The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-25
LIFE IN A BIG DESERT.
CREATURES THAT INTEREST THE
LONELY TRAVELLER.

CKEA OhES F1RI I'M 6h6ot TIE
LONELY TRAVELLER.
Insects, Birds sod Reptzlss Housd In ths
sand-Fanny Freaks Of the Tarantals
Hawk and the Read Ranner-Hev the
Latter Worry the Snakes.
There's plenty of life on the desert
not crowds of human insects, rushing
and tearing about like crazy antA and
keeping up din day and night that Is
enough to drive the whole world mad
but interesting, sensible, natural hfe,
full of comedy, tragedy and even hu-
NOR. If you feel lonesome you can find
company anywhere BY turning up a
rock or looking under the sagebrush.
There's no lack of ingenious, curious
little creatures whose ways arc worth
studying.
Take the tarantula hawk, for example.
That's an insect built something like .
wasp, or perhaps more like "dev2S
darning needle" and It flies about look.
ing for tarantulas Just . the hawk scars
about keeping his eye peeled for gophers
and such provendex. When tho hawk
sees tafantula he goes for the big spider,
swoops down upon him, stings him and
gets away like fash. The tafantula
knows that his only show is to get under
cover, and he legs it homo in frantic
haste. It's fun to see the big, hairy leg
ged bully duck his head and paddle of
through the sand as if the devil were
after him-and the devil is after him,
sure enough.
If the tarantula is near his house he
may escape by getting to it, tnmbling in
head first and shutting the door tight,
but he's got to hustle for it, because
little Jack the Giant Killer is hustler
himself, and keeps jabbing away at every
jump. If the hairy ogre gets caught out
a great way from his castle his name is
Dennis, and he knows it. He hops over
upon his back to make fight, and If he
could get hold of the hawk in that posi-
ton he would make short work of the
little chap, but the hawk sees the trick,
and just keeps sailing around and watch
ing for an opening, and when he catches
the spider off guard he darts in, hits him
lick and gets away like a flash.
QUEER BIRDS
Sometimes the hawk will pretend to
quit and fly away, but the instant the
tarantula is on his feet and scooting for
shelter, whizz! comes the hawk like a
bullet and socks it to him in the back of
the head. A few stings like that do up
the tarantula He seems to become
dizzy from the poison, staggers a few
steps and collapses in hairy heap. His
legs twitch a few times, and that is the
end of his marvellous career.
I've been calling the hawk che" all
along, but it isn't that kind of bird.
The tarantula Nemesis is the female
hawk, SO far as ! can judge, because aft
er the spider is knocked out the hawk
proceeds to deposit eggs in the remains,
and suppose the eggs are Matched by
the heat of decomposition. Possibly the
purpose of laying eggs in a defunct
tarantula is to provide the young hawks
with grub at the threshold of life, SO to
speak. Whatever the scheme may be, it
is death to tarantula, and for that rea-
son nobody ever harms tarantula hawk.
The insects sting is said to be poisonous
to men, but never knew one to sting q
man.
Then there is the road runner-a JOY
Gus, sociable little fellow, whose bust
ness in life is worrying rattlesnakes to
death. The road runner is bird some
what larger than bluejay, with ssucy
topknot and still saucier tail about
foot in length. He runs as fast as
horse ordinarily travels, and if he once
gets into the road ahead of horseman
he will race along for hours and can't
be driven out of the road. He could
skip aside and get out of the way if he
wanted to, but he seems to think that it
is his mission in life to keep just ahead
of that horse, and nothing can divert
him from that occupation.
He is not in the least alarmed, and
when he gains too much of lead he will
stop and seesaw with his tail and chirrup
merrily until the horse nearly catches
up with him. Then away he goes again.
as if his life depended upon winning the
race. When he weaxies Of the sport he
disappears in the brush.
TANTALHING A SNAKE
I was riding across q cactus desert
once when pair of road runners that
had been racing with me turned out of
the trail and became suddenly very
much excited about something. They
paid no more attention to me, and I rode
up near enough to see what was going
on. They had run across big diamond
back rattler and were preparing to have
fun with him. One of them had struck
the snake with his sharp hill and the
diamond back had promptly coiled him
self in defensive attitude and was
springing his rattle wickedly One Of
the birds remained near the snake,
jumping about and making 2 great
show of hostility, but keeping beyond
reach all the time, while the otkef gath
cred little punches of dry cactus, with
spines as sharp as needles and almost as
hard, which he dropped close to the rep
tile.
The road runner was as busy as the
devil in gale of wind, and IN a few
minutes he had piled q regular little
corral of cactus spines all around the
rattlesnake- Then the pair of them be
gan TO tantalize the snake, and flying at |
him they provoked him into striking AZ
them, with results disastrous 70 himself, |
for every time ne launched out he hit |