92 JUNGLE ISLAND 



insect is helpless he tears it into pieces with his 

 claws and eats the softer parts, poison and all. 



The quantity of poison depends on the size of 

 the scorpion. The larger scorpions, which may- 

 grow to have a length of eight inches, can kill 

 mice. As far as human beings are concerned, I 

 knew that to a man in good health a scorpion 

 sting is painful, but not dangerous. It aches 

 severely, swells, and throbs as it becomes feverish, 

 but it is not fatal. I did not want a scorpion 

 sting any more than I wanted a wasp sting, but 

 I found the scorpions much easier to handle with 

 forceps at a safe distance than an active wasp 

 would have been. To a person weakened with 

 malaria or some other wasting disease a scorpion 

 sting would be more serious. 



Blanco was plainly much worried at my interest 

 in these scorpions, but I had no trouble with them, 

 nor later with others. They do not sting unless 

 they are hunting for food or are attacked, and I 

 was careful not to provoke them. I did not put 

 my bare hand into dark holes, nor under logs. 

 I rolled the logs over to see what was under them 

 and fished in dark corners with my good steel 

 forceps. 



Another spider relative found in the jungle and 

 often much feared is the large hairy tarantula, 

 which is also called the bird-eating spider. The 

 plump bodies of tarantulas may grow to be two 

 inches long, and their hairy legs have a spread of 



