Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-12-08
The Iarantula spider.

Ihls name Is gwen 10 a lafge splutI, W.
/ served at first in the neighborhood OF Tar
entum, in Italy, and for the bite OF which
considered poisonous, music and dancing.
were said 10 be the remedy. Certain songs
and airs were solemnly used for the occa-
! sion. and the tarantula itself danced to the
/ air of the ''tarantela-" The truth is that
4 the bite produced disorders of the nervous
system, with strong convulsive movements,
[ which was exaggerated into dancing. 1his
I disorder seems 10 have occurred frequently
/ in the kingdom of Naples during the SIX
/ teenlh century, to have heen nearly SINH
/ lar in its character to The disease which was
originally called st. VItus' Dance, and TO
/ that which has occasionally prevailed In
parts of Scotland, and has been called the
''leaplng ague.'
I The patients, nearly all of whom were
/ women, sCon after being bitten, as 1t was
/ supposed. used to fall into stupOr, from
which nothing revived them but the sound
of such music as pleased them, on hearing
which they had an irresistible desire to
dance So long as the music continued,
and was intune and sufficiently lively, they
would go on jumping and dancing TIL
I they fell exhausted. and all the time some
used to shrek, some TO laugh and sing,
some to weep. When after Il short rest,
/ they had recovered from their fatigue,
they would again begin to dance with as
much vigor as before, unless the music
were played slowly or confusedly, when
they would stop and grow anxious or mel
ancholy or even if the music were not
soon made agreeable 10 them, would fall
.| + zso nf ctr Tho 1iC-
! ease used to last about four days, and
seemed to be cured by the profuse perspi-
ration brought on by the active exercise;
but il often returned at the same time in
the following year, or even for a success
sion of years, and on every occasion re-
quired the same treatment. The nervous
affection was called the Tarantismus.
Since it has been found that the bite of
the tarantula can produce no such strange
effects as these, many have suspected that
the disease ascrIbed to il never really exis-
ted, but was feigned for the purpose of ex-
citing pity, or for the pleasure of dancing.
There Is good reason TO believe that in
most instsncesit was merely counterfeited;
but there can be no doubt that such dis
ease has occurred, and has given occasion
to the practice of the fraud.
The habits of the tarantula are very Gu
rious. Its jaws and feet are large and
strong its legs and feet are furnished
with long stiff spurs, with which the ami
nal seiZes its prey; and its foremost two
pair of feet are furnished with a down,
like a brush, which the tarantula EMPLOYS
in making its toilette, and in crawling on
smooth surfaces; the feet are terminated
4 by two strong nails. When full grown,
it lnhabits underground passages, forming
a burrow sunk to the depth of foot be-
meath the surface; and this burrow not on
| ly protects the animal from the pursuits of
its enemies, but serves it as an observatory
whence it may dart on Its prey. At first
the hole sinks perpendicularly, then bends
and forms an almost horizontal elbow, after
which it resumes its direction downwards.
| At this elbow the tarantuls stands sentry.
never losing sight of the door of its dwelling;
and here the creatures eyes glitter like
diamonds, rendered bright like those of
cat by darkness. Externally, the opening
of the tarantula's buIrow Is surmounted by
a funnel, constructed of pieces of dry wood
united by clay, and lined with web spun
by the spider, which is continued through
the whole interior Of the burrow. This
prevents the fall Of earth, and enables the
arantula by its claws quickly to ascend
or scale its fortress.
NJ. Leon Dufour has described the mode
of hunting the tarantula, mostly in May
and June, at Valencia, in SPAN. The
Apulian peasants initiate al the mouth of
the hole the humming of an insect By
means of an oaten stalk, and so lure the
tarantula to the mouth of the burrow, and
capture him. 1t is easily tanned. NJ. Du-
r put two full-grown and very vigorous
le tarantulas together in a glass vase,
and then witnessed combat fought with
sonderful strategy, until the ferocious
vanquisher mortally wounded his enemy
head and then devoured him.