The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-07-16


stupendous achievement, there was not fore
thought, reasoning, careful weighing Of all
the difficulties and dangers, and clear per-
cepton in the mind of this little creature that
she possessed the ability to accomplish what
she undertook ;in short, an exercise Of facul-
ties Of a much higher order than the mere in
stinct which is commonly supposed TO guide
and govern these lower animals in ,heir move
ment? ~
BY what artifice the spider was able in the
first of its attack to accomplish what it did,
we can only conjecture, as its work was not
discovered until the most difficult and daring
part of its feat had been performed. When
first seen, it had placed loop around theneck
Of the serpent, from the TOP of which a single
thread was carried upward and attached to
the under side OF the shelf, whereby the head
of the serpent was drawn up about two inches
from the floor. The snake was moveng around
and around, necessarily in circle as large as
its tether would allow, wholly unable to get
its head down TO the floor, or withdraw il from
the hoesc; while the heroic little spider, ex-
utihg no doubt in the success Of its exploit,
which was now sure beyond a peradventure
was ever aud anon passing down to the loop
aud up TO the shelf, adding thereby an addi-
tional strand TO the thread, each Of which new
strands being tightly draw, elevated the head
Of the snake gradually more and more.
But the most curious and skillful parts Of
ITS performance is yet to be told. When il
was in the act of running Gown the thread 10
the loop, the reader will perceive it was pos
sible FOR the snake, by turning his head v.rti-
caly upwards, TO snap at and seize the spider
IN his mouth. This had no doubt been re-
peatedy attempted in the earlier part of the
conflict but instead of catching the spider,
has snake'hp thereby had only caught him
self in an additional trap. The spider, proba-
bly, by watching each opportunity whea the
mouth Of the snake had thus been turned to-
ward her, adroitly, with her hind legs, as when
throwing thread around fly, had thrown
on" thread afteranother over the mouth of the
snake, so that he was now perfectly muzzled,
by series Of threads placed over il vertically,
and these were held from being pushed asun-
der by another series of threads placed hori-
zon,ally, as my informant states he particular
ly observed. No muzzle of wire or wicker
work for the mouth of an animal could be wo-
ven with more artistic regularity and perfec-
ton; and the sns Ike occasionally making des-
Perate attempt TO open his mouth, would mere
iy put these threadsnpon stretch
The snake continued his gyrations, his gait
becoming more slow, however, from weakness
ard fatigue and lle spider continued to move
down and up on the ccrd, gradually shorten
ing IT, until, al last when drawn upwards so
Tar That oily twoor three inches of the end of
his tail tcucl ed the floor, the snake expired,
about SIX days after he was 6,st discovered.
A more heroic feat than that which this
little spider performed is probably nowhere
upon record--a snake foot Ia length hun.
by common house spider! Truly, the race is
not the swift, nor is the battle to the r,np /,
And this phenomenon may serve to Indicate
to us that the intelligence with which The
Creator has endowed the humblest, feebIest
OF ms creatures, is ample for enabling them TO
triumph IN an emergency in which tie places
them, If they but exercise the faculties He has
given him. II is Only the slothful, cowardly.
timorous, that fail, and they fail not so much
befoie their eneinies as before their own
s,lpincness