Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-05-23
A eLoop.sucKINc PLANT.
The Strange Vegetable Growth Found In
Central American Swamps

Leroy Dunstan, che well-known
naturalist of this city. says New Or
leans letter in the Philadelphia Times.
who has recently returned from Gem
trail America, where he has spent near
ly two years in the study of the flora
and fauna of the country, relates the
finding of singular growth in one OF
the swamps which surround the great
lake of Nicaragua. He was engaged
in hunting for botanical and entomolo-
gical specimens in this swamp, which
is known rs San Sebastian's, when he
heard his dog cry out rs if in agony
from a distance. Running to the spot
from which the animals cries came,
Mr.. Dunstan found him enveloped in a
perfect network of what seemed to be
fine, rope-likc tissue of roots or tibres,
the nature of which was unknown to
him.
The plant or vine seemed composed
entirely of bare. interlacing stems, re-
sembing more than anything else the
branches of the weeping willow denud-
ed of all foliage, but of dark, nearly
black hue and covered with thick,
viscid gum that exuded from the pores.
Drawing his knife Mr.. Dunstan en-
deavored to cut the animal free, but it
was only with the greatest difficulty
that he succeeded in severing the fleshy,
muscular fibre. To his horror and
amazcment the naturalist then saw
that the dogs body was covered with
blood, while his hairless skin appeared
to have been actually sucked or puck
cred in spots. and the animal stag
gered as if from weakness and exhaus-
ton.
In cutting the vine the twigs curled
like living sinuous fingers about Mr..
Dunstan's hand. and it required no
slight force to free the member from its
clinging clasp, which left the flesh red
aud blistered. The gum exuding from
the vine was of a grayish-dark tinge,
remarkably adhesive and of disagree
able animal odor, every powerful and
nauseating to inhale.
The native servant who accompanied
Mr.. Dunstan manifested the greatest
horror of the vine, which they call la
sagedas de diable, the devils scene or
snare, and were full of stories of its
deatlI-dealing powers. One of these
stories was of an Englishman residing
in Managua, who, while hunting in
the swamp n few years before, lay
down beneath a tree where large and
powerful specimen of this singular
plant was growing and, inadvertently
falling asleep, awoke to find himself
enveloped in its web, and, in spite of
every effort made to eXtricate him, per-
ished in its deadly embrace.
Another story was of an escaped con-
Wet who had hidden in the swamp and
whose bones had been found in the
folds of the sagenas only short timo
before Mr.. Dunstan's visit. These
stories, remarkable as they may seem,
are fairly believed in by the people,
but the only three specimens which
Mr.. Dunstan was able to find were all
small ones, though the meshes of the
largest would probably, if extended in
n straight line, measure nearly if not
quite 100 feet. He was able to di. cover
very little about the nature of the
plant, owing to the difficulty of hand
ling it. for its grasp can only be torn
away with the loss of skin and even Of
flesh, but, as near as Mr.. Dunstan
could ascertain. its power of suction
is contained in number of infinitesi-
NAL mouths or little suckers, which.
ordinarily closed, open for the recep-
ton of food.
The gum exuded seems TO serve the
two-fold purpose of increasing its ten
acity and of overcoming a victim by its
sickcning odor. The plant is found
only in low. wet places, and usually
beneath large tree, and while DOR
mant seems only network of dry
dead vines covering the black earth for
ss..ral feet, but coming into contact
with anything will instantly begia to
twist and Irvine upward in horrio:
life-like manner, breaking out with tie
gum-like substance spoken of beroI-.
and enwrap the object with a CELEBRITY
that is almost incredible.
If the substance is animal the blood
is drawn off and the carcass or refuse
then dropped. A lump of raw meat
being thrown it in the short time of
five minutes the blood will be thor
oughly drunk Off and the mass thrown
aside. It's voracity is almost beyond
belief. it devouring at one time over
ten pounds of meat, though it may be
deprived of all food for weeks without
any apparent loss of vitality. Mr.. Dun
stan attempted to bring away root
of the sagenas, but it died during his
return voyage, growing so foul with a
strong odor of real animal corruption
that he was obliged to get rid of it.