The Washington times., 1901-09-01
TRAPPING THBTARANTULA
California Boys Capture the Ven
omous Insects for Sale.

nth-DcaIinG spiders Are Easily
From the Hand-How They Are
Gagged Many Desperate Fights.
| developments of life In the Far West Is
| the tarantula industry in southern Cali
! fornia- Just think of catching deadly In
| sects for sale on the market as cheaply
| and almost as readily as one would gath
| er biackDerries.
| During the months of July, August, and
| September the tarantuias take their an
nual outing and hold high carnival for
| then the environments of their under
| ground homes are dry and parched and
| they can crawl delightfully."- through
wealth of adobe dust and over mesas,
where crouch weary groups of sage
brush. cactus. and void grasses, ali op-
pressed by heat and grey with thirst.
/ The great sun looks down and smiles
on the promenading spiders, while the
| surface or dry earth holds in its pores
| no puddles In which they may unexpect-
edly douse their hairy legs, for they have
an intense aversion to water. and to get
all ten legs wet at once would indeed be
calamity.
| uncultivated areas, and seldom intrude
their uncanny presence In city or town.
In dredging out their subterranean domes-
tic establishments they show partiality
for adobe soil. which is black and easily
| manipulated. There may be intelligent
method in their selection of a home, for
the soil in color corresponds with thei-
dusky hue. and they can prowl about with
less fear of being observed by their enc
mics.
During the tarantula season small boys
in cotton shirts and jumpers dot the foot
hills and dry fields like punctuation
marks, intent upon capturing these dan
gerous bS.ss. The trade paraphernalia Of
these intrepid youths consists Of tin cans
and glass jars with covers, pail of water
and two long slender sticks that can be
used as pinchers, with which to handle
the spiders.
Two tarantulas are never put into the
same receptacle, for when in captivity
they seem to have an inveterate antipa-
thy for each other and fight with the
most ferocious abandon, biting, scratch
ing, and mutilating one another until both
contestants die in the fray.
An energetic and Industrious youngster
sometimes reaps a substantial income
tarantulas, which he sells to dealers Ia
curiosities for cents apiece.
II the boys do not discover their prey
running at large they hunt about for
promising looking holes in the ground.
for the location OF the tarantula is always
indicated by white silken web that out
lines the rim of the hole In which he
lives. II for any reason the spider aban-
dons his dwelling he removes the web
when he takes his departure.
Instead of knocking politely at the en-
trance OF the spiders home for admit
tance, little Bobby dumps in a quantity
of cold water, giving Mr. and Mrs Spi-
der an impromptu bath. quite upsetting
the equilibrium of their domestic affairs.
and they rush out to discover the cause
of the disturbance. Their reception
above ground is unpropitious. for they are
Immediately grabbed by the pincers and
hustled unceremoniousfy into tin. glass.
or wooden jail. there to await their DOOM
The Pasadena artist who guides the
tarantula through the process Of taxider-
my evidently takes no heed of the old
Kentish proverb: III you wish to live
and thrive, let spider run alive for an
average of 5000 bugs year pass on into
the vast unknown through a sea of gas
olene and turpentine, in which this man
thrusts them.
Upon being suddenly thrown into this
ill-smelling bath. the tarantulas aston
ishment and indignation is great, his SEN
timents being expressed by lively move
ments of his hairy body and dernansac
CLEANS that sc..TTittiilate from his eight IL
ny eyes. With final flourish, in which
all ten legs reach out pleadingly toward
an unsympathetic world. he gives des-
pairing shudder and succumbs.
Chloroform is sometimes used to kill the
bugs, but is Objectionable, because 1t
Ioosens the fuzx of the spider, which II
dropped on the hand Of the taxidermist
will sometimes cause an irritation of the
skin. Long pincers are invariably used
to handle the tarantulas, and under no
circumstances are they touched with the
hands.
The curing method is simple. only white
arsenic and cotton batting being used
After the embalming process. their legs.
which curl tight under them in their death
struggle, are stretched out in natural
angles, being pinned into position on q
card with black pins, and placed In the
sunshine They are afterward Labeled.
placed in small paSteboard boxes, ana
sold to tourists for twenty-five cents each
Sometimes the barbaric instincts of the
taxidernist influence him to put half a
dozen spiders on a table and watch them
fight A terrible battle ensues, for the
wrath of the participants Is great. and
the weapons formidable. In preparing for
the attack they stand almost upright on
their four hind legs. open wide their
fangs until the mandibles protrude in
straight lire from the face. then with all
the muscular force of which they are ca
pable they launch themselves forward,
sinking the poison-laden mandibles into
the flesh of the enemy. Every movement
expresses antagonism, violent, terrific,
and finally all six are clutched together.
forming a compact ball. Thinking the
proceedings have progressed far enough.
the taxidermist takes the ball in his
pinchers and precipitates all six spiders
into the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. combination.
where they dissolve partnership with one
another and with life.
When one tarantula bites another tie
one bitten acts like h,r,an being under
the influence of liquor. thing absolutely
drunk This Is the first result Then
comes a nunlDness paralytic condition
which often lasts for week. during
which the spider lives. but is unable to
move. At the end of that time he usually
dies.
A lively snake of the garter variety was
captured a short time ago and taken into
the taxidermist's shop. where a number
of tarantulas had just arrived Being Gu
rious to learn the social relations be-
tween this snake and the tarantula aris-
tocracy a great pompous spider, whose
every black hair bristled with imperfous
fury. was placed on The table with the
snake who showed the utmost confidence.
Coiling her shining curves In ray OF
sunlight that streamed across the table.