| Show giant snakes AN EX CITINa PYTHON HUNT HUIT IN soura AFRICA on tin the trul of the th serpent A luck shot eliot nativa Na tiTs forgea with flesh Met boils of then them if the bowesman Bo jesman or bushman of smith africa has one dainty that tickles bit hi palate palata more than another it is it baked python the aleh of the hug hugo species of snake generally known as the boa constrictor the Dati natives vets method of hunting bunting this reptile is dilT different erect from that employed in their pursuit of any other game inasmuch as while a body bay of fifty to one hundred men it is engaged in the chase the action belongs to one man in the search and two at lit the end during my urn in africa I 1 once met a party of bushmen who were about to undertake a python hunt bunt writes W F vond i in the buths 11 companion Cum pamm I 1 knew several odthe of the men I 1 was curious to see their methods of hunting bunting the python and left our camp on the plains tojin to join them A days jurney brought us well wel I 1 into the tangled primeval bush while we camped for the night trouts were out in all direction directions j in iu bearch of python trails so far en as I 1 could learn thesa these the sa consisted of curious marks about the pools and dry fc fi or water courses what the signs were I 1 could not ascertain if was late the following day when our scouts returned with the information that there were traces tracts of two large reptiles about two hours tramp away early next morning the start was made we had bad not proceeded far before the forest became exceedingly dense the broad leaved trees stretched their arms on all sides and it waa was with difficulty that the raysol rays of light filtered through the green creen turning the gloom into a kin I 1 of thick greenish black haze that made the yes tyes ache until they became accustomed to it and caused t the h e pupils u p 11 1 8 to dilate until they gleamed S like those of a rep tile here and there a rough path ws wits broken through the rough undergrowth der growth evidently by the passage ot of a rhinoceros elephant or other giant of the woods forcing his way through the nearest pot these tracks were the haunt of the pythons coiled a around ro und a limb overhead motionless looking like a part of the tree the reptiles watch for the passage of some animal which they may devour there was a curious stillness still ness in in these solitude solitudes the hiss of a small snake the twitter of a it grasshopper ras shopper or a locust the hoot of an owl or the occasional chatter ofa of a monkey bounded sounded strangely aggressive our party was divided into tens nine of each party spread them selves out with j just aist enough space between each two men to enable them to acin every tree and every open apace space while the te tenth th man yma remained ined home distance in the rear I 1 did not know until later what had become of him I 1 was between two natives nati vez and simply threaded my way as quietly as I 1 CO could uld not bothering myself with trying to discern any object in in the gloom I 1 could coul d rely upon the sharper eyes of the natives an and d the knowledge that when the quarry was found I 1 should be brought to toil it for offensive arms the natives lad only their puny but terrible low and slid arrows which aich instead of ir sucking ticking in the headdress as in the open yvere were now a slung fung upon their backs back in in a rude bark qu quiver iver i each roan man carried a thin cord of olinet t inetor or twisted bark fiber about as a thick as a thread and perhaps from sixty to eighty eight y yarda d in in length I 1 bad had my boua usual companion a dout double express rifle weighing about ten pounds and sighted to ahe he breadth ofa of a hair the air was cool but the half li light teemed to have the property to render it oppre oppressive ive I 1 was getting very tired when the peculiar har carh chirp struck my ear that is u given jay by the illustrious bird which does doe s for the the duty that is sometimes ef performed by the fine fice comb of civilization I 1 half turned instinctively expect to see or hear the presence of the fi monarch which the bird at tended it was not a single chirp bow ever but a dozen continuous ones that seemed to start away off OT on oil MY y left hand baud and pass over to roy my right I 1 knew therefore that it t was its a signal passing from one native to another and I 1 turned to the one nearest to learn the reason E every very native in sight g t was standing perfectly still th the e one on roy my left hand band gave two hurried chirps and then beckons beckoning n g me to fol follow low turned abruptly to the leffand left lef tand and led me fully yards before we reached the point from which the 6 sound had etar tej there we found a tall at sinewy native dative lying flit flat upon the ground gr with every every quivering as he listened through the sound ot of our approach for any movement on t the he part of the game ho he had located A burrid conversation took place and one of the men diaan feared to make a detour to a tain point then the tall fellow who had faund the quarry beckoned me to follow him along the sile side of an elephant track be held feet forward avoiding every twig an and d holding back every leaf as we slowly lowly made our way to the spot where the path narrowed perceptibly quivering with excitement and pointing with his bit sinewy arm roy my guide guile indicated a large treo tree some distance in front one of the boughs of which see tried gnarled and aw twisted isted in a way such as no other t tree ever was sud ledy beily a portion of the bugh b ugh seemed to fall and swayed too and anti fro I 1 saw it was the bead and neck 0 of f a huge python doubtless dis by its instinctive knowledge of our presence in an in staat my rifle was at my bb shoulder for I 1 wa a snake more than any thing else in the world A touch recalled to mo me the con a clous ness that I 1 faeh guest not a principal in the hunt and ire I 1 re luct antly dropped my rifle and w watched etched my guide tel telling ling me not to move under any circumstances be he slipped into the path and discharged an ar row in the direction of the reptile to my tur surprise prise the missile whizzed harmlessly above the snake na ke and fell away up the path these natives are magnificent marksmen and I 1 could not under stand why so easy a mark was sawed mi fed anen I 1 turned mr my head I 1 found that the native had disappeared and remembering his injunction I 1 stood still A faint rustling noise attracted my attention and look ing g closely I 1 saw a thin thread which had bad evidently been attached to the arrow swiftly drawn along forward and then replaced by a stouter cord th this n then explained why the arrow had bad been shot over t the he reptile the python seemed little dij d n at the rustling made by the cord but remained dpn the alert by and by the cord tightened lightened and then appeared to move by jerks at a if Rom something ething were being dr drawn awn along by it while I 1 heard the found sound of approaching footfalls the python raised ra aed its head stretched the long sinuous part of its body in the air and nod gazed zed down the path then with ith laa its eyes eves blazic bla blazing like stars its body hody thickened an and d withdrew back to the branch coiled and realy for action the f footsteps came nearer and nail nearer and at last there appeared in the center of the path approach ing from the direction from which we had come a goat having a stick astick about four inches long passed through the nostrils to which wa was attached the cord that bad been carried by the arrow thi arrow had been shot forward toward the point where the man who bad had nade n ade the detour bid hal gone ready to reasie it after shooting the native who sent the arrow bad had gone back and attached the at string ring to a goat taking the cord attached atti ched the foremost man had drawn it along u until the goat feeling the constant gentle pull at the stick in her bernos nos tails bad had walked quietly forward in obedience to the airing tim I 1 learned later that tho the goat had been carried by the tenth man who followed at a distance to avoid the awe an aal I 1 was summoned up by signal the animal appa arod to t have no knowledge whatever of the presence ece of the python and stud walked quietly along 1 following the draw ing of the ard cord As it passed where I 1 stood it evidently scented me and bleated bleared blea ted As it did so the th python raised its bead w with ith a i we quick k angry jerk I 1 could see its iti eyes blaze again A jerk jerks of the cord set the animal moving again and it wai was now within a it few feet of the bough around which tho the reptile was wat coiled As it passed underneath the folds of the huge snake could be seen working as though forcing the length of the body butof out of the eoila around the limb and into that part which was free another movement nt av and tha the black creal raised itself several feet in the air air for an instant it swayed too aad and an fn fr as if gathering momentum and then with wit h a sudden dart the head ahot forward in a downward direction and struck the goat 9 oat between the should there was a loud bleat of mingled pain and terror a swish ine inz around of dark coil coils aflutter of dead leaves and then I 1 saw the goat completely enveloped by the coils of tee an and dead already the natives were now closing up and many daik faces could be sten around me curion curiously sly peering through the curtain of leaves at the victim of their coming feast it seemed impossible that the snake could swallow the animal but the marvel was accomplished i then the ri atile lazily coiled itself in loose folds aud the state of tor ter por per which accompanies its diges live tive process began tho the natives told roe me that a watch of several hours must take placa place belore before the python chuld be moved since although it was seemingly torpid tho the eyes were open and auy any approach would be dangerous it seemed foolish to wait when a rifle ball would settle the matter in a few minutes but I 1 wanted to see the whole proceeding at last a native approached and shot an arrow straight through the center of the pythons head be tween eyes fur for a few minutes the huge reptile thrashed about and then subsided deai yet still giving angry moscu muscular u ar jerks on bt baing log touched or moved 11 the fhe tail will nit lint die until sundown said the chief 11 we must leave it I 1 ran my tape over the snake he ile measured twenty five fire feet and some inches the tbd natives began bean to prepare the body for transportation r fallen it was hacked into pieces six feet long and theae these piece supported by loops nf 4 bark fiber were slung upon boughs and carried shoulder higa two men to each piece in due time we reached the open where our first camp had been and then the preparations for fur the feast began begin A number of natives dug a along long trench with their spearl others gathered rucks rocks and others leaves the stones were placed in the trench and dry sticks ticks were piled upon them and set on fire the fire was renewed until the stones stories were quite hot then the embers were tanned out and the coils of the snake covered with wet leaves through which the steam rose in clouds from time to time more water was thrown on carefully careful iv until at last no steam arose tho the leaves were then raked aside and without ceremony or carving ing every native went tooth and nail into the feast it was an orgy that passes description and may inny be imagined perhaps when I 1 eay say that by sundown not a vestige was left and that even the marrow had been sucked from the backbone several of the native natives took joints of the bone filled them with tobacco and wed the them for pipes pipe for several hours the entire band were totally incapable of moving I 1 had bad to saunter about until their fit ot overfeeding over feeding dim should pass away it was very fortunate I 1 did so about dawn the tollo following day dayo the camp was perfectly q quiet 11 iet the torpid it 0 id natives lay jay about like hogs bogs an and arx I 1 leaning my back against a guarry tree smoking and thinking when I 1 heard a heavy rustling on the undergrowth opposite roe me and almost immediately flaw faw the head bead and body of a python issue from the shade it was tho the mate of tho the one we had killed attracted by the scent it had bad followed on a mission of ven vengeance geande I 1 did not give it much chance however I 1 attracted its attention by 0 a short charp noise call bog it to hold in iti head motionless tor a second I 1 took rim ain and put a bullet fairly into its head and killed it alm sl int instantly antly had the reptile struck the sleeping camp who can eay say what it would have done when the bushmen awoke their delight knew kneir no bound and another feast wn wai organ zed I 1 wa was tired dred of waiting however and by the promise of a liberal present of tobacco I 1 induced one of the men to accompany ma back to my own camp |
