The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-10

bacco they turn from with loathng.
"It is curious fact that the floating
threads from the webs of spiders viii take
the bluing off gun barrel. l have been
unable to find out why. The threads of
the big tropical spiders are distinctly bit
ter to the taste, but though the first
thought a man has when he tastes any
thing bitter is that 1t must be good for
medicine. the only use the healing art
makes of spiders webs is to use them
to stanch the flow of blood. The kind OF
web used for that grows under the coun-
tiers of groceries,, and II was one of these
spiders that caught a mouse. / will ad-
init, right In the beginning, that this looks
like pretty large story. but 1t is sub
Stimulated by no less a parsonage than
the late Proctor Knott who was then
Governor of Kentucky. though his great
err claim to fame was his speech in Con-
gress about Duluth, the zenith city of the
unsalted seas, as he humorously called
IT, which is very far, indeed, from being
anything nowadays but a plain state
ment of fact, as he lived to see. Gov
Knott made a signed statement OF the
event and sent It to Prof. McCook whose
authority on the spider question nobody
will dispute. He saw the spider shortly
after she had shared the mouse by the
end of its tail, and while 1t was still
alive and struggling halfway off the
ground, and he saw 1t after II had been
wrapped UP I'm silk. He calls particular
attention to the way the spider kept stir
ing up the mouse by biting ii so as to
get another line on 1t.
And this adventure with mouse is
not the only case on record where spiders
have done deeds of high enterprise. The
Hon. David E. Evans of Batavia, NJ Y.
saw striped snake nine inches long
Canplt n tq
shut up with threads of silk and It's tail
tied to a knot so as to form a loop
through which was reeved a cord as
strong as sewing silk made of multiplied
threads and run up over a sort of pulley
of which a dead fly was the core May
be you think that is pretty able bodied
yarn, but what do you call the statement
that Dolomedes spider has been seen to
catch and land fish? No, I'm sure I've
got it right. II wasn't the fish that
caught. the spider. There wouldn't be
any story i'm that at all. 1t was the spider
that caught the fish. 1t leaped on the
fish's shoulders and bit and bit and swung
ashore and fastened lines till ii warped
the fish out of water 1t wasn't a very
big fish, l grant you, IL one may go by
the picture In the book. but 1t was fash
and that is wonderful enough in itself"
AS general thing in the world below
US, IL lb the male tnaL mas all the nHG
clothes; but, with some exceptions, II
is the female spider that bosses the ranch
This beautiful, milk-white spider with
the crimson trimmings has little runt
of a husband that goes about in pain
brown, with dark markings, and he Is
lucky to be alive. As "a rule, in spider
land the males are undersigned They
don't last long. 1t is a kind OF a hard
world for he-spders. Imagine how 1t
would be If mans wife were thirteen
hundred times as big as he VAST He
would have to take all her impudence
and backtalk without a whmper. I'm
glad I'm not spider--at least. not a
he-spider. When he goes counting his
girl treats him meaner than a dog.
But even the spideress with the highest
principles will finally succumb 20 the
charms of some young whiffet or other:
but IL he stays around the place ne has
to understand distinctly that he must
keep out of the way. She's got a lot of
things on her mind and she can't be
bothered with him He knows what she
means. So he hops around hangs to her
when he can, drops when he can, lodges
when he can; but you know what the
upshot Of 1t always is. One day there
Is a withered he-spider skin hanging in
the web, and the widow stops and looks
as 1t before she throws II out She
smacks her mouth. well" says she.
and draws long breath, The certainly
was good to me-"
The jumping and running spiders are
really most interesting to watch in loves
brief delirium. Then they put on their
incest clothes and do all sorts of cake
walks and dances for each other The
icius has regular assembly balls, the men
dancing I'm front OF the women and show
ing off their fancy steps. Every once in
a while there is a scrimmage at the lower
end of the hall and all the fellows skate
down there, and you'd think by the fuss
that there was nothing less than murder
going on. The women wiring their hands
and moan. "Aain't ii awfuI2 It's lust
disgraceful! II I'd "a knowed It was
goin' to be like this-Oo-oohi Did you
see Riley paste him them" The young
things cry and carry on, but the old
matrons fan themselves and cape and
talk about their rheumatism. They know
that it Is all got up to impress them
and that nobody gets hurt.
Phidippus morsitans is considered about
the best dancing species, and when the
male rigs and goes out sparkling It Is a
sight to see! His first pair of legs is
long, and he waves them about and
stretches them up in front OF the lady,
as much as to say: HAL, great queeni
Sovereign Of my heart" They are white.
plumy things, and ought to captivate her
first thing But she sulks and sometimes
she makes a dive for him, and he has to
drop the Hail. great queenl" business
and take to the woods. But II he once
can get her 10 watch his dancing her
heart is his. He stands up as high as
he can on his four right legs and crouches
down as long as he can on his four left
legs and circles about. getting closer and
closer TO her She rushes at him. lie
retreats-he is COY. Then he changes legs.
He stands as high as he can on his left
legs and crouches on his right set. 1t is
when he II going away from her that
the poor girl catches her breath in &C.
stasy and literally stands on her head.
After he has circied about 40 times she
exclaims: Take met / am yoursv
-
"A Good suggestion-B e-'T am tempt
ed to steal--to steal kiss" She--"Oh.
IL y 1YI