The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1859-09-10
Snakes and their Prey.

was out shooting (writes a gentleman
resident in the colony of Port Natal, to a
friend in England, and observing an ora
bee a small red buck J, I endeavored TO APP
proach to secure shot; and making cir
cult thought might venture to look out
and see the whereabouts of my intended
game. What was my surprise when / found
that the animal had not moved since first
saw it, and was then standing in o peculiar
attitude, perfectly notionless. and not TWEEN
ty yards from me. These little creatures
have extraordinary sight, and are very tim
id, rendering it difficult to approach within
a hundred yards, unless you surprise them
while sleeping in long grass stood watch
ing the buck for sometime, at first suppo-
sing 1t to be sick. I then thought I would
see how near could get; and there being
an ant heap close beside the buck, ap-
preached, and looking over the mound, saw
the head of a large boaconstrieter lying just
out of hole under the heap; and the buck
stood with its head turned on one side, in
an awkward position, gazing intently on its
deadly enemy. and not in the least aware OF
my vicinity. / retreated cautiously, fear
ing to break the spell. and wishing to watch
the last act in this singularm esmeric drama.
The buck must have remained at least
FIVE minutes in this transfxed position, the
hair of his back erect, its eyes dilated, and
its attitude stiff and unnatural. Suddenly
[ saw it on the ground, and the thick black
coils Of the boa enfolding its body and legs.
[ fired instantly, and the reptile slowly I'M
wound himself, compelled to succumb to a
power more terrible than his own. My gun
has one barrel rifled, the other a smooth
bore for shot. l measured the snake, and
found its length to be sixteen feet nine inch
es. The eye of the boa is very peculiar
while mesmerizing its prey; it appears to
emit flame. 1t may be compared to an am
ethyst, or ruby, or both, with an emerald,
stuck together, and rapidly revolving in the
sun. Its mouth was closed, or nearly so,
and its long tongue darting from side to
+ side, as if in greedy anticipation of the dish
of venison which awaited its devouring
jaws.
On an occasion I watched smaller boa,
about eight feet long, whilst engaged in the
act of swallowing fowl. 1t first seized
the head. and appeared to swallow with
great difficult. making convulsive efforts,
observable from the rings of its tail up
wards. After some hard struggles, the
head and neck of the fowl disappeared, but
the wings DelnS EXTENDED presented fatnor
serious impeachment to further proceedings
and was curious to see how the snake
would get over his dificulties-for even a
juggler would be nonplussed if required to
swallow knives and forks crossWays-and ]
soon found that he was quite equal to the
emergency. After a series of painful eff
forts, tantalizing, doubtless to hungry
boa, the reptile brought his tail to the res
cue-extremes meet, and, folding the wings
together, he at last forced the body of the
fowl between his jaws. He now, however,
seemed to have got himself in greater fix
than ever. The distension caused his neck
to appear only as thick as my thumb, and
from the form and setting of his teeth he
could not disgorge his Brobdignag mouth
full and began to think his snakesbip had
rather more than he knew what to do with.
Not bit of it. After resting minute or
two, he coiled round his distended Jaws,
and commenced an ingenious process OF
compression, beginning at his head and
working downwards along the neck and bo-
dy-stuffing himself as you would sau-
sage-till he had completed this extraordn-
airy mannuvre of deglutition. The whole
operation lasted about twenty minutes, and,
I must confess, seemed any thing but graf
flying mode of appeasing the animal appe-
tite.