TRAVELS IN 
170 
fhowing large, beautiful and expanfive white fra- 
grant blqffoms, and great heavy cones, on {lender 
procumbent branches, fome even lying on the earth; 
the ravages of fire keep them down, as is evident 
from the vaft excrelcent tuberous roots, covering 
feveral feet of ground, from which thefe {lender 
Ihoots fpring. 
In fuch clumps and coverts are to be feen feveral 
kinds of birds, particularly a fpecies of jay (pica 
glandaria cerulea non crifiata): they are generally 
of an azure blue colour, have no creit or tuft of 
feathers on the head, nor are they fo large as the 
great crefted blue jay of Virginia, but are equally 
clamorous. The towee birds (fringilla erythropthal- 
sna) are very numerous, as are a fpecies of bluifh 
gray butcher bird (lanius). Here were alfo lizards 
and fnakes. The lizards were of that fpecies called 
in Carolina, fccrpions : they are from five to fix 
inches in length, of a (lender form ; the tail in par- 
ticular is very long and fmall: they are of a yellow- 
ifn clay colour, varied with longitudinal lines or 
ftripes of a dufky brown colour, from head to tail - 
, they are wholly covered with very fmall fquairi^, 
vibrate their tail, and dart forth and brandiih their 
forked tongue after the manner of ferpents, when they 
are furprifed or in purfuit of their prey, which are 
fcarabei, locuflae, mufci, and other infe&s; but I 
do not learn that their bite is poifonous, yet I have 
obferved cats to be fick foon after eating them. 
After paffing over this extenfive, level, hard, wet 
favanna, we croiTed a fine brook or rivulet; the 
water cool and pleafant; its banks adorned with va- 
rieties of trees and fhrubs, particularly the delicate 
cynlla racemiflora, chionanthus, clethra, nyffa 
fylvatica, Andromeda nitida, Andromeda formo- 
fiffima ’ and here were great quantities of a very 
