The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-11-02
Major Holsters Little Story.
T COnclndea. ]

" IilC L W Ndo lOChihS SdBOAAy ouO VI
on the waters, to SEQ whether any reap
pearing tops of reeds might give a hope
that the food was falling, felt II pow
erful jeark at the breast of my coat-so
powerful, in fact, that it nearly tugged
me out of my seat. When recovered
from my astonishment at this, ventured
to look down, and there, to my extreme
horror, saw an immense serpent, ofthe
boa kind, coiled among the branches a
few feet below me. The reptile had ev-
identity been driven by the water from
its lodging in the hollow of the tree,
and had crawled out through one of the
numerous knot-holes. Attracted by the
ducks that were attached with leath-
ern thong to the upper button-hole of
my coat, it had just swallowed the low
ermost of them, and was struggling hard
with the next when / was attracted by
its movements. OF course, / lost no
time in severing my connection with
this horrible creature, by cutting the
string; had / not done this. promptly, /
think it quite probable that | should
have been sucked in when my turn came,
which would have been after tie third
duck, for the reptile was big enough
and ugly enough to hold us all four.
Then, as l scrambled up among the
branches in search of safer asylum,
what was my horror to find them inter
woven and Kissing with serpents of all
sorts and sizes, each and every one of
which evidently looked upon me as an
interloper and intruder upon their pri-
lvate premises! The snakes were of a
smaller kind as continued to ascend
the tree, and thought at first there
might be some advantage in that, and
kept going up. But, ugh! just as / was
about to grasp branch, for the pur-
pose Ofswinging riyself into a crotch, /
saw lying stretched out upon it a yell
low, vicious looking snake, which at
once recognized as specimen of the
deadly ds.freta, or sulphur-viper, one
touch from the tangs of which, and in
half an hour l should have been q livid
corpse! Now knew that / had got up
into the region of poisonous reptiles,
and wished myself back with the boas,
but on consideration / took middle
course, and lowering myself down to
the branches among which had noticed
the smaller constructors, unslung my
gun, intending to fire shot from it
every now and then, to keep the nox-
ious cretures at bay. 1t would not 60
off, however, being thoroughly saturat-
ed with water; and as night was coming
on now, / lashed myself to branch
with my belts, as well as could, and
strove to shut out from my-.mind the
prospect of weary and horrible night.
"The rain was over and the thunder
could be heard rolling far, far away; but
the night was still dark one, and
knew that it would yet be many hou rs
before thewaters had fallen sufficiently
for NE to make MY escape.
II tried for q while to combat the ap.
proach of sleep, but at last l could re-
sist it's influence ne longer; my weary
eyelids closed and fen into heavy
slumber. How long had been asleep
cannot say, but l know that / was
startled into wide wakefulness some
time in the night by one of the most
frightful uproars it had ever been my
fortune to hear.
"For a moment l imagined 1 had fall
len asleep in a managerie, and that the
keepers were poking at me with their
long poles to rouse me. Some creature
and it wasn't very light one, can
tell yon-went scrambling up my body
to gain the higher branches of tho tree,
leaving behind it deep traces of its
claws on my flesh. Glaring eyeballs
were to be seen everywhere turned,
and the tree was transformed into a
wild and hideous orchestra, while
screams of leopards and other beasts
of prey, mingled with the Kissing ei
snakes and the rapping of their scales
as they struggled with one another IN
the turmoil of the night.
From the lower part of thetree came
up, ever and anon, the grnnting and
growing of the large beasts, such as
bears that had sought refuge there by
swimming from the neighboring jun
| gle, Ete = = - rs -
Nothing that / had ever read con-
cerning Psndemonium was comparable