334 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



made slow progress, but their tardiness favored our 

 work. It gave us time to examine our surroundings 

 in a lookout for snakes and several scaly captives went 

 into the bags. Once we stopped to investigate a hut 

 with toppling mud chimney. The place had been de- 

 serted by the negroes during a yellow fever scare. In 

 the rafters a pile of corn fodder had been riddled by 

 the rats which infested the structure. Prospects were 

 encouraging and we were not disappointed. Coiled on 

 one of the rude girders was a big yellow rat snake, 

 regarding us with hostile mien. It was difficult to 

 reach the creature, so we tried to poke him down with 

 a pole. To this treatment he objected and struck 

 angrily, to the accompaniment of a sharp hiss. This 

 was too much excitement for the colored boy we had 

 brought with us; he promptly fled, taking the mules. 

 With the dusk rapidly settling, haste was necessary. The 

 snake showed an inclination to crawl along the girder to 

 the pile of fodder and would there get away. Making 

 a jump for the girder, the writer managed to reach it 

 with one hand, when the flimsy support gave way and 

 saved him climbing for a mid-air tussle with the snake. 

 Man, snake and timber landed together. Hearing the 

 crash from outside, where he had retreated for some 

 distance with the mules, our colored boy at once placed 

 himself and the animals on what he considered safe 

 ground, which proved to be about half a mile distant. 

 The snake was soon bagged and we hunted the caravan 

 with vigorous shouts. We found the boy and the mules 

 at last. The former had become notorious for his cry 

 of "hyar snaake," but his scouting was of slight value, 

 as but a few seconds after his discovery he would be 

 so breathless and at such a distance from the reptile, 

 that its whereabouts was indefinite. 



