«revenge upon the living, but to continue as a plague td ; posterity;
an idea truly savage; but let this be as.it may, the inhabitants of
Martinico suffer Very much by venomous serpents J and though
in many «countries great rewards have , been given,,by governments
for killing wolves, and other ferocious animals, which destroy cattle,
no .such means have been adopted here to destroy reptiles, which
are so dangerous ^o the human species. . The serpents-must multiply
the more at Martinico, as this island does not.possess the advantage
of other countries, in having animals that , prey upon them;
nor do the inhabitants go, in search of them; so i that when the
.serpents appear it is quite,, unexpectedly, .and by this means they
have time to. escape, nay, even after they have mortally wounded
those who unguardedly have happened to come near,.them*, ,they
leave the unfortunate victim in too much agony and horror to think
.of pursuing, them. In Italy the vipers undoubtedly would infest the
.country much more, if they were not fortunately prevented by tho.se
persons who make it their business to catch them, fpr-v the purpose
of selling them to invalids of feeble constitutions;, to make viper
broth, or to apothecaries for many other medical .uses, I have
.seen them brought alive in cages to market,and it is said that
those viper catchers are -extremely expert. iNow certainly it would
require less address and trouble to kill the reptile, and afterwards
only sbe obliged to shew the head with its venomous fangs, in order
to receive the stipulated reward. The negroes, and particularly
those who are free, who are so well known to possess extraordinary
talents in hunting, and in catching all sorts of wild animals, would
gladly adopt this course of life, and prefer it to hard labour, when
they were certain of being rewarded in proportion to their success ;
and pot only these, but even the negro slaves, on the plantations
would look out to get some money by it. This, or- some, othgr
effectual method of destroying these reptiles, mu^t , be . of great importance
in Martinico, as, from its insular situation, no new brood
could arrive there again § but? without.'going so far,1 only the dimi-
nutionrof th®setse^pentsïlwóiM)sdohibei happily felt, in'jparticular
by the^people labouring rini thet ^fieldsy who.are so much exposed to
their;desyuc&vfe bifeïf ; The; children also suffer very much: byithese
they are
playingmeacth© dwelling-houses iri :<periecte heahh, of their being,
boought'.lxome to ; their parerits, ;ra: the most tormenting : agonies» of
ijmivîtahlq cfea&f m
Theseuv^0hmus kerpents;areoc0nsequeritly^cotisàlered: as the
greatest ? plague}? that exists im.this j/otheiiwise / Ma ppy: island.. The
introduction of the ichncumoh m Martinico might be ;very> Useful,
partieUlarlyftli©^gyptian /kind,? which Had muèh stronger thanthe
coinmon African; or those .■broughttfrom lndia. The? idhrieumbn is
classed *by naturalists, in the genus of the weasel5;, a ad.,’ the? Egÿ p-
tian kind is said Wheabout^sevch mches.long, ‘andiits,; tail; of'the
same length, which.is slightly tufted at theresmb; ,fôr ; which ; feasön /
Linnabusbas made it a; separatespecies- Thfe figyprian iehheUnio®
will, it is!said, attack and conquer thé most vènomous serpènts;« it
is therefore highly, esteemed by« the inhabitants of Egypt, who keep
it as" the Eurdpeans : do the cat, r^bdeb it' surpassethnin strength,-,
agility, and courage. Such a species of animal brought to Martinico,:
would not only d ea r the houses, where it would hé- domesticated,'
and the vicinity;, from those reptiles; but it might|be\hsed by
the • serpent: hunters, when in search ofitheirplaees: of. ? retreat.
I have seen in England an ichneumon* but it wah of the smaller or
common species, not larger than a ferret, and i t was said to? have
been brought from the Cape of Good Hope. rfj
On the second day of my arrival at : Martitiico ^became much
indisposed. My good landlady Was greatly: salarmed; she and < a
gentleman who came to ivisitlme, both thought my -illness was
owing to the ^tropical fruits I hade eaten, and to which not being
yet accustomed, my bowels became ■ too much relaxed, and,
1 W "