Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-03-27
A Weekly Letter From the Orient
FURNISHED BY THE RECONNAISSANCE
IAL CORRESPONDENT, WHO Is
MAKING A TOUR OF THE EAST
ERN COUNTRIES.
Especial to Recorder J

Especial to Rec rider
Manila, P. I. October 25:-l had
an experience this morning that
gave me Il shock from which |
shall not recover for a long while
As I stepped out of bed felt a
squirmiug snake under my feet
and jumped back for fear it was
one Of the deadly poisonous reptiles
which infest the islands. AS |
looked over the side of the bed |
saw large python make its way
through a hole in the wall at one
side Of the room. | called the SER
wants and told them to find the
snake ard kill it, bnt they in
formed me that it was tame and
was kept to catch the rats. | saw
it frequently during the morning.
as it seemed to be busy hunting for
something to eat, and had ample
opportunity to examine it closely.
It was abont ten feet long and has
been kept about the place Tor sew
eral ,esrs. MANY of these p'thons
are tanned by natives who lind them
| useful and harmless.
In the woods, however, they are
not so harmless. They have been
known to attain great size, aud at
lack and kill human beings. These
large srakes live on deer. wild hogs
and monkeys. They have dens IN
piles Of rocks, called by the natives
their houses, and after gorgirg
themselves they retire to these dens
until the process of digestion is
completed. Natives tell tales OF
enormous snakes which they have
seen and frequently you will hear
of pythons fifty feet long. The
pythons are sometimes destructive
10 calves and infict much damage
to owners Of cattle.
There are many venomous snakes
on the islands, and on one little Is
(, land, Lnbang, the mortality from
snake bites every year is enormous.
There are many cobras and coral
snakes, but the one most feared ny
the natives is the rice leaf snake
" bich is very venomous aud lis
bite is quickly mortal. There are
several harmless green snakes,
which are also called rice leaf
snakes, and say they are all poison
Gus.
The most interesting form OF rep
lillian line here is the singing liz
Yard, or ghecko. Iii is very small
and may be seen at all times run
ming about the halls of the houses,
catching flies and other insects. 1t
gives d chirping cry, much like
that of young bird. There IS a
larger species of ghecko which is
sluggish and frequently falls from
ceiling to the floor. 1t has a loud
cry which is very annoying at
night, especially when it sounds
from the interior of a hollow bam-
boo in the wall, which accentuates
the noise. .
Lizzards are of many kinds. The
iguana grows very large. sometimes
being five feet long. One species
is edible, ifs flesh equalling that OF
chicken. There are also many fly
ing Lizards which have a mem
brane between the hind and fore
legs, much like the membrane OF
a flying squirrel. There color is
lilo that of the trees which they
, inhabit, and they can scarcely bt
seen until they suddenly spread
their membranes and dart from
, one tree to another, when they as
sumo a vivid hue which makes
, them noticeable. When they
alight they seem to disappear mi
, raculously as they assume the Col
or of the bark on which thew rest
: These Lizards, like all others. arr
!, harmless, but the large ghecko'
will bite viciously at anything
placed near them when they can
| not escape by running away.
The rivers abound in crokodlle'
, and in some streames they are ver'
: dangerous. In many Of the stream
: infested with them natives bathe
/. fearlessly. and they say that unit
the crokodiles taste human tiesl
they are not dangerous. Some o
the crokodiles have been foun'