Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-13
SOME AWFUL DEATHS.
FEARFUL FORMS IN WHICH THE
GRIM DESTROYER CALLS.

The Venom of south Australian
Spider and the FriShtful Agony It
Causes "A Grain That Makes Its
Victim = EaSinE Maniac.
What is the most awful shape In
which death may come to mortal man:
Not by fire. nor by water nor by gun
shot. These are mere pleasures to
some Of the deaths by which you may
die.
The most agonizing of all is caused
by an insect half the size of a pea--a
small black spider. 1t lives in Peru
and South Australia. but n few speci-
mems have reached Europe and Amer
lea in shipio&ds of timber. Not long
ago Il deck laborer was unluchy
enough To come upon one in the Vic
toria docks while unloading = bark.
The tiny death dealer dropped upon
the back of his hand and dug its fang5
into his flesh. The bite itself was moth
ing. but as soon as the poison began to
work the man tainted with pain. Soon
afterward he came to and lived three
days before the end came.
This spiders venom Scorches up the
blood vessels and spreads through ali
the tissues, causing the most fearful
agony Il human being can have to bear
The worst of it is that the victim lives
at least two days. enduring unthinka-
bic anguish the whole time. This Sui-
der is luckily not common. 1t is known
as the ''specky." and when Il man who
knows what the bite means is bitten he
generally blows out his brains.
Another fearful death is caused by
eating grain called ''bhat" This
sometimes gets mixed with rice. which
ii resembles. The plant grows in the
east. and Il few grains of it will drive
one into state of violent mania. The
victim becomes drowsy at first and af:-
erward hilarious, then he goes stark.
staring mad and tears himself literally
TO pieces with his fingers, biting mouth
fuls ont Of his limbs. 1t is bad enough
TO see such Il case. but as for expert
encinS it
This grain is only found in remote
parts of the east, but both white men
and natives are killed 10y it OCCASION
ally in the east. for the plant grows in
with the rice crops and can scarcely be
told apart. but that the dried grain is
OF reddish color
OF course falling into n vat of boiling
metal. as unfortunate workmen some
times do. sounds bad enough, but it IS
mercifully quick. There is n South
American vine called the .'knottcr,'
which is far worse. 1t twines around
any living thing that comes within
reach. twisting its long tentacles about
IL man as Il devilfish might. These
tentacles scar and burn into the flesh
like white hot wires. aud the victim is
dragged into the heart of the foliage
D, 10, Tr,;,. II.
spider sucks the blood Of fly.
All say that the pain is worse than
they could have believed it possible
for Il man TO feel. The "knotter' is
well known TO scientists and is. in fact.
sort of huge hytrap plant. Those
who have strong instincts of cruelty,
coupled with curiosity, sometimes force
n dog into the grip of the "knotter'' To
watch the effects. which are too horri-
bic to describe in detail
Again. there is nothing very much
worse than hydrophobia. when genu-
inc. The patient often lives for days
in the acute stage and in his last hours
is simply tied up in knots and bent
backward and forward like Il bow.
1t is n very rare disease with human
beings. for most people bitten by rabid
dogs, Il small number at most. escape
it. In extreme cases the patient act.
ually snarls and bays like any hound,
and, next to experiencing it, the worst
thing is to watch a case. 1t is rs dis
tressng spectacle as any man could
witness.
There is n snake called the lancer"
which lives i'll South America, and is
very ready with its fangS 1t is small,
brown, insignificant beast. but its bite
induces a sort of imaginary swelling
all over the victims body. He feels
as if every inch of him were being
strained to breaking point, and the
agony which results is too awful for
words. Generally. however the eX-
cess of pain drives the bitten man mad
before very long and in four hours he
dieS-a senseless imbecile.
But. all said and done, perhaps there
is no death much worse than by the
common disease of cancer, which
gnaws ut the patients vitals through
month after month of unceasing ago
ny and Stays its victim at last through
sheer eNhaustion.-London Spectator.