Schomburgk's Account of Roraima. 305 



very moment I raised my arm to do so, the animal dis- 

 appeared beneath the green cover, and from the singular 

 quick motion of the fern fronds I perceived that it 

 was taking to flight. The close thicket prevented my 

 getting near, but the motion of the leaves betrayed 

 the direction which the animal had taken. It soon came 

 towards the outskirt again close to which I hastened 

 along keeping in the same line with it. All of a sudden 

 the waving movement of the ferns stopped and the 

 snake's head peeped through the leafy screen, probably 

 to look out for its persecutor. A lucky blow hit it so 

 hard that it fell back stunned, and before it had recovered 

 several vigorous blows had already succeeded the first. 

 Like a bird of prey I now flew at my victim, knelt down 

 upon it and strangled it with both hands. When 

 MiSSEGARAl saw the real danger over, he hastened up 

 on my calling out for him, loosened one of my braces, 

 and laying a loop round the neck above my hands he 

 pulled at it with all his might. The dense thicket hindered 

 the animal considerably in its movements making it all 

 the easier for us to master it. Only after we had finally 

 succeeded in dragging it into the open space did I 

 become aware with what a monster I had been fighting. 

 The serpent measured twelve feet and a quarter long 

 and was of an enormous strength. Though I have met 

 with the Boa murina up to a length of twenty feet I have 

 never found it of such enormous strength as the Boa 

 constrictor of a length of from eight to ten feet. With 

 the greatest difficulty, and with infinite precaution so as 

 not to injure the skin, we dragged the animal to the 

 village, which we reached, wet with perspiration. It had 

 got too late already to skin it the same day, I therefore left 



