WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 235 



small piece of stick in the other hand, and pressed it 

 against the fang, which is invariably in the npper jaw. 

 Towards the j)oint of the fang, there is a little oblong 

 aperture on the convex side of it. Through this, there is 

 a communication down the fang to the root, at which lies 

 a little bag containing the poison. Now, when the point 

 of the fang is j^ressed, the root of the fang also presses 

 against the bag, and sends up a portion of the poison 

 therein contained. Thus, when I applied a j^iece of stick 

 to the point of the fang, there came out of the hole a liquor 

 thick and yellow, like strong camomile tea. This was the 

 poison which is so dreadful in its effects, as to render the 

 labarri snake one of the most poisonous in the forests of 

 Guiana. I once caught a fine labarri, and made it bite 

 itself. I forced the poisonous fang into its belly. In a few 

 minutes I thought it was going to die, for it appeared dull 

 and heavy. However, in half an hour's time, he was as 

 brisk and vigorous as ever, and in the course of the day 

 showed no symptoms of being affected. Is then the life 

 of the snake proof against its own poison ? This subject is 

 not unworthy of the consideration of the naturalist. 



In Guiana there is a little insect in the grass and on the 

 shrubs, which the French call Bete-rouge. It is of a beau- 

 tiful scarlet colour, and so minute, that you must bring 

 your eye close to it before you can perceive it. It is most 

 numerous in the rainy season. Its bite causes an intoler- 

 able itching. The best way to get rid of it, is to rub the 

 part affected with oil or rum. You must be careful not to 

 scratch it. If you do so, and break the skin, you expose 

 yourself to a sore. The first year I was in Guiana, the 

 bete-rouge, and my own want of knowledge, and, I may 

 add, the little attention I paid to it, created an ulcer above 

 the ankle, which annoyed me for six months, and if I 

 hobbled out into the grass, a number of bete-rouge would 



