264 THE TEEKIBLE. 



threw its rider. He was an excellent swimmer, and had 

 nearly escaped by diving towards the bank ; but, on ris- 

 ing for breath, his pursuer also rose, and seized him by 

 the middle. This dreadful scene, which passed before 

 their eyes, without the least possibility of their rendering 

 any assistance, was terminated by the alligator, having 

 previously drowned the unfortunate man, appearing on 

 an opposite sand-bank with the body, and there devouring 

 it.* 



It is in this class of animals that we find the most 

 terrible of all creatures ; more potent than the roused lion, 

 the enraged elephant, the deadly shark, or the mailed 

 alligator. In the whole range of animal existence, there 

 is none that can compare with the venomous snakes for 

 the deadly fatality of their enmity ; the lightning stroke 

 of their poisonous fangs is the unerring signal of a swift 

 dissolution, preceded by torture the most horrible. The 

 bite of the American rattlesnake has been known to pro- 

 duce death in two minutes. Even where the consumma- 

 tion is not so fearfully rapid, its delay is but a brief pro- 

 longation of the intense suffering. The terrible symp- 

 toms are thus described : a sharp pain in the part, which 

 becomes swollen, shining, hot, red ; then livid, cold, and 

 insensible. The pain and inflammation spread, and become 

 more intense; fierce shooting pains are felt in other 

 parts, and a burning fire pervades the whole body. The 

 eyes begin to water abundantly ; then come swoonings, 

 cold sweats, and sharp pains in the loins. The skin be- 



* Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela, vol. i., p. 59. 



