DEATH OF THE PYTHON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2467, 26 June 1901, Page 70

DEATH OF THE PYTHON.

. (Captain.) Without stating the purpose for what< required, we succeeded in purchasing &-sr '"biUies" for a few annas a head. In spite of our caution, curiosity had been aroused ; so we indented on Lynn for some. Mahomedans, and cordoned them round the bungalow on the side leading to the works, and opposite to the scene of our intended, operations. Then we tethered our flock, to the verandah pa«ts, and commandeering tools from Lynn's store shed, we dug a short 2ft trench just inside the wall, to allow of our conveniently taking cover behind it. Then, with crowbars, we loopholed the wall itself, to enable us to command the jungle beyond, and fire through if necessary. Returning, we took six tent pegs, also a mallet, and, leading the goats by their strings, we picketed them beneath a tamarind tree that stood tome twenty yard* away in the forest, accomplishing which, we hastily retreated, legair.ed our trench, and watched, with our eyes glued to the loopholes. They were no sooner left to themselves than the "billies." commenced bleating. We were glad, for the pound would tend to attract the python if it were anywhere in the vicinity. Trine passed ;i% got on towards evening. The goats' plain--tive bleating continued ; we were beginning to weary of its monotony, when suddenly the cadence changed to that of terror. The enemy had come ! We looked. Sure enough, there a was, the prehensile tail wrapped round o nether limb of the tsma» rindV the hideous tiunk, ending in the squab, lozenge-shaped head, hanging vertically festooned above the wretched goatst which seemed paralysed ; for they had ceased to give tongue, and cowered together in a trembling group. After hovering and "pK'yiug" over its victims, the reptile selected one, and with lightning-like rapidity, threw severxl coils around it. Ir-e length trending up to the branch seemed to contract ; a sickening sound of crushing, followed by one lamentable yell fion the goat, struck horror to our souls. 'I hen there was sJence! Piesently. with a series of undul.il ions, the snake paid itself out from the tree, ai.d, loosing hold, the tail came to the ground with a thud.

Now, bringing its wonderful powers of deglutirion to bear, the reptile opened -n ide its jaws, closed them on the goat's heod, and then, lime by htt'e. aided by many muscular actions, it engulfed the entire earcdi.s' Fascinated. hoii'in?d. yet interested, v. c looked on. We might have fired there and then , but; we postponed doing so till we had the quarry more completely in our power; he had not finished Ins meal \er Fortunate that we did not school ; for v.nv the python climbed the tree and ensconced itself among the branches, where we still saw it plainly. We had noticed that its movements weie not ko .igile a*- heretofore : with an entire goal — though si.iall — =-till plugging its esopiiagiu. it was Lutr.dicapped, and locomoted with comparative difficulty. However, after lying quiescent iov some time — by which we supposed that the poor '"billy'" had reached the s-tomach — the leptile woke up, and the scene that we h<>d just w itne^ed was reheated: anothei v ctim d p stroj-ed, lubricated, and engulud '. We looked to tee the snake again make iui the ires ; it tried, but after repeated at tempts failed io "catch on." It ciawlcd

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sluggishly and inertly about the ground, two protuberances down its length indicating the position of the two goats that it had "bolted."' The serpent now seemed to accept the inevitable, for, selecting a comfortable spot — still tinder the tree — it coiled up, and appeared to compose itself to sleep. Now was our time ! Cocking our rifles, we stole round through the gate, and making a detour so as to keep the tamarind trunk between us, we cautiously approached the monster. It had made a perfect coil, and the head was tucked under one of the rings ! In our ignorance of the .python> habits we had not bargained for this ; we had expected to get a clean shot at the head, and now we were baffled ! "Where's the blessed head?" whispered Sparkes, savagely. "Shoved in among the coils — but don't let % s wait for it to show ; we'll disable the ■brute first, and smash it up afterwards !" "All right ! You take the bottom coil, I'll take the top — say when!" I confess that we were "shaking all over" — not from funk, or we had not been there, tut from sheer excitement, this being a new experience," and our enemy far more •weird, and uncanny than the veriest maneating tiger that ever walked. Tottering down on to Our left knees we poised our Martinis. "Ready?" I murmured. . "Aye!" "Fire !" The dual crack was followed by a hurlyburly.that beggars description. The smoke lifted, and there was the python whipping ahcut among the four wretched goats, tying its huge selc into writhing knots, hissing like a steam engine ; its eyes flaming, its forked tongue slipping in and out of its hideous jaws ; undulating, wriggling, and cavorting all over the place ! In "half a dozen pairs of gaping wounds we saw where our shots had pierced through and throngh ; still even thus maimed, we were convinced that had the python not been weighted by its huge meal, these injuries "would not have prevented it from catching and crushing us in its folds, or escaping into the thicket. It Avas an awful scene! Slapping in cartridge after cartridge we fired again and again into the snake's body ; but the shots seemed only to rouse it to greatc activity ; for now, having seen ns, it came wriggling and squirming in our direction. We retreated, blazing -away, and riddling the beast again and again. 'At lastx it paused, as if from exhaustion, and laid .its flat head supinely on the ground within a few feet of" us. Sparkes instantly seized the opportunity. Steadying himself — "Take that, you brute !" he cried, firing and sending his bullet clean through the head !