271 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Dec. 1, 1S67. 



warning of the vicinity of death in its worst 

 form, brought me to a sense of my situation only 

 just in time, as four more steps must have brought 

 me into contact with the dangerous reptile. My 

 surprise was complete on discovering the glowing 

 coil writhing at my feet, now contracting, now 

 distending, as though about to burst. 



What a chaos of fear and passion one might 

 imagine pent up within that tight skin ! Its glisten- 

 ing eyes, the nervous vibration of its forked tongue, 

 and above all, the knowledge that it was possessed 

 of a pair of fangs, the slightest scratch of which 

 would be sufficient to cause death, alarmed me not 

 a little, as I was entirely unprotected, having no 

 slick or other weapon wherewith to despatch it. 



In 'this awkward predicament I stood for some 

 seconds, my eyes fixed upon those of the horrid 

 creature before me. 



From my feelings at that time I can understand 

 the fear which some of the smaller animals have of 

 Serpents. I felt for the moment rooted to the spot, 

 and, as if suffering from night-mare, could not take 

 the backward step which my reason told me should 

 be made ; however it was made at last, and another 

 followed, and another, and yet another; when find- 

 ing that my enemy did not follow, the blood seemed 

 to flow freely in my veins again, and on placing 

 several yards between myself and the reptile, I had 

 the felicity of seeing it gradually unfold itself and 

 slowly skulk into the adjoining underwood. 



Now to return to my argument : — had these ani- 

 mals the natural love of destruction so vividly set 

 forth in the newspapers, it is evident that my life 

 at that auspicious time would not have been worth 

 a year's purchase, for never had snake a better 

 opportunity of making a human victim. You may 

 therefore imagine how I thanked my lucky stars 

 on reading the above-mentioned account that on 

 that adventure with the rattle-snake and other 

 similar occasions, I met not with the same un- 

 happy fate as did the poor horse and Bonassus. I 

 could hardly, however, reconcile the account with 

 my own knowledge of facts founded entirely upon 

 experience, and I am now happy to find the only 

 case in point which could be brought forward 

 against their accuracy removed. 



I believe that snakes are, without an exception, 

 most timid and cowardly creatures, infinitely more 

 so than their wonderful power of subduing life and 

 quickness in striking then- victim would warrant or 

 lead one to imagine. 



In most snakes which it has been my fortune to 

 come across, I have discovered their natural timi- 

 dity and propensity for skedadling — as the Ameri- 

 cans would say — on the slightest approach of 

 danger, always provided that they can do so with- 

 out fear of their tails. Not only are they venomous 

 and swift in flight when it suits them to be so, but, 

 in my opinion, they are not only traditionally cun- 



ning, but absolutely so ; and the reader may laugh 

 if he will, but I believe that when suddenly in- 

 truded upon they take all the chances of escape 

 into consideration, and if they feel, that they can 

 get off without receiving a crack on the tail in the 

 attempt, they will endeavour to do so ; if, on the 

 contrary, the chances of escape appear too slight 

 — like a rat enclosed in a room without means of 

 escape from its enemy, or even a cowardly man 

 with a grain of sense in his head— they will chance 

 the possible but improbable, and endeavour to 

 escape, by first subduing their opponent. Eurther, 

 I believe that all snakes, as a rule, attack man only 

 in fancied defence of themselves or young, unless it 

 should happen to be a big one — a python, for in- 

 stance—then I allow that they act strictly on the 

 offensive, but only so when hungry. There is none 

 of that tiger-like pleasure of causing pain and death 

 about them which 1 imagined was the case when I 

 first left England ; this I have proved in tempting a 

 newly-caught boa-constrictor by placing live lizards 

 and other small animals in its cage, but unless it 

 was ready for a meal it took no notice of them. 



As I am on the subject I may mention, in relation 

 to Brazilian snakes, that many of them are exceed- 

 ingly beautiful; the Coral Snake (Coluber corallinus, 

 Lin. ?) surpassing in loveliness any animal — birds in- 

 cluded—that I have ever seen. Its bodyis beautifully 

 banded with successive belts of brilliant jet black, 

 pure white and coral red, bright and glowing in its 

 beautiful colours almost beyond description. When 

 iflive and in motion they are really magnificent, 

 moving in such an elegant curvilineal manner as to 

 appear more like lovely toys than dangerous rep- 

 tiles ; in fact, the little naked children often come 

 to premature graves through playing with them as 

 such. I have one before me now, as I write, pre- 

 served in white rum and water, which I found to be 

 the best mixture for their preservation ; and al- 

 though the brilliancy has much deteriorated, it s 

 still a beautiful object. 



Its capture was made under rather peculiar cir- 

 cumstances. I was talking and laughing with a 

 company of Mulatto girls, who were sitting on the 

 ground, when one of them suddenly sprang to her 

 feet screaming, as she flung her hands on high, as 

 though terribly alarmed — her companions, in accord- 

 ance with woman's general character, followed her 

 example, and the uproar was intense. I was quite 

 at a loss to discover the cause of their fright, 

 and this I did on perceiving about a foot of the 

 creature's body hanging from beneath the girl's 

 petticoat, where it had in some way got fixed. As 

 she ran away, however, it fell, and I then put an 

 end to its existence. The creature proved to be a 

 beautiful specimen of its kind, measuring about 

 four feet. Like most other snakes in Brazil, it is 

 poisonous ; in fact, the only ones I found to be non- 

 venomous were a small green variety and a black 



