228 REPTILES 



ant been any other than a minister of the gospel, 

 I should have hesitated to place myself in the 

 position of one addicted to " snake stories " ; but 

 incredible as the foregoing particulars may appear, 

 the fact remains that the natives of the adjacent 

 regions were in great terror of a snake they used 

 to describe to me in a manner which left no doubt 

 on my mind that it was the same my clerical 

 friend had encountered. They had also a name 

 for the creature, which I regret I have forgotten. 



Pythons are not very numerous, but in the 

 higher elevations may sometimes be encountered 

 in the cool moist forest, especially where rocky 

 ravines slope down to water. I have only seen 

 two, one of which I succeeded in shooting. They 

 reach in some cases a length of eighteen or twenty 

 feet. 



Many very beautiful, gaily coloured lizards are 

 common, and ply, with every encouragement, let 

 us hope, their laudable calling of decimating various 

 forms of insects. Chameleons are also extremely 

 numerous, and in some cases reach a surprising 

 size. The Great Varanus, or Iguana, is the largest 

 of the former varieties. He is, of course, a 

 carnivorous form, I believe the only one ; but 

 among the rest there are several in which smalt- 

 blue and crimson, bright yellow, green, and 

 steel-grey are the distinguishing colours, and their 

 general appearance is at times startlingly gorgeous. 



Among the Cinyxes, both land and river 

 tortoises are included ; the latter, the soft-skinned 

 type, being very spiteful, and almost dangerous to 

 handle by reason of the fierceness of their bite. 



