slough congenial quarters for its 

 growth. But as far as present obser- 

 vation goes the grub never becomes a 

 butterfly, but is changed in every case 

 into a plant. 



A TAME TARANTULA.— A half- 

 breed boy of Mexican and Indian 

 blood recently attracted much atten- 

 tion at Winslow, Ariz., by the perform- 

 ances of an educated tarantula he 

 owns. He carries the big, formidable- 

 looking insect in a large wooden box 

 slung about his neck, which, when ex- 

 hibiting his pet, he places on the 

 ground as a sort of stage. At the 

 command of its master the tarantula 

 mounted a small ladder, rung a bell 

 and performed on a miniature trapeze. 

 Then to the thumping of a tambourine 

 in the hands of the boy, it proceeded 

 to revolve slowly about as if waltzing, 

 and when it had finished saluted the 

 crowd by lifting one leg three times. 



After its performance was over, it 

 crawled to its master's shoulder, where 

 it sat, occasionally running round his 



neck or down into his bosom. The 

 boy says he tamed the spider when it 

 was young, first by feeding it every 

 day until it grew accustomed to him, 

 then gradually taught it the tricks it 

 knows. He declares that it is much 

 more intelligent than any dog, and 

 very tractable, though uncompromis- 

 ing in its enmity to any one but him- 

 self. It is as large as a silver dollar 

 when curled up, though its legs are 

 two or three inches long. 



The body is an ugly, dull brown, 

 covered with short, coarse, black hair, 

 which also covers the limbs, but is very 

 sparse and bristly. The eyes are small 

 and gleam like diamond points, while 

 the mouth is furnished with slender, 

 overlapping fangs. The power of 

 spring in these creatures is said to be 

 something incredible, a leap of ten 

 feet being no tremendous exertion. 

 The boy, who owns the only one which 

 has ever made friends with any other 

 living creature, is from the MagoUon 

 mountams. 



A story is told by George W. Griffin, 

 of Henderson county, of a shepherd 

 dog owned by him, which certainly 

 demonstrates the superior instinct of 

 this little woolly creature over most 

 species of the canine family. "One 

 day," said that gentleman, " I was 

 driving along the public highway, and 

 the dog was following me. I stopped 

 to talk to some friends that I met, and 

 while conversing with them unknow- 

 ingly dropped my watch from my 

 vest pocket. The watch had a short 

 piece of leather attached to it, which 

 answered for a fob. As soon as the 

 chat ended I got into my buggy, and 

 drove on. I had driven half a mile or 

 more, when, to my astonishment, I no- 



ticed the dog was trotting along close 

 behind the vehicle with the watch 

 hanging from his mouth by the leather 

 strap, which he held firmly between his 

 teeth. Of course, I made haste to 

 stop, and get out of the buggy. As I 

 did so the dog came up to me wagging 

 his tail, seemingly conscious and proud 

 of what he had done. This, though, is 

 just one of the many intelligent acts to 

 that little animal's credit." — Louisville 

 Post 



When a dog barks at night in Japan 

 the owner is arrested, and sentenced to 

 work for a year for the neighbors 

 whose slumbers may have been dis- 

 turbed. 



217 



