io6 The American Naturalist. [March, 
ant, crocodiles were found in the river we used as a highway, 
and our Indian boatmen would devoutly cross themselves and 
say their prayers before wading into the deeper places. Nearly 
every day we started the large plant-eating lizard, called ibit, 
from the bushes on the sides of the river, and they frequently 
in the water, but moving rapidly over the surface, apparently 
chiefly by strokes of the broad flattened tail and of the hind feet, 
the head and fore part of the body being elevated high in the air. 
This is much nearer the position of birds in swimming than that 
of most reptiles. Perhaps some of the fossil reptilia moved in 
this way. We encountered two or three cobra de capellos in our 
hunting. One of them, an immense fellow, lay coiled behinda big 
rock with its head raised and neck flattened in the traditional 
style. T\\Q Natiiralista Americano,\w3iS within fair biting distance 
of him as he turned the corner of the rock, and was so frightened 
that he allowed the snake to drop down and glide out of sight. 
He did not do much collecting the rest of that day, but spent 
most of his time in looking out for snakes. There is no doubt 
but that the cobra, hearing the noise, was looking out for food, 
but finding the game too big to swallow, got out of the way 
without striking. One of the under officers at Catbalogan had 
a large python which he had kept for a number of years in a 
cage. The snake was about fifteen feet long, and as thick as a 
man's thigh. He was fed once a month, and his appetite de- 
manded a good sized dog at a meal. As the time for his 
dinner arrived, he became active, gliding about the cage 
with head raised and when the trap door was lifted and the 
dog dropped in it was seized before it touched the bottom, and 
a coil being thrown about it, it was crushed to death before it had 
time to howl. After his meal the snake lay for weeks in so 
deep a sleep that I could not waken him by punching him with 
my cane. One could run over such a snake in the jungle and 
hardly know it. A large number of deaths undoubtedly occur 
in the Philippines from poisonous serpents and pythons, but 
from the apathy of the people but little attention is paid to it. 
If a person is killed in this way it is his suerte or fortune, just 
