Year: 1869

Du Chaillu, in his last book about Afri.
ca, SAYS:


One day witnessed fearful scene. A
man, native of Goree, an island on the
coast of Senegambia, who had the reputa-
ton OF being snake charmer, and was
then at the Gaboon, had succeeded in cap.
turing one Of these large naia. He was a
bold man, and prided himself on never
being afraid of any snake, however venom
Gus the reptile might be; nay, not only
was he not afraid Of any Of them, but he
would fight with any of them, and get
hold of them.


had often seen him with snakes in his
hands. lie was careful of course, to hold
them just by the neck below the head, in
such . manner that the neck could not
turn on itself and bite him.


That day he brought into large open
place, perfectly bare of grass, one of these
wild naja that he had just captured, and
was amusing himself by teasing the horrid
and loathsome creature when arrived.
1t was huge one.


Most of the people Of the village had
He'd, and those natives who, like myself,
were looking on kept long way of. Not
a Mpongwe man, not single inhabitant
of the whole region have explored would
have ever dared to do what the Goree
man did.


Two or three times, as the snake crawl
ed on the ground, we made of in the op-
posite direction with the utmost speed,
| myself, | am afraid, leading off in the
general stampede, though had provided
myself with gun.


1t is perfectly fearful, perfectly horrid
and appalling to see that man making q
| plaything of this monster, laughing, az
we may say, at death, for it could be moth.
ing else, l thought.


At first when l saw him be had the
snake around his body, but he held it
firmly just below the neck, and l could
see by the muscles Of his arm that he had
to use great strength. As long as this
part of the body is held firmly the snake
loses much Of its great power Of crushing
one to death, as the boa constructor or
python does with larger animals, and as
i small snakes do with smaller game but
with this naja the danger would have been
the venomous bite.


Then with the other hand he took the
tail of the snake, and gave it swing and
gradually unfolded the reptile from his
black body, which was warm and shining





| head. On sudden he threw the snake
on the ground. Then the creature began
to crawl away, when suddenly the Goree
man came in front of it with light stick
and instantly the monster erected itself
almost to half it's fall length, gave tre-
mendous whistle, which we all heard,
looked glaringly and fercely in the mans
face with its sharp, pointed tongue out,
and then stood still as if it could not move.
The Goree man, with his little stick in
his left hand, touched it lightly, as though
to tease it. 1t was fearful sight-and
if he had been near enough, the snake
would, no doubt, have sprung upon its
antagonist. The man, as he teased and
infuriated the snake with the rod he held
in his left hand, drew the attention of the
reptile toward the stick then suddenly,
and in the wink Of an eye, almost as
quick as lightning, with his right hand he
got hold OF the creature just under his
head.


The same thing thatI have just describ-
ed again took place. The snake folded
itself round his body then he unfolded
the snake, which was once more let loose,
and, now this horrid serpent got so infur-
lated that as soon as he was thrown upon
the ground he erected himself, and the
glare of his eyes was something terrible.
1t was indeed an appalling scene: the air
around seemed to be filled with the whist
ling sound of the creature.


Alas more terrible scene soon took
place The man became bolder and bold
er, more and more careless, and the snake
probably more and more accustomed to
the mode of warfare of his antagonist, and
just as the monster stood erect the man
attempted to seize his neck as he had done
many and many a time before, but grasp~
ed the body too low, and before he had
time to let it 60, the head turned on itself
and the man was bitten! was perfectly
speechless, the scene had frozen my blood,
and the wild shrieks of all those around
rent the air. The serpent was loose and
crawling on the ground, but, before it had
time to go far, a long pole came down up
on its back and broke its spine, and in
less time that take to write it down, the
monster was killed.


To the French doctor who had charge of
the little colony the man went (happily
he was just at hand J all the remedies
were prompt and powerful the man suf-
cred intensely his body became swollen,
his mind wandered, and his life was de-
SPARED of but at last he got better, and,
though complaining of great pain near tho
heart, he was soon able to 60 out again.
A short time after this accident, having
an AK in his hand, going, as he said, {,
cut wood, he suddenly spit his own head
in two. He had become insane