158 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



climate; undoubtedly however, a 

 few specimens may have been en- 

 countered in the remote western 

 mountainous rgions. 



Personally, I have but one 

 time met a specimen on the road 

 leading to the Leona, west of San 

 Antonio ; however, such occurence 

 being so rare, and in this instance 

 unique, I was inclined to believe 

 the specimen was a stray one 

 from some reptile or museum col- 

 lection. It was encountered close 

 to a large ravine which was part- 



a peculiar snorting or hissing 

 sound during their movements. 



The contributor in that issue 

 of the Field further stated 

 among other very interesting mat- 

 ters: 



"I have been told, and I also 

 have read a great deal concerning 

 the Gila Monster, and the tales I 

 have heard and the stories I have 

 read, even in the daily press, 

 would lead one to believe that 

 this creature was the most vicious 

 "monster," the most venomous 



Gila Reptile (Photo From Nature at Wm. Learn's Reptile Establishment) 



ly filled with all sort of trash, tin 

 cans, old leather, straw, paper- 

 boxes, wire and other junk us- 

 ually dumped outside the city. 



Besides this one, I only had seeu 

 and observed several living speci- 

 mens in our late Zoological Gar- 

 den at San Pedro Springs Park 

 and also at the reptile establish- 

 ment of Mr. Learn of San An- 

 tonio. 



These long and broad bodied 

 and carmine red, white and 

 black spotted lizard shaped ani- 

 mals are of rather clumsy and 

 lethargic appearance, but they can 

 get very lively and run very fast 

 when disturbed or when on mis- 

 chief bent, and they usually emit 



and the most dreaded of all God's 

 creatures. In fact, the tales I 

 have heard about these creatures 

 are the main cause of this inquiry. 

 It has been told to me that if a 

 horse or steer, or any other animal 

 for that matter, either accidentally 

 or otherwise, stepped on one of 

 these and crushed it, that would 

 be the end of the stepper, as it 

 would die on the spot. Again, the 

 bite of one of these Gila "mon- 

 sters." (I believe the name is de- 

 rived from the Gila river in Ari- 

 zona) is said to cause instant 

 death — you die then and there. 

 Its breath, it is told, will inoculate 

 one with venom enough to kill you 

 on the spot. It is to laugh. No 



