The morning news., 1897-03-18
SNAKES OF THE ORINOCO.
An Americans Interesting Hunt san
the Great River.

the GFe&I IAANSEs
From the New York Tribune.
On Tuesday March 9, G. r. O'Reilly
delivered lecture before the Linnaean
Society at its annual meeting in the Amer
ican Museum of National History. on
Snake Hunting In the Orinoco Delta"
Mr.. O'Reilly visited this region in 1890 on
an English yacht. In describing his ad-
ventures in the inundated forests of the
great South American river Mr.. O'Reilly
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 to be a low
fiat island. For some reason-I believe it
was to get a bird we had shot-the boat
was stopped under the branches of a tree
When we prepared to go on again the
low, fiat island was abreast of us. 1t was
floating down to the sea-a real floating
island with vines and bushes in flower
growing on it. 1t had also tracts Of luXu-
RANT grass, and around It's edges great
masses of water lilies and lotos bloomed
and flourished. High in the center of 1t
was the PROSTATE trunk Of an old tree
which had flourished as a sapling perhaps
hundreds of years ago in some far-away
valley near the Andes. Now il was a
worm-eaten, spongy log the backbone of
an angel on some little spot of heaven
afioat, white egret stood, tall and stork-
like. We looked to see some huge ana
conda or other great snake coiled perhaps
near her, taking his sun bath. but we
were disappointed in this. However, we
saw a suake-a lora (Ahaetulia liocerca)
among the branches of a BUSH His back
was of most brilliant green along his
sides was a stripe of gold, and beneath
he was a pearly whitish and gray But
he glided off at our approach and we could
not follow him. for 1t is impossible to walk
on these floating islands without sinking
through. We also saw a long macheta, an
orange-and-green snake, coiled on the To-
tos leaves by the edge, but he, too, gllded
away.
''In the whole journey to Buja we pass
cd probably more than fifty of these float
ing islands, some of them as large as a
city block, some only a few yards in ex-
tent. Some were moving, some were an
chored to the branches, ready to 20 furth-
er up or down with the next moving
of flood or tide, for the tide runs up an
immense way in the Delta.
During the journey we got two snakes
Their capture was somewhat amusing. /
saw one coiled in branch over the water
low enough down to be reached by hand.
He was a tree boa (Xiphonsoma hortu-
Lanai, yellow in color and six feet long.
The Indians protested loudly against
fetching up the boat beneath him, for
they, like the people of Trinidad firmly
believe this sepces to be especially
deadly. They said that If he should
drop in the boat they would jump out
into the water pulled my long knife
and swore / would cut them to mince-
meat II they did not hold their ground,
snake In the boat or no; didn't they know
/ could master such little snakes easily.
otherwise would / have the daring to come
so far TO hunt the gigantic anaconda?
They drew up the boat under the branch.
apprehensive both of snake and knife.
Steady now said /. and don't topple me
over The snake was sleeping. A little
shake of the branch awoke him. and he
stuck out his head to see what disturbed
him. Holding my left hand out before
him threatened him with Il, ana he nut
his head further out, getting ready TO bite
IT, But meanwhile my right hand was
slowly. very slowly. coming up beneath
him. He was occupied with the threat-
ening left hand until the gently approach
ing right gripped him around the throat.
He was dropped into a bag and tied up
securely, to the great astonlshment OF
the Indians, who thought ! had caught
him by magic.
Soon afterward We spied another snake
Of the same kind coiled In the branches