~ 
HOME OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE. 319 
He had hardly forced his hand through, when he 
uttered a shriek of terror and fell back, then ran 
quickly to me and clung to my legs, trembling and 
weeping. Pointing to the bushes, he faintly mur- 
mured, “ Fer de Lance.” 
Cautiously approaching, I saw a wicked-looking 
head, belonging to a snake as large around as my arm. 
It was broad, triangular in shape, and flat, with gleam- 
ing eyes, and thrust itself toward us savagely, murder 
in its every look and motion. My gun was charged 
for another humming-bird, and the load of small shot 
I fired into the snake did not cause its death, and it 
unwound itself and crawled rapidly toward us, its 
eyes flashing fire, intent upon striking us with its 
fangs, one blow of which would cause certain death. 
When he got within reach of a stout cudgel my boy 
handed me, I mauled him so severely that he gave up 
the ghost after a short but severe fight; for the 
“Fer de Lance” is no’ coward, and, like the rattle- 
snake, will fight even fire. 
Isoon had the satisfaction of seeing him hanging 
limp and lifeless from my stick, drops of deadly 
poison dripping from his jaws. Between shot and 
cudgel he got badly mangled,’ and made a sorry 
specimen for preservation; I substituted for him a 
smaller one, killed later in the day, to send to Wash- 
ington. Nothing could induce my boy to retrieve 
the bird, and, relying upon his sagacity, I did not 
myself make the attempt. 
Finally, about eleven o’clock, we reached the sum- 
mit of the hill overlooking the valley toward the bay. 
I sat down upon a grassy knoll, beneath the shade of a 
small tulip-tree, and feasted my eyes upon the pros- 
