The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-09-17

ago, and that brings US to Sunday, when
we cannot afford to lose the cock fighting.
But upon Monday, the fifth day, l will
conduct you. But warn you again it is
not wise"
Wise or not, was determined to get that
boa's skin if could. Upon the fifth day
Jose said "manana" tomorrow. Those
people always say "manana" when you
want them to do anything. But early on
the ninth day caught him at his house,
within half mile of the boa's home and
held him to his promise. He took with
him peon, whom he called Pablo, skill
full and courageous hunter, and l was ac-
companied by my boy Tom, a very stupid
but well meaning darkey from Curacao,
who carried my magazine gun. Jose and
Pablo were armed with machetes.
The road we had to travel was abomina-
BILE. Rocks, big and little, half concealed
by vegetation, caused constant stumbling
and hurts. Without the machetes we could
not have made our way through the tangle
of interlaeed tough vines, some of them
covered with thorns. Precipitation blinded
us, and a myriad varieties of insects, with
and without wings, bit US, stung US and
burrowed in our skins. Once Tom came
near treading upon a huge cascabel-a
serpent exactly like our North American
rattlesnake in appearance, except that he
bears no warning rattles. Again Jose,
clutching my shoulder. suddenly jerked
me backward and at the same time made a
lightninglike flourish in the air with his
machete, shearing off the head of long,
thin snake that dangled by its tail from a
branch directly in our way, and which
ara Ia no
loose swinging end of LLAMA ivine). He
explained to me that it was the most VEN
omous snake in those forests, and its habit
was to dangle in that fashion and strike at
the eyes OF men and beasts coming within
lis reach 1t was gray. hardly thicker than
a lead pencil and fully five feet long. with
q Fat. broad, malignant head and needle
pointed curved fangs, from the tips OF
which, under slight pressure, issued small
drops OF greenish venom-fuid death.
/ found myself losing my interest in
snakes, and by no means so assured as
had been that wanted the water boa Ii
he had been just a little farther away,
think should have been in favor of let
ting well enough alone" as Jose had sug-
gcsted, but it was near the pool, in one of
the paths by which wild animals came TO
drink, that our encounter with the swing
iRg snake took place, and q few steps more
brought US TO the boa's home. The pool,
though not more than eighteen feet wide
and forty in length, was, as Jose affirmed,
In some places very deep. probably twenty
or thirty feet, being simply huge cleft in
the bedrock. Near the upper end of It was
the yawning mouth Of a cavern. big enough
for three or four men abreast 70 walk into.
penetrating to unknown depths in the
mountain
The big snake did not appear TO be at
home either in the pool, summing himself
on the great rocks at the lower end Of it
there he had often been seen by my guide
or among the branches of the adjacent
trees 70 which. as ! was informed. he some
times climbed The sun was now near the
zenith and the great ophidian had. sup
possibly. retired to the cool depths OF bis