Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1861-05-30

of the upastrec, and of short jagged arrows
that are placed in the shape of fan, on their
chests, and which they dart at the mouster
whenever they surprise him asleep. But so
many of the hunters fell victims TO the reptile
that they at length gave up this mode of at
tack, 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 FIRE TO the wood, even at the expense Of
q general conaagration throughout the island.
He, however, adopted every precaution re-
Quired under the circumstances and as soon
as the bulfaoes that were sent forward TO be
sacrificed TO the reptiles. had given token of
the presence OF one or more o. these monsters
he caused a quantity Of trees to be felled in
circle round the spot thus indicated. And as
the serpent remains in a state OF torpOr for
some months after his repaSt, the courageous
wood cutters had only to be on their guard
against those reptiles which had not yet gorged
themselves, but were not sufficiently bold to
attack troop Of men ready to repe them.
No soouer were the time honored trunks
felled to the ground, together with the luXur
aut branches, so varied and SO fantastic in
their shapes, than whole armfus of dry leaves
were cast into heap il the middle, these were
set on fire, aud the fire was continually fed by
fresh fuel cast in from the outer circle, and
then through the fitful undnations of the
lanbent flames the dreaded bous might he
seen writhing round aud round in the fiery cir
c'e in their struggles to escape from death
then leaping al bound to the topmost
4 In, IF ,,n md nt "a fp pInoY
I the belt Of flames that hedgcd them in-but in
! vain were their endeavors. They fell exhaust
ell in The midst of the furnace, aud brcathed
their last amid the most hideous contortions,
expressive Of the horrors Of SO agonzing q
death.
Some Of them, however, as Don Jose Pinto
assured me, coutrived to leap beyond the scene
of danger, rnshcd upon the Intrepid Malays,
several OF whom forfeited their lives before the
reptiles could be subdued.
But it is when the boa comes forth from the
gloomy and silent forests, and scours the plain
to enjoy the light and the sunshine, that hui
man life is in the greatest jeopardy, even in
the most securely closed habItations The boa
constructor possesses all the cunning and hv.
pocrisy Of the juckal and The tiger; he crawIs
along stealtaily through the fences, following
noise by striking agaius: any object that
might impede his passage. He stoops bis head
beneath the leaves aud branches of the shrubs,
and then raises it up again with due caution,
having previously listened to ascertain wheth
I er there might be some easy prey near at hand
after which he crawS onward in the direction
Of the spot he aims at, when suddenly b. Sc
ries of rapid bounds and eyoGiions, that can
1 L. nod unity thaD tho
streamer on the manmaSt o! q vessel daliying
! with the wind, he twists himself, now to the
! right. now to the left, then turns backward,
and anon leaps forward as though be were
/ seized with a vertigo But in this fevered
state the boa has marked his victim, and his
greedy eye has az once discerned which animal
will ltTOrd him the largest digestion.
Such of the natives Of TImOre as are en-
p'oyed on plantations open 10 the incnrs:ons of
the boa have therefore devised the following
stratugem: They tie up buffalo with strong
ropes 20 a tree or rock, with crenated open
ings, where they can enSconce themselves IN
safety, while they are enabled TO watch their
enemy's manpnYres. The boa now rushcs up
on its victim, and the suppressed roar OF the
buffalo soon prOclaims the reptiles triumph
and the feast that follows.
But it must not he imagined that when the
monster is mpced by hunger he acts in the
cautious manner | have just descrihed-juSt
on the contrary; at such times his bearing IS
bold and decisive he towers proudly above
the tall heath, utterng Kissing sound Ike
the moaning of the wind in tempest, and
following as straight q line as an arrow shot
out of bow by some practical hand. Ihen,
OIL then, woe to the unhappy man upon whom
this hideouS reptile is about to rush! Nothing
can save him from his deadly grasp, aud ire
quenlly have several fallen prey TO MS Vorac-
ity, when he stalks with a rapidity far exceed
lug that of the most nmbe tiger.
II is difficult to comprehend the wonderful
easlicy of the boa's jaws. His head is no
larger than a mans two fists pat together, yet
bis laws expand without any great effort, and
engulf masses OF astounding enormity. Thus
when the whole body of the buffalo has been
consigned to his living tomb you may see the
boa's scalv skin dstended by number OF
domeS, while the vltms horns rise Up like
two sharp peaks, as if about TO pierce through
the hard walls Of prison.
But Of all the sights in the world, none is
at once moro curious and more frightfu than
an encounter between two boas which are con
tending for the possession Of female or OF
buffalo.
Don Jose Pinto and | witnessed an enccun-
ter of this kind one evening, taking care, how
ever, to keep at a respectful distance.
We took up our positions on lofty Belvi-
dere, from whence, though at distance OF
about thousand footsteps from the scene of
action We could hear the sonorouS hissing--
more like gusts of wind than anything else-oT
combatants about to enter the list. We saw
the scattered branches on the ground rISIpg