Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-02-10
The Gu uardian Snake.

/ iNA3 q t"i 81 ttAiO AiuNu eOUn III
the East \ indies, which Had beer
burned by the Mahrattas. : Th,
principal ho use IS had belonged to al
opulent ma4, who emigrated during
the war, and died in dist mt coun
try. Mr. Il orb bes was privately in
formed that under one of the tower.
there MAS a secf ret cell formed to con.
ceal his ire asure. The information
jcoud not b4 doubted rs it came from,
the mason Who constructed the cell
Accordingly the man conducted him
through seg bral spacious courts and
apartments, to q dark closet in tow
er. The r5bm was about eight feet
square, being the whole size of the
interior Of the tower; and it was some
stories aboYe the place where TIE
treasure was said to be deposited. In
the floor the fe vas hole large enough
for slender pc rson to pass through.
They enLrg led it and sent down two
men by la ldd +. After descending
several feet they came to another
Itloor, comppseh in like manner of
bricks and oh4nnum; and here was
also a sing4lar aperturer This also
Was enl;rgeH, torches we're procured,
and, from th cir light, Mr.. Forbes per-
celyed from the upper apartment
dungeon OF great depth below, as the
mason had de escribed. He desired
the men to de Pcend and search for
the treasure; but they refused, de-
claring that VIII ereyer money was con-
cealed in lIibdd stan, there was always
ii demon, ill I'll q Shape Of a serpent,
to guard it. III Z laughed at their su-
perstition, a hd repeated his orders in
such a manner las to enforce obedi-
ence, though h is attendants sympa-
thizcd with the men, and seemed to
expect the event with more Of fear
and awe thaI In df curiosity The lad
der was too bhd drt to reach the bottom
Of the dun seoh, strong ropes we're
Sc bit for, and more torches.
The men r4 lud dtantly obeyed, and, as
they were low cred, the damp sides
and the 10 st floor Of the dungeon
extinguisheF the light which they
carried in til eir hands. But they had
not been ma ny seconds on the ground
before they sc reamed out that they
were enclosdd with a large serpent.
In spite of their screams, Mr. Forbes
was incredd dlops, and declared the
ropes should not be let down to them
till he had 4eeh the creature. Their
cries were d red 4dful; hd however, was
a nd the UPPER lights held
to give him rs distinct a
view as pos 4ibIe into the dungeoa.-
There he p perGeiyed Sc 5mething like
billets Of wJod, or rat her, he says,
like ship Il cable seen from the deck,
eoiled up III a large hole; but no lam
guage can ex press his sensation of
astoniShmelt and terror when he saw
a serpent actpally rear IFS head over
an immens bile hgth Of body, coiled in
volumes, .op the ground, and working
it self into ekeftion by q sluggish mo-
ten. "Wh ht | felt" he continues,
"on seeing two fellow creatures ex-.
posed, by hiy orders, to this fiend, l
plust leave q ID the readers imagina-
ton T3 |hiB inexpressible JOY they.
were drawn up unhurt, but almost
lifeless with fear. Hay was then
thrown down on the lighted torches
which they HI ID dropped. When the
flames had expired, a large snake was
found scorb bh ed and dead, but no
money Mr. Forbes supposed the
owner had carried away the treasure
with him, but forgotten to Iiberate
the snake which he bad placed there
for its eper Whether the snake
was venom pus or not, he has omitted
to mentiouB d perhaps to observe
If he were not, he would have been
no defence for the treasure; and if it
were it seknis to have become too
torpid with inanition, confinement
and DARKNESS I'd exercise its powers
OF destruct ion. Where the popular
belief PREVAILS that snakes are guar
dians of Hidden treasure, and where
the art Of charming serpents is COM
monty prattised, there is no difficulty
in supposihg that those who conceal
a TREASURED Chs is frequently done un-
der the oppressive governmental the
east, would some times p.aceAit un-
der proted dtipn.