The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1868-07-11

), Sr'Speu lne piece IN my hand. know
/ ing though | did that it was loaded,
5 seemed Of no use, for dared not fire
= bat, with trembling hands, | felt in IN
pocket to see il there was a bullet i
them, and then, softly pulling out tn
ramrod, | unscrcwed the cover of tn
; worm and drew the wadding, reverse
the piece, and let the shot fall pattrrin
ont, when l softly forced down the buI
let upon the powder, examined the cap
and stood ready, waiting for chance
tor | thought that the shot might hay,
scattered, and, if ever so little, migA
have injured Tie child in place Of lis
enemy.
Anl'there we stood for quite half ar
| hour, watching intentl y the horrible beast
comfortably nestled in the blanket, ex
pectin@ momcntarily that the baby
would wake, while my hand trembled
50 that | c,uil not hold the gun steady,
One minute [ was thinking that l had
done wrong in changing tho charge,
the next that the Gun might miss
fire, Or that | might slay my own child
\ hundred horrible thoughts entered my
mind before little Joe began to cry out
to hismother, and she glitird away while
muttcrcd to myself, "Ihank heavens !"
tor she was spared from seeing what
followed.
As if at one and the same moment,
The child and the snake woke up. |
s?w tn" baby's hand move, and its little
arms thrown ont, while from the motion
beneath the blanket, knew that it must
have kicked little. Then there was
rapid movement in the cradle, and as |
glanced along the gun-barrel taking aim,
there was the hole Of the horrible rep
tile exposed to my view, coil gliding
over coil as seemed to fill the foot ot
the cradle; afd now, had my gun been
charged with thot, should have fired,
so as to have disabled some part Of its
body; but with ouIy a single bullet |
telt that the head must be the part at
tackled when opportunity served.
Glide, glide, glide, one coil over the
other quickly and easily, as if it were
nntying its knotttd body, while now the
head slow y rose from where it had lain,
and crept nearer and nearer to the child !
facp, the torkcd tongue darting in and
out, and playing rapidly Oh each side OF
the hileous mouth. | could sec the
glance Of the snakes eyes, and expected
every moment to hear the child Shrek
out with terror, as the lowered head now
rested oyer its breast. But no, the child
lay perfectly still for few moments,
and thcr l stood trembling in every
limb as | saw the snakes head thrown
back, and then begin to sway to and
fro, and from side to side. the glistening
neck Of the beast gently undulating,
whilst the tongue still darted in and out
of the tight, dreadful looking mouth.
Now was the time when should have
fired, but | was too unnerved and, lay
ing down my gun, | seized the hoe,
to attack the beast with IT,
stout handle; but my hand fell Para
y'zed to my side as | saw the little in
1ocent in the cradlesmiIe and then laugh
1t the gently undulating head Of the
snake; while, as the agony grew to be
greater than I could bear, in seeing the
title white hands try to catch at it as it
'Wayed to and fro, my powers seemed {
o come back. | snatched up the gun, {
md as the snakes head was drawn back (
to striking, | pulled the {
rigger, when the sharp crack of the per-
;ussion cap alone tolIowel-perLaps
'rovidentiaIly, for in my trembling state {
might have injured the child. Then
Jaw rapid wrlthing of the coils in the {
;radle, and as the tail of the snake glided s
'ver the side, everything around ME 4
seemed to swim, and [ tried to catch at
be wall of the hut to save myself from t
aling. I
But that soon went off; and tnen, c
:azing in at the window, tried to make {
ut the whereabouts of my enemy, as I
e-capped and tapped the gun, so that i
he powder might run up the nipple. I
The snake was nowhere to be seen, and, |
arting in, [ seized the child, and car {
led it out to its mother, when, now /
ceiling relieved of one horrible anxiety, v
obtained my shot-pouch from the
itchen, rammed down charge upon h
he bullet, and cautiously went in search
the reptile. c
| knew that lie must still be in the S
art of the hut we used for sleeping a
lace, and, tremendously peering aboul,
came upon the hole where it had taken
opening between thoroughly.
avn planks, laid loosely down to form u
floor where, unless there was an out Il
It beneath the woodwork, [ felt that the G.
east must be; and to make it more pro- s.
able, there was our cat, that we had q
rought kitten from Sydney, gazing c.
18th staring eyes down at the hole. n
just thsau1- I'D 80 u.s. 7
feet, and as I looked down. I !.
ould see between two boards the scaly !, II
ody gliding along. The next moment 5 $
lere came the loud report of the gun, " "
lie place was full Of smoke, there was a IL IL
scuffling noise, and as I y
oked down between the boards where Il Il
,e charge had forced passage through, P
lere was no sign of the snake.
Harry, Harry!'' shrieked my wife W
st then, and on rushing out, there was Y
10 beast, writhing about in the path, a,
7idently badly wounded, while some A
ushed-down flowers by the hut wall W
lowed plainly the hole of communica- m
on. | never saw snake writhe and m
Fist as that creature did, but was too d,
,cited then to. feel afraid, and a G;
W blows from the butt end of the gun n,
id it so that there was onlv q little =,