Year: 1866




hand, when negro and his little dog came
down the hill in haste, and was soon inform
ed that snake had been discovered; but it
was Young one, called the bushmaster,
rare and poisonous snake. | instantly rose
up and laying hold of the eight-foot lance
which was close by me, ''Well, then, Daddy,
said /, sEwell go and have look at the
snake" / was barefoot, with an old hat,
check shirt, and trousers on, and a pair OF
braces to keep them up The negro had his
cutlass, and we assembled the hill; another
negro, armed with cutlass, joined us, Judging
from our pace that there was something to
do. The little dog came along with us; and
when he had got about half a mile in the
forest, the negro stopped, and pointed to a
fallen tree; all was still and silent. told
the negroes not to stir from the spot where
they were, and keep the little dog in, and |
would go and reconnoiter. The snake was
we'll concealed, but at last | made him out.
1t was a coulacanara, not poisonous, but
large enough to have crushed any of us to
death On measuring him afterward, he
was something more than fourteen feet
| long This species Of snake is very rare,
and much thicker in proportion to its length
than any other snake in the forest. A coul-
acanara of fourteen feet in length is as thick
as a common boa of twenty-four. After
skinning this animal, could easy get my
head into his mouth, as the singular forma-
ton of the jaws admits of wonderful exten-
sion.


On ascertaining the size of game we had
to encounter, retired slowly the way came,
and promised four dollars to the negro who
had shown it to me, and one to the other
who had joined us Aware that the day
was on the decline, and that the approach
of night would be detrimental to the dissec
ton, thought struck me that could take
him alive | imagined that | could strike
him with the lance behind the head, and pin
him to the ground, might succeed in cap
turing him. When [ told this to the ne
groes, they begged and entreated me to let
them 90 for a gun, and bring more force, as
they were sure the snake would Kill some
one but / had been in search of large
serpent for years, and now, having come up
with one, it did not become me to turn soft.
So, taking cutlass from one of the negroes,
and then ranging both the sable slaves be-
hind me, told them to follow me, and that
| would cut them down if they offered to
fly. | smiled as said this; but they shook
their heads in silence, and seemed to have a
bad heart of it. When we came to the place,
the serpent had not stirred, but | could see
nothing of his head, and judged by the folds
of his body that it must be at the farthest
side of his den. 4 species of woodbine had
formed complete mantle over the branches
of the fallen tree, almost impervious to the
rain or the rays of the sun. Probably he
had resorted to this sequestered place for
length of time, as it bore the marks of an
ancient settlement. | now took my knife,
determining to cut away the woodbine, and
break the twigs in the gentlest manner pos
sible, till l could get view of his head
One negro stood guard close behind me with
the lance, and near him the other with
cutlass. The cutlasS which l had taken
from the first negro was ON the ground close
by me- in case of need. After working in
dead silence for a quarter of an hour, with
one knee all the time on the ground, had
cleared away enough to see his head. 1t
appeared coming out between the first and
second coil of his body, and was fiat on the
ground. This was the very position | wished
it to be in. / rose in silence, and retreated
very slowly, making a sign to the negroes to
do the same. We were at this time about
twenty yards from the snakes den. l now
ranged them behind me, and told him who
stOodnext to me to lay hold of the lance the
moment | struck the snake, and that the
other must attend my movements. 1t now
only remained to take their cutlasses from
them, for / was sure if / did not do this
they would be tempted to strike the snake
in time of danger, and thus forever spoil his
skin. On disarming them, if | might judge
from their physiognomy, they seemed to
consider it as most intolerable act of tyr
amy in me. Probably nothing kept them
from boiling but the consideration that
was to be between them and the snake. In
deed my own heart, in spite of all l could do,
beat quicker than usual and l felt those
sensations which one has on board mer-
chant vessel in war time, when the Captain
orders all hands on deck to prepare for ac-
ton, while strange vessel is approaching
under suspicious colors.


We went slowly on in silence, without
moving our arms or heads in order to pre-
vent alarm as much as possible, lest the
snake should glide off or attack us in self
defense. l carried the lance perpendicularly
before me, with the point about a foot from
the ground The snake had not moved !;
and on getting up to him, | struck him with
the lance on the near side, just behind the
neck. and pinned him to the ground That