A CENTIPEDE GOING TO SLEEP.
By G. W. Dunn
A CENTIPEDE is afraid of a tarantula, and when he lies down to sleep he always takes the precaution to build a cactus fence about him. A tarantula will never crawl over cactus; and thus, securely hedged in his own corral, the centipede knows that he may sleep as long as he wants to, and his enemy can't get at him. It is laughable out on the Mojave Desert to watch the security of these cen77tipedes as they lie and sleep, while their arch enemies, the tarantulas, are looking over the garden wall, so to speak, trying to get at them. I have seen the tarantulas nose around for hours before giving it up. But the cactus is a sure barrier. When once they become satisfied that there is a complete barrier they go away, and cease to thirst for the gore of the centipede. The latter, however, always takes a careful look around before he removes the cactus and ventures forth.—G. W. Dunn, in San Francisco Examiner.