320 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



The second specimen, a vinegaroon, 

 was handed me by a relative and 

 railroader of the Southern Pacific track. 

 It was a fine, big and horrid looking 

 fellow and very lively — incarcerated in 

 a large, wide-mouthed bottle It was 

 captured alive in a Texas frontier town 

 where they are indigenous to certain 

 favorable, mostly sandy and rocky re- 

 gions. In Mexico and other tropical 

 countries they are reported very num- 

 erous. It is noted for its immense and 

 curved frontal fanes, supplied with 

 (several extra movable claws, and its 

 peculiar, vinegar-like exhalations when 

 annoyed. As to its poisonous character, 



A VINEGAROON (THEUPHONUS 

 CAUDATUS) KILLING COCKROACHES. 



(Natural size. ) 



conflicting 



there exist different anc 

 opinions among the laity as well as pro- 

 fessionals, but several authentic state- 

 ments to the writer make them appear 

 very dangerous and they are certainly 

 very repugnant and dreaded like a rattle- 

 snake in regions where they abound. 

 Cases of death have been reported now 

 and then, but generally they inflict a 

 lacerated wound which is infected by 

 some peculiar, poisonous secretion, 

 causing local gangrene, and not seldom 



g-eneral blood poisoning sets in. A case 

 was reported to this writer in which part 

 of the hand had to be amputated from 

 the bite of an infuriated vinegaroon. 

 In the inland, inhabited regions of 

 IVxas, they are unknown ; but in some 

 1 torder towns and in Mexico they in- 

 habit the peculiar, adobe soil and old, 

 abandoned buildings, and they are oc- 

 casionally, but rarely, carried accident- 

 ally to inland towns on loads of wood, 

 timber or charcoal, etc., similar to the 

 late of scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, 

 etc., and then occasionally become ob- 

 jects of great interest to naturalists or to 

 the alcohol bottle of a drug store. 



The vinegaroon under question was a 

 well preserved, unusually laree and alive 

 specimen, and one of those dreaded fel- 

 lows of the Arachnida family, nowadays 

 exceedingly rare in Western Texas. 

 When the specimen was handed to me, I 

 was anxious to note how they kill their 

 victims. A mouse or some other small 

 quadruped was not at hand and so several 

 alive cockroaches were put in the bottle 

 containing the prisoner. Hardly had this 

 been done when the roaches became ter- 

 ribly alarmed, running like mad around 

 the bottom and wall of the glass, and it 

 lasted but a few moments when the 

 vinegaroon made a sudden dash, 

 embraced its victim with its fearful 

 claws and pulled it to its mouth 

 parts when its body juice was ex- 

 tracted. After mutilating and divid- 

 ing parts of the roaches' anatomy, leav- 

 ing only two alive cockroaches (one in 

 its embrace), chloroform was dropped in 

 the bottle and its contents removed. In 

 this state the photograph in this issue 

 was prepared by the writer whilst the 

 animal still was alive and held its vic- 

 tim in firm embrace — as seen on the 

 photograph. When the roaches were 

 put in the bottle, I may add, the "flight 

 and fight" were witnessed by a number 

 of interested friends and by Mr. P. G. 

 Lucas of San Antonio (who is also a sub- 

 scriber and a great admirer of The 

 GnnE to Nature). 



