Camping in Sovith America 
By FRANCIS C. NICHOLAS. Ph.D. 
IV.—Snakes 
O L R camp after a few more days was in 
good order; in fact, quite a habitation, 
comparing favorably with the houses in 
which people at many places in the American 
tropics pass most of their lives. Each day the 
men had added some little improvement till now 
we had a roomy thatched house, or rather hut, 
where five or six people could sleep qnd feel 
entirely secure from the rains whenever they 
might come. 
In the tropics we have the dry season, and 
the rainy season, but always some rain may be 
expected, and dry weather is not uncommon 
even in the height of the rainy season. It is 
a very erroneous idea that it rains all the time 
at one season of the year in the tropics, and is 
dry all through another season. 
Generally we slept out in the open air, but 
there was comfort in knowing that if it did rain 
we had a safe place at hand, and I think we all 
slept better. It so happened that our first days 
in the woods were dry and clear, making the 
experience all the more delightful. We were in 
the house but rarely and used it principally as 
a storage place for our provisions and the speci¬ 
mens which were rapidly accumulating. 
I noticed after a time that whenever the men 
v ent to the house they entered with great 
caution, and on inquiring one word was suffi¬ 
cient explanation—snakes! Las culebras, as the 
men called them. I could see by their manner 
of speech that it was no trifling matter, and I 
now heai d the details of how many people went 
to the woods and never returned. 
Three snakes were their special terrors: the 
diamond-backed rattlesnake, the tomagos, a kind 
of_ moccasin snake, and the coral snake, this last 
being the most dieaded of all. There were many 
other snakes and these usually were called by 
the name tomagos, and often simply culebra. 
Usually they were not deadly poison, and I think 
that many of the remedies held in such high 
esteem in the tropics have become famous be¬ 
cause of frequent use to combat wounds inflicted 
by serpents which are not really deadly; and 
even El Secreto (the secret) looked upon’ with 
such reverence, probably owes its fame to hav¬ 
ing been frequently employed to cure bites of 
serpents which are not really deadly. 
I was desirous of knowing what this secret 
might be, the formula of words or the charm 
which would cure the deadly bite of a tropical 
serpent. Would Lopez tell me? No, he would 
not, and besides he did not have all of it. There 
was more than one secret, but the great secret 
few had. Lopez then informed me that for his 
part he believed in the contras left by the holy 
blood of San Luis Baltram, a priest who long 
ago went ministering to the Indians of the 
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and who, on 
being taken prisoner, was sacrificed to the sun 
at daybreak on the top of an exposed ledge of 
rocks where the rays of light came first and the 
valleys were still in the shadow. There it is 
said his throat was cut and the blood allowed 
to flow down the ledge of rock, and to the as¬ 
tonishment of the Indians it continued to gush 
from the wound in such quantities that all the 
ledge of rock was bathed in blood; and word 
went out that the priest would bleed till he had 
covered all the mountain with blood. Then the 
Indians in great fear were baptized and par¬ 
doned by the dying priest, and promised to al¬ 
ways obey the teachings of other priests who 
would be sent to them. Then the flow of blood 
stopped and the good priest died. 
Immediately the legend tells that strange 
plants appeared where the blood had been flow¬ 
ing, and the voice of Baltram was heard telling 
the people, his murderers, that these plants had 
been sent as a parting blessing and were con- 
tias to save the people who lived, and who would 
m future live among the mountains, from the 
terrors of snake bites. 
At a later date a priest, writing on the Sierra 
Nevada de Santa Marta, spoke of the great 
numbers of medicinal plants found in those 
regions which were not to be had at other places, 
and referred them to the death of San Luis Bal¬ 
tram. 
Lopez, now that he was talking about snakes 
and remedies, assured me that the contras were 
more to his belief than the secret, though he 
would not deny that those who had the secret 
made some wonderful cures. 
\\ henever we went to the woods and left the 
little clearing about our camp it was with feel¬ 
ings of fear. Almost every,day we saw snakes. 
Once Lopez had a remarkable escape. He was 
leading our little party through the woods where 
piles of dead leaves reminded one of an autumn 
day in the North, when he deliberately stepped 
across a great coral snake and stood over it, one 
foot on either side, all unconscious of his ’dan¬ 
ger. 1 he snake must have been asleep, for it 
made no motion, but stretched out full length, 
was entirely undisturbed. At a cry from one 
of his companions Lopez jumped to one side and 
, immediately we killed the snake, which seemed 
too lazy e'ither to defend or save itself. This, 
Lopez said, was their habit. Perhaps conscious 
of the terror their presence inspires, the coral 
snake expects to be let alone. This one was not 
let alone, and with long poles we soon killed it. 
the men cautioning me not to go too close. Per¬ 
haps I had not learned to dread snakes as my 
companions, who were more experienced, but it 
did not seem much to pound away at a bril¬ 
liantly colored snake some five feet long which 
did not resent being killed and made very little 
effort to escape. 
Not long after this we met another snake, a 
big diamond back which immediately sought 
refuge under a fallen tree. I was for digging 
it out, but the men would have none of that, 
saying, ‘For the love of, God don’t disturb it. 
d hose snakes come right at a man when they 
are angry.” 
I was doubtful, but usually it is best to obey 
the guides when in the woods, so we let the 
snake alone. Still other snakes were seen, and 
that evening as we were returning to camp it 
seemed that every few feet we met a yellow 
tomagos in the trail. 
This would not do. Lopez shook his head 
and said we must send for the secret or some 
of us would be bitten. Next morning a mes¬ 
senger was sent, and at night when we returned 
to camp I found a young man waiting, who in 
the morning would pronounce the secret. He 
was a man of great vitality and in a way might 
have been a powerful hypnotist. This made the 
situation very interesting and I was quite eager 
for the ceremony, but nothing would be done 
till the morning, for at that time only would 
the secret be effective. 
seci et was to be invoked. The men stood wit 
heads uncovered; the little boy looked on i 
awe, not unmixed with an expression of terro: 
I, who was a stranger, would be treated firs 
Our hypnotist took me by the hand, then woun 
his hand down over my wrist, which he grippe 
with energy, and now had me repeat after hir 
a formula in which I admitted that before Go 
I was a miserable sinner worthy to be killed b 
.the snakes, and if the blessings of the ho! 
saints Mercedes would save me from my sins 
so I would live more worthily and not be kille. 
by the snakes. The possessor of the secret wa 
reverently in earnest, and after I saw hov 
seriously the men took it I became serious my 
self, and it really seemed a beautiful manifesta 
tion of faith in a supreme protector. 
When the ceremony of my initiation into th< 
secret was over the men and the possessor oi 
