262 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



recourse to a certain root, which the Indians -call 

 after its name, and assert that it is an antidote for 

 the bite of any venomous reptile. 



The Ichneumon is the most formidable enemy of 

 the Crocodile: it destroys its eggs, which it digs 

 out of the sand, where they are laid to hatch by the 

 heat of the sun ; and kills great numbers of young 

 Crocodiles soon after their production, before they 

 are able to reach the water. It was for this reason 

 that the ancient Egyptians worshipped this animal, 

 and ranked the Ichneumon among those deities 

 that were most propitious to them. 



In its domestic state, it is perfectly tame and 

 gentle. M. d'Obsonville speaks of one \vhich he 

 reared from a young one. It became tamer than a 

 Cat, was obedient to the call of its master, and fol- 

 lowed him wherever he went. One day he brought 

 a small water serpent alive, being desirous to know 

 how far its instinct would carry it against a being 

 with whom it was hitherto entirely unacquainted. 

 Its first emotion seemed to be astonishment mixed 

 with anger: its hair became erect; in an instant it 

 slipped behind the reptile; and with remarkable 

 swiftness and agility, leaped upon its head, seized 

 it, and crushed it with its teeth. This first essay 

 seemed to have awakened in it its natural appetite 

 for blood, which till then had given way to the gen- 

 tleness of its education: it no longer suffered the 

 poultry, among \vhich it was brought up, to pass 

 unregarded; but took the first opportunity, when it 

 was alone, to strangle them: it eat a part of their 

 flesh, and drank only the blood of others. 



These animals are numerous in all the southern 

 regions of Asia, from Egypt to the island of Java: 

 they are also found in Africa, in the country about 



