Year: 1873

looked-for and startling incident Suddenl,
my mule made tremendous leap, as i
it had been endowed with the activity O
the race horse, or the springing powers oi
the cat tribe. Simultaneously with thil
extraordinary bound sideways into the
jungle, l heard a rustling among the up
per branches Of tree which grew beside
the path, and on looking over my shoulder
as soon as the speed of my mule slackened
enough to enable me to do SO, l saw whaI
at first appeared to be an enormous vine
or creeper, which had become somehow
detached from the trunk of the tree and
was swinging from one Of its upper branch.
es, whence had proceeded the rustling sound
which had heard, but which second
glance revealed to my horror in the sup.
posed pendant vine an enormous serpent
green as the little innocent snake that
glides over our lawns and clings to our
shrubbery, but as thick as mans thigh
and which could not have been less than
from twenty-five to thirty feet in length
Its protruding tongue, its glaring eyes and
erected body, expressed either rage at it,
disappointment or determination to pur.
sue its intended prey, and | need hardly
say that increased the distance between
myself and the strange fountain in the
wilderness, under such terrible guardian.
ship, as fast as the speed of my mule
and the distractions Of the jungle permit
ted, and that my enthusiasm over the won.
ders of tropical forest has sensibly abated
My travelling companion whom / immedi
ately rejoined, and to whom related my
adventure, insisted that my fears had ex
aggerated the dimensions Of the serpent
but l am not conscious Of such exaggera.
ton, for on my first glance at il | wai
more indignant at the mule for its silly
tcrrors than alarmed for myself l had
therefore, ample opportunity for correct
observation in my cooler moments.


On relating my adventure to one of the
natives in Panama, who had become ac-
quainted with our language, was assured
that the green Boa, or Anaconda Of the
Isthmus, was no myth; but that he had
himself seen these serpents, much larger
than the one l had encountered. He also
informed me that he had heard accounts
of those Of this complexion Of from fifty tC
one hundred feet in length and of CORES.
ponding bulk but that these were found
in more inaccessible portions of the Cen.
tral American jungle.


Be that as il may, can youch for the
dimensions of the one seen by myself.
Nor is there anything too incredible for
belief in these accounts Of my informant
Comparatively little is known about the
natural history of the serpent, especially as
to its possible physical development Such
an eminent naturalist as Goldsmith, more
than hints that certain species grow as
long as they live, and that they probably
live longer than any other animal which
now inhabits the globe. The only two
conditions to the highest PHYSICAL develop
ment Of this class, then, is security from
death by violence, and an abundant supply
of food. Both these they find in the
noisome jungles of Central and South
America, in which the foot Of man has not
trodden for ages. Here they find abund.
ance Of food in the myriad forms Of animal
life by which they are surrounded, and
are secure from man, the only enemy
capable ofwaging successful warfare against
them. If, then, this idea of the naturalist
in regard to the growth and longevity Of
the larger serpents is correct, what is to
hinder those which we are accustomed to
meet in the haunts of men of from twenty
five to thirty feet in length, from growing
in those dreadful solitudes where man has
never penetrated, to the length Of fifty OF
even hundred feet or more, and with q
corresponding bulk. Such monsters are
rarely seen, and then only by the daring
hunter, or adventurous explorer of previ-
ously untrodden wilds, and their accounts
it is the fashion Of the times to repudiate,