THE GREAT BOA. 87 



when a buffalo was the first animal that appeared. 

 Having darted upon the affrighted beast, it instantly 

 began to wrap him round with its voluminous twist- 

 ings; and at every twist the bones of the buffalo 

 were heard to crack almost as loud as the report of 

 a gun. It was in vain that the animal struggled 

 and bellowed ; its enormous enemy entwined it 

 so closely that at length all its bones were crushed 

 to pieces, like those of a malefactor on the wheel, 

 and the whole body reduced to one uniform mass : 

 the serpent then untwined its folds, to swallow its 

 prey at leisure. To prepare for this, and also to 

 make it slip down the throat the more smoothly, it 

 was seen to lick the whole body over, and thus 

 cover it with a mucilaginous substance. It then 

 began to swallow it at the end that afforded the 

 least resistance j and in the act the throat suffered 

 so great a dilation, that it took in at once substance 

 that was thrice its own thickness. 



According to the Bombay Courier of August 31, 

 1799, a Malay prow was making for the port of 

 Amboyna ; but the pilot, finding she could not en- 

 ter it before dark, brought her to anchor for the 

 night close under the island of Celebes. One of 

 the crew went on shore in quest of betel nut in the 

 woods, and on his return laid down, as it is supposed, 

 to sleep on the beach. In the course of the night 

 he was heard, by his comrades, to scream out for 

 assistance. They immediately went on shore, but 

 it was too late ; for an immense snake of this spe- 

 cies had crushed him to death. The attention of 

 the monster being entirely occupied by his prey, 



O4 



