The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-06-25
HOW THE cILA MONSTER KILLS.
some Experiance With the Poison of This
Venomous Lizard.


sis he poisonousP" said young man
behind the newspaper stand at the
Nadeau. We'll. should say he was.
1t isn't his breath, though. A man
from Arizona said that the forked
tongue was the sting"
you're wrong" said a listener; sits
breath is what kills people. l heard a
woman say that single blast of its
breath was sure death"
"That may be-" said another; "but
saw a man die from the bite of one,
and that is the secret of it. I'd rather
have rattler bite me any day."
''Where was itp" queried a startled
| listener.
.Over in Arizona" was the reply.
| "a friend of mine had one in a box
| just outside of saloon, and one day a
chap came along who was so drunk
| that he was ready to eat up the earth.
| He was afraid of nothing, and when he
saw the box and the sign Hands Off
Poisonous, he swore he could handle
it, and before they could prevent him
he ripped off the Stats and made a
grab at it. The thing twisted around
and bit him on the finger, and to
make a long story short, saw him die
| in the middle of the street short time
after"
The subject of this conversation was
| a pale yellow-and-black, blunt-he AIDED
| lizard about a foot in length, that
rested upon bed of sand in small
wooden box. 1t was the famous Gila
monster of Arizona. the only poisonous
lizard in the world, and as ugly and dis
agreeable looking creature as one
could imagine.
The head was long and blunt, the
eyes black and beadlike, the tail half
the length of the body, thickset and
clublike. The entire body seemed en-.
cased in thinly coated armor, marked
eurinnsly with yellow and black.
The ella monster is sluggish and
slow of movement, in this respect be-
ing entirely different from the tribe in
general. In it's own country the ami
| NAL shows more activity. especially in
the dry, hot regions contiguous to the
| Gila River. In confinement it has the
habits of young alligator more than
anything else. The interest which
centers in the heloderma lies in the
poison that is supposed to lurk in its
bite, and perhaps no animal has given
rise to so many weird and wholly
imaginary stories.
The native and some ignorant whites
suppose that its breath is poisonous.
Others think that to have one touch
the body is bad sign. The heloderma
is simply lizard, and the only one
known that can poison other animals
by its bite; a discovery made a few
years ago by some naturalists who
were travelling through the country.
The story was not at first believed, but
several were sent East, where the
poisous properties were soon demon
strated. A naturalist at the Smith
sonian was bitten, the poison taking
effect so quickly that he had barely
time to call for help. Small animals
soon died after being bitten, and twas
shown that human beings, under GER
tain conditions might easily die from
the effects of the bite.
The poison of the heloderma has
been carefully examined by Messrs.
| Mitchell and Reichert. the experts,
who announce that the physiological
action of the poison is entirely differ
ent from that of snakes. The latter
destroys life by paralyzing the re-
spiratory centre, while the poison of
the heloderma at once attacks and
| affects the heart. paralyZing it.
Among the interesting experiments
that of injecting the poison subcutane-
ously has been tried. There was no
| local affect. the heart being at once
affected, slowly contracting the spinal
| cord finally becoming paralyzed.
1t is probable that the condition OF
the victim or his general health would
have much to do with the question of
death. If man was in poor con-
dition and run down he would possibly
die, while healthy man would not be
seriously troubled.
Specimens sent to Europe were ex-
perimented upon by Sir John Lub-
book. A frog bitten by the lizard died in
few seconds in convulsions. A
guinea pig bitten in the hind leg passed
| away in three minutes, and other ami
mails died equally as quick, creating in
the minds of the observers decided
respect. If the teeth of the specimen
at the Nadeau House are examined
they will be found to have curious
| assures, and further and closer look
into the mouth of the monster will
show at the base of the grooves small
dents from which the poisonous saliva
flows. The heloderma is an interest
ing creature, and while not always
sure death, it is well to keep it at dis
tance and handle it with the care and
respect due its unsavory reputation
Los angeles Tribune.