cians whose identity has never been 
clearly established, but whose parti- 
cipation in a colossal scheme of hold- 
ing up the government has long been 
suspected. 
Harmony PLANS 
Republicans who have been “har- 
monizing”’ the Republican and Pro- 
gressive parties for a whole year, are 
at their old practices, and Justice 
Hughes, who has settled down as a 
member of the Supreme Court and 
appears |to be perfectly happy and con- 
tented in the job, is again suggested 
for the presidency as a compromise 
candidate who will be “satisfactory 
to everybody.” Meanwhile the Re- 
publican National committee mem- 
bers are getting ready to come to 
Washington to start the “harmony 
bells” ringing again. 
B. F. Kerru’s THEATRE 
The best musical comedy ever 
staged in vaudeville is promised for 
B, F. Keith’s Theatre next week in 
Jesse L. Lasky’s latest tabloid musi- 
cal production, “The Red Heads.” 
This is a complete playlet running 
nearly an hour, and presented by 
James B. Carson and a company of 
sixteen people, including a _ large 
chorus of titian-haired beauties, The 
scene is laid in a ladies’ tailoring es- 
tablishment, and the comedy is the 
predominating element of the piece 
from the rise to the fall of the cur- 
tain. Incidental to the working of 
the plot of the play, no less than 
seven musical numbers, composed by 
Robert Bowers, author of “The 
Vanderbilt Cup’ and “The Red 
Rose,” are introduced. It is in its 
comedy, however, that “The Red 
Heads” possesses something not 
usually found in productions of this 
character. If the musical numbers 
were removed, tthe plot would still 
form a rattling good comedy, and in 
Mr. Carson Jesse L. Lasky has one 
of the cleverest comedians that has 
been seen in vaudeville in many a 
day. Another big novel feature of 
the production is the large chorus of 
titian-haired beauties, everyone of 
which is a bona-fide red-head. No 
blondes ‘are included in the company. 
CUBISTIC 
“You say they had a cubistic wed- 
ding? What do you mean by that?” 
“The groom and best man shook 
dice to decide which should marry 
her.”—Chicago Record-Herald. 
The United States forest service is 
experimenting with ammonia bombs 
for extinguishing forest fires. 
NORWn soOHORE (BREEZE 
Gila Monsters of the Desert 
Stories of Centipedes, Scorpions, Tarantulas and Snakes of 
Arizona 
By M. J. BROWN 
You have heard of the Gila mon- 
ster, haven’t your 
But I wonder how many 
know what the monster (?) 
much about it? 
Monster implies something huge, 
enormous, coupled with ugliness— a 
brute, a horror. 
But the Gila (pronounce it Heela) 
nvonster is anything but a monster in 
appearance. It is handsome, slug- 
gish, and won’t harm anyone who 
doesn’t molest it. But if you step on 
it—you'll join the angels in a very 
few minutes. 
The monsters are along the Gila 
river in Arizona. They are nearly as 
numerous as rattlesnakes, and a heap 
more deadly. It is said no person or 
animal was ever bitten by one and 
lived. ‘Two hours is the time limit to 
prepare for the hereafter. 
But let me tell you what these 
monsters are before I tell you of my 
experience and fright. 
A Gila monster is a lizard, just a 
common lizard, with a skin of beauty. 
He is no relation to the many other 
lizards that abound in the arid coun- 
tries. I never saw a lizard in the 
southwest or in Mexico that was poi- 
sonous, and many of them are as 
quick as a revolver bullet. 
The Gila monster is slow and slug- 
gish, and its movements remind you 
of the alligator. Some grow to tw) 
feet in length, but the average size 
is about 18 inches. They have beauti- 
ful skins or scales, that look like bead- 
work, in designs like the Navajo 
blanket — and by the way many an 
Indian has woven a Navajo with the 
skin of a Gila monster for a pattern. 
History tells us these monsters 
have poison sacks on the lower jaw 
and fangs like a serpent — in fact de- 
scribes their poison works as very 
similar to the diamond rattle snake 
that abounds in the southwest. 
But the residents of Arizona, the 
men who lived for years along this 
river (and I have been told the same 
in parts of Mexico where this rep- 
tile lives) give you an altogether dif- 
ferent version — and I am satisfied 
it is true. If you are not, go down in 
southern Arizona and let one bite you. 
Here is Arizona history, and back- 
ed up. 
The Gila monster, like the rattle- 
snake, will let you alone if you do 
him, but unlike the snake he does not 
warn. But as he lives only along the 
really 
1S Or 
streams, you do not have to be con- 
stantly on the lookout, as you do for 
rattlers, 
Their bite alone is harmless, as 
harmless as ithe bite of a ground squir- 
rel. This is a new one to many, but I 
have every reason tto believe it is true. 
They strike you and fasten the fangs 
in your flesh, cling and then vomit in- 
to the wound, and that vomit is dead- 
ly—they say there is absolutely noth- 
ing to successfully counteract it. No 
man or animal can live over two 
hours. 
The victim swells up and dies of 
blood poisoning, and dies in horrible 
agony and convulsions, The certain 
and horrible death has given the liz- 
zard his scarey name, and they are 
dreaded and shunned. 
And yet there are Mexicans who 
will handle these reptiles as Texas 
kids do the horned toads. ‘They hunt 
them and sell them to the shows, pick 
then up with bare hand3. 
The secret is, so they say, extreme 
gentleness and slowness. If you do 
not make a quick motion or squeeze 
them you can pick them up with per- 
fect safety. But irritate them and it 
is all off with the Greaser. The stom- 
ach of the reptile is a cesspool of 
deadly poison, and when made ugly 
they give you all they have eaten for 
a week. 
Now for the story. You can ap- 
preciate it more after having heard 
the grewsome death means. I had 
just heard them, and stories of how a 
bitten man swelled up, turned black, 
and in the death convulsions, writhed 
like a snake. 
The next morning I went down to 
the river to look for Gila montsers. 
The rancher said they were numerous 
and could be found most any time 
along the water’s edge. 
With a cane pole I walked and 
prodded for an hour and was about to 
give it up, when I saw one of the 
handsome fellows, with his fat belly 
and thick tail, about four feet below 
me at the water’s edge, on a little 
strip of baked mud. 
Remembering the stories, I went at 
him smooth and gentle like. Mind you 
I did not try any of the bare han | 
Greaser stunts, but experimente | 
from the end of a six foot pole. If 
moved the pole slowly toward hi 1 
and he never batted an eye. I touched 
his body, and he only slightly moved. 
Then I put the cane pole on his back 
