532 On the " Indian Boa," " Python Tigris" [July, 



itself round the body of the sailor and was just in the act of crush- 

 ing him, when the rest of the crew appeared and disabled the mon- 

 ster, which was found to be 62 feet in length. 



Now the manner in which the Boa is here stated to have coiled 

 himself round the body, and to be just in the act of crushing his prey 

 is directly contrary to the habits and manners of the reptile, for in- 

 stead of deliberately coiling round its prey and then crushing it, the 

 whole is done with the speed of thought, — the eye cannot follow the 

 rapid movement of the folds in which the victim is enveloped. Glid- 

 ing gradually and as it were almost imperceptibly towards his trem- 

 bling victim, until he finds himself fairly within reach, — with a sud- 

 den dash he throws himself on his prey, seizing it by the head or leg 

 with his powerful jaws, and at the same instant rapidly winding coil 

 on coil round the neck and body. It is in this first movement that 

 the tremendous muscular power of his body is brought into play, and 

 the folds which are formed at the very moment of seizure, are com- 

 pressed with such desperate energy as to render the victim powerless 

 in his grasp and the most convulsive efforts are useless, merely shak- 

 ing the dreadful monster without in the least loosening his folds, — 

 nay, on the contrary, only rendering them still tighter, until life is 

 fairly fled. I have tried with my utmost strength to uncoil a Boa of 

 seven feet from a partridge, but without a shadow of success, for he 

 tightened his folds in spite of my endeavours. 



Had the " Boa Constrictor" (the existence of which in India is 

 more than doubtful !) once succeeded in coiling itself round the sailor 

 — no earthly power could have saved his life. The crew might cut 

 the monster to pieces but his fatal grasp would have done its deadly 

 work, and life would have left the poor sailor, ere the folds of the 

 Boa could have been loosed. 



The velocity with which the Boa darts on his prey, not only over- 

 throws it, but hurls his own body in advance of his head and thus 

 formst he first coil, the rest of his length being rapidly twined at the 

 same time. 



So conscious is he of his enormous power, that if the prey be 

 small, the scaly monster does not deign to coil himself around it. 

 Rats, pigeons, young fowls, or any thing of that size, were seized 

 with a sudden snatch and simply twisted under the neck of the snake \ 

 — the reptile apparently using only the weight of his body and power 

 of his jaws to destroy life. 



The usual method of feeding them, was by opening a small door 

 of the cage and introducing a living bird or beast. On first perceiv- 



