Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-15

ringed with white. All day they had talked
snake, and believe those python eaters dream
snake all night And now the fun was going
to begin.
III confess i was all keyed up. and perhaps
not quite so comfortable as might have been
somewhere else. The certain knowledge that
unseen pythons were coiled in the forks and
branches of the trees, so close to the top of
my helmet, was just a bit weird. Remember,
I was merely passenger among the python
hunters, new to the sport and wondering what
was going to happen next. For instance,
wondered what the best python hunters have
to do If 10-foot snake happens to drop into
their small dugout and start rampa3ing I
certainly had lots to learn that day. Naturally,
my eyes were uneasily ranging among the thick
overhangfng foliage, which seemed much too
hfeleSs to be true. I could see nothing but
SCARED yellowtsh bark and green leaves. Ma
ture has so cunningfy camouhaged the python's
skin that it seems to assimilate its leafy sur
roundings-to vision less acute than the rowing
eye Of the snake hunters.
My dug-out stopped. The Dusun in the stern
shipped his paddle, but he had never taken his
eyes of the branches overhead He flung up
an arm, pointing
"Ula!" he yelled "U1a!"
Uial Snake!
The boatman grabbed a low branch and
swung himself up into the tree Getting astride
of gnarled bough, he began to work his way
outward toward the middle Of the stream
drawing his parang.
THERE was an instant upheaval in the
densely clustered leaves and twining ten
drills. TerTihcally, the foliage woke to life and
1o-foot pythons long, fiat head reared up
the big yellow mouth agape, kissing, the mighty
coils slithering and writhing-truly an awe
inspiring spectacle of reptilian ferocity.
honestly believe I should have fallen out
of that tree with sheer fright without gun
Il witt CIR
lance of those hideous jaWs-not for all the
orchids in Borneo. But my little Dusun dashed
out with his parang three blows in less than
second of time. never saw a cat strike
quicker. And every blow went straight to the
mark-thudl thud! thud!
The big snakes head jerked sidewise oddly
like boxer who had been soc1ed on the jaw,
and the full length Of his sinuous coils went
mad. Despite his fearsome appearance and
great size, it was clear that he didn't like what
was coming to him. In the language of the ring,
the DusunS whirlwind attack had got him
groggy. That failing parang was all over him
-thudI thudl thudl
Leaves and bark were ripped from the boughs
and Uttered the stin surface of the river In
our dug-outs down below we were yelling with
excitement. The python peered at us wickedly
and just in that fraction of a second he stopped
another whizzing clout on the head and visibly
wilted, so that the followup missed him and
whanged against tough branch with an ugly
sound that told US how hard our friend was
hitting. That deemed to decide the first round,
for snake evidently thought the cree was
altogether too hot to hold him. He uncoiled
himself and dropped into the water Then the
real fun started. Six sturdy Dusuns went after
him and grabbed him in six places at once
with their bare hands and arms One put
strangle-hold on him. just below the head.
The others Rugged him at intervals of foot
or so between head and tail
The siren ;th of an enraged python Is
Srodigious Though held tenaciously by six
strong men, his convulsive struggles dragged
them in all directions. But the Dusuns hung
grimly. Strong as he was-and his body
was as thick mans leg his captors were
stronger. Warily they prevented him from
hitching on to anything with his tail, and they
dragged his head over the thwart of one of the
dug-outs where another Dusun was waiting
NTH