The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1909-01-14
The Magical Bamboo.
BY C. r. O'ReiIIy.

There were three of us-two South
American Indians and myseif-sit-
ting over our campfire one night, in
the mountains of Eastern Venezuela,
overlooking the Gulf of Paria.
The Indians were hunting for
orchids, and for snakes, but each of
us, In his pursuit. had had encoun-
ters with various beasts, birds and
reptiles. Jaguars, monkeys, electric
eels, alligators, boa constructors and
anacondas we talked of.
i've had many marvellous escapes
from snakes" said Saturnino-"p pois-
onous ones, mean. Boa constructors
and anacondas / don't much mind.
unless they are over ffteen feet long;
but the snake l dread the most, and
by some Ill luck encounter oftenest, is
the sleeper 4"
The sleeper said I. as he
about six feet long, a yellow fellow
with big head, n great bitter, aloft
In the branches coiled up and sleep
Ing all day?" 1t was the snake known
to scientists as Xiphosoma hortula-
unm that had in mind. He is a true
boa with the anal hooks-concernin
which l had made some important
scientific observations during my resi-
dence in Trinidad in 1890. These
snakes are tree-snakes; they are rare
ly found on the ground. They 20
about hunting by night, and feed
largely on tree-rats and birds. They
are great biters, much dreaded by the
people, but really quite innocent of
venom.
"Yes, yes," said he, ~that's the
very one. Many a fine root of orchids
I've had to lose on account of those
same sleepers. 1 dread them more
than l do the rattlesnake, or even
the bushmaster himself" A."
20 Saturnino," said I, "you needn't
fear the sleeper! He's not venom
Gus. The bite Of a rat or a mouse
would be much more dangerous.
Not venomous! cried both he and
Cipriano together; and they looked
at each other and then at me, smiling
broadly at my ignorance. Then both
OF them Joined in an earnest endeavor
to set me right,
Don't be unreasonable, senorl
indians, white men and negroes all
say that the sleeper is deadly. Why,
there was Sebastiano, our uncle-he
was bitten, and would have died IL
@r. Soils hadn't had big jar of Caru-
pano rum in the house.
~They made our uncle drink rum
ghtil he couldn't hold any more; ana
1t was four days before he recovered
1t cured him completely. and he never
swelled bit, either"
well, then, my dear friends" said
], they came very near to killing
your poor uncle-poisoning him with
rum. The very fact that the bitten
part didn't swell was enough to show
that the snake was not venomous at
all; because If he were venomous. all
the rum in the world would not have
prevented the swelling. Nor would it
ever cure any man of the bite OF any
dangerous snake, If he had once got
fatal injection of the venom"
But, senior. you don't mean to
stand against the opinion of the
whole world?"
Why. certainly do" said 1. at
stand out against the whole world.
when1 know for sure the whole world
is wrong. Now" added, "you two
boys have over a hundred dollars
worth of orchids already collected and
stored away in that cave up the noun
tain You can spare the whole day
Tomorrow to go with me.
Wen go down by theJriver. Wen
find a sleeper. and I'll let him bite
me; and afterward I'll catch hold of
him and make him bite the dog; and
II neither l nor the dog suffer any
thing whatsoever from the bite
without applying any remedy at all
VIII you believe me that the sleeper
is harmless?"
"Yes, said they together, ~we win.
But we don't wish you to take such
Q risk."