68 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



its skin, and thereby changed to a most lovely 

 green colour, thickly spotted ; and there upon its 

 back was the mark of the old wound that had 

 distinguished my best and tamest snake. But the 

 former pet had become utterly untameable, more 

 wild and frantic than any previous tenant of the 

 cage, of which, probably, he may have retained 

 some recollection. Once more he was taken to a 

 rough tract, and liberated. Never before had I 

 recaptured a snake, though nearly seventy had 

 been through my hands ; but two years later, 

 when looking at some recently pickled reptiles 

 from the locality, I saw one handsome specimen 

 which bore on its back the curious marks by which 

 the old acquaintance had been identified. 



The general similarity of form between snake 

 and viper is one of the chief causes of the 

 destruction of the former reptile, which many 

 people would spare if sure of its identity. Any 

 one viewing for the first time either in the wild 

 state would not be likely to investigate its dis- 

 tinguishing features he would be more than 

 satisfied by a glance that revealed a serpentine 



