The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-08
ABOUT LIZARDS.

caused DN mouse Is nothing compared
to what lizard might do in the same
line. In India, however, things are
different. The housewifely instincts of
an English or American woman there
are probably no less refined than those
OF careful woman in this country, but
still she does not mind seeing lizards in
any part of her house. She has become
used to the dark little fellows, and
knows that they are harmless. useful and
unobtrusive.
These house lizards are seldom over
six inches long. Their color is notified
grayish-brown, which. in its irregular
lines, sometimes looks like the grain of !
piece of wood. They are fat in shape,
lie close to surface, and against a LIGHT |
background have somewhat the appear
ance of miniature squirrels skin |
nailed to barn door to dry. While |
having bony structure, the skeleton of |
lizard Is much of it of cartilarinous |
nature, not so soft, however, as to pre- |
vent quite rapid motion on the part of |
the reptile. The solcs of the feet are |
made for running along or up hard. |
smooth wall and even across the cell |
ing. though in trying the latter feat the
lizard sometimes gets fall. The little |
creatures are frequently seen chasing
each other on the walls or beams of a |
building, or playing at hide and seek |
among the furniture.
Catching flies is favorite pastime.
these and other small insects serving rs
food, and the deXterity with which they
capture their prey is remarkable. Their
senses of sigHs, hearing or smell must
be wonderfully acute. Discovering a
fly on thewall fully ten feet away, al
lizard will start for it, running at full
| speed and in 4 straight line until about
| Il foot from the object, when its motion
becomes more and more slow and as
stealthy rs 4 cats when stalking a
| mouse. The creature hardly seems to
advance, but gradually draws near the
| insect. When within an inch of the fly,
| the lizards body shoots forward like a
flash. the feet still sticking to the wall,
big mouth opens and shuts like steel
| trap. there is slight convulSive gulp,
| and the drama of Jonah and the whale
has been re-enacted, the fly taking the
| part of Jonah. Sometimes lizard will
make complete or partial circuit of its
victim going above and descending
head downward on the prey, approach
inc it from below or seeking to make
the attack from some other direction.
The strangest thing about a lizard is
its power of losing its tail and having it
| grow out again. the second tail being
shorter and less perfect than the origi-
nal one The tail is simply muscular
appendage into which the back bone
does not seem to extend. 1t is about
two-thirds as long as the lizard body,
quite large where it joins the body, and
gradually tapcrs to a point. fall or
a blow will break it off, but even when
completely detached it will retain life
for half on hour or more, squirminG like
q worm, twisting, doubling up and even
jumping around as actively as 4 mInnOW
out of water. This activity grows more
and more faint till the tail is dead and
stiff. When it is broken into pieces the
fragments show life, but of course the
power of motion is limited by the size of
the piece A lizard, like all reptiles. is
.'eold bIoodcd, so that detached tail
or its parts bleed but little.
These house lizards eggs are as
round as marbles and about the size Of
small peas Their shells are rs thin as
paper and exceedingly brittle. They
are deposited in out-of-the-way hooks
- on the tops OF or behind books as they
stand on shelves. in unused table draw
: ers or in the pigeon holes Of desks.
When freshly laid they are OF cream
color. but become q very pale blue, like
we'll watered milk. as the Matching time
draws near A newly Matched lizard is
an exceedingly lively little fellow; and
sometimes. when an egg Is knocked
] from its resting place and broken, the
occupant, after a second or two OF
establishment at so sudden an introduce
:, ton into the world, will dart away into
4 a place Of conccalment with as much
= arility as if it were fully grown. The
youno lizards encounter many dangers.
Large spiders lie in wait for them, drive
Them into the corners, tangle them IN
webs and suck the blood from the
Youngsters at their leisure; maraudIng
p black wasps sometimes find the little
fellows convenient prey with which to
stuf their nests; and there are Other
and equally successful means Tor De
reaving the mother lizards.
A pair of these interesting creatures
J once made their home in and around III
American missionary's desk. They lait
their eggs in an empty wafer box, bu
/, the Young never seemed to hnger abou
the old homestead. The parent lizards
remained. however, for several months
: and might haze stayed longer had no
one of them been crushed by a bool
tossed upon newspaper under when
was hiding One of this pair WAS III
tle larper. darker and holder than tht
other, and was supposed to be the male
? When not foraging for flies. the tW(
| seemed TO take special delight IL
watching the desk owner at his work
They would peer at him from among
the papers in the pigeon-holes, or IRON
the shelves which rose behind the desk
They rarely descended to the dest
proper when the gentleman was present
and only once did the male muster "
ID courage enough to taste a drop OF mill
placed on the desk for him. Inc usua
programme was for the little creature
TO crawl stealthily out from their retire
ment, advance boldly a few steps an.
then turn tail and scamper back as
half frightened to death. They were s.
shy that the slightest move or sount
would at any time send them to thel
hiding places in hurry
The buzzing of fly. caught and he'll
= between the missionary's fingers
would generally bring them from thel
!, hiding places, bet they never seemed t
3 care 10 touch an insect which they ha
not caught themselves. They kept tn
desk toierably clear of vernin, and TO
this. if nothing more, would have bee
always welcome to free lodgings; On
d day. however, as sort of warning
II coming danger, probably, the femal
ng LoIf aud hroke her tail of