384 Notes on an alleged species of poisonous Lizard, §c. 



Nudee, pursued by thousands of them ; but alas ! the water 

 was so shallow at the place that he could not escape them. 

 I heard also that the Dooreah, or coolee who had charge 

 of the dogs, died in consequence of the inflammation pro- 

 duced by the innumerable stings of the bees, but for this I 

 cannot vouch; perhaps my very few surviving brother offi- 

 cers, who were spectators of the scene, may recollect whether 

 this was the case or not. I have nothing further to ob- 

 serve, save that no one thought in the confusion, and terror 

 even I may say, of the scene, to keep specimens of the 

 bees, but they were much of the size and appearance of 

 humble bees. 



The point with which I mean to end this gossip, refers to 

 the existence of the Cobra Manilla. The belief in a reptile 

 so called, and reputed to be most deadly, is very general. I 

 have never seen the snake myself, and although for many 

 years I have been in the habit of inquiring after it, I have 

 never met a person who gave me any other than a very 

 vague and loose account of it, or who could positively de- 

 clare he had seen one himself; though, as is often averred 

 of ghosts, he knew very respectable individuals who de- 

 clared that friends of theirs had seen it. Its size is said to 

 be about that of a tobacco pipe, its length some eight or 

 ten inches, and its bite uniformly and speedily fatal ! Dr. 

 Russell, the able author of the splendid and valuable work 

 on Indian Serpents, never saw a Cobra Manilla, although 

 some supposed specimens of the reptile were sent to him, 

 which, however, turned out to be the young of other venom- 

 ous sorts. Neither do I find in the able Spicilegium of 

 Dr. Cantor a description of a snake such as the Cobra 

 Manilla is said to be. I have heard it described as of a dark 

 blue or black colour, with light coloured slender bands or 

 spots. This description perhaps comes near the young of 

 the Karraitta (Boa Lineata of Shaw), the Gedi Para-goodoo 

 of Malabar. According to the natives, who generally exagge- 



