The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-11-11
CATCHING TARANTu.AS.
How Negro Boys In tho West Indies Lur>
Them with House Lizards.

schooner Norman ran ashore and broke
, to pieces near the Delaware break
water. She was just from Jamaica
! with a cargo of logvvood, and the sea
was soon red of the dye with which
she was loaded. The trip up had been
a frightful one, and for five days the
crow had stood at the pump1 day and
night until none of them carried q
shred of clothing with them when the
men of the life-savlng station rescued
and took them into quarters. Wild
waves and furious winds had water
logged the Norman, and she simply
drifted at the mercy of the ocean. while
the crew were begging for life No
one was lost, and the humane savers of
lives on the shore did the best they
could to mt on to the almost exhausted
sailor sonnet hing to covex their naked
ness, nd then food How gratefully
it was all received!
A colored boy of ten years of age or
SO, should say, was the center of the
dilapidated group He had about
enough clothes on to wad IL shotgun,
as I saw him, but seemed to be the
cheeriest of all the crew. He spoke
English fiuently, and talked French to
one of the sufferers and Spanish to an
other with as much ease as he con-
versed in English with me. His man.
ner was self-possessed, far beyond one
of his age, and it SO attracted ate ntion
that asked him a bout his life. It is n
romantic story, and one end of it
turns upon a subject that is Of OK
cecding interest to the people OF
this country, who now and then see
one of the insects to be talked about,
and which are Il part of the medical
history of the world. The co1orcd boy
shall tell the story of the tarantula,
that venomous offspring of the sun
which sometimes finds its way to this
country in punches of fruit brought up
from those lands which lie close under
the equator. where ''all seasons are
summer" The lad talked well in tell
ing the story of his career in the West
Indies. Here is piece of his chat:
Catching the ground spider is fun
said he. cit is a jumper, and when
you are trying to take it two eyes and
a quick leap are necessary to get away
from it. If it is spider it is not only
a big one, but very quick and quite
cute. It will attack at any time, ano.
in going about the country you mus.
keep an eye on the tarantull holes in
| the ground. or one may sting you any
moment, and then, as a rule, good-by.
I've hunted them many Il day. for they
bring fifty cents apiece at the stores in
St Thomas. and that is a good bit to a
boy who has to cast about mighty
sharp to make a dime in a warm co,1n-
try where the negroes, who are poor,
are many and the white people few.
You see. mister, chances in the
tropics are not like they arc in this
country, where there is SO much to do,
and so many ways to pick up pennies
now and then at almost anything.
Fifty cents for a tarantula, dead or
alive, seemed a heap of money to us
young darkies down there, and getting
bit was not thought of enough to
brighten us from the hunt after them.
eve h ave no other dangerous insects
or reptiles on that island except the
tarantula, but there are lots of them.
You must be mighty careful in going
about not to get stung, for very few
people live if they arc bit. The best
and only thing to do if You are caught
sing or play music just as soon as pos
sible. The poison puts you to sleep al
most at once, and it is mighty hard to
get person awake afterward.
There are about ten thousand
of my race on st. Thomas of the
thirteen thousand who on
the island, and at least half of the
families keep a bottle of rum with
tarantu1as in it in their houses. AS
soon they are struck if they can get
where it is quickly they may live. The
sore part is rubbed with it, and some
times they take it inwardly. But you
see, mister the bite is apt to put them
to sleep before they can get at the
poison in the rum bottle like what is
in their body, and they are almost sure
to die
"Why do they bring fifty cents
apiece?'' said I.
They are sent to England to be
used for medicine. That is what
merchant in st. Thomas told me. He
said that it was hard for him to get
enough, for lots of them were wanted
in England. l don't know how they
fix them up, but that is what the man
that l used to hunt them for told me-"
'.HOw do YOU catch them?'
''Well, mister, you see we have a tall
when we go hunting we pick some of it
and take it along. When we get where
the tarantula holes arc we just strip
the head off of piece of this grass,
make a loop in the end and slip it over
the head of one of these harmless
house lizards, of which there are thou
sands. You find them everywhere. even
in the houses They won't hurt any
body. and we pay no attention to them
When one is caught just take him to
the hole, drop him in little way and
the big spider comes up quickly after
him. Just pull him slowly away from
the hole and the tarantula comes along.
You have the house lizard in one hand
a; single in the other. You put your
foot over the hole and throw the shin
gle over the tarantula. if you can. Each
one is worth fifty cents. dead or alive,
if you don't break his body. You have
to strike him just right every time to
get the fifty cents. Then you put him
in bottle with a big neck and go look
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