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

The back OF the heavy parang-not the cut
ting edge-was used throughout this combat Of
man versus reptile.
ThudI thud thudI
Using the dug-out as q kind OF block, he
bludgeoned the giant snake to death. When its
huge limp length was dragged into the boat
there wasn't tremor from tip to tail. Inert and
coiled up slowed away like an old rope's-end
the hunters left him. Their blood was up.
Laughing, jabbering excitedly craning their
necks and gazing up into the trees, they pre-
pared for another attack. Their shrill- yells
in the fight that had just ended, the furry Of
the water and the whanging and thudding Of
the parangs, had raised the alarm along the
tree-dwellng python families. Now we could
see them plainly enough, the ripple of their
coils along the branches and the quick menacing
movement Of their darting heads.
A MOTHER Dusun swung up into the trees
= and tackled a big fellow coiled along an
outlying branch. He was not easily dislodged.
Well hitched on with his mighty tail he reared
up and confronted the attack, open-mouthed-
making a row like preSsure-valve blowing of.
But the intrepid hunter beat him up with
tornado of slashing welts that landed heavily.
Twice thought the snake would coil and en-
velop hin. But they we're only feints, to which
the Dusun replied with even more savage on
slaughts-untn that python simply had to go,
whether he wanted to or not. He abandoned
his stronghold in the tree and hit the water
with a huge splash. He must have been over
IL feet long, but the waiting Dusuns went for
him like terriers at a rat. The whole six
of them fixed their hold upon him, yelling,
straining every nerve and muscle, shaking spray
from their eyes as he failed them about. They
couldn't straighten him. He was too strong and
big. He dragged them hither and thither con-
torting his body IN hideous fury, coiling and
uncoiling like resilient steel spring-in sud-
den Jerks again and again.
1 yelled myself hoarse. I was thrilled to the
soies of my feet. You will get some faint idea
of this aquatic rodeo if you try to imagine
buck jumping 12-foot python trying to throw
six men at once. And he threw them. He
sent the whole half-dozen flying. They were
flung off him. unshipped by resistlesS serpentine
commissions. There was a demented windmill
Of legs and arms before they sank. And when
they came up, coughing and laughing the in
dignant python was shifting for his sylvan
home ashore, like 12-foot torpedo-whoo
He was the only lucky one of the nine water
pythofls we assaulted that day. When our sport
was over took snapshot of eight beautiful
skins-an much longer than the height of
very tall man-hangtng out to dry on the
thatch CT my portable shack. Gazing at them,
refiectively, it seemed to me that had been
privileged to witness the most exciting and
purely sporting hunt in the world. 1t had been
a really stirring experience, even to hard
bitten hunter like myself. 1t appealed to my
sporting 1nStlnctS so sCrongIy because the
Dusuns attacked their formidable quarry in
its own difficult strongholds and then disdained
to hack with the parang's cutting edge, using
thsir weapon only as a bludgeon and actually
tackling the snakes with bare hands.
The Dusun python hunt made a deep i'm
preston on me as a sportsman. was enthus-
ing about it one day to Chinese trader in
Penang who had spent many years in Borneo.
Marvellous" said, "to take risks like that
Very sporting indeed. Why, they could cut EN-
to pieces if they like to use the edge, and the
python wouldn't stand half chance"
The old Chinamans slit eyes regarded me
politely
"Sportings" he said and blinked folding his
hands upon an excessively capacious stomach.
Eyes. Maybe. Perhaps not. No, it is tabu
to cut the skin Of the python The Dusun
people believe that if they make the smallest
incision in the skin of living snake its spirit
would escape and haunt them to their dying