The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1869-06-04
AN AEAcoNDAis REVENGE.

Mr. N. A. Woods, in an article O,
'Serpents and Venomous Snakes" il
The Betgrdut7 for April, relates the fol.
lowing singular and tragic incident. fol
the authority of which his filformers j
Brazilian gentleman, vouches:
Mr.. Barclay, an English gentleman
who had made a comfortable indepen-
dence IN mining speculations, deter
mined after some years. residence to
settie permanently lin the Brazils.-
WIN this end in view, he bought and
framed large tract of almost unclear-
ed land on the extreme northwest from
tier, and pursued his clearing and farm
ing with great success and tolerahle
pront, and, What is more, with a GER
tam prospect OF much greater profits to
| come IN time: He gave himself, aftera
! time, short leave of absence, and went
back to Scotland where he married his
| cousin, with whom he again returned
| to his plantation in Brazil. During his
absence, and according to his instruc-
tlons, a neat, light wooden residence
such as are built on all plantations
had been erected in the midst of the
clearingj with lofty veranda around
IL TO Keep the rooms cool, and French
windows leading straight from the
apartments to the,ground. Sill Young
Nj rs. Barclay, though surrounded with
every comfort, was very far from bejnr
quite happy; for she was constitutional
ly in terror of the repulsve and tre-
mendous looking insects and reptiles |
with which all the wider parts of Bra |
iii literally abound. She could not 90 |
to drawer without finding in it a CEN |
tipede as large as little eel, or open a
cupboard without meeting with spider
almost as large as small crab, Liz
ards ofbeautiful colors, but of repulsiye
appearance, had to be swept out of the
bedroom at night. These were harm
less enough, but there are few people
who would care to wake IN and find
them crawling over their faces, or hear
their long nails Gathering along the
wo0ged ilooF. The climate, too, told
on Mrs. Barclays health. The reptiles
by day, and the mosquitoes by night
made her unusually susceptible of irri-
5ation and alarm. But of all her bor-
'ors, the greatest she entertained was
hat against snakes and serpents of ali Z
Kinds. This was ineradicable from her i
nature, and was in fact as much part !
'f her nature as the overwhelming an
lpathies some ladies feel to the SIGHT of y
rat, spider or bull. Unfortunate
y, Mrs. Barclay lived in a part of ceun- u
ry which was infested with snakes =
ONE harmless, some deadly; but wheth- Il
r harmless or deadly, the unconquera- y
lie terror she evinced was the same to ~
III. Once tuboba, a quick and dead y
y snake, was killed in her house. At u
mother time coral-snake, the most -
eautiiui and most quickly deadly of a.
II the venomous reptiles God had Gre Jc
ted, was found and killed with ease oi
pom the rough lawn, il we may lIgni- 81
Y by such a term The short, brown. I'd I'd
urnt-up herbage which surrounded the ~
ousc. At another lime y small ana u! ~
onda, about eleve II feet long, was found III III
! the woods near the house and killed; ~ eo
nj what was much worse, constans ru- ~
Iors were brought in that two very ~
iIch larger serpents of the same class W.
I'd been seen IN the forest not far off. at
oor Mrs, Barclays terrors were not ~ ~
by the exaggerated tales of ~; ~.
II native servants, till at length they ~, ~.
'se to such pitch that it seemed very ~ ~
Seiy, as she often said, that she would ~ ~
c II serpent came near her. Her on, ois
ara got to such height that at last Sf' "a
. would not venture out at all; and ain
GualIy kept her room. In thisframe SSl",
ihild IL Will easily be believed that Oe
I NE was misery to herself, and not
Inucl comfort tO hnr t,iI1 f,o rno,,z-l.a Dc
sband. s9'V OF
Lariy one summer morning the lat Mr.
wen 10 look after the progress of mel
nc rather distant clearings he was at
lking; OF course he went on horse 60,
elk, and of course lie carried with him Tre Jpe
heavy, old-iashioned, double-bar- In, Ia,
ed musket, without which, in that WI WI
ne and in those regions, no planter Ra