THE PYTHON. 



173 



a few hundred miles into the forest, and animal 

 nature is much changed. The tiger-cat that 

 infests the woods near towns, is still in the 

 forest, but the u tigre" rare, in the former 

 place, becomes common enough in the latter. 

 The deer are better grown ; the snakes are 

 very much larger, for with them size is gained 

 by age. The forest scorpion attains a size, and 

 power of sting, not possessed by the house 

 scorpion ; in short, in the interior they run 

 little chance of being molested, especially by 

 man, and therefore attain their full growth. 

 The boa-constrictor is often found of fifteen 

 feet in length, and some few two or three feet 

 more, with the thickness of a man's thigh. I 

 have been told, however, that nearer the 

 eastern coast they are found much larger and 

 of a blacker colour, which snake, I suppose, 

 is the " Python," but never saw one : however 

 since my return home I saw one in France, 

 of an enormous size and weight ; it was car- 

 ried about as a show in a sort of caravan, and 

 I was told it was called a python, and was 

 brought from the Mosquito shore. 



The first acquaintance I made with a fair 

 sized boa was in riding over the top of a range 

 of hills with an Indian servant, occupied in 

 tracing the direction of a rich vein of copper 



