The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1889-05-18
THE CRAFTYTSPIDER.
hanDsk. 49,, ..-- -aefssA n
Some Strange 7 Stories About an
-A Ugly-Looking Animal.

eSs@F A~S " -
Some Strange Stories About an
~ Ugly-Looking Animal.
spiders That Came Down from Their Webs
to Listen to . violinist-The Weather
= Prophesying Power Of tho Queer
Things-Popular Superstitions.
Spiders are the most curious and interest
ing of the small animals, says the Pitts
burgh Dispatch. Its ingenuity, industry,
patience, avariciousness and cunning have
furnished texts for scores of essays and
homihes, while naturalists have written
volumes descriptive Of its habits and pe-
culiarities. Its body has been used for
medicine, and even for food and numerous
unsuccessful attempts have been made to
turn its industry to account in the manu-
facture OF silk fabrics from its web. 1t Is
very knowing creature and not particularly
friendly towards man. Yet cases are on
record OF ugly spiders that were trained
and domesticated until they would come at
their masters call and take food from his
hands,
Spiders are said to be peculiarly sus-
ceptibe to the charms Of music. IT. Is re-
lated OF French prisoner Of war who was
allowed to play upon tho lutte during his
confinement in the Bastile that he was
much ustonished, after having had his in
strument for few days, to see the spiders
descend from their webs and gather around
him in circle as he was playing A number
Of mice also came out of their holes to enjoy
the music. When he ceased to play the
spiders returned to their webs and the mice
to their nests, but ever afterwards, wniie
engaged In Willing away the tedious hours
by music, he had tho same curious audience.
Moreover, the number Of mice and spiders
that came to gaze and listen grew greater
each day, until at last he begged cat Of his
taller, kept 1t In q cage and amused himself
by letting it loose whenever he wished to
create panic among his strange com.
paniOn8. s.veA<suAs. A<~~ua.
Another Frenchmsn tells of spiders tina.
came down from their webs and gathered
around skillful violiuist who was practic-
ing alone In his ROOM Many other instances
are cited by various writers to prove that
these creatures are fond Of music.
As weather prophet, the spider Is re.
garued by many rs the superior of Virgins,
or even the grounding. II the day Is to be
windy or rainy they creep out OF their holes
and shorten the Hlaments on which their
webs are suspended, drawing them up
tightly. When they are indolent good
weather may be expected; whenever they
are unusually active look out for storm.
Its thought to be unlucky to kill spider,
but to have one crawl over your clothes is a
sure sign Of coming good fortune--the
general superstition being that the person
so favored will soon receive sum Of
money. II q spider approaches you, either
by descending from the ceiling or crawling
toward you, 1t is sign of good luck; but if
the creature runs the other way some evil
10 about to befall you. Killing a spider
that crosses your path will bring bad luck,
and il you are to kill one at all never on any
account do 80 In your house. Should q
spider drop from tree directly in front OF
you before night you will be visited by a
dear friend. In some parts Of England
there Is q common belief that spiders will
not hang their webs on IN Irish oak because
all sorts Of vermin were banished from
every thing Irish by St. Patricks decree.
The strength of the spider is 80 great thai
1t should entitle him to rank as Sampson
of the smaller ANIMALS. An eminent lega
gentleman OF New York State related, many
years ago, curious story OF what he INN
. self had witnessed A striped snake tina
was fully nine inches long was discovered
suspended alive in SPIDERS web in a wint
cellar. The web hung between two shelves
TWO feet apart in such position that thu
snaxe could not possibly have fallen into 1t
Three spiders, each smaller than a fly, wer
found feasting on the body Of the still livinI
reptile. On examination of the snake b.
means Of magnifying glass it was seel
that its mouth was firmly tied up by a grea
number of threads so tightly that it coul
not run out its tongue. The tail was tied il
aknot, leaving small loop through which
cord was fastened A little above the tn
was noticed small round ball, which upo
inspection proved to be small green fly
The fly had served rs windlass to hau. tn
snake up, the cords being wound around i
Many threads were fastened to the cor
above and to the ball containing the fly
keep it from unwinding and letting tn
snake fall. The snake had evidently bee
caught mapping and strung up by his il
genious little captors before he had time I
make q struggle for freedom.
Probably every person who has spent
summer in the country has been surprise,
while talking morning walk, to moi
the immense number Of gossamer-like web
glistening with dew, that have been sprea
upon trees, shrubs, grass, fences an
hedges during the preceding night
There Is . common belief, by no NEAR
confined to the ignorant, that those wei
fall from the sky in showers; but wherev'
they come from, there is little doubt tht
are woven by the gossamer spider. ltw'
an ancient notion that the gossamer WI
made by dew that had burned in the su
and one learned man OF olden time ev'
went so far as to advance the theory that
was not unlikely that the white clouds,
frequent in summer, were Of the same m
terial.