Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-02-08
SCORPIONS AND cgsrlpeoEs.
Their stIncs Are Not So Dangerous ~ IL
Commonly Reported.

NO, don't believe that the sting 81
any scorpion would Kill q human being,
save. perhaps, uudercxtraorIinary con-
ditions. In southern ATTITUDES wounds
OF any kind are more dangerous than in
cooler climates. and the setting in OF
fever may produce fatal results"
The speaker was d.. George Marx OF
Washington, who il recognized a. the
greatest authority on arachnids in this
country.
Scorpions are tropical animals" he
added. They do not get very far
north. They live under the bark Of
long-leayed pines in the northern part
OF their range, aud, inasmnch ~ trees
OF that kind do not occur IN this viciu-
ity. they find no suitable domicile here
aboHts. Such pines grow in Baltimore
county Md. and so a specie. of scorpion
exists there. 1t is vel ow with brown
stripes, aud measures about : inches in
length.
The biggest scorpions in the world
are those OF India. which attain "A length
OF six inches. Ia California scorpions
four and oue-htli incnr. long are found.
They are the largest thai occur IN
America. Between them and the
smallest specir- are many. The sing
of a small one 1, about as severe a. that
of a wasp, and the effects ot II soon
pass.
The scorpion carries it, tail over its
back and snaps il backwards for the
purpose Of inhitting a sting. II has
two poison gland. side by side in the
last joint OF It's tail. II is said that
scorpions will commit suicide by sting
ing themselves to death when they are
put into "a circle Of burning charcoal.
L don't know whether ihiz il true On
not: the question has not been cleared
up.
scorpions ike on beetle larvae aud
slow-running insects. They conceal
themselves under the bark OF trees ia
the daytime and pursue their prey at
night. The whip-taiird scorpions SO
called because Of 4 peculiar a~ppendage
or which the use is not kuowu-aTe MT
poisonous. For the purpose OF defense
they squirt fine streams Of a tluid that
smells like vinegar. Doubtless it is OFF
fensive 10 some of their enemies"
Every now and then one reads in the
newspapers IA ~frightful story about q
centipede. According to these accounts,
the animal is Just a bit more dangerous
than a rattlesnake. Not only is It's bite
fatal. but it carries poison ia the claws
with which lis numerous legs are ter
minated. Crawling over a mans bare
flesh. it burns like lire. To move i.
death. for then the creature will dig it,
envenomed feet into the victim. who
will presently be reduced TO the condI.
ton of a losthsome and bloated corpse.
All this is purest fable.
An expert in centiprdes is attached 10
the Smithsonian Institution. He know.
ali about the creatures, and be says that
the bite of one OF these animals is less
poisoning than the sting of the scorpion.
That it could ever Kill anybody is most
unlikely. The claws are sharp and un.
pleasant 10 feel when "A centipedc walk:
over the bare skin. but they have nc
venom.
There are two distinct types of cent?.
pedes. One of them may be termed tht
true centipede type. with a Hat bod,
and only one pair Of legs on each seq
ment. The largest forms are all poison
Gus. Whether tine smaller ones are sc
is undetermined. The jaws Of this kline
OF centipede are perforated by chaunel
which convey the poison into the wounC
made by the bite. The action is some
what the same as in the case OF q
vonomOus serpent.
The other type Of centipede is bull
on the thousand-leg plan, and attains
length Of 10 inches. The biggest in thi'
part of the world will not exceed
inches. 1t has four legs TO each seq
ment, and sometimes rs many as sixty
tive segments; II IS easy e coans "
not as many as 1000. they are sufficient
This style of centipede is never poison
Gus. Centipedes feed on rotten Woo
and other ~decaying vegetable material
They live in the ground aud among rot
ten leaves and wood.
In some parts CT the world centipedes
are regarded with superstitious venera-
ton. A friend of the writer's once Wis
tied Buenos Ayres and engaged a room
at a boarding house. He found eight
large centipedes in his quarters before
be went dows To dinner. Having killed
them, he informed the landlady Of the
circumstance She expressed the utmost
grief, and declared that the destruction
of the creatures would take away all
good luck from her establishment for
eight years to come-one year for each
centipede.
Centipedes, as well as great spiders.
are sometimes brought to this country
from the tropics with fruit. They are
often found hidden in punches OF
bananas. Scorpions make the voyage
In the same way. \ naval officer told
the Star writer that in warm ATTITUDES
big scorpions are apt to get on board
ship and conceal themselves in shoes or
other garments. Ii is not pleasant to
put ones arm in the sleeve OF a coat and
to find an unlooked-for scorpion there.
The arachnid, if a fresh intruder.i is like
ly to be very much more poisonous, and
its bite correspondingly more severe,
than after it has been on the vessel for
q while.