Arizona republican., 1906-08-20
POISONOUS SINGS
 AND REPTILE BITES
They are Not Half So Bad as rIany
 People Believe.

The dangers to human life from the bites and stings of poisonous reptiles found in the southwest are very much overestimated by the general public particularly those who have never lived in the southwest. IL is a belief among many people that the centipede. the ! tarantula. the Gila monster. the SCOT pion and a score of other reptiles and 1 insects of various long scientific names are sure death to those who encounter them. The facts are that about the only really dangerous things that Ari- zOna has are the rattlesnake and the hydrOphobia skunk. The former is common to almost the entire United States. outside of the cities. and the skunk in found in many countries be- side Arizona.
 The Gila monster is automatically credited with quite a number of vic- tins. but it is not a very dangerous an- imal. for the reason that it seldom bites anybody unless it is captured and leased until it is made to bite in self defense, and then in many cases the victim suffers but slightly if the wound is properly cared for The tarantula is said to be sure death, but who ever heard of a tarantula biting anybody [?
 
 there is none on record in these parts. The sting of the scorpion is so com mon as to excite no comment unless the victim be an infant and the insect gets under his clothes and stings him repeatedly. In that case death has been known to ensue in various instances that might be referred to- But there have probably been hundreds of peo- pie stung by scorpions in this county this year. and in few cases has the wound been as serious as a bee sting and in no case has it been fatal. So far as can be ascertained. no mature person in these parts ever died from the sting of a scorpion. though in a few cases where the wound penetrated a large blood vessel the patient has suf- fered intensely.
 The sting of the centipede is rare, and probably not a dozen cases have occurred in these parts in as many years. and it is not of record here that anybody ever died from a centipede's sting. The usual result is the making of bad wound, followed sometimes by a sloughing of the adjacent flesh, and probably, if neglected, blood poison might ensue. But the wound could scarcely prove fatal if given attention, judging by the observation of the in- cidents of the past. A case of centi- pede stinging is recorded by the Flor ence Blade as follows:
 James Davis of Kelvin came down a week ago Friday for medical treat ment having been bitten by a centi- pede the evening before. He had gone to bed, and some time in the early part of the evening the centipede had taken a notion to become James bedfellow for the night, but James got too rough and the centipede tackled him for re- venge. He was in sort of stupor for a time following the bite, having no power to use his limbs, but it lasted only a short time and he got up and applied ammonia. This was all he did until he arrived here. The sting was on the back, right over the kidneys, and there was a spot several inches in cir conference black and blistered. The doctor bled the wound and applied medicines. and MT. Davis was allowed