'' TRIGONOCEPHALUS LANCEOLATUS." 49 



never meet without an encounter, in which the Cribo is in- 

 variably the victor. It is a pretty little creature, perfectly 

 harmless, as all the other snakes in St. Lucia are, and is 

 much petted and encouraged by the white population, as a 

 guard and protection from its deadly rival. 



Shortly after my arrival in the colony, I saw a Spilotes 

 crawling lazily along the street near my own door, and 

 burning with the desire to possess a Fer-de-lance of my 

 own capture, I sallied forth armed with a broom stick and 

 despatched the, to me, dreaded invader. Speedily a small 

 crowd collected, anxious to see what I had done ; and I leave 

 my readers to imagine my disgust at finding the negroes 

 pitying m}' crass ignorance in slaying their best friend the 

 Cribo. " Ah, mossoo," I heard one say, " 3^ou have to give 

 account one day for taking dat life ; you gwine be too sorry 

 you done dis ting." I never killed another. 



A fight between a Cribo and a Fer-de-lance is an interest- 

 ing sight. The poison of the latter seems innocuous to its 

 rival, who, relying on his powerful muscles and jaws, pins 

 his adversary by the neck, and twisting his body suddenly 

 round him strangles him after a fierce struggle, and pro- 

 ceeds to eat him, beginning with the head. On one occa- 

 sion a gentleman I knew witnessed one of these encounters ; 

 and when the Fer-de-lance was half swallowed, he killed 

 the Cribo, and had them mounted as they died. The Spilotes 

 in this case was 4 J feet long, and the Fer-de-lance 1 foot 

 longer, and half of the latter was in the stomach of the 

 former. 



I never had but one experience of close contact with a 

 Fer-de-lance. I was riding with a friend across the Barra- 

 Barra, a high mountain of about 4,000 feet in the interior of 

 the colony. We had been climbing for about two hours 

 from the leeward side of the island^ and after resting our 



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