second coils of his body, and was flat on the ground. This was the very
position I wished it to be in. I rose in silence, and retreated very
slowly, making a sign to the negroes to do the same. The dog was sitting
at a distance in mute observance. I could now read in the faces of the
negroes, that they considered this a very unpleasant affair; and they
made another vain attempt to persuade me to let them go for a gun. I
smiled in a good-natured manner, and made a feint to cut them down with
the weapon I had in my hand. This was all the answer I made to their
request, and they looked very uneasy.

It must be observed that we were about twenty yards from the snake's
den. I now ranged the negroes behind me, and told him who stood next to
me, to lay hold of the lance the moment I struck the snake, and that the
other must attend my movements. It now only remained to take their
cutlasses from them; for I was sure that if I did not disarm them, they
would be tempted to strike the snake in time of danger, and thus forever
spoil his skin. On taking their cutlasses from them, if I might judge
from their physiognomy, they seemed to consider it as a most intolerable
act of tyranny. Probably nothing kept them from bolting, but the
consolation that I was betwixt them and the snake. Indeed, my own heart,
in spite of all I could do, beat quicker than usual. We went slowly on
in silence, without moving our arms or heads, in order to prevent all
alarm as much as possible, lest the snake should glide off, or attack us
in self-defence. I carried the lance perpendicularly before me, with the
point about a foot from the ground. The snake had not moved, and on
getting up to him, I struck him with the lance on the near side, just
behind the neck, and pinned him to the ground. That moment the negro
next to me seized the lance and held it firm in its place, while I
dashed head foremost into the den to grapple with the snake, and to get
hold of his tail before he could do any mischief.

On pinning him to the ground with the lance, he gave a tremendous loud
hiss, and the little dog ran away, howling as he went. We had a sharp
fray in the den, the rotten sticks flying on all sides, and each party
struggling for superiority. I called out to the second negro to throw
himself upon me, as I found I was not heavy enough. He did so, and the
additional weight was of great service. I had now got a firm hold of his
tail, and after a violent struggle or two,