The Princeton union., 1914-06-25
A NIGHT OF Terror.
Peculiar Experience With a Dead
" Mexican TarantuIa.
PENNED IN A DARK BEDROOM.

The Trying Ordeal Through Which a
Woman Tourist Passed In Hotel at
Vera Cruz-Awaiting the Bite That !
Meant Madness and Then Death.
The tarantula is much larger in Mex.
leo than in Italy. His four pairs of |
fuzzy legs. his speckled bulging belly, |
his abnormally fat head. armed with |
vicious nippers and equipped with eight |
eyes arranged in transverse rows. suf- !
fee to I'll you with a wholesome desire !
to give him the right of way without |
ado.
Owing to the fact that he has an un-
welcome habit Of leaving his own
realm in the tropical vines to make
sociable little visitations to the cor
ners of your bedroom it had always
been my custom to search every nook
and crevice Of my sleeping room be:
fore retiring for the night. Twice had
seen native laborers. poems, in the
agony of death due to tarantula bite.
So it was not surprising that this
creeping thing headed my list of the
many dangers to be Stunned in Mex
leo.
had just reached Vera Cruz from
Mexico City. very tired, and decided to
seek my room early in the evening.
which. indeed, is the only safe and
proper thing for an unaccompanied
woman in Mexico to do. That part of
the diligencias in which my room was
located was evidently undergoing re-
pairs, for pile of timbers was includ-
ed in the furnishing of my apartments.
No particular reason occurred to me
why ! should investigate this lumber.
and, little realizing that it might shell
ter lurking danger. flung, my weary
head on the dirty pillow. But as lay
quietly doing off to sleep | suddenly
heard soft little noise, which one
might describe as cross between
hum and hiss.
As a precaution against the many
venomous things that creep and crawl
even in the well beaten paths of Mex
leo ! bad made careful study Of the
arachnids. to which class the tarantu-
las belong | recognized that soft un-
| ostentatious warning that announced a
room mate as undesirable as one could
| well wish.
Cautiously stretched out my hand
to see if by chance there were some
matches on the little stand near my
bed. with the result that I knocked the
unlighted candle upon the floor. That
was enough for my mettlesome room
mate: he had been personally insulted
by the noise, and suddenly in the utter
darkness. that black stiffness which
one feels in strange room, detected
angry tarantula.
| | strained my ears to detect the SOFT
| characteristic click that the male, the
deadliest Of the species. employs as a
fancy frill to his malicious song. My
blood chilled as heard his muff1ed
hum-click, hum-click. hum-apparent-
ly not three feet away. I held my
breath. incidentally my nose. and lay
wondering how long it would be ere
should feel his big fuzzy feet sneakine
up the side Of my neck or before bis
soft woolly body would light upon my
face. 1t was not at all comforting tc
remember that one of tarantula's &C.
centriciies is to find his way to point
on the ceiling directly over the object
of his anger and then to drop uncere
moniously upon his victim.
1t was the only time in my life wher
ionged for the bliss Of ignorance
Would to heaven l had not studied this
hideous horror of the tropics: But
had Moreover, l had seen the awfu
effects Of his worse than fatal bite
whose work of destruction was merci
lessly long drawn out.
If the bite of male tarantula infect:
a large artery it throws the victim int
a dreadful state Of crazed nerves. Th,
incipient stages of the poisoning are &C
companied by accentuated melancholia
followed by shattering Of the mental
ity. On gradually absorbing the venom
the unfortunate subject reels and rave
in mad whirl until he swoons from
q pure exhaustion. The tarantella, tn
graceful italian dance so often de
scribed in musical literature, derives it
name from this hideous poisoning.
All this and more darted through m,
1 | ulAuO DIS lay IueEe III lu0 UdTkueS
wondering if l. too, were doomed t
die like a derv1sh. As the night wor
on the buzzing grew less sedulous.
lay motionless during the thousan
years till dawn, which came at last,
divinely soft. blue, shimmering shaft O
light. which made things family vis
ible Cautiously drew myself up to
sitting posture and craned my neck
searching survey about my chambe
of horrors.
| There, In torture worse than min'
hung my roommate. four Of his lee
pinioned beneath the timbers. Ther
| he sprawled. a manned but angry pri'
| oner. His eight eyes winked me mi
! liant Good morning." and forthwith
- returned the compliment with the sle'
der shaft of my hatpin.-New Yor
Sun.
The Easiest Way.
.sI xuon< tho pvqoos of a man: that