The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-03-30
HOUSES ON STHlF6


04A~DAAA4os
Cook has been engaged in mining 1oe
gold and battling with boa constrictoes,
vampire batss Beuaur ti8ofk md oeher
queer products Of that strange land Of
dense tropical growths- He has
brought . lot Of skins Of mammoth
boas with him, % we'll - rare woods,
heavy q iron, hides of the teer, and
other thiags 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 il more than two feet wide. They
are notified In strange way appropFi-
ate to that part Of the tropics. He sid
to San Francisco Examiner reporter
that he IL going to have them made
into purses, ladies' belts and slippers
and then present them to his friends.
IAN impression prevails, !" he said, re-
Gently, that these boz constructors are
q savage snake that lies in visit in .
tree and springs upon and wraps itself
about the unwary. In two years that
l was there never knew case of this
sort. In fact, they are rather sluggish,
-snd won't attack if you let them alone.
'@Nevertheless, they are not very
pleasant things to have In the house,
and they viii get into your house il
You are not very careful. AL the
houses down there are built upon
stills, a. well to avoid dampness - the
snakes. Still this won't keep them out.
l was living in such q house down
there when q boa came In after .
rooster. was talking with . carpen-
ter, and he struck 1t it with . shovel.
It escaped through hole, and / went
around and hit it with q shovel and
finally killed it with . machete, the
big knife with . blade over -t~o- 4eet
long, used in that country.
Another boa killed with q heavy
ironwood cane. The reptile was twelve
feet long, fully . foot and half
through. would not be afraid to at
tack one Of these with . 4ane if he
were fully fifty feet long. The black
snakes are 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 il
very poisonous il the occa. It is about
six feet long and hasa big diamond
shaped head and fangs ct least two
inches long.
1.-THE vragosa, which Is similar to
the occa, has q backbone like some
6sh, being rough like saw. It Is very
vicious and poisonous and gets to be
twelve feet long. It Is brownish and
looks very much like . brown piece Of
velvet or plush. Some Of the natives
killed one while was there-and It
fought and stf,,ck desperately.
'sThissevsnteeus9uet rbsa was killed
by adJamaica negro, who went right-up
to II aud struck It With . msch1ke. 1t
was nine inches in diameter.
ITO get rid of these 'aAilky vi1itdts I
had . new house made. It was not
only, put up ON filss, but was con-
structed otherwise to make it very
difficult to access In the drst place /
made the doors tight. The ceiling I
had constructed ~ s5aeely ;ntti1g ham
boo, and the door q palm equslly
tight Then had' the windows covered
with wire screen sNpglnss isused there
Whatever, tor that would make the
house stp1y md they need III the'air
that can be- got.
Besides this, when 1went>tobed I
used p mosquito bar. Sand s1ii1s and
different othsr insects sget sihto the
house here, no matter how particular
you are. With all these precautions /
was able to sleep secure of boa con-
strictors and other reptiles, as well ~
the vampires or blood-sncking bats.
Let me tell you here In regard to the
vampires, that it is no joke to come in
contact with them. II you sre-not
careful thsy fasten themselves On you
md you are hah dead be1ose yos know
r.