The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-06-10
CANACuCHI AND MANUTA.

CANACuCHI AND MANUTA.
some American Tropical snatss That
Garry Deadly 0n'ok. Acting vsnoA.
"A r~attlssnake In q rage 10 . stght that
some folks can't gaze upon without having
their sleep disturbed for . loaR time. sus II
any such person. AFTER seeing an angry rat
tlesrske AZ ito worst. shsuld sss On angry
o~snacuchi-the venonous Central and South
AAmerican snake more familiaSly Known %
.Ahe bushmas>sr'-hs would feel % 1t no
might take the sattlesnake - HE bosom
And make q pet Of IL" said The nasusaltse
s.Tortupntsly for the natives whore sAis
deadly reptile 10 found. u 10 ~ no means
numerous in its habitat. or ths record OF
lively as many ~ those thas befall the ma
lives OF India from the fanRs q ths venom
ous snakes Of that country. BY the an
qualified statements OF people II 0aaans,
in the rank u~ndergrswth Of which country
the bushm asters are most numefoue. was
r~sntiles. that they are the equal in swift
deadliness Of venom TO the dreaded cobra
Of India, and after / saw what tho bus h
mnater was capable Of ] had not the slight
est doubt Of any tale that had been told me
about II.
Ny 0fsS eiRhe OF . chn1oucnl was ys"'s-
ling one. In company with : native ! VA
in a eanos on a small artitcinl Lake which
supplied water for irricating surrounding
plantations, fishing for jalapos. a tsh Pc
culiar to that region. Ihis fish resembles
IN shape our yellow perch, but Ia OF = al'
very white. with two brilliant red spots
Just behind tho gill covers: Inc ssrange
overland for long distances In search OF
othor waters when the pond In which ~ het
been domiciled dries un, 40 these pondi
nave a way Of doing down there. To ena-
Bile it to make good headway on these lano
trips the fish has two movable bony hooks
ground. was intsnt on my. fishing whom
Twas startled By a cry from The native. ana
looking up saw an expression OF great ser,
RI, on his face. He was pointing toward
The shore, which was only three OF 1ouF
yards distant.
'Canaouch! C%anacuchv no screamed'
l turned my head In that direction ana
saw a most hoEribls-looking serpent. y
wss about five feet long and az big rounc
nc NV arm. IL had . head enormously ous
of proportion to it's body. " prominent
ayes. shat shons like GOALS OF TIRE, we're SCI
well forward on is hideous head. Ihe
snake was in q TREMENDOUS q 40 R,ea,
fnnca on each side Of its upper jaw. A. II
moyed TO and fro. with its formidable head
nonstsntlyt toward %, its brilliant mark
inoa slittsrsd In the sun. ! was told a1teE-
vnrd that il the water had not been be'
tween the boat and the snake 1t would have
rushed upon us wishons q eeeone . ueaa.,
"a the tactics Of the bushmasser arc Away
offensive. but il will not enter water.
AZ soon a. my native Esgatned some
thing Of hls comt osuro he seized tho pad
dle and was for fleeing from the sight OF
tho terro.-stsiking reptile. but l restralnea
him and put two pistol balls in the snakes
head and endsd its furious manGuveiings:
Il VAS With the greatest difficulty. that l
could induce the native to paddle the canoe
ashore. that I could make a closer e1amina.
ton of the snake, SO Intense was his dread
Of the bushmaster, even when IT as oeao'
lie landed me on the shore finally. but o.
soon a. l stepped out Of the boat he PADDED
inspection OF the reptile added greatly &c
it's hideous aspect. The fanas we're nearly
two inches long. and. unlike those of Other
yenomeu serpents, we're not iNsende u
work in sockets and lie fat against the
upper Jaw when not in use. but were sta'
%tionnry in the jaw. / picked up sn'
snake to take il with ME for bette
Investigation At my quarters, but tn
native was go Mortified at the prospect o
having IL In the boat with him that he alb
solutely and emphatioally refused to COM
rshore with me unless I left the bushmas
Tor. which I was reluctantly 1orceo 10 40
"a / could get back home in no other wa.
than BY the canoe.
Another vanomous snake OF South Amer
lea of which the natives live in mortal tor
ror Il one called tho manuta. II aboundl
in parts OF Venezuela. There is an old In
dian guide down there who tells Q mos
prewsoms story Of how he started once t.
act % guide and cRnoeman for an Eng
lish sportsman and his young son, and hoy
he returned with them both dead in hi
canoe. Tho son. In stepping ashore from
the boat, was struck in the wrist BY q ma
nuta, and died in . few minutes after hi
GOT back into the boat. The father
Wild with grief over the swful deatl
Of his boy, threw himself or his sons bod
and kissed his lips before tho guide. know
ing what tho result would DO. could proven
him, Tho father thus absorbed the deadly
manuta venom, which had permsated every
vein and pore Of the boys body, and soor
lay dead beside his son in the boat.
Whistler the old Indian guides awful talk
istrue or not ] have no means OF knowing
but having seen . mule that died In twt
minutes after being bitten by a manuta,
d. not feel like doubling IL. The snak
that killed the mule was shot immediatel,
afterward. and IL was the only speci
men of the manuts ! ever saw. In genera
physical formation it lesemblsd olossl
our rattlesnake, having but tive fangi
closing up in sockets like the rattler's."