THE GUMBEROO. (Megalogaster repercussus.)
  In  the  foggy  region  along  the  Pacific  Coast   from   Grays Harbor  to  Humboldt  Bay there ranges a kind of  creature  that has caused  much annoyance in the lumber woods.  This is the gumberoo,  which,  luckily,  is so rare that only once  in  a  great while  is  one  seen.  It is believed  to remain in hiding  most  of the  time in the base of enormous, burned-out cedar trees,  from where  it sallies forth occasionally on frightful marauding  expe- ditions.   During these  periods of activity the  beast  is  always hungry  and  devours anything it can find that looks  like  food. A whole horse may be eaten at one sitting, distending the gum- beroo  out  of  all proportions, but failing to appease  its  hunger or cause it the slightest discomfort.######################     The specimens seen are reported to have been coal black, but that   may   have  been  due  to  their  being  smirched   with   the charred  wood.   In size the beast corresponds closely to a  black bear,  for which   it might be mistaken only for the  fact  that the gumberoo  is  almost hairless.  To be sure, it has  prominent  eye- brows  and  some long, bristly hairs on its chin, but the  body  is smooth,  tough,  and  shiny  and bears not even  a  wrinkle.   The animal  is  a  tireless  traveler  when looking for  food,  but  is  not swift   in  its  movements  or annoyed in  the  slightest  degree  by the   presence   of  enemies.   The  latter  characteristic   is   easily accounted  for  by  the fact that no other animal  within  its  range has  ever  found  a successful method  of  attacking  a  gumberoo or a  vulnerable  spot   in  one's  anatomy.  Whatever  strikes  the beast bounds  off  with  the  same   force.  Its  elastic    hide  hurls back  with  equal  ease  the charging elk and  the  wrathy  hornet. A  rock  or  peavey thrown at the creature bounds  back  at who- ever  threw  it,  and a bullet shot against its hide is sure  to  strike the hunter between the eyes.###########################       It is believed  that  the  scarcity of  gumberoos  is  due to their combustible character  and  the  prevalence  of  forest fires.   The animal burns  like celluloid, with the explosive  force.   Frequently during and  after a  forest fire in the heavy cedar  near  Coos Bay woodmen have   insisted   that  they  heard   loud   reports   quite unlike   the  sound  of   falling  trees,  and detected   the  smell   of burning rubber in the air.##############################
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