372 HAMPSTEAD ROAD. 



One day in June, being engaged on the Harnp- 

 stead Road, above Content, in capturing the insects 

 that were then so abundant about the blossoming 

 trees, — I observed on a shrub two little Anoles 

 playing ; one had seized the other's tail in his mouth, 

 and they were thus gamboling about the twigs in 

 innocent sport, altogether unsuspicious of the lurk- 

 ing foe that was near. While I was looking at their 

 gamesome tricks, all at once I became aware of a so- 

 called Poison Snake, not a large one, silently and 

 stilly watching them also. Suddenly he caught one, 

 and throwing his head off the branch along which he 

 had been lying, held the victim suspended in the 

 air. It had been seized just behind the fore legs, 

 but by an almost imperceptible motion of the jaws, 

 the hold was gradually shifted forward until the 

 Lizard's head was in the mouth of the Snake, and 

 was rapidly sucked in by the alternate motion of the 

 two sides of the jaws. There was no boggling about 

 the fore legs ; they were out of sight almost before 

 I was aware ; but one of the victim's hind feet had 

 taken hold of a twig, and resisted the sucking in. 

 The Snake had now drawn up his head again upon 

 the branch ; giving a sudden jerk, he made the 

 Lizard relinquish its hold of the twig, and in the 

 same instant the leg was engulfed. Of course, no 

 impediment now was left ; but when the last vestige 

 of the tail was disappearing, I tapped the neck of the 

 Snake smartly with a switch, and it fell to the 

 ground disabled and dying. I transferred it to a 

 bottle of spirit, and it is now in the British Museum ; 



