Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-02-24

ON, lately our shipnIate, was brought safely on |
shore, and lodged i'm the court yard OF Mr. |
Dayidson'S house at RyswicS. where he re- |
manned Tor some months, waiting for an op- |
poituntiy OF being conveyed hence in some |
connodious ship sailing directly 10 England !
aud where lac was likely 10 he carefully at,sn-
Jed. / his opportunity offered i'm the Crsar |
aud Le was accordingly embarked on board OF
that snip with the rest Other numerous pas
sensers.
during his stay at Ryswick, he is said 10
have been usually entertained with "a goat for
'iinncr, once in every tliee or four weeks
with occasionally duck or IA fowl, nv way OF
"a dessert. He was brought on beard shut M
III u wooden CRIB or cage the hurs OF which
were sniiicieftii close To prevent his escape
AMI II i,ad Siding door, 10. the purpose of
admitting the arttcies on which he was to
Snbsist The dimensions OF tie crib were
about feet high, aud about ) feet square:
space sufficiently large 10 allow him to coil
himself round with ease. The live stock Tor
his uSedurinS the passage, consisting, ii q goats
oil the ofdinarl size. put With him OF board, 3
| being considered as a fair allow ancs for Is
many months. ~ AN early period oil the, voy-
| age, we had az exhibition OF his talent in the
Nay OF eating, which WAS puslicy performed
on tie quarter deca, upOn which he was bro't
Inc sliding door beng opened, one OF the
| goats was thrust in, aud the dnUr OF The cage
| shut. The poor goat, aS il instantly aware of
al The horrors of its periious situation, imme-
diatelv began to utter piercing aud distressing
| cries; hutting instIhctIveiy Il; the same time
| WIN It's head towards the serpent, III self
| defence.
| The snake, Which first apueured scarcely
! TO notice the poor animal, soon began TO stir a
little, aud turning lis head ia the direction of
| The goat, IL 1T len:t IN fixed deadly aud malig-
nant eye oil the trembling victim, &" hose agony
| and tero seemed to increase /; for previous
| to the snake Selling lis prey. il sool. III every
| limb. but still continuing its uaavailing show
, OF attack, 10y butung at The serpent, who now
| became SuihcicrtIy animated 10 prepage for
| the banquet. he hrSt operation WAS lhht of
| darling ont his forked tongue, aud al the same
| time rc3ring iiltle his head then suddenly
sciSany The goat by the tnre leg with his mouth
! and throwing lin, dOwD, lie was encircied in
! an instant IN his hopi III folds. So quick, in.
| deed, ami 50 instantaneous was the ;ici, that il
was impossible fog the eye TO follow iae rapid
cUnvGution of his lSngated body. II was not
| regular screw like turn that MAS formed, hut
resembling rather knot. one parl of the body
| OVERLAPPING the other, as il tn add weight 10 the
| muscular pressure, the more eiiectuav 80
crush his object. During this time lie cOntnu,
ed 10 grasp with his mouth, though il alpeaIeI
| an unnecessary preclution, that part OF the
| animal which he had first seized The poor
| goat, IN the mean time, continued its feeble
| and halls tiled cries for some minutes but
| they soon became more and more faint aud
| at last expired. The snake. however, retained
| il for a considerable time ia its grasp after il
! was apparently motionless. lie then began
slowly and cautiously to unfold himself till the
! goat fell dead from his moustious embrace
when he began to prepare himself for his feast
| Placing his mouth in front of the head Of the
| dead animal, he commenced by lubricating
WIN his SALIVA that part oil the goat; aud thea
| taking its niuZzle into his mouth which had
and indeed always has, the appearance OF a
raw laceratcd wound, he sucked II in, as far as
| the horns would allow.
| "IheSe protuberauces opposed some little
| diinculty, not so much from their extent as
from their points; however, they also, in
| short lime disappeared that is TO say, eXter
| nally--but tbelr progress vas still to be traced
| very distinctly on the outside Threatening. eve
| ry moment TO protrude through the skin. The
victim had nOw descended as far as the shout
| deTs and II was am astonishing sight 10 OBJ
| serve the extraordinary action of the snakes
| muscles when stretched TO such an unnatural
| extent-aD extent which must have utterly
| destroyed all muscular power in any animal
that was not, like itself, endowed with any ne.
| cniiar Faculties OF expansion and action al the
same time. When his head and neck had no
other appearance than that OF a serpentS skin
stnfied almost 10 bursting, still the workings
! OF the muscles were evident; and his mower
OF suction, as it il erroneously called unabat-
ed 1t was, in fact, the effect of cont actile
! muscular power, assisted by two rows of strong
( hooked teeth. With all this he must be so
/ formed as 10 be able 10 suspend, for a time his
respiration, for II is Impossible 10 conceive that
| the process of breathing could be carried on
| while the mouth and throat were 20 completely
| stuffed and expanded by tile BODY of the soaf
! and the lungs themselves admitting the ira
! chea to be ever so hard compressed as they
must have been, by its passage downwar2s
The whole operation of completely gorg-
20 minutes-at the end of which time, the tn
meiaction was confined 10 the middle part OF
The body, or stomach, the superior parts which
had been so much distended ha wing resumed
their natnral dimensions He now coiied him.
self up agaiu, and laid quietly in his usual tor.
pid state for about three weeks or a month,
when his last meal appearing TO be completely
digested and dissolved, he was pres ented with
another goat, which he deyoured with equal
facility. Ii would appear that almost all he
swallows IS convertedinto nutrition. He had
more difficulty in killing fowl thar a larger |
anuHai, the former being too small for his |
grasp.
:" As we approached the Cape Of Good Hope |
this animal began to dIOep, as was then Suppo- |
sed from the Increasing colducss sf the wea- |
ther, (Which may probably have had its ii,hu- |
ence,) and he refused to Kill some fowls which |
were offered 10 him Between the Cape and |
st. Helena he found dead in the cage.
- 1t may here be mentioned that during a |
captivity of some months at Whida IN the |
Kingdom of DdhomeY, on the coast of Africa
the author OF this narrative had Opportunities /
OF observing snakes more than double the size |
of the one lust described /; but he cannot ven
same species, though he has no doubt of their
being OF the genus of Boa. They Killed their
prey, however, precisely in similar manner
aud from their superior bulk, were capable of
swallowing animals much larger than goats or
sheep. Governor Alison who had for thirty
seven years resided at Fort William, describ-
ed some desperate struggles which lie had |
either seen, OF came to his knowledge between
the snakes aud wild beasts, as well as the
smaller cattle, in which the former were al
ways victorious. a negro herdsmap belong.
ing TO Mr.. AbSOU. had been seized by one Of |
these monsters by the thigh bat from his ST. |
tuatiOn III woed, the serpent III attempting |
10 throw sclfaTOuJd him. rot entana,ed with |
from . state OF compression which would have |
instantly rendered him quite powerless, had |