The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-01-20

Queer Things In Texas.
The centipede is not very pretty
insect. He runs too much to legs.
Once | thought them of no use, but
after seeing lot of Chiricahua In
dian papooses pulling centipedes
from their holes and greedily devour-
ing them, legs, poison and all, | no
longer doubted the wisdom and be
ne6cence of their creation. In the
course Of my checkered career l
have had several adventures with
centipedes and always came oul sec
ond best. A centipede can raise a
blister on a mans body quicker than
red-hot iron, and if you don't i'm
mediately apply remedial poultice
of pounded prickly pears and dose
yourself inwardly with post whisky
which latter is warranted TO kill
anything but an army mule-the re-
sultant effects may be serious. Cen
tipedes usually attack their victim
at night, when he is asleep and can't
defend himself They are armed
with about two hundred little lances
conveniently lashed to the toe Of
each foot-of which they have sew
eral-and at the base of each lance
is tiny sack of venom. If cen
tipede crawls across your body
which he'll most likely do if you lie
down anywhere within half d mile
of him-youll have no difficulty in
following his trail. and you will re-
member his visit for weeks. No man
ever died from the bite OF cent?
pede, but | have known one to make
a man wish he were dead.
TARANTULAs.
The tarantula is an exaggerated
spider, with teeth and hair. They
are always ready for fight and will
tackle anything, not excluding a
buzz-saw. In days gone by | have
often amused myself by teasing one
with red-hot coal. At first they
would fight shy, but after they once
got mad they would attack that coal
and never surrender until they were
burned to crisp. never heard OF
any one eating tarantula. Ii one
bites you use the same remedies as
prescribed for centipede sting, only
more so.
THE vINEGARoAN.
The vinegaroan has never been
scientifically classified, and is con-
tent to plod through life undistin
guished, save by his humble frontier
patronymic The Mexicans and In
dians, who have been acquainted
with the vinegaroan longer than /
nave, solemnly assert that his bite Is
deadly. | have always taken their
word for it, The vinegaroan lives
under decaying logs, and, if disturb
ed, scorn TO run. | saw fight once
between a vinegaroan and a taran-
lula. The tarantula was lifted out
of the pit dead in one minute
THE sTINGING LIZZARD
is found most anywhere, but princi-
pally snugly ensconced in the folds
of your blanket when you lie down
at night He always lets you know
that be is there, and | have known
men to dance, and tear their hair
and pray in a very undigniied and
eccentric fashion, upon discovering
that stinging lizard had selected
them as a bedfellow The stingiug
lizards weapon of defence and Of
fence is his tail, which is long and
as full of joints as bamboo pole.
When he punches with the sharp
end of caudal appendage you think
of sheol's fire and howl. The sting
ing lizard is not good to eat. The
application of fresh quid OF tobae-
co will take the fire out of the spot
where he sslutes you.
THE DEVIL HORSE.
The body of a devil horse is all of
the same size, and he looks not un-
like green walking-stick set up on
twelve other walking-sticks, six on
side. The scientific men who have |
sought TO classify the fauna of Texas
have somehow overlooked the devil |
horse, but be doesn't seem to mind |
the slight and continues catching
flies with monotonous persistency
| was never been bitten by devil |
horse, and | never met anyone who |
had been, but the natives class them |
among the poisonous, and they I
ought to know
A COLONY OF FIRE ANTS.
My camp was once invaded by /
fire ants. 1t was a good place; con. /
venient to wood and water. and !
hated to leave. disputed the right /
of occupancy with them for three
weeks, at the end of which time 1 |
incontinentlv surrendered and fled /
During that three weeks | dug them 1
out, burned them out and drowned I
them out, but they didn't seem TO /
mind it in the least. They went on
burrowlng through the building
and exploring the surrounding coun-
try, and when my tent got full of
them. and had been bitten in about
100000 different places, | thought
it time to move The bite of the
fire ant is like the sting of the sting
ing lizard. 1t hurts and makes a
sore place. They increase With
rapidity that Is alarming, and the
more you try to exterminate them
the more numerous they become 1t
used TO be a test of courage among
the Comanche Indians for brave
to thrust his barred arm into a nest
of fire ants and hold it there with
out flinching. while his companions
went through the movements of
complicated dance around
his tortured body. They don't do
it any mnre. Once near Pope's
Crossing. ON the Pecos river, | reach
ed a village of fire ants and started
to make detour. We discovered
Indian signs of recent date, and hal
ted to investigate A band OF In
dians bad camped on the edge of the
ant village, and a prisoner. who af
a a. L