The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-02

bite as proudly as veteran of the queens
guards carries his scars" was the rather
eXtravagaut remark of another gentleman
who happened to be present at the private
exhibition given by Ralston yesterday
afternoon.
1t must be explained that Walter Rail-
ston has Just rolled into Cincinnati in his
old gypsy wagon, with which he makes
his tours over the country catching
snakes and tanning them. He is a young
man, perhaps 35 years old, but has been
collecting poisonous reptiles and insects
since he was the age of TO- Occasionally
he sends splendid specimen to tho
Smithsonian Institution, for which he ia
pald only nominal price, but
his Is labor OF love, strange
TO say. Often does he sleeD
with his reptiles. while almost at
any tmo when not otherwise busted he
may be found fondlng them, and will
stand tap" any day for a new snake
the more poisonous the Veriety, the bet
ter He is now on his way toward the
Everglades of Florida, where he will
spend tho winter catching snakes in the
swamps and all the while actually share
his tent with the shimmering-skin
monsters he traps into camp
II have been fanged about 200 times.
all told" said he, but / don't mind a
snake bite any more. / know the anti
dote for every one of them and carry
a private dispensary Of my own right
along with me-" Here he exhibited a lit
tie case of phials, hypodermic syringes
ana other Instruments of a psuedo-sur-
gdcal character.
About the worst citizen have to deal
with in my line is the tarantua, but /
will cheerfully give $500 for one that T
can't get on intimate terms with in five
minutes" Then Ralston fetched out a
regular little tarantula hotel, where about
twenty of the buriest looking specimens OF
this deadly spider are at present stopping.
In the little long box each one has a sem
arate room, as they are such confirmed
cannibals that they would soon consume
each other II left together. 1t seems this
bad habit of the tarantula is about the on
~ one they Will not give up before Ralson's
sweeping evangelism among them yet"
said he, you could hardly hope to have
a tarantula change his diet for the sake
OF civilization when a man won't do it,"
by the way" he continued, 'I believe
that this very insect was the originator Of
the crime known as suicide l can't keep
them very long. They won't stand con-
finement, and invariably as a last resort
in their distress turn upon and sting
themselves to death. For all that / can
learn they were doing this turn long be-
fore Adam knew what trouble was It Is
very easy matter for a tarantula to
Kill himself and escape his Indebtedness.
You see this last joint OF his legs is black:
well, there is "a prong on the end of it
and the poison is stored just above in this
last joint. He stabs himself with one
of these prongs and inserts the poison
through IL. Death is the instant result;
so much for the tarantula;" and Prof.
Ralston placed the two hairy horrid OBJ
jects he had taken caressing in his open
hands back into their stalls.
Ralston wears a coat made out Of rattle
snake hides, and over It his troupe Of rep
tiles Irvine themselves, from the dull
complexioned copperhead to the huge
Underground boa. When asked If a GER
tain monstrous poison serpent known in
the south as the cotton mouth still had
fangs, ne took up the reptiles head, and,
opening its mouth, showed a couple OF
fangs that reeked with enough death to
silence an OK at one stroke. AT this the
curious crowd grew very conservative
and stood at a safe distance, while he con-
tinued the exhibition.
1T Is a sin to kill snakes" continued
the snake man, as he held the copperhead
up to his cheek and allowed It to coil it.
self across his eyes. Every drop of poi.
son they carry Is more valuable than
gold or precious stones when it's uses are
understood. The time will come when
they will be defended by the law and sa-
cred to the makers Of medicine There
are many snakes in California which are
already protected for the good they do in
destroying certain rodents. / believe they
all serve a purpose. and were not let into
the world during any idle moments of the
Philosopher Of the Universe. Besides, they
are beautiful"
1t was evident that his auditors could
not share his opinion on this point for a
percoptible shudder ran through the
crowd, and ne carried his limy associates
back 10 their barracks with the air OF a
man who Is living in advance of his
period. Mr. Ralston has the finest collec-
tion OF snakes ever seen in Cincinnati.
and enough curios from the laboratory of
snakedom TO stock up a little hades or
meet half way the most extravagant case
OF "jerrys' that ever came down the
pike.
John Ruskin's publisher says that
-troo 1874 fbaro hos ,osrar 1,aor a 1oys -.