The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-09-04
THE eILA MONSTER.
ssme Experiments with the Poison of Thi
VenOmous Lizard

us he poisonous?" said a young man
behind the newspaper stand at the Ma
deau. "Well, I 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, cts
breath is what kills people. heard a
woman say that a 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
rattler bite me any day."
''Where was it?'' queried startled
listener.
"Over in Arizona" was the reply.
"a friend of mine had one in box just
outside of saloon, and one day 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 Of-Poisonous, he swore he
could handle it, and before they
could prevent him he ripped off the Stats
and made grab at it. The thing twisted
around and bit him on the finger, and to
make long story short, I saw him die
in the middle of the street short time
after.'
The subject all this conversation was
q pale yellow-and- black, blunt-headed
lizard about foot in length, thatrested
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 disagreeable
a 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 club
like. The entire body seemed incased
III thinly coated armor, marked curl
ously with yellow and black.
The ella monster is sluggish and slow
of movement, in this respect being en-
tirely different from the tribe in gem
eral In it's own country the animal
shows more activity, especially in the
dry, hot regions continuous to the Gila
river. In confinement it has the habits
of young alligator more than any
thing else. The interest which centers
in the heloderma, lies in the poison that
is supposed to lurk in its bite, and per-
haps no animal has given rise to so many
weird and wholly imaginary stories.
} The natives 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 a lizard, and the only one
known that can poison other animals by
| its bite: 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 poisonous proper
J ties were soon demonstrated. A natur-
} alist at the Smithsonian was bitten, the
the poison taking effect so quickly that
he had barely time to call for help.
Small animals soon died after being bit
J ten, and it was shown that human be-
ings, under certain conditions, might
| easily die from the effects of the bi to-
The poison of the heloderma has been
carefully examined by Messrs. Mitchell
| and Reichert, the experts, who an
: nounce that the physiological action OF
the poison is entirely different from
that of snakes. The latter destroys life
: by paralyzing the respiratory center,
while the poison of the heloderma at
: once attacks and affects the heart, par.
{ alyzing it.
: Among the interesting experiments
that of injecting the poison subcu-
: taneously has been tried. There was no
, local effect, the heart being at once af-
: fected, slowly contracting, the spinal
: cord finally becoming paralyzed.
: 1t is probable that the condition of the
victim or his general health would have
i much to do with the question of death.
If man was in poor condition and run
down he would possibly die, while a
healthy man would not be seriously
troubled.
Specimens sent to Europe were ex.
perimented upon by Sir John Lubbock.
A frog bitten by the lizard died in few
seconds in convulsions. A guinea pig
1 bitten in the hind leg passed away in
} three minutes, and other animals died
equally as quick, creating in the minds
of the observers a decided respect. Il
: the teeth of the specimen at the Ma
I deau House are examined they will be
! found to have curious assures, and q
: further and closer look into the mouth
> of the monster will show at the base o.
= the grooves small dents from which tht
I poisonous saliva flows The helodermi
I is an interesting creature, and while no
always sure death, it is we'll to keep i
4 at distance and handle it with the care
and respect due its unsavory reputation
Los Angeles (Cal.) Tribune.
Bit of Impudence.
: Cholly-Exeuse my asking, but do yol
really enjoy talking to yourself? / hav'
= noticed you have that habit.
!, DolIy-I suppose / enjoy it, but VIII.
do you ask?
]. Cholly-O, didn't know whether yol
:. did or not. You see, didn't know bu
= = that the enjoyment you took in talking
= to yourself was counterbalanced by tn
infiction of having to listen to yourse1
, , at the same time.-Terre Haute Elk
press.
j. The remark of Walter Besant. il
o 1.-THE Bell of st. Paups, that this
Q an age of Apollinaris water" is foreibl,