RATTLESNAKES. 297 



smaller or subsidiary fangs ready to take their place in case of 

 accident. 



Unrivalled in the display of every lovely colour of the rain- 

 bow, and unmatched in the effects of his deadly poison, the bush- 

 master or counacutchi {Lachesis rhomheata) glides on, sole 

 monarch of the forests of Gruiana or Brazil, as both man and 

 beast fly before him. In size he surpasses most other venomous 

 species, as he sometimes grows to the length of fourteen feet. 

 Grenerally concealed among the fallen leaves of the forest, he 

 lives on small birds, reptiles, and mammalians, whom he is able 

 to pursue with surprising activity. Thus, Schomburgk once 

 saw an opossum rushing through the forest, and closely followed 

 by an enormous bush-master. Frightened to death and utterly 

 exhausted, the panting animal ascended the stump of an old 

 tree, and thence, as if rooted to the spot, looked with staring 

 eyes on its enemy, who, rolled in a spiral coil, from which his 

 head rose higher and higher, slowly and leisurely, as if conscious 

 that his prey could not possibly escape him, prepared for his 

 deadly spring. This time, however, the bush-master was mis- 

 taken, for a shot from Schomburgk's rifle laid him writhing in 

 the dust, while the opossum, saved by a miracle, ran off as fast 

 as he could. Fortunately for the planter and negroes, the bush- 

 master is a rare serpent, frequenting only the deepest shades 

 of the thicket, where in the day-time he generally lies coiled 

 upon the ground. 



Still rarer, though if possible yet more formidable, is a small 

 brown viper {Echidna ocellata), which infests the Peruvian 

 forests. Its bite is said to be able to kill a strong man within 

 two or three minutes. The Indian, when bitten by it, does 

 not even attempt an antidote against the poison, but stoically 

 bids adieu to his comrades, and lays himself down to die. 



The ill-famed wide-extended race of the rattlesnakes, which 

 ranges from South Brazil to Canada, belongs exclusively to the 

 New World. They prefer the more elevated, dry, and stony 

 regions, where they lie coiled up in the thorny bushes, and only 

 attack such animals as come too near their lair. Their bite is 

 said to be able to kill a horse or an ox in ten or twelve minutes ; 

 but, fortunately, they are afraid of man, and will not venture to 

 attack him unless provoked. When roused to anger they are, 

 however, very formidable, as their fangs penetrate through 



