THE BOA. 95 



Captain Sted man's encounter with one. 



fangs were very distinct ; and the mangled corpse 

 bore evident signs of being crushed by the mon- 

 ster's twisting itself round the head, neck, breast, 

 and thigh. The length of the snake was about 

 thirty feet; its thickness equal to that of a mo- 

 derate-sized man ; and, on extending its jaws, 

 they were found wide enough to admit at once a, 

 body of the size of a man's head. 



Captain Stedman, when on board one of hi* 

 boats on the river Cottica in Surinam, was in- 

 formed by one of his slaves that a large snake 

 was lying among the brush wood on the beach, 

 Hot far distant; and after some persuasion he 

 was induced to land, in order to shoot it. On 

 the first shot the ball, missing the head, went 

 through the body, when the animal struck round, 

 and with such astonishing force, as to cut away 

 all the underwood around him with the facility 

 of a scythe mowing grass ; and by flouncing his 

 tail caused the mud and dirt in which he lay to 

 ily over the men's heads that were with him to a 

 considerable distance. They started back some 

 way, but the snake was quiet again in a few 

 minutes. Captain Siedman again fired, but with 

 no better success than before; and the animal 

 sent up such a cloud of dust and dirt as he had 

 never seen but in a whirlwind, which caused 

 them once more suddenly to retreat. After some 

 persuasions he was induced, though much against 

 his inclination, being exceedingly weak from ill- 

 ness, to make a tru'rd attempt, Having, there- 



