Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-01-31
, THE WHIP SNAKE.

AS the wind was yeering about rather
eapriciously, WAS casting nv eve
anxiously- along the warp, to see bow il
bore the strain, when, to my surprise il
appeared to my eye to thicker, at the end
next the tree, and presented something
Ikea screw. abouta foot long, thai, ,,oc.
easionauy shone like glass in the moon.
light, began, to move along the taut line
like a spiritual motion. All this time
one OF. the boys vas fast asleep rcstne
on his folded arms on the gunwaleJ his
head having dropped down On the stern
'of;itlfe boat. But: one Of the Spanish
boatmen in the canoe That was anchored
close to us, seeing me gazing at something,
had cast his eyes in the same direction.
The instant he caught sight oftthe object
he thumpcd withshis palms on the side Of
the canoe, exclaiming in o loud. alarmed
tone,, s Culebra! caebra l"-" A snake !,
a snake n'-on which, the reptile made a
sudden and rapid slide down the line to.
wards the bow OF the boat, where the
poor lad was resting his head, and imne-
diatcly afterwards dropped into the sea.
The sailor rose and walked at, as il
nothing bad happened amongst. his mess
mates. who had been alarmed by the
cries of the Spanish scanoenian and |
was thinking. little of the, matter. " hen I
heard some anxious whispering ngst
them. % q Fred, n.said one of the men,
" what is wrong that you breathe SO
hard !"-"NhS.s boy Jwhat ails you ?''t
said another. Something has stung-
me-" at length said the poor little fellow.
Speaking thick, as il he had labored under
sore throat. The truth flashed on me-
a candle was lit-and on looking at him.
he appeared stunned, complained of cod.
and suddenly, assumed, wild startled
look. He eyinocd great anxiety and
restlessness, accompanied by sudden
and severe prostration of strength still
continuing to complain Of great and in.
creasing cold and chilliness, but he did
not shiver. As yet no part of his body
was swollen except very slightly about
the wound however, there was a rapid.
ly increasing Sgidity Of the muscles OF
the neck and throat, and within half an
hour after he was bit he was utterly una
bic to swallow even liquids.
"a The small whip-snake, the most dead
ly asp in the whole list of noxious rep
tiles, peculiar to South America, was not
above fourteen inches long j, made four
small punctures7 with its fangs right over
the left jugular vein, about an inch below
the chin. There was no blood oozing
from them; but circle, about the size
of a crown-piece, of dark red, surrounded
them which gradually melted into blue al
the outer rim, which again became fainter.
until it disappeared in the natural color
of the skin. By the advice of the Spanish
boatman, we applied an embrocation Of
the leaves of the palma Christi, or castor
oil nut, as hot as the lad could bear it:
but we had neither oil nor hot milk to
give internally both of which they in
formed US often prove specifics. Rather
than lie at anchor until morning, under
these melancholy circumstances, I showed
out into the rough water, but we mad.
little of it, and when the day broke,
saw that the poor fellows fate was sealed,
bis voice had become inarticulate, the
coldness. had increased, the legs and arms
became quite stiff, the. respiration slow
anu uilllCuit, as III tne DlOOQ naQ cOagu-
lated, and could no longer circulate
through The heart, or as if, from some
effect of the poison on the
nerves. the action of the former had been
the poor little fellow was
perfectly sensible, and his eye bright and
His breathing became still more
interrupted-he could no longer be saio
to breathe, but gasped; and in half an
hour, like the steam-engine when the fire
is withdrawn, the strokes, or contrac
tons and expansions Of his heart, became
slower and slower, until they ceased al
together. From the very moment of his
death, the body began rapidly to swell
and become discolorcd; the face and neck
were nearly as black as inl
within half an hour of it, when blco6
began to flow from the mouth, and Other
symptoms of rapid decomposition sue
ceeded each other SO fast, that by nint
in the morning we had to sew him up in
a boatsail, with a large stone, and launch
The body into the sea.-Pruf. HIson.