Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-08-12
AN EAST-lNDIAN GHOST.
It Proved to Bo Boa- a-Constrictor Twenty
 Foot in Length.

AN EAST-INDIAN GHOST. IL Proved to Bo Boa- Constrictor Twenty
 Feet in Length.
 Almost every town or village has it's haunted house and the little village settle ment of Wanda, in India, was no exception. Here number of English officers and their families live during the warmer months, returning to their respective commands later on The rumor that Captain Beau champs house was haunted was circulated by scrvant-a superstitious old English man .<ho had followed the Captaln all over the world, and was, all things considered, @ faithful servitor. Thomas had for some days heard curious sounds about the house. At first he thought there were rats or mice in the wall. He was awakened one night by most extraordinary noise. The door-bell was ringing violently, and a struggling, writhing noise in the wall of the house. not in one place, but in several Ut once This was followed by u complete silence, and as Thomas sat up in bed, his hair threatening to stand on end he was posi-. tive he heard a long-drawn sigh. This was the last feather. So, leaping from the couch, he rushed to his employers room and aroused him, avowing that tho place was haunted, and Q few moments later the en- tire household was in tn room.
 
 exceedingly disagreeable. First camo strangers, natives aud others, who stood in front of the house day and night and looked at it with wondering curiosity. Matters stood in this shape for some days. when one morning party Of jugglers passed through the town and finally reached the haunted house. As there were number of children in the family the performers were invited into the grounds and gave an entertainment FiSaly, as Q winding up, ono of them took out small oval basket, having all orifice in the top, and seating himself near it began to play quaint air upon q flute.
 After industriously playing for few mo- ments, says correspondent of the Phila- delphia Times, up through the hole in tho basket came the head of a cobra-one of the most poisonous of snakes-up came tho hldeous head with it's hood that gave a malignant appearance to the reptile, and when twelve or fifteen inches above the basket 1t began to wave to and fro as if in obedience to the measure of the music
 After the snake dance-or the snake t'oharming," as Europeans arc wont to call 1.-the Indian snake -charmer walked around the house and among the bushes pointed out hole which might have been made by Q rabbit. To one of the native attendants he said that for small sum extra he would v v the hole The English officer did not be- lieve it, but willingly submitted to the ex- pertinent, and seating himself before the hole the magician began his mournful plaint
 For fifteen minutes he kept up tue noise, and then from the opening there appeared the ugly, hooded head of Q cobra. Another hole was soon found, this being directly at the base of the wall os the house. The man examinedit a few moments carefully, and then began to play upon the fiute.
 Hardly had the group gathered about tho performer before a most remarkable noise came from the house. First, there was sound as of escaping steam; then Q sound of some great body striking the Wall and rubbing agalnst the timbers. Dust in clouds came from the hole and the 'charmer" started back in terror, over- turning the man behind him. Recovering himself he darted at the hole and thrusting his arm in drew out, not cobra, but the tail of a much larger snake. Astonishment was depicted on the natives face and hof- TOT in those of many of the spectators, as he stood holding the tip of the tail, and five feet of the body was visible.
 For a second the man hesitated, then re- gaining his courage he shouted in Hindoo- stance for the lookers-on to stand back, and taking 6 good grip upon the tail he pulled gradually backward. Out it came, foot by foot, inch by inch, 5, 10, 15 16 feet-1S,
 was there no end?-1S feet of quivering | snake flesh as large as mans thigh. A quick jerk now and the entire monster
 was clear-at least twenty feet in length
 big enough to swallow a deer, and yet held
 by single man. The native was, however,
 not in the least discouraged. He clung to the tail, and as the huge reptile turned hicc ha on n
 swinging motion by turning slowly. Grad
 ually he increased his speed, turning faster and faster, until he seemed the center of 8 wheel, the spokes of which were the body of the python. So rapid was the motion | that the snakes body was perfectly straight, and it was evident that as long as l the motion could be kept up the man was l safe, but if the monster could reach him he would in moment be crushed in the hor- rible folds of the reptile.
 The lookers-on had long since fled, the natives had gone shrieking up the street, the Euglishman alone standing by, but even he did not know what to do, as it was i'm possible to shoot the animal as 1t was flying around so he stood a few minutes aghast l at the curious position of the man.
 It soon became apparent that the charmer knew what he was about Not far from the | house stood stout flagstaff, a foot and a nall through, or SOlO CeakWOOO, ana toward this he was gradually moving, whirling the snake faster and faster. Now he was with
 in twenty-five feet of 1t, and suddenly it dawned on the few spectators what he was about to do. This was to strike the head of | the reptile against the pole Nearer he
 came, whirling faster and faster, until the
 reptile stood out like whip lash, and then,
 witha quick step forward, he brought the l head of the reptile against the wood with a l crushing sound. He released his hold and
 the great reptile doubled up in convul-
 sive folds, digging up the earth and sending l clouds of dust into the air, finally dropping limp and lifeless to the ground.
 A wondering crowd soon surrounded the dead boa, the now brave natives expressing their opinions as to it's size. One thing was l cvident-that here was the "ghost." The
 big snake had in some way obtalned en-
 trance to tho house, probably through the hole in the foundation, and had produced | the mysterious sounds heard by the men. l The snake-charmers had, as is their general 1 custom, placed a harmless cobra in the hole ! and before they had time to call it out 1t
 had encount>--ed the big boa, with the above result. -