Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14
CHASING CENTIPEDES
PECULIAR INDUSTRY WHICH
FLoURIsHES IN CALIFORNIA.
Youthful Hunters Who Make Money
Catching Poisonous Insects for
the Curiosity Dealers.

From the Philadelphia Record
Among the many remarkable develop
ments of life on the Pacific coast, says the
Los Angeles Times, the centipede Industry
of southern California is uniquely promi-
nent, thousands of these many-legged my
riapodas being placed on the market each
year, and even then the demand exceeds
the supply Besides wholesaling immense
numbers to eastern firms, the California
novelty establishments find active Gus
toners in the tourists, who purchase for
midable collections of semi-tropical bugs
and insects centipedes being especially
popular
| During the months of March, April and
May this strange industry is carried on
with vim, the collectors drying and stor-
ing their crops to sell the worms to the
dealers for cents each. AS an active boy
can easily catch 100 centipedes a day the
pay is quite considerable.
Centipedes for Lunch.
The young hunter usually carries his
lunch, sometimes in a basket, sometimes in
his pocket, but if he were constructed like
the Indian children of South America he
would not be burdened with lunch, but
would satiate his appetite with centipedes,
eating as he pleased and when he plea sed
just dS lie NOulu lIDDlt VIII berries II ne
We're on berrying expedition. The native
South American youngsters are said to
chase the centipedes from their lairs, and.
after tearing off the head, with the two at
tendant poison fangs, eat the delicacy with
gusto. But this is a gustatory feat the
American youth has yet to acquire
Besides the lunch, the hunters parapher-
nalla consists of a pair of homemade
plncers about eighteen inches in length and
a hve-gallon Oil can with the top thrown
half open. Scraps of paper line the bottom
OF this can to depth Of six or eight inches
ana IN TINS rustling heap the worms are
paced; II 1t Were not for the paper that
pads the Jail and affords snug hiding nlacas
there would be a terrific battle In which
the whole collection of centpedes would
unite, for they hate their own kind Not
nelng satisfied to kill their brother captives.
they eat one another, SO that at the termi-
nation of the fight only the larger and
stronger one remains.
A Formidable Worm.
Full-grown - California centipedes the
Scoiopendra castaniceps, are from five to
eight inches long and average fortv-two
legs and twenty-one segmenfs Each leg
is terminated by a formidable brown thorn
and II the worm is angered he simulta-
neously thrusts every thorn into the flesh
of his victim, who feels as if a red-hot iron
We're carving lines of pain upon his skin.
But the weapons that do the most mischief
are placed just below the mouth, and are
formed from a second pair of feet which
are modlhed into pair of strong claws
set horizontally, in manner resembling
the faices of ordinary spiders. and termi1
mated by sharp, strong hook in each side
These hooks are perforated and are trav
ersed by little canal leading from the
poison gland. These claws come together
under the flesh, with hold SO tena cious
mat the centipede sometimes has to be
TORN 10 pieces before 1T will loosen itc bol
Boys who gather the creatures are some
times bitten, for on hot days the worms
run like a streak of lightning and unless
the plncers hold firm they glide up the
SUCKS and under their torment0r's shirt
sleeves, where they wreak vengeance and
make trouble generally. An application of
ammonia or cooking soda is usually eff
caclous IN removing the poison. Though
the pain of being bitten sbv CaIifornia
cenupede is intense, the patient usually re-