Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1890-10-10

eryWhere. l noticed that they were
in the bushes and on the grass, so
high that my leggings would not pro-
tect me, and presently l found myself
back at the camp. There, at least,
they could not reach Inc without
climbing up. The ground was per
fectly black with them. Poor Man
uel was down on his knees and the
great insects were all over him. He
seemed crazy, and have no doubt
his mind was nearly gone with terror
and the pain of the bites.
could barely keep the tarantulas
from getting above my leggings. Sud
denly it occurred TO me that | might
find safety in one of the trees. | knew
that | would soon be exhausted if re-
mained among the black beasts, and
that would end it. In moment | had
nv arms about small tree. | crushed
the insects that clung to my legs
against the bark as | dragged and
scrambled up. A dozen feet from the
ground there was branch from which
we had hung some small game had
shot. l pulled myself up on TO this
branch and got the first moments rest
/ had had since the tarantulas first
appeared. | had had no time TO think
before this, but now | began TO real
ize what had happened. 1t seemed
more like a nightmare than anything
real. | looked and almost fell of my
branch at the horrid sight below me.
Ny Indian was now fairly on the
ground. | could not see him for the
poisonous things that covered him,
but the irregular black mass wriggled
and squirmed like wounded snake,
and | knew he was not yet out Of his
agony. On every side were more tar
antulas hungrily searching for more
victims. Their crushed fellows were
almost torn to pieces so fierce were
they in their hunger. They were all
enormous; some of them were as big
as turtles, and when the sun struck
them could see the red line that dis
tinguished them from the non-grega-
rious species that are familiar in other
places. They crawled over one an
other in their desire to find something
into which to sink their fangs. Poor
Manuels writhing body was the OBJ
jective point of most of them. They
fought fiercely for a spot of flesh where
they could strike, and every move
ment of the still living man seemed to
make them yet more fierce.
1t did not take me as long to notice
all this as it does TO describe it, and |
soon saw that | was not yet safe from
the horrible fate that had overtaken
ray guide.
The insects began to crawl up the
tree, though not in any considerable
numbers at first. | brushed them
down with small branch, and those
that were hurt at all were immediate
" set upon by their fellows.
Ny recital Of these things may seem
tame, but | have no pen TO describe
the awful horror of it all. There were
about two hours of daylight left me.
| knew this and | wondered what |
could do in the dark. Then | remem-
bered reading that snakes or cent?
pedes would not cross a hair rope,
and thought that perhaps the same
rule might apply to tarantulas.
The game was swinging from the
branch by horsehair RATA and it
took me very few minutes to cut the
rabbits loose and wind the rope about
the trunk just below me. Pretty soon
more of the big spiders came up.
Manuel was quiet now at last, and
they wanted another victim.
My hair rope did some good. They
could not swarm over it in such num-
bers that | could not sweep them back
with my branch. How long | stayed
there fighting the insects back do
not know.
But the light was fading when | no
ticed commotion among the taran-
tulas. At the same time | observed
number of blue black wasps darting
about. l recognized them as belong
ing to the hymenoptera family. and
realized that they were the tarantula
hawks of which / had read. In ten
minutes the four or five wasps had be-
come hundreds, and FIVE minutes later
there was not tarantula TO be seen,
except the numerous dead ones at the
foot of the tree.
Manuel's body, swollen and discol-
ored by the venom Of the spiders,
stared up at me. waited an hour
and then came down.
1t took me eight days to reach Ne
vada, and on the way ! did not see
single tarantula. DR. j. S. Ddris, IN