The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1895-04-27
INTERPRETATIONS
HOW SCIENCE HAS RUTHlesSlY
PLAYED HOB WITH THEM.

let down bloody milk? What boy would
have crushed a cricket, assured as he
was that its mate would come at night
and avenge its death by eating up that
rash bows clothes? What man lives to-
dav who. as a rustic lad. has not held
the stilted daddy-long-legs prisoner by
one hairlike shank and informed the
globular insect that unless it forthwith
pointed out the way in which the
lost cows had gone instant death
awaited it. and when did daddy-long-
legs fail to raise one slender leg and in
dictate. according to boyish belief. the
direction the straying kline had gomez
And the DEVILS darning needle, that big
eyed thing that lived and prowlcd for
nothing else than to sew your ears up,
and the magic eel skin tied round your
leg. or neck. or arm, to keep the cramps
away when you went in swimming. and
the snake that swallowed its young, and
greatest of all, that vivified hair from a
horses tail. wriggling and gyrating in
the roadside mud puddle, the horsehair
snake.
But science has stepped in and solemn
ly and seriously said that these are all
myths. 1t is SCATTERING Of idols. but |
fear that to science must be granted all
it denies about them. except as to snakes
swallowing their young. have been an
open mouthed and wide eyed witness OF
that interesting trick too often to let
even profound scientists stand up and
declare that it isn't so.
hold out little. too, for the horse
hair snake, for have in my mind a GER
tain vagrant horsehair that | once put in
an oyster keg filled with rainwater, and
either that horsehair in the course Of
few weeks took on the semblance Of life
and form of horsehair snake and kept
it up all season in bottle to which
transferred it, or else it disappeared, and
the germ of what we supposed was a
horsehair snake happened to be in the
water and developed there. have al
ways insisted that | made horsehair
snake have heard many veracious
persons declare that they have done the
same thing.
But you are all wrong" says Mich
olas Pike. the naturalist. 1.-THE horsehair
snake, or hairworm, is the Gordius
aquaticus. and it is common in most
fresh water ponds and rivulets. Though
no larger around than a coarse cotton
thread, they have two mouths, one on
each side of the head. They lay scores
and sometimes thousands of eggs. The
eggs are deposited in strings, like a
chain. on the sides of shallow ponds or
creeks, and they are greedily swallowed
by various aquatic insects. Then from
the time the egg is Matched the first part
of the worms nutriment is spent as
parasite, absorbing nutriment from the
body of its unlucky host. The large
water beetles ere subject to these para
sites. They have been found in crick-
ct. They are graceful swimmers, but
when taken from the water they twist
themselves into such an intricate knot
that it is almost impossible to unloose
it. They are called Gordius from this.
the Gordian knot
81 have no doubt that one reason why
the idea of the horsehair snake has been
propagated is from ignorant persons
who have had various insects in clear
water watching them for study or curl
osity. Knowing that they put in only
certain live creatures. and some day
finding these live worms, they were as
tonished. The chances are that the
worms were developed from pet beetle
that in its native pond made a feast on
some ova Of the Gordius, to be paid
dearly for later when these Matched"
But there was no pet beetle or any
other insect in my key of rainwater
The horsehair went away, and the snake
or worm appeared. | don't believe the
horsehair ever swallowed any Gordius
ova | can't imagine any reason why a
horsehair should turn into a snake or
worm when kept in the water. but WHY
not horses hair as well as a cows hair
or deer's hair7 Science had better'not
tell any of the few old settlers of north
ern Pennsylvania or any other locality
where the pioneers were frequently their
own tanners that cows hair and daar,s
hair will not turn into worms under Ger.
tain conditions or science will get a
black eye. In the pioneer DAYS. when n
settler wanted leather for boots or shoes
1t was not an uncommon thing for him
to make vat by following out nina
log. and using wood ashes instead OF lime
in removing the hair. When the hide
was taken out of the vat il would he
placed in a creek to soak out the alkaH
have more than once heard the SONS
of such pioneers tell Of finding curiops
worms swimming about these hides
where they were lying in quiet pools
These worms were about two inches
long. somewhat thicker than a cows
hair, and always in various stages of 40.
velopment from the hair as il came OF
the hide, some being for part of their
length simply hair, while the rest was
the living worm, white and semitrans.
parent Some would be still fast 10 tbs
hide, but wiggling to get loose. when
tney would swim about with hair for
tail These worms were never seen er.
cept in the pools with the hides eitha,
COW or deer. The more l think Of thas,
well authenticated COW hair worros ~,
more am inclined to defy science anS
hold out for the horsehair worm "
York Sun. I'VE"
Theory as to swiggins.
What makes Swiggins sucb an M
| cOnsciOnahla 1ior1. - III