The Winslow mail., 1925-07-10
HOW DID THE GILA
MONSTER GET HOLD
OF MILLER'S NOSE Z?
Copyright, W. N. ~

Just few minutes before going
to press with last Fridays Winslow
Mail Harry ('Indian'O Miller was
brought to town suffering from a
bite on the face by Gila monster
1t was a good story, the kind that
gladdens the heart of a reporter,
but in the rush of getting the story
in" maybe there was "culpable
reportorial silence" Fine phrase,
that, but not our own.
The Arizona Republican, in its
editorial column, commenting on
the story, criticises it for some of
it's imperfections, and cleverly inti-
mates that The Mail is guilty of
mature taking" The Republican
says:
Nov, isn't this going little
strong? We seldom criticise the
news which appears from time to
time in this conscientious and re-
liable journal, but when we read,
as we did yesterday, a dispatch
from Winslow that a Gila monster
at the Canyon Lodge Zoo, near
that place, struck a keeper in the
face, 'burying its fangs on either,
that is to say, on both, sides of his
nose, it appeared to us that the
time had come to check up.
Our suspicion of some inaccu-
racy grew out of our knowledge
that the Gila monster has no fangs,
but only grooved teeth with sali1
vary glands at the bottom. The
operation Of the monsters mouth
is much like that of steel trap
which does not strike, but closes
down upon 1t can seize only upon
protruding objects small enough
to be grasped within that orifice.
In this case, therefore, it could not
have sunk it's fangs into the
keepers face, but we shudder to
think what would have happened
to his nose. Concerning that there
is a culpable reportorial silence.
eve have only one theory that
might account for such a contact
as the monster is said to have
effected. The keeper must have
been trying to cure himself of an
attack of hiccough. That is COM
monty done by the patient moving
the point of his forefinger toward
the end of the nose without actually
touching it. The cure is effected
by the concentration required, the
mental distraction of the patient
from the hiccough, which, thus ig
nored, vanishes. In this case we
suppose the keeper was substitute
ing the monster for his finger.
We can think of no other way in
which the monster could have
been brought into proximity to the
keepers nose.
"The monster is not a flying or
jumping quadruped, but a ground
lizard, incapable of leaving his
base under his own power. He is
the most torpid Of lizards. He has
only two quick movements, one
with the head, common to all liz
ards; the other is most Surpris-
ing 'end-to-end' movement. Many
man or boy, unaware of this
movement and contemptuous of the
monsters sluggishness, has at
tempted to pick him up by the
tail, only to feel the jaws close
upon his fingers The monsters
shift is so lightning-like that the
human eye can not follow it. 1t is
possible that the keeper in this
case was showing off by trying
to bite the monsters tail.
Anyhow, the narrative, as we
have printed it,, is devoid of many
important details as to the modus
operandi. We refer the whole sub
ject to Sam Proctor for explana-
ton"
Every once in a while some ami
NAL takes a taste of Mr.. Miller's
flesh. and we have asked him,
Continued on Page Six.)