216 WANDERINGS IN 



THIRD provisions, and just returned in time to help to 



JOURNEY. r 



take the skin off. He had spent best part of his 

 life in the forest with his old master, Mr. Edmon- 

 stone, and amused me much in recounting their 

 many adventures amongst the wild beasts. The 

 Daddy had a particular horror of snakes, and 

 frankly declared he could never have faced the 

 one in question. 



Attacks The week following, his courage was put to 

 Snake. the test, and he made good his words. It was 

 a curious conflict, and took place near the spot 

 where I had captured the large snake. In the 

 morning I had been following a new species of 

 paroquet, and the day being rainy, I had taken 

 an umbrella to keep the gun dry, and had left it 

 under a tree ; in the afternoon I took Daddy 

 Quashi with me to look for it. Whilst he was 

 searching about, curiosity took me towards the 

 place of the late scene of action. There was a 

 path where timber had formerly been dragged 

 along. Here I observed a young coulacanara, 

 ten feet long, slowly moving onwards ; I saw he 

 was not thick enough to break my arm, in case he 

 got twisted round it. There was not a moment 

 to be lost. I laid hold of his tail with the left 

 hand, one knee being on the ground ; with the 

 right I took off my hat, and held it as you would 

 hold a shield for defence. 



The snake instantly turned, and came on at me, 

 with his head about a yard from the ground, as if 



