The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1855-06-09
-,Narrnaure reWitlIH=Scrpent on the
2CrlVeF Amazon.
AT an sarIn dawn our travellers, who had
.odt,, Si,f,l,, 4, me cal,;n NJ the (balza \


At an earlB dawn our travellers, who had
passed NJ nigtt n me cabin Of the (balza,)
prepared to. move on their Journey. Guapo
:fis1edERs cable and dreN the end on board.
! BBzabegan moves slowly at first, for
) sthe eunsntunder the bushes was very slight.
All at once the attention Of the voyagers
-lswus ealted, 70, TIC strange conduct of the pet
( monkey That little creature was running
TO, and fro, frst upon the roof of the taldo,
then down again, all the while uttering the
xin6st piercing shrieks, as il something was
biting of its tail. Itwas observed to look
upward to the branch of the zamang, as if
the object it dreaded was in that quarter
The eyes OF all were Suddenly bent in the
resme direction. What was their horror on
beholding, stretched along the branch, the
hideous body Of an enormous serpent! On
ilylapaft of it could be seen; the hinder half
md thetail were hidden among the bromeli-
has and vines that in huge masses clustered
sroundthe trunk Of the zamang, and the
head was among the leaflets of the mimosa;
butlwhat they saw was enough to convince
them that it was snake Of the largest size
The great ''water boa"-the terrible anacon-
da! .-4- .
:, The part of the body in sight was full as
thick as mans thigh, and covered with
black spots or blotches, upon ground of
,odfngy yellow. II was seen to glisten as the
animal moved, for the latter was in motion,
crawling along the branch outward! The
next moment its head appeared from the
pendulous leaves, and its long forking
tongue, protrudihg several inches from its
mouth, seemed to feel the air in front of it.
His tongue kept playing backward and for
ward, and its,viscid covering glttered under
the sunbcam, adding to the hideous appear
'anee. Of the snake. f..
To escape from passing within its reach
would be impossible. The balza was glid-
Ing directly under it. 1t could launch itself
aboard at wiil;i it could seize upon any one
oftheparty without coming from the branch;
itCould coil its body around them with the
contracting power of its muscles. 1t could
do all this, for it had crushed before now
the tapir, the roebuck and even the jaguar
himselfs ALI on board knew its dangerous
power. too, well and, of course, terror was
visible in every countenance.
Don Pablo seized the axe, and Guapo laid
hold of,hisa amachete, (large Bowie-knife.)-
Donna Isidor, Leon and little Leona were
standing fortunately they were) by the door
ofthe taldo; and in obedience to the cries
and hurried gestures of Don Pablo and the
Indian, they rushed in, and flung themselves
down. They had scarcely disappeared in
side when the forward part of the balza upon
WAbhstood Don Pablo and Guapo, came on
a;ievsl with their own. Both aimed their
blows almost at the same instant, but their
footing was unsteady, and the boa drew back
at the moment, and both missed their aim.
The next moment the current had carried
them out ofreach, and they had no opportu-
nifty to strike second blow, ...
The moment they had passed the hideous
head again dropped down, and hung directly
over, as if waiting. 1t was moment of in
tense anxiety to Don Pablo. His wife and
children. Would it select one for its VIC
tim and leave the others Or
He had but little time for reflection. AL
ready the head Of the snake was within
three feet of the taldo door. Its eyes were
glaring, it was about to dart down. "Oh
God!haye mercy!" exclaimed Don Pablo.
falling on his knees. "Oh, God!"
AT that moment loud scream was heard.
1t came from the taldo, and at the same in
slant the monkey was seen leaping out from
the door. Along with the rest it had taken
shelter within; but just as the head of the
snake came in sight, fresh panic seemed
to seize upon it, and, as if under the infiu-
ence OF fascination, it leaped screaming in
the direction of the terrible object. 1t was
met half way. The wide jaws closed upon
It, its shrieks were stifed, and the next mo-
ment'its silkeh body, along with the head of
the anaconda, disappeared among the leaves
of the ,mimosa. Another moment passed,
the balza swept clear of the branch and floa-
ted triumphantly into the open water.
Don Pablo sprang to his feet, ran into the
taldo, and, after embracing his wife and
children, knelt down and offered thanks to
God for their most miraculous delverance