The Start 25 



the jaw, a fact which I particularly noted, and all effort 

 at the offensive was abandoned by the poisonous snake. 



Meanwhile the mussurama was chewing hard, and 

 gradually shifted its grip, little by little, until it got the 

 top of the head of the jararaca in its mouth, the lower 

 jaw of the jararaca being spread out to one side. The ven- 

 omous serpent was helpless; the fearsome master of the 

 wild life of the forest, the deadly foe of humankind, 

 was itself held in the grip of death. Its cold, baleful 

 serpent's eyes shone, as evil as ever. But it was dying. 

 In vain it writhed and struggled. Nothing availed it. 



Once or twice the mussurama took a turn round the 

 middle of the body of its opponent, but it did not seem 

 to press hard, and apparently used its coils chiefly in 

 order to get a better grip so as to cru^h the head of its 

 antagonist, or to hold the latter in place. This crushing 

 was done by its teeth; and the repeated bites were made 

 with such effort that the muscles stood out on the mus- 

 surama's neck. Then it took two coils round the neck 

 of the jararaca and proceeded deliberately to try to break 

 the backbone of its opponent by twisting the head round. 

 With this purpose it twisted its own head and neck round 

 so that the lighter-colored surface was uppermost; and 

 indeed at one time it looked as if it had made almost a 

 complete single spiral revolution of its own body. It 

 never for a moment relaxed its grip except to shift 

 slightly the jaws. 



In a few minutes the jararaca was dead, its head 

 crushed in, although the body continued to move con- 

 vulsively. When satisfied that its opponent was dead, 

 the mussurama began to try to get the head in its mouth. 



