KBSi
VOLUME I.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1875.
NUMBER 39
SNAKES ANO miSSIONARIES.
BY REV. JOSIAH TYLER.
Natal, South Afkica, March 4,187S.
I send 3’ou a few observations
on some of the unwelcome intru
ders we are occasionally obliged
to eject from our houses, premis
ing, however, that danger except
to bare-footed and bare-bodied
Africans is often exaggerated.
Seldom do we experience anj'-
thing more curious than a good
fright.
The serpent family in South
Africa is legion, and its extermi
nation is a matter of great diffi
culty, if not an impossibilit}^. In
point of size we place the python
at the head. It is often found as
large round as the calf of a man’s
leg, and from fifteen to twenty
feet long. A stuffed specimen of
this kind may be seen in the
which the following incident is
connected: Some Zulu boj’s,
while hunting, heard the cries of
an antelope in a cluster of bushes,
and running to the spot found a
pj'thon in the act of swallowing
it. Dispatching his serpentship
with spears and clubs, they feast
ed on the game entrapped in this
novel fashion.
A Dutch farmer in South Afri
ca tells the story of a python at
tacking a Zulu bo}' w'hile he was
asleep and attempting to sw'allow
him, beginning with one leg.
Not getting on satisfactorilj', and
the unfortunate lad awakening to
a “realizing sense” of his situa
tion, the serpent tried to eject the
limb, bat tiie fangs were too deep
ly fixed in tlie flesh to render this
an easT' matter. The poor lad
was oblig(>d to mak! the best of
hi.s awkward situation till help
came.
During a long residence in this
jtart of the world 1 have never
known a case of death to a human
being from an encounter with this
serpent. If armed with a knife
or club, one is tolerably safe.
And it is easily destrov-ed wdiile
digesting an antelope or rabbit.
^Vllen boiled, the flesh of the py
thon is tender, and looks like had
dock. It is said to be an aritcle
of fof)d amonu’ some tribes in the
iiitei-ior of Africa.
’Fhe most formidable serpent in
these parts is called bj' the Zulus
imamha. There are two kinds,
black and green ; the former be
ing the most poisonous, and the
only snake tvhich is known to at
tack human beings when unpro
voked. If fully grown, it is as
large round as a man’s wu-ist, and
tw'elve or fifteen feet long. The
sight of it in hot chase, with head
erect, eyes dilated and tongue
protruded, is not calculated to
awaken pleasant emotions in man
or beast. The Zulus, unless well
armed with clubs and spears, gen
erally take to their heels when a
good-sized one appears in their
path. Rev. Lewis Grout, in his
interesting book, called “Zula
Land,” gives a graphic account of
a narrow escape from one which
pursued him, although he w'as on
horseback. When it enters a
Zulu kraal, the greatest conster
nation ensues. I remember a case
in which a woman w-as obliged to
quit her house, dragging her three
children after her, an imamha
having taken possession. Her
husband, a brave fellow, entered
alone, and, after a severe contest,
succeeded hi killing the reptile.
The appearance of snakes in
native dwellings is always re
garded as a bad omen. Ordina
rily, after such a visitation, an ox
is slaughtered as a propitiatory
sacrifice to the spirits which have
sent the snakes on some evil er
rand. A part of the beef is gen
erally laid aside especially for
these reptiles. We should sup
pose that, as the beef is never
eaten, tlieir faith in the utilitj- of
this offering would be shaken ;
but this does not appear to be the
case.
African snakes often go in
pairs, and when one is killed in
a house, the uncomfortable ap
prehension remains that another
is somewhere on the premises. A
missionary, once hearing a rust
ling on the floor of his bedroom
in the middle of the night, struck
a light, and ascertained that a
horrid imamha was the cause of
the disturbance. He killed it,
and returned to liis bed. Half
an hour after he was startled by
a similar visitation, and was
obliged to repeat the operation.
The riddance of two deadh' ser
pents in one night was quite a
feat; and the next morning the
Zulus were loud in their praises
of their teacher.
Another missionary was read
ing from “Spurgeon’s Sermons”
to Ids wife, wdien she suddenly
exclaimed; “My dear, what is
that under your chair ?” To his
horror he found a green imamha
coiled up near his feet. How
long the visitor had been listen
ing to the great London preach
er was not then the question to
consider, but how to get rid of
him, which was not a very pleas
ant business.
The lamented Dr. Adams, pio
neer missionary to the Zulus, was
once preaching in a grass-covered
chapel, when a beautiful but ven-
omou.s serpent entered and slydy
crept along the ridge, till it came
directly above the good man’s
head, and then assumed an atti
tude of rest and attention. The
preacher, nothing daunted, went
on with his sermon, closing with
prav'er and benediction, and then
quietly observed to his sable au
dience : “Now jmu may kill the
serpent.” The green imamha is
sometimes discovered wound a-
bout the limbs of an orange tree,
its head resting on one of the lus
cious fruits. A well-aimed shot
generally brings down both or
ange and serpent.
A Zulu servant was sent into
a garden for a bunch of bananas.
Cutting it down, and placing it
on liis head, he returned to his
master, singing as he went along.
Imagine his astonishment when,
placing the bananas on the ground,
there emerged from tliem a hide
ous and poisonous serpent. He
is said to have turned almost
white.
The remedy' for snake bites
most extensively used in South
Africa is spirits of ammonia. Dose
for an adult, from ten to fifteen
drops in a wine glass of water.
The Zulus rarely suck out the
poison^ as do the North American
Iudia.n3. In some cases this
would bo difficult, on account of
the rapidity with which the virus
penetrates the system. One mis
sionary saj's that he has found rub
bing ipecacuanha moistened with
water into the wound, and also
some used internally', very use
ful. In the absence of ammonia,
I have found rum and brandy to
be an efficacious remedy. By'
once intoxicating a Zulu, I saved
his life. This is, however, the
only thing for wiiieli I can recom
mend intoxication.
According to recent homoeo
pathic discoveries, it is stated that
a tincture made from a snake’s
gall forms an antidote for the
bite of reptiles of the same species.
A Mr. Perkins, of New South
Wales, has published directions
for those who are destitute of
carefully prepared tinctures. He
say's ; “If a person gets bitten by
a snake and kills the reptile, he
should at once extract its gall,
mix one drop of it with a quarter
of a pint of watei-, and take a ta
blespoonful of the compound ev
ery five or ten minutes, accord
ing to the urgency of tlie sy'mp-
toms.” I have never known this
experiment tried in South Africa.
Herbs growing in Natal are said
to be a remedy for the poison of
serpents, and toads are seen hop-,
ping to the ‘umutiwenhlaiigwana,’
the medicine for the bite of
a snake called “Inlilangwana.”
Snakes do ^the same ' when bitten
by each other, if wo may credit
the Zulus.
lutcrcsting- Sketch of a President’s
Wife.
Tlie following is taken from an
Iiistorical sketcli of Haddonfield,
N. J., in the Camden Press :
“The old tavern house, where
sat the Colonial Legislature and
the Council of Safety', has associ
ated with it another interesting-
character. Soon after the war of
independence had ended, and be
fore the colonies had entered in
to the federal compact, the house
was kept by Hugh Creighton,
whose descendants or family name
have not been known in this re
gion for many y'ears. A frequent
visitor at bis house, and a rela
tive, was a y'oung lady who re
sided in Pliiladelphia. Her mai
den name was Doratha Pay'ne, a
daughter of John and Mary
Pay'ne. She was born in North
Carolina in 1772, while her jia-
rents were on a visit there, they
being residents at that time of
Hanover county', Virginia. Her
father serv'ed as a captain in the
American army during the Revo
lutionary' war, but afterwards, be
ing convinced of the religious
doctrines of Friends became a
member of that society, and was
among the first who had religious
scruples about holding slaves. In
1776 ha sold his landed estate in
Virginia and removed with his
negroes to Pliiladelphia, where
they were all set free. The nurse
of Doratha, •Mother Amy,’ refus
ed to leave her master and re
mained in his family until her
death, and out of her earnings
gave by will §500 to her foster
child. Doratha was educated ac
cording to the opinions of Friends,
and in 1791 married Jolm Todd,
a wealthy y'oung lawyer of that
city, he being of the same faith
and order. He died in 1793, of
yellow fever, leaving her uith
two children. After the death of
her husband she abandoned the
religions faitli of her parents, laid
aside plainness of dress, entered
fashionable .society', and at once
became an attractive and fascina
ting lady. Her jiresence in the
villag'e drew around licr the coun
try beaux, and more than one,
even in their old age, confessed
their inability' to resist her charms.
Their outdoor parties in summer
and quilting frolics in winter al
ways found her a welcome guest,
wlien she was the centre of at
traction and admiration of all.
Philadeljthia was the metropolis,
and where resided tliose adminis
tering tlie government, whose
wives and daughters made socie-
ty ga^' and fashionable. In this
Mrs. Todd was also a conspicu
ous personage, and where she had
many suitors.
Among the delegates to Con
gress from the State of Virginia
was Janies Madison, a y'oung
lawyer of talent, and even then
regarded as one of the brightest
intellects of the State. His strict
attention to the studies of his of
fice prevented his making man-v
acquaintances ; but on the occa
sion of his introduction to the
bright young widow, lie fell des
perately in love. 'Phis on the
part ot one ‘whose attainments
were in advance of his years,’ led
to considerable gossip among the
ladies, and made him tlie point of
many jokes and other pleasan
tries with the heads of the gov
ernment, even to President Wash
ington, who appreciated his worth
and abilities. In 1794 Doratha
Todd, generally known as Dolly'
Todd, became Dolly Madison,
and the wife of a future Presi
dent of the United States. In
1801 her husband was appointed
Secretary' of State by Mr. Jeffer
son, and removed to Washington
City', then little better than a wil
derness. They remained there
until 1817, at the close of the
second term of Mr. Madison’s
Presidency, and then went to
Montpelier, Virginia, upon his
parental estate. Soon after the
decease of her husband, in 1836,
she returned to the national capi
tal, and remained until her death,
in 1849. In her exalted position
she never forgot her friends about
Haddonfield, nor the many pleas
ant day's she had spent among the
people there. Some of her old
admirers sought honorable pro
motion at the hands of lier hus
band during his administration,
whose claims were strengthened
by her influence, and which led
to success. She survived all her
conten.poraries, and in her de
clining y'ears was honored with a
seat on the floor of the House of
Representatives, where she com
manded the respect of the great
men of the nation. She would
alway's relate the pleasant remin
iscences of her early life to those
presented to her as residents of
West New Jersey, making inqui
ry' concerning the old families of
this village, some of whom, how
ever, have at this day scarcely a
representative left.”
A “Poor mam’s Fricud.*’
More than one generation have
sung the praises of good old Da
vid MeWayne, one of the early
settlers of Oxford County', Maine.
He lived in Waterford, and the
place of his residence is still
known as “MeWayne’s Hill,” in
honor of him.
He wa.s an eccentric man, but
a true friend to the unfortunate,
and wlien David MeWayne died,
the poor men of the section lost
tlieir chief stay'.
On a certain season the corn
crop failed almost entirely' in the
country'. It was MeWayne’s cus
tom to keep a year’s supjily of
corn on hand in advance; and
then, again, on his elevated land,'
the late frosts of spring aiid early,
frosts of autumn did not trouble,
him as they did his neighbors of
lower-lying farms. And so it'
came to pass in this winter of
scarcity, David MeWayne had'
enough and to spare. Borne peo
ple over in the adjoining town of
Norway', hearing that he ' had
plenty of bread-stuff, and know
ing bis liberality, drove ov'e'r'for'
the purpose of purchasing. They
asked him if he had corn'to spare.
“Yes,” said he, “I have corn to
spare.” They wanted twenty
bushels.
“Have y'ou any money to pay
for it f’ he asked.
‘Yes, sir,’ answered the spokes
man of the party'. “We should'
not have come without money'.”
“Then, gentlemen,” said Mc-
Way'ne, with calm decision, “I
cannot let you have corn. If you
have money, you can send to ’
Portland for it. I am surround- '
ed by poor people, who have fio
money' and no corn. I mitst sup- ‘
ply' them and lot tli’eni pay me in '
work. They would suffer ' else.”
And through that long, hard
winter David MeWayne adheed
to his resolution. No man who
had the money to pay for it could
buy his corn ; but to the poor and
penniless he emptied his garners.
allowing them to work for him in
return at their own convenience.
Ancient Jticasnreincuts.
_ At a recent meeting of the So
ciety' ot Biblical Archaeology, a
paper on “Ancient Metrology,
by Mr. F. R. Conder, was read,
In this paper Mr. Conder indicat
ed the confused and contradictory
state of our present knowledge of.
the siibject, and proceeded to
establish an absolute metrical
base, identifying the barley
corn, which the Hebrew Writers
state to be the unit of length and
weight, with the long measure
barley-corn and witli the 'IVoy
grain. The grounds of identifica- .
tion were—(1) actual measure
ment and weight of full-sized
grains of barley at time o.f Jlie,
harvest; (2) determination .of’.spe
cific gravity' according to state
ments made in Hebrew literature!
(3) actual dimensions of ancient
Jewisli buildings, and actual
weight of a ^ Babylonian talent
now in the British JMuseum, which
coiresponded to Mr. Conder’s de
termination of 960,000 Tr(^
grains within one per miUe. The
remarkable double division of the
Chaldee metrical sy-stem, which
is both decimal and duodecimal,
was then explained, and shown to
apply to measures of length, area,
capacity, and weight. Tlie origin
of the Troy ounce, the diamond
carat, the Sj)anish ducat, and
other existing divisions is traced
to the early system employed by
the Phoenician traders.
(!!
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