Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-08-14
. BLOoD-SUcKINC PLANT.
strange Vegetable Growth Found Ii
INC Central American Swamps.

Central American SWhmPSs
rorov Dunstan, the well-known
.mroiist of this city. says a New Or
ha," letter in the Philadelphia Tines,
le1nh as recently returned from Cen
W., America where he has spent near
u, ,l@ two wears in the study of the flora
"a fa1na of the country, relates the
anJ;nc of a singular growth in one of
hn snamps which surround the great
lake of Nicaragua. He was engaged
n limiting for botanical and entomolo-
n;cal specimens in this swamp. which
Enowu AS San Sebastian's, when he
Eonrd his dog cry out as if in agony
~, . distance. Running to the spot
tr o which the animals cries came,
A. Dunstan found him enveloped in
-,nrfat network of what seemed to be a
l,.a rone-like tissue of roots or tibres,
tha nature of which was unknown to
him.
ortirelv of bare. interlacing stems, re-
sembine more than anything else the
hranches of the weeping willow denud-
ID Of all foliage. but of dark, nearly
IocL hue and covered with thick,
r;scid oum that exuded from the pores.
nrswinc his knife Mr.. Dunstan en-
doayored to cut the animal free. but it
was only with the greatest difficulty
that ne succeeded in severing the fleshy,
,nnscular fibre. To his horror and
engagement the naturalist then saw
tbof fine dogs body was covered with
blood while his hairless skin appeared
70 have been actually sucked or puck
ered in spots, and the animal stag
cered 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
slirht force to free the member from its
clincing clasp, which left the flesh red
and blstered. The gum eXuding from
fine vine was of 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
sacedas de diable, the devils scene or
snare, and were full of stories of its
death-d naling powers. One of these
stories was of an Englishman residing
in Managua who, while hunting in
the swamp IL few Years before. lay
down beneath tree where large and
powerful specimen of this singular
plant WAS growing, and, Inadvertently
falling asleep, awoke to find himself
enyeloped 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 sa@enas only Il short time
before Mi Dunstan's visit. These
stories, remarkable rs 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
aStraight line, measure nearly if not
quite 100 feet. He was able to discover
very little about the nature of the
plant, owing to the difficulty Of hand
linz it, for its grasp can only be torn
away with the loss of skin and even of
flesh, but, as neal as Mr.. Dunstan
could ascertain its power of suction
is contained in number of iniinitesi-
mai 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 victim by its
Sickcning odor. The plant is found
Onl y in low, wet places and usually
beneath Il large tree, and while dor.
mant seems only network OF dry,
dead vines covering the black earth for
several feet, but coming into contact
with anything will instantly begin to
twist and twine upward in II horrible,
llte-like manner, breaking out with the
gum-Iike substance spoken of before,
and enwrap the object with 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
beng thrown it in the short time of
i've minutes the blood will be thor
oughIy drunk off and the mass thrown
aside. Its yoracity is almost beyond
belief it devouring at one time over
len pounds of meat, though it may be
deprived of all food for weeks without
any apparent loss of vitality. Mr.. Dun
sian attempted to bring away a root
Of the sagenas, but it died during his
return voyage, growing so foul with