The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1867-08-15
Sights and Snakes in Brazil.

A correspondentAof the heniadelphia
Press writes from Para on the Amazon:
There are seldom less than o dozen
vessels loading here for foreign ports,
and na1sy of them are models of nauti-
cal beauty. The strangers stopping
here are continually counting and criti-
cising these vessels, talking discursivfly
and knowingly of the Amazon and its
wonderful productions, but they con-
temptously ignore the conoo. Yester-
day one of these queer looking things
came down with the tide and hauled up
at the pier, within fifty yards of where
I was writing. She had neither spars
nor sails, but had palm toldo over the
stern and another extending over the
bow, giving her much the appearance of
an oval "windrow" of hay afioat. She
had a family Of natives on board, and
was laden to the waters edge with CO.
popaiba balsam, which it had cost the
natives eleven months work las they
labor) to collect. She had fioated with
the current from near the Puxiri coun-
try on the left bank of the Negro, and
had the usual pets on board, consisting
of birds, monkeys and what took to be
a fine, young boa constructor, until offer
ing tchandlc It, I was jerked back by a
stnong-armed native, who Immediately
went through pantomine, expressive
of q man dying by poison; had mista-
ken the deadly surucucual, or Ma de
aqua for boa, and but for the Indian 1
might have got into an awkward scrape.
This serpent is properly constructor
growing to the length of twelve feet,
and very powerful, but he is also ex-
cedingly venomous, and his bite is IMAM
imously agreed to be incurable. Not long
ago planter near the city had an un-
commonly large and fine specimen of
the Ma dc aqua which was kept in
bamboo cage for security, but from
which 1t contrived one night to make
it's escape, when 1t commenced a row by
chasing the cats up and down the ve-
randall, overturning chairs, water jars,
and whatever came in its way. The
owner, hearing the disturbance, but all
unsuspecting ofthe cause, stepped out
of his room, was met by the reptile, and
received its deadly fangs in his breast
with full effect, In less than an hour he
was dead. They have strong tastes
here in the matter Of pets. = Large SER
pents are in especial favor, and gentle
man, who ought to know the CONNER
cial value Of the article, tells me that he
will pay five dollars per foot for any
healthy snake measuring over fifteen
feet In length. Black tigers, too are in
request. am assured by the same gen.
tleman that . pair Of fine ones might be
sold for E1OO, and fellow wanted to sell
me little pinchi monkey for the mod
est sum of twenty-five dollars in gold.
At the consuls warehouse there is . SER
pent which has been an inmate of the
establishment for the last four years, and
Is probably as tame as snake ever be-
comes. His home is large box, where
he Is supposed to pass his time in the
tranquil observation Of the various COM
mercial operations Of the house, and in
digesttDg his last rat (eaten two months
ago). In point Of fact, however, the box
is empty, and his snakeship inhabits
the darkest recesses of the warehouse.
where, hidden among the various pack
ages Of cocoa, seringa, coffee, ETC., he
keeps out Of view for the most part, fre-
quently being invisible for q week at q
time, when some inquisitive customer
will be startled by hiss sounding like
the escape pipe Of steam engine, and
find himself nearly on the coils of a SER
pent fifteen feet long. A few days
since an Irishmnlwas directed to bring
out barrel supposed TO be empty, but
on lifting it he thought It partly filed
with rubber, and was directed to empty
It accordingly. He reached his hand to
ward the bottom Of the barred and was
instantly siezed by the serpent, which