Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-08
ATE MUCH SNAKE MEAT.
And Now This jolly Sailor Pines Not
For Africa

&. Henry Tweatmayar, Esq, Is chief
engineer on board the schooner
Frances Hyde. He is a jolly German
sailor and tells an absorbing tale OF
his experience on the Congo river in
Africa.
II was down there for three years
and three months and I had enough
of It," said the chief engineer shak-
ing his head.
What were you doing down
there?" he was asked.
"I was engineer on a boat that ply
ed between different points in the in
terror" said Mr.. Tweatmayar. "This
boat carried a cargo Of brass wire
that was traded with the natives for
rubber and ivory"
Those natives were crazy for the
brass. They would first wrap bands
of it around their legs, then they
would wrap it around their bodies,
They were often Jealous Of each 9TH
er and they would fight If one had q
little more brass than the other.
"They were terrible fellows. They
were tall and strapping. Their faces
were all marked and cut to represent
stars and other figures. They wore
heavy chains around their necks and
ivory earrings in their ears.
There were about forty Of them
who were with us and showed us the
water route. At first I couldn't under
stand a word they said, but managed
to pick up word or two afterwards.
Afraid Of them? No, indeed, and
I didn't have gun either. But there
were four soldiers along. They came
from another part Of Africa and were
civilized. These soldiers always car
ried loaded guns.
"The first night I got to Africa !
couldn't sleep. In fact for three
months scarcely slept at all. was
camping by the side Of the water and
there were dense forests all around
US. When I would lie down in the
tent at night and was about to doze
off / heard a peculiar noise like goats
make. I thought 1t was drove Of
goats, but when I looked out of the
tent there was not goat in sight.
The noise came from thousands Of
snakes that would crawl up to the
very tent.
"It was only when I was 30 tired !
couldn't move that was able to sleep
the night through. T don't know why
I ever stayed down there so long,"
"What. did you have to eat down
there?"
Living there was tough" replied
the engineer "T often ate what the
natives did. I had to or starve. They
lived to a great extent on water
snakes, and I learned to eat them
too"
"You don't mean they were real
common snakes?"
"Yes, sir, they were 'sho nuf'
snakes. They were fifty feet long and
darted through the water as fast as
an automobile runs on land" The
jolly engineer chuckled. "And the
natives had funny way Of catching
them, too. They would beat on the
head of a drum while lying down in
the heavy underground. First thing
you'd know you'd see a head sticking
out of the water and running as fast
as CREASED lightning in the direction
of where the sound came from. AS
soon as the snake got there the ma
tives would pick him in the head with
q stick Of ivory. 1t was funny to watch
them catch those snakes" The engin-
eer laughed reminiscently. And they
always caught many a one at a time.
You couldn't see the body of the
snake at all, only small head was
seen out of the water. Their bodies
were about two feet in circumference.
After those fellows had caught
them they would take knife and
chop them into pieces. Through each
slice they would run q wooden stick
and then they would make fire by
pieces Of flint together. They
would put all the pieces Of meat In
the fire at the same time, and when
the wooden sticks had been burned
they knew it was time to take the
meat out. Then they would eat It,"
"And what did 1t taste like?" the
engineer was queried.
well, 1t tasted like Goldfish. ate 1t
many a time. That was the only
snake the natives would eat.
1T was fun to watch them eat a
hippopotamus. They would only eat
the hide. They would cook 1t a long
time and then about thirty-five Of
them would sit down together around
the hide, and each man would eat a
section. 1t was all right until they
ate all except small piece, then
there was a fight to see who should
have what was left, ;" and the engineer
laughed long and loud upon the rec
objection of the scraps" that he had
seen.
How did hippotamus hide taste?"
1T tasted fishy," replied the sailor.
1T was awfully tough and I didn't
care much for it. The hippopotamus
meat was thrown away"
1T was mighty hot down there
during the day and the nights were
cold. 1t was a nasty climate and ]
had to take whisky and quinine to
keep well. There are not many peo-
pie who stand it. If you can stay one
year you are all right and can stay as
long as you please afterwards, but it's
big question II you're able to stick
it for a year It's a queer thing, but
the air is full of bugs and insects. If
you put on a black suit in the morn
ing, by noon 1t will be white-it will
be covered with all kinds Of insects
and small bugs. The mosquitoes are
terrible, too.
I'VE travelled far into the jungles
and went to places where no white
man had ever been before. We
tramped through the deep forests,
where the underbrush was 80 thick
you could scarcely walk.
afraid of snakes? Yes, but We
had to go on anyway. I saw several
bodies of white men while I was In
Africa. These men had been crush
ed to death and killed by boa con-
strictors. = The bodies were mashed
to a pulp with every bone broken,
and the blood had been sucked out BY
the snake. The snakes first twine
themselves around the body, and then
squeeze until every bone Is broken.
mo, sir, I've got enough Of 1t In
Africa" concluded the robust engl-
neer with a smile, and he walked
away to answer a call from the aft
end of the ship.