Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-04-26
corner and rcrhaIn t66ere witt, evident

signs of abject fear.
Finally resolved to stuff II, and now
became acquainted with new feature
OF this animal'sinature, a feature,so ex-
traordinary, so! altogether incredible
that almost hesitate to relate II, Ill
though can produce several eye-wit-
nesses to the performance. In order to
preserve the slSin without the least
mutilation, l thought that the best way
to kill the animal with the least posi-
BILE suffering would be TO drown it. ]
therefore attached heavy stone to the
wire which held the animal fast around
the shoulders and immersed 1t In bar
rel full of water, keeping the lizard
completely under Its. surface, anchored,
as Il were but when ! found. after
twelve hours of continuous immersion,
that the saurian was rs alive as ever,
then, with the help of another man,
tried Co strangle the animal, but did not
succeed. AZ this stage friend arrived
ut the house, and l related to him my
perplexity; and he--a native OF Sonora
killed the animal in second by Civ
ing ID moderate short dry knock with
the poker on the back part of the skull
where the latter joins the backbone,
telling me that the ella Monster had
soft spot there, which found to DO the
case while stuffing the animals.
In direct contrast with the Aast-men-
toned peacefully-inclined specimen
were several which kept at different
times. They would pounce upon any
thing that came in an aggressive
manner near them; and / do not remem-
Der any small animal or bird that
lived longer than from ten to thirty
minutes after being bitten, with one
exception. Small creatures, like mice
and little pullets, would die almost i'm.
mediately. A good-sized three-year-old
rooster, however, which had a fight
with him one day and was bitten in the
leg, survived the battle for several
years, although remaining lame. The
lizard had one eye put out and was
otherwise pretty badly used, so that l
killed him in order to make new ex-
pertinent. ! boiled him for about two
hours in well-cleansed kerosene can,
ana then gave street cur about one
pint of the liquid substance. He Tapped
it eagerly, as If it were beef-tea, ap-
pcared to enjoy it greatly, and mani
testify looked about for more. Although
kept him locked up for several days in
my courtyard, failed to discover in
him the least inconvenience resulting
from the unaccustomed diet. This eX-
pertinent repeated at different times,
whenever received specimen whose
mutilated carcass did not admit Of
stufting, and always with the same
harmless results so that i came to the
conclusion that either the process Of
boiling or the gastric juice of the dogs
stomach neutralised the venom.
But where is this deadly venom To-
Gated? When dissected the first Hello
dsrma, / found. to my great surprise.
that Notwithstanding the evident outer
resemblance Of its head to that OF the
rattlesnake, there were no fangs, no
venomous bladders, no visible receipt
acle for venom; and furthermore. that
whereas the jaws of venomous snakes
are simply held in position by num-
Der of elastic skins, which allow their
throats to stretch to great extent and
thus enable them to swallow bodies OF
much greater circumference than them
selves, the jaws Of the HeIOderma are
we'll locked or hinged like those OF the
quadrupeds.
Although I have always been careful
not to come in direct contact with live
Gila Monster, have never taken any
particular precautions for my hands
while stuffing one and have handled its
flesh freely. The animal has two rows
upper and lower-of very sharp teeth
on each side, those of the upper jaw
being considerably longer than the
lower. The stomach is very small.
Strange to say. the skin is thinnest on
the back and along the spine is as thin
as paper, while it becomes thicker to-
wards the belly and is thickest around
the tail. The little paws are exquisite
" shaped and the forepaws resemble
the thumb excepted-very much a hui
man hand in form.
have never yet seen Glla monster
eat or drink, although l had several
that became tame enough. What little
they did eat or drink was made away
with either at night or when nobody
was present. generally gave them
chopped meat or earthworms; but am
positive that quite frequently, especial
~ after being recently captured, they
would go without food or drink for .
week or more. Its natural food sup.
pose to consist Of small insects, bugs,
worms and Larvae; and as lit has never been
seen before April or after September. 1t
is rational to conclude that it hibernates
during the cool and cold seasons
Chambers journal.
Take a Rain Bath.