WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 253 



the other was helping me, I contrived to unloose my 

 braces, and with them tied up the snake's mouth. 



The snake now finding himself in an unpleasant situa- 

 tion, tried to better himself, and set resolutely to work, but 

 we overpowered him. We contrived to make him twist 

 himself round the shaft of the lance, and then prepared to 

 convey him out of the forest. I stood at his head and 

 held it firm under my arm, one negro supported the belly, 

 and the other the tail. In this order we began to move 

 slowly towards home, and reached it after resting ten times ; 

 for the snake was too heavy for us to support him without 

 stopping to recruit our strength. As we proceeded onwards 

 with him, he fought hard for freedom, but it was all in 

 vain. The day was now too far spent to think of dissect- 

 ing him. Had I killed him, a partial putrefaction would 

 have taken place before morning. I had brought with me 

 up into the forest a strong bag, large enough to contain any 

 animal that I should want to dissect. I considered this 

 the best mode of keeping live wild animals when I was 

 pressed for daylight ; for the bag yielding in every direc- 

 tion to their efforts, they would have nothing solid or fixed 

 to work on, and thus would be prevented from making a 

 hole through it. I say fixed, for after the mouth of the 

 bag was closed, the bag itself was not fastened or tied to 

 anything, but moved about wherever the animal inside 

 caused it to roll. After securing afresh the mouth of the 

 coulacanara, so that he could not open it, he was forced 

 into this bag, and left to his fate till morning. 



I cannot say he allowed me to have a quiet night. My 

 hammock was in the loft just above him, and the floor 

 betwixt us, half gone to decay, so that in parts of it no 

 boards intervened betwixt his lodging-room and mine. He 

 was very restless and fretful ; and had Medusa been my 

 wife, there could not have been more continued and 



