St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-07-20
PERILS OF THE JUNGLE,
The Unpleasant Side Of o Hunters
Lite in the Tropics.
IFovidenttal Escapes From IN Awf1l
Death Of Daily Occarreuce-Chsraed
by . Lion-A G0oa.Naturod
Reptile.

During the many years / was EN-
ployed to procure wild animals for tn,
great German museum outfitter.
naturally met with more or less ad.
venture OF an exciting and dangerou.
nature Indeed. it was all adventure
from start to finish, with scarcely q
day that ones life was not in peril
1t seemed as IL Providence had q
hand in some of the close calls and
narrow escapes. One time. when en-.
camped between two Of the branches
OF the Niger. thirty miles from its
mouth. / went out on foot and alone
to locate q spot to set trap for big
serpent which the natives had espied
and come to tell me OF. had crossed
level piece OF ground about thirty
rods wide. and had almost gained
the fringe Of wild rice on the far
side, when a black rhin0ceros who
had been concealed in the thick
cover uttered q ''woof!" and came
charging full at me. He was not over
thirty feet away when wheeled and
started at my best pace for the grove
Of trees had left behind. In those
days l could run like horse for half
o 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 l had was to
swerve quickly aside and let him pass
on. I was about to spring to the
right, when the ground trembled un-
der my feet and heard . crash behind
me- l Iglanced over my shoulder. to
find that my pursuer had disappeared
from sight, and when I retraced my
steps found him at the bottom of q
cavity at least fifteen feet deep by ten
across. He struggled for awhile as I
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 bed
Of quicksands. 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 have surely over.
taken me and killed me in spite Of my
efforts
just week later. while was out
with three Of my men to kill fresh
meat for the camp, took my station
under q great tres and sent them to
windward Of athicket. which l suspect
ed might contain the game we wanted.
1t took them twenty minutes to get into
position. and pretty soon . fine buck
deer came trotting toward me. Twas
by the trunk of the tree, and
he came within twenty feet OF me and
stopped. As he did 90 there was a
swish. crash among the branches,
, sort OF shrek from the deer, and
next moment he was in the embrace of
, great python. which had . tail-hold
On the limb above E.y head. This SER
pent was fully twenty-five feet long.
md at his middle was nearly m large
- nail keg. Why he had mot at
'acked me is beyond my power OF ,
guessing. He must have known of nv ,
and he surely had no fear of
ne. A serpent Of that kind, when ,
hungry enough to attack. would strike
It an elephant. SO far as fear was con-
,erned. He was almost exactly above
ny head. and he would have rendered !
ne powerloss with his first blow, =
Some months subsequent to this in
'ident was walking in path through .
forest over two hundred miles from d
his spot We were on the march. :
twenty-five or thirty Of us, and had for 4
lalf IN hour been traversine a patb :
'sed oy animals in going to . drink i
ng place. had been in the lead for :
NO hours. when l dropped back to q
'onsult with one Of the bosses" One =
1 the natives took my place and passed !
N. but he had not gone fifty feet when .
J serpent of the same species, which
'as hidden in the foliage of . tree.
truck and knocked him down and had y
NO coils about his body before = shout q
ras raised. I hurried forward with II
ny heavy shotgun. but the snake was /
the poor native about 20 4
hat dared not fire for several min. {
te& Then. Is the horrible head v.s {
cared to hiss at me ! shattered il with q
uckshot I was too late to save the &
nan. however. He had been crushed '
0 . pulp fate that would surely e
ave been mine had I continued tvo 9
minutes longer In the lead. O
On the Benne river. 70 the east Of Z
,ameron mountain, ve had two or /,
hree traps set for liona One Of these .
ras . log trap. the same As is used for
ears in the United StateA Il Wa, in :