Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1902-05-14
THE FER. DEFIANCE.

ing exploration or carrying succor Il
the country about St Pierre will bt
eravely Increased by thes presence o
the fer-de.lance.
This serpeDt, which is the curse o
the Island, s said to be the desdliest o
sDskes outside OF India. The inhsbit
ants of the region infested by it say
that not even the terrible hooded cobra
il Ac;s deIth more swiftly or surely
A traveller writes In the New York
Sun:
THE gulches around st. Pierre fairly
swarm with the venomous reptiles
Il il principally because of their pres
eocs that ascents of Mount Pelee,
otherwise not particularly difficult oil
| BIZ ifdous, have been 60 infrequent.
{ II ls curious fact that 10 cases oi
/ seismic disturbance snakes make foI
the low lsud. l have heard that when
Mount Pelee was disturbed in the
middle Of The last century the fer-de-
| lance OVerraD the streets of st Pierre,
'lthough they are naturally a grass
| lsod snake.
"S1ppose, now, that the shore be-
goDd the district where all life has been
blCtitd oft has become the refuge OF
these cret ttures. What will happen to
the men who land there, particularly il
they are igGOTant Of the danger. IL Is
not pleasant to think Of. The ter-de-
lance does not wait u be attacked.
de is born murderer. When he has
once set his venomru miod on q man
be will follow Ut One or the other is
sl5in. Add (, t-ls natural leaning The
fs8r and fay OF ths snakes at being
triVe1 fy,t1 from their places, aud
thu oAe can apprCcste that their
1r ..ence will not 90 the least OF the
.0ngers following the catastrophe. "
The hietory OF the fsr-de.lance in the
Island Of Martinique is peculiar one.
Il is said tnat originally this island was
entirely free from poisonous snakes.
az Cuba is now. 1t was, however
ovsrrun with e particularly sctive
and voracious species of rats. Some
enterDrisiDg inhabitants hearing that
the fer-de-lsLce wss extremely
rough on rats sent to Trinidad aud had
some imported. The visitors did their
work. In = few years it was said in
Martinique that the only surviving rats
lsd learned to climb trees and turned
iLt0 fyng fquirrels.
However thst may be, the communi.
ty soon found itself confronted by the
Massachusetts cutworm and Englsh
sparrow proposition, bat in far more
serious fOrm-tbe remedial agents prov.
Ell O. ba worse than the original pest.
So many persons were bitten that work
10 the f,ids came TO a stand still.
Roadmakine cossed. 1t wss said that
90 bitten person recovered except 10
the case of woodcnoppers. Having
heir axes handy they would, il the
bite were on the arm or leg, chop of
he member instantly and thus ssVe
heir lives. II became o sort Of Cas- z
mark for the woodsman to have only
three out of his four original limbs.
Then the French government got
up ststittcs and discovered that
In proportion to the population
the death rats from snake.blte wsi
the bigheit in the world-worse
even, t1a0 in the center OF India. A
/ bounty was offered. Bands OF snake
| hunters weIt forth to hunt, Some few
Of them came back.
At this time there was living In st
/ Pierre q former South African. He haC
seen the great sDske.estiDg secretary
oird OF that continent, and at q con
siderable expense Lad several pairs O
the birds sent to him. His neiRhbori
said be was crezy. They prophesieC
,hat the quickest-wttsd OF the birdI
would be flying swiftly southeast II
seconds after they had first seen fer
defiance. The secretary birds wer'
turned loose in the infested districts
Within a moLt9 they bad grown al
mot TOO fat t. work. There wss {
corresponding dimin ution OF viperin,
activity.
l. wasn't long before the people o
st. Pierre could till their fields sgsin
As brood aitsr brood of The festhere'
Africans spread abroad the area o
safety widened. Unfortunately, th
secretary bird Ia q striking objscI
and he has cre4t Of mucl
beauty, not 10 mention his picturesqu
tell feathers. The young ladies OF Maj
Unique desired those feathers as mi
linefy. Therefore the youth Of the is
nd est forth TO get them. As the sec
retary bird is some four feet long aod
fighter By nature, it is net practicabl
10 catch him and pull cut his crest 81
tail. The Martinique sports went aite
him vita guns snG econ the places tht
had knowo him knew him DO NOR
Most OF the birds were soon killed, 6
they are not shy, regarding themselv'
ss immune by virtue OF their profe'
sion.
OF coorse, the fer.de-lance can
back. They bad been living the life
, terrified mice in hooks and crsnnies ft
years, but enough OF them survived
rebsbiliiate the snake community
. soon ss the enemy disappeared. No
they lord it over the island outside
the cities, aud man and beast sh'
h walk in constant terror OF their lang
DECLARES 1T WAS PREDICTED
d rfo'' a. l.. TCt.ep, in an interview