Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-14

Late in May, 1889, through the kind
ness Of Miss Mary Woodman, the Mu-
scum of Comparative Zoology at Cam
bridge. Mass. came into possession Of
an unusually handsome specimen of the
@'Gila monster" (Heloderma sus-
peetum), one of the largest of the liz
ards and the only one reputed ven
omous, says S. German in the last
number of the Rural Californian. He
had been secured at Casa Grande,
Arizona, by Mr.. Daniel II. Bacon and
forwarded in such manner as to reach
us little the worse for the handling and
change of climate. His arrival in good
health and in the warm season gave op-
portunity for taking a number of notes
shat may add something to what is al
ready known concerning the species.
For more than year he was kept alive
and under observation. Animals that
have been brought any distance usually
arrive very thirsty, and the first move
coward demonstrating them is made IN
giving them water. Heloderma was no
exception. In an arid dwelling place
such as his, four or five days, the length
of the journey, would not be expected
TO prove a very long time between
drinks, but he drank as if nearly fam
ished. A stupid and impassive appear
ance did not prevent such manifestation
of intense enjoyment as made it
3 pleasure to watch the slow pro-
cess of satisfying what, for the time be-
ing was the greatest desire of the crea-
sure's existence. More than half an
hour elapsed from the time the snout
was brought down to the liquid and the
tongue thrust into it until the head was
raised and, licking the lips and yawning
10 disclose the inky blackness inside the
mouth, preparations were begun on a
sleeping place. Shortly afterward an
egg was broken into dish and placed
within reach it was taken with evident
relish, in the same manner as the
water. Any of the fluid that
adhered was carried into the mouth by
retraction, and no doubt the tongue was
followed by a slight current induced by
suction that took in a little mere; the
amount of suction, however, must have
been very slight, judging from the time
occupied in eating a single egg. On
each of four days one egg was consumed
then followed a week of fasting, the
most of which was cloudy weather.
Readiness to feed depended greatly on
the temperature and brightness OF the
day; in consequence the meals were
quite irregular.
In the latter part of July he began to
slough. The epiderm came off in very
ragged way, in shteds and patches.
There seemed to be no effort to hasten
the process and a month later it was
mot entirely finished. Thinking to hurry
the matter, in case all had not gone
along in the normal way, bath tub
was furnished with water sufficient to
completely cover him. At once he
showed fondness for lying in the water
with his snout sticking out; this was
varied by lying on the bank with his
tail sticking in, position which he ap-
parently found to be very delightful.
His thirst required more attention
than his hunger; he drank frequently
zAd always with great deliberation. To
tempt his appetite various things, such
as insects, worms, young birds, mice,
meats and cooked foods were put before
him. He took none of them voluntarily,
s5ut would swallow occasional offerings
If they were put into his mouth. Some
things he would not accept on any
terms, they were put out of the mouth
as fast as put in Others that he might
be induced to swallow were held in his
jaws for long time. At the end of q
year the only evidence OF loss of flesh
was to be noticed near the end of the
sail, where it had grown a little more
thin and pointed. The body had re-
4ained its plumpness, being rather more
than three and half inches wide to
twelve inches long. without the tail.
His only sound was a long drawn as
pirate hah, like sigh, produced by ex-
pelling the breath from the lungs. If
teased till out of patience, this was given
ont with the mouth partly open, when
it had all the force OF a warning /;
whether it was intended for that pu1-
pose or was merely preparation for a
struggle, by lessening the bulk, are still
20 be considered. 1t answered both pur-
poses.
Acquaintance with this specimen has
satisfied me, however, that the reports
of the deadly nature of the species are
msainly exaggerations, with little, if any.
foundation in fact. Popular opinion,
and, for that matter, its manner of or
igin are illustrated by the following,
credited to Colonel A. g. Tassin, U. S.
r., in the Overland Monthly:
The Gila monster is an ugly reptile
peculiar to Arizona, and as it's name
implies, most common along the Gila
river. 1t is sort of cross between a
HEzard and an alligator, roughly striped