482 



ARTIGULATA. 



[Chap. XIII. 



the approach of a passer-by to a spot which they infest, 

 they may be seen amongst the grass and fallen leaves 

 on the edge of a native path, poised erect, and preparing 

 for their attack on man and horse. On descrying their 

 prey they advance rapidly by semi-circular strides, 

 fixing one end firmly and arching the other forwards, 

 till by successive advances they can lay hold of the 

 traveller's foot, when they disengage themselves from 

 the ground and ascend his dress in search of an aperture 

 to enter. In these encounters the individuals in the 

 rear of a party of travellers in the jungle invariably 

 fare worst, as the leeches, once warned of their approach, 

 congregate with singular celerity. Their size is so in- 

 significant, and the wound they make is so skilfully 

 punctured, that both are generally imperceptible, and 

 the first intimation of their onslaught is the trickling of 

 the blood or a chill feeling of the leech when it begins 

 to hang heavily on the skin from being distended by 

 its repast. Horses are driven wild by them, and stamp 

 the ground in fury to shake them from their fetlocks, 

 to which they hang in bloody tassels. The bare legs 

 of the palankin bearers and coolies are a favourite re- 

 sort ; and, as their hands are too much engaged to be 

 spared to pull them off, the leeches hang like bunches 

 of grapes round their ankles ; and I have seen the blood 

 literally flowing over the edge of a European's shoe 

 from their innumerable bites. In healthy constitutions 

 the wounds, if not irritated, generally heal, occasioning 

 no other inconvenience than a slight inflammation and 

 itching ; but in those with a bad state of body, the 

 punctures, if rubbed, are liable to degenerate into 

 ulcers, which may lead to the loss of limb or even 

 of life. Both Marshall and Davy mention, that during 



