Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1894-08-22

liltll tire USdulN III lue cAlItlle. lit
five most venomous are the black snake,
the brown snake, the tiger snake, the
death adder and the diamond snake.
The tiger snake is the most feared as
there is no known antidote for its poi.
son. Persons bitten die almost instant
ly, and the government has long had a
standing offer of $1,000 for any one who
might discover remedy for the bite. ]
was told of one instance where young
girl i'll one of the stations had gone to
the bath, which was short distance
from the house. She did not return,
aud when II servant was sent to see
why she remained so long, she was
found dead in the bottom of the bath.
There was an almost imperceptible
wound upon the end of her great toe,
and tiger snake which had bitten her
lay cuiled up in a corner. Knox re-
lates that man named Underwood did
discover "a perfectly etficacious antidote,
and to prove its genuineness, let him
self be bitten repeatedly by perfectly
healthy snakes that We're in full posses
sion Of their power to kill. He asked
$4,000 for the secret, which the govern
ment declined to pay, thinking the sum
too exorbitant. Finally he gave an ex-
hibition, allowing himself as usual to
be bitten. But being intoxicated, he
could not remember what he had done
with the antidote, and died, his secret
perishing with him.
1t was the beginning of the winter at
the time of my visit, and the nights
We're already frosty, so that the snakes
had gone into winter quarters. In all
our explorations we did not see one,
although / was told that they We're
probably numerous in the crevices of
the rocks, where they We're comfortably
slowed away until the return of spring.
Ants are another omnipresent pest in
the bush. The white ant builds II hugh
cone-shaped house six or eight feet
high, which the prudent bushmen util-
ize as ovens. There are other species
known in vulgar parlance as the "bull-
dog and the Soldier" both of which
are as brave and as savage as their
names would imply These, too, had
gone into winter quarters but when a
stick was thrust into their mounds they
still had energy and temper enough to
rush out at once and attack the invader.
They fight to the death, their powerful
mandibles inflicting bite that will
swell and be infiamed for days. Their
lc
in height by three in width, and five
in length. | saw an interesting colony
which had built its habitation beside
the road. From this point the ants
had constructed a perfectly defined high
way five inches in width for some forty
yards into an orange orchard, where
there was tree infected by peculiar
scale, which exuded honey of which the
ants were very fond. The tree-their
feeding ground-swarmed with them,
for this species had not yet begun to
hibernate. They had destroyed every
other insect except a species of caterpil-
lar, which was incased in a tough shell
of white wax, through which the ant
could not bite. The caterpillar was
also fond of the honey, and safe in its
shell, defied the greed and jealousy of
its ugly neighbors.
There are a few mosquitoes in some
parts of the country, at Sydney particu-
larly but they are nowhere SO much of
a pest as in the Hawaiian Islands.
However, people sleep under nets
nearly all the year round in New South
Wales. Centipedes and scorpions are
also poisonous, and there is spider
whose bite frequently causes death. 1t
will attack without provocation, hiding
in decayed timber, darting out when it
is disturbed, 1t is quite small, and is
brilliantly marked with a spot Of Grim
son in the middle of the back. When
it does not produce death it frequently
causes paralysis or insanity.
Australian thundesrtorms are called
in the colonial vernacular southern
busters" 1t should be said that the
south wind, obeying the antipodean
law of opposites, is the cold wind,
while the breeze from the north is
warm and parching. The storms come
up suddenly, attended by terrific light
ming and thunder. The lightning il
not a brilliant flash, but a binding
blaze and glare, the whole atmosphere
being apparently ON fire. The thundel
is deafening and follows in quick ex
plosions as though the universe Were
being rent in pieces.
After an hour or two of natures ar
tillery practice, it clears away, the SIX.
becomes blue, and the air deliciousl.
cool and pure. Deaths by lightning
stroke are frequent through the sum
mer, and large numbers of stock ar
killed. Such storms are a natural re
suit when the mercury not unfrequent
ly reaches 1870 in the shade, and are pc
culiarly severe after season of drought
Mary H. Krout in Inter-Ocean.
Katie-'Say, Maggie, why does you
missus call this place Bay-view