The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-04-18
The Deadly Crotalus.

A writer who was once head OF the
crown lands department in the colony
of Trinidad says: ''In company with
a half-breed who combined the voca-
tons of a woodman and hunter l
stumbled suddenly on large speci-
men of the crotalus mutus slowly
winding its way among the leaf debris
of the forest. For some time it was
difficult to discern the scaly folds of
the snake through the brown mass of
decaying foliage, but, having reached
clear spot. the reptile coiled around
a low stump prepared for action.
About yard of the body next to the
head was contracted into numerous
sharp curves not unlike a corkscrew,
while the yellow eyes cleaned with a
baleful light.
There was little fascination about
these orbs and no mistaking the ma
lignant intention of their owner. A
stick brought within reach of that
mortal coil was struck almost with the
rapidity of lightning, no matter how
swiftly withdrawn. This was effected
by the instantaneous Strengthening of
the short curves into which this portion
of the body had been contracted.
| Even the willy mongoose would have
| needed all his marvellous agility to
avoid the deadly stroke if once within
range. The reach was about a yard,
| and the assault was delivered horizon
tally some six inches from the ground
| directly toward the assailant. The
hunter who had hitherto kept re-
| spectful distance, as he alleged the
| snake could spring, was eventually
persuaded to approach sufficiently
| near to strike it with Il ten-fant pole.
'At the first blow the heaE, coils re-
| Taxed from the stump and tie creature
| appeared dead or stunned. The
writer at once grasped the neck about
| two inches from the head and raised
| the reptile partly from the ground to
| examine it. AS though galvanized into
| life by the touch, the crotalus seemed
at once to recover its energies, and
swiftly made a couple of turns around
the thigh and right arm of the would
| be captor. The constructing power
exercised was such that the hand grasp
ing the neck began to lose power, and
the writer realized the awkward pre-
| dicament into which his temerity had
| led him. Little could be done with
| the free left hand. while the 'scaly
terror began slowly to withdraw its
| head from the relaxing grasp of the
right.
"for some seconds the trembling
woodmau appeared deaf to entreaty
and could not be persuaded to apply a
moose or Llama to the snakes neck.
| The largest serpents become paralyzed
| when properly noOSed, and are readily
dragged along the ground helpless as a
log just as the snakes head seemed
about to ooze through the numbed
fingers the half-brced screwed up his
courage sufficiently to apply the Llama
as directed, with the result that the
| brute at once relaxed its coils and was
dragged down to IA neighboring stream,
hung up, and skinned. 1t measured
feet and inches, and was about as
thick in the largest part Of his body as
the calf of a mans leg.
The fangS, which were carefully
extracted, measured / inches in length
and were hollow to within short dis
lance of the point, where, on the inner
side, lay the oriiice through which the
poison was elected by the action of
the base of the fang on the bag in
which it was secreted. On squeezing
the bag a small quantity of poison, a
yellow fluid, passed down in the hol-
low tooth and gathered into a tiny
drop of concentrated death. The
stomach contained two wood rats
about the size of guinea pigs, one
partially digested, the other recently
| Swallowed"