Man Against Boa

A Newark engineer who served on íhó ei)gineeii'g corps einployed in the j : constrnction of the Nicaragua canal 1 told the story of a duel with a boa l strictorby a f ellow engineer. One of the party stated one evening that be could kill a boa single handed. The rest of the crowd tried to convince him he was wrong, but he stuck to the assertion. Finally a handsoine bet was made that he could not dispatch a boa alone if the deadly reptile was in its natural condition. The young engineer promptly accepted the terrns of the wager. The nest day a gang of natives were sent into the forest to ficd a boa. They finally carne upon just the article they were looking tor. It was a well grown specimen of the boa species f ully 15 feet long. It had eaten heartily a few days bef ore it was discovered, and it was therefore torpid. It was captnred without difficulty and taken back to camp. It was deposited in a room, wbere it was securely bound and then left until jts sleep should be over. The young engineer who was to meet the undulous monster of the forest in a duel to the death repented of his rash bargain many times, but he never let any one know and was -'dead game," as the saying goes, from first to last. ÍSoas often remain in torpor for three weeks, and it was nearly a fortnight before the pinioned snake showed signs of retnrning activity. The engineers then appointed a night for the combat, and the yonng man who was to face the serpent went into active training. It had been stipuláted that his only weapon was to be a knife, and the young man relied on his clear brain, iron nerve and supple wrist to carry him through the encounter in eafety. When work was over on the appointed day, those who were in the secret entered the room and proceeded to ent the ropes with which the serpent was bound. It had been coiled up and several bands placed a bout it. These were all severed but one, and the snake's opponent entered while his companions beat a hasty retreat to safe coigns of vantagofrom which to watch thestrange battle and to give succor in a last extremity. Tbe young engineer was lightly ciad and carried in his right hand a long knife, highly gronnd and sharpened. The monster, half famished as it was, was in a most angry humor, and its horrid head, oscillating to and fro with distended jaws and viciously shining, beady eyes, must have made the young man's flesh creep. Ho strode Btraight up to the boa, and with a lightning stroke of his knife ent the remaining band that bound it. He jumped back the instant the stroke had fallen with the celerity of a tiger cat, but his swiftness was snaillike compared with that of the serpent. Quicker than thought the boa descended upon his enemy. Before the man could move the snake had fallen upon his arm, had wound its way up its entire length and was biting at his shonlder. The arm around which the snake had wound itself was the young fellow's knife arm. Luckily the hand and wrist were free. He did notwait to transfer he knife to his other hand, but Biiminoned all his power and cut at the coil Df the serpent nearest his pinioned hand. It was a splendid stroke, a backward :ut, and it was clean through the body. The upper portion of the sliiny coil dropped to the floor, and the intrepid engineer had won his bet. The entire contest lasted but a few seconds, and so quickly did it pass that the breathless onlookers scarcely realized what had happened. The young man was pretty thoroughly exhausted. His shoulder was quite badly lacerated by the teeth of the snake. The strangest part of the episode was that the young man's arm was lame for weeks, and all its length was a spiral black and blue where the