60 WILD LIFE IN NORTH CANARA. 



side and measured, this snake proved to 

 be about eleven feet long, and twelve 

 inches in girth round the belly at the 

 thickest part. 



Probably our poultry yard was the 

 attraction which led the python to take 

 up his quarters with us, and the quiet 

 and shelter of the bath-room afforded a 

 convenient refuge from the rain. 



I witnessed another combat one 

 morning on the beach, between antago- 

 nists of very different calibre. A large 

 black sand wasp was busy excavating a 

 gallery in the compact moist sand just 

 above high-water mark, kicking out 

 with his long hind legs the pellets of 

 sand he dug out. Presently a silvery 

 little crab, no bigger than a threepenny 

 bit, darted out of an adjoining hole and 



