Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-12-14
A GIANT ANACONDA.
Thrilling Tale OF Adventure In
South America.

Thrilling Tale Of Adventure In
South America.
The Deadly Peril from Which a Hunter
of Big Reptiles, After Being
Charmed" Finally
Escaped.
about year and half ago." said
dealer in wild animals to reporter for
the Detroit Free Press, 81 shipped to
London a cargo Of South American rep
tiles. Among them were two twenty
fve-foot Observation-Disclosures speci-
mems as such~snakes go. They were
neatly packed in separate barrels, but
one was hardly in shape for travelling,
as he was just shedding his skin. Be
ing such well-matched pair, l hoped
they would pull through all right, but
on arrival our friend was dead. The
result was that l had hardly got taste
of home comforts when there came a
cable calling for another anaconda. !
hated like anything to go back to the
swamps at that time of the year, but
had no choice. Guiana is the nearest
port for big snakes, and there / went,
determined to hurry matters. Now,
could have got dozen fair-sized crawl
ers in a week, but hearing of some mon
ster snakes up country / got the fever
and started off to interview them. /
hired boat manned by half dozen
Indians and went seventy-odd miles up
the Essequibo.
1--WE tracked several big serpents
every day, but none of them came up
TO my expectations, and after two
weeks of fruitless search l began to
think / was wasting time on what
seemed TO be u FOOLS errand. Still,
knowing the reputation of the country,
hated to give up, and so I decided to
stay yet another week. Three days
went by, and still nothing extraordi-
nary turned up. Then, on the evening
of the fourth, took my gun and went
out after game, as was tired of eating
the fish the Indians supplied with un-
varying monotony. Before had gone
a mile had brought down small an
telope, and as there was plenty of time
to get back to camp before supper I
hunted up shady spot by the side of a
little stream and lay down for quiet
smoke. The tramp and the heat had
made me sleepy and dozed away with
half-closed eyes.
about shutdown something made me
start up, and 1 saw a sight that made my
heart jump to my throat. Coming
slowly out of the stream, waving its
head to and fro, spied an enormous
anaconda. The stream was more than
twenty feet across, but may 1 never
speak again if his head and five feet or
more Of his neck weren't clear out Of
water on my side and yard or SO Of
his tail on the other. For a moment
sat perfectly still-paralyzed, partly
with the delight of having at last got on
the trail of such a monster and partly
with fright at the sight. There was
nothing to do but watch, SO I sat there
and saw him come out of the water.
''He was about fifty yards away, and
1 noticed his colors were different from
| the usual run of anacondas. Black on
top, he had gray sides with brown
spots, and only his belly was yellow.
He must have just cast his skin, for it
shone dazzlingly. For awhile he lay
motionless on the grass, then he raised
his head and wagged it up and down.
How he spotted me 1 can't even
| guess, but when 1 noticed he was look
/ ing straight at me I felt decidedly
| queer. My gun, a double barrel, was
loaded with buckshot, but 1 had no no
| ton of counting an encounter. Yet it
would not do to run, for no man can
outfoot a snake. So I sat there per-
fectly still, not daring to move, and
waited. In a few moments the ana
conda dropped his head and lay SEEM
ingly motionless, still looking toward
me. Watching him closely discovered
he was moving, yet 1 couldn't detect
the culver of scale. Then l saw he
was coming closer-coming for me
actually stalking mel AS the thought
flashed through my mind my hair stood
on end.
"On he crept-gliding so slowly, 30
insidiously / couldn't tell how he
moved, but he was getting closer all
the time. / don't know if prayed, but
with all my might tried to shake of
the frightful torpor that had seized me.
The sweat poured all over me, but
couldn't move a finger. Thirty feet
twenty feet away. Nearer yet-ter
feet-then he raised his head. That
/ LuOVcntn0 SdNCO IAG-OCAOEO OA6S 6W
full, motionless, gliding approach Of
death was powerless, but the sudden
break gave me back my powers. TIC
seize my gun, spring to my feet, yell
let fly both barrels and take to my
heels didn't take second. AS fed
heard the brute kissing like barrel
full of mad cats, but didn't stop to
size up the damage. Reaching camp
more dead than alive, hustled the In
dams into the boat, and we spent the
night five miles down the stream.
my tale scared the Indians, and we
sat up all night, gun In hand. With
morning our courage revived and W.
} went back to investigate. The snake
had gone; so had the antelope, 80 Iguesl
didn't hurt him badly. We tracked
him to a dense swamp, but neither
money nor threats could induce thos'
Indians to follow him in; to tell thu
truth, didn't press them very hard
! We left the neighborhood that sans
D day, and contented myself with ship
ping Jamrach a couple of twenty-foot
p ers picked up on my way down tn
stream. They arrived at London Il
/ good shape, and as he never knew wha
i specimen he had lost, he was perfect
+ ~ satisfied"