BRITISH REPTILES 105 
their eggs, especially those of the latter that are 
ground builders. One that was killed by two of our 
foresters was six feet long, thick in proportion, and it 
had a small wild rabbit in its inside. As these 
secluded places are rarely visited, except by those 
who, like myself, go to them for the express purpose 
of watching the reptiles, they live in peace. Rough 
rails are generally put round such places to prevent 
the stock from getting into the deep pits of water, 
where earth and gravel have been dug ; so that 
nothing disturbs them. From these places the large 
ones make long excursions, for purposes best known 
to themselves ; the one that had swallowed the little 
rabbit was killed a good mile from his moist haunts : 
he had been seen for weeks going to and fro. On 
my telling some natives that I would have given them 
half-a-crown each if they could have told me where 
he travelled, so that we could have caught him alive, 
they stared in astonishment, and one of them said, 
' Surely, goodness, ye wouldn't ha' bin such a goat as 
to ha' tackled that, wud 'ee ? ' 
I replied by asking them what they had done 
with it ; to which they answered they ' hed twisted 
un roun' a stake an' showed it to their master, an' 
then it was tossed away.' 
It is a wonderful sight to see a large snake 
