182 PREPARIXC. SPECIMEN'S. 



garden near Tranquebar, I had a shop or work- 

 room purposely constructed for these operations, 

 and kept sometimes two or three Malabar boys at 

 work to help me. Of serpents and snakes I had a 

 list of upwards of eighty different species, from the 

 size of a common worm to 16 and 20 feet long; of 

 crabs, upwards of ninety; and of spiders, more than 

 forty. Whether I went into the woods, on the 

 beach, by land, or by sea, I was accustomed to look 

 about and examine every object I saw, and acquired 

 great facility in catching some of the most danger- 

 ous animals without harm to myself. Far from 

 being afraid of serpents, I went out purposely to 

 discover their haunts, in the jungle or among the 

 rocks, defending my legs with a pair of strong 

 boots ; and if I could prevent their slipping off into 

 their holes, and irritate them so as to make them 

 attempt to strike me, my work was done. A ser- 

 pent thus situated, will coil himself up, and in- 

 stantaneously darting forward his head, strike and 

 bite whatever comes in his way. I then presented 

 my hat, which the animal violently seized with his 

 fangs ; when, instantly snatching it away, I seldom 

 failed to extract them by the sudden jerk ; for, being 

 curved, they cannot be readily withdrawn, and, sit- 

 ting but loosely in the gums, are easily disengaged. 

 Being thus rendered in a great degree harmless, 

 I pinned their heads down, and tied them up. 



