830 
PoA Constrictors ox the Tapactjma.. 
Ee.dna. Anyone who knows tliis l)eautiful creeper witli its brillianu 
red elegant hlossoms, ean imagine the enchanting appearance of the spot 
where it not only spread orer the brnshwood, Init even climbed np the 
trnnipet trees and covered their croAvns with a network, so that even the 
large whitish leaves were enveloped in it. The scarlet-red blossom was 
visible in the far distance. Tf tliis ])retty plant is not actnally in- 
digenons to riniana, it has ncvortliclcss already accliniatised ilsclf aloiD^r 
the coast. 
TOG. After spending a tvw days with my charming and intellectnal 
host, through whose kindness my supply of provisions was still further 
augmented, we started on our jouruey in com])any with a party of 
Akawais, avIio had Just returned tiom (Jreorgetowu. Tlie cliieftain had 
bought there an umbrelbi which, with the proudest self-cousciousness, 
he held over his head. probal»ly to protect Iiis delicate complexion froni 
the rays of the snn. V\ i' travelled on one of the irrigation canals np to 
the Tapacnnui Lake. Its banks were at first lined with the most 
flonrishing sngar-cane fields, nntil later on we reached ihe as yet nn- 
enltivated portion of the estate, which the restless hand of ^ii". Hughes 
was i^reparing for cultivation. A large flock of car-rion-crows which, 
somewhat higher iip, rising from the one bank as we approached, 
settled on the nearest trees, made me think that the glnttonons company 
were swarming after a carcass. A large snake, a species of Cohiho-, the 
^'Yellow Tail" of the Colonists, Avas lying dead here. This i-e]ttile often 
reaches a length of 10 to 12 feet and after the Boa m)(ru)a and B. ron- 
fttrietor is qnite the biggest of snakes found in British Guiana: its most 
favonrite hannt is on the sngar-plantations. Althongh this one may 
have been of the s]tecified size, its advanced pntrefaction qnickly drove 
me ont of its neighbonrhood. to the delight of the expectant liirds which 
were already showing their impatience by flapping their wings. x\fter 
getting over the lock, and at the same time reaching the bonndary of 
the estate, Tapacnn>a Lake received ns on her waters N\-hich were 
corered with Xi/iri pJ](tra . hvokon with dead MaiirHm palms, and alive 
with nnmerons water-fowl. 
797. A letter of introdnction from Mr. Hughes ensnred me .an 
extremely friendly reception from a timber-merchant, a Scotsman, who 
also had charge of the main lock of Tapacnma Lake. The gentleman 
was just then engaged in skinning a large boa-constrictor. Boa mnrlna, 
that had attacked one of his pigs that morning, and for which it had 
now to pay the penalty with its life. It measured 18 feet. A few days 
later a second one was killed at the edge of the lake by one of the Indians 
fishing there. Attracted liy a noise in the proximity he sneaked a bit 
closer and fonnd the snake in ardent combat with a full grown water- 
hans. In spite of the first ball piercing its belly it dragged the spoil, 
round which it was coiled, towards the water: it was only the second 
shot that freed the captive. The snake measured 14 feet: its skeleton 
is to be seen in the Anatomicnl Museum at Berlin. Amongst the fish 
most numerous in Tajtacuma Lake are Aram trirnmrruFi Heck., .1. nnf^aa. 
Heck., and A. marcjarita- Heck., MiiJcfpR Inipmvrlirn ^\\\W. Trosch., 
OirJiIa ocenaris Bl. Schn. and Crenicichla saxataJis Heck., which are 
