The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1914-08-07
A NIGHT OF TERROR
Experience With a Dead
ly Mexican TarantuIa.
PENNED IN A DARK BEDROOM.

Meant Madness and Then Death.
The tarantula is much larger in Mex
leo than in Italy. His four pairs Of
fuzzy legs. his speckled bullying belly.
his abnormally fat head. armed with
vicious nippers and equipped with eight
eyes arranged In transverse rows. suf-
fee to Ill you with a wholesome desire
to give him the right of way without
ado.
Owing to the fact that he has an I'M
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 be-
fore retiring for the night. Twice had
! seen native labOrers, poems, In the
agony of death due to a 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 a pile of timbers was includ-
ed in the furnishing of my apartments.
No particular reason occurred to me
why l should investigate this lumber.
and. little realizing that it might shell
ter lurking danger. l flung my weary
head on the dirty pillow. But as l lay
quietly doing of to sleep l suddenly
heard a soft little noise, which one
might describe as q cross between a
hum and q hiss.
AS a precaution against the many
venomous things that creep and crawl
even in the we'll beaten paths Of Mex
leo l had made a careful study of the
arachnids. to which class the tarantu-
las belong. recognized that soft un-
ostentatious warning that announced a
roommate as undesirable as one could
we'll wish.
Cautiously I stretched out my hand
to see IL by chance there were some
matches on the little stand near my
bed. with the result that / 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 a strange room. l 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 as q
blood chilled as l heard his muf1ed
hum-click. hum-click, hum-apparent-
~ not three feet away. held my
breath, incidentally my nose. and lay
wondering how long it would be ere !
should feel his big fuzzy feet sneaking
up the side of my neck or before bis
soft woolly body would light upon my
face. 1t was not at all comforting to
remember that one of a tarantula's &C.
centricities is to find his way to a 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 when
l longed for the bliss Of ignorance.
Would to heaven ! had not studied this
hideous horror Of the tropics! But l.
had. Moreover, ! had seen the awful
effects of his worse than fatal bite.
whose work of destruction was merci-
lessly long drawn out.
II the bite of q male tarantula infects
a 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 a SCATTERING Of the mental
ity. On gradually absorbing the venom
the unfortunate subject reels and raves
in II mad whirI until he swoons from
pure exhaustion. The t%arantella. 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 J.. too. doomed to
die like a dervish. AS the night o
on the buzzing grew less sedulous. !
lay motionless during the thousand
years till dawn. which came at last. q.
divinely soft. blue. shimmering shaft of
light. which made things family Wis.
ible. Cautiously I drew myself up to a
sitting posture and craned my neck in
a searching survey about my chamber
Of horrors.
There. i1 torture worse than mine.
hung my roommate. four Of his legs
pinioned beneath the timbers. There
he SPRAY led. a MANNED but angry pris.
oner. His eight eyes winked me a mil.
itant ''(;ood morning" and forthwith
returned the compliment with the slen.
der shaft Of my batpin.-New York
Sun.
The Easiest Way.
II want the wages Of a man; that's
all I'm asking" said the Votes For
Women" orator.
.'Tleu." said a man as be arose to