New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-03-14
SNAKES OF THE ORINOCO.
AN AMERICANS INTERESTING HUNT ON
THE GREAT RIVER.
HOW ur MADE A COLLECTION OF TIE
POISONOUS REPTILES IN THE INUNDATED
SOUTH AMERICAN FORESTS.

POISONOUS REPTILES IN THE INUNDATED
SOUTH AMERICAN FORESTS.
On Tuesday, March .. G r. o'Reilly delivered
a lecture before the Linnean Society at Its an
nual meeting in the American Museum OF National
History on Snake Hunting in the Orinoco Delta.
Mr. O'Reilly visited this region in 1890 on an Eng
lsh yacht In describing his adventures in tho in
undated forests of the great South American
River Mr.. OReiry spoke. in part as follows:
Passing around a bend of the channel on one
occasion we saw before US at some distance ahead
what appeared 10 be low. fiat Island For some
reason-I believe it was TO get bird we had sho'
the boat was stopped under the branches OF
tree When We prepared to go on again the loW
fat island abreast OF US II was hoa'hs
down &c the sea-a real floating island with vines
and bushes In flower growing on II. It had also
tracts OF luxuriant grass, and around Its edges
great masses of water lilies and lotos bloomed and
nourished High in the centre Of II was the pros
tra,e trunk of an old tree which had hourshed as
sapling perhaps hundreds Of years ago IN SONS
| far-away valley near the Andes. Now 1t was a
worm ea ten spOngy log, the backbone OF noa'ihs
! island and on top of IT, like an angel on some
! little spot of heaven afoat. white egret STOOD
| tall and storkke. We looked 10 see SONS huge
anaconda or other great snake coiled perhaps near
| her taking his sun bath. but were disappointed
! IN this. However. we saw snake-a FORA
| (AhaetuIa nocerca)-among the branches OF
| bush His back OF a most br!i4iaht greeh'
along his sides was stripe Of gold and beneath
| he was a pearly whitish and gray. But ne
plided off at our approach and we could not follow
him for IT is impossible 10 walk on these hoating
| islands without sinking through We also saw
| long macbeth. an orange-and-s-een snake colled
on the otos leaves by the edge but he TOO ehded
away.
I'm IN. whole tourney to Buja we passed probably
mora than fifty of these floating islands, some or
| them az large a city block. some only Few
wards in extent. Some were moving. some were
| anchored TO the branches ready 10 go further UP
, or down with the moving Of flood or tide Tor
the tide runs up an immense way in the Delta
During the journey got two saakes Their
| capture was somewhat amusing. saw one coied
IN a branch over the water low enough down 10
I be reached by hand. He was tree poa
| CXiphosoma hortulana). yellow In color and SIX
| feet long The Indians protested loudly against
fetching I'D the boat beneath him. far they. like
the people Of Trinidad. firmly believe this species
| 10 be especially deadly. They said that II he
| should drop in the boat they would jump out into
| the water. / pulled my long knife and swore
! would cut them to mincemeat If they did not hold
| their ground snake in the boat or no; didn't they
know l could master such little snakes easily.
| otherwise would have the daring 10 come so far
| IN hunt the gigantic anaconda? They drew up the
boat under the branch, apprehensive both OF snake
| and knife. Steady now. said !. and don't
tonple me over The snake sleeping. A little
shake Of the branch awoke him. and he stuck out
his head to zee what disturbed him. Holding my
| left hand out before him threatened him with II
and he put his head further out, getting ready to
bite H. But meanwhile my right hand was slowly.
! very slowly coming up beneath him. lie was &C.
cupied with the threatening left hand until the
gently approaching right gripped him around the
throat. He dropped into a bag and tied up
securely to the great establishment Of the Ind
| ians who thought had caught him by magic.
..soon afterward we spied another snake of the
same kind coed in the branches twenty feet above
ne The Indians now believed In my magic, and
| said no more about jumping into the water To get
this snake | cut TWO long sapiings Of twenty feet
each A boy from Trinidad held one, held the
other With a sharp poke awoke the snake, and
| then held my pole steady at the outer end Of the
| branch The boy tapped him gently and con-
| tinuously on the tail forcing him toward my
motionless pole; He had TO escape somehow from from
| The branch and, OF course, he climbed on my pole
| now held the pole. with the snare Soiled aIouhd
it, out from me DTS Tan nov tan him now from the
| bea5 Of the pole he forced 10 climb downward
rrttbin reaching distance when my hand flew out
and astc4ished him by gripp,hg hs neg i ne %e
seeing any more snakes IN we got 10 bu)a mt, T
| vent on, 10 seek for other snakes In one OF the
| indIans' provision patches, lying, on the grass
SOnte "a called because the males are often so thin
fb9f thcir backbone almost Sticks through the SKIN
~ "srtsps The swiftest snake in the world and
is icrfflx AZ home in the water or IN the trees or
on ltnd II takes A sDrinter to catch him. ana THIS
! felloxv vas nearly eight feet long ana shot away
| M an arrow before I could steal close enough 10
| seize him A patch OF thich grass !l.i{ IMo -
! ,ai rev near BY and into that ne mad gone, iOr
! sfter Looking around in every direction FOR some.
r1in,,es al last saw his head at the distance OF
! twenty or thirty yards of raised above us tops
| II tried TO get closer to him. but the moment ne
noticed my approach down ne dropped ni5 rea a.
| and when I came 10 the spot ne was nowhere 70
| he seen on looking around again saw him Win
| 5ls head M in another place above the grass, 50
| ifh3r in every case must have raised himself
rernandicuarly 10 a height OF TWO or three lee !;
| r 4 agatn a1proached he again disappeared ana
b.ran peeping up in another place. ana these u,,
,ics OF hide and seek played together Tor nearly
! balf an hour At last ne pat his mead no more
nter The grass tops. Looking around elsewhere
! / esnied him gazing down at me from the top OF a
! northumberland tree. lgy 1udciOus pcltng with
roJten clicks / and the boy managed 10 chase
49, INFO a low caSsava bush. and here | cornered
I'D caucht him. but then more by strategy
snrn. of the beautiful and graceful lovas: ana yet
another rnacheta. Anacondas heard OF. but never
a.. -. .,ay - a raotor .a,d IN Ia
.,,armtnp with them, that old maxim In regard
~ likes held true: /. C., the big snake aua most
- liz snakes are further away over the river or
VI ,be rnountaln. always a days journey OF.
Vr , ,he stories we hear OF numbers OF anacondas
drantnc tie trees by the rivers edge are either
anfireiv imaginary or founded upon the seeing OF
.mn or three Of tho snakes together on some
chance OCCASION
| ,,,assinos OF Observation-Disclosures a great
| ,,ih'rsir; baby In tn house.
D eesanags,.r-If is Tn oud woman doesn't dare 70