Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-11-14
The Interesting Texas Centipede.

From the Texas Siftngs.
This interesting insect is not SO much cee-
brated for its availability of disposition as for its
good looks, but at the same time, we cannot
recommend it either as a parlor ornament or as
a toy for child to play with, unless it is a
secondhand child that nobody has any partcu-
lar use for. Centipedes are of different sizes.
but they are all made pretty much after the
same pattern. They are made up of about one
third sting, One-third bite, and One-third gene
raj cussedness. They are casemated with q shell
that is as hard as the bark Of a boarding house
cranberry pie. The length Of the centipede
varies very much but if centpede wants to
get mention in the local paper he has to stretch
himself out to about nine inches in length. We
have never read of one that measured less. His
body, which is succession of flat joints, is not
much broader than an ordinary mans finger
The centipede is built on the irOn-clad system.
although it does not make quite as much noise
as the English fleet bombardiug Alexandria
In fact the centipede is not musical at all. but
II 1t happens to crawl over man it will make
him very musical Immediately.
Its head or bow, comparing it to an ironclad,
is armed with pair of pincers, which, besides
being as venOmOus as the editor of a party Or
gan, can bite the end off an iron safe. Each
side is armed with about forty short legs, and
each leg Is armed with sting like that of a
wasp. The centipede terminates in a pair of
hooks, which, like its pincers, are red-hot. so
we nave been told by an innocent young man
who undertook to pick it up by it's STEM When
a centipede anchors his head in the feshy anat-
omy of human being, throws out his two
graphing irons from his rear and then draws
his eighty odd, very odd, claws together it viii
bring tears to the heart of an Irish landlord to
see how the little pet holds
The bite of the centipede rarely causes death.
but 1t makes the bitten party wish he were dead
for short time at least and leaves an ugly
sore. The statement that the bite of the cent?
pede does not cause death is liable to correc-
tiOn. The centpede is very apt to become a
''remains" after it bites person. as there is
quite prejudice against it. For this reason it
is very much secluded i'm its habits living in re-
tirement among the rocks of old buildings. It's
diet is believed to be insects that are not as hea
Willy armed and irOncad Why the centipede
was created in the first place, and what good
purpose 1t serves, are profound mysteries to the
ordinary intellect.
One evening. about dusk, a Texas gentleman
OF scientific turn of mind was sitting on his
front gallery when his attention was called to
an extraordinary meteorological confederation
Us circus men say. A peculiar-shaped cloud
seemed to reach down from tie sky and then
draw itself up again, very much after the man.
ner of those cyclOnic clouds in Iowa. The gen.
tleman was very muchnterested i'm this meteor
illogical perturbation, which he attributed at
first to atmospheric influences, when it occurred
to him that the peculiar cloud or water spout
might be nearer than the distant horizon He
took off his hat and found that his sur
mise was correct Fastened to the rim
OF the hat by its hind claws was beautiful CEN
tlpede about nine inches long. The peculiar
meteorological phenOmna were produced by the
insect drawing itself up and letting itself down
In its efforts to find nose or some other fea-
ture to hang on to In order to facilitate its de-
scent. AS the gentleman had comparatively
short nose the insect was fOied. 1t died shortly
afterward by the gentleman accidentally step
ping on 1t about dozen consecutive times with
the heel of his boot
AS we have already stated. centipedes tire
comparatively rare in the well-settled portions
or Texas, being usually found in bottle of alco-
h0l on the show case of some druggist who has
taste for the beautiful. In this particular,
centpedes differ from some men. They are
much more peaceful and harmless when in
liquor than otherwise. With centpedes as with
Indians. the only good ones are those that are
dead