlesomeness of the monkey, the greediness of the bear, and the slyness of the cat. It furnishes night sport for the " boys."

Order III. Ungulata. (Hoofed Quadrupeds.) Family 1. Bovida. (The Ox Family.)

1. Bos taurus. (The Domestic Ox.) This animal needs no description, it is one of the most useful of domestic animals

2. Capra cegagrus. (The Goat.) The goat is only sparingly raised.

3. Bos Americanus. (Bison or Buffalo.) This stately denizen of the West has long since left the prairies of the county.

4. Ovis aries. (The Domestic Sheep.) No description of this valuable is needed. From the earliest ages it has been the com- panion of civilized man.

Family 2. Cervidc. (The Deer Family.)

1. Cervus Virginianus. (The Common Red Deer.) The timid- ity, agility, and fleetness of this animal has always been proverb- ial. There is perhaps not a specimen left in the county, but it nsed to be the sport of the hunter, and the hope for winter supplies of the pioneer.

Family 3. Suida. (The Hog Family.)

1. Sus scropha. (Domestic Swine.) The hog is one of the most valuable animals of the county; and it has been both tame and wild.

Family 4. Equidc. (The Horse Family.)

1. Equus caballus. (The Common Horse.) This magnificent animal is well-known the world over; no description would make it better known. It loves man and man loves it.

2. Equus asinus. (The Ass or Donkey.) A few specimens of this Oriental burden-bearer is to be found in the county. It feeds on rougher food and endures harsher treatment with patience than the horse, and hence serves an Oriental purpose better than the horse.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Order IV. Cheiroptera. (Webbed-winged Animals.)

Family 1. Vespertilionidæ. (The Bat Family.)

1. Vespertilio sublatus. (The Common Little Brown Bat.) This little animal may be seen in the twilight flying in erratic directions, up and down, right and left. Its abodes are lofts and dark places, and it hibernates in the winter. It is an insect destroyer.

Order V. Insectivora. (Insect-feeding Animals.) Family 1. Talpide. (The Mole Family.)

1. Scalops aquaticus. (Common Mole.) These animals have round bodies, small eyes, acute hearing and smell, velvet-like fur, shovel-shaped paws, and short, sharp nails. They barrow in the ground and feed on insects.

Order VI. Rodentia. (Gnawing Animals. ) Family 1. Muridc. (Rat Family.)

1. Arvicola riparia. (Meadow Mouse.) It is noticeable for the winding paths which it makes among the grass leading to its nest.

2. Mus musculus. (The House Mouse.) These are scavengers. To a limited extent they are serviceable, but a great pest when they become numerous, as every housewife knows.

3. Musdecumanus. (The House Rat.) This is an importation from Asia, but now very common everywhere. It is larger than the mouse.

4. Fiber zebethicus. (The Muskrat.) It is found in sloughs, ponds and streams; it builds houses of grass, flags, and other material, and is sought for its fur. Thousands of them are taken every year during the winter season, especially along the Kankakee.

Family 2. Sciuridæ. (The Squirrel Family.)

1. Sciurus vulpinus. (The Fox Squirrel.) This is known by its red fur, and red, bushy tail. Quite common. 2. Sciurus Carolinensis. (Gray Squirrel.) This beautiful little animal is found in the woods, though not as plentifully perhaps as the Sciurus vulpinus.

3. Pteromys volucella. (Flying Squirrel.) A very few speci- mens of this attractive squirrel have been found in the county.

Family 3. Leporidæ. (The Hare Family.)

1. Lepus sylvaticus. (Common Gray Rabbit.) This is the only species of the hare family found in the county.

Order VII. Marsupialia. (Pouch Animals.)

Family 1. Didelphidæ. (Double-matrixed Animals.) Didelphys Virginiana. (The Opossum.) This animal is about the size of a cat. It is mostly nocturnal and arboreal, and both herbivorous and carnivorous.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Class 2. Aves. (Feathered Animals.)

Order I. Passeres. (Straight-beaked, Four-toed Birds.) Family 1. Turdido. (The Thrush Family.)

1. Turdus migratorius. (The Robin. American Redbreast.) This is an early spring bird, an insect feeder, and a valuable bird.

2. Mimus polyglottus. (Mocking-bird.) This is a kind of thrush which comes in the early spring. It is quite a mimic, but not the equal of the Southern mocking-bird.

Family 2. Saxicolida. (Rock Dwellers.)

1. Sialia sialis. (Common Blue-bird.) This is the exact counterpart of the European robin redbreast. It is an early spring bird.

Family 3. Ilirundinidæ. (The Swallow Family.)

1. Hirundo horreorum. (The Barn Swallow.) This bird builds its nest in barns, under the eaves of buildings, etc., and is quite common. (In addition to this genus, there are in the county the martin and forked-tailed swallow of this family.)

Family 4. Alaudidæ. (The Lark Family.)

1. Eremophila cornuta. (The American Lark.) It is found in meadows, etc .; often called " meadow lark."

Family 5. Corvida. (The Crow Family.)

1. Corvus corax. (The Raven.) The raven is generally distrib- uted throughout the United States, and is very sagacious, seeming to know the difference between a person at his business and one bent on mischief.

2. Corvus Americanus. (The Common American Crow.) The difference between the raven and the crow is, the crow is much smaller than the raven and has its throat feathers oval and close, while the raven's are sharp and scattered.

3. Cyanura cristata. (Blue Jay.) It has a bright violet, sky blne and white coat, ornamented with a crest of light blue or pur- ple feathers, which it can depress at pleasure.

Order II. Picarice. (Climbing Birds.) Family 1. Alcedinidc. (A Family of Perchers.)

1. Ceryle alcyon. (The Kingfisher.) It burrows into and lays its eggs in banks of sand. It is a fish-feeder, catching the fish usually by the tail and if small then swallowing it at once.

Family 2. Caprimulgidæ. (Goat-suckers.)

1. Chordeiles popetue. (The Night Hawk.) The night hawk is often confounded with the whippoorwill, but they are quite dis- tinct. The night hawk hunts its feed in the evening, and often, diving down perpendicularly, produces a whirring sound like a spinning-wheel.

3. Antrostomus vociferus. (The Whippoorwill.) This bird comes out in the evening to catch its food. It makes the air vocal with its cry of "whip-poor-will," which gives it its name.

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HISTORY OF LA PORTE COUNTY.

Family 3. Cypselidæ. (The Swift Family.)

1. Cætura pelasgia. (The Chimney-swallow.) This bird gets its name from its selection of a chimney in which to build its nest. Family 4. Trochilidæ. (Humming-bird Family.)

1. Trochilus colubris. (The Ruby-throated Humming-bird.) This is one of the finest little birds of America, its plumage being a blending of the rarest colors of flower and gem. It is a honey- feeder, and secures it from the flowers while on the wing.

Family 5. Picidae. (Woodpeckers.)

1. Colaptes auratus. (Golden-winged Woodpecker.) Quite common, and feeds on insects which it pecks out of trees, etc.

Order III. Raptores. (Plundering Birds.)

1. Family 1. Falconidae. (Hooked-beak and Strong- Taloned Birds.)

1. Falco sparverius. (The Sparrow Hawk.) This is one of the smallest, but it is a typical falcon.

2. Astur atricapillus. (Common Hawk.) Known by its devas- tations on the hen-coops.

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History of La Porte County, Indiana, Part 33

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman Number of Pages: 930

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : C.C. Chapman
Number of Pages: 930