El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-14
THE SUICIDE OF THE SCORPION.
Proof That The Creature Takes
Its Life On Sufficient prOVoCa-

Its Life On Sufficient provoca-
| ton.
That the scorpion if inclosed within
a ring of fir or even when cornered
and baited, will turn his weapon
against himself, is fact well know q
and easily demonstrated in any cOun-
| try where this hOt-tempered member
of the Arachnidae is native: yet,
curiously enough, though SO many i'm
proba BILE yarns" and tictions concern
ing the habits of the animal kingdom
are accepted by the public, the asser
ton that the scorpion is suicide is
vehemently denied by many, and dele
gated to the department OF Old-world
Geological fables, such as those of the
| salamander and kraken.
l can positively state that even upon
slight provocatiOn the scorpion will
destroy itself. not by accident, in a tit
of rage, but with deliberate purpose.
| The fret instance of this kind 1 ever
observed was on the occasion of find
ing very large scorpion. escaping
from my blankets as 1 was rolling them
up one morning, after arising. 1t was
fully five inches long. and securing 1t
in wide-mouthed pickle bottle, l took
it over to the tent of q visitor who had
come to the camp to view the mines,
and who was known to be DESTROYS OF
taking home q few such specimens.
This was in Yuma county, Ariz. He
had jar of alcohol ready for just such
contributions; and making moose in
length of strong thread, he ished in
my pickle jar until he succeeded In
catching the scorpion by one claw, and
triumphantly drawing it out. lowered
it into the alcohol, leaving 1t suspend
ed midway. We were prepared to see
the insect instantly succumb in the
strong liquid; but we watched its
struggles for minute or more, while
it gave no sign of weakening.
Suddenly it ceased to struggle, and
turning its tail slowly over its back, it
plunged its sting into it's stomach. The
action was not spasmodic. but deliber-
ate; after feeling with the point of the
sting for q soft place. To see it feeling
thus slowly for q vital spot, made me
regret that had captured IT.: for it
seemed like a sentient being deliber-
ately choosing death rather than tor
ture. But even then death did not
come to it at once; though not satisfied
with one wound, 1t made three we'll
directed lunges at it's stomach, each
time tearing q horrid gap. After the
last stab several seconds elapsed be-
fore it hung limp and motionless.
On another occasion l saw large
scorpion on the floor of my tent, and in
its back and held it down. To my sur
prise, after struggling few moments
and failing to escape, it quickly stung
itself in the stomach. The sting of q
scorpion is at the end of its long, joint
ed tail, and when the tail is extended
it curves downward like
a small claw. When on the defensive
and ready to strike, the tail is thrown
forward over the back, and the sting
hofn is
not easy nor natural for the creature to
bend its tail downward past it's back SO
as to sting itself on the under eide; and |
it is noticeable that it requires quite
an effort on the part of the scorpion to
do go.
Since finding them to be quick-tem-
pered, l have made it q rule never to
bother them; for they are comparative
~ harmless, and generally manage to
keep out ones way. Their sting is no
W orse than that of the wasp; and unlike
the wasp or bee, they never take the |
aggressive and do not stab until they |
are cornered. l have lived twenty |
years where scorpions are as common |
as spiders. much of the time in camp |
and sleeping on the ground, and during |
that time have been stung but once by |
a scorpion. though many times by bees
and wasps. There is said to be a |
in Lower Mexico whose sting |
Is fatal, and it may be true; though re-
ports of travellers in foreign land are |
very frequently exaggerated.
There is one habit of the hot and has
" scorpion that is not mentioned in the
natural history books. Though THE
insect has been considered the type of |
nalignance and spite; the female, at
east, is not devoid of affection, nor in
capable of self-sacrifice for her young.
She proves this.by actually giving up
Ter life to them. AS soon as the young
re Matched they cling. two or three
core OF them, to their parents back;
md at first she seems to move about IS
lively rs ever, with the extra load.
Everyone who has lived in the South
vest has noticed this; but it is not gen.
rally known that while the young are
linging SO closely to their mother
hey are really feeding on her. Weak
r and weaker she becomes, until at
asst she is unable to move around, and
q a few days she succumbs. The
Dung never leave the body until it is
ut an empty she'll, and by this time
hey have grown large enough to take
are of Reconsideration Angeles
lines.
SUMMER EXCURSIONS