The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-07-21
WAS NEW TO HIM
A Valuable Addition to the Ser
pentine Family.
The Boaconda Was New One on the
Drummer, But the Mild hammered
Mans Story Did Not Knock Him
Out Altogether.

81 remember once" said a long
haired man with mild manner and a
dreamy voice, after the drummer had
finished pretty stiff snake story, says
the Chicago Times, Il remember once
when was in the UNEMPLOYED regions
OF the upper Amazon. had an adven-
ture with boaconda and"
Hold up interrupted the drummer,
''what is q boaeonda? I've heard of boa
constructors and anacondas, but never
OF boaconda-"
THE boaconda," explained the
dreamy-eyed man, pleasantly, SIS a
snake, unknown as yet to most natural
lists. and it is cross between the ana
conda and the boa, with this remarla-
BILE popularity, that it has two heads
Like its congeners, however, its bite is
not poisonous, and it swallows its vic
tins. As | was saying, had an ad-
venture on one occasion with one Of
these monsters which | think | shall
not soon forget. One morning | had
gone into the forest with a native to
hunt, and in the course of my rambles
/ saw a beautifully-hued bird of the
parrot family, in a tree, and shot it.
The bird caught in the branches, and.
my attendant having become separated
from me, i concluded to climb for the
bird myself. When had reached the
lower limbs with my prize | saw.
stretched on one of them, the largest
sized boacOnda. with its four wicked
eyes watching me.
The shock of this sight was so great
that I started violently, lost my bal
ance and fell from the tree, lighting
full upon my back with such force as
to knock me entirely senseless. How
long | remained in this condition do
not know, but when l recovered felt
as If my legs were fixed in a wise, and
being unable to move them | be-
came convinced that | had injured nv
spine and was paralyzed. After sew
eral Intellectual attempts to move I
raised myself on my elbow and looked
down at my legs. You can imagine my
surprise, not to say horror, when lying
close to my body, on each leg, saw
half of each head of that dreadful SER
pent. Why | should only see half I
could not explain to myself, and before
L could investigate had tainted This
was OF short duration, and presently.
was myself again and, taking another
look, | found the serpent still there.
Then L began to understand, and in a
minute more | knew that the reptile
had attempted to swallow me. for on
my hands and face | could feel the
slime with which these brutes anoint
their victim before they begin to swal-
low them.
Evidently this one had not been very
careful in its calculations, or, possibly,
had never attempted to swallow hui
man being, for it was plain TO be seen
that each of its heads had commenced
on each of my legs, and when that much
Of me had been swallowed the re-
could not very well be, for rea-
sons not necessary to explain here In
any event. that part which had been
swallowed had stuck in the two th-oats,
and while was helpless the snake was
in no better FIX. What to do was the
question now. and having become some /
what accustomed to my position was
,ool enough to think of some way of
escape.
while revolving various plans in my
mind my eyes wandered TO one side, .
and there, within reach, lay my double 7
gun with one load in it. The /
next instant l had hold of it, and the
next | had slipped in another cartridge .
md was ready for war. | couldn't t
shoot the spake in the head unless .
hot my legs off, but calculated that
Is heart must be somewhere near the
'oint of juncture of the necks, which
vas about three feet from the tip of
he nose. Toward that point, then.
lOwly slipped the gun. and, when
lad got as far as l could, shut my
yes, breathed a prayer, and let both
'arrels go. 1t almost tore the great
,ody of the snake asunder, and in its
cath throeS / was beaten around the
'ush in terrible fashion for minute or
wo, until | was thrown out of reach
n half an hour | had recovered suffi-
iently to walk, and started back TO
he village with blood in my eye for
hat native attendant who had deserted
ne"
Did you find him?" asked the drum
her anxiously, as the story teller
eemed about 70 stop at this point. And
id you slug him?"
No said the dreamy-voiced man
Providence did that for me. mean"
e said, correcting himself, that provi-
ence took the matter out of my hands.
n my way back 10 the village l
Oticed huge anaconda asleep By the
athway and. as ! wanted the skin Of
ne. | drove nv knife through the head
+ the sleeping reptile and proceeded
} denude il Of its integument. Oh
rived, as I thought, that it had swal
WED a lamb and was sleeping of the
fleets OF it. but what was my surprise
hen | cut into It 10 fi1d within the
ody OF my attendant who had ac-
me out to the forest in tho
orninF.' The dreamy-voiced man
oked piOusly up toward the ceiling If
lie smoker and was silent moment :
Was he dead?7 inquired the drum
CT, and the dreamy-voiced man
ened lost IL thought 2