Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-12-28
From Arthur's Home Gazette.
THE TEXAS TARANTULA.
BY kUGUSTIN.

This Texas Of ours is an astonishingly pro.
life country. Every field stands luxuriant,
crowded, so that it can scarce wave under the
breeze, with corn or sugar, or wheat, or cot
ton. Every cabin is full and overhowing,
through all its doors and windows with wi ite.
haired children. Every prairie abounds in
deer, prairie hens, and cattle. Every liver and
creek is alive with fish. The whole land Is
electric with lizards perpetually darting about
the grass like flashes of green lightning. We
have too much prairie and too little forest for
great multitude or variety Of birds. But in
horned frogs, scorpions, tarantulas and CEN
tipedes, we beat the universe. Everybody has
seen horned frogs. You see them in jars in
the windows of apothecares. You are en-
treated to purchase them b, loafng boys on
the levee, at New Orleans. ,rhoy -hare-beea
neatly soldrred up in soda. boxes, and mailed
by young gentlemen in Texas, to fair ones in
the old States. The fair ones receive the
neat package from the postoffice, are delight.
ed at the prospect OF daguerreotype-per.
haps jewcry-open the package eagerly and
faint. as the frog within hops out, in excellent
health, upon them. A horned.frog, is simply,
very harmless frog, with very portentous
horns 1t has horns because every thing in its
region-trees shrubs, grass even, has thorns
and nature makes it in keeping with all
around it. A menagerie of them would not be
expensive. They are content to live upon air
and can, if desired, live, am tod, for seve.
raj months without even that
The Scorpions are precisely like those Of
Arabia-in the shape of a lobster, exactly, only
Al. al.
are very apt to put one upon your face in the
towel which you apply thereto after washing.
If you do, you will find the sting about equal
to that of a wasp-nothing worse. They are
far less poisonous than the scorpion of the
East-n fact, none except new comers dread
them all.
But the tarantula! You remember the elias
ticity with which you sprang in the air that
time yeu were just on the point Of putting your
raised foot down upon a snake coiled in your
path. You were frightened through every
fibre of your body. 1t is cry probable the
snake was as harmless rs it was beautiful
Spring as high, be as utterly frightened as pos
sible, when you just avoid stepping upon a
tarantula, however. Filthy, loathsome, abom-
Unable and poisonous crush it to atoms before
you leave it! know hencaforth that it is an
enormous spider--concentrating in itself ali the
venom and spite and ugliness Of all other spi-
ders living. Its body is some two inches long,
black and bloated. 1t enjoys the possession
of eight long, strong legs, a red mouth, and
an abundance of stiff brown hair all over itself.
When standing, it covers an area of a saucer.
Attack it with stick, and it rears on its hind
legs, gnashes at the stick, and fights like
fiend. 1t even jumps forward a foot or two
in its rage--and, if it bite into vein, the bite
is death! have been told Of the battle fought
by one OH board steamboat /Discovered at
the lower end of the saloon; driving the whole
body of passengers before it, it almost drove
the whole company, crew and all overheard.
The first saw was at the house of friend, |
spiedit crawling slowly over the wall, meditating
murder upon the children playing in the room.
Excessively prudent in regard to my fingers, |
at last, hewever, had it safely imprisoned in a
glass Jar, unhurt. There was flaw in the
glass as well as hole through the cork by
which it could breathe; but in ten minutes it
was dead from rage! Soon after killed three
upon my place, crawling about upon ground
trodden every day by the bare feet of my little
bow. A month after killed whole nest of
them. They had formed their family circle un'
der doorstep, upon which the aforesaid little
fellow played daily. Had he seen one of them,
he would of course, have picked it up as re.
markably promising toy; and | would have
been childless,