August 14th is World Lizard Day, so I am reposting  this report on the Gila Monster:

GILA MONSTER: His Myth is Worse than His Bite

“I have never been called to attend a case of Gila monster bite, and I don’t want to be. I think a man who is fool enough to get bitten by a Gila monster ought to die. The creature is so sluggish and slow of movement that the victim of its bite is compelled to help largely in order to get bitten.”

— Dr. Ward, Arizona Graphic, September 23, 1899