The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-07-25
HOUSES ON Stills.
Built So in Ecuador to Avoid
Dangerous Reptiles.
4 8ssadent's Description Of somo Of the
Undesirable Neighbors Ae l1no
n the Equatorial Wlds-
Big Boaa

SA1SV "oo EcOSEACA SOOA, Oh 113yo 90
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 mottled 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
q savage snake that lies in wait in .
tree and springs upon and wraps itself
about the unwary. In two years that
was there never knew q 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
stilts, a. well to avoid dampness as the
snakes. Still this won't keep them out
l was living in such house down
there when q boa came in after
rooster was talking with . carpen-
ter, and he struck at it with a shovel.
It escaped through hole, and l went
around and hit It with shovel and
finally killed it with . machete, the
big knife with q blade over two feet
long, used in that country.
Another boa killed with q heavy
ironwood cane. The reptile was twelve
feet long, fully foot and q halt
through. would not be sfraid to at
tack one of these with cane II 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 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 a backbone like some
fish, being rough like saw. It is very
vicious and poisonous and gets TO- be
twelve feet long. 1t is brownish and
looks very much like a brown piece Of
velvet or plush. Some Of the natives
killed one while was there and it
fought and struck desperately.
"This soventeen-foot boa was killed
by Jamaica negro, who went right up
to it and struck it with macheta. It
was nine inches in diameter.
"To get rid of these snaky visitors I
had q new house made. It was not
only put up on piles, but was con-
structed otherwise to make it very
difficult to access. In the first place
made the doors tight. The ceiling
had constructed of closely fitting bem-
boo, aud the floor of palm equally
tight Then had the windows covered
with wire screen. No glass II used there
whatever, for that would make the
house stuffy and they need all the air
that can be got.
besides this, when went to bed I
used . mosquito bar. Sand flies and
different other insects get into the
house here, no matter how particular
you are. With all these precautions l
was able to sleep secure of boa con-
strictors and other reptiles, as well as
the vampires or blood-sucking bats.
Let me tell you here in regard to the
vampires, that 1t Is no joke 70 come in
contact with them. II you are not
careful they fasten themselves on you
and you are half dead before you know
IA