41 8 , SNAKES. 



name of Bushmaster. Man and beast fly before him,' etc. 

 Waterton 'wandered' between the years 1 8 12-1824, making 

 several journeys to South America, primarily with the view 

 to ascertain the composition and effects of the Wourali 

 poison, and on this subject his information was of value. 

 But his descriptions of serpents partook of the prejudices 

 of that date, and were more picturesque than zoological. 

 What he saw and wrote of possessed the charm of novelty 

 in those days, and Sir Joseph Banks addressed a letter to 

 him expressing 'abundant thanks for the very instructive 

 lesson }-ou have favoured us with, which far excels in real 

 utility anything I have yet seen.' 



Endorsed by such an authority, what wonder that 

 fourteen feet of radiantly splendid * Bushmaster ' should 

 figure in the encyclopedias of the day, and be copied by 

 bookmakers and magazine contributors for years and years 

 — even to the recent date of 1874 I Hartwig, 1873,^ gives 

 Waterton's ' rainbow hues ' nearly word for word, with the 

 addition of one of the scientific names, LacJiesis rJionibcata. 

 Kingston, 1874,^ aided by his imagination, improves on 

 Waterton. The Curucucu, or Couanacouchi, ' sometimes four- 

 teen feet, is the largest known poisonous snake. It is 

 remarkable for the glowing radiance of its fearful beauty, 

 displaying all the prismatic colours. It mounts trees with 

 the greatest ease,' etc. (It lies half concealed 2inder the 

 trees among dead leaves.) Another writer of Travels 

 round the World (meaning the British Museum Read- 

 ing-room) contents himself with simply a 'ralnbow- 



^ The Tropical World. London, 1873. 

 ^ The Wesiej-n World, London, 1874. 



