Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-12-23
Dangerous Adventures of a Man
in Capturing the Splitting
Serpent.
The Beautiful Reptile Had Hith-
erto Been Considered
Mythical.
Startling Tales Of Dutch South
South African Settlers
Proven True.

Inc StittH SLEthe. OIL WHICH the
Dutch settlers in South Africa tell start
ling tales. is generally considered Il
myth. but l myself found the creature
there. says G. r. O'Reiuy in the New
York Press.
One day in 1877, while I was living at
Grahamstown. in the Cape Colony. I
went out for snake hunt in Curries
ing-knife and binocular glass composed,
as usual. my equipment.
Now this South African country Is
very different from our American land
scapes. The sky is ever cloudlesS
There are days. weeks. even months of
uninterrupted sunshine. Consequently
the extreme dryness of the atmosphere
entirely precludes that delightful green
ness which renders European or Amer
lean country so charming.
The city of Grahamstown lies in
valley among hills 1000 feet above the
sea. The country in every direction is
unencumbered by fence or wall. so that
away across the continent to IIEartoum
the traveller may walk or ride, finding
mountains and rivers.
For a considerable distance to the
north the country is parklike. with hills
rising 2O0-sometimes 300 feet-above
the plain. their sides covered by grass
Drowned in the sunshine. or by scrubby
brush 20 or 80 feet high, struggling to
draw life from a stony, sunbaked soil.
About the hilltops the rocks crop out
in every direction, too hot in the eternal
solar glare to give resting place to any
living thing except lizards. In spite of
all this heat and drouth and apparent
sterility flowers grow in abundance
lin the heat and moisture of the
kloops or mountain ravines the trees
grow tall and stately. with great orchid
covered vines stretching like ropes from
branch to branch, or trailing to the
earth. forming a natural gymnasium for
the balloons and monkeys to frisk in
The tree fern waves its feathery fronds
In the warm wind. and countless variet-
les drape every overhanging bank and
fill every crack of rock or tree stump
forming shady retreats for the puff
adder to sleep in and ambush for snatch
ing the wandering woodrat as he nib
bles his nuts in the neiShborhood.
This beautiful snake, which is one of
the most deadly in the world, abounds
In all the hilly land of Cape Colony
Both cobras and puff adders swarm
around about Grahamstown. Many 4
day have / spent among the rocks
fol fho;, hoJ,
ing their lives at home.
On this special day I had been lying
Il couple of hours behind a rock watch
ing through my binocular small snake
Of the genus Psamnophis chasing liz
ards within few yards of me- Heated
with the sun, which had been blazing
on my back all the time, and being
to q big tsengu tree growing in the val
ley to refresh myself with the copious
sap of the succulcnt roots, for no water
was to be had. Quenching my thirst /
had lain down in the shade at It's foot.
All was silence and solitude around
except the cicadeS. which kept up one
unchanginS and amending song. 1t was
. l.
and out before me ran a level stretch
clear of trees for hundred yards or
more. III the middle rose a small bush
of acacia horrida, from which we get
gum arabic, thick all over with little
flower tufts of yellow. The ground
around was covered with the bright
green of creeping mesembryanthe-
mum. all starred over with purple flow
ers, looking like a rich oriental carpet
ready spread for the denizens Of the
wilderness to stretch themselves upon.
And all this time there was one of them
/ lying in the slln-one Of the most beau
tiflll and dreadful of Africa's animal
| wonders.
.-s------.
| The birds called my attention to him.
I suppose they espied him from the
! surrounding treetops, and they flew
down to the acacia bush to reconnoiter.
They suddenly raised such combustion
of chattering that l took up my glass to
see what was the matter. They seemed
! greatly excited, hopping hurriedly from
twig to twig, tapping their wings and
crying out all the time. I could perceive
no cause until I stood up. Then there
appeared with his broad neck fiattened
out a large black cobra (Sepedon Haze
machates) slowly gliding about on the
green carpet within yard Of the birds.
| For some time / watched the scene;
but fearing he might disappear in the
mole holes, which were numerous all
0round, I seized my long stick and adj
vanced upon him. His tail was toward
me and his attention fixed on the birds.
could see his clittering black eyes, and
every moment the forked tongue would
lap out meditatively as if he were con-
templating a spring.
He saw me as I approached and,
turning quickly around, he threw him
self in a position of attack. His head,
with two-thirds Of his body, stood up
perpendicularly from the ground, while
the remaining part was gathered in a
coil of support. The tongue was exert
ed rapidly, the jetty eyes glistened
brightly above the spreading hood, the
white wings on his throat appeared
across the center Of the hood like ar
mortal bearings on the shield Of war
rior. Altogether he was most beauh-
full bpt dreadful sight.
Facing him. / stood on guard with my
stick grasped In both hands, studying
how I could best pin his head to the
ground with it so as to catch him safely
by the neck.
As I moved he came forward to meet
me, but still standing erect-a living pic