HINTERLAND NOTES 471 



noise and the proxiniit\^ of the alhgators, as they snouted 

 tlie sides of the boat, and they fled, in iiii<h.sguised ahu'ni; 

 thouoli it is doubt I'll! that an animator could, or would, clinil) 

 into a boat. Indians batlic witli a])])arent incbfference; the 

 indifference is only ap])arent. The eggs of the alligator, 

 thirty or forty in number, are thick, rough, dirty white. They 

 are buried under a big heap of eartli and leaves, well liidden 

 in the bush, away from water. The nest might be mistaken 

 for an ant-heap. 



That foe of the alligator, the iguana, may often be seen, 

 upon the bank of the river, sunning itself. wSometimes it lies 

 along the root, or trunk, of a tree, from which its greenish 

 skin is hardly distinguishable. 



The pokaru is a good place for studying snakes. We 

 killed two cannulies, taken from the Church. One measured 

 fourteen feet, the other six. Labarias would pay an occa- 

 sional visit. Rat snakes were found in our bath room, bed 

 room and sitting room. A small snake, about two feet in 

 length, with a rufus head and throat was twice seen, near 

 to the house. I killed both. In the bush, through which the 

 new water-side line passes, we saw a green labaria; and, 

 crossing a side road, with a frog in its mouth, a black snake, 

 about four feet in length, passed in front of us. The green 

 labaria is known as Lachesis hilineatus. Another green 

 snake, the Corallus ca7iinus, or parrot-snake, lurks in the 

 branches of trees, waiting for unw^ary birds. The grey- 

 green and chrome rattlesnake is common upon the savannahs, 

 although the ordinary person may walk for miles without 

 seeing one. Between the Xapi and the Takutu, it is abun- 

 dant — there I saw it — and, upon the Tuka Savannah, one 

 of our Indians was killed by the bite of a rattler. This snake 

 is known to be viviparous. It is said to bring food to its 

 young, until they are old enough to hunt for themselves. 

 The traveler must beware of tussocks of grass, at the side 

 of a track. I have heard of, but have never seen, snakes' 

 eggs. 



