Chapter 10 No.10

Under the Coils of a Snake.

When I awoke in the morning it was with a peculiar sense of oppression. In the first drowsiness I thought there was a great weight across my chest; and my arms were aching. I tried to move, but found that I could not lift my arms. They seemed to be pressed closely to my aides. Thoroughly awake now, I was terrified to find that I was lying beneath the folds of an enormous snake.

Frightened as I was beyond all expression, I maintained sufficient presence of mind to keep perfectly quiet until I could more fully realize my true situation--and, above all, locate the position of the great reptile's head.

As I gazed at the great scaly coils that enveloped me, I saw that the snake was of a pale yellow color. It was perfectly motionless. By tracing the taper of its body I saw that the head must be somewhere near my right shoulder.

I was in a great quandary what to do. Although still anxious for results, I was now quite calm, and my mind was full of plans for escaping from the terrible coils. I dared not move for fear that the snake would strike me with its fangs, or that it might encircle my body and squeeze me to death. Some snakes, like the boa-constrictor, kill their victims by this method; and while I felt sure that this snake was not a boa, on account of its color, I felt that it had the strength to crush me to death.

For a long time I lay in this position, how long I could not tell; but the sun had grown intensely hot as it beat down upon the thicket. I heard the cries of the birds, and looked up at the blue sky with the fleecy clouds floating across it, wondering whether it was to be my fate to die here in the folds of a huge serpent. I wondered too, if bye and bye my bones, bleached white, would be found in the thicket on the shore of this lonely island.

I was gasping for breath on account of the heat, my cramped position and the weight of the serpent's folds across my chest, when I felt it move a little. I wondered if it was preparing to strike me. I did not move, and in a moment it began to move again, and the coils slipped across my body. Slowly it continued to move, until my arms were free and its tail swept across my face.

I was now free, but I waited a few seconds to see if the snake was leaving me. Distinctly hearing it gliding from me, I arose quietly, feeling stiff and sore in my arms and chest. The snake was not in sight, but seeing the grass moving a little distance away, seizing a large stone I sprang after it, but it escaped into the bush.

I reasoned that the snake must have crawled under the thorn bushes after I lay down, and that it coiled upon my body for warmth, as the nights were frequently uncomfortably cool; and so soundly had I slept that its movements had not awakened me.

After this unpleasant adventure I felt anxious to be moving, and, making a fire, cooked some eggs which, with oranges from the stores, comprised my breakfast; after which I gathered a few more turtles' eggs, and resumed my march.

As I had done the day before I followed the coast, but instead of keeping along the sand I followed the edge of the forest, thinking it might prove more advantageous to do so as it would enable me to keep a look-out for game, and perhaps discover new fruits. My progress was necessarily much slower, but the walking was easier as the trees shielded me from the direct heat of the sun, which, on the beach was terrific, the white sand producing a fearful glare which caused no little pain in my eyes.

As I proceeded, the country became more open, and I frequently crossed quite large treeless tracts of tall grass, or stretches which, had it not been for the tropical vegetation surrounding might have been taken for New England pasture land.

One morning, just after resuming my march as I was crossing one of the latter grass tracts, a bird different from any I had before seen arose from the ground and flew into the thicket on the opposite side. Its color was light drab, and the wings and under tail feathers were white. I approached the edge of the bush cautiously, meantime, drawing back the string of my bow-gun and fixing an arrow in place. Laying aside the bag of provisions I crept softly along, until a sharp "coo-o-o" drew my attention to the branches of a tree, where I saw the bird stepping gingerly along one of the larger limbs. Apparently it had not seen me, so, carefully moving to one side until I had a low bush between me and the game, I worked up a little nearer in order to make sure of being within range of the arrow. Then, rising quietly to one knee, I took careful aim and released the string. The sharp "twang," much to my surprise was instantly followed by a flutter as the bird came tumbling to the ground. I hastened forward and picked it up. The arrow had passed entirely through the neck, so that it was quite dead in a few moments. I saw that it was a species of wild pigeon, and therefore edible; and I congratulated myself on securing such an acceptable change in my fare.

I saw no more pigeons after that, but during the succeeding days I found several orange trees from which I replenished my supply of this refreshing fruit.

I continued steadily on, making no important discoveries, following the edge of the brush, but always keeping the sea in sight. Almost every day I went to the beach to look for turtles' eggs, which I usually found in abundance.

The coast continued to loom up before me, head-land after head-land, stretches of beach and rocky bay shores. Allowing for the indentations of the coast that I followed, I concluded that the island was a large one; and, the fact that I was gradually turning toward the direction of the sun convinced me that its shape was nearly round.

I always camped just before sunset that I might have sufficient time to make a fire, cook and eat supper before dark.

I had not kept a fire after supper was cooked, as, having neither seen nor heard anything of wild animals of any kind, I did not feel the need of it; and, beside, I was becoming accustomed to being alone, and to sleeping in the open air, and the nervousness of the first few nights after I was cast ashore had entirely left me.

At the end of the sixth day I had, in my journey, turned around so that the direction which I followed was a little more than right angles to that taken where I left my house. In other words, instead of going nearly south, my course was now nearly southeast.

At the end of the seventh day I came to a large stream which was too wide and deep to ford. The next day being Sunday I resolved to pitch camp and remain there until Monday. Meanwhile I would decide whether to devise some means of fording the stream, or follow up its course.

Although I had not, as yet, done any work on Sunday, I decided that it would be no great violation of the day to try to evaporate a little sea water, while I was in camp, and thus procure a little salt, which I was craving.

That night before going to sleep, I revolved several schemes in my mind, and, ere I fell asleep, I believed I had solved the question of making salt.