Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-04-27


store-The old Druggists Remedy--The
''sTule Killers" Description Of tho scor-
pion Family.
A reporter was hurrying down Barclay
street few days ago, conscious that he
had but few minutes in which to catch
the Hoboken ferryboat, when he suddenly
stopped at a dark opening, which led into
q still darker basement. Bunches OF ba-
nanas hung to the Intel and were fes-
tooned up the jambs of the doorway.
while bursting crates Of golden oranges
were piled on the downward leading steps.
It was an agonizing yell, which seemed
to hint of murder and sudden death, as it
burst from the recesses of this dingy look
ing cavern that had arrested his steps.
He had not long to wait for an explana-
ton. Up the steps, at the risk of overturn-
ing the piled up boxes of fruit which OBJ
structed the passage, bounded coal black
negro, whose eyes were bulging out Of his
head with mingled fright and pain, and
as he ran he vigorously shook one of his
immense hands, which the reporter could
see was growing every instant still larger.
$50 de lawd, - he blubbered, Else
dead niggah, suah. Use stung by rat
tier, is. To dabbler in natural his
w. euC OppOA WIS t1Ob 10 DC lDiSScu3
even at the expense of losing half dozen
Hoboken ferry boats, and the reporter
followed the negro as he bolted into
drug store near by. He found the man
exhibiting his wounded paw to an un-
sympathetic druggist, who seemed, how
ever, to know exactly what to do under
the circumstances, while the patient kept
up running commentary of CALCULATIONS
bearing on the agony he was suffering.
stHit's a bic bite, suah. Hit aches me
way up to dat ar shoulder. Rattler's
bites poison, aintis it, sah2'' ssThat's no
rattler,n snorted the druggist. "Came
out of bunch of bananas, you says Well,
guess it was scorpion
mo, sab, hit came from among dem
or'nge boxes
s'Then it must have been a spider or a
mule killer" said the druggist.
BY this time he had prepared dose
which he gave the terrified darkey to
swallow, and then, with strong smelling
lotion, he bathed the afflicted member.
At this point the reporter took hand in
the conversation. ''Is that whisky you
gave him to drinkY' he asked.
No, young man, said the old drug
gist. "It's ammonia, and worth quart
of whisky in the case of spider or scor-
pion bite.n
"Then mule killer Is q scorpion?''
mo, sir, it is not Scorpion
"Ah, then"-with brilliant ratiocina-
tion-'.it's a spider.''
Wrong again. said the druggist. sit
isn't a spider"
'sThen what on earth is it?''
Its just between the two,' said the
druggist, and the darky having subsidized
into condition of mute despair, varied
by an occasional moan Of lingering agony,
and the store being otherwise deserted,
the druggist became quite conversational.
He was an old man with clean shaven
face, struggling gray hair and keen eyes,
which peered at one over the tops of his
old fashioned spectacles. This was by no
means the first case of poisonous bite he
had treated, he said, since he had settled
in the neighborhood. All around him
were tho establishments of dealers in all
sorts OF tropical fruits, and hidden in
lunches of bananas, under heaps of coco1-
nuts or in crates of fruit, were often to
be found scorpions and spiders of all sorts
and sizes. Occasionally the men handling
the fruit get bitten. but more often the
insects are in a semi-torpid state and are
killed before they get chance to do any
damage.
gist, II was member of a surveying
party, for, among other professions / have
followed, is that of surveyor, and found
myself helping to lay out one of the first
railroads ever run through Florida. We
were at work during the cold season,
when one evening, after a hard days
work, rode into camp on my mule, and,
picking up o blanket which was lying
across a log, / buckled il around my
beasts body to prevent it catching cold
Hardly had done so when the mule be-
gan to indulge in a gvmnastic perform
ance which would have put even an army
mule to the blush. paid no attention at
first beyond passing few obligatory re-
marks, but finally, as he kept up
his kicking and plunging, determined
to take of the blanket and see If branch
OF thorny immora might not have got en-
tangled in it and account for his restless
ness. Instead of thorn found brown
creature about three inches long hanging
on for dear life to the mules back One
or the men who knew tho country rather
better than / said it was q mule killer.
and sure enough, inside OF two hours Mr..
Mule was as dead as the proverbial her
ring. As we sat round the camp fire that
night many were the stories told Of the
havoc wrought by this insignificant look
ing pest. Not only mules but valuable
horses have fallen victims BY the score to
this insect, which Is variously known as
the scruncher, devils bull driver and whip
scorpion"
The scientific description Of the scor-
pi0n family states that they have an
elongated body, which, like that Of all
members Of that family, IS divided into
seglnents, the last six Of which, in the
case Of the scorpion. are Of equal sizes
The tail Is flexible and ends in sting.
The chelicera, or fangs, arc short, and
end In pincer like nppendage, while The
palpi, or jaw appendages, are long and
also end II 9 f0rceps. Respiration Is ef-
fected By means Of two pairs Of pulmo-
nary sacks, which communicates with the
air through four openings. A curious
thing to Be- noticed about the whip
scorpion Is that the poisonous fangs
ADORE referred Go take tho place Of the
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