Ch. XVII.] BITE OF MYGALE. 323 



hoof. He did this to prevent them from being bitten by 

 the tarantula spider, a species of rnygale that makes its 

 nest in the ground, and was said to abound in this 

 locality. Many of the mules are bitten in the feet on 

 the savannahs by some venomous animal. The mule 



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bitten immediately goes lame, and will not be cured in 

 less than six months, as the hoof comes off, and has to 

 be renewed. The natives say that the mygale is the 

 aggressor, that it gets on the mule's foot to bite off the 

 hairs to line its nest with, and that if not disturbed it 

 does not injure the mule ; but that if the latter tries to 

 dislodge it, it bites immediately. I do not know whether 

 this story be true or not, and I had no opportunity of 

 examining a mygale's nest to see if it was lined with 

 hairs ; but Professor "\Yestwood informs me that all that 

 he knows are lined with fine silk. Possibly the mules, 

 when rambling about, step on the spider, and are then 

 bitten by it. Velasquez told me that when he was a boy 

 he and other children used to amuse themselves by pull- 

 ing the mygale out of its hole, which is about a foot deep 

 in the ground. To get it out they fastened a small ball 

 of soft wax to a piece of string, and lowered it down the 

 hole, jerking it up and down until the spider got exaspe- 

 rated so far as to bury its formidable jaws in the wax, 

 whereby it could be drawn to the surface. 



We had part of the kitchen to sleep in, and were so 

 tired, and getting so accustomed to sleep anywhere, that 

 we had a good night's rest, rose early next morning, and 

 were soon on the road again, leaving Bito to bring on 

 the lamed horse. AVe had a good view of the rock of 

 San Lorenzo, a high cliff capping a hill, and resembling 

 the rocks of Cuapo and Pena Blanca, but with less per- 



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