The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1826-07-31
OF the land which was the scene ofthe oc.

| ""sN" was lne tCene OF the 0cs
currence.
About ten days ago, woman with three
ni ner children. were gathering strawb,r.
f'rs on The farm of une Vnilonf. distant
'"o Or thee miles from The village abny.
menii"ned. VI etlng with litil.. success.
tue ehhdrrn asked their mothers leave To
20 To tilcket close by, where thy tho't
they might find the fruit in greater quanti-
iy. Leave being granted, they entered
the wood but had not been long out of
sSht before they re-appeared running with
all Their might and in great afFrigh, a. if
nl'ns from some danger. Being asked
what had happened, they described, in
Their own imperfect way, that the, had
Seen some living and mansrnus thing on a
tree. This account excited the mothers
curiosity so strongly as 10 induce her, in
sp'ie at feeling OF apprehension, to return
win them aud see what i, was. She ac-
c"rding'y accompanied hem, but n hat was
her dlemay when she beheld an enormous
serpent cnrled sprai'y round "A tree, its
tai resting "n the ground, and its head VA
wing above the topma,t foliage, as If look
ing around for, or watching The uniinns Of,
s"mr intended prey. l. IS not easy 10
lmaginp the terror uf fhp little human
gronpe. Scarcely had they strength To
retire and tell Their pelghbors what they
had seen.
Now, Jedue Bd5tiSie. lle all of French
extracticn, neither 3, ants courage nor the
spnt of enterprise accnrdrgly, three
men set out, one Of whom, armed with
musket, was cautiously to lead the
way, stead on, and, if possible, disable
the monster, after which, the Others were
To assist iii putting an end to him. They
entered the grove and looked around, but
III vain, nothing was to be seen, and they
almost began to suspect that the woman's
It'aginaton had converted the twisted
trunk of a tree and rotten branch WA
we'd by the wind at It's top, into rep
tile whose existence in Canada Vas un
known.
Recoleciins, however, that something
similar had, II was said, occurred neal
the falls OF Loquarro river, they resolved,
as last resource, that the mnskei should
be- fired, 10 start il, If lurking near, of
which, however, they had little expecta-
hon. 1t was accordingly discharged, when
10 a tract of tall grass not far from them,
was violently agltatcd, aud writing thro'
II with, as II seemed to them, the velocity
OF a race horse, appeared an enormous
serpent, whose body, occasionally rising,
disclosed bulk as large as that ot a water
bucket, causing in lis iligh, leaf like rust
ling sound. and leaving behind 4 long wake
of waving grass. Hurrying through the
tract, ii crossed poughed field, throygh
which its passage was only To be- trace
by a lineal cloud of dust, entered "A wood
and disappeared
After recovering from their surprise, and
some conIectnres concerning lis length, II
struck them that il might be tnlerahiy
ascertained from the height of the tree
where it bad fist been seen. Having
accordingly measured it, they found it
to be Mirty feet: adilng, therefore, 10
the straight line Of the tree, two-fiflhs,
10 equal the spiral line Of the reptiles
body, the litter may he fairly estimated
AT fifty feet-S me time previous 10 the
occurrence, several sheep, seven cows
and a hors. had disappeared, and, IT was
supposed, become the prey Of bears: but
As no remains of even their homes have
been fonnd ii is now considered proba-
hle they must have been swallowed en-
ire by this serpent, after the manner OF
he East Indian Boa Constructor, so VII
described by Button and Goldsmilh, aud
more lately in some OF the European
papers.
The first enquiry that presents itself
on this subject is, whether the accou
is true of this we cannot doubt, as It
ia notoriously affirmed by the seven per-
sons whom we have mentioned as having
seen the creature, and who can scarcely
be supposed to have combined IN the
fabrication and propagation of a fiction
that could not BIZ suggestcd by ordinary
IDEAS nor concorted by rustic lmaglna-
tons; nor does lis slnsnlarlly aifotd
very strong presumption against lis uuth,
since almost every year discovers things
of the existence of which the present
generation had no idea, not even tradl-
tronalIy, and the American sea serpent
is an appropriate aud recent precedent
in its favour. Hefntd
Office ofHe Colonization Soc'ey26.
Washington, July II, 1896.
The public are respectfully informed,
that it is deemed PARTICULAR, desirable by