Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-07
DEvoURED BY THE cRocoDILEs.

bf-N OlhED 81 TIE CROCODILE-.
When | came to offer the man some
spirits his looks had changed so that
could scarcely believe he was the same
man. No one standing on the eallows-trap
could have been more broken up. He had
scarcely swallowed the whisky when he be-
gan to cry, and he insisted that we cover
him up in the bottom of the boat. 1t was
a whole fortnight before the man recovered
his composure, while his nerve was gone
forever. lie who had stood with knife
drawn awaiting the rush of tiger, and
VINO carried marks to prove his bravery
and his victory, had been totally broken up
by an experience of less than two minutes
IN the water with n dozen crocodiles. II
was the feeling that he was helpless that
took his courage away. In the case of the
tiger he felt that he had some little show.
When he was flung into the water he real
lied that he had none. | have seen several
men hung who 'died game" and who rot
the credit Of being brave fellows. 1t is all
nonsense TO talk about bravery in the face
OF the hangman. Dying game" is either
the courage which comes from stimulants
furnished by the iailer, or it is false en-
thuslasm due to the labors of the clergy
man III many udNS past.
On one of my trips up this same river.
and hundred miles from the coast,
camped one night with party of British
officers who were out on Il hunt. The
leader of the party, and the best shot and
bravest man in it, was Major Curtiss.
man about 40 years old lie had killed
more wild animals than any white man in
the province. Armed only with a revolver.
he had
ENTERED A BUNGALOW
In which murderer was concealed. and
ia ken him away from crowd Of his
friends and delivered him over to Justice
On a bet of $75 he had swan the river
amid the a'ligators, and he would stand for
the rush of tiger or the spring of 4 pam
Their with a laugh on his lips. They said
of the Major that he did not know what
fear was. He, perhaps, thought so himself
The campwas on the bank of the river,
and only temporary one, and no tents or
covers were erected. We sat around the
fires until a late hour, smoking and vawn-
ing, and when we rolled ourselves for sleep
the Major and | were only four feet apart.
with nothing between lis. The camp grew
silent at once, and everybody was soon
sound asleep. was just doing off when
l thought detected the crawl of snake
near me, but after listening closely for
minute concluded that it was lizard or
an insect. The air, the earth, the forests
and the waters of India are full of animal
life by day and by night. A camp no
sooner grows quiet than wild rats and
mice, lizards, great beetles and three or
four kinds of squirrels begin to prospect
around, while night birds circle about. and
the wolf, jackal, fox, hyena and other ami
mails draw near. Snakes are always to be
feared, but if one started up at every sus-
picious sound, he would never get an hours
sleep.
Daylight was just coming when l opened
my eyes. | was on my left side. turned
toward the Major, and / noticed that he
was on his back. Close beside me was INV
revolver, which | had slipped out of its
holster the night before, that | might have
1T handy in case of need. Not another souI
in the camp was yet aroused, so far AZ I
knew, and lay listening to the noises in
the surrounding forest while daylight con-
tlnued to grow stronger. | was about to
arise, when suddenly saw
THE HEAD OF A SERPENT
Lift itself above the Majors breast and
wave to and fro. / shut my eyes for a
few seconds, and then opened them to see
the same sight again. 1even tried it again
and again, fearful that ! was doing, and
not wishing TO believe what | plainly saw.
1t certainly was the head of venomous
serpent, species closely resembling the
American black snake, and as deadly as
any in India. 1t waved its head and darted
Its tongue for moment, and then settled |
back into Its cell. As soon as the head !
went down | felt for my revolver and drew |
back the hammer. The click click I in |
cooking the revolver, alarmed the snake. !
as | well knew it would but by the |
time he had elevated its head again / had |
my arm ou'stretched and the muzzle of the |
revolver within two feet of him. 1t was a |
snap shot and had to be made on the in |
slant, and it was by pure good luck that | |
sent bullet through his ugly head. He !
was writhing and Topping about as I
;prang up, and was dead as | bent over the
Major.
The snake had crept out of the bushes
md upon the Majors breast early in the
light. 1t was not more than midnight
when the latter awoke and found the
serpent coiled up, and he knew that any
movement on his part would result in GER
ain death. For three hours and n half