The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-05-01

me boz sheets d Tie lA1uch l1xI111 d
II tho 6tnfIg 1ittIe cabin Tim Bnrfy
Joined us going little further forward,
and dropped on 70 sleep ~ lay watch'
ing the faithful fellows pipe flewind
like q coal against the sonibef back
ground Oh the fofesss
A honr miglss possibly slipped
away, when was awakened BY series
Of the most appalling shrieks that ever
prrhars fell on mortal car. ! can only
describe them ns horrifying in their in
tensity, and pitfful Beyond measure as
they broke In q succession aof appcalsfor
help upon the comparative stiffness 81
that tropical night,
1.-THE moon, which had been below
the horisnn whom / went to sleep had
now ascended to some considerable alti-
-tudc La the=heayens, and BIZ The rays OF
the great "a feffftc,s9 [ Was cnsShIed e Vs-
hold. ~ clearly almost as noonsday, the
minmtest details Of scene that will re-
main forever inielibly impressed upon
my memory.
Poised above the bow OF the boat, It's
scaly head bent far forward, saw a
huge serpent Of the anaconda species,
strik ng repeatedly at Ton harry, who,
with his arms thrown around the for
ward bits " the launch, was endeavor-
ing To prevent the monster from drag
aging him from DIT sharp ser4
ratesbteeth OF the reptile had torn the
clothing from one bare arm, down which
the blood ran In streams. while the
q Finta nj urbi fhf. fill
emitted spoke only too eloquently OF the
fearful peril in which he was placed.
Every now and then the huge serpent
would get hold on some part OF the
clothing and 1t would break away, the
rapidity with which one attack was fol-
lowed by another preeluding all possi-
bility OF Barrys defending fimsoH,7for
he had all he could do to prevent h M
self from being snatched away bodi-
lY. Awakened out of sound sleep
was too dazed 70 act immediate
=ly,zand when sprang forward. with
the first weapon ! could lay
hands orrs~a bel Tying pin snatchcd from
the rack, my assistance had come too
late. The huge boa had succeeded in
getting a grip that would hold, and
wrenching my old servant from his
weakened grasp OF the bits as easily as
If he was a fhere infant, the reptile
hurled its nov unconscious victim far
out Of my reach. The next moment il
had turned, and moving along thc-sur-
face Of the fallen tree, plunged into the
forest.
"IIorror-stricken as we were by this
dreadful sight, which occupying some
some time in It's recital was only the
work Of a-feW moments VIC rallied in
stantly. 1t was tho work OF half min
ute only for half dozen of us to arm
ourselves, to gain the shore and dash
rapidly III pursuit Vcrmeiho was among
the first to leap to land, repeating rife
in hand. The remainder of our quickly
formed party were three brazilian mem
of-war,s men and two native guides.
These latter, though only armed with
short spears, courageously joined in the
pursuit, uttering loud cries. Without
them doubt, indeed, if we could have
kept track of the serpent, which, not
-withstandfng its hearty burden, moved
through the inderbrush at a surprising
rate of speed, crossing the treaehereus
morasses, and dashing through the long,
4tlfieiis gsrass.ZIsoll lowing the exaHfple-ef
=tthe=natf xes..=-..x 4lran nf1nhI Z from
root to root, circling the deeper pools
and avoiding, as it WERE almost
by instinct, pitfalls into which
we should have undoubtedly fallen, We
were thus enabled to make good pro-
IL 81 ;,,,.
to press on rapidly knew we'll that
this was the only way. If we abated our
pursuit an opportunity wuufd be afforded
to the boa to coil himself around his VIC
TINS body, and with a few constructions
of the great muscles, the poor fellows
fate would be sealed.
"On and on we went, guided now not
alone by the sharp eyes Of the natives,
but by the crashing Of the bushes as the
monster putting forth every effort, eli
dcavored to escape with its prey. NoW
we were so close to it that / was almost
tempted to risk shot, but the quick,
undulating movement Of the reptile
gave little promise of success TO such a
snap shot in the uncertain moonlight.
Suddenly, rs wc Reached some rising
ground, we entered wide and open
glade, and thcn FOR the first time We had
an unopstructed view Of the great SER
pent as he gfided over the long grass
some fifty yards ahead of us. Whilst
only portion of his body was visible at
time, his gigantic size could be easily
conjectured or approximated by all, and
the sight was not an encouraging one,
can tell you. ! roughly estimated his
length to be from thirty-five to forty
feet Subsequent and more accurate
measurements proved that this was
rather an over-estimate, but | was not
far.wrong. His girth too, at the thick
est part of his body, was as large around
as the Iilain-mast Of the corvette, taper
ing gradually to the neck and tail. This
enormous body was covered with a scaly
and shining skim beautifully marked
upon the under portion with curious
stripes, extending along the body of the
reptile throughout nearly its entire
length. Its head was low down, and it
moved as il it carried its burden with
some difficulty.
H0n- catching SIGHT of the reptile we
increased eur pace, aid tibet natives,
running with almost incredible velocity,
reached the end of the glade somewhat
in advance of the serpent. Hero they
made courageous efforS4 to head him of,
and though they did not entirely sue
coed in accomplishing this, still the de-
lay they occasicncd to him enabled the
rest~of- THE party to come up, and Ner-
mciho who was slightly in advance,
after q running shot which missed the
great boa, brought his heavy riAe-butt
down on its tail twice in succession. A
third and fourth blow Was answered by
the boa dropping the body of Barry at
the foot Of a tree, against the smooth
trunk of which he now reared his gil
gantic form and defed us to battle, his
eyes darting furid fire upon his pursuers,
and his widcly-distendea jaws emitting
q strange kissing sound, the venomous-
looking head poised asif to strike, and
the body swaying rapidly from side to