, 1888-10-20

DaldnCe, ana IalIS prone on the carmen
floor, startling for a moment his fellow
dodgers, before he has time to Scuttle
through the door. The writer saw one
around his cooks neck, where it chung for
an inStanr on it's way to earth, making II
sort OF Jacobs ladder of the presiding
genius OF the kitchen. 1t was hard to say
which was the more alarmed, the hOrriied
domestic or the writing emblem of one
hushtan,' which quickly found shelter in
the bush hard by, while the cook slowly
came to, after repeated applications to a
black bottle labelled chest vinegar.
The northern slopes of the principal
mountain range of the Island are rugged
and eScarptd, but so cloaked with primeval
forest, that their harsh outlines are lost at
a distance. The huLter, however, threads
with difficulty his tOrtuOuS way under the
leaty canopy along some narrow ridge, or
SCramOllng up Il torrent bed clinging to
the gnarIed roots of trees or Overhanging
branches. Even on more level ground the
track, if such it may be called, is reduced
to a!aint trace on the leafy ground, or the
S'aShed bark of trees at long intervals.
The wo0dman reads such indications
plainly, and Threads his way guided by
marks and signs invisible to the uninitlat-
ed. In such wildS the "vieuda' widow
fiouriSheS, and in the absence ~Ofrats, preys
on less succulent food, including poisonous
snakes. The writer, on one of his official
rambleS through this uninviting region,
was about to destroy a "vieuda" that
crossed his path, but the guides prayed
him to forbeal, as the snake was not only
~innocuouS, but the friend Of man, feeding
on poisonous varieties of snakes,-a piece
of information which was received with
GAn,, ;,.,.lal;4. T., a., .~-,% lt,Oy,Cf Of
the rangers. During the evening the sub
ject was discussed, and the guides insisted
that they had seen the vieuda feeding on
the C0scabelIe, a poisonous snake frequent
~ met with ON these hills and on the east
coast of the Island.
Shortly after starting next morning, the
foremost hunter gave a triumphant shout;
all speed was made to the spot, and there
sure enough in the bed of a small stream
lay a vieuda in the act of swallowing
another snake. BY spaSmodic Jerks of the
throat and Jaws, at short intervals, the
y0racjouS widow slowly gorged the other
serpent, which was nearly rs large as itself,
and could plainly be distinguished some
twelve inches down the diStended @SOpha-
gus,
SEEING the ''SwallOwer" by the neck, l
was surprised to find the luckless "SWal-
lowed" quite alive to the situation, for it
wriggled and writhed although nearly a
fourth Of its length was safely slowed in
the widows maw,-a sad commentary on
the truth of the elder Weller's advice to
Sammy, to beware of 'vidderS'. Fdcile
deScenSuS Arerni; Sed rer0care grGdum was
quite impossible, owing to the set of its
own scales and its enemy's teeth. A liga-
ture OF Llama applied to the neck of the
larger reptile, put a period to its morning
meal and shortened both their days, for
they died some hours after, knOtted into
the most intricate coils. The inseparables
were carried over the mountains to Arima,
a town in the interior of the Island, and
there deposited in a pail Of strong rum, to
the intense Indignation of the guides, who
could not conceal their chagrin at the
waste of so much tOOthsOme liquor in the
interests of science.
Thence, the snakes found their way in
a glass jar to the Museum in Oxford, where
i'll due course a scientific lecture was deli
vered over the serpentine remains.