The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-18
SNAKES IN A Tropical COUNTRY.
A samoan snake That Crows Like "A
Rooster.
From Forest and Stream.


From Forest and Stream.
The question of snakes in a tropical
country is one of much interest to a wo-
man. 1t forces Itself on the attention just
as soon as one discovers how close the
jungle or bush is to the ordinary places
( of residence. In Samoa this distance is
but a step. Along the beach is a narrow
strip of cocoanut grove with bread fruit
filling the spaces in between the loftier
trees But just behind the shore orchards
the bush is as tangled and traekless as it
would be If human habitations were miles
away instead of yards. From cultivated
ground you plunge instantly into the sog-
gy shade OF forest timber, lacing boughs
blocking out the rays of the sun and stead
lily dripping the waters stored from fire.
quent and copious rains. In every crotch
of limb and branch grow orchids and
clusters of the birds-nest fern Every
vista between the trunks is tangled with
swaying lianas, which in the obscure
lights might be taken for almost any fear
some thing. Under foot is thick mat of
coarse grasses and aromatic ginger, and
many tall succulent herbs which shut out
from sight the real surface of the satura-
ted, spongy soil. Such scenery may be all
very well for an artist hunting after color
SlltCtS anu dlI1OSlnEfGs nuN II mas 100
much the look of good snake country to
make one at all comfortable when making
a trip through such brush. II comes as
positive relief to learn that there are no
venomous snakes in Samoa, always ex-
cepting the snake which crows.
In proof of the existence of this reptile,
there may be offered the testimony of wit
nesses, eye-witnesses, ear-witnesses. Any
quantity of Samoans, and white people as
Alr
how they heard the snake In the dense re-
cesses of the bush. They tell how their
ears caught the sound of stealthy move
ments in the tree tops overhead and how
the faint sound stopped when they halted
to listen closer, or how 1T began as soon
as they resumed the march; of how their
invisible pursuer was betrayed through the
miles of his fellow-travelng by the rust
ling of leaves and twigs I'm the forest
canopy. Inevitably the narrator closes his
account by description of has escape; he
either overlook some other wanderer in the
bush and found security in numbers, or
else he made particularly good time home.
ward, or he remembered charm which
had much power. When, for any of these
reasons, the snake found that ne was TO
lose his victim, he altered his silent tao
tics He could be heard thrashing the trees
and growing like any rooster, only many
some other part of the forest the Growing
was frequently repeated, until at last IL
vanished in the distance. When asked more
particularly as to his Growing, the Samo-
ans say that Ii is exactly like the crow
ing of ROSTERS.
There is an equal host Of eye-witnesses,
men who have seen growing snakes. They
never vary from one another In their de-
scriptions of what they have seen. Except
for one spot of social conditions 1t is never
seen on the ground, but always on the tops
of the highest trees, either stretched out
along a branch or gliding from tree to
tree with remarkable rapidity Ii is long
and slender, rarely is one spoken of as
under two arm spans, or 70 feet, seldom
is one described as exceeding twice that
measurement. Its color is spoken of as un-
form, steel blue or slate and free from
spots or other markings When at rest IL is
difficult TO distinguish it from the branch
on which it may be stretched out when
in motion 1t goes far too fast for any de-
tail to be observed. White people are more
chary about mentioning this remarkable
reptile. Yet there are many reliable people
who say that they have either heard it or
have seen 1t.
This is about as much as can be said.
The ear-witnesses have heard the growing,
the ye-witnesses have seen an aTboreal
serpent of large size Tn proof will not be
complete until some one shall be both eye
witness and ear-witness, shall see the
snake In the very act of Growing which
shah reach his ears. Until that combination
is made there win always be those who
are in doubt as TO the growing snakes of
Upou, but II is safe to say thai proof or
no proof the Samoans win always believe
in the animal as a peril of the Jungle.