The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-08-22
STUPENDOUS SPIDERS.
Some Not Very Pretty Insects
Found in the Tropics.
Tarnntulas, Scorpions and CentIpedes, and
How They Conduct Themselves
Sand-Flies and Mosquitos-Life
In the Bahamas.

With the budding out of the fresh
leaves and blades there come out oil
their lairs the only wild beasts of the
Bahamas. They are tarantulas. cent?
pedes aud scorpions. They have lain
hidden somewhere or other all winter,
rarely showing themselves, but the first
rains of spring put new life into them
and they come creeping out, and turn up
always where least expected. They are
to the people of Nassau what tigers and
lions are to the East Indians. just
shout "Look out for that scorpionr' OF
There's centipeder' if you want to
see everybody jump. They are all
small, but all venomous. If one of
them bite you, you are sure to have
trouble. The poison may not kill you.
but it will give you more pam than any
body cares about enduring, and it will
give you ''the fever" as every bodily
i'll IS called here by the natives. If it is
a centipede or scorpion, you may ac-
cidentally pick one up in your hand;
but you will not hold him long. And
anybody who spends few months in
the tropics learns to treat them with the
greatest respect. Without much of that
fear of spiders and insects in general
that some persons have, / think |
should rather encounter panther or a
bear than any one of these three insects.
With the big brutes, you see them COM
ing. or know about where to expect
them. and can be on your guard. But
you have not much chance to guard
against the tarantula, the centipede or
the scorpion. f @
The tarantula being the largest of the
three, the most hideous, and, | think.
the most dreaded, he is perhaps entitled
to be looked at first. He is known by
almost every body in Nassau as ..the
ground spider" but he is the real
poisonous tarantula, the same as have
met him in Arkansas, in Texas, in
Mexico and in Cuba. There are more
OF them in Arkansas, think, than any,
where else in the world. In mornings
walk OF six or eight miles there, have
seen several, and considering the
spiders deadly character and great
size. that was running across them
pretty fast. Here they are not SO plenty.
but still there are enough about in the
rainy seasons to make a stranger feel
rather uneasy. We have the common
"house SPIDER" too, as it is called,
sometimes almost as large as the taran-
tula; but he is entirely harmless, and
people hardly ever take the trouble to
XII him. House spiders catch and eat
mes and ants and other small, insects
and thus pay their rent. But even the
house spider is not q pleasant CON-
panion in room. The tarantula. how
ever. will empty a room of its occupants
IN about as short order as tiger would.
The first one ever saw in Nassau was
when had been at Waterloo about a
month and was having the bushes
cleared away from about the house.
Some OF the colored boys were at work
in the flower garden. and one morning
they made a grand dash for the front
piazza They all looked well fright
ened, and l asked them what was the
matter.
'Groun' spider, boss" one of them
replied as soon as he could catch breath
enough. 81
We all went out to kill him armed
with hoes. rakes. brooms and all the
Iong-handled implements we could find.
rs well as a wagon load or so of good
sized stones. He sat among the grass
and weeds, easily seen and watched on
account of his intense blackness. and
lid not offer to move. None of the
boys would go within eight or ten feet
Of him, because it is commonly be-
ieved that tarantulas can and do spring
) long distance, being we'll provided
With muscular and hairy legs for that
purpose. think. however, that this is
mistake. have seen a great MANY
II them and never yet have seen one
Jump or make any movement beyond a
low, crawling walk. Their legs are
Iept well under them when they walk.
'levating them, l should think, about
wo inches above the ground. At any
ate we all Kept at respectful distance |
rom this fellow and pelted him with |
ocks. The first shot must have hurt |
nm, Tor he made no effort to get away.
'nd IN minute or two he was pounded |
nto Jeiiy--a nasty, harry, black ielly
hat no one would care to touch. When
e was used up beyond all danger of re-
we cut him to pieces with the
oes and threw him over the wall. He
'as not very large one for a tarantula
perhaps about four inches long and i
lree inches broad. The hairy black
'gs make them look more obnoxious
nd disgusting. than they otherwise
ould. 1t is hard to tell Just how large
I'd powerful the legs are on account of
Ie thick black hair with which they
e covered: After this the boys were