Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-01-10
DUEL FOR A NATE IN A BRA.
LILLIAN FOREST.
GREAT SNAKES FIGHT TO
DEATH.
Trees in the Neighborhood Filled With
Chattering, Screeching Monkeys
Clever Sparring for an Opening
A Thrilling Encounter-A Female
in the Case. as Usual.

Brazil is the home Of the most 81
gantic boa constructors in the world
said Henry Closer, of Metropolis, o.,
the professional snake hunter and
dealer, known to circus and museum
managers throughout the country as
Big Doc" and "Old Dollar a Foot"
that being his market price for Ordi-
nary snakes. ION my last trip to Bra
zil after snakes l didn't meet with the
success l expected to, but / brought
back one of the best snake stories, |
think, that ever came from that land
Of serpents.
"BOaS, both male and female. often
fight fiercely over prey that one snake
has captured and which another one
covets, and at certain seasons of the
year deadly combatS between male
boaS are freqeunt the fight being over
| the possession Of a female for a mate.
1t was q sight such as this that l wit
messed 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
| gest snakes that ever came from Bra
I'll or any other land of snakes.
Il was out taking a business look
around after some rare specimens Of
monkeys. | had chased a choice long
tailed fellow up tree and was trying
my wiles on him, when was startled
by a loud kissing sound that came
from another part of the forest like
a gust of wind escaping from narrow
space l looked in the direction of the
sound, and to my surprise, saw two
enormous bOaS on the ground, locked
together, and Writhing and twisting N
such desperate struggle that big
punches of leaves We're sent flying
about in the air as if they had been
disturbed and lifted by a whirlwind.
''Then it was that l groaned aloud
and metaphorically kicked myself be-
cause 1 had not gone forth loaded for
snake. for l would have corralled both
of those gigantic serpents before they
knew it.
"There' are many varieties of mon
keys in the Brazilian forests, and
every one Of them is a tOOthsOme NOR
sci to the boa. Usually a person may
know that one Of these great reptiles
has come to hunt in the woods by the
wild scampering of all kinds of mon
keys through the trees, flying from
possible capture by the boa. At the
same time there must be a peculiar
fascination to these monkeys in a
fight between boas, for this particular
battle had not been going on three
minutes before the trees all around the
spot were filled with monkeys, chat
tering and screaming enough to make
a steam calliope player Jealous.
with the snake fight off the bills,
this aggregation of monkeys would
have been the greatest show on earth
to me, but it wasn't anywhere near in
it with the fight.
''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 it's trunk like a spiral flash Of
lightning. The other snake flashed in
the same way up into another tree fif-
teen feet distant from the first one I
end, because one of the snakes seemed
to be afraid and the other one daren't
but soon saw that I was mistaken
The snakes had hardly settled them
selves among the branches on their re-
| Spective trees, when the foliage of
| both trees began to shake and culver
as if a wind were passing through
and agitating them.
''Suddenly each boa, coiling its tail
around a branch high up in it's tree
dropped like a plummet toward the
| ground and hung at full length, it's
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 itslf quickly half it's length above
the ground. Like an arrow each head
shot forward, and instantly the two
others coils like immense cables
twisted together.
Cup and down, to and fro, the with
ing mass moved in quick undulation,
each serpent struggling for an opening
that would place the other at a dis
advantage. Their forked tongues
darted in and out OF their mouths like
jets Of fame, and their kissing was
incessant
1.-The troops of chatterinG monkey
spectators had been Joined by hun
dreds of harsh-voiced, but brilliantly
plumed birds, which flew franticalIy
about, and added their excited cries
to the deafening monkey chorus.
The desperate mid-air struggle be-
tween the boas continued for several
minutes, when they separated again
as suddenly as they had rushed to-
gether, and each drew itself back
among the branches Of it's tree For
two or three minutes the snakes Law
quietly, each glazing at the other.
suddenly in one of the trees, a
hiss like escaping steam was heard,
and the boa in that tree shot his great
length toward the ground again. The
challenging hiss was answered by one
still louder from the other boa, and 1t
flashed down to its former position
and confronted its foe. The boas did
not rush together at once. One would
strike at the other with the rapidity of
lightning
with equal quickness that one
would avoid the rush of lodging to
one side or the other, and instantly /.
make a center attack This intaraStino