dissension and discussion have raged for years about the hideous head of the gila monster. this great lizard of the southwest has been pronounced absolutely deadly by one set of partisans, and absolutely harmless by another. somewhere between lies the truth. if any human being has actually been bitten by a heloderma, the event has either escaped notice or has been so hedged about with obstructive legend as to have forfeited scientific credence. but the saurian itself has been studied and dissected, and its venom has been analyzed. the venom is related to snake poison, but is neither crotaline nor elapine. from animal experiments it is thought that it might be fatal to man under unfavorable conditions. there are no fangs proper. the poison gland is in the lower jaw, instead of in the upper, as in snakes, and its product is projected through small ducts which open in the gums outside the teeth. the gila monster has the grip of a bulldog. torture will not loosen its hold, once fastened on. it is through this intimate contact that the venom works into the wounds.
fortunately, the lizard is slow to anger, and prefers flight to battle, so it is likely to be long before science has an opportunity of studying the effect of its envenomed jaw-clamp upon man. there are a few vaguely rumored reports of prospectors having perished, in the desert, of gila monster poison, but these are so confused with symptoms suspiciously resembling alcoholic poisoning as to lead dr. r. w. shufeldt, an authority upon the reptilia, to remark that "a quart of raw whisky, practically given at one dose, may prove more fatal than the bite of ten helodermas."
almost any kind of an insect bite or sting may prove fatal. so may a pin scratch, if the blood of the subject be in bad enough condition. there is a well-substantiated case of a trained nurse who died from blood poisoning following a mosquito bite. ant bite has resulted fatally, as has a single sting from the common wasp. no one, however, considers these everyday insects as "deadly." but substitute "scorpion" for "ant," and "centipede" for "wasp," and shrieks of dismay rise from the general throat. yet perhaps there is no other variety of harmful creature whose reputation rests upon so meager a foundation as that of these two.
true, an el paso report claims that a man stung by a whip scorpion died in twelve hours; but the details are so vague as to be in a high degree unconvincing. dr. eugene murray-aaron, a witness of unimpeachable scientific competency, describes the sting, after several personal encounters with the vigorous tropical species, as no worse than that of a large hornet. dr. l. b. rowland, of florida, says: "my wife has been stung several times [by the common scorpion]. it is like a wasp sting, only."
