The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1883-03-10

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IS
STRANGE SNAKE SuORlC%
Cuss.~s Ss.ssss 81 Mig ssspsais swd IL tiay
Nsss that Mon, tn nisse.s Reptiles
ssosssshs Capable "t ssssI"s Away With
1s.ss~s, liver. etc.
- took that fellow with q la.so."
- d . naturalist wlo had rctcntly ~.
turned from cole ting tour In South |
Amcri' u a. sua reporter, point n. |
To . magnificent snake skin M ~ than
twenty two iect in length that hung !
Sr.m the wall es his STUDY, and IN this |
WISE" he continued, observing the look |
oi incredul y upon his visitors face.
IL was way up tho Amazon, and being
anxious To get large snake. offered
reward for one. aud soon heard Of u
biz fellow that had been seen about
,hrvc miles from where was ] i'm.
media'cly moved in the ncighborhooi.
AMI alter We hal secured the country
several days the b y ! hal with mo
came running through tho hush In grcat
settlement. say ing that a big boa aud the
saubas an,sl were having light. The
saubas, by the way. are foriging ants thar
put to d CHIT man and beasts When they
enter house the owner steps out aud
iuns ios his lie. and when | came up
to the snake l found II in a similar tx.
II va, magnificent specimen. !, hal
swallowed some exceedingly large ani.
NAL, AMI. while almost unable ~ move.
had bccn attacked by the ants. The
grass. bushes. twigs and leaves were
black with the insects. AMI every mo.
mcnt or two the great reptile would lit
itself In the air and WAY about savage.
". but only 10 fall back again. saw
that the ant, would destroy II In an
hoIr. 80 I sent my boy back b tho
village 10 get rope. and took 10 the
tres myself.
I'm half an hour he returned with
twenty men. made q lasso. and. ret.
ting near the snake. succeeded in
throw .ng II over his head. but l became
fairly covered with ants. so that | hal
10 rush away and roll in the brush 10
rid myself OF them. However. We all
rallied. manned the rope. and managed
To dlsy the snake out Ot his retreat and
away from the ants II was so sluggish
under this rough treatment that [ VIZ.
able to place my pistol within six inche.
Of It's heal when ! shot il. I soon had
IL in camp and the skin taken Of.
wanted tic skeleton also. but the native.
stole il in the night and my specimen
went for stews the next day. Poa mCa
j. not bad, aud Is very generally eater
In many localities.
1t Is . great mistake to think tia
snakes are useless. They are. in III,
first place, extremely valuable q
scxvcngerA Tho meat Of tho large
kinds Is eaten. The skins are inval,i
able ~ leather. and even here are con
sidered fashionable when male int,
bags and pocket-book covers. The,
the oil Of raitlesnakes and nearly al
other ssrpcnts Il yalua 10. Crotali
comes from the rattlcsnakc and cope,
head This rkin on the wall In By n
means one Of the largest Very e,
people can b made to believe tbs
snakes attain the sizes mentioned b
naturalists. Nevertheless, gigauti
snakes do exist In Borneo. nj. 81
John measured snakes tweuty.six fee
In length Mr. Bates. the naturals,
> measured in South America many wate
boas that were twenty feet long. but III
largest snake ever reported tohave bee
seen BY an European Of uuquestione
veracity wss that vouched for BY III
well-known botanist. DR.. Gardne
The monster had swallowed . hors,
and had soon afterward been browne
BY being swept down . river by an owe
fow. and when found after tho settliu
Of the water. il was hanging in . ire
II presented . most remarkable spe
tacle. beng forty feet long and di
tended to an enormous bulk. The.
serpents are often called Temacnilca
10 nilia, meaning fighting with five men
A skin Of one formerly in the Britt.
Museum 10 thirty. five feet long.
"Antlanson observed snake IN Sen
gal that was fifty feet in length q,
two and . half In diameter, viii
Wa'crton tells us that q Spania
showed him . skin at Angostt,ra Il
capital Of tho GrinOco. that 4 ON
. thickness no judged to have been th
" OF . serpent seventy feet long. /,
daens. the author. found serpents
Ceylon thi.:y.six feet in length. aud
Java be saw one that had swallowed
4 stag entire. Owen. in his 'Natul
h History Of Scrpents, gives tho leng
Of one - fifty feet. and Father Gumil
In bis History Of Orinoko, refers
aerpents forty feet long, so that
would seem fair to suppose that snah
A do alta q what might be called gican
~ Dimensions. On the Rio Franco ,
traders and natives report that snail
swallow tull.sized cattle. and this Z
30 readily conceived. The horns.
course, are not swallowed. Tho sns
~ lies In lethargic condition until I'll
=, drop or
"A case came to my hearing G.
~ tinued the naturalist, "of a curl,
'sa accident OccasiOned by ssnakc that
y" swallowed deer. A native pinch
the boly. and thinking the reptile de-
attempted 10 cut it when the mons
writhed and hur cd its head at the n
sith 90 much force that the project
san horns penetrated his lungs and Kill
IN him. Mr.. Mcleod. who was the
torian Of the Voyage Of the Alces
n was captured and kept y prisoner
many months at v hidah, on tho ca
OF Africa. and he states that he
~ served snakes nearly sixty feet
Inc length. Tales Of fabulous snakes
common in history. Va!erius Maxim
quoting Livy. refers to the alarm
which the Roman army was thrown
an enormo"s serpent that had its
on the banks Ofithe Bagrsdus. n
~ Utica This snake, according to Pli
was one hundred and fifty feet Ia
fOnlius refers to snakes in the Asi
!. islan!s that exceed th'rty.six feet
. leng h. and mentions that he has {
persons eating tho flesh Of large