Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-12-02
RED SPOT" IS DEADLY.
Tiny Spider is More DANGEROUS than Cobra.

Tiny Spider is More DANGEROUS than Cobra.
The poison of cobraS and copper
heads is known to be deadly enough
to fill the popular mind with horror,
though the horror is somewhat miti-
gated by the remoteness of the dan
ger from the common walks of life.
But now we are given to unders t;.nd
that this danger is mere moonshine
In comparison with a greater one
that may be said to find q place u
every home.
So far as is known, its poison is
the most virulent and powerful, drop
for drop, secreted by any living ere. :
ture. " This is the language of a
living naturalist, Mr.. Samuel Hop
kins Adams, who is speaking of a
common domestic spider found all
over the United States, lurking
around every wOodpile and clubhouse.
1t varies in size from that of a large
pea to maximum of half an inch in
length, black in its body, bearing
ever red spot upon it's back, most
useful danger signal.
Cobra virus, in the minute guam
tity which the Latrodectus's glands
contain, remarks the same writer.
would probably have no apprecia-
BILE effect upon man, whereas the
tiny SPIDERS venom, in the volume
injected by the cobra's stroke, would
slay herd of elephants.
Happily, the red spots fangs being
small and weak, can with difficulty
penetrate the skin. and are able to
inject venom in dangerous quantity
only when the bite is inflicted upon
some tcnder-skinned portion of the
body. Nevertheless fatalities con-
sequent upon the bite of this insect
are sufficiently well attested to take
rank as established scientific facts"
On farm near Greensboro, N. c.,
so Mr.. Adams tells US, a negro, in
hauling hrewOod, brushed ut some
thing crawling upon his neck and
felt a sharp, singing sensation. 1t
was the black spider with the red
srot. This was at $50 A. NJ, and
before ii at night the man was dead.
There was no swelling and no visible
puDcture, only small white pimples
appeared about the bitten spot. The
smarting soon passed. but in three
hours violent cramps were expert
enced. At l o'clock the man had
spasms, but two hours later he re-
turned to his work, laboring for an
hour. Then there was another
spasm. followed by state of coma,
which lssted till death ensued. One
singular feature was that the left
arm, left breast and the neck ap-
peared to turn to stone, they were so
hard.
Cases have been infinitely observed
and reported by DR.. Corson, of Sa-
vannah, Ca, DR.. Bickford and Mr..
Ball. of California. The last of these
describes his own experience in con.
vulsions. following quickly upon the
bite of the "red spot" saying:
THE pains in my hip joints, chest
and thighs grew rapidly more vio-
lent, until it seemed that the bones
in these parts of my body were being
crushed to fragments His illness
lasted ten days, but he recovered.
Here we have peril much greater
than from rattlers and puff adders-
a menace to public safety, now
guarded against by all intelligent ma
tions where it exists, save only our
own. Let every woodchopper and
every housewife take warning.
All other American spiders, the
authorities declare, constitute only a
trifling hazard and need not be seri-
ously considered; bu. beware OF the
black body bearing the red spot"
Cases of poisoning by this creature
are by no means rare. The compar-
ative immunity thus far enjoyed by
the public is probably due to the
fact that spiders. as rule, never at
tack human beings unless molested,
and then always in self-defense.