Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-02-04
PERSONAL BRAVERY.
DANGERS WHICH NO LIVING MAN
 CAN FACE VERY LONG.

CAN FACE VERY LONG.
 Hunter Who Would Fight Tigers Nor
 tally Afraid of Crocodiles-Paralyzed
 by Deadly serpent-An Omcer's
 Night of Horror.
 You often hear it said of c man that he doesn't seem to know what fear is. He may not, so far as standing up before other men or facing ordinary dangers, but there are two dangers which no living man can face and hold his nerve very long: assert this because it has been my fortune to meet some of the most courageous men of this genera tion, and have had opportunities to see their nerve under fire.
 While was in the employ of tho English mail service in India, one of the ideas worked out was speedier transportation. New routes were selected to save distance, and whenever it was possible the rivers were made use of. On one occasion was descending the Little Rangoon river with three natives and the mail bags, when we were hailed from shore by an English hunter who had been camping out among the fierce wild animals and poisonous serpents for seventy days. He was entirely alone, and he had killed five leopards, three tigers, six or eight large ser pents and much other game. He had several fresh scars to prove hand to hand conflict with @ wounded tiger, and the bare fact of his being alone in that country, exposed to almost every danger one could dream of, was, proof that he was brave man. He had a raft at the bank and was about to cross the stream. After a visit of a quarter of an hour we took him in tow and dropped down about mile. We had just headed for the other bank when saw large croco- dile rise to the surface just behind the hun ter's raft. The man had not entered the boat with us, but was sitting on his traps on the raft. called to him to shoot the reptile, and he rose and made as pretty a shot as one ever saw, striking the saurian in the eyo and kill ing him at once. We were applauding the shot when @ dozen of the monsters broke water all about the raft.
 The hunter had repeating rife, and he stood on his feet and banged away right and left as coony as you please. I ordered the men to cease owing and got out my own rifle, but before had fired a single shot @ monster crocodile .limbed upon the side of the light bamboo | aft and upset it. We backed water very 'apidly, and it was not over thirty seconds before boat and raft had bumped. At the ,ame instant the hunter rose beside the boat, ! md one of the natives pulled him in. While ! ae lay on the bottom of the boat we rowed ! lbout and picked up such of his traps as | were adoat. It was very little we saved as | bis firearms had gone to the bottom and bis ! skins and belts had been swiftly devoured by l 5he crocodiles.
 | When came to offer the man some spirits l ais looks had changed so that could scarcely | believe he was the same man. No one stand l Ing on the gallows trap could have been more 1 broken up. He had scarcely swallowed the whisky when he began to cry, and he insisted ! that we cover him up in the bottom of the boat. It was whole fortnight before the ! man recovered his composure, while his nerve ! was gone forever. He who had stood with knife drawn awaiting the rush of tiger, and who 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 a dozen crocodiles. On one ! of my trips up this same river, and 100 miles from the coast, camped one night with a party of British officers who were out on a hunt. The leader of the party, and the best | shot and bravest man in it, was Maj. Curtiss, ] a man about 40 years old. He had killed ! more wild animals than any white man in | the province Armed only with @ revolver, ! he had entered bungalow in which a mur- derer was concealed, and taken him away | from crowd of his friends, and delivered l him over to justice. On bet of S75 he had swam tho river amid the alligators, and he would stand for the rush of tiger or the spring of panther with Q laugh on his lips
 what fear was. He, perhaps, thought SC himself.
 ! The camp was on the bank of the river
 and only temporary one, and no tents ol covers were erected. We sat around the
 fires until a late hour, smoking and yarning
 and when we rolled ourselves for sleep tho
 major and l were only four feet apart, with
 nothing between us. Tho camp grew silent a,
 once, and everybody was soon sound asleep
 | was just dozing off when thought de
 tected the crawl of Q snake near me, but l cluded that it was 8 lizard or an insect.
 Daylight was just coming when opened
 my eyes. I was on my left side, turned 1 toward the major, and noticed that he wa
 on his back. Close beside me was a revolver
 which I had slipped out of its holster tn
 night before that might have it handy il
 case of need. Not another soul in the cam]
 was yet aroused, so far as knew, and la,
 listening to the noises in the surrounding
 forest while daylight continued to grov stronger. I was about to arise, when sud denly saw the head of a serpent lift itsel
 above the majors breast and wave to an,
 fro shut my eyes for few seconds, an,
 then opened them to see the same sigh
 again. even tried it again and again, fear
 full that was dozing, and not wishing t
 believe what I plainly saw.
 It certainly was the head of venomou
 serpent, a species closely resembling tn
 American black snake, and as deadly as an,
 serpent in India. It waved its head am
 darted it's tongue for a moment, and the
 settled back into its coil As soon as tn nead went down felt for my revolver an , drew back the hammer. The clickI click alarmed the snake, as knew it would, pu by the time he had elevated its head agan had my arm outstretched, and the muzzle . the revolver within two feet of him. It Wa , a snap shot and had to be made on the il stant, and it was by pure good luck that sent @ bullet through his ugly head. He wa writhing and Hopping about as sprang uI and was dead as bent over the major. The snake had crept out of the bushes an , upon the majors breast early in the nigh,
 It was not more than midnight when the la, ter awoke and found the serpent coiled III . and he knew that any movement on his pal , would result in certain death. For thr, hours and half he had rested on the broa , of his back, never moving a muscle, with hi , eyes wide open, and that serpent's head par of the time waving to and fro within si inches of his face. When bent over him