A WILD BOAR ATTACKED BY A BOA-CONSTRICTOR.
While the party was on its way through the forest to the point where the hunt was to begin, the screams of a wild boar were heard, as though the animal was in great agony. Mr. Segovia was the first to hear the sound, and immediately he dashed off, and was followed by the rest. The sound appeared to come from a tall tree that could be seen rising above the rest; the brushwood near it was so dense that the horses could not get through, and so our friends dismounted and proceeded on foot. The sight that met their eyes was an astonishment to the boys!
A great snake had caught a wild boar in his coils, and was slowly lifting him from the ground, while the victim was manifesting his terror in his loudest tones. The Doctor was about to fire at the snake, but at a sign from Mr. Segovia he stopped, and the party stood in a place of concealment to see the end of the combat between, as Frank expressed it, "the boa and the boar."
When he had lifted the boar clear from the ground the snake swung him against the tree, crushing his bones and killing him. Then he let his prey fall, and proceeded to unwind himself and descend preparatory to eating his breakfast. As he loosened his coil the signal was given for the Doctor to fire; and, as he had an explosive bullet in his rifle, he shattered the head of the snake completely. The serpent fell to the ground at once; he lashed the trees and bushes in a frightful way, but as he was totally blinded by the smashing of his head, he could do no damage to anybody. The attendants came forward and secured some bamboo loops around the reptile's neck, and suspended him from the tree, where he continued to twist and turn till the party moved on. The natives said that these contortions would continue for hours, and that they rarely ceased till sundown, even though the head of the snake had been detached before noon.
As they moved on to their hunting-ground, our friends discussed the incident of the morning, and wondered if they would see anything more of the same sort. Mr. Segovia told the boys that the boa-constrictor was a very common snake in the Philippines, and sometimes grew to great size, though less so than in Sumatra and Borneo. "He is far less dangerous than you might suppose," said he, "as he rarely attacks man, and there is no poison in his bite; in fact, he has no bite at all, and his mode of killing his prey is by crushing it as you have just seen. Once in a while a native is killed by a boa, but the occurrence is rare, and generally owing to the carelessness of the victim rather than the superior cunning of the snake. He is not very active in his ordinary movements, but if roused he can display considerable agility, when the size of his body is considered.
FIGHT WITH A GREAT SNAKE.
"I once had a fight with a boa that had taken refuge in a crevice among the rocks, where my dogs found him. They barked furiously, and the snake tried to reach them with his jaws, but they were very agile in their movements, and managed to elude him. I came up with my men, and sheltering myself behind a rock close to the crevice, took careful aim, reserving my fire till his head was poised for a blow. I put a large ball through his head, and soon afterward another through his body, and then his writhings were furious; he twined himself round the rocks and bushes within his reach, and in so doing overturned a large rock, that fell on one of his folds and pinned him down. In this position he continued to dart his head from side to side with great rapidity, and with such force that a blow from it would have been no small matter. In an hour or so his strength gave way; I had sent one of my men for assistance in skinning the snake, and by the time the re-enforcements arrived the reptile was in a condition to be lashed up to the nearest tree. He measured nearly seventeen feet in length, and his skin was most beautifully marked.