The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-12-26
a BIood.Sucking Plant.

a BlUuu.SuChluS flauG.
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 14.-Leroy Dun.
stan, the we'll known naturalist Of this
city, who has recently returned from Cen.
.ral America, where he had spent nearly
two years in the study of the flora and
fauna of the country relates, the finding
of singular growth in one Of the swamps
which surround the great lake of Mica.
ragua.
He was engaged in hunting for botani.
cal and genealogical specimens in this
swamp. which is known as San Sebas.
tian's, when he heard his dog cry out as
fin agony from distance. Running to
the spot from which the animals cries
came, MIR. Dunstan found him enveloped
in perfect network of what seemed to
be fine, rope.like tissue of roots or
fbres, the nature of which was unknown
to him.
The plant or vine seemed composed
entirely of bare, interlacing stems, resem.
bling more than anything else the
branches Of the weeping willow denuded
Of all foliage, but of a dark, nearly black
hue, and covered with a thick, viscid
gum that exuded from the pores. Draw
ing his knife, Mr.. Dnnstan endeavored
to cut the animal free, but it was only
with the greatest difficulty that he sue.
ceeded in severing the aeshy, muscular
fibre. To his horror and amazement the
naturalist then saw that the dogs body
was covered with blood, while his hair
less skin appeared to have been actually
sucked or puckered in spots, and the
animal staggered as if from weakness and
exhaustion.
In cutting the vine the twigs curled
like living, sinuous fingers about Mr.
Dunstan's hand, and it required no slight
force to free the member from it's cling.
ing clasp, which left the flesh red and
blistered. The gum exuding from the
vine was of q grayish dark tinge, remark
ably adhesive and of disagreeable AMI.
NAL odor, very powerfuland nauseating to
inhale.
The native servants who accompanied
Mr.. Dunstan manifested the greatest hor.
ror of the vine, which they call Ia sagenas
de liable, the DEVILS seine, or snare, and
were full of stories of its death dealing
powers.
One Of these stories was OF an English
man residing in Madague, who, while
hunting in theiswamp few years, ago lay
down beneath tree where large and
powerful specimen Of the singular plant
was growing and inadvertently falling
asleep, awoke to find himself envelopedin
its web, and in spite Of every effort made
to extricate him, perished in its deathly
embrace.
.Anothe. story was of an escaped con.
vict who had hidden in the swamp, and
whose bones had been found in the folds
Of the sagenas only short time before
Dir. Dnnstan's visit. These stories, re-
markable as they seem, are firmly
believed in by the people, but the only
three specimens which Mr.. Dunstan
was able to Gnd were all small ones,
though the meshes of the largest would
probably, if exterdsd in straight line,
measure nearly, if not quite, one hundred
feet. He was able to discover very little
about the nature of the plant, owing to
the difficulty of handling it, for its grasp
can only be torn away with loss of skin
and even of flesh, but 80 near as Mr..
Dunstan could ascertain, its power of auc-
ton is contained in a number OF inGni-
tisimat mouths or little sucker, which
ordinarily closed, open for the reception
of food.
The gum exuded seems to serve the
two.fold purpose ofincreasing its tenacity
and of ofovercoming a victim by its sick.
ening odor. The plant is found only in
low wet places, and usually beneath a
large tree, and while dormant seems
only network of dry, dead vines cover
ing the black earth for several feet, but
coming into contact with anything will
instantly begin to twist and twine
upward in a horrible, lifelike manner,
breaking out with the gum like sub.
stance spoken Of before, and enwrap the
object with q celerity that is almost
incredible.
If The substance is animal the blood is
drawn off and the carcass of refuse then
dropped. A lump Of raw meat being
thrown in it in the short time Of five
minutes the blood will be thoroughly
drunk off aud the mass thrown aside. Its
voracity is almost beyond belief, it
devouring at one time over ten pounds Of
meat, though it may be deprived of all
food for weeks without any apparent loss
of vitality. Mr.. Dunstan attempted to
bring away a root of the sagenas, bat it
died during his return voyage, growing
SO foul with strong odor of real animal
corruption that he was obliged to get rid
of it.