Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1918 — Largest Snakes in Brazil. [ARTICLE]

Largest Snakes in Brazil.

■ The largest snakes known are found In Brazil, and one would have to go far Into the Interior to find them. They are found in the immense valley of the Amazon river and its tributaries, observes a naturalist. This extensive basin, being low-ground, consists partly of swamps and forest jungle, Into which white men seldom penetrate. The forest and., vegetation are so dense that the sun cannot get through to the ground, and being right under the equator, the continual, oppressive, moist heat makes this jungle and swamps the Ideal breeding place for the bl* snakes and' other reptiles. However, of the 180 varieties of snakes known in Brazil, not 10 per cent are venomous, and of these very few of the big ones. Of the non-ven-owoue ones the largest and the best* known is the boa constrictor.