Omaha daily bee., 1889-05-13
IN A eoA's COILS.
A Hunters Thrilling Experience in
India.

In company with n half-breed who
combined the vocatious OF woodman
an hunter, | stumbled suddenly on n
large specimen OF the crotalus mutus,
slowly winding its way among the leaf
debris OF the forest, says writer in
the India Statesman. For some time
it was difficult to discern the scaly
folds OF the snake through tho brown
mass of decaying foliage, but having
reached a clear spot the reptile coiled
around a low stump aud prepared for
action. About yard of the body next
to the head was contracted into numer-
Gus sharp curves not unlike cork
screw, while the yellow eye cleaned
with u baleful light.
There was little fascination about
these orbs and no mistaking the malig-
nant intentions of their owner. A
stick brought within reach of that NOR
tai coil was struck almost with the
rapidity of lightning, no matter how
swiftly withdrawn. This was affected
by the instantaneous strengthening OF
the short curves into which this por
tion of the body had been contracted.
Even the willy mongoose would have
| needed all of his marvellous agility to
avoid tie deadly stroke il once within
! range. The reach was about yard,
and the assault was delivered horizon
| tally some six inches from the ground,
| directly toward the assailant. The
| hunter, who had hitherto kept q re-
| spectful distance, as he alleged the
| snake could spring, was eventually
persuaded 10 approach sufficiently near
| to strike it with a ten-foOt pole.
At the first blow the heavy coils re-
laXed from the stump and the creature
| appeared dead or stunned. The writer
| at once grasped the neck about two
| inches from the head and raised the
head partly from the ground to exam
| inc it, AS though galvanized into life
by the touch, the crotalus seemed at
once to recover its energies, and slowly
made couple of turns around the
thigh and right arm of the would-be
captor. The constructing power eXer-
cised was such that the hand grasping
the neck began to lose power, and the
writer realized the awful predicament
into which his temerity had led him.
Little could he done with the free left
hand, while the ''scaly terror" began
slowly to withdraw his head from the
relaxing grasp of the right.
For some seconds the trembling wood
man appeared deaf to entreaty, and
could not be persuaded to apply a moose
or Llama to the snakes neck. The
largest serpents becomes paralysis
when properly noosed, and are readily
dragged along the ground helpless asa
log. Just as the snakes head seemed
about to ooze through the numbe
fingers, the half-breed screwed up his
courage sufficiently to apply the Llama
as directed, with the result that the
brute relaxed its coils, and was dragged
down to neighboring stream, hung
up and skinned. 1t measured eight
feet five inches, and was about as thick
in the largest part of the body as the
calf OF a mans leg.
The fangs, which were careful ex-
tracted, measured one and quarter
inches in length, and were hollow to
within u short distance OF the point,
where on the inner side lay the oritice
through which the poison was elected
by the action of the base of the fang
on the bag in which 1t was secreted. In
squeezing the bag a small quantity OF
poison, u yellow fluid, passed down the
hollow in the tooth and gathered into
tiny drop of concentrated death. The
stomach contained two woodrats about
the size of guinea pigs, one partially
digested, the other recently swallowed.