The Magnolia gazette., 1883-03-01
MAGNOLIA, MISSISSIPPI, THURSDAY MARCH /, 1883.

length. Tales of fabulous snakes are
common in history. Vac ius Maximus,
quoting Livy, refers 10 the alarm into
which the Roman army was thrown by
an enormots serpent that had its lair
on the banks of the Bagradus, near
Utica. This snake, according to Pliny,
was one hundred and fifty feet long.
Rontius refers to snakes in the Asiatic
islands that exceed th'rty-six feet in
leng h, and mentions that he has seen
persons eating the flesh of large hogs
captured by an taken from snakes.
Here is rattlesnake,n continued
the snake historian, pointing to 4 large,
iinely-mounted skeleton, THAT tested
the nerve of friend OF mine. He is an
officer in the artillery, and before the
war was stationed in Florida One day,
while sitting on the root of tree, with
elbows on his knees, a snake crawled
out between his feet He remained
per ectly quiet until it was several feet
beyond him, and then he shot it with
his revolver. No, he wasn't charmed,
but, to use his own words, he was half
scared to death, and if he had umped
and been bitten it would have been IA
tai, as there wasn't drop of liquor
within one hundred miles of the camp.
and that is probably the only known
cure. Wallace, the naturalist, once left
his house in town in Malay for few
days, and, on returning, found it oc-
cupied by python over eighteen feet
long. Its tail was seen hanging down
from the ralters, and one OF the natives
seizing it, rushed out OF the door, drag
ging the monster that vainly attempted
to regain its hold. While being whirled
around and around the reptile was
finally stunned by being dashed against
tree. A Malay boat anchored one
night along the shore of one OF the
Celebes, and man was sent ashore in
search of the betel nut. Soon after
ward the crew were aroused by his
screams, and in following them up
found him in the folds OF G gantic
python. 1t was killed, and it was found
that the arms Of the man alone bore
signs of teeth marks, his ribs and other
bones being crushed into splinters by
the constructive folds. The cobra of
India is the most dread ul of all snakes,
and many thousands of natives are
killed by them yearly. Wallace says that
at one place in Malay they were so nu-
merous that, ON an average, a native
was killed every day in the year.
1.-The great camondi snakes OF South
| America have a habit of hanging from
trees over the water, with portions of
their bodies concealed, so that they
would easily be taken for the great vines
that grow so luxuriantly in these for
csts, and in this wag they obtain much
of their prey that comes unsuspiciously
along, even human game not being
neglected. Kingsley relates an occur
renee when four Young women were
! bathing in a lagoon, and one of them
felt herself pulled from behind. At
first she thought it prank of one of her
companions, but the form of an enorm-
Gus snake soon appeared. 1t had fast
ened its teeth to her bathing-dress, but
the others succeeded in frightening ii
OF Whom they are gorged with food
they coil up closely and resemble a
st mp, and a case is known of native
having made the mistake OF sitting down
upon one with results astonishing to
both seat and sitter. Waterton, in re-
ferring 10 the camondi snakes, says
that specimens from thirty to forty feet
long have been killed, and that the
Spaniards OF Brazil positively affirm
4 that in the unirequented districts these
serpents sometimes attain a length oi
seventy feet, and will destroy the
largest and strongest bull. They call
them matatoros, which means, literally,
bull-killers. IN. Y. san.