The Holbrook news., 1911-02-03
FRED SPOT" IS DEADLY
TINY SPIDER IS MORE DANGER
 OUS THAN COBRA.
s Found Lurking in WoodpiIes and It's Poison Is Said to Be the Most viruIent and Powerful Secreted by Any Living Creature.

The poison of cobras and copper
 heads is known to be deadly enough
 Q 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 understand
 hat this danger is mere moonshine in comparison with a greater one that may be said to find place in every hOme
 So far as is known, it's poison Is the most virulent and powerful. drop for drop, secreted by any living crea- ture." This is the language of liv- ing naturalist, MT. Samuel Hopkins Adams, who is speaking of a common domestic spider found all over the United States, lurking around every woodpile and outhouse. It varies in size from that of large pea to max mum 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 quantity which the Latrodectus' glands con- tain," remarks the same writer, would probably have no appreciable effect upon man, whereas the tiny spi-- ier's venom. in the volume injected by he cobra's stroke, would slay herd of elephants. Happily, the red spot's' fangs being small and weak, can with difficulty penetrate the skin, and are able to inject venom in dan gerous quantity only when the bite is inflicted upon some tender-skinned DOT ton of the body. Nevertheless fatali- ties consequent upon the bite of this Insect sufficiently well attested to take rank as established scientific facts"
 On farm near Greensboro, N. C.. so MT. Adams tells us, a negro, in hauling firewood, brushed at something crawling upon his neck and felt sharp, stinging sensation. It was the black spider with the red spot This was at 8:30 a. m., and before II at night the man was dead. There was no swelling and no visible puncture, only small white pimples appeared about the bitten spot. The smarting soon passed, but in three hours violent cramps were experienced. At one o'clock the man had spasms, but two hours later he returned to his work, laboring for an hour. Then there was another spasm. followed by a state of coma, which lasted till death ensued. One singular feature was that she left arm, left breast and the neck ap- peared to turn to stone. they were so hard.
 Cases have been minutely observed and reported by Dr. Corson of Savan- nah, Ga, Dr. Bickford and MT. Ball of California The last of these de scribes his own experience in convul- sions, following quickly upon the bite of the red spot" saying: "The pains n my hip joints. chest and thighs grew rapidly more violent. until it of my body were being crushed to His illness lasted ten days, but he recovered.
 Here we have a peril much greater than from rattlers and puff adders-a menace to public safety, now guarded against by all intelligent nations where it exists, save only our own. Let every woodchopper and every housewife take warning.
 All other American spiders, the au- thorities declare, constitute only a trifiing hazard and need not be seri- Ously considered; but beware of the black body bearing the red spot"
 Cases of poisoning by this creature are by no means rare. The compara- tive immunity thus far enjoyed by the public is probably due to the fact that spiders, as a rule, never attack human beings unless molested, and then al ways in self-defense.