Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-06-26
A NIGHT OF TERROR
Peculiar Experience With a Dead
" Mexican Tarantula.
PENNEO IN A DARK BEDROOM.

PENNEU IN a UAkk 6EUkUCM.
The Trying Ordeal Through Which .
Woman Tourist Passed In . Hotel at
Vera crux-Awaitins 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 speckied bullying belly.
bis abnormally fat head. armed with
vicious nippers and equipped with eight
eyes arranged in transverse rows. sui.
Zee to al you with wholesome desire
to give him the right Of way without
ado.
Owing to the fact that he has an IN
welcome habit Of leaving bis 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 If 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 Cru1 from
Mexico City. very tired. and decided to
seek my room early in the evening.
which. indeed. 70 the only safe and
proper thing for an unaccompanied
woman in Mexico to do. That -parts II
the diligencias in which my room was
located was evidently undergoing r.
pairs. for q pile Of timbers was includ.
ed in the furnishing Of my apartment.
No particular reason occurred to me
why should investigate this lumber.
and. little realizing that It might shell.
ter lurking danger. dung my weary
head on the dirty pillow. But 40 lay
quietly doing OF to sleep suddenly
heard q soft little noise, which one
might describe a. q cross between Q
hum and q hiss
As q precaution against the. many
venomous things that creep and crawl
even in the well beaten paths Of Mex.
leo bad made q careful study of the
arachnids. to which class the tarantu.
las belong. I recognized that soft IN.
ostentatious warning that announced q
roommate a. undesirable as one could
we'll wish.
Cautiously stretched out my hand
to see II by chance there were some
matches on the little stand near my
bed. with the result that knocked the
unlighted candle upon the door. That
was enough for my mettlesome room
mate: be had been personally insulted
BY the noise, and suddenly in the utter
darkness. that black stiffness which
one feels In strange room. detected
q sickening odor. the warning Of the
angry tarantula.
l strained my ears to detect the soft.
characteristic click that the male. the
deadliest Of the species. employs a. a
fancy frill to his malicious song. My
blood chilled a. l heard bis muf1ed
hum.click, hum-click. hum-apparent-
" not three feet away. I held my
breath. incidentally my nose. and lay
wondering how long It would be ere
should feel bis big fuzzy feet sneaking
up the side of my neck or before his
soft woolly body would light upon my
face. 1t was not at all comforting to
remember that one Of tarantula's &C.
centricities il to 6nd his way to point
on the ceiling directly over the object
Of his anger and then to drop uncere
moniously upon bis victim.
1t was the only time In my life when
I l0nged for the bliss Of ignorance
Would to heaven had not studied this
hideous horror Of the tropics! But
had. Moreover, had seen the awful
effects Of bis worse than fatal bite.
whose work Of destruction was merci.
lessly long drawn out.
II the bite Of male tarantula infects
large artery 1t throws the victim into
a dreadful state Of crazed nerves. The
incipient stages Of the poisoning are &C.
companied by accentuated melancholia.
followed by SCATTERING Of the mental
ity. On gradually absorbing the venom
the unfortunate subject reels and raves
In a mad whirI until be swoons from
pure exhaustion. The tarantella. the
graceful Italian dance so often de-
scribed in musical literature. derives its
name from this hideOus poisoning.
All this and more darted through my
mind as ] lay there In the darkness
wondering II |. too. were doomed to
die like u dervish. A. the night wore
on the buZZing grew less srdulOua. ]
lay motionlpss during the th"Isand
years till dawn. whl"h ratn- ut ia>t II
divinely soft. blue. Shnmrr,np SHAFT OF
light. which made things family Wis
ible. Cautiously drew myself up to -
sitting posture And Grained my neck II
q searching surrey nl"mI III, rhatnh"
Of horrors.
There 10 torture worse than min,
hung my ronInninie. f"ut at his leg
pinioned beneath thr .n,l"rs filrr'
be spra wltd ,nhirnf! thIt angry pri>
Oner. His eight ewes w,nkrd me- II mi
liant IiOsd rn,rn'n.." and | forthwith
returned the compliment WITH the Sl"h
der shaft OF ~! hati'n New Y"rt
Sun.
The Easieat Way
VI want the wages OF n man: that :
al I'm asking" said the Votes For
Women" orntOr.
"Then," said man as be arose to
areak "l t.a,nfend II isn't a cote thai