THE Island of St. Lucia, which is celebrated for its beauty and fertility, is however, infested by serpents of the most venomous kind;
Not long since a sad calamity befell a poor old negro and his family, caused by the sting of one of these fearful creatures.
The old man had left his daily work, and was returning to his home late in the evening, when suddenly a dreadful hissing alarmed him. He sprang back, and fled, supposing he had escaped without being stung by the serpent which had lain coiled upon the path, and sprung at him as he approached. Alas! he was deceived. Shortly after reaching home alarming symptoms began to make their appearance, and soon he succumbed to the effects of the poison, none knowing, however, where he had been wounded.
In many of the West Indian Islands the negro population are very poor, the wages of an able-bodied man being only about $1.50 a week. Very often, with a large family to support upon so small a sum, the privations endured are great; indeed, sometimes one pair of boots has to serve three or four members of the family, and in the case just mentioned, the one pair of boots the poor negro wore was the only pair possessed by the household.
When he had died the boots were used by his wife. Soon the same symptoms appeared, and she followed her husband to the grave. The boots then became the property of the eldest son, and before long he too was dead. Then they descended to the next, and he died; and so on down to the eighth son, and each had fallen a victim to a deadly poison.
None had as yet suspected the boots. The ninth and last member of the family received them, and soon the poisonous effects became apparent, and the doctor, searching for the cause of this mortality, at last examined the boots. After a very careful inspection he discovered in the toe of one, protruding through the leather just far enough to scratch the skin of any who wore it, the point of a serpent’s deadly fang.
It was this which had wrought such havoc in the family. The poor father in his fright had not noticed the blow he had received on the toe of his boot, and, being quick in his movements, had hoped he had not been stricken. His toe was only slightly touched; and it was never for a moment thought that there the cause of his death was to be found.
Such, however, is the virulence of the venom that one slight scratch of a fang is sufficient to cause death, as it proved in all of these cases.
How virulent, too, is the poison of sin. To how many has the death-blow been dealt by that serpent.
By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Yes, one after another we have stepped into our forefather’s shoes, we have followed him in his sin. The poison of sin is within us, a nature contrary to God.
Is there any remedy? Is there any antidote?
Yes, thanks be to God, He has provided one. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus, the Son of man, has been lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:14,1514And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14‑15).) Yes, He who knew no sin has been made sin, so that poor sinners might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
ML 03/27/1904