128 TiMEHRI. 



A peculiarly interesting feature of the flooded valleys 

 had been the various small forms of air-breathing 

 animals, which usually inhabited the ground or secured 

 themselves under the vegetable debris on the surface, 

 and which, by the rising of the water, had been com- 

 pelled to take refuge on the trunks of the large trees or 

 in the foliage of the small undergrowth of the forest. 

 Among them were curious forms of small lizards and 

 snakes, grotesque and strangely coloured little frogs, 

 antique-looking and repulsive myriapods — such as 

 Spirobolus, Polydesmus and Scolopendra — and a very 

 miscellaneous assortment of inse6ls and arachnids, the 

 more noteworthy of the latter group being splendid 

 specimens of the large bush scorpions and spiders, some 

 of the latter being especially large and richly coloured, 

 together with the very uncommon so-called scorpion- 

 spider or "ting-ting" (Phrynus reniformis) , which, 

 though it has a remarkably bad name among the forest 

 people as causing certain death by its bite, could hardly 

 cause more than severe pain and discomfort, except in 

 cases where the subjefts are diseased, and are thus 

 either frightened to death or are killed by blood-poisoning 

 induced by the bite. 



Of many of these forms, specimens were obtained, 

 and^ in not a few cases, with a considerable degree ot 

 care, since, with the idea of keeping my clothes dry, I 

 had in each instance waded through the creeks in puris 

 naturalibus, a hat and a pair of shoes and socks 

 making up my attire. When a futile attempt had been 

 made to catch a scorpion or centipede, and it had fallen 

 into the water in which we were standing, often more 

 than waist-deep, the few next moments were by no 



