Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-12-14

when 1 thought at any moment the
monster might crawl into my tent.
There has been much discussion as
to whether or not the Gila monster
is venomous reptile. Specimens
have been sent to the Smithsonian,
where it was said they had no glands
for secreting venom and were harm
less; but a different idea prevails and
reasonably so, in the southwest. How
ever, it is not aggressive; 1t Is slug
gish and not easily aroused; but
when it does use its fangs with their
bulldog grip, it is always with deadly
effect.
Mexicans in that part Of the country
in spirit Of bravado, when fortified
by several drinks Of mescal, are fond
Of taking a Gila monster in one hand
and thrusting the other against its
nose, and strange to say, then general
ly escape, but not always.
There are two authentic cases which
occurred in my vicinity when too close
contact with the reptile met with dis
aster. An American saloon-keeper In
Fairbanks, Arizona, kept two large
specimens in a barrel as curiosities.
One day a Mexican came into the sa-
loon and taking one Of them out with
his hand, began to show off his usual
bravado performance, when he was
instantly seized by a finger which
could be released only by cutting of
the reptiles head.
The Mexican at once showed signs
Of distress and died from the effects
Of the bite in less than thirty minutes.
Another case was that Of an Ameri-
can ranchman, who started out one
morning .on horseback to ride to
Tuscon, fifty miles west Of his ranch.
When he had gone about half the dis
tance, seeing a large ella monster
crossing the road, he dismounted. and
after beating it with a club until. as
he supposed, it was dead, he tied 1t to
the saddle straps behind him. After
going several miles he felt behind to
see that his trophy was still there,
when the reptiles vice-like jaws
closed on his thumb. Finding it i'm
possible, without assistance, to pull his
thumb away from the reptiles grip, the
ranchman went at top speed to a rail-
road station about mile off his road,
where, to get relief, it was necessary
to cut off the monsters head. For
tunately a train was passing at the
time which took the man at once to
the hospital in Tucson, where, after
being at the point Of death for several
days, he was detained for two months
until he was finally cured.
The ella monsters sluggishness al
most amounts to lethargy, and ordi-
narily, II 1t were not for his fiendish.
unwinking eyes it would seem to be
asleep.
At old Fort Mcdowell, thirty miles
north Of Phoenix, a happy family con-
sisting Of three Gila monsters, a dozen
field mice and small prairie snake,
were confined in an iron cage.
The monsters, apparently petrified,
always remained stretched out in the
middle Of the cage. The field mice,
which were very lively, were continu-
ally scampering over them, sometimes
sitting on their backs. The little snake,
also very active, was incessantly
gliding among the other members Of
the family.
Perfect harmony existed until one
morning when an old gopher, with long
prominent teeth, was put in the cage.
The mice Immediately ran and hid
in their holes. The snake prepared
for attack and assaulted the new
conner, when hard fight began which
ending with the snakes strangling
and swallowing the gopher.
During this long drawn out affair,
which lasted over half an hour the
Gila monsters remained as unconcern-
ed as if they were made Of stone.
There is reason to suppose there
was wiser purpose in the creation Of
all things-the useful and the ap-
parently useless; the harmless and the
dangerous-but it is hard to under
stand what part in life the Gila mon
ster was intended to take. Fortunate
ly, however in the section where it
was common it is now rarely found;
since with all other Objectionable
creatures it is fast disappearing when
brought in contact with civilization
Col. Chas. A. P. Hatfield in Our Dumb
Animals.