The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-05-24
HOUSES ON Stills
Suilt So in Ecuador to Avoid
Dangerous Reptiles.
A Residents Description OF Some of the
Undesirable Neieh,ors He Has
In the Equatorial Wilds-
Rig

Among recent arrivals II San Fran
cisco was Frederick Cook, of Playa de
Oro, In the wilds of Ecuador, seven
hundred miles south of Panama. Mr..
Cook has been engaged in mining for
gold and battling with boa constructors,
vampire bats, Ecuador tigers, and other
queer products of that strange land of
dense tropical growths. He has
brought a lot of skins of mammoth
boas with him, as well as rare woods,
heavy as iron, hides of the tiger, and
other things without number.
Some of the big snakes he killed him
self, and were from twelve to seven
teen long. The skins are dried and he
will now have them tanned. One of
them is more than two feet wide. They
are notified in strange way appropri-
ate to that part OF the tropics. He said
to San Francisco Examiner reporter
that he is going to have them made
into purses, ladies' belts and slippers
and then present them to his friends
AN impression prevails, he said, re-
Gently, that these boa constructors are
a savage snake that lies in wait in
about the unwary. III two years that
] was there | never knew a case of this
sort. In fact, they are rather sluggish,
and won't attack if you let them alone.
Nevertheless, they are not very
pleasant things to have in the house,
and they will get into your house if
you are not very careful. All the
houses down there are built upon
stills, as well to avoid dampness as the
snakes. Still this won't keep them out.
] was living in such house down
there when a boa came in after
rooster. | was talking with carpen-
ter, and he struck at it with shovel.
1t escaped through hole, and | went
around and hit it with a shovel and
finally killed it with machete, the
big knife with blade over two feet
long, used in that country.
Another boa / killed with a heavy
ironwood cane The reptile was twelve
feet long, fully a foot and half
through. i would not be afraid to at
tack one of these with a cane if he
were fully fifty feet long. The black
snakes ere far worse. They are from
twelve TO twenty feet long, and these
attack from trees and wrap themselves
around their victim. Yet another
snake to be avoided and. one that is
very poisonous is the occa. 1t is about
six feet long and has big diamond
shaped head and fangs at least two
inches long.
The viragosa, which is similar to
the occa, has backbone like some
fish, being rough like saw. 1t is very
vicious and poisonous and gets to be
twelve feet long. 1t is brownish and
looks very much ike a brown piece of |
velvet or plush. Some of the natives |
killed one while | was there and il |
tonight and struck desperately.
TThis scventeen-foot boa was killed I
to- it and struck it with q machete. 1t
was nine inches in diameter.
ITO get rid Of these snally visitors L
lhd new house made. 1t was not |
Rhly put up on piles, but was con-
skructed otherwise to make it very
difficult to access. In the first place [ |
made the doors tight. The ceiling l |
had constructed of closely fitting BAN
boo, and the floor of palm equally !
tight. Then l had the windows covered |
with wire screen. No glass is used there |
whatever, for that would make the |
house stuffy and they need all the air
that can be got.
''Resides this, when l went to bed | !
used a mosquito bar. Sand flies and
different other insects get into the
house here, no matter how particular
you are. With all these precautions
was able TO sleep secure of bon con-
strictors and other reptiles, as well IS
the vampires or bloCd-sucking bats.
Let me tell you here in regard to the
that it is no joke TO come in
contact with them. If you are not
careful they fasten themselves on you
and you are half dead before you know