Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-10-03
HOW THE CHA MONSTER KILLS.
some Importance with tho Poison OF This
VenOmOus Lizard.

"Is he poisonousp" said young man
behind the newspaper stand at the
Nadeau. "Well, 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 listener; ats
breath is what kills people. l heard
woman say that single blast of its
breath was sure DEATH"
THAT may be-" said another; 'but ]
saw man die from the bite of one
and that is the secret of it. I'd rather
have RATHER bite me any day."
"Where was itP" queried IA startled
| listener.
"Over in Arizona" was the reply.
"A friend of mine had one in n box
Just outside of a saloon, and one day n
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 of the Stats and made
grab at it. The thing twisted around
and bit him on the finger, and to
HIM ~ iOuA saw nun hlO
in the middle of the street a short time
after"
The subject of this conversation was
pale yellow-and-black, blunt-he AIDED
lizard about foot in length, that
rested upon bed of sand in small
wooden box. 1t was the famous ella
monster of Arizona, the only poisonous
lizard in the world, and rs 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
curiously 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 its own country the ami
NAL shows more activity. especially in
the dry, hot regions contiguous TO the
ella River. In confinement il 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 Turk 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 heoderma
is simply lizard, and the only one
known that can poison other animals
by its bite; a discovery made 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
stIated. A naturalist at the Smith
sonian was bitten, the poison taking
effect Sd quickly that he had barely
time To call for help. Small animals
soon died after being bitten, and IL was
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 aud 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 Mt 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 a healthy mau would not be
seriously troubled.
Specimens sent to Europe were ey-
perimented upon by Sir Jonn Lub-'
book. A frog bitten by the lizard died in
few seconds in commissions. 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. II the teeth of the specimen
at the Nadeau House are examined
they will he found to have curious
assures, and further and closer look
into the mouth OF tho monster will
show at the base of the grooves small
dents from which the poisonous saliva
flows. The hclodorma is an interest
ing creature. and while not always
sure death. it is we'll to keep it at dis
lance and handle it with the care and
respect due its uusavory reputation
Los Aageies Tribune.