The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1886-10-23
FIGHTING AN ANACONDA.
How . Brave Sailor Lad Made . Huge
Reptile Give Up It's Prey

How . Brave Sailor Lad Made Huge
Reptile Give Up It's Prey
An old gentleman from Reading.
Mass, to whom have several times
been indebted for good story, says a
story-writer, has told this one of
young sailor (who was boy when tho
old gentleman was boy), named
Phincas Guerney:
This, Phn's first glimpse Of equa-
torial countries, was at an unknown
landing on the South American coast.
We can imagine how the sight of trop-
ical luxuriance and palms and llianas
astonished his northern eyes. The Good
Adventure (his ship lay week or
more in the cove, and one afternoon
Phin took rather venturesome ramble,
following the crooks and bends of q
small tidal river.
"As our young explorer went on, the
stiffness of the place was broken by a
heavy splashing in the stream. at some
distance ahead, followed in n moment
or two by frightful bellowings, and all
the commingled sounds of q deadly
tussle. Phin stood rooted to the ground,
though more from astonishment than
fear. Then the strange bawling and
splashing continuing. he was drawn by
| great curiosity to see what sort of u
fracas was going on and what beasts
were fighting. Running toward the
noise, he came out near great sauna
ma-tree, with long, dropping branches,
which grew partly in the water, and saw
horned creature, as he described it.,
plunging to and fro, with the biggest
snake there ever was in the world.
hanging hold of the animals nose, and
rolling and tumbling itself in great
glossy folds on the ground!
Never had Phn seen nor heard OF
such snake as that before! He de-
clared that it was more than forty foot
long and as big round rs the brig
foremast,' and that it was 'hitched way
up to limb of the tree by its tail. He
says of it that it was 'yaller snake
with black spots all along its back and
sides, but that its belly was skim-milE
color; also that its head was yellow and
black; and that its eyes were 'bulged out
like two chiny sasserrs.' and were green
as frog spit, except in the middle
"Back and forth plunged the bullock
DcilOWlHS lOuOly Ill ltS IL AlShl anu uio
trcss; but when once these water boa
get grip with their strong, retrovertet
teeth, it is next to impossible for an an
imal to break away from them. Al
length, the boa got one huge fold ovel
the bullock's rump, and threw its hint
legs from under its body. Very short
ly now it would have mastered th
steer-if Phin had not had wrong t.
right. From the outset, our youn!
sailors sympathies had been with th
horned creature
''To see neat stock used in that wa,
by an ugly monster of snake wen
against Phin's grain, and at this juno
ture he dashed in with his cheetOonh ant
began to hammer the snakes head witt
all his might. The cheetooM was a
heavy as sledge, and Phin had sturd.
arm of his own, yet his first blow
seemed not to produce the slightest ef
feet upon the intent monster. But sud
denly it relaxed its hold, and with
single convulsive roll of its coils, fun.
itself far back under the rec. The steer
thus left free. struggled to its feet, shool
its horns and staggered off through tn
canes.
"Phin was determined to finish tn
life of the boa, but poisonous efiluvi
from its body filled the air. and mad
him so sick that he left the reptile to it
uncertain fate. Youths Companion