The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-10-22

| vain through books of travel for any
trustworthy accounts of really deliber-
ate encounters with these large and dan
| gerous reptiles.
During my snake-hunting progress east
ward through the Venezuelan forest,
whenever for any length of time 1 made
| my headquarters In any village or set
| tlement, l almost invariably had one
or two young fellows, trained under
my own eyes, to capture alive, without
fear the largest and most deadly kinds
| that the primeyaI wilderness could pro-
duce. These young hunters often ac-
companied me, and many fine capture
have | made with their ungrudgipg
assistance, when otherwise the active
and dangerous game would have COM
| pletely bafiied me.
| Pedro Vargas, a swarthy-sklnned strip
ling of seventeen, clad only in shirt
| and trousers, with a palm-leaf hat upon
| his head. barefoot and bare-legged TO
| the knee was the quickest and brayest
| of all my daring serpent-chasers A
| yelvety excuse for a mustache was Just
| making itself apparent on his lip ana
when ne laughed, which was often, his
| teeth of pearly whiteness and lively
eyes of deepest black lighted up a type
| of Spanish recklessness which Murlllo
| or a VelasQuez would have gladly sought
to depict.
/ one morning, at sunrise. Pedro ana l
| started off for the forest in search or
| huge boa-constrictor reported to have
| been seen by some hunters on the pre-
vious evening We had each a cutlasS
/ with which to sever the entangling vines
! I'm our route, a long stick to use in deal
| ing with rattiesnakes or bushmasters,
a wallet Of provisions for the day, ana
some stout bags to conine our expected
capuves in, but none Of extraordinary
capacity, Judging the size Of the reported
boa to be- as usual, exaggerated. Our
Tuning cigarettes Of Havana TOBACCO
kept the troublesome mosquito at dis
lance As we passed in beneath the
gloom Of the solemn woods we scanned
in silence every overhanging bough, ana
searched around every decaying log
I'm quest of the scaly game that
might perchance lie there coled up
unsesn. Bright towering orchids
festooned the branches and hung
from the most inaccessible perches
on the giant trunks above us. Around
us everywhere young palm-trees IN every
stage of growth sprung from the lear
strewn ground, making by their PERCUSSION
Of species an underground OF eXtraordlh-
airy variety and magniiicence Some
their feathery leaves along their graceful
stems 10 brush us in the face as we pass
ed. Others not higher than our knees
had their tender lives crushed out by our
intruding footsteps. and yet others Where
their density was embarrassing, were ruth
lessly slashed away and moved down IN
hundreds by our keen-edged cutlasses.
But I'm these luxurlant and far-stretch-
ing conservatories of natures own plant
ing such reckless destruction, lamentable
| as IL may appear 10 northern eyes, is
sometimes absolutely unavoidable.
Before we had proceeded lar, the
sounds Of gunshots in the distance at
tracted our attention. We soon came up
with the shooters, and were delighted
to find that they were the very hunters
who had yesterday encountered the boa
we We're in quest of. They gladly welcom-
ed us TO join them, and volunteered TO
lead as TO the spot.
over the forest clad hills for some two
miles We with difficulty made our way,
continually slashing a road with our cut
| lasses TO where there was a deep rayine.
It's rocky, bush-covered sides. running
down for a hundred and fifty feet, shut in
at the bottom a broad, gravelly river-bed,
now dry as a roadway, but in the rainy
season said to contain such a torrent as
| 10 be impossible, except by swimming 1t
/ was amongst the rocks on the precipi-
tous side Of this ravine that they had
! seen the boa on the evening before About
| half way down, or perhaps fifty feet from
the graveliy bottom, they showed us the
| spot where he had lain and the hole In
the rock into which they said he had
glided at their approach.
AS he was not now in his hiding place
we set diligently to work TO scare h every
rock and bush in the vicinity Pedro.
meanwhile. LEFT Us, and, going down to
the dried up river bed. began TO seek him
beneath the bushes overhanging the sandy
| margin. He was very soon successful.
| Santa Madre," he shouted, one grande
cabeza," On hearing this we al stood
still, anxiously gazing down at him, won
dering what it was he had discovered. AS
! he uttered the words. we saw him I'm the
act Of ascending huge boulder overshad-
owed by a spreading fan-palms spacious
| leaves. For a moment ne was lost 10
view. Did he really see the snake or was
he after some other bnimal? Our doubts
were quickly dispelled. The palm-leaves
swayed and rustled Violently and before
| we had time to move a step, there was
Pedro rolling off the boulder down TO the
sand below, with the enormous snake
coiled with It's many folds around him. As
he fell, he yelled out wildly for assistance
! / shouted to him to hold him fast and not
| let go on any account, and while we hur-
| ried down the rough incline he could be
| heard swearing Justify as he struggled
to free himself from the Tightening en-
braces Of his prisoner. There he lay on
his back holding the great boa. with both
hands clutched about its throat There
was coil upon coil Of the monsters length
wound around his neck and arms and
body. His legs only were free and with
these he tried vigorously to get on his
feet; but in vain, for the weight around
| his neck and shoulders. as well as the
pinioning OF his arms, completely prevent
ed any such action He could only lie
there helplessly on his back and kick
This wss his reward for fOolishly trying
to mouopolize the glory OF the hunt Even
when we reached him he could speak no
mere and his face was fast growing livid
| though otherwise he was conscious
enough; but the pressure round his throat
was too much for him. The swollen veins
stood out upon his forehead and his eyes
apreal cd ENTHUSIASTICALLY the snake was
strargliDg him, while he still kept il
clutched by the throat, for though a boa
constructor cannot crush ones ribs he can
easily squeeze a neck quite enough 10
choke. Now the best way to unloose a
Ctjled boa is TO commence at the tail so
for that L jumped at once and found IL
stoutly enlapped around the stems of the
bushes l proceeded 10 unite II, but az
fast as l could get IL off from one Mace
II instantly twisted itself afrssh around
another. As IL was clear that this do nv
might have serious cOpSpcparcae 49,.