Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-08-06
A SNAKE IN TIE CRADLE.

For the truth ~ what follows can
Vouch. a. all the collateral aud corroh-
orail,c circumstance. though not the
main Incident, came directly under my
pcr.onal notice.
The wife ~ Que ~ the o,cr.ecrs on
the Enmorr estate In Demarara had one
morning laid her hahy asleep In IT. era
die while shc performed certain house
hold dutics. EnmOre is-Or was AZ the
time ~ which writc-,he largest sugar
plantation Ia that county. Tor ~ arr the
ihryr province. called which together
make az Brlil.h Culana-namely, Dem.
arara. Berhice aud Essequil.o.
The estate has station on the little
line which runs through several small
towns, silll bearing their quaint old
Dutch names. az far q. Maholca. The
hahy aforrsaid Was carefully screened
from the blaging heat ~ the day within
coal. green jalouslci yeranda, aud was
lightly covered with a muslin net. to
guari IL. .lumbers against the disturbing
Influence ~ ile.. marabunda., scor-
piou., spiders and other small hat un-
pleasant deer, ~ which this favored land
i the happy hunilng-ground. II Wa
thrvc months oil. was No. 1. and was
the pivot on which the daily life aud love
of both u. parent. rvyoly~l. rrgr-t Ia
say have forgotten whether u was a
hoy or girl.
ifciurr a. yourself. then. II YOU can.
the horror ~ the young mother when,
on stealing into the Vcranda to refresh
herself with = pep AZ her unconscious
darling. she beheld on the muslin coyrr
live serpent She had not h.,n long
In the colony. hut had already sufficient
experience ~ n. tccmlng reptilian fauna
o. rrcogniIc the blool-frd, hlunt-headcd
creature which lay on her child as a
coral snake. rrputri Co BE- 80 deadly A.
90 slay mau or a horse With IT, bite in
twenty minutes. Il had apparently fall
cu into the cradle from the cigr ~ the
Nsnstian shutter ahoV-. aud n. weight
causing the muslin io hig down, II Wa
unable ,o raise It, body high enough to
grt over the edge ~ the wicker work
ani escape. as u .e.med o. d. cndcaVor-
Ing a. 10.
T,rrur-.trickrn a. she was. the poor
girl hy a desperate Effort summoned up
40 her self-control ani umtinci It'll.
knowing that n the baby were disturbed
Il might hy u movements provoke the
snake to strike After watching the In
rficriual efforts ~ the latter a. climb the
silc ~ the cr,ile for a few momsnts,
which s~eme,l like hours. au ilct new
over her hllf.uumhci hr,ln. She rrrpt
gently forward. inch hy inch. until hv
stretching forth one foot she could touch
thr ~ ker.
Getting her too underneath this. he
SLOWLY nis-i II until the basket was
tilicl considerably away from her, ani
Was consequently loWcrri on the -iic
toward which the Intruder va. directing
L. aiismpts 40 ascrut. The plan sue
c--tlc,l admirably; the unsusplcious ser
peui wrigglri IT, way up the nov mod
rraiely inclined plane ~ the net, rrtarl-
ci Ia IT, prOgrrs. only hy thu unstable
hold afforded by the latter.
It. head Was already over the edge,
and In another quarter ~ minute "
would have been upon the foor, when
the irricherou. rocker slipped from her
foot. the snake rolled hack lower than
before. carrying the edge ~ the narrow
curtain down In It. fall. and the mother
stumbled wildly to recover her nearly
lost balance. II was too much for her .
the awful tension snapped aud she called
her husbands name with a hoarsc cry.
Well that shc dih. llc Was nearing
the house at the time ou his homeNari
way 90 midday breakfast. aud Just caught
sound ~ that agonlrel whisper a. he
crossed the muddy canal \ few Sec
ond. later d. Was In the yeranda. reading
IT,. If....lNa.. III
tioning eyes. No speech could she fore"
through her hot lips; mo- Nord spoke he,
hut b. followed her Outstrctched finger
AZ she pointed "a the still swaying cradle.
With one dash be- selyci the muslin
aud tore Il ~. Had this been done At
first, NO doubt all would have been well,
bat the free border being within the side.
the light net slipped from under the
weight of the snake. and the reptile Tell
kissing aud writhing upon the naked
body Of the child, now crying aud llfting
up It. hands toward It. mother. There
Was no moment for thought. Like light
ming be grippcd the infant by the .houl-
der aud threw IL on the fioor, where II
fell with a broken collar lonc, but saved :
Aud II was through being called upon
W w wiz
and Ia treat this iniury-which may have
been caused by the fall, or. more prob
ably hy the frenlied grasp ~ hls power
ful hand-that I, In the absence of my
friend, Dr. D., whose guest ! was,
learned the foregoing particulars within
ten minutes ~ their occurrence. The
snake VA. already dispatched, aud Law
on the yeranda boards with It, head
smashed dat 10y an unnecessarily tremen-
dous stamp ~ the paternal heel.
may just say that youth and a good
constitution, In which the Mouyshire
brceIe. were not Yet dissipated by fever
aud ague, euabled the mother tO throw
of the nervous illnes. with which she
was threatened, aud that, although the
condition of the child's shoulder aud the
pain attending Il naturally caused the
parents great grief, Il recovered perfect
ly without any impairment to the use Of
the arm.