104 THE TIC-POLONGA, OR KATUKA. 



specimens attaining the length of eight feet. The common name is suggested by the elegant 

 diamond or lattice-work markings of its body. Several smaller species are enumerated as 

 North American : The C. atrox, of Texas ; Q. lucifer, Oregon ; O. confluentus, Texas ; and 

 C. molossus, New Mexico. 



THE SOUTHERN GROUND RATTLESNAKE (Oaudisona miliaria), called also the SMALL 

 RATTLESNAKE, is about thirteen inches in length, with a small button, or what appears to 

 be an aborted rattle, on the tail. It ranges from the Carolinas to the Gulf States, and is 

 particularly abundant on the prairies of the Western Territories and States. It is venom- 

 ous, but its small size is thought to render its poison less potent. This serpent is thought 

 to be even more dangerous than either of the preceding reptiles, because its dimensions are 

 so small that a passenger is liable to disturb it before he sees the deadly creature in his 

 path, and the sound of the rattle is so feeble that it is inaudible at the distance of two 

 or three paces, and can only be heard when special attention is paid to it. It is a prolific 

 species, and still maintains its numbers, in spite of the constant persecution to which it is 

 subjected. 



The food of the Miliary Rattlesnake consists of mice, frogs, insects, and similar creatures, 

 which it mostly obtains by darting suddenly upon them as they pass near the spot where the 

 reptile is lying. This serpent is fond of coiling itself on the fallen trunks of trees, decaying 

 stumps, or similar situations. Fortunately, it is very easily killed, a smart blow dealing 

 instant death even from a very small stick. The color of this reptile is brownish olive, darker 

 upon the cheeks, which are diversified by a narrow white streak from the back of the eye. 

 A series of brown spots runs along the centre of the back, and the sides are ornamented with 

 two rows of brown spots, each spot corresponding with a space in the other row. The abdo- 

 men is sooty black, marbled with a darker and rather more polished hue. An irregular, dark 

 brown band runs along each side of the nape and the crown of the head. 



THE VIPERS. 



WE now come to the second great family of poisonous Serpents, namely the VIPERS, or 

 VIPERID^E. All the members of this family may be distinguished by the absence of the pit 

 between the eyes and the nostrils. There are no teeth in the upper jaw except the two poison- 

 fangs. 



A rather celebrated species of these Snakes is the TIO-POLONGA, or KATUKA (Daboia 

 elegans), a native of Asia, and perhaps of Brazil. This Serpent is much dreaded, its poison 

 being of a very deadly character. A chicken that was bitten by a Tic-polonga died in thirty- 

 six seconds, and a dog bitten by the same creature was dead in twenty-six minutes after 

 receiving the injury. It is tolerably common in India and Ceylon, but is not so familiarly 

 known as the cobra and other species, because it is not employed for public exhibition as 

 is the case with those Serpents. 



Sir Emerson Tennent, in his well-known "Natural History of Ceylon," writes thus of 

 the Tic-polonga: "These formidable Serpents so infested the official residence of the Dis- 

 trict Judge of Trincomalie, as to compel his family to abandon it. In another instance, 

 a friend of mine, going hastily to take a supply of wafers fcom an open tin case which 

 stood in Ms office, drew back his hand on finding the box occupied by a Tic-polonga coiled 

 within it." 



The word Tic-polonga signifies Spotted-polonga, the latter word being a kind of generic 

 title given by the natives to many Serpents, no less than eight species being classed under this 

 common title. It is said that the Tic-polonga and the cobra bear a mortal hatred towards each 

 other, and to say that two people hate each other like the Tic-polonga and cobra is equivalent 

 to our proverb respecting the cat and dog. The Tic-polonga is said always to be the aggressor, 

 to find the cobra in its hiding-place, and to provoke it to fight. There are many native legends 

 in Ceylon respecting the ferocity of this Snake. 



