236 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



chalant way that she had been bitten by the Gila 

 monster, and seemed to consider it a matter of 

 slight importance. I was somewhat worried, 

 because I had heard so much of the deadly results 

 that ensued on such a bite, and applied such 

 remedies as were at hand, but kept my fears to 

 myself. She suffered no inconvenience, more than 

 one would from any scratch or cut, and in a few 

 days her thumb was healed, and all traces of the 

 wound disappeared within a week. 



I had these animals about the house for months 

 at a time, and while I never thrust my ringers into 

 their mouth to be bitten, I handled them, as I have 

 said, much as I would a dog or a cat. After a 

 while they always became tame. They frequently 

 emitted the blowing, hissing noise, and darted out 

 the forked tongue when disturbed ; otherwise I 

 have not seen them offer to be in any way harmful. 



Among the insects the tarantula was not un- 

 common ; but this spider has been so often de- 

 scribed by writers that further discussion of it 

 seems unnecessary. Truly, it is a hideous brute, 

 with its long hairy coat and evil-looking face ! 

 Centipedes about three inches long were numer- 

 ous ; with these two examples I think I have 

 enumerated the insect horrors of the region, and 

 I have never met with any one who suffered 

 serious discomfort or injury inflicted by either of 

 these animals. 



