The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-29

II BEGAN TO BEAT THE GREAT SERPENT"
and lay down to wait for morning near a
deserted shack where some native had
once had d home and was soon fast
asleep. / had lost one shoe in the
swamp, and my bare foot had been Sc
verely cut and scratched in my race for
life, and as / went to sleep it panied me
so as to affect my dreams. I dreamed
that I was still in the swamp and that
my left foot and leg were so heavy that I
was being slowly pulled down into the
mud by them and that the swamp was
boiling hot. I walked to find the pain in
my foot intolerable, though dulled by the
feeling we experience when we say q
limb is asleep. / felt that | could not
move my leg. / sat up and looked at it
and put my hand under my knee and
gave it d pun. IN the dim light my leg
seemed to extend off into the<jung1e in
definitely. Then I felt a twinge of pain
and a sense Of something gripping me
about the shin.
wide awake and excited now, l saw
that I was being swallowed by a huge
boa. Ny swollen, bleeding foot had at
tracted him, and be had already swallow
ed it and was swallowing my leg inch by
inch by those slow automatic ~puIsations
with which these horrible reptiles get
themselves outside their prey.
Il ran my hand over the creatures
head and eyes, / felt his great lower jaw
beneath my calf, I struck the head with
my fist, / screamed and yelled for help. /
struggled to a vertical position, bending
the snakes body upward and even fell
over upon him, but all had no effect. The
swallowing went on. Every minute !
would feel a prick1ing sensation an inch
higher up on my leg and a sense of sue
tion and was aware that | was an inch
deeper down in the monsters anatomy.
sThen I lay quiet a moment thinking
for my life. Each gulp of the snake sent
a sickening chill over my body, but my
head was clear. / thought with some
satisfaction that the boa couldn't swal-
low but one leg since he had not started
upon both. Yet / knew he would never
willingly disgorge the part Of me he al
ready possessed, and unless ] was found
early in the morning my chance Of life
was small. I had no knife or gun, but /
was able to reach a good bamboo club,
and l began to beat the great serpent on
the body and over the head, too, as hard
as I could. But my blows hurt my leg
inside the snake more than they seemed
to hurt him.
"At any rate. the swallowing went on,
and the snakes nose had reached my
kneecap. l had nothing in my pockets
but my pipe and tobacco and matchbox.
Should / smoke and wait the turn OF
events? No; ] would mike a fire and see
If / could roast his snakeship while he
was swallowing me. Fortunately a pile
of debris from the house, consisting in
part Of broken furniture, implements and
the like, lay not far from the snakes
body, and, doubling over. I reached 1t and
soon kindled it into a lively flame. Then,
reaching out with my hands and stretch
ing my body toward some bushes that
grew to the right, I caught a young bam-
boo firmly and dragged the great hose OF
the boa's body sduarely across the fire.
At first he didn't seem to mind it much,
but presently he began a series of most
vigorous and powerful lashings with that
1.-THE and tremendous body and tail, often
nearly pulling me from my hold on the
tree and twisting my leg till It seemed he
would wrench It from It's socket.
"And vet those automatic d Of
swallowing were not checked. / felt the
creatures head inclose my knee. and in-
deed / am sure the gulps By which I was
being taken in were quickened al the
monsters blood was warmed up IN the
fame.
II could not readily see what wns 90
ing on In the 6ie. but I was sure It was
burning holly because / soon felt that
heat on nv tx Inside thu enakc'e skin