The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-03-13
A sLooD-sUckiN0 PLANT.

strange vexetable Growth Found I'm Gem
trial American swamp~.
Leroy Dunstan. the well known natur-
alist Of this city. who has recently re-
turned from Central America, where lac
had spent nearly two years i'm the study OF
the fora and fauna of the country, relates
the finding of ~ singular growth in one OF
the swamps which surround the great
lake of Nicaragua, writes ~ New Orleans
correspondent of the Richmond tVa.l
staff. He was engaged i'm hunting for
botanical and chronological specimens
i'm this swamp, which is known As san
Scbastian's, when hc heard his dog cry
out as IL in agony from ~ distance. Kun
ming tn the spot from which the nn'mai's
cries came, Mr.. Dunstan found him en-
vcloped i'm a perfect network al what
seemed tn liz "a fine ropc-likc tissue of
roots or flbcrs, the nature of which was
unknown tn him.
The plant or vine, seemed mpo en-
tirely of hare, interlacinR stems, rcss'nh-
ling more than anything else the branches
Of the weeping willow sicnuded OF all foil
aGe, hut of n dark. nearly black hue. and
coverUa with ~ thick viscid gum that exc
clutlcd from the pores. Drawing his knife,
Mr.. Duustan e~ndeavoreti to free the ami
NAL, hut il was only with the greatest diff
ticulty that he succeeded i'm scvering the
hesby. muscular fihs,r. To his horror and
asnaxcmen the naturalist then saw that
the dogs body was covered with blood,
while his hairless skin appeared to have
bss,n actually sucked or pluckesl in spots.
and the animal staggered as IL from weak
In cutting the vine the twigs c,rlcsl like
living sinlious fingers about Mr.. Dun
;tan's hand; and it rs1nirci mo slight
clasp. which left the flesh red and bills
tered. rho gum exuling from the vine
na's. ct a d a%S S Sf am,Es; n rSinn na;mai
odor. very powerful aud na~us''atinG To
inhalc.
NJ. Dunstan manifested the greatest hor-
ror of the vine, which they call In sagcnas
se tliablc. the DEVILS seine, or snare. and
were full of stories of its death dealing
powers. One of these stories was of AN
Englishman rnsiding in Managua who,
while hunting in the swaInps ~ few years
before, lay down beneath ~ tree where "a
large and powerful specimen of his sim
gular plant was growing, and inat.vcr-
Hntly falling asleep, awoke To find him.
self envelopesi i'm it's web. and in spite of
every effort made tai extricatc him, per
ished i'm it's deadly embrace.
Another story wa. Of am escaped convict
bones had been found i'm the folds of the
sagenas only % short time before Mr.. Dun
they may seem, are firmly believed i'm by
tho people,, hut the only three specimens
which Mr.. Dunstan WAS able to find were
largest would probably. IL extended in ~
straight line. measure nearly IL not quite
one hundred feet. He was able to dis
covcr NSE1 llttte ttbpu tit III tIt'
the plant, owing to the difficulty of hand
ling IL, for its grasp can only bc torn
away with loss of skin and even of flesh.
hut. as near 0s Mr.. Dunstan could ascer-
tain, it's power of suction is contained i'm
n numbcr of inilnltcsmal mouths ar little
suckers, which. ordinarily closed. open for
the reception OF food.
The gum cxudel seems Ia serve. the
r~o-fold purpose of increasing its tcna-
city and of overcoming II victim by its
sickcning olor. The plant is found only
in low. wet places, and usually beneath ~
large tree, and while dormant seems only
"a network of dry, dead vines, covering the
black earth for several feet, but, coming
i'm contact with anything. will Instantly
begin tn twist and twine upward in "a hor-
rible, l~ifc-like manncr. breaking ont with
the gum-likc substance spoken OF before.
and enwrap the subject with "a celebrity
that * almost incredible.
1T the substance il animal the blood is
drawn OFT and the carcass or refuse then
roppcsl. A lump Of raw meat being
thrown il i'm the short time at five mIn-
utcs the blood will he thoroughly drunk
eft and the mass thrown aside. Its vorsl-
city j. almost beyond belief. il devouring
N one time ten pounds of meat, though il
may hc deprived of foUsl for weeks with
out any apparent loss of vitslity. MIR.
Dunstan 10 bring away "a root
81 the sagenas. btt il died during his rr-
turn voyage, growing so foul with "a strong
o<ior of real animal corruption that lc was
obliGc to get rid of IL.