The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1885-08-05
tAE rsssoss or rsxss.
centipsdes and Tara6tuia, Described b,
aNaiI,s-So. Deadly i,ol.oaoa..
iAhrin Cor. Detrolt Ffee Pns

.
iAHain CIR. Derolt Fpe PruaL
Isee that according to the yafiou,
stories going therOnndS Texas continues.
70 DO terra incognita TO The outside
world. propose 10 correct q few
stories, aud SET the people Of tho world
right
No sub oct has furnished as much
material for fictitious stories about
Texas as the tatantula and tho cent?.
pede. The tarantnla Is not q beautiful
bird to look upon, ] will admit, but that
be Is the holy terror and EN- yodlment OF
death in rs most horrible form Is a
fabrication By the enemy Heis nothing
but huge spider possessed OF legs
enough for a family Of spiders, and has
teeth that make small fry got out Of the
way. He can Jump two or three inches
mot ever four at his best, after train.
ing six months as an athlete. | have
caught hundreds Of tarantulas, aud have
irritated them until they became
thoroughly hot in tho collar, and have
had them 10 Try and ulnp on me, and
they simply make a spasmOdic move.
nent, quickly toward you, that re
sembles what you might call jump
caught on center, aud then this move.
lnent ends In a little spring OF three or
four inches, which papers and MhlhSt.
tons have multiplied to several feet. =
SO great has become the terror OF
strangers regarding the Texas tarantula,
that l have known men as well as
women to stay awake all night when
stopping In q small Texas town, .becauSe
some one broughton Of these tarantuIas
around aud exhibited him to the COM
pany, He will run from you as fast as he
can when you find him; and, should you
touch him with anything, he will Edo
higbeSt' to leave tho country; shouId
you stop him, however, he will merely
grasp Whatever you touch him with,
give il vicious. bite and Immediately
start or again. Hn can bite very
severely, II you give him a chance, but
bis bite Is not fatal-at least, not more
so than Is that Of tho little green species
Of spider, which has ,been known to kill
by causing erysipelas which, also, the
mus iuito Inns Ceen known 10 do,
Il say most positively, that no one cat.
show single authentic ease where tue
taraDtula has caused death by his bite
dire tly through the venom no elects.
lie Is ugly, like the rattesnake, in that
he will lite when "cornercd," but will
run away every time il he can. His
bite is very painful, and makes ono
quite sick for a few hours, but it is not
fatal per 50. A man in San Antonio
was bittUn by tarantula this week,
and was in led one day. and suffered
from the pain two or three days, but
was never in any danger
The cGntipedG h1S not so many good
points as tho tarantula. In fact, all |
eau conscientiously say in favor Of the
centipGde is that his sting, like the bite
ofthe tarantua, isnot necessarily fatal. |
have never seen a person in my Life who
knows Of any one having been killed by
the sting a centipede and am person
nlly nc TAINTED with at least 70, 6OO PEG
pie in Texas and have lived here since
1858. have known Of hundreds who
say they have seen parties stung by tho
Gentipede, and all have lived; but have
on y seen one person myself who has
had that distinction. ono OF these in.
seCts, with his thirty or forty legs, ran
up his sleeve one night while he was
camping out. The insect was seeking
dry ground" as it was raining, and
the man, slapping his arm OH feeling
something crawling there, pressed the
centipedc and malo him sting, The
flesh slOnghed oil along tie place where
the insect sung him several times, but
he was not even very sick from it.
This shows that the centipedo does
not, as tho popular eastern fallacy has
it. sting with all his legs, but only with
his tail, which is furnished with for
midable pair Of pinrcrs, with which he
gets in his work." as the small boy
says. But neither he nor tho tarantula
frequent the house, only coming into n
house here and there when it rains, and
no one Is bothered with them. a cent?
pCde always seems as anxious to sct out
Of your sight as You arc 10 have dis.
lance placed between you, hence he is
always on tho rapid retreat whom seen.
He will not crawl on q person except as
u last resort, and then | doubt il he
does moi think It is something olse lie is
not thOIe to bite you; Of this you may
DO sure. No; tho centipcde is not dan
gerOus He is not deadly, nor is he half
as often scCn as people think who get
their information from eastern papers.
1t is q fact that old Texans will 20
half milo to SEQ q large specimen Of
the centipedO that a neighbor has been
fortunate enough to capture. They are
rare. Tho collection at New Orleans,
and which struck new terror to tho
hearts Of eastern people who contem.
plated visit TO TG as, was the result
Of years Of watchfulnoss and toll on tho
part Of scores of people in q hundred
different portions OF Texas. You, gentle,
but too CrcdulOus, reader, may come to
Texas and live, and look every day of
your life for ten years and never see
live CCntipGde nor u live tarantuIa.
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