Newport daily independent., 1905-06-22
.~sfa aces in Which the Act of Self Destruction Was Unmistakably Witnessed-Ahected
 by Light.

enough, this has been regarded as poetic fiction; and a distinguished writer has gone so far as to say that the 'popular idea regarding scorpionic suicide is delusion based on an impos- sibility." The impossibility to which this writer refers is this: The sting of the senrpion is in it's tail, and the ter minatlon of the tail is recurved, so that 1t would really be impossible for the scorpion to sting itself on the under part of its body. But 1t is not impos- sible for the sting to penetrate the back or even the head; and there is positive evidence that in certain circumstances the scorpion does commit suicide In that way. This creature seems to be unable to endure light; and when 1t is exposed to light 1t seems to become so desperate as to end It's torture with its own sting. W. c. Riddle tells this in- cident, which he himself observed in Madras and which he communicated to Nature:
 "One morning a servant brought to me large specimen of scorpion, which, having staid out too long in It's noc- turnal rambles, had apparently got be- wildered at daybreak and been unable to find it's way home. To keep it safe, the creature was at once put into glazed chronological case. Having few leisure minutes in the course of the forenoon, I thought I would see how my prisoner was getting on, and to have better view of it the case was placed in window in the rays of the hot sun. The light and heat seemed to irritate 1t very much, and this recalled to my mind a story which I had read somewhere that a scorpion, on being surrounded with fire, had committed suicide. hesitated about submitting my pet to such terrible ordeal; but, taking a common botanical lens, for cused the rays of the sun on its back. The moment this was done it began to run hurriedly about the case, hissing and splitting in a very fierce way. This experiment was repeated some four or five times with like results, but on try ing it once again the scorpion turned It's tail and plunged the stinger quick as lightning into it's own back. The infiction of the wound was followed by . sudden escape of fluid, and friend standing by me called out: See, it has stung itself; it is dead; and sure enough, in less than half minute life was quite extinct. I have written this brief note to show CD that animals may commit suicide; (2) that the poison of certain animals may be destructive to themselves
 An eminent writer, Dr. Allen Thomp- son, r. R. S., has contributed the fol- lowing narrative of facts observed by B. F. Hutchinson, while living in the summer at the baths of Sulla, in Italy. MT. Hutchinson and his family were very much annoyed by the frequent in- trusion of small black scorpions in the house, which secreted themselves among the bedclothes, in shoes, and in other articles of dress. He says:
 Tt thus became necessary to be con- stantly on the watch for these trouble some creatures, and to take means for their removal and destruction. Having been informed by the natives of the place that the scorpion would destroy itself if exposed to d sudden light, my informant and her friends soon became adopts in catching the scorpions and aisposing of them in the manner sug- gested. This consisted in contining the animal under an inverted drinking glass or tumbler, below which a card was inserted when the capture was made, and then, waiting till dark, sud denly bringing the light of a candle near to the glass in which the animal was confined.
 No sooner was this done than the
 Nion invariably showed signs of
 excitement, running round and the interior of the tumbler with ss velocity for a number of
 This state having lasted for a
 @ or more, the animal became
 and, turning its tail on the hinder
 HE it's body over it's back, brought
 urved sting down upon the mid the head, and, piercing it fore
 in q few seconds became quite q,ess, and in fact. quite dead. \ Observation was repeated very
 uently; in truth, it was adopted as
 best plan of getting rid of the ami
 als. The young people were in the %aabit of handling the scorpions with lmpunity immediately after they were 50 killed, and of preserving many of them as curiosities."
 It would be difficult to prove that suicide is an evidence of intelligence; 1nd it is certainly different from any Ather act that is prompted by instinct, pr instinct always tends to the pres Ivation of life i'll the individual and / Mo in the species, never to its destruc-
 ( Unless, therefore, there were reason to believe that light af- 1.-the. physical organization of the
 An in such a way as to be fatally
 IN alike to the individual and to
 Ass, the extraordinary fact al
 in these anecdotes Is quite mex SA. There is reason, then, to re- k hpSi finn.