Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1889-05-24
An Extraordinary Tale.

The Port of Spain (Trinidad) Gassee
publishes the following extraordinary
account Of the dcpredations and captuie
Of monster snake:
During the last two months it hs
been a matter of frequent complaia
among the inhabitants of the districs
cast and north of Arima that their do.
mcstic animals Of all kinds were being
lost in a strange, unexplained manner
usually at night. Scarcely a day seemed
to pass without a goat or a pig, a calf
or donkey being reported missing, and
iatterly even larger animals, some valu-
able mules aud horses, had gone to JOIN
the smaller domestic fry that had disap
pearod. Among the sufferers, Mr.: John
Agostini Of Aripo, lost two mules within
five days on his cocoa planta
ton, and Mr. j. c. de Cannes, in Wis
iting some young cocoa cultivation Of
his in Turmc, had lost his horse which
he had left to grazo for only half an
hour, at a distance of about a hundred
yards from the spot where he was talk
ing with a contractor. AT first the peo-
pie of the district were incline to lay the
blame on tLieyes Of noyell. ~. d..,.. .s.erlas
description, but the evidence soon be
came clear that it was some wild, mon
strous animal that was working the
havoc among the stock. A strange
feature of these dopredations was that
no trace of blood was ever found at the
spot visited, or in the neighborhood, to
show sign of some struggle with giant
cayman or carnivorous beast, which the
monster was at first supposed to be
Besides no animal of the size required to
carry off horse or mule was known to
exist in the island.
sin many of the cases, however, il
was noticed that the ground under the
cocoa tress and the forest undcrgrowth
showed signs Of having been crushe. .
not tramplcd upon, BY the body 81 50 ]
smooth but gigantic beast. The pcoTSY
began to watch at night. no alarm as yet
making known the passage of the mon
stcr on his raids, save the barking Of
dogs, few of which had also disap.
peared with dismal howls. 1t was also
noticed that the traces through the vege-
tation always stopped at streams, an
seemed to vanish alto gether after that
This feature was clearly established Id
the case of the Aripo, Turure, and Arima
Rivers. Up to Saturday last the beast
had succeeded in eludIng notice, trans
fcrring his attention to quarters unyisitcd
by him, as if aware Of the watch kept
for him in those he had already visited
and the ncighborhood of streams con-
tinued to be his favorite resorts from the
mountains north Of Arlma and Turure
"On Sunday morning the inhabitants
of Arima were thrown into consterna-
tion by the news that three children had
disappeared in the ward of Guanapo
during the past week, and they were
supposed TO have become the victims Of
the raiding monster. Their names were
given as Maria Conception, Marc An
tome and Carmen Blptista. The grief Of
the parents and relatives Of the missing
children was described as hcartrending
in the extreme. Mr.. Harragin, the
Warden, accompanied 10y the magistrate
and others, fastened at once to visit the
scenes Of the casualties. The news was
telegraphed to Port of Spain, and the
Warden was instructed by the Governor
10 continue his efforts to track the
monster, especially by collecting an
armed posse and instituting energetic
pursuit.
"Later in the afternoon news was
brought from Aripo that two children,
Paul and Rose Legrand, brother ard
sister, had been lost, one on Saturday
and one on that very morning. In this
instance the mother had been the terror
stricken eye witness of the carrying off
of her little boy aged three years. It
seems that while sitting in a state of semi
stupor, mourning the loss of her little
daughter Rose, five years old, who had
disappeared in the grounds round her
hat Saturday at noon without any trace
being found of her, she was startled by
the screams of her child Paul, who was
playing a few yards from her Rooted
with horror, she then saw her child en-
veloped in the coils Of the upper part
of the body of colossal snake, which
glided away with its prey into the
depths of the forest. A number of
residents Of the district, armed with
- q srpsass No sszzsssday ysssa
were continually coming, began to scour
the country after the snake, among
tbo,,, Toeo (so-oo,,o,a- 81 D..,l a