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Show t .1 I DEATH IN ITS STING g The devaatated Island of Martinique has suffered from something beside volcanic eruptions. The stupendous explosions have undoubtedly killed tens of thoueands of the deadly anakes known as the fer de lance, or Iron lance In English, bnt enough probably remain to make the work of succor one of great peril. The negro laborers, labor-ers, who know ths haunts of Iheae serpents, ser-pents, decline to toll In the localities where they were known to alHiund. Thla Is why many ot them refuse to work for three or four times the ordinary or-dinary pay lo bury the dead at St. Pierre, for they bellevo the snakes have been driven to the coaat by the volcanic eruption of Mount Pelee. Even In India there Is nothing more venomous than the crawling monster of Martinique and last year over 1.000 persons succumbed to tho vlrue Injected In-jected Into tnem from the fangs ot this serpent This Is a higher ratio of mortality from this source, popula-I popula-I tlon considered, than anything India can show. The fer de lance is an Importation from Trinidad. The reptiles were taken ta-ken to Martinique to exterminate the ugly tropical rats which made llfo miserable mis-erable there. The snakes soon succeeded suc-ceeded In their mission, but the cure proved aa hsd as the dlaesse. Thousands Thou-sands of persona were fatally bitten by the snakes until terror rolgned among those exposed to the crawling furv. To overcome the ronttlca a larae number of secretary blrda were brought from South America and let loose over the Island. The blrda are ravenoua anaka aatera and soon rounded up the serpents and made human hu-man life tolerably certain again. Wben thla had been accomplished, Dame fashion ordained that the richly rich-ly colored feathers of the blrda should ba worn as an adornment to women's headgear. Under thla decree tba vul tures steadily disappeared before the shotguna of the Islandera until their usefulness was destroyed. Then the fer de lance came forth from hla hiding hid-ing place and the mountains and resumed re-sumed his attacks upon human beings until terrorism prevails once more. The snake la apt to reach down from tha eaves of the houso or shack and alrike when leaat expected. The tropical trop-ical vegetation, so luxurious, Is an aid to the concealment of hla slimy presence, pres-ence, and helps him In hla attack upon man anu beast. In ths lawn or park he la nestling In shady places and the wise avoid these resorts. Ha attains a growth of seven feet and some have bnvn known to lengthen length-en to twelve. Hla rolor la generally yellow, sometimes grayish, and again brown. The head Is large and remarkable re-markable ftr a triangular space tha thin angles of which are occupied by the muzzle and the eyes. It datts after aft-er Its prey with the speed of lightning. It Is a game species. It never gets out of the way of any obstacle, human or otherwise. It fights till It dies, neither asking nor giving quarter. It will attack an ox or a horse as readily aa a lizard or a rat, upon which It chiefly feeds, and It alwaya coraoa off victor. Its poison Is deadly at aome seasons of the year more than at others. oth-ers. Children have been bitten by them and have died In a few minutes, putrefaction setting In so rspldly that ourlal had to follow In two hours. The augar cane field la a favorite place for the viper. The negroes working In them are often attacked and sometimes some-times one snake will bite a dozen before be-fore It concludes to quit. Usually tha poison kills every one who la bitten. It la a pitiable eight when negroes are thus waylaid. Their screams for help can ba beard a long way off and their appeals touch the heart. Work for tha day la stopped, as apart from tha Borrow Bor-row for the atrlcken, safety urgea that that part ot the field should ba de- ... f. d.va arterard The anaka la hunted with a shotgun. Any other weapon would ba hazardous to tha man who attempted to dispute tha passage of the crawling monster. He would have to get uncomfortably near to use a pole or slung shot or hook and would be apt to get the worst of the affray. Long distance warfare la safer. The anaka haa great strength and wben attacking an ox The Secretary Bird, ftlags hlmsolf with such force against the atanding quadruped as to knock blm down as If ba were built of straw. Evan bones are knocked about this way by a seven-foot anaka, sure footed aa theae animals are. Frequently men and beau are killed Instaotly by the force of the spring and tha poison forced Into the body at the same time. It la yet to be recorded whore thla venomous creature ever turned tall to an enemy, except to the secretary bird, and often It will go a long waya out of Its path to kill man or beast The secretary bird Is noted for voraciousness, vo-raciousness, fleetness, strength and quick striking power. It has a tuft of feathers back of Us bead which resembles re-sembles a pen stuck behind tha ear. From this It has been named after the secretary. On account ot its fondness I tor killing and devouring anakee, It I t called the serpent eater. A eeven i foot fer de lance makes a good meal t for the bird; nothing more. It la four feet In length, has long legs and a f heavily feathered hreaat. of bluish, gray rolor, and haa a long talt Ita beak ta big and strong and It baa long ; and sharp claws, which cut like knives ( on occasions, while Its wings are long ' and armed with blunt spurs at the ( -.' shonlder. It stuns the serpent with ' , this spur and then finishes hint wit r beak and claws. Snakee three or four feet long it will seize with the beaM and ssll aloft, dropping the reptile ! from a height that kills him on atrlk- I Ing the earth, of hla work on tha f' Island of Martinique an authority - saya: "The secretary gets fst and lazy by . tha plentltude of his victims In and around St Pierre. But hla gluttony t if ! ! In .! A Crawling Terror. Tha deadly fer de lance of Martinique, doea not atop him from killing a anaka which encroaches on hla preserve. He will not eat bla victim then, but will do ao before be starts out for fresh conquests among crawling creatures. Before he was extirpated It was common eight hereabouts to see a huge snake darting scron a dusty roadway with the secretary In pursuit. When too closely pressed the snake I would turn and show fight Tha con- f test lasted shout two minutes ant I ended In the auake'a death. Tha lat- f tor would eject Ita poison, the bird would dodge It fairly well, and what did land upon the soaring combatant was on the wings or breast which tha feathers protected. In the meantime the bird would be dancing upon bla snakeahlp with Ita iharp clawa until It was exhausted, when the beak would be driven through tha slimy body tq end Ita existence." |