Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-08-24
.Supposing that he strikes YOU

''Supposing that he strikes you:'
We'll, You must be mighty quick
when you hit him, and look sharp al
/ the time after he follows the lizard out
of the hole. for he has his eve on the
lizard. If he gets on TO you then there
is trouble, and nothing can save you
except that poisoned rum | told YOU
about and constant playing on some
kind of musical instrument. or singing
some well-knOwn song. But every.
thing has TO be done with great quick
ness. There is no time to wait I've
seen them die almost as soon as they
were bitten. I have plenty of stories
about the spider that come to me now
and then when / am away from them.
'Aleck Beech was a good boy and he
used to go hunting with me-" said the
boy. He had lots of courage and did
not mind the danger at all. One day
he was caught and / was scared. He
sort of lost his head. We were mighty
poor then and that tarantula was in
teresting to us. The big fellow follow
ed the lizard out of his hole and every
thing seemed all right, but Aleck did
not look sharp. He was too anxious.
The he hit wrong and the tarantula
caught him. Black as he was he
he was hit, and I ran as hard as l
could to a house near by for a bottle
of poisoned rum. Then | ran back and
found him asleep. The poison had set
in. l rubbed the bite with the medi-
cine, but it did no good. I shook him
and he was like a rag. Having lived
all my life in the West Indies I knew
what to do.
"A woman from the house where /
had found the poisoned rum knew
what was going on. and she ran and
sat down by Aleck and began to play
the guitar which she had brought with
her. We first dragged him into the
shade, to make everything comfortable,
but we did not expect to save his life
Yet we did. The black woman played
the musical instrument. and the
strains from her fingers were even
more potent than the poison of the
tarantula which I applied to him.
What seemed most encoura ging was the
song which the woman sang in Span
iSh:
Isl despues de esta vida haj otra vida
Ago Ell que QuedeS Ell eOraZon amar;
Eb FL alma mujer tie ileveria
Mas ALA de la tumba mas ALA.
These airs are W.. nOWn on the
island. And then she kept II playing
While | bathed the leg. soon lis eyes
began to tWitch. Finally he blinked.
Then his eyes opened and he looked
around just as though he had been
asleep naturally. Then she played
more and he seemed to get alive.
After while he sat up, but she kept
on playing. Then he looked as though
he knew exactly what was going on.
But she gave out and could play no
more, and just as soon as she put down
the guitar he acted just like one getting
sleepy. / couldn't use the instrument,
but just about the time he was falling
back on the ground a negro came along
who could pick, and he took up the
guitar and began to thump away. Then
my chum got awake again and this
man and woman played by turns until
they had him wide awake and on his
feet. Then the man took the guitar
and played just as hard as he could,
and finally Aleck went to dancing.
h. q, 4
we all started along up the road to-
ward this wOman's house, who had fol
lowed me with her guitar. She and
the man played and sang all the time
as we walked along. The scene would
have been funny if we had not been
expecting Alack to die. So we did not
think anything about the music and
the rum, but just about saving this
boys life.
when we reached the house he kept
on singing and dancing. The tender
ness Of music had caught him. IIe
did not know what he was doing, but
finally he grew tired and sat down ex-
hausted; but they kept on playing just
the sane, and 1 kept on rubbing the
leg all the time with the medicine.
Lots of folks came in during the night,
and the house was half full Of natives,
for a tarantula bite is soon known OF
all around. Every one who could play
or sing helped keep the boy awake,
and he would come to, but was not in
it.
"An night long that guitar and
those songs never stopped, and the
play was kept up until the next day,
when Aleck and me started for home.
Every house we came to along the road
[ would stop at and get some one to
play for him, if any one could. We
found home after time and the folks
around would come in and play for
A1eck until he recovered and there was
no danger of his going to sleep again.
1 have heard of other cases being
cured just as this one was, but this was
the only one I ever saw
Music and the poison of the ground
spider are the only things that will
cure the bite of the tarantula. They
are hardly ever seen away from their
holes in the ground, but somtimes they
crawl in the banana punches and be-
come dangerous when the fruit is cut
My chum never hunted them again
after he was stung, but I did until ]
went to sea as a cabin boy. don't
want any more of the water. 1 would
rather go back to the West Indies and
work at odd jobs and hunt tarantulas
than to sail before the mast"
This bright negro boy thus went on