_I here chronicle the arrival of my twenty-fifth
birthday and give the reader some little idea of my
mode of life, retailing for his especial benefit the
trouble I had in regaining possession of my treasure
which I had hidden so carefully; informing him also
of the manner in which my ingenuity came to my aid
in getting at the contents of the box._
AT last my twenty-fifth birthday arrived, and I went into the woods to
an old hollow tree in which there was a hole large enough for me to
enter, and having ascertained, by careful inspection, that I was
unobserved, I entered. Climbing up some twenty or thirty feet, I thrust
my hand into the hollow of a limb which extended at right angle from the
trunk, to get the package I had carefully placed there sometime before.
I felt my hand firmly grasped and a thick astonishment fell upon me, as
I sought to ascertain the cause of the pain which I now felt tingling up
my arm. I tugged and pulled and gradually began to withdraw my arm,
bringing with it whatever it was that held it.
As I continued my exertions I soon saw two gleaming eyes.
This so frightened me that, for once in my long and eventful life, I
lost my head, so to speak, and likewise my foothold, and should have
fallen had I not been in the death-grip of some fearful monster.
I renewed my wiggling and twisting and jerking, by dint of which I
continued slowly descending until I was opposite the opening through
which I had entered, and out of this I struggled, drawing my enemy after
me.
By getting a good purchase against the tree, I started the great
serpent, as I now saw the thing to be, through the aperture.
He now ceased his reluctance to follow me, evidently being now
determined to help matters along by coming out himself, and within an
incredibly short space of time there was so much of him coiled upon the
ground and around the tree that it was impossible for me even to
estimate his enormous length.
But, behold my horror! For now he had coiled himself firmly, and while
holding me some twenty or thirty feet from the ground was proceeding to
draw me into his cavernous throat, in spite of my frenzied efforts to
combat him.
My horror did not reach its climax until I found my head and shoulders
surely entering the terrible maw.
It makes me all goose-fleshed to think of it—it was a terrible
experience. Finally he had swallowed me, and I fell with a slippery thud
to the point where his body was coiled upon the ground.
I was still vigorous and was struggling desperately; so much so that the
serpent seemed to be suddenly filled with a great questioning as to
whether he had not made a serious mistake.
In threshing around within this cave my hand struck something which I
quickly ascertained to be the package I had sought. I hugged it tightly
to my breast, for the moment forgetting my danger.
The air was becoming stifling, as you may well imagine, and I soon
became desperate. I ran my hands through all my pockets, in a vain
search for my knife which I had left somewhere. The only thing I found
was a mouth-organ. I scratched the wall of his stomach with this most
fiendishly, but it had no effect.
Thinking of another pocket upon the inside of my shirt, and it requiring
the use of both hands to unbutton the shirt and get inside, I put the
organ between my lips. I presume I was short of breath, for I had been
quite busy, and in trying to get my breath I drew the air through the
organ and made a note or two.
I was surprised to feel the actions of the monster at this moment, and I
withdrew the organ from my mouth to observe them. As I did this, the
action stopped.
I then blew the good old tune of “Yankee Doodle,” and the contortions of
the snake were tremendous. He swayed and writhed and seemed to be
catching my feet in a terrible grasp, and I soon became aware that I was
being pushed rapidly upward by the contractions and expansions of the
muscles of his body below me.
I had been conscious that the serpent had been all the while traveling,
but I had not noticed in what direction, and when my head was projected
from between his enormous jaws I saw the earth very far below me. I then
observed that he was upon one of the tallest trees on the peak of a
mountain and had extended himself into the air as far as he could above
the tree top, his body, however, reaching almost to the ground.
I was therefore in a frightful dilemma; for, if he should spew me forth
into the atmosphere, I should surely be killed by the fall. My natural
ability to meet any emergency came at once to my rescue, and as I came
forth I curved myself around his under lip and grasped his body firmly
with both arms. His skin was slimy, and had it not been that he had
wrapped himself around an immense tree in various directions, thus
forming undulations which permitted me to slacken my speed at each
depression, I should most likely have been crushed on striking the
ground. As it was, I landed gracefully upon my feet.
As you can imagine, I was heartily glad of my escape from such a
terrible death as had so lately confronted me, and happily pursued my
way with my prize in my bosom.