The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1898-01-01
A CURIOUS YELLOW SPIDER.
And Little Purple Crab That Inhabit
Florida Everglades.


And q Little Purple Crab That Inhabit
Florida Everglades.
On the borders of the Everglades
you often see a large yellow spider.
He swings strong web from two
plant twigs on each side of path or
clear space of ground and waits for his
prey. The web is in the shape of a
hammock, and tapers at each end to a
fine point, though quite broad in the
middle. The bright color of the owner
seems to mark him out for destruc-
tion-he is clearly defined against the
white sand or dead leaves, and you
wonder what he would do for defense
in case of attack. Approach quietly
and he watches you intently. Now
raise your hand suddenly, and he will
disappear. While you are wondering
what became of him, you see a faint
blur where he had been, then several
spiders, then you catch sight again Of
the yellow ball you noticed at first.
Repeat the performance, and the
strange effect is renewed. The disap-
pearance is absolute-there can be no
doubt about it, and the little magician
trusts to it entirely for his protection.
How is it done As soon as he is
threatened he starts the vibrations of
his airy hammock /; these become too
rapid for the eye to follow, and he
vanishes. As these become slower
you see blur, and then several spid-
ers as the eye catches him at different
points of his swing, until finally he
rests before you.
Haunting the rookeries of the birds
in the southern part Of the peninsula
is large blue crab. He makes hole
in the ground, usually under log, and
head and protrudes his eyes with
startling effect. He is able to take
care of himself, for his pincers are
powerful and his shell is hard-he
is often as large as saucer.
There is a perpetual war between
him and the birds. He wanders among
the nests at night and appropriates the
bits of fish left by the nestlings, and
the young themselves if he can find a
mother off her guard. But he has to
be sly or he is killed by the stroke of
a bayonet bill, and eaten in his turn.
When the plume hunters have driven
off or destroyed the parents of rock
cry, these crabs swarm out and devour
the orphan young in short order But
while the mothers are allowed to do
their duty the crabs are ideal scaven-
gers, and devour the refuse as well as
the insects that infest the bird cities.
Their bright colors, like those of the
tiger, make them less dangerous than
their appetites would otherwise be.
There is little purple crab along
the coast of Southern Florida which
seems to feed almost entirely upon the
fruit of the cactus. This it so much
resembles that you are suddenly sur
prised to see one of the succulent lit
tie balls move away from your fingers
before you are aware that it is alive.
Step back, and the crab will resume
it's place, and seem to be as curious
about you as you are about him.
One of the most beautiful shells
found along our coast is that of large
snail which climbs certain trees and
grows delicately fat on the young
birds. The shell is as thin as tissue
paper, oddly curved and almost as
transparent as the finest glass. 1t be-
longs to the family of edible snails so
priced as delicacy on the coast of
France, and if properly prepared makes
a delicious dish. 1t is most abundant
about New River inlet, where the
slight shake of tree about sunset will
bring shower of them to the ground.
The breakage of shell seems to be
of little trouble to the snail-he re-
pairs the damage and moves on
Jacksonville (Fla.) Citizen.