1. The soil in Northern Nevada is high in alkaline content. So is the salt-rich soil of Utah. During soil sampling, a method of determining gold presence, Ph levels can be measured to determine alkalinity, an indicator of heavy metal content and possibly the presence of gold. So I think the reference may be to spiders living in prospecting areas. 

2. Borax was once widely used to neutralize acids from snake and spider bites. The referenced “alkali spider” might also refer to a non-poisonous species of arachnid. 

This is an unresearched opinion by a Science Major turned Twain aficionado, so I encourage a deeper look. 




Alan Kitty, Executive Director
Mark Twain Education Society

“Laughter can shatter the most colossal humbug.”

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 17, 2019, at 3:07 PM, Benjamin Griffin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> The *Dictionary of American Regional English *records"alkali" as a local
> name for "livestock that were poisoned by eating goldenrod in the
> wintertime." Their example is from Texas. But "alkali spider" the book does
> not know.
> 
>> On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 7:35 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> folks, here's one from another LIST: the term “alkali-spider”
>> 
>> 
>> I was wondering if I could rely on the collective wisdom of the list-serv
>> here.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I’m working on an article about a book by Mark Twain called A Horse’s
>> Tale, which he wrote in 1906. Part of the book is narrated by Buffalo
>> Bill’s fictional horse, Soldier Boy. In it, Soldier Boy brags about his
>> aristocratic horse pedigree, claiming that his mother was from the “bluest
>> bluegrass aristocracy” of Kentucky. He also says, “My mother was all
>> American—no alkali-spider about her.”
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I was wondering if anyone was familiar with the term “alkali-spider” or
>> had read it in any other texts. I have not been able to turn up any
>> references to it other than the one mention in Twain’s book. The story is
>> set at an army fort on the American frontier in the high plains, just after
>> the Civil War.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Any ideas would be much appreciated.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Charles Bradshaw
>> 
>> Associate Professor
>> 
>> BYU-Hawaii
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dr. Hal Bush
>> 
>> Professor of English &
>> 
>> Director of the Undergraduate Program
>> 
>> Saint Louis University
>> 
>> [log in to unmask]
>> 
>> 314-977-3616
>> 
>> http://halbush.com
>> 
>> author website:  halbush.com
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Benjamin Griffin
> Associate Editor, Mark Twain Project
> The Bancroft Library
> University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000
> (510) 664-4238