The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-07-21
eArrLlNo eoAs.
Exciting Duel for Mate in brazilian
Forest.

yantic bon constructors in the world,
raid Henry Closer, of Metropolis, o..
he professional snake hunter and
icalcr, kuownto circus and museum
managers throughout the country as
Big Doc and "Old Dollar Foot"
hat being his market price for ordi-
nary snakes. ''On my last trip to Bra
I'll after snakes l didn't meet with the
success | expected to. but / brought
)ack one of the best snake stories.
| ;hink, that ever came from that land of
'crpents.
''Boas. both male and female, often
light fiercely over prey that one snake
las captured and which another one
,ovets. and at certain seasons of the
year deadly combats between male boas
ire frequent, the fight being over the
possession of female for u mate. 1t
vas sight such as this that / wit
aessed one day in the depths of a Bra
lillian forest. | wasn't out after snakes
that day, either. If l had gone pre-
pared to capture boas on that occasion
should have bagged two of the big
yest snakes that ever came from Brazil
or any other land of snakes.
81 was out taking business look
around after some rare specimens of
monkeys. had chased a choice long
tailed fellow up a tree and was trying
my wilcs on him when l was startled
by loud kissing sound that came from
another part of the forest like IL gust
Of wind escaping from some narrow
space. / looked in the direction of the
sound, and, to my surprise, saw two
enormous boas on the ground locked
together, and writhing and twisting in
such II desperate struggle, that big
punches ofleaves We're sent flying about
in the air as if they had been dis
turbed and lifted by a whirlwind.
"The fierce struggle on the ground
lasted five minutes, and then the boas
suddenly separated. One serpent glided
to large tree near by and went up its
trunk like u spiral flash of lightning.
The other snake flashed in the same
way up into another tree fifteen feet
distant from the first one. ! feared
that the fight had come to an end. be-
cause one of the snakes seemed to be
afraid and the other one daresn't.
'But soon saw that was mistaken.
The snakes had hardly settled them.
selves among the branches of their re-
Spective trees, when the foliage OF
both trees began to shake and quiver
as if a wind were passing through and
agitating them.
suddenly each boa, coiling it's tail
around q branch high up in it's tree
dropped like a plummet toward the
ground and hung at full length, its
head raised but a few inches above the
ground For a moment their great
bodies swayed to and fro like slowly
moving pendulums Their eyes gilt
tered like fire. Then each serpent
drew itself quickly half it's length
above the ground. Like an arrow eacf
head shot forward, and instantly the
two enormous reptiles were locked il
each others coils like immense cables
twisted together.
Cup and down, to and fro, the writh
ing mass moved in quick undulation
each serpent struggling for an opening
that would place the other at disad
vantage. Their forked tongues dartet
in and out of their mouths like iet
of flame. and their kissing was inces
SAINT.
''The troops of chattering monke,
spectators had been joined by hundred
of harsh-voiced but brilliantly plumet
birds, which flew frantically about
and added their excited cries to tn,
deafening monkey chorus.
1.-The desperate mid-air struggle be
tween the boas continued for severa
minutes, when they separated again a
suddenly as they had rushed together
and each drew itself back among th,
branches of its tree. For two or thre,
minutes the snakes lay quietly, eacl
glaring at the other.
''Suddenly in one of the trees his
like escaping steam was heard. and tn
boa in that tree shot his great lengtl
toward the ground again. The chal
longing hiss was answered by one still
louder from the other boa. and
flashed down to its former position ant
confronted it's foe. The boas did no
rush together ut once. One woul
strike at the other with the rapidity O
lightning.
with equal quickness that on
would avoid the rush by dodging to on
side or the other, and instantly nuke
counter attack. This interesting spar
ring match lasted for at least five min
utes, when one of the snakes drey
itself two or three feet above the othe
and made a quick downward feint. 1t
antagonist ducked it's head lower t
avoid the stroke, and that movemen
was fatal. The upper boa darted o
down, and SO quickly was its deadly il
tention carried out that was not awar
it had been done until saw the uppe
snake with three of it's coils around tn
lower one.
There was dreadful crunching q
bones and in the twinkling of an ey
the victorious snake had drawn til
vanquished one three folds furthe
within it's fearful embrace. There wa
more crunching of bones, and by de
grees the tail of the defeated serpen
uncoiled from it's hold on the branch q
the tree, and at last the great reptil
dropped heavily to the ground.
crushed and lifeless mass. For mt
ment the victor held the vanquished /
it's coils and then released it. The vi,
torious serpent glided from it's tree
moved rapidly several times around tn
crushed body of it's lifeless foe wit
loud and angry Kisses, shooting it's re
tongue in and out like weaver's hhu
tie. Thea it moved few feet an
| Sfonnad