The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-15

zone of the quickest and completest and
most justifiable killings that ever 1 saw
came about through a tarantula. 1t was
at mine camp and the camp bully had
tarantula impaled on stick. A man
newly arrived from the east stood gazing,
fascinated with horror at the squirming
! reptile, working it's black fangs in the eff
| fort to reach something that it could fas-
| ten them into. Suddenly, without warn
| ing, the bully thrust the tarantula straight
into the tenderfoots face. His whiskers
saved him from the fangs, but he let out
a yell as if he had actually been bitten,
| and jumped back, 1 fully believe, ten feet.
! Then, as the fellow came poking the tar
antula toward him again, the tenderfoot
drew his revolver and turned loose on his
tormentor. His first shot would have been
enough as it went straight through the
fellows body, but the tenderfoot had his
excitement to work off, and he never stop
ped shooting until his revolver had been
emptied and the man with the tarantula
! was a sieve. Served him right was the
verdict of the coroner's jury, and the case
never went to court for trial.
The tarantuls's nest is a curiosity. It's
interior is OF mud, dried by the sun to the
hardness of abode brick. It's interior, of
cylindrical shape, is lined with a fieecy
white substance like cotton wool, and this
queer house is furnished with a circular
door of hardened mud, also lined with a
circular-like material and opening out
ward upon a fringe of the same material
Bold as the tarantula is, he has one en-
envy from whom he will seek refuge any.
where that he can-the tarantula hawk
huge black, hairy wasp, which In sp-
pearance conveys the idea of a flying ta-
rantula. When the big spider opens his
door of an afternoon preparatory to a
promenade, on business for pleasure bent
II he spy a tarantula hawk lowering
around he draws back into the house in
a hurry and closes the door; and not a
step will he venture beyond his threshold
until the air is free from signs of dan
ger. He knows he is no match for the
hawk, which will tackle him too quick If
once he gets chance.
"Uglier of aspect even than the taran-
tula is the crawling centipede, built some
what on the model of a train of cars, the
resemblance being enhanced by the rep
tiles habit OF running straight backward
when suddenly confronted. Every joint
of its long body has two legs, each joint
ed and tipped with a sharp point like
bees sting. Its head is furnished with
two pincer-like poison fangs, which work
horizontally toward each other. and in
stead OF legs its rearmost claws, which
drag behind as the centipede walks, and
by which 1t can hang head downward
from any place to which 1t can fix them.
If chance Is given the centipede II Will
run from the presence of man, and most
of the cases where men have been bit
ten by one Of these reptiles have come
about through the mans rolling upon
them or in some other way crowding them
while asleep. The sensation produced by
a centipede's crawling upon the bare skin,
with It's numerous and keenly pointed feet.
Is usually described as similar to that of
being touched with a red-hot poker. II
the person thus invaded remain perfectly
still, the reptile viii crawl off as soon as
Il can; II an attempt be made to shake
Il Off. II sets every claw into the flesh in
the effort to hold on, with an effect like
the simultaneous singing of a score of
bees, and II In any way IL be crowded or
damned, Il bites, injecting poison which,
though less virulent than that OF the ia
rantula or rattlesnake, causes a serious
sloughiug from the wound during the
progress Of recovery
"Once in Arizona, while we were camp
ing for several weeks on a little emlnence
by the bank OF the Rio Benito, our camp
was overrun by centipedes and tarantulas
driven to the higher ground and shelter
of the tents by heavy rains, which at
periods flooded the level plain that lay on
three sides of the camp. The centipedes
were the most numerous and dreaded.
To lift blanket or garment from the
ground In a tent was almost sure to re-
veal one OF these ugly reptiles lying be-
meath A. One OF the members of our
party was engaged in making a natural
history collection, so instead OF killing
outright any centipede we found about
the camp, we captured him alive. To get
his body fast between a pair OF pincers
made by tying two sticks together with
a safe length OF handle, was the next step.
usually a proceeding OF some difficulty.
by this time the alcohol Jar would have
been fetched TO the spot IL was wide
mouthed druggists jar, about eight inches
high, while the average length OF the CEN
tipede was six inches Into this Jar, filled
with alcohol and chloroform, the cent?
pede was dropped head hret In every case