Since the exhibitions in London of the two Hindoo snake-charmers--the
first we believe who ever visited Europe--everything relating to
serpents seems to have acquired additional interest. Many facts
regarding the nature and habits of the various species have been
published, affording much information and still greater astonishment.
Waterton, in his "Wanderings in South America and the Antilles, in
1812-24," relates some stories of so marvellous a character, that,
coming from a less authentic source, their truth might be
reasonably doubted.
While in the region of Mibri Hill, Mr. Waterton long sought in vain for
a serpent of large size, and finally, offered a reward to the negroes if
they would find him one. A few days afterward one of the natives,
followed by his little dog, came to him with the information that a
snake of respectable dimensions had been discovered a short distance up
the hill; and armed with an eight feet lance, and accompanied by two
negroes with cutlasses and the dog, he at once started to take a look at
it. Mr. Waterton states that he was barefoot, with an old hat, check
shirt and trousers on, and a pair of braces to keep them up. His
snakeship was pointed out as lying at the roots of a large tree which
had been torn up by a whirlwind. But the remainder of the story shall be
given in the traveler's own words:
I advanced up to the place slow and cautious. The snake was well
concealed, but at last I made him out; it 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 coulacanara of fourteen
feet in length, is as thick as a common boa of twenty-four feet. After
skinning this snake, I could easily get my head into his mouth, as the
singular formation of the jaws admits of wonderful extension.
On ascertaining the size of the serpent, I retired slowly the way I
came, and promised four dollars to the negro who had shown it to me, and
one dollar 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
dissection, a thought struck me that I could take him alive. I imagined
that if I could strike him with the lance behind the head, and pin him
to the ground, I might succeed in capturing him. When I told this to the
negroes, they begged and entreated me to let them go for a gun and bring
more force, as they were sure the snake would kill some of us. Taking,
however, a cutlass from one of the negroes, and then ranging both of the
sable slaves behind me, I told them to follow me, and that I would cut
them down if they offered to fly. When we had got up to the place, the
serpent had not stirred: but I could see nothing of his head, and judged
by the folds of his body that it must be at the farthest side of the
den. A species of woodbine formed a 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 a length of time,
as it bore marks of an ancient settlement.
I now took my knife, determined to cut away the woodbine, and break the
twigs in the gentlest manner possible, till I could get a view of his
head. One negro stood guard close behind me with a cutlass. The cutlass
which I had taken from the first negro, was on the ground close beside
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, I had cleared away
enough to see his head. It appeared coming out between the first and
second coils of his body, and was flat on the ground. This was the very
position I wished it to be in. I rose in silence, and retreated very
slowly, making a sign to the negroes to do the same. The dog was sitting
at a distance in mute observance. I could now read in the faces of the
negroes, that they considered this a very unpleasant affair; and they
made another vain attempt to persuade me to let them go for a gun. I
smiled in a good-natured manner, and made a feint to cut them down with
the weapon I had in my hand. This was all the answer I made to their
request, and they looked very uneasy.
It must be observed that we were about twenty yards from the snake's
den. I now ranged the negroes behind me, and told him who stood next to
me, to lay hold of the lance the moment I struck the snake, and that the
other must attend my movements. It now only remained to take their
cutlasses from them; for I was sure that if I did not disarm them, they
would be tempted to strike the snake in time of danger, and thus forever
spoil his skin. On taking their cutlasses from them, if I might judge
from their physiognomy, they seemed to consider it as a most intolerable
act of tyranny. Probably nothing kept them from bolting, but the
consolation that I was betwixt them and the snake. Indeed, my own heart,
in spite of all I could do, beat quicker than usual. We went slowly on
in silence, without moving our arms or heads, in order to prevent all
alarm as much as possible, lest the snake should glide off, or attack us
in self-defence. I 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, I struck him with the lance on the near side, just
behind the neck, and pinned him to the ground. That moment the negro
next to me seized the lance and held it firm in its place, while I
dashed head foremost into the den to grapple with the snake, and to get
hold of his tail before he could do any mischief.
On pinning him to the ground with the lance, he gave a tremendous loud
hiss, and the little dog ran away, howling as he went. We had a sharp
fray in the den, the rotten sticks flying on all sides, and each party
struggling for superiority. I called out to the second negro to throw
himself upon me, as I found I was not heavy enough. He did so, and the
additional weight was of great service. I had now got a firm hold of his
tail, and after a violent struggle or two, he gave in, finding himself
overpowered. This was the moment to secure him. So while the first negro
continued to hold the lance firm to the ground, and the other was
helping me, I contrived to unloosen my braces, and with them tied the
snake's mouth.
The snake now finding himself in an unpleasant predicament, tried to
better himself, and set resolutely to work, but we overpowered him. We
contrived to make him twist himself round the shaft of the lance, and
then prepared to convey him out of the forest. I stood at his head, and
held it firm under my arm, one negro supporting the belly and the other
the tail. In this order we began to move slowly toward home, and reached
it after resting ten times; for the snake was too heavy for us to
support, without stopping to recruit our strength. As we proceeded
onward with him, he fought hard for freedom, but it was all in vain. We
untied the mouth of the bag, kept him down by main force, and then cut
his throat.
The week following, a curious conflict took place near the spot where I
had captured the large snake. In the morning I had been following a
species of paroquet, and, the day being rainy, I had taken an umbrella
to keep the gun dry, and had left it under a tree: in the afternoon, I
took Daddy Quashi (the negro) with me to look for it. While he was
searching about, curiosity led me toward the place of the late scene of
action. There was a path where timber had formerly been dragged along.
Here I observed a young coulacanara, ten feet long, slowly moving
onward; and I saw he was thick enough to break my arm, in case he got
twisted around it. There was not a moment to be lost. I laid hold of his
tail with the left hand, one knee being on the ground; and, with the
right hand, I took off my hat, and held it as I would hold a shield
for defence.
The snake instantly turned, and came on at me with his head about a yard
from the ground, as if to ask me what business I had to take such
liberties with his tail. I let him come, hissing and open-mouthed,
within two feet of my face, and then, with all the force that I was
master of, drove my fist, shielded by my hat, full in his jaws. He was
stunned and confounded by the blow, and, ere he could recover himself, I
had seized his throat with both hands, in such a position that he could
not bite me. I then allowed him to coil himself around my body and
marched off with him as my lawful prize. He pressed me hard, but not
alarmingly so.