The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-05
A CORNER IN TARANTULAS.
HI0 HAIRr SPIDiRS ANOTHER or
CdLIRORNIA'S PRODUCTS
Tsrantuia Biirs Effort to Control the
Market and Ills Defeat by a


Tourists - scorpions and Centipedes.
Los ANGELES. Cal, oct 3o.--"Yes l chase
spiders as a business Tarantula Bill. the boys
call me-"
The little man, armed with a hooked wire n
covered box and bottle Of water, was frsi seen
walking slowly around low hill on the outskirts
OF the city. Now he would stop and probe some
thing with the wire then pour in some wafer from
the bottle and then dance around frantically
One observer suggested that he was n crank,
another thought that he was searching for water,
but he was merely hunting for tarnniulas, the
big spiders four or five inches across that abound
in the adobe hills Of southern California.
"Sot they thought was crazy. did they" he said.
with chuckle. Well, perhaps will he IL I get
bit by many more Of these things" and he opened
his box and displayed u number Of enormous
spiders. each covered with long red hair that
gave 1t horrible appearance Sort " n night,
marc, amt IT," he said, swapping back with his
finger a wandering hraniula. Yes I've been
bitten dozen times. The first time thought
was gone for sure The spider nppcd me in the
thumb and held on like everything and by the
time had torn it of began To feel the pain shoot,
ing up my arm and in ten minutes II began to
swell l started for homo and luckily met man
who took me In his wagon 10 the doctors. | rcck-
on was in n bad way, but they pulled me through
though my arm at one time was black and
big as my leg. believe there is something in
this tarantula dance you hear shout, ~ they
told me was wild. though they may have cxag-
gera'cd. II amt certain death that's sure. but
believe down In the tropics II a man is bitten.
who Is In u bad condition. he is very apt 10 die.
The next time was caught was bitten in the
wrist but did not suffer much. and SO on. ever,
time II was not bad and II looks TO me as though
s.I n
u any more than mosquito bite after while.
No. don't get careless but you see these fellows
are savage and two out Of three want To fight
and will Jump at you. The others caught me
when l was pouring in tho water Here is he
nest OF one pointing to hole about three inches
across In the ground. TN show you how its
done You see most people think these big spiders
ire the trap-door spiders but that's mistake
they merely sink n well about two or 'hrcc feet
and live at the bottom. At night they come out
and during the day you generally ind web
over tho top like this, and tho old spider catcher
took his wire and pushed 1t down the hole Hes
there he said. cooking his head Oh one side hs
though he was listening 10 a telephone message
coming up the wire. Then hauling thc wire
out he unsirung his water bottle You see 1t
would take two hours 10 dig him out and he
never could he hooked out alive. So | Try water.
they hate IT.
Suiting the action to the word he poured some
water. that had q faint mixture Of alcohol in II,
In the hole Almost Immediately up came the
spider Its red. hairy legs proruding from the nest
Deity hooking q wire under the spider the did
man landed II on the ground where II settled back
showing the enormous fangs. Presently with
the end Of stick he promptly sei1ed It and lifted
IL into the box Of horrors
Why do they call me 'Taantula BILL he
went on. Well II came about this way. 1t
my house In Los Angeles have stable IN which
there is a room where ! stow away all my stun.
At one time had over {, 900 tarantulas on hand.
was trying 10 get corner on the tarnntula mar.
ket II was wet winter and bad To get them.
and was holding my stock for rise. HAD tie
walls Of the room papcred white and Just covered
with them. II you were not used 10 IT, II was
enough 10 freeze your blood. One day = man
camo with Two three women and caught me
stunhng tarantulas. and the questions they asked
me would have set a Chinese JOSS crazy. Finally.
the man wanted TO know what my name was
~ deacon. That char t1ld the story 10 some
one 80 they got To calling me Taran,uln Bill
How did YOU come gu, on your corner
was doing and by a mere piece Of luck got sup
ply Of tarantula| that knocked mine all in a heap
in the market and all the boys that knew how to
get any in my employ. had as I supposed.
cinch on the trade, but the newt week couldn,
&c tarantuln or give one away. the market was
20 glutted. and In curious wav. One fellow tina,
didn't have any advertised for five hund''d taran-
could &c, them. but by i"c,; and me- chance
he received letter from fellow in Los >ictoS say.
Ing that he conld supply them. II seems that a
when all at once his horse began 10 buck and r.ar
and looking down 10 find the caus- he saw that
the ground was literally alive with tarnn,uias
They were migrating, as many insects do at times
Something had gone wrong and they were leav
ing the country They lust covered the ground
them what thew want them for give up that.
the strangest part Of the business but there
TO be kind Of fascinn'lon about them They've
heard NJ the deadly thrantulh and the ta-hntula
dance down In Mexico. and thev like 10 show their
friends in the Fast wha, deadly nninals they
have met: NJ they buy a big tarantula or cent
pcde and take or send il home.
"There'Sn big demand for crntip~dcs though
would put tarnntnas first, live horned toads next
then trap door spiicrs then centpcdcs; You'dtc
much money there is in the business Ccntiredrs
.Sd o @ % under
from the South are nearly a foot long. with legs !
enough ,S 70 SATISFY any one Whs, any one wants
see. good many are bought hy young men |
who are visiting out here. ! reckon they s-nd
are passing through. But. bless you! you might |
live In outhern California twenty years and never
see taraniula, ccntipcdc or scorpion. That's |
them. Scorpions hurrow here. make small holes
In the ground. end We dig them out or pour In |
water. I've been stung by them. hut us about |
like wasp: but m 50 full ~ their pizcn that 1
reckon / m proof against
"'rhe scorpion Is an ugly customer its long tail
bends up over its back and when IL 10 attacked il
pulls II down like ash Of light and as The sting
Is pointed downward IL goes in up 10 the hilt All
this talk about scorpions committing suicide IL
rank nonsense I've seer ii done n hundred times
The scorpion is surrounded by FIRE fyr instance
II begins 10 suffer and strikes at itself lust as a
man tears his hair IN agony. The scorpion cant
kill itself 70 my mind though i certainly looks
as though II was trying To commit suicide They
live on other insects Tho Eig tarenlulas eat
small mice. graS'huppcrs. lizards or any srisi
animal they can catch: but they feed AT night WIN
derng about, and IT'S tho night animals that
suffer tenupcdcS the same: cfickctS ana cspc-
cially the mole crickets, are its game"