Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-05-03
A Spider Captures a Mouse.
New Orleans Picayune. April 12.

The wonderful little spider which
captured the mouse, and is elevating il
In It's parlor at Mr.. Michael CROSS car.
penter shop on Greatmen, between
Elysian Fields and Marigny streets, OF
which we gave an account yesterday
morning, is still busily engaged in its
herculean task, and filling the numer-
Gus persons who visit it with amaze
ment. This astonishing little insect is
Of the black species, and very small, a
fact that renders the feat which it now
performs the more marvellous. The
! mouse was accustomed, when on a
predatory excursion, to emerge from a
hole under the bench where the spider
dwells, and pass into the carpenter
shop, where the bench stands. The en-
terprising spider, which had no doubt
watched for long time the move.
ments, laid trap for the unsuspecting
young mouse, and Monday morning,
when it started out on It's daily rounds,
the little spider, who was on the look
out, tightened the thread which she had
prepared for her victim, whose hind
legs had been entangled in them as it
passed out Of its hole, and soon secured
It, Immediately after the legs had
been caught, the spider fastened an
other thread to the mouse's tail, and
after several hours constant work, sue
ceeded in raising her prey's hind-quar-
tiers, and continued SO doing until the
tip of the mouse's nose only touched
the floor. Having thus rendered 1t
helpless, the little spider industriously
set to work multiplying its fastenings.
After few more hours labor the
mouse was raised one inch from the
floor, the spider working as if with a
pulley. In its terrible contortion to re-
lease itself, the mouse managed to sever
the fastenings around its hind legs, but
so strong were the threads Which sus-
pended it in the air, and so securely
were they attached to its tail that all
efforts to break them proved fruitless.
Mr.. Gross, taking great interest in the
proceedings, left the spider undisturb-
ed, and during almost the whole Of
Monday night, with several friends,
watched its working attentivelv. The
little insect, after taking her position
on her victims tail, commenced man.
ipulating the threads and working.
Gradually could the astonished witness
ses of this wonderful feat see the mouse
creep up, and the threads, descending
from their fastenings under the corner
of the bench to the mouse's tail, in
creased in number, and during the "a
hours ending yesterday evening the
threads had so increased that it became
impossible to count them, and the
mouse, which was still alive, though
quite weakened, had been raised from
one to three and a half inches from the
floor. The spider, during the whole
time of it's work, sat on the mouse's
tail, only leaving it's position at long in
tervals, when it would cautiously creep
down the tail to it's roots and there feed
upon the blood of the mouse. Then
resuming its position on the end of the
tail, it would again begin its work.
This unheard of capture of a mouse by
so. small an insect and It's ingenious
manner of elevating it has excited the
wonder and admiration of thousands of
visitors, among whom may be mention
ed several scientific men and physici-
ans, who assembled in large crowds at
Mr.. Gross carpenter shop to witness the
progress of the gigantic task which the
little spider has undertaken and is sue
cessfully bringing to an issue. Mr..
Gross will leave them undisturbed and
carefully watch the result, as every one
is anxious to see what the spider will do
with its captive after it dies, and how
far it will elevate it.
THE editor Of the Hopkinsville Era
asks, with the air of one who has had
losses "How are the people of the
limited States to enjoy the CantAnniaI