80 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
ing ; it was low, swampy, and covered with thick 
jungle. On the tenth day after our quitting Co- 
lumbo, a large dog, belonging to a Cingalese who 
accompanied us, was bitten by a snake, the ticpolonga. 
This is, I believe, the most venomous of the reptile 
tribe, not even excepting the rattle-snake. The dog 
appeared to suffer great agony, and died in convulsions 
in about twenty minutes. It has been erroneously 
imagined that Ceylon is infested with venomous 
snakes ; this, however, is not the fact, as only four 
species of the venomous kind are found here, and 
these by no means abound. 
On the morning after the death of the poor dog, 
which was a fine animal and much regretted by us 
all, we were unexpectedly entertained by a scene of 
the most novel and imposing character. We had 
taken our guns and sauntered into the jungle, accom- 
panied by several armed natives, in order to try if we 
could not furnish our table with some of the excellent 
wild fowl with which the woods and marshes abound. 
We had not proceeded far before we entered a large 
open space in the forest, in the centre of which was 
a sheet of water of considerable extent, filled, as 
we could perceive, with alligators of enormous size. 
This lake, although penetrating far into the jungle, 
was rather narrow, but extremely deep. From 
its banks, on either side, a great number of large 
forest-trees, which were distinctly reflected in its 
dark and placid bosom, cast their broad shadows upon 
its waters ; whilst the sun, darting his vivid rays 
through the close foliage that nearly intercepted them, 
threw here and there small masses of golden light, 
