Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-07-09
QUEER SERPENTS
DESCRIBED By ONE OF STAN.
LEY's COMPANIONS.
Some Snakes that Spit Venom
Others Can Jump backward The
Fierce and Deadly Puff Adders.

- @A~uuachoJ JCpuhou, tue muu WHO
accompanied Stanley to equatorial AT
RIGA, is living quietly at the Occidental
Hotel, San francisco. lie Is very busy
over his magazine articles, for which he
has received orders far ahead. However,
he found spare hour the other day to
tell an Examiner reporter something
about his adventures with venomous
serpcnts aud pythons during his travels
in Africa. and also while living as an
English army officer in the island Of Cey-
lon.
Captain Jephson said: "Africa is not
infested with as many venomous serDents
as in India, for while in the latter coun
try the death rate is very large from
poisonous bites, the natives of the for
mer continent are seldom molested. OF
course there are districts ia Africa where
the reptiles are exceedingly common,
but that is not generally the case, as in
India.
"1he characteristics OF the vencmous
serpent arc the thick, stubby tail and the
diamond head, and in Africa some of
these varieties are capable of extraordin-
airy exploits, such as splitting poison into
peoples eyes from quite distance: of
leaping backward into the air the length
of the body to bite the person who is at
the tail; of throwing the body sidewisc
at victim; of existing on air for years
at time; in fact, OF u quantity of other
extraordinary things
Take the horned ccrastes, for in
stance, which is known commonly as
the horned viper This hideous creature
grows TO the length of two or three feet,
and Is beautifully marked, although pos
sessed OF most demoniacal head. Two
horns stand out above the eyes of this
viper, which, together with the wicked
CLEAN OF the eyes themselves, give it the
look of II devil.
1.-The naturalists have come to the
conclusion that II was the horned viper
that bit Queen Cleopatra on celebrated
occasion. IL lives, generally, half bur
led in the sand, and can leap upon a
person passing, sidewise, to the extent
OF three AID four feet-in fact twice Its
own length. They are possessed Of great
vitality. and there is case on record of
horned viper existing two years in
large glass Jar without food. This was
the experience of Bruce, the African
traveller.
snakes is the hidcous puff adder, which
never runs away from danger, but on the
contrary pursues its enemy. The name
ha. been bestowed because of the habit
this reptile has of putting out its body
when enraged.
1T grows To a length of several feet,
and is very large ia girth. especially in
the middle. So powerful is its body
that, when lying along the ground, a
puff adder can throw itself backward
into the air its full length and savagely
bite the hand or thigh of a man or
beast.
"All animals die from ITS bite, even
horses, but am ,old that the natives can
kill it simply by splitting tobacco juice
upon its head-so deadly to serpents us
nicotine.
THE puff adder's venom is used in
Southern Africa as poison in which to
dip arroWs.apd the person hit with an, ar
row OF this desert ption rs sure TO die.
have heard that the natives endeavor TO
tortify themselves against fatal results of
that sort by swallowing the serpent's
poison beforehand in the idea that it is
an antidote, but cannot vouoh for the
tale.
These puff ladders were a great an
noyance during our journey through
Equatorial, for they would lie in odd
places waiting for us to pass. Some
times. as the natives were cutting the
pathway through the Dark Forest, these
puff adders would be dangling down
like hanging creepers. Their -stubby
tails would encircle a bough above,
while about two thirds of the body
swung down like pendulum, to and
fro. Then, as the ,unwary native cut
away the creepers to make the tunnel
through which our line was to creep, the
huff Adder would bite his naked arm
=. L&Tsfif. these snakes were exceedingly
dangerous when we weTe'traveling along
the rivers in canoes. Often, rs we were
making our way down river, we would
come 60 rapids overhung with trees. AS
we padded down the rifles puff adder
on s branch above would see us and drop
heavily into our canoe. Overheard at
once with wild cnies of horror would 90
the natives, leaving me to dispatch the
fierce creature.
'.No one can realize the enormous
strength of the boa family until he has
seen pythoa gracefully throwing his
coils about tree or gliding swiftly from
ground to tree. The weight of u snake
thirty OF forty fest long is tremendous
and you become conscious of this weight
when you have tried to liftits body after
il is dead, or else If you have tried ito
handle younger member of the live
species Notwithstanding this enormous
weight. the great monster makes its way
as lightly as u f0ot-racer across the for
est.
IA python in pursuing its prey hurls
its head like whip against the victim
grasping it with the teeth and casting az
swiftly coil after coil about it so that
the mere weight of the serpent's body is
crushing in its effect
''During our progress through the
forest we found that the most delicious
morsel 10 Dwarf was q slice of python.
These little men and women would dis
cover a monstrous serpent ia tree and
fill its head with little arrows from thea.
tiny bows until it resembled cushion
filed with pins. Now, they must b'
cautious lest in its dying struggles the,
be crushed by the thrashing of its coli
and tail. When they have subdued thu
snake they build a long fire under hin
until the odor of the sizzling snake-fat As
eends into their nostrils like delicious In
cense. After that there is grand feas
at which quantities of banana wine ar
Consumed.
"For my part, l have never taste'
snake meat became OF its disgusting odOr
All snake have the faculty-whilc aliv
of ndn