<i>Po'-ko-moo</i> The Poison Spider

The Dawn of the World, by C. Hart Merriam, [1910], at sacred-texts.com

PO'-KO-MOO THE POISON SPIDER

The Northern Mewuk say:

Po'-ko-moo the small black spider with a red spot under his belly is poison. ²² Sometimes he scratches people with his long fingers, and the scratch makes a bad sore.

The Wal'-le-kah'-pah hills at the north opening are evidently the same as the Thunder Mountain of other tribes, which is always close by the north hole in the sky, in the region of extreme cold.

p. 215

[All the tribes know that this spider is poisonous and some of them make use of the poison.]

Footnotes

214:22 This is true. The name of the poison spider is Lathrodectus mactens.