The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-09-28
A PLAGUE OF FEAR
Vague Terrors Bar Lots Of Folks
From Living on the Land.
DREAD SNAKES AND INSECTS.

iney see hangers ana FerlIS IN Soun'
try Life That Do Not Exist, and So
Prefer Crowded Ctes-The Truth
About Animal Bites and Poisons.
Fears Of injury and even death from
!nakc bite, terror Occasioncd by dangers
imaginary and unseen, keep many nerv-
Gus people from living on the land, and
these scnsclcss fears play n larger part
han most people imagine in keeping
acuue huddlcd in apartment houses,
crowded into towns and cities. And
the cost of living scars and scars.
+ Snake and insect poisoning terrori2es
millions Of well meaning men and wom-
en-. when, as II matter OF fact, dan
ger from falling while running the
/ lawn mower is much more real. Fear
seems TO become obsession, and the
word "lcadly" crCCps into conversation
Mt every verse end. The rattlesnake is
deadly" The coppcrhead and moe
casn are deadly" SO is the wholly
mythical puff adder. In hardly less
degree is the tarantula deadly" while
varying lcthal capacities are ascribed
TO the ccutipcdc, the scorpion, the kiss
ing bug and sundry other forms Of in
sect life. Pseudo science to the con
trary Notwithstanding, there is no liv
mg thing within the boundaries Of the
United States Of America Whose bite or
sting is sure death or (with one posi-
Bile cXccption) even probable death.
There are five varieties of vcnomous
acrprnts in the country three of them
elaps family. The elaps are rare. The
rrOtalids (rattleSnakc, mOccasin and
cOppcrheadl are common and of the
widest geographical distribution. Yet,
on the basis of actual evidence, the
gma2Hg fact stands ont that only
iainablc, have ever died from snake
bites in the United States.
BE it remembered that death follow
ing snake bite is not necessarily the
same thing MS death from snake bite.
Error in treatment plays NO small part
in vhiating the statistics. For terror"
read "whisky." Whoever is primarily
responsible for the hoary superstition
that liquor in huge doses is useful in
snake poisoning has many life to an
Swcr for. \ whole bottle of raw Wills
ky forced down the throat of man un-
accustomed TO alcohol is pretty likely
90 kin him and il absolutely certain to
cause grave poisoning.
Fully as much terror attaches, in the
country districts, to the puff adder or
sand viper as to the rattlesiiakG or cop
pcrlcad, This is n suggestive" bit of
superstition, since there's nosuch thing
nS an adder or viper ON the western
hemisphere and never has been one,
unless il came carefully picked in n
jar. What passes for the supposedly
deadly reptile is the common hog nosed
or bun snake. 1t is about rs dangerous
as an lnfurlatcd rabbit. But it puts UP
one of the best "blulfs" known to nat
urnl history
Diseased Imagination could invent no
creature more horrilic of appearance
than the tnrantula. It's bristling and
hostile aspect, the swift fcroclty of it's
rush, its great size and It's enthusiastic
preference for combat as against flight
urc sufficient to account for the fear
and respect in which 1t is generally
held. But though several species of
thc huge spider are native in the United
States and others frequently drop out
of banana lunches from South and
Central America, TO the discontinue of
the mSuspccllng grocer, no authentic
instance Of death from tarantilu poi
son in this country Is obtainable.
In some sections of the country the
spider hyStcria prevails. People shiycr
every time they see spider. Yet In
all the United States there Is known but
one poisonous spider. Strangely enough,
the one dangerous spider on the
American continent Is small, obscure
ana practically unknown. Latrodcctus
mactnns Is its scientific name. 1t Is
about the size of II large pea, black,
with n red spot ON the hacll-a useful
danger signal and spins n small web
In OuthouSCS or around wOodplcs. But
few specimens have ever been idcntl-
fled in this country.
The only insect which really kills is
the mosquito yet less fear Is expressed
about it's activities than about any 9th
cr poison carrying insect or snuke.
Compared with the mosquito as II real
menace, all the combined brood of
snakes, scorpions, cGntipedes, tarnntu-
las ana other pet bugaboos of our child
iSh rOmnntiCiSm urp utterly upglinihln
are as tigmcnts to'reHlity. as shadow
To substance
A clear understanding of these popu.
lar fears AMI supcrstitions would aid
greatly in giving assurance of safety
to the man or woman who would till
the soil, who would work in the open
hc'ds, who would live in the country
Los Angeles Times.