New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-04-22
Boa Constructors.

who blacken their teeth with bete areka ana ibe.
Here they live andnear themso near aat t ha
he can reach them at single bonnd-iiVes tie poa
CONSTRUCTOR who only devours myrlads OF lhseets
when he happens not to have pounceo upon d eua-
falo in his rapid flight. mao ~
went Ia bas seized anon an animal of this desorlp-
finn he jrags him toward one OF the sturdy giants
Of tbe forest enfolds him, squeezes him. and STILES
him ia spite of his sharp horns kis frightul bel
Lowing and his sturdy shoulders; then covers MN
with slime, his rough tongue seeming at once to
caress and inject his victim; he kneads his body,
he stretches it out and pounds his bones, and when
these hideous preparations are completed, ana his
reptiie Instincts tells him that his victim is IN a
state to be deVoured, he lets it fall, and placing
himself at full length opposite the liteless bufalo's
head opens his jaws, the elasticity OF Wnch Is al
most beyond credence-till his rings creak as they
draw nearer each other, and then draws long
breath. when the auadruped is sucked in by Sc.
ries Of Jerks and no sooner is its body engulfed
than the voracous boa grows calm, feels droWsy,
and at length falls asleep as if weared by strug-
Gle that has exhausted his strength.
Ii the boa was alone before he attacked the buff
falo, and if his female is asleep at some distance
from him. you may then approach In full confidence,
for you have nothing to fear from his strength, his
slime, nor his open jaws that are yaWmng IKE some
vast furnace. have said that he is asleep, but it
would be more correct to say dead for he is lnscn-
sible as the trunk of a tree
There is no glory as you may perceive in killing
the boa iu the state of torpor in which he IS thrown
U
one thinks of glory in the daily war waged against
this hideous reptile the best plan is to take him IN
the midst Of his feast ard for several men TO knee
down from his head to the middle Of MS Dody, as
if before some venerated idol, and then to place
poisoned arrow on a string made of the entras OF
fish, and at given signal to let fly simultaneously
atthis crawling Lucnllus who is struck BY death IN
the midst of his feast.
part should thousand times prefer attacking
tiger or q hungry lion in the desert than the
dreaded boa constructor in the forest. Bullets are
Intellectual against him-for how were 1T possible
to direct them with sure aim in the midst oil MS
rapid unduIation, as the Pickering of flame!
Besides where il your enemy? You fancy you
hear him rushing under your feet, when, 10 ne is
hanging by the last rings OF his tall TO some hlSh
branch. swinging to and fro ready to dart upon
YOU and crush you to atoms as he would buffalo.
Ii may be, as there is no sting to be feared, that
You may have sufficient presence OF mind to divide
the reptiles body with your sword; but, for my
part, should give myself up as lost the moment
his Shiny body had encircled me in ts folds, and
should only believe in the success OF your ATTEMPT
if you assure me you are borna Malay, and inhabit
Timore.
Il The depredations on the herds Of buffaloes be-
longing to Europeans and to the Rajahs tributary
to the Resident of Dielky, committed to the boas
of The forest adjoining this unfortunate colony,
had became SO frequent and SO fatal that the Gov
ernor, Jose Pinto Alcoferado de Azevedo Souzza,
determined at length to organize hunting parties
for the purpose of destroying or at any rate drlY
ing away, these dangerous reptiles For this pur-
pose he enlisted number Of stout-hearted, ener-
gloomy forest by day or by night, and making war
on It's dreadful rulers Their weapons consisted OF
the formidable cr7sk, whose undulating blade is
generally stepped in the yellowish gum OF the
upas-tr and of short jagged arrows that are
placed in the shape of fan, on their chests, and
which they dart at the monster whenever they sur
prise him asleep. But SO many Of the hunters fell
victims to the reptile, that they at length gave up
this mode of attack for which condemned telons
were chiefly employed.
After these unsuccessful attempts, which would
have finished by depopulating the island far more
rapidly than dysentery or the most pernicious
fevers, Don Jose Pinto determined to set lire to
the wood, even at the expense of a general conf1a
grafton throughout the island. He, however,
adopted every precaution required under the Cir
cumstances, and as soon as the buffaoes that were
sent forward to be sacrificed to the reptiles, had
given token of the presence of one or more of
these monsters he caused quantity of trees to
be feled in a circle round the spot thus Indicated
And the serpent remains in state of torpor for
some months after his repast, the courageous
swoodcutters had only to be on their guard against
those reptiles which had not yet gorged them
selves but were not sufficiently bold to attack
troop of men ready to repel them.
Nosooner were the nme-honofed trunks teed to
the ground, together with the luxuriant branches,
so varied and SO fantastic in their shapes, than
whole armfnl of dry leaves were cast into heap
in the middle, these were set on fire, and the fire
was continually fed by fresh fuel cast in from the
outer circle, and then through the tful unduatous
of the lambert flames the dreaded boas might be
seen writing round and round in the fiery circle
in their struggles to escape from death then leap
ing at bound to the topmost branches of the
trees, and attempting to clear the belt of flames
that hedged them in; but in vain were their en-
beavers They fell exhausted in the midst of the
furnace, and breathed their last amid the most
hideous contorons, expressive OF the horrors OF SO
ag0niZing a death.
nf how nc as-
sured me, contrived to leap beyod the scene Of
danger rushed upon the intrepid Malays several of
whom forfeited their lives before the reptiles could
be satisfied.
But ii il when the boa comes forth from the
gloomy and silent forests, aud scours the plain to
enjoy the light and the sunshine that human life is
in the greatest jeopardy even in the most securely
closed hahitations. The boa constructor possesses
all the cunning and hypocrisy of the jackal and the
tiger he crawls along stealthiy through the fences
following all the sinunsities of the SOIL so as not to
make noise BY striking against any object that
might impede his passage. He stoops his head be-
meath the leaves and branches of the shrubs and
then raises itup again with due caution, having
previously listened to ascertain whether there
might be some easy prey near at hand, after
which he erawls onward in the direction of the
spot he aims at, when suddenly, by a series of
rapid bounds and evolntions, that can be compared
to nothing more aptly than the streamer on the
mainmast of q vessel dallying with the wind; he
twists himself now to the right now to the left,
hHSi uaShWutQuu dltoh lesipS iuF"dFu Us
though he were seized with vertigo. But in this
fevered state, the boa has marked his victim, and
his greedy eye has at once discovered which ami
NAL will afford him the largest digestion.
Such of the natives of Timore as are EMPLOYED
on plantations open to the incursons of the boa,
have therefore devised the following stratagem
They tie up a buffalo with strong ropes to tree
or rock, with crenated openings, where they can
snsconce themselves in safety, while they are enaA
bled TO watch the enemy's maneuvres. The boa
rushes upon its victim and the suppressed roar
Df the buffalo soon procams the reptiles triumph
md the feast that follows.
X But it must not be imagined that when the mon
ster ia impelled by hunger he acts in the cautious
manner have just described-just the contrary
1t such times his bearing is bold and decisive he |
towers proudly above the tall heath uttering a |
kissing sound like the moaning of the wind in a |
tempest, and following as straight line as an |
arrow shot out of bow by some practiced hand |
Then, oh ! then, woe to the unhappy man upon |
whom this hideous reptile is about To rush Nothing
san save him from his deadly grasp and frequently
nave several fallen aprey to his voraeity when he |
stalks with rapidly far exceeding that Of the |
most nmhle tiger.
lis difficult TO comprehend the wonderful elias
ieity OF the b0a's jaws. His head is no larger
han mans two fists pat together yet his jaws
expand without any great effort, and engaf masses
1f astounding enOrmity. Thus wheif the whole
body OF the buffalo has been consigned to his Iiv
ug tomb, you may see the hoa's sealy skin disten
ded by number of domes, while the victims |
horns rise up like two sharp peaks as ii about to
pierce through the hard walls OF prison.
But OF ali sights in the world, none Is at once
more curious and more frghtfnl than an encounter