The north Iowa times. [volume] (M'Gregor [i.e. McGregor], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1857-07-24
AN ASTONISHING FEAT OF A HOUSE SPIDER.

thlng SO obnoxious as not to find some
admirers. What creatures so repulsive
as rats and spiders? Yet the Londot
Quarterly finds something beautiful and
even loveable in the former, and Dr.. A
Fitch, in Harper's Monthly, labors tc
show that the latter "delicate little OBJ
jects" are worthy of our esteem and ad
miration He denies that their bite is
fatal to any save insects, and extols thei,
agility. adroitness, sagacity and heroism
as worthy of all praise. In support o,
these views he tells the following curl
Gus story concerning heroic spider who
captured snake. The affair GENE of
last summer in the store of Charles
Cook, in the village of Havana, Che.
mung Co., N. Y. and is attested by the
Honorable A. B. Dickinson, of Corning,
"who himself witnessed the phenome
non, as did more than hundred othe,
persons.,'
An ordinary looking spider of dark
color, its body not larger than that of O
common house fly, had taken up its
residence. it appears, on the under side
OF a shelf beneath the counter of Mr.
Cooks store. What may we suppose
was the surprise and CONSERVATION OF
this little animal on discovering snake
about foot long, selecting for its abode
the floor underneath, only two or three
spans distant from his nest 1t was q
common silk snake, which, perhaps, had
been brought into the store unseen in
a quantity of saw dust with which the
floor had been recently "carpeted. -
The spider was aware, no doubt, that il
would inevitably fall a prey to this hor.
rid monster the first time it should in
cautiousl y venture with its reach. We
should expect that to avoid such q
frightful doom, it would forsake its
present abode, and seek more secure
retreat elsewhere. But it is not i'm.
probable that brood of its eggs or young
was secreted near the spot which the
parent toresaw would become q prey to
this monsterif they were abandoned bv
their natural guardian and protector
We can conceive of no other motive
which should have induced the spider
so per;inaciously to remain and defend
that particular spot at the imminent risk
of her own life, when she could SO
easily have fled and established hersell
IN some secure corner elsewhere.
But how, we may well ask, was i,
possible for such a week, tender little
creature, to combat with such power.
iul, mail-clad giant? =? What power had
she to do anything which could subject
the monster to even the sli ghtest incon-
venience or molrstion. Her ordinary
resort, that Of lettering and binding the
victim by throwing her threads of cob
wed around it, it is plain, would be OF
no more avail here than the cords upon
the limbs of the unshorn Sampson
Aware that her accustomed mode Of
attack was useless, how did she acquire
the knowledge and sagacity requisite
for devising another, adapted so exactly
to the case in haad-one depending up.
on the structure and habits of the ser.
pont, to aid in rendering it successful
How was she able to perceive that il
was in her power to wind loop of hel
threads around this creatures throat
despite Of all his endeavors to foil hel
in this work-a loop of sufficient
strength to hold him securely, notwith.
standing his struggles and writings
until by her tackle like power she could
gradually hoist him up from the floor
thus literally hanging him by the neck
until he was dead for this was the feat
which this adroit little heroine actually
performed--a feat beside which all
tabled exploits of Hercules in oyerpow
ering lions and serpents and dragons
sink into utter insignifcance! And
who can say that in the planning and
execution of this stupend2us achieve.
ment there was not forethought, reason:
ing. careful weighing Of all the diff,
culties and dangers, and clear percep.
ton in the mind of this little creature
that she possessed an ability to accomp-
lish what she undertook in short, an
exercise of faculties of much higher
order than the mere instinct which is
supposed to guide and gorvern these
lower animals in their movements
BY what artifce the spider was able
in the first of its attack to accomplish
what it did, we can only conjecture, ais
its work was not discovered until the
most difficult and daring part of it's fea,
had been performed. When first seen,
it had placed loop around the neck Of
the serpent, from the top of which q
single thread was carried upward and
attached to the under side of the shelf
whereby the head of the serpcut wa:
drawn up about two inches from the
floor. The snake was moving around
and around, incessantly, in circle as
large as its tethcr would allow-wholly
unable to get its head down to the floor,
or to withdraw it from the moose, while
the heroic little spider, was exulting lie
doubt, in the success of its exploit.
But the most curious and skillfuI
parts of its performance are vet to be
told. When is was in the act of run.
ming down the thread to the loop, the
reader will perceive it was possible fol
the sna.e, by turning his head vertically
upward, to snap at and seize the spider
in his mouth The spider, probably by
| watching each opportunity when The