The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1890-01-01
A BLOOD SUCKING PLANT.
Strange Vegetable Growth Found in
Central Ameriean Swamns.


America, where he had spent nearly
two years III the study OF the fora
and fauna OF the country, relates
the finding OF singular growth
IN one of the swamps which sur
round tn great lake OF Nicaragua.
He was engaged in hunting for
botanical and chronological speci,
mens in this swamp, which is known
as San Sebastiau's, when he heard
h s dog cry out, as if n p@ony fro@
a distance. Running to the spot
from which the animals cries cane,
Mr Dunstan found him envcIoped
i'll a perfect network of what SEEM
ed to be a fine, ropo,like tissue of
roc is or fibres, the nature of which
was unknown 10 him.
The plant or vine seemed COM
posed entirely of bare, enterlacing
stems, resembling IRE than any>
thing else the bra chas of the
weeping willow denuded Of all
foliage, bat of dark, nearly
BACK hue, and covered with a
thick, viscid gum that exuded
from the pores. Drawing his knife,
Mr.. Duustan endeavored to cut
the animal free. but it was only
with the greatest difficulty that he
succeeded in seyering the feshy,
muscular fibre. To his horror and
am 7zement the naturalist then saw
that the dogs body was covered
with blood, while his hairless skin
appeared TO have been actually
sucked or .puckered in spots, and
the animal staggered as if from
weakness end exhaustion.
In cutting the vine the twigs
cnrIci like living, sinuous fingers
about Mr. Dunstan's hand, and it
required 10 slight force TO Tree the
member from its c'.c@Tgiu@ clasp,
which len the flesh red and bis
5ered. The gum 3xudin9 from the
vine vas Of i disagreeable ami al
odor very powerful and nauseating
to inhale
The native servants who accom-
panied Mr. Dunstan manifested the
greatest horror Of tie vine, which
they cali 1t sagenas dc diabIc, the
devils seine, or snare, aud were
full Of stories Of its death-deaiing
powers.
One Of these stories was Of an
EagIishman residing in Managua,
who, while hunting in the swamp
years ago. ~ down beneath rec
where large and powerful speci
men Of this singular plant was
growing and inadvertently falling
asleep, awoke to find himself en-
ve.oPed in its web, aud in spite of
every effort made to extricate him,
persisted i'll its de .thly embrace.
Another story was Of an escaped
convict who had hidden in the
swamp, and whose bones had been
found in the folds of the saaenas
only a short time before Mr.. Dun
stan's visit. These stories, re-
markab." as they seem, are iirmly
believed in by the people, but the
OF ly three specimens which Mr..
Duns!au was able to find were all
small ones, though The meshes of
the largest would probably, if ex-
tended in a straight line, measure
nearly, if not quite, one hundred
feet. He was able to discover
Fery little about the nature of
he plsnt, owing to the diff
Nulty Of handling it, fer its
grasp can only be torn away
with loss Of skin and even of flesh,
nut, so near as Mr.. Dunstan could
ascertain, its power of suction is
contained in number of minutes
imal mouths or little suckers,
which, ordinarily closed, open for
the reception of food.
The gum exuded seems 10 serve
the twofold purpose of increasing
its tenacity and of overcoming a
victim by its sickening odor. The
plant is found only in low, wet
r places, and usually beneath a large
tree, end while dormant seems only
a net work OF dry, dead vines Cow
ering the black earth for several
feet, but coming into contact with
anything will instantly begin to
twis t }lDd twine upwatd in a horri-
bic lifelike manner, breaking out
with d be gumlike substance spoken
of be ore, and enwraps the object
with lcelerity that rs almost iu-
crsdnN