I wonder if it is a term for what is generally known as a camel spider, a
large scary-looking but basically harmless to humans arachnid that lives in
deserts, including the American southwest, but not Europe or the eastern
US.  https://www.spidersworlds.com/camel-spider/

Martha Sherwood

On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 7:34 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
>