106 
SHOWER OF BEETLES. 
was visible, namely, that of mock moons and a 
double rainbow. A circumstance, moreover, which 
suj)erstitious Chinamen might also regard as a 
portent, but which the naturalist would certainly 
look upon with interest, Avas a shower of beetles. 
A black sjDecies of Ehizotragus (a sort of chaffer) 
fell dowD upon the ships in countless numbers. Our 
aAvnings Avere spread, and the beetles descended 
continuously all the first Avatch. Numbers AA^ere 
crushed and trodden into the deck, leaving greasy 
patches A\diich it required the carpenter’s plane to 
obliterate. They afforded constant excitement to 
“Belle,” a beautiful retricA’'er, AAdio passed the 
night in chasing and cruuching them between her 
teeth. In the morning heaps of the dead and 
Avounded Avere SAvept into corners and under guns. 
Coal-black lines, folloAAung ^the ripples of the tide, 
stretched aAA^ay for miles doAAUi the Gulf, formed 
entirely of the droAAmed bodies of these insects. 
On the Shan-tung side of the Gulf of Pecheli is 
a remarkable promontory AAoth a flat, sandy neck, 
and a saddle-head of granite. This from a distance 
