HABITS OF THE SNAKE. 
45 
upon them, it resembles the Boa constrictor of authors ; destroying by 
the force of its muscular folds deer, goats, wild hogs, and sheep ; 
which it gorges whole. 
It has been stated by an author * often quoted for his authenticity, 
that “ he bought one of these snakes of a hunter, and on dissecting it 
found in its body an entire middle-aged stag covered with its skin ; 
that he purchased another which had swallowed a wild goat in spite of 
its large horns ; and that he drew from the stomach of a third, a por- 
cupine armed with its quills he also mentions that “ a pregnant 
woman was swallowed by one of these animals.” f 
Till recently such tales have been considered fabulous, and yet 
there can be no doubt but those who have lived much in torrid cli- 
mates must frequently have witnessed corresponding facts. The 
description I shall presently give of the habits of a large Java snake, 
which I saw alive at Batavia, and afterwards examined both alive and 
dead on board the Caesar, will be sufficiently illustrative of its power 
of destroying large quadrupeds. That it is equally capable of de- 
stroying and prone to attack a human being, I could gain no certain 
evidence in Java. It will appear, however, from the following state- 
ment, that man himself is not always secure against his formidable 
power. 
Captain Ross (whom I have just mentioned), while in his ship off 
the island of Celebes, was visited by a canoe from the shore, con- 
taining two Malays, and the mangled body of a man, the bones of 
which were mostly broken : the arms especially being dreadfully 
crushed. The eyes appeared to be starting from the head, in conse- 
quence of its having been violently compressed. On enquiring the 
cause of these appearances, the Malays informed Captain Ross, 
that having landed to fish along shore, they had left the canoe in 
* Andreus Cleyerus, quoted by Lacepede. Hist. Natur. des Serpens. Tom. ii. p. 360. 
f c£ Dans l’isle d’Amboigne une femme grosse fut un jour avalee toute entiere par un 
de ces serpens.” Extrait d’une lettre d’ Andre Cleyerus, ecrite de Batavia, a Menzelius, 
Ephemerides des Curieux de la Nature. Nuremburg, 1684. Decade 2. an. 2. 1683, p. 18. 
