El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-26
FRANK G. CARPENTERS LETTER.



them in one year. The animals came
here first at about the time the col
ony was founded. and some years ago
one was discovered choking TO death
in the fishing nets off the shore facing
the mainland. He had started TO swim
the channel and got caught II the
nets.
As I sat in the Singapore club the
other might one of the English Off
Gals told me how a man-eating tiger
recently slaughtered a Malayan, his
wife and five children, leaving only
the sixth. a little boy, who related the
story. This family was living on the
edges of the jungle not far from the
channel in a hut covered with thatch.
The tiger sneaked up and sprang upon
the roof. He scratched open a large
hole and the Malayans within as they
looked up and saw him were so fright
ened that they were unable to move.
They were huddled together just under
him and before they recovered their
senses he sprang down and struck the
father with his right paw and Drained
him. He then proceeded TO kill the
other members of the family with the
exception of the boy above referred to,
who was lying in a bunk raised high
above the floor and thus escaped dis
covery- The boy says the tiger first
killed the father, mother and the four
children, leaving his little sister, a
baby of s years. After he had killed
the first he began playing with their
bodies. watching the little girl as a
cat does a mouse. If she attempted
to creep away he would wait until she
had moved just outside the length of
his paw when he would reach over
and drag her close to him. He would
then go on playing with the dead bod
les, sucking the blood and taking a
bite now and then until the child at
tempted 90 move, when the same pro-
ceeding was reenacted This lasted I'M
Til the little girl expired of fright and
exhaustion. The tiger then bit her in
the back of the neck and sucked her
blood After long time he finished
his feast and walked out of the hut,
leaving the boy overhead undisturbed.
A Land of Snakes.
As for me, i am more afraid of the
snakes than fhe tigers The latter are
cowardly beasts, and will attack one
only in the dark or when they can
sneak up behind and catch him off
guard. The snakes are so many that
one is liable to step upon them as he
goes through the jungle, or, if he
sleeps in native hut, one may per-
haps drop down from the roof. There
are "A kinds of snakes on this little
island, which is not half as big as
some Texas farms and of these there
are Il varieties which carry poison
bags under their tongues or at the
roots of their teeth. The worst, per-
haps. is the cobra, which splits venom.
The Malayans tell me there is no cure
fer its bite. When attacked it erec-s
no nd diiafpS the skin oh
side of the head so that it seems to
have put on hood. At the same time
it makes a noise like an angry cat,
and if attacked it will throw to a dis
lance of six or eight feet a poisonous
fluid which, If it touches the eye or
sore, means sure death. 1t is this snake |
that the jugglers all over the far east
use to show their skill They handle |
it with impunity, laying il. On the
ground and playing upon a flute.
which seems TO charm it, They alss
wrap cobras around their naked Lecks
and fondle them. The other day a
traveller who was watching one of !
these Hindoo jugglers made bet that !
the cobra's poison glands had been |
extracted. and offered to prove this by |
handling the cobra himself. He grabbed I
hold of it and snake sank its fangs /
hours.
A cobra was recently found in bath |
room. where q little baby was play
ing. 1t did not offer to injure the /
child. and seemed inclined TO play with /
it, and it was only when the other /
people came IN that it elevated its head,
swelled out its hood, and began TO
spit. The other day three of these
snakes were found at one time in the
bathroom of villa near here.
Among the other snakes are pythons, !;
20 or more feet in length. = They are
not dangerous and out in the country
the natives domesticate them and use
them as rat catchers in the place of |
house cats. One 20 feet long was re-
Gently captured in Buddhist temple
outside Singapore. The government is
now paying So apiece for dead snakes
Of Il feet and upward, and from that
down to so cents for the smaller vari- |
ties.
Civilized Singapore.
Stories like those I have just told
seem strange in connection with this is
land Of Singapore, which is perhaps the
richest trade center OF it's kind It is
the great halfway station around the
world. the chief city at the croSSWavs of |
the hemispheres and our southern gate |
way to the Philippine Islands. 1t has a
harbor which cost millions, and today
something like $300.0O0,O0 worth of |
merchandise comes annually into ii. 1t
is the seventh harbor of the world in /
tonnage and seventh in the number of
vessels which CALL. There are 50 differ
ent steamer lines which stop at Singa-
pore, and the English government is
now investing something like $40, 1000. 900