Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscenses Page: 9
323 p. : ill., ports. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this book.
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TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 9
A sub-species of scorpion, the
so-called vinaigron or "nigger-
killer," is nowadays a rare item in
the inland sections of Texas, how-
ever, they are said to abound quite
numerously around the frontier
towns. I always had been inter-
ested to see one of these long-
sheered, black scorpions alive and
study their habits, but never hadducted with the said Del Rio
specimen. It was my intention
to get a mouse, and put it alive in
the bottle with this specimen,
for scientific observation, but not
being able to get one at the time,
I had several cockroaches caught
and put them all in the bottle,
to give the giant scorpion company
and to note what would happen.Two VIEWS OF THE SCORPION'S STINGING APPARATUS (Considerably Magnified).
an occasion until about two years
ago, when a railroad friend, Mr.
Edwin Menger, Engineer on the
S. P. R. R., presented me with a
large live specimen which was
caught around Del Rio, Texas,
and brought here in a wide-mouthed
bottle. So much has been said
and contradicted, "that they are
as poisonous as a rattlesnake,"
and that they sting with their long
curved tail, that I was anxious to
find this out, if possible. The
latter, however, could not be prov-
eld by a little experiment I con-Hardly was this done when the
roaches became exceedingly lively
and crawled like mad around the
bottom part of the bottle, while
the vinaigron also became more
lively and fully outstretching its
sheerlike arms suddenly grabbed
one of the roaches and drew same
in a curved line toward its mouth-
parts, and sucked its lifejuice out.
Then it began mutilating its body
with its powerful and moveable
endsheers, and to feed on the
fleshy parts. In a short while,
two more of the roaches were thus
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Menger, R. Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscenses, book, 1913; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143558/m1/13/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.