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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 296, 15 December 1874, Page 4

The Tabanttjla. — A correspondent of the Field of September 12, writing from the Gold Coast, says:— A spider of rare malignity exists ia the bush. May I be allowed to quote from my published diary the remarks made at Ihe time npon this monster? Your tarantula is indeed a fearful wildfowl. Call him and claes him amongst spiders if you please, but he is most like a devil, I myself killed one in Cape Coast, quite a small demonkin, but too large to stand in a saucer. The full-grown monster stretches about the width of a breakfast plate. He baa fur all over him, soft, and delicately mottled in brown and black and stone color. Legs about as thick as a straw, furry and moftled like his body, ending in broad .suckers, wherewith he takes a death grasp. On the other side huge red nippers, such as would doubtless tear oat a piece of flesh. When this foul brute gets hold, it is neceasary to cut his legs off with scissors, so firm is the grasp of his paws and jaw. The bite is very poisonous. Fantees have a | dread beyond words of the tarantula. They believe be can spring a great distance, and has tbe malignity to uee bis power with or without provocation, I do not know whether this is true, but the structure of his paws leads one to doubt; suckers are not convenient for springing. He certainly has no fear of man, putting up bis great forelegs like a mantis when threatened with a stick. This I guarantee, for I myself have , seen it. The tarantula does not love houses, for which Heaven be thanked.

He dwells in the forest, where, without web or cave, lie forages for food; I should conceive that birds and lizards would be bis favorite game. I heard of three seen during our expedition— the one I killed, which is possessed by Mr Commissary Raveoscroft, one at Akroful, and one which Mr Harte discovered od bis bed at Essiamen. Tho Wellington Post says : — It is currently reported that this morning one of the biters at the recent race meeting found himself bitten. It seems that an arrangement was made verbally between two owners that one of the horses entered for a certain event should win if he could, and if he could not that the other one should do it, but that in either casa the stakes should be divided. The owner of the horse that could not win, this morning applied to the owner of the one that did win for his half of the plunder, but to his astonishment found the claim utterly repudiated. Thereupon be used some strong language, impugning the hooesty of the other, who said he had no objection to the epithets applied, or to any others so long as he was not called euch an adjective fool as the other must be to suppose he was goin? to get the money. It seems that in racing, the old proverb about honor amongst a certain class of people does not apply.