Chap. XXI.—B. P.] 
SNAKE YARNS. 
353 
travels in Central America, I have not seen more 
snakes than I could count on my fingers, and these, as 
a general rule, were only too eager to escape. There 
are several species of snakes, many of them venomous 
beyond doubt; of these, it is especially undesirable to 
tread on the toboba, the corral, or the barber’s-pole; 
the bite of either causes almost certain death. The 
only fatal case, however, which ever came to my per¬ 
sonal knowledge, was that of a poor negro. While 
shooting in the woods, he trode upon one of these 
reptiles, felt a slight prick on his ankle, looked down, 
and saw one of the most deadly gliding away. Unfor¬ 
tunately he lost his presence of mind for a few pre¬ 
cious minutes, during which the poison had time to 
circulate; then, when it was too late, he cut out the 
surrounding flesh, and, in addition, poured the powder 
from his flask into the wound and ignited it, blowing 
away the greater part of the ankle. But the only effect 
was to give him a few days’ respite. 
I well remember the first snake I ever saw in Cen¬ 
tral America was an enormous toboba, coiled up in a 
half-sleeping state, basking under the broiling sun in the 
middle of the road leading to Leon. Fortunately the 
“ correo,” my companion, saw the reptile in time to 
avoid a collision; for, had it been trodden upon, the 
consequences would have been fatal to the unfortunate 
aggressor. The snake was probably very drowsy, for 
it was in no hurry to leave its dusty bed and allow us 
to pass, but it did not show the slightest disposition 
to attack us; it was, perhaps, aware that we had no 
gun or other weapon wherewith to injure it. How- 
2 A 
