TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 53 



.she could be safely returned to 

 her home. 



In )iis publications on /Texas 

 reptiles and spiders, Dr. H. 

 W. Cruse of Victoria, Texas, re- 

 lates the following interesting 

 case of spider bite of the small, 

 jumping variety by some hunter: 



"In the month of October, 1865, 

 I was hunting in the woods three 

 miles north of Halletsville, La- 

 vaca County. Thrusting my hand 

 into a blackjack stump, I felt a 

 sharp pain in the back of my 

 hand between the thumb and fore- 

 finger, of my right hand. With- 

 drawing it quickly, I found a spi- 

 der (Latrodactus Maetams) fast- 

 ened to my hand. I crushed it and 

 proceeded with my investigations. 

 In a few minutes my hand began 

 to tingle, like it had been asleep, 

 and a place around the bite, the 

 size of a half dollar, began ?;o 

 discolor. I started for home about 

 one mile away. In the meantime 

 the tingling had turned to a thou- 



White 4ND Red Spotted Jt'MPiNG Tarantula 

 (Magnified alive three times.) 



sand needles being thrust into my 

 hand and arm as high as the el- 

 bow and I got sick at the stomach, 

 and when about half way home I 

 laid down and vomited freely. Ar- 

 riving at home, I had another 

 vomiting spell and felt very faint, 

 and the pain in my arm was going 

 up. There was little swelling in 



the arm, but the spot around the 

 bite had turned the color of dead 

 flesh, and the nausea was very 

 great. I secured a horse and start- 

 ed for town, three miles to a doc- 

 tor. Six times in the three miles 

 I stopped to vomit, and when I 

 got to town the intense pricking 

 pain had gone up my arm and 

 around to the shoulder blade. I 

 went straight to the office of Dr, 

 Troup. My eyesight was dim. My 

 brain was muddled; the nausea 

 was intense, and_ the pain in my 

 hand, arm and shoulder was very 

 severe, and I lost all mental fear 

 of what the result might be. The 

 doctor gave me something which 

 relieved me of all pain and I went 

 to sleep. When I awakened he 

 was examining my shoulder and 

 arm. About where vaccine is 

 generally placed on the arm was 

 another place similar to the one. 

 around the bite, and still another 

 on the shoulder blade. They were 

 all about the same size and color, 

 slightly raised and hard. I was 

 in bed two days. About the fifth 

 day a sharp line had separated the 

 healthy flesh from the diseased 

 flesh at three swollen places, and 

 the dead flesh fell out in a lump, 

 leaving a clean, healthy hole that 

 would hide about two half dollars. 

 I lost flesh and it v/as about a 

 month before I regained my usual 

 health. I do not know what reme- 

 dies Dr. Troup used." 



The breeding nest of these spi- 

 der species is an interesting study. 

 They do not dig funnel shaped 

 nests underground, like some of 

 the larger tarantula species or 

 prepare web nests in hollows of 

 trees, like some other spiders, but 

 they prepare a neat, flat, or glob- 

 ular, dense nest in some corner — 

 probably under loose wood or 

 bark of old trees or rotten wood, 

 or in secluded places . of stables 

 and old-fashioned privy vaults.' 

 During sua outing in the post-oak 

 valley of the Olmos settlement, 

 north of San Antonio, some time 



