The times., 1898-09-18
WASHINGTON SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER ls 1898

announcing himself he'd be easier to get
along with" said Ramrod. 1.-The trouble
is with him you never know when he's
there
"Oh. yes" said the Dude. "He's always
there. You can't miss him.
where do them scarpeens live when
they do be at homer" inquired Mulvaney
I'm my boots said Corky. positively.
'I kept two select boarding houses for
scorpions all the time 1 was in Cuba, one
in each boot, and there was an eviction
every morning after I'd got stung a
couple of times. and some deaths, too,
when 1 was quick enough. 1t takes a
lively man to catch an able-bodied scor-
pion."
''You ought to put salt in your boots.'
advised the Dude. "That'il keep EN- out,
so Troop HIS bug-hunter says
Somebody told that to Metropolitan
Bill, my bunkie,' said Corky, land as he
didn't have any salt TO spare, he got some
sugar somewhere and tried that. Said a
scorpion wouldn't know the difference.
Result was that all the ants in Cuba came
and ate holes in Bits boots"
That boog hunters broth av a lad"
quoth Mulvaney. He'd have his tent full
of butterflies an moths all the time that
he'd catch with his hat. While we were
fghtin' on the line wan day a red, white
and blue boog came foatin' by lookin'
like Star Spangled Banner wit wings
TO 1t. Up jumps the boog hunter There's
a pollyoticus pillywinkus. he yells, an
goes off after it in the face of the Spanish
fire, When he come back, which was not
until the Ammerykin flag boog was comb
in its whiskers in the top of a mango
tree, he'd hole in his hat fer token of
Spanish sharpshootin'.
He's the chap that got a live tarantula
an said he'd bet ten hardtaek and a pair
OF pants that 1t could lick any other spi-
der in Cuba" said Ramrod. Another III
Troop man bottled up a tarantula that
was bigger and backed him for all he was
worth, but the entomologist's scrapper
was dancing on his body after thirty sec
onds of hot work. They brought up an
other and another, and the champion lust
ate EN- up in no time. After il was all
over and nobody would bet any more the
champion spiders owner told the gang
that he had braced his bug up with a
little whisky to make him fight better. He
was nearly lynched for wasting even
drop of whisky on a bug But those fell
lows put up the most terrific fight you
sver saw. It's SO ferocious that it's hid
eous."
m not wishful to fight wit amy av
en-" remarked Mulvaney, ''but what's
felly to do when they won't lave him be?"
Smash 'em if you're quick enough"
said Corky
That's all right with a scorpion" put
In the Dude. for they'll run. But a tar
antula' $ like rattlesnake If you make
a pass at him and miss he's right back
at you in a second"
That's right, too." agreed Corky. "A
mighty good thing to do is to drop a
blanket he
pie on the blanket"
This Signal Corps bug that Ramrod
spoke about Is no funny joke" said the
Dude. One of EN- climbed the classic
features of Soapy Smith while he was
taking nap under tree one afternoon
and balanced on his nose making dec
laration of war in the wigwag code. He
looked just as il he was saying his pray
ers. The name of the thing IS praying
mantis. l believe; but 1t il Soapy that
ought to have been doing the praying.
He brushed sleepily at the mantis to
get 1t off and 1t soaked him one right on
the top of the nose. Well. in five min
utes Soapy's nose looked like one of those
big purple California plums and for the
rest of the day he wandered around like
a crazy man. gazing cross-eyed at his
nose and saying, Just as if it was con-
tinual surprise to him:
'"'Look at that nose, oh, just look at
that nose, Think of me having a nose
like that and never a drink of whisky
this three good weeks!
cit was a good week, too. before the
nose got back to its right color"
You should have done what that 200
pound shorty they call Thin Ike, did for
his pal,'' said Corkey. 1.-The man woke up
to find a scorpion squatting on his bare
leg and waving it's tail around. He never
made a move, for he knew if he did the