96 • AFLOAT UPON THE LLAXOS. 



forth to tlie astonishment and horror of the inmates of 

 the dwelling. In the equinoctial zone it is the increase of 

 humidity that recalls these animals to life, while, in tem- 

 perate latitudes, it is the increase of heat that rouses them 

 from their lethargy. " It is a curious physiological phe- 

 nomenon, " remarks Himiboldt, in his " Travels," " to ob- 

 serve the alligators of Xorth America jDlunged into a winter- 

 sleep by excess of cold, at the same period when the croco- 

 diles of the Llanos begin their siesta or summer-sleep. 

 If it were probable that these animals of the same family 

 had heretofore inhabited the same northern country, we 

 might suppose that, in advancing toward the equator, 

 they feel the want of repose after having exercised their 

 muscles for seven or eight months, and that they retain 

 under a new sky the habits which appear to be essentially 

 linked with their organization. " 



We have referred to the ophidian moustei's which 

 tenant these submerged regions, and are such a terror to 

 tlie animal kingdom over which they hold universal sway ; 

 even the large and fierce jaguar yielding superiority to 

 these reptilian monsters. The species most common upon 

 the Llanos of Venezuela is the anaconda {Ennectes tnvri- 

 mts), called by the natives culehra de agua, a larger and 

 more voracious serpent than the boa-constrictor, and less 

 terrestrial in its habits. The anaconda is from twenty to 

 thirty feet in length, and instances are not uncommon of 

 its attaining the enormous length of forty feet. Its capa- 

 bility of swallowing prey so many times its own bulk is 

 truly astonishing; not even the pride of the herd, the llano 

 bull, says Paez, escaping its deadly embrace. It does not 

 attempt to swallow the honis of stags, but, as is asserted 

 by the writer above quoted, these indigestible append- 

 ages are left protruding from its mouth, until time removes 

 them by the natural process of decay. The anaconda is 

 able to survive a long period without food, even when not 



