The Red Cloud chief., 1882-10-27

This interesting insect u NOT ~ much
for its suitability Of dlsposi-
ton - for its good looks. bat. at the
same time, we cannot recommend 10
sither rs . parlor ornament or as . toy
for q child 10 play with. unless IL is .
second hand child hat nobody has any
particular use for. Cenipedes are 81
different sizes. but they are all made
pretty much after the same pattern.
They are made mp Of about one-ihird
sting. onc-ihird bite. and one-th' ri gen
eral cussedness. They are cisema,ed
with n shell that IL n. hard n the bark
Of a boarding house cranberry pie The
length Of The eentipeic varies very
much. but IL q centipedc vans To get =
mention in the local paper he has to
stretch himself out 10 about nine inches
IN length We have never read OF one
that measured less. His body. which is
n succe ssion Of fat joints. is not much
broader than an ordinary mans finger.
The ccntipcde is built on the iron-clad
sys em. although II does not make quite
ms much noise as the English feet bonn
harding Alexandria In fat, the cent?
pede is not musical nj all, but IL IL hap
pens tn crawl over q man il will make
him very musical immediately.
Its head or bow. comparing IL TO an
iron-ciad. is armed with n pair Of pin
GERS. which. besides being as yenomous
n the editor OF n party organ. can bite
the end off an iron sac. Each side Is
armed with about forty short legs. and
each leg Is armed with a sting like that
of a wasp. The centipede terminates
in n pair Of HOOKS, which. like its pin
rers. are red hot, so we have been told
by IN innocent young man who under
took g pick il up by It's stem. When n
cen,ipede anchors his head in the fieshy
anatomy IL a human ieing. throws out
his two graphing irons from his rear,
and ihen draws IL. eight yodd. very odd.
claws together. it will bring tears To
the heart Of an Irish landlord to see how
tie little pet holds.
The bite OF the centipede rarely
| rauses death, but il makes the bitten
party wish he were dead, fer a short
lime, at least, and leaves an ugly sore.
The statement that the bite Of the cent?
| pcde does not cause death i liable To
correction. The ccniipeie is very apt
W DttoIIf ~ ltiisiiS ~ ~ 49, -
person. rs there is quite a prejudice
against il. For this reason it is yeri
much secluded in its habits. living in
retirement among the rocks of old
build ngs. lis Diet is believed 10 be in-
sccts that are not as heavily armed and
iron-clad. Why the centipede was
created in the first place, and what
good purpose il serves. are profound
mysteries to the ordinary intellect
One evening. about dusk. n Texas
gentleman. of a scientific turn Of mind.
was sitting on his front gallery. when
| his attention was called TO an c%xtraor-
binary meteorological confederation. a.
circus men say. A peculiar shaped cloud
seemed To reach down from the sky, and
then draw itself up again. very much
after the mannerof those cyclonic clouds
in Iowa. The gentleman was very much
interested in this meteorological per
turbation. which he attributed at first IA
atmospheric influences. when il occurred
to him that the peculiar cloud or water
spout m ght b. nearer than the distan,
horizon. He took of his hat, and found
that his surmisc was correct. Fastened
To the rim OF the hat by its hind claws
was a b autilul centipede about nine
inches long. The peculiar meteorolog'
j nj phenomena were produced by the
insect drawing itself up and letting it,
self down in its C forts to lind a nose oil
some other feature 10 hang on to in or
der To facilitate its descent. As the
gentleman had a comparatively short
nose the insect was foilcd. 1t died
shortly aiterward by the gentleman
accidentally Stepping on it about Il dozer
consecutive times with the heel Of hi'
,oot.
As we have already stated. centipede'
are comparatively rare in the well set
tied portion of Texas. being usual,
found i'm q bottle Of alcohol on the show
ease of some druggist. who has a tast,
for the beautiful. In this particular,
centipeles diher from some men. They
are much more peaceful and harmless
when in liquor than otherwise. Will
centiredes rs with Indians, the onl,
good ones are those that arc dead
itras Sytings.