The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1889-08-17
PERIls Of the JuneLE.
The Unpleasant Side Of . Hunters
Life In the Tropics.

The Unpleasant Side Of 4 Hunter
Life In the Tropics.
During the many years l was EN-
ployed to procure wild animals 70,
the great German museum outfitter
l naturally met with more or les,
adventure of an exciting and dan
gerous nature. Indeed it was al
adventure from start to finish, will
scarcely a day that ones life wal
not in peril.
It seemed as # Providence had q
hand in some of the close calls anc
narrow escapes. One time when en-.
camped between two of the branch.
es of the Niger thirty miles from
its mouth, l went out on foot and
alone to locate a spot to set q trap
for a big serpent which the natives
had espied and come to tell me of.
had crossed a level piece of ground
about thirty rods wide, and had
almost gained the fringe of wild
rice on the far side, when q black
rhinoeeros who had been concealed
in the thick cover uttered a "woofl'
and came charging full at me. He
was not over thirty feet away when
| wheeled and started ut my best
pace for the grove of trees I had
left behind. In those days I could
run like horse for half a mile, but
l had not gone half the distance
when I heard the old fellow close
behind me. and realized that I was
in deadly peril. He could outrun
me and the only chance I had was
to swerve quickly to one side and
let him pass on. I was about to
spring to the right when the ground
trembled under my feet and l heard
a crash behind me. I glanced over
my shoulder, to find that my pur-
suer had disappeared from sight,
and when l retraced my steps /
found him at the bottom of a cav
ity at least fifteen feet deep by ten
across. He struggled for awhile as
l looked down upon him, and then
sunk out of sight in the mud and
water. He had broken the crust Of
one of those spots often to be met
with on the low lands of Africa-a
crust of grass and earth formed
over q water hole or q bed of quick
sand. It had been strong enough
to bear me, but his weight had
proven his death. Had my line of
flight been to the right or left by
ten feet the beast would surely
have overtaken me and killed me
in spite of my efforts.
Just q week later, while was out
with three of my men to kill fresh
meat for the camp, l took my sta.
ton under a great tree and sent
Them to windward of a thicket,
which l suspected might contain
The game We wanted. 1t took them
twenty minutes to get in position
and pretty soon a fine buck deer
came trotting toward me. l was
by the trunk of the tree,
md he came within twenty fee! of
ne and stopped. AS he did so there
vas a "swash," a crash among the
branches, sort of shrek from the
leer, and the next moment he was
n the embrace OF a great python,
which had a tail hold on the limb
.bove my head. The serpent was
ully twenty-five feet long, and his
middle was nearly as large asa nail
;eg. Why he had not attacked me
3 beyond my power of guessing.
lie must have knovp Of my pres
nee and he surely had no fear of
ne. A serpent of that kind, when
enough to attack, would
trike at an elephant, SO far as fear
7as concerned. He was almost ex-
city above my head, and he would
ave rendered me powerless with
Iis FIRST blow.
Some months subsequent to this
Incident / was walking in path !
trough a forest. We were on the
aarch, twenty-five or thirty of US,
nd had for half an hour been ira
ersing a path used by animals in
Ding to q drinking place. l had
cen in the lead for two hours. when
dropped back to cosult with one
f the "bosses." One of the natives
ook my place and kept on, but he
ad not gone fifty feet when q SER
ent of the same species, which was
idden in the foliage of a tree, struck
nd knocked him down and had
no coils about his body before a
bout was raised. I hurried for
ard with my heavy shot gun, but
be snake was threshing the poor
alive about so that / dared not fire
,r several minutes. Then, as the
orrible head was reared to hiss me,
shattered it with buckshot. l was
30 late to save the man, however.
[e had been crushed to . pulp-a
tie that would surely have been
aine had I continued two minutes
onger in the lead. ;.
On the Beuue river, to the east OF
'ameron mountain, We had two or
hree traps set for lions. One OF