A TALK ABOUT CRABS 
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extend for upwards of a mile in length, the 
column, led by the males, often covering a 
width of a hundred and twenty feet. So 
intent are they upon reaching their destination 
that nothing will induce them to diverge 
from their path, and should they come across 
a house, cliff, or even a church during their 
march, they go straight on and climb over 
the obstacles rather than make a detour. 
When the females have finished laying their 
eggs, the whole party marches inland once 
again, where they remain until the following 
spring. 
A certain land-crab found inhabiting the 
mangrove swamps of the West Indies has a 
very evil reputation, for although its normal 
diet consists of fruit, yet, according to the 
report of Dr. Duchassaing, those that take 
up their abode in the vicinity of cemeteries 
feed upon the interred bodies, the creatures 
burrowing beneath the ground in order to 
obtain their meal. 
A very specialized group are the swift land- 
crabs (Ocypoda) which are able to run so 
swiftly across the sandy beach of their habitat 
as to make their capture a difficult feat to 
accomplish. 
So accustomed are they to living on land 
for extended periods that their breathing 
