38 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
Bagrada, near which they were encamped, is scarcely 
to be credited ; and yet this fact is recorded by Livy the 
historian. It was finally destroyed by huge stones 
flung from the balistse. Pliny in some measure con- 
firms the account, by stating that the skin, which 
had been sent to Rome, and deposited in one of the 
temples, was to be seen until the time of the Numan- 
tine war. The body of the boa is covered with 
scuta or plates ; these protect it from being wounded 
by the branches of trees which it climbs, and the 
rough projections of stones in ruins, where it often 
delights to hide itself, but are not sufficiently strong 
to resist the stroke of a sabre or hatchet, like the 
better-protected back of the alligator or crocodile. The 
stomach is in some instances sufficiently capacious to 
contain the carcass of a buffalo entire. When not gorged, 
this huge reptile is frequently as large as the body of a 
full-sized man. Its colour is of a dusky white, the 
back being distinctly marked with large spots, which 
cover it irregularly in the form of a chain, becoming- 
darker towards the tail, and paler towards the belly, 
which is speckled with patches of vivid brown. The 
general hue of the skin over which those coloured 
variegations are distributed is of a yellowish grey. 
The whole upper surface of the body is thickly 
interspersed with large dots of brown, which sub- 
side gradually from a dusky red tinge into a deep 
chesnut. The head is protected by very small 
scales, and has a large funnel-shaped mark running 
from the neck to the nostril, overspreading about a 
third of the skull. A black belt passes between the 
eyes, which are placed very near the mouth, and are 
