Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-02-16
BOACONSTRICTOR HUNTERS
Men In South America who Hunt the
Snake For a Livelihood.

Men In South America Who Hunt tho
Snake For n Livelihood.
"Tke hoa constructor is fairly COM
mon In the forests OF western Nicara-
qua and Costa Rica," said one Of the
canal engineers who was In the city
recently, "and there are natives In that
section who hunt them exclusively for
q livelihood. While we were engaged
in the survey work we heard good
deal of these big snakes. and all the
white men in the party stood In the
greatest dread Of them, although they
are not half as dangerous as the small
poisonous variety. During two and
half years spent in the country saw
only one live boa, but the experience
is pretty firmly stamped on my men,
ory, and | have no yearning for an
other.
IL had gone out, with a couple OF
native assistants, from a town called
Zapan, on the south side OF the lower
lake, to shoot some plumage birds. and
while we were crossing a rather open
piece Of forest l noticed what / sup
posed to be a peculiarly uniformed
limb on a large spicewood tree. 1t
sagged down from the trunk Of the
tree and seemed to be attached to an
other growth nearer the ground. l
started toward 1t to Investigate, and,
when ony few yards away, the thing
| had taken to be a limb suddenly
raised itself in the air, and l saw that
1t was a gigantic snake, hanging head
down from an upper boush.
81 had often heard the expression
'paralyzed by fear but ! never knew
what It meant until then. was so
badly scared that couldn't have NOV
ed IL the fate Of the universe had de-
pended upon 1t, and l simply stood
there, stock still and staring. while the
boa swayed back and forth few times
and finally glided into the upper foliage.
1t seemed 80 feet long and as big
around as a barrel. think 1t was
really about IL.
'At that juncture my natives came
up, and when they heard what had
happened they at once insisted upon
catching the monster. They made a
moose which they attached to a pole,
and while | retired to a safe distance
one Of them climbed the tree and seized
the snake by the tail, while the other
tried to slip the loop over its neck as
1t lowered it's head 1t was too agile
for them, however, and escaped into
another tree, where II went too high
for pursuit.
"The Central American boas are
splotches on the sides and back, and
the native hunters tan the skin by
stretching II over log A good skin
with no bullet marks and including the
head sells for $40. Mexican, down
there, and to avoid holes and mutila-
ton the hunters always catch the
snakes In a moose and kill them by a
stab under the Jaw. They make all
kinds of leather articles out OF the
hide. belts, pouches. leggings, slippers
and even neckties. made many In
qulries during our stay, but could
never hear Of a case. in which boa
had attacked a human being. The
snake | saw was undoubtedly lying In
wait for some small animal and, II one
had passed under the tree, would have
dropped on its back. The Indians Of
the region call the boa 'chula.' which Is
the same word they use for coward; so,
you see, they have no great opinion Of
its fighting qualities. New Orleans
Times Democrat.