The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-08-05
LIFE In A BIG DESERT.
CREATURES THAT INTEREST THE
LONELY TRAVELLER.

Insects, Birds and Reptiles Found In the
Sand-Tunny Freaks of the Tarantula
Hawk and the Road Runner-How the
Latter Worry the Snakes.
There's plenty of life on the desert
not crowds Of human insects, rushing
and tearing about like crazy ants, and
keeping up a din day and night that is
enough to drive the whole world mad
but interesting, sensible, natural life,
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 are worth
studying
Take the tarantula hawk, for example
That's an insect built something like a
wasp, or perhaps more like "devil's
darning needle" and it flies about look
ing for tarantulas just as the hawk scars
and such provender. When the hawk
sees tarantula he goes for the big spider,
swoops down upon him, stings him and
gets away like flash. The tarantula
knows that his only show is to get under
cover, and he legs it home in frantic
haste. It's fun to see the big, hairy leg
ged bully duck his head and paddle off
through the sand as if the devil were
after hi,n-and the devil is after him,
sure enough,
If the tarantula is near his house he
may escape by getting to it, tumbling in
head first and shutting the door tight,
but he's got to hustle for it, because
little Jack the Giant Killer is a hustler
himself, and keeps jabbing away at every
jump. If the hairy ogre gets caught out
great way from his castle his name is
Dennis, and he knows it. He fops 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
a lick and gets away like a flash.
QUEER BIRDS
Sometimes tho hawk viii r-etend to
quit and fly away, but tn" ilatant the
tarantula is on his feet anu scJoting for
shelter, whizz! comes the hawk like
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 few>tilnes. and that ia the
end of his marvellous career.
I've been calling the hawk "he" all
along, but it isn't that kind of a bird
The tarantula Nemesis is the female
hawk. so far as can judge, because aft
ef the spider is knocked out the hawk
proceeds to deposit eggs in the remains,
and l suppose the eggs are hatched 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 a
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 saucy
topknot and still saucier tail about a
foot in length. He runs us fast rs a
horse ordinarily travels, and if he once
gets into the road ahead of horseman
he will race along for hours and can't
tie 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
ldtt w lItl llC VI lu6 SPOIt uc
disappears in the brush.
TANTALIZING A SNAKE.
| was riding across a cactus desert
once when a 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 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 bill and the
diamond back had promptly coiled him
self in defensive attitude and was
springing his rattle wlckedly. One of
the birds remained Lear the snake,
jumping about and making a great
show of hostility, but keeping beyond
reach all the time, while the other gath
cred little punches Of Try cactus, with
spines as sharp as needles and almost as
hard, which he dropped close 10 the rep
tile.
The road runner was as busy rs the
devil in a gale of wind, and In a few
minutes he had piled 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 provo..ed him into striking at
them, witt r,s,i,S disastrous to himself,