3 3 2 A V O Y A G E t o t h e jjSk ^ ^ad l°n§ before this been told by many people, that the bite of this creature would' produce a terrible fort of leprofy, which terminated in death, but not till the expiration o f fix months or a year, the body in the mean while rotting and falling away piece-meal. This man, however, gave me an inftance o f a Bugunefe flave having, a few years before, been fortunate enough to cure a female flave in the neighbourhood, who had already experienced, in a pretty high degree, the effedts of the geitje's bite. The patient, who had afterward removed to about fixty miles from this place, was fuppofed to be ftill alive and in-good health; but the flave, they knew, had died with the fecret, having never difcovered either this or any other of the remedies of which he was in pofleffion of, to any body. It has been obferved, however, that among other means which he ufed, he had fometimes dreffed the wound with oranges and lemons cut into halves. In the mean while, the matter deferves to be inveftigated in different ways. Among other things, animals ought to be expofed to the bite of this ferpent, and the effedts of oranges and other remedies on the ulcers that would in all probability arife from it, ihould be tried. It is a fortunate circumftance, that the geitje is flow in its motions, and not of a very irritable, difpofition; confequently the diforder occafioned by its bite is not common, though the animal itfelf is common enough in fpring, or at leaft at certain times in the year. We fought for it, however, to no purpofe, under the rocks and flones near Krakeel river, and in the empty fhells of the bulla achatima in Sitjicam- ma, (where the inhabitants allured me it was very common) mon) when 1 pafled through thefe places. As the tail is apt to fall off with a flight touch, and is found filled up with a yellow matter, like that which is feen in boils and ulcers, and as no nails are difcoverable in the fpecimen that I brought home with me, is it not probable that the geitje is a larva, which in time is transformed into a lizard of a quite different form and nature ? I do not know for certain, whether I have feen this lizard alive or not ; yet I think I remember, that I caught one of them at the warm bath, and, wrapping it up in paper, kept it in my pocket ; but pulled ft out again, through hafte and care- leffnefs', along with the wadding of my gu n ; not being aware at that time, what a venomous prize I had got and parted with; I afterwards heard the company at the bath fpeak of this lizard, though (if I remember right) by another name, being to be found at Franfe-boek ; but I con- fidered the account they gave concerning the poifonous quality of this animal, as one o f thè tales by which I obferved they endeavoured to alarm me, and render me cautious' in the courfe of my journey. The geitje which I brought home with me, is fcarcely three inches in length, •of which length the tail makes the fmalleft half, and is very peaked ; but in the middle is nearly as thick as the animal’s body, which is without any fcales; and at top fpeckled with dark fpots, and white underneath, with from twelve to fourteen papillae on the edge of the under jaw. There are five toes to each. foot. I have given a figure of the geitje, together with a full description of it, in the Tranf- actions of the Gottenburgh Society of Sciences and Belles Lettres, Parti, page 75. Tab. V.
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