Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1886-11-05
roKI TOBACCO MARYI4&b NOVEMBER 1856. IL

IS singular position to be placed in. !
e hadn't aftearm, harpoon, or auJ
| her Trustworthy weapon among us, and |
/ ifot trusting ourselves on deck with |
| tn bolts, Delaying pins, or weapons Of
st 1rt, was a matter not to be thought /
after We had counted noses, we
uusl that the Captain, two mates, cook,
hwnrd. and two forcmast hands must
at. The ship had a few muskct:
| al eutlasses, and the officers had re.
dwrs. If the scrpents were to be
Fvtn of the first move must be made
a. officers. We took turns going
b dc ladder to get view of the deck,
si3the sight was one to affect every
I'd There were serpcnts from three
tFenty feet long, racing about the
III. and there was one with body
lib as large as a common nail keg.
lone Of them was still for moment,
ni'the noise Of their movements was
aflly heard in the forecastlc.
d. was fully an hour before the men
III made a move, and then we heard the
gitrt Of firearms. This was followed,
lthe man on the ladder reported, by
/ laddischarge of half dozen skyrockets,
vldch had been aimed to fly along the
ddss. Soon after that we heard men
sar on the decks, and we opened the
I'll tie and rushed up. The serpents had
ptarently disappeared, being frightened
/ bvl the noise and flames, and as we
/ baked over the starboard side we saw a
ade Of them making off. The monster
/ whom l told you had been hit by a
/ hiet from the captains revolver, and
biwas swimming about in a circle, head
I liza four or five feet from the surface,
nd making a terrible splashing He
d6 not seek to come aboard, nor did he
sMm away. We had watched him for
afee or four minutes, when a shark
dihed in upon him and seized him
,bbut midway Of his length. The row
vBich followed was the widest thing
Vii ever saw. The snake twisted him.
sit about the shark, and struck at him
aslin and again, and the water was
ciurned up until the foam sometimes hid
both from our sight. We were still
locking after them when shout
from one of the men
drew cur attention inboard. He
had discovered a snake ten feet
long curled away in one of the small
boats. The officers began firing 1T him,
and he ran the whole length Of the ship
and took to the water at her bows. We
then began a hunt for others. There
Eyyas a chap four feet long in coil of
'llqlssLs - sasll--..2z saeond on the cable
lins, and third on the roof of the
bk's galley. They were spiteful crea-
Ees, and were not despatched without
hger.
| IWhen we had carefully examined the
ks we supposed that we were clear of
i unwelcome visitors, but in a few
Iutes a serpent fully ten feet long was
Icovered on the main yard. ASS mat
i of fact seven of the reptiles had gone
BIT, and we did not succeed in hunting
H the last one until the next day. by
lich time the smoke began to lift, the
les on Baly to die out, and we got a puff
| wind to carry US through the passage.
"Om experience was identical with
flat Of an American ship lying in the
east end of the passage. Sac was
boarded by legion Of serpents, and was
driving the last one overheard when we
hailed her. She had one man bit en-
when they first came aboard, and he
died in less than three hours, swelling up
3 great size, and suffering the most ter
ible agonies. These incidents were
ublished in and discussed by many
English newspapers, and perhaps by
lmerican papers as wei, and l never
card the fact disputed. Why is it.
hen, that the person seeing sea SER
ent, or a serpent at sea, in these days,
held up to the world as fool or
iar2 If serpcnts did not pass from island
island in the tropics, some would be
,verrun and others entirely clear Of them.
That this is not the case any sailor will
ell YOU. l have seen, IN the Island Of
lava, a serpent thirty-four feet long, and
Is large around his middle as an average
nan. Let that snake be seen at sea,
winning along with his head we'll up,
which is the way they carry themselves,
and it would be a novel and startling
light to people on shipboard. l have
talked with sailors who have seen plenty
Of these serpents off the tropical coasts,
and the facts IN the story Of my own ex-
0erjence arc a matter Of record in Eng
land, having been debated by eminent
aaturalists. "-Ne0 York SuR.