The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-11-30

From Arthng's HosNS
The Texas Tarantti
BY AUGUsTIN.
THIS Texas Of ours is an astoif4s

. . :
This Texas Of ours is an astoiflss.
ingly prolific country. Every field
stands luxuriant, crowded, SO tha, ii
can scarce wave under tie breeze
with corn or sugar or wheat or cot
ton. Every cabin is full and over.
flowing, through ell its doors and
windows with white haired children
Every prairie abounds in deer, prai
RE. hens and cattle. Every river
and creek is alive with fish. The
whole land is electric with lizards
pcrpctually dartins about among the
grass like flashes Of green lightning.
We Lave too much prairie and toe
little forest for a great multitude OF
variety Of birds. But horned frogs,
scorl ions tarahtulas and centipcdcs
VIC beat the Universe. Ever bod y
has seen horned frogs. You sec
them in Jars in the windows of apoth.
ccarics. You are cntrcatcd to ,ur,
chase them by loaling boys on the
levees at New Orleans. They have
been neatly soltlcrcd up in soda box,
es. and mailed by young gentlemen
in Texas, to fair cncs in the old
States.
The fair ones receive the neat
package from tic post Office, are de.
lighted at the prospect Of u dagucr.
perhaps jewclry--open the
package eagerly and faint, as the
frog within hops out, in excellent
health, uion them. A horned frog
Is, simply, very harmless frog, with
very portcntous horns. 1t has horns
because everything in lis region
trees, shrubs, grass even, has thorns
and nature makes it in keeping
with all around i it. A menayere
of them would not 5c cxpcnsive.--
They are content to live upon air
and can, if desired, live, l am told.
Tor several laaaiil g;;thout even that
those Of 81 II IS $
lobster, exactly, only, not more Il an
some three inches long. You are
very apt to put one upon your face
in the towel which you apply thereto
after washing. If you Do, Xy3 will
find the sting about equal tQS.at Of
the wasp-nothing worsesY They
arc far less poisonous than the scor.
pion Of The East i'm fact, none ex.
ccrt new comers dread them at all.
But the tarantula. You rcmcm.
her the astonishing elasticity with
which you sprang in the air that
time you were just on the point of
putting your raised foot down upon
snake coilcd in your path. You
were frigh;cned-throuah every f.
brc of your body. Very probably
the snake was as harmless as it was
beautiful. Spring as high, be as ut
tcrly frightened as possible, when
you just avoid stepping upon IA taran-
tula, however. Filthy, loathsome,
abominablc and poisonous-cr crush it
to atoms before you leave ii! If YOU
Lave YER seen it-know hcnccforth
that it is an enormous slidey---con.
ccntrating in itself all the venom and
spite and uglincss of all other spiders
living. ! body is some two inches
long, blacA and bloatcd. 1t enjoys
the possession of eight legs, red
! mouth, and an abundance Of stiff
brown hair all over itself. When
standing. it covers an area Of sau
Ger. Attack it with a stick, and il
rca's on its hind legs, gnashcs at the
stick, and fights like a tiend. 1t cv
en- jumps forward foot or two in it;
ragc--and, if it bite into q vein, the
bite is death! l have been told 0
the battle fought by one on board ;
steamboat. Discover at the love-
end of the saloon, it came hopping W
the saloon; driving the whole body
of passengers before it, it almos
drove the whole company, crew an,
all, ovci board.
The first I saw was at the hous,
of a friend, | spicd it crawling slow
ly over the wall, mcditating Inurdc
upon the children playing in til
room. Excessively prudent in re
gard to my fingers, at last, howe'
CT, had it safely imprisoned in
glass jar, unhurt. There was fla,
in the glass as wc(i as hole throue
the cork, by which it could breathe
but in ten minutes it was dead frol
rage Soon after | killed three W
on my place, crawling about groun
tr6dden every day by the bare fe,
Of my little boy. a month after
killed whole nest of them. The
had formed thci: family circle VI
der doorstep, upon which the afor
said little fellow played daily. Ila
he seen one Of them he would,
on,ren boyo ,,;olol - ,,,> no n :,