Evening journal., 1896-11-24
SPIDERS IN BATTLE.
THEY CONDUCT THEMSELVES WITH
ALMOST HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.

Tiger spider and Pair Fran the Gray
Mn Tribe-The Bout by Bounds-Au
"put 70 Sleep" Though the Biaci, Won.
In the quiet laboratory of "A Ninth
street chemist the othor day there was
enacted little tragedy which afforded
demonstrated lesson in the etiquette Of
duelism as it is conducted among the
spidors. Few realize the intelligence
these inconspiouous little creatures often
display, and in fact few people besides
scientists 60 TO the trouble OF spending
40 hour or so watching Them
The doctor espiod a spider in the COR
ner Of the laboratory window SILL He
procured wido mouthed jar, and with
stick endeavored 70 push the spider
into it. The insect turned savagely on
it and darted quickly up tho stick to-
ward his hand. Stick and spider were
dropped Immediately on to the sill,
from which in 8nother instant the crea-
ture was scoopod into the jar.
He lay sullen and punched Up at tho
bottom. His body was fully three-quar-
ters OF an inch long, the thurax notified
black and green, the abdomen pursy,
round and marked with we'll defined
stripes of black and yellow; the legs not
very long, but stout, hairy and ending
/ in unusually strong, double claws, while
the head was armed with pair of
/ shining black mandibles that looked
/ like small steel pinchers One Of the
neighbors said aftorward that it was
]
tion as to the aptness Of the name. His
! behavior was SO ugly and fierce that he
made a good subject for testing the
pugnacity Of spiders with their kind
The doctor was familiar with his own
/ home, and having made the capture he
went up into his own garret, where the
walls and corners We're profusely deco
rated with "will you walk into my par
/ lOr' contrivances He singled out q
typical web and proceeded. The mouth
of the web was opened out over quite q
considerable area and ran back as "a
narrow tube, the whole being like tho
most delicatoly woven gray white silk.
Throwing a tempting bait into tho web
in the shape Of a fly, the doctor had no
difficulty in sweeping two gray spiders
into another jar.
He got a deep sided salad bowl and
/ dumped the gray spiders in. They az
once began ranning around the flat bot
tom, making wild dashos mp the sides
and tumbling over each other in theiI
excited efforts to escape.
As soon as the tiger spider was shaken
out of his pickle jar into the bowl the
gray spiders ceased their wild actions
and took up "a crouching position at one
side of the bowl bottom. The tiger spi-
der made no effort TO escape, but aftei
one or two rapid reconnoiters Of his sur.
roundings squatted just across from
and facing the hill trihers.
The first offensive movements caml
from the gray spiders. These were il
the nature of slow advances and retreat
along the circumference line OF the bow
bottom, with the evident intention o
taking the tiger spider on the flank A
each advance, however. the tiger spidel
sat up, resting on his four posterior anc
middle feet. while the two anterior leg
were stretched out like the arms of
wrestler, and the strong oaliper shape,
jaws were opened to their fullest extent
Suddenly one Of the spiders made
characteristic but fatal dash. He SCENE,
actually to leap at the big spider. Blu
quick as the hill spider was, the tigc
spider was equally SO. As the long dral
spider darted in, the big black and vel
low fellow sprung mp and faced him
The next instant they closed, and in
moment three of the bin spiders leg
lay on the glass, and the tigor spider
holding his enemy in "a boarliko hug
was burying his maEdibles in tho 9th
er's throat.
The killing had not been done, how
ever, without receipt Of injury on botl
sides. One yellow ard black leg Ia.
with the three drab Cncs. and thor
were two drops Of Black juice on tn
pursy abdomen of tho tiger spider
which showed where the gray spide
had planted his jaws IN the rush.
Meanwhile, too, the second gray spi
der had not been idle, bat was circlini
round and about the struggling pair
Then, seeing bis opportunity, he dashe
in, only TO be faced 10y the burly fight
er, who, to meet the new attack unen
numbered, threw the body of the dea
combatant from him witha gesture tina
was almost human.
The clinch did not follow SO quickl
this time The gray spider succeeded Il
getting in and away. clipping off an
other yellow and black leg as he did So
; but in the second rush ho was caughi
and the tiger spiders jaws were locke
3 in bis throat
) So ended the fight.
c The tiger spider held on to his secon
corpse so long and quietly that though
him dead also, until ] stirred him wit
my pen, when he staggered furiousl
/ against it, opened his jaws and role
, over, a corpse. Cincinnati Commercia
: Tribune.
6 The New Woolens.