The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-08

woods, not only armed with our guns.
| but carrying along couple of strong
| forked sticks and several yards OF
! clothes line.
we searched through the woods for
hours, all over the high ground and saw
several snakes, small creatures though
! that wouldn't make mouse run. We
| had almost despaired of finding our
quarry, and were about concluding to go
back to Bills place, as evening was COM
ing on, when / discovered something
that changed our plans.
"We were in a dense part of the
swamps, not far from the lake, and the
ridge on which we stood was sandy and
narrowed down TO thin neck, with
sides sloping to the thick Shiny marsh
water.
"On the sandy ridge was the trail clear
and distinct of some great object that
I had described a sinuous course from one.
plot of tall grass to another. He must
be over there, John Bill said, pointing
to the grass plot which covered a spot
in the open, and we got ready for any
thing that might happen.
Picking up a heavy piece of dead
wood, threw it toward the spot where
we thought the snake might be, and inn
tiiC dSo NdS dSt-
tated, and we heard hiss and rattle,
only about 20 feet from us, that caused
the birds in the woods to abandon their
sweet singing and flv away with alarmed
chirpings.
Bill threw a piece OF wood, and
above the grass suddenly appeared the
same fiat head that had given Black Jim
the spasms. The head was turned to-
ward us. and perhaps you won't believe
me when ! tell you that il was as broad
as my hand.
ct surmounted neck as thick as a
large mans wrist, and we could see that
the body grew thicker as it disappeared
in the waving grass.
Bill and / were surprised, but we
weren't too frightened for action, and
we started about catching that snake.
The snake remained perfectly still, with
his hideous eyes fixed on us, and his
tongue playing between his jaws, and
all the while that dreadful rafting kept
on
Bill slipped lasso that he had ready,
and before ] knew what ne was about
he sprang forward and threw the loop.
The rope went over the snakes head and
Bill jerked the lasso, drawing it tight,
and as quick as thought tied the free end
of the line around a handy tree. The
snake came into the open with a rush,
and dashed at me, mad with pain and
fury / eluded it, and it thrashed
around on the ground. trying to free f.
self a
1T would have strangled itself then
and there had not Bill cleverly caught
the middle of its body between the forks
ofshis stick and pinned it to the ground.
When the monster was secure we tied
its jaws together with strong string,
and with a rope around the neck and a
rope around the tail, we carried it III TO
GENTLY
THAT snake sure was whopper, not
II feet long. but fully eight feet and as
thick as a big mans arm. There were ~
rattles on his tail-we counted them
afterward-and he was a heavy load to
carry.
1--WE reached Bills place Just at dusk,
and were III a quandary what to do with
our prize for the night. Finally we con- .
,luded to tie him to the fence by the
asso until morning. when we would
dispose OF him to some dealer in the
.ity
I'VE tied the snake up, and he was
duirming and fighting when we did Il
nd went to bed. In the morning when we
rot up our snake was there all right. but
Tot as we had left him the night before.
Ie was dead,
I'VE examined his body and found
hat in trying TO free himself he had
hoked on the rope and strangled. Bill
las that snakesI1in yet. tackled up on the
ide of his house, and every one who
ees it declares it a wonder. New Or
cans Picayune.