teeth of the reptile are so formed that it could not
again force the peccary out of its mouth, while the noose prevented it
swallowing it. John and I eagerly sprang forward and seized our guns,
but Duppo now coming up, told us that there was no necessity to use
them, as in a short time the boa would be dead.

As the boa lay on the ground John boldly rushed up and gave it a blow
with his axe. The natives now without fear forced their spears into the
creature's mouth, and dragged out the mangled body of the peccary. This
done, they hoisted the serpent up by the neck to the branch of the tree,
whence it hung down, showing us its full length, which could not have
been much less than twenty-five feet. To make sure that it would not
come to life again, one of them climbed up, and with his knife split
open the body. Even during the short time it had coiled itself round
the peccary it had broken every bone in the creature's body. I observed
that it placed coil above coil, as if to increase the force of the
pressure, and it had instantly begun to swallow its prey without first
lubricating it, as it is erroneously described as doing. The part of
the peccary which had entered the mouth was, however, covered with
saliva, but this had only been poured upon it in the act of swallowing.

We thanked the Indians for the assistance they had given us in killing
our enemy. They had come, they said, to finish the canoe, and also to
inquire about Maono and Illora, whose absence had caused the tribe great
alarm. They had also brought us some mandioca-flour and a supply of
fruits. Farinha or flour, I should say, is produced from the same
root--cassava, or manioc--as is tapioca, and is like it in appearance,
only of a yellower colour, caused by the woody fibre mixed with the pure
starch which forms the tapioca. There were also several cabbage-palms,
always a welcome addition to our vegetables. Among the fruit were some
pine-apples, which had been procured in a dry treeless district--so we
understood--some miles in the interior.

Ellen begged that they would remove the body of the serpent to a
distance, as she did not at all like seeing it hanging up to the tree
near us. Fastening sipos to it, they accordingly dragged it away. By
the following morning not a particle of it remained, it having furnished
a feast to several armadillos, vultures, and other birds of prey.

The last evening of our stay had arrived. Our provision were