366 LEAVES FROM THE 



except in a whirlwind ; and away they all again re- 

 treated to their canoe. Tired of the exploit, Stedman 

 gave orders to row towards the barge ; but the perse- 

 vering David, still entreating that he might be permitted 

 to kill the reptile, the captain determined to make a 

 third and last attempt in his company ; and they this 

 time directed their fire with such effect, that the snake 

 was shot by one of them through the head. 



The vanquished monster was then secured by a run- 

 ning noose passed over its head, not without some diffi- 

 culty, however ; for though it was mortally wounded, it 

 continued to writhe and twist about so as to render a 

 near approach dangerous. The serpent was dragged to 

 the shore, and made fast to the canoe, in order that it 

 might be towed to the vessel, and continued swimming 

 like an eel till the party arrived on board, where it was 

 finally determined that the snake should be again taken 

 on shore, and there skinned for the sake of its oil. This 

 was accordingly done ; and David, having climbed a tree 

 with the end of a rope in his hand, let it down over a 

 strong forked bough, the other negroes hoisted away, and 

 the serpent was suspended from the tree. Then Da\dd, 

 quitting the tree, with a sharp knife between his teeth, 

 climg fast upon the suspended snake, still twisting and 

 twining, and proceeded to perform the same operation 

 that Marsyas underwent, only that David commenced 

 his work by ripping the subject up : he then stripped 

 down the skin as he descended. Stedman acknowledges, 

 that though he perceived that the snake was no longer 

 able to do the operator any harm, he could not, without 

 emotion, see a naked man, black and bloody, clinging 

 with arms and legs round the slimy and yet living mon- 

 ster. The skin and above four gallons of clarified fat, 

 or rather oil, were the spoils secured on this occasion ; 

 full as many gallons more seem to have been wasted. 

 The negroes cut the flesh into pieces, intending to feast 



