186 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



The fangs of the rattlesnake grate over his scales 

 as they would over a file : the constrictor finds nothing 

 about him to crush ; the poisonous moccason bites at 

 him in vain ; and the greatest pest of all, the mosquito, 

 which fills the air of his abode with a million stings, that 

 burn the flesh of other living things like sparks of fire, 

 buzz out their fury upon his carcass in vain. 



To say that he enjoys not these advantages — that 

 he crawls not forth as a proud knight in his armor — 

 that he treads not upon the land as a master — and 

 moves in the water the same — would be doing injustice 

 to his actions, and his habits, and the philosophical ex- 

 ample of independence which he sets to the trembling 

 victims daily sacrificed to his wants. 



The character of an alligator's face is far from being 

 a flattering letter of recommendation. The mouth is 

 enormously large, and extends from the extreme tip of 

 the nose backwards until it passes the ears ; indeed, 

 about one third of the whole animal is mouth, which, 

 being ornamented with superabundant rows of white 

 teeth, gives the same hope of getting out of it, sound in 

 body and mind, if once in, as does the hopper of a bark- 

 mill. Its body is short and round, not unlike that of a 

 horse ; its tail is very long, and flattened at the end like 

 an oar. It has the most dexterous use of this appen- 

 dage, which propels it along swiftly in the water, and on 

 land answers the purpose of a weapon of defence. 



The traveller through the lonely swamp at nightfall 



