The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1884-12-20
THE PAINSTAKING SPIDER
A Web of Sixty Feet and It's Mc.anc,o,v
Destruction.

A Web of Sixty Feet and Its Mc.ancbo,
Destruction.
once there was a spider. There i
nothing wry startling about this fac
, unless veu are Of a nervous turn an,
the saia unruly insect drops down int,
your lace while you are trying to go t.
sleep, or you are easily cast down b,
running into his web thrown across
doorway. Spiders are chiefly domesti,
IN Their habits in this latitude. anf
nave weakness for rounding out tn.
corners OF rooms and filling the chink.
IN out-o'-the- way places with sub
stance which, if it had been a little
stronger, would have won them an hon.
'orable place in the arts and mad.
chem IS popular as they are now oh.
noxious.
One evening the individual subject
OF this history was discovered spread
ing ms net across an open window that
had been raised to give the supper
taeie more pleasant surrounding, and
as he mad not proceeded far when lis
plans We're Observed, close watch was
Kept OF his move rents, and the follow
ing notes taken on the proc. IS: The
upper limit of the web was She half
raised sash, and enough OF the space
below WAS taken 70 make a structure
ABOUT foot square, which WAS mapped
out 10y single line fastened to the
window frames. Inside of this a few
Strands We're thrown, which crossed at
the center, where an irregular bulls
eye-llke base OF operations was formed
6y cross webs put in very inartistically.
The spider then added more spokes to
his wheel until he had tw. nty, and
then accomplished the feat of Joining
these altogether bv circular webs about
an inch apart. This kept the rays in
place like set of guy ropes, but made
2 deal of climbing and calculation
Necessary.
y next, beginning at the outset, this
practical acrobat began running circular
webs around the structure, about five
to the inch, each inside circle tolerably
regular as regards the other one, and
all fastened to each cross line by bit
of waxy substance secreted by the ami
NAL himself As each preliminary circle
was reached it was found more and
more that they took somewhat differ
ent direction from the new ones; or, to
be exact about it. were thrown about
different center. So as to avid ridicu-
lous crossing of these circular lines,
the first set was taken up and ap-
parently dcvoured by the workman.
Nothing but the waxy points where
they had crossed the rays showed where
they had been. The spider did not
try to spring from one ray to the other,
or shoot out his web, but took a trip
around 10y the shortest route, and
waxed the newly spun line to the ray
before setting out again. Several times
he broke off the line and made trip
to the center. where he inspected the
work with the air of a master builder,
and once was observed to give the
whole fabric q mighty shake, as though
testing it's capacity for holding winged
victims, and bearing up his own pratt
cal self when lie chose to go out on a
foray. Sometimes on returning to his
work he had left off, and began in new
place. which left rather awkward
break in the fabric, though it was not
conspicuous as whole.
Nearer and nearer the center the
work proceeds, until the master work
man came to the conclusion that it
would answer his purpose, and sudden
ly broke Of the process os drawing his
web out of himself and settling down
composedly at the focns; of the affair
with good appetite, daubtless, and
approving conscience, due to one who
has labored faithfully according to his
own light, and not greatly the worse
for not being obliged to go abroad for
building material. Already his efforts
had borne fruits, for two giddy flies
had dropped into the web and were
flutterins in the breeze, as helpless as
though held in the spiders claw, but
their 81 In captor wasn't in any hurry
for his supper, and let them flutter.
He had worked at his best rates for
fully half an hour, and couldn't ex-
haust himself further Just now by run
ming after game that was safe where it
was.
. A careful estimate showed that the
whole web was not far from sixty feet
long. all of which had been evolved
from the builders consciousness and
physical self in that short space of
time. But it was getting late. The
sun had already gone. Suddenly some
one shut down the window, bringing
ruin on the carefully built fabric and
Transforming our late industrious archi-
tect. pirate, and robber into trem-
bling fugitive, glad to get off at any
price Such is Gie.-Bu0dio Nelrs.
Glow DO you extract the cube root? ?"
asked the school teacher of the son of a