Rattlesnakes.- 



-REPTILES. 



-The Jabakaca. 



41 



blackish, and banded. Others are spotted with brown, 

 yellow, and black. The body is elongate, cylindrical, 

 and the tail conical and slender, and terminated by a 

 claw. The head is larger in dimensions than the body, 

 broad and flattened on the upper part, and nearly tri- 

 angular, in consequence of the lateral projection of the 

 jaws at the point of junction, giving a general resem- 

 blance to the head of a lance — whence its name. For 

 one of the fullest and most interesting accounts of this 

 serpent (though perhaps a little exaggerated), we are 

 indebted to M. Moreau de Jonnes, who lived some time 

 ill Martinique, where it abounds. It is said to be con- 

 fined to the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia, audBecoui'a, 

 a small island near St Vincent ; but we now know that 

 it is also a native of Brazil, Demerara, and other parts 

 of the continent of America. The natives of Martinique 

 have a tradition that it was first introduced into their 

 island by the Arrouages Indians, a tribe which m- 

 habited the country near the mouth of the Orinoco. 

 However this may be, the Lance-head is the most 

 abundant of all serpents in the islands of Marti- 

 nique and St. Lucia at the present day, notwith- 

 standing various means have been tried to extirpate 

 them. The number of young produced by this reptile 

 at one birth is immense. Moreau de Jonnes seldom 

 found fewer than from fifty to sixty young ones in such 

 females as he had opportunities of opening. At the 

 moment of birth these young are completely formed, 

 are very nimble, ready to bite if irritated, and from six 

 to eight inches long. These creatures, at the time of 

 M. Moreau de Jonnes' visit to Martinique, were so 

 abundant, that, as he says himself, they peopled the 

 marshes, the tilled grounds, the forests, the borders of 

 rivers, and the mountains, from the level of the sea to 

 the region of the clouds. He has seen them creeping 

 in the mud, struggling against the currents of rushing 

 streams which would otherwise hurry them out to sea, 

 and balancing themselves on the branches of forest- 

 trees more than one hundred feet above the ground. 

 He has met with them on the edge of the crater of the 

 naked mountain which overhangs the town of St. Pierre, 

 at a height of more than five thousand feet above the 

 sea. They do not appear to shun inhabited places, 

 bnt are often fonnd in houses, especially in country 

 districts, where the huts of the negroes (for they seem 

 to prefer them) are surrounded by bushes and high 

 grass. Their principal haunts, however, are the plan- 

 tations of sugar-cane. Concealing themselves under 

 the debris of the long leaves of these plants with wliich 

 the earth is strewn, they carry on a constant war against 

 lizards, small birds, and rats. Tliis latter animal forms 

 the chief part of their food. Originally introduced by 

 Europeans, this little creature has multiplied amazingly. 

 Compared with the indigenous smaller mammalia, such 

 as the agouti, pilori mouse, marmot, &c., the rats 

 now count ten thousand to one. The Lance-head is 

 remarkably active and lively iu its motions, and is said 

 by the author quoted above to attack passengers who 

 may happen to encounter them. He says he never 

 found this reptile stationary, but when it was in an 

 attitude of offence. It coils itself up in four circles of 

 equal diameter, placed one above the other, under the 

 luBt of wdiich is placed the tail, as if on a pivot. The 

 Vol. II. 



head, which terminates the upper extremity of the coil, 

 is a little raised and drawn backwards. It then throws 

 itself with the rapidity of an arrow upon its victim ; 

 and were we to believe the accounts given by some of 

 the residents, it can spring to a considerable distance. 

 In the proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1819, 

 Lieutenant Tyler, R.E., gives a similar account of a 

 species of Lance-head, which infests the island of St. 

 Lucia. 



THE RAT-TAIL is the name by whicli it is known to 

 the inhabitants. In this communication thi Eat- tail 

 is described under the name of CraspedoccjAalus 

 atrox, but in size and shape it appears to differ very 

 little from the preceding species. The name of Rat- 

 tail is given to it, because the tail, instead of gently 

 tapering from the body, becomes suddenly small, " and 

 is much like that of a rat." It is not very rapid in iL« 

 movements, and when not in motion, is almost invari- 

 ably coiled up in a circle, with its head on the top. 

 Like the rest of the group, the Hat-tail is viviparous, 

 and the natives of St. Lucia say, that the mother after 

 producing her young, leaves them for a short time, and 

 that she devours those which she finds in the same spot 

 on her return. Lieutenant Tyler, however, considers 

 this to be a mistake, and that if individuals have been 

 found with young ones in her stomach, this is most 

 probably from the fact that iu cases of danger the 

 female opens her mouth, and the young for protection 

 rush into it, and may find their way even into the 

 stomach. " An important point in the history of this 

 serpent," says Mr. Tyler, " is the method of treating 

 its veuomous bites. If the wounds caused by these be 

 not at once attended to, the most fatal consequences 

 ensue, and within a short space of time. Should the 

 fang penetrate any large bloodvessel, and inject there- 

 in any of the poisonous matter, I suppose that no 

 remedy would be of avail ; but under ordinary chcum- 

 stanoes, if the wound can be at once laid open, a liga- 

 ture tied between it and the heart, and sucked, then 

 rubbed with a mixture of lime-juice, rum, and salt, and 

 intoxication and sleep produced by administering rum 

 punch with plenty of hme-juice in it to the patient, 

 there is little danger of loss of life ; as is proved by the 

 fact, that out of thirty soldiers treated iu this way some 

 time since in this island only one died. The person 

 sucking the wound has nothing to fear, if he has no sore 

 in his mouth." When young, this species of Lance- 

 head is distinguished by the tail being white, and has 

 been described in that state under the name of the 

 White-tailed Lance-head {Craspcdocephalus leu- 

 ciirus). It occurs, according to M. Spix, very fre- 

 quently in the province of Bahia in Brazil, being found 

 under the bark of trees ; and the iuliabitants of that 

 province are unanimously of opinion that its poison 

 yields in nothing to that of the rattlesnake, death 

 occasionally taking place some hours after its bite. 

 The natives call it Xiraraya Mirim. 



THE JARARACA {Craspedocfphalus braziUensis) is 

 another deadly Lance-head, and is a native of Brazil. 

 According to the account given of it by M. Wagler, 

 in Spix's " Serpents of Brazil," this has a more hideous 

 aspect than any other serpent in that country. It 

 has a large, triangular head, fierce-looking eyes, and a 



