videnceto give waraing«to all tfrdsk within. thisranimaTs.; reach,
th at he ‘is preparing »'ft) attack them« without this signal, lie
stofeT'be very dangerous indeed, -jas his motions afterw^ds ^re
avoided^; I have more than ;-once been am eye-
witness to instances wfaewfrthe fetal bite of this snake was
escaped from merely by the object of . - his | vengeance timely •
observing Ms pix^arations. I
One r-emarkaWe charactm-istie o f these dangerous sefpents is
their | fondness for m«sfe*s;Even- whennewly eaAJght, theywseem.‘
to listen with pleasure to the notes; and even to writhe them*
pelves into attitudes. The -Indian jugglers improve greatly on
this instinct; and after taming .them/- by degrees instruct them
even to keep time to their flagelets*
The eovra manilfe, the most dreadful -of Ml snakes, is about
two feet long» and continues from head.,to tail nearly of the
same thickness. Its -colour is a reddish Mack. The- bite proves
almost instantly fetal, and has never heen known to fee re^
covered from. By the goodness of Rovidence, however, this
species is not numerous, and is almost entirelya jkMned^ i^
some parts of the interior. Indeed,. so «ardljr-. i§! ‘ifc .duafe
that I have never converged with one- who had. actually exa*
mined, or even certainly seen it. The aeCoqnt I.have, gjimn,
is taken from the most common reports on the sObjeot-^ .
The whip-snake and grass-snake are both poisonous. They
arO' of a greyish colour smd-speckted;
The water-snake, the wood-snake, and a few other species
usually feuhd among old ruins, are perfectly harmless They
are distinguished from the poisonous kinds, by not raising
themselves up to prepare for attack, but keeping their head
close to the ground and hissing all ; the' while. -
The rock-snake is an immense animal, extending to thirty
' feètj ïnydengtM?) I have ifryse)fe sqer§ oneqfWenfyitwO >. feet-;long,,
and • about!thé thieknèss ;©|jjj a mark's. thigh':, and I .vfas.tald that
much larger ftfjnes^ery to be foföpd -iiv^he island.- I had; ;a
trahsj^it ghrjapisejjjo:%ahot,he^'as he glided-,past me-through the
bushes -in the ’-neighbourhood -of, Colombo ; kr size be seemed
tp ^ o e e d the^jpffè,, I had,;' formerly rSêen.! T h e : rqcfe-fsnake't inhabits
cliiefly||h^ froc^y .franks - o f S è k % ;Hi% eelour^is grayish
with. broad whi1p ; streaks! , These -jj tfrpugly ■ formidable
from their immense she,; are perfectly, free^ from poison^ They
are,uho'weve?,---destructive ;tq^Qme^of. the smaller animals,-and.
will leVoar kids\r^atsy,shogs, poultry, J§fc. first twisting-their
tail irofr«dt3;fheia* prey»,,' to- break its hones and-^squeeze} it to
; d ë a tfr~ ’
Before I arrived in the island-, JfrhjSd-freard many storied of
a mpftsttous snake;, s i vast in size as to fre able tov.deyopr- tigers-
and buffaloes*, and > iso daring as even - to- ..attack the elephant.
I $0a p | every inquiry cm the spot concerning;. this terrible* anir*
Mali but 'not lie - of' the -natives-had- ever beard of thenmnstem
Probably these fabulous* Stories took then; rise- from an exaggerated
account of the i-roek^snake.
Alligators of an ioMr^nse si^i infest all the rivers of Ceylon*
and render them every where, very dangerous!: many person«-
continually fait victims to then*. In the year -1799, when colonel
Champagne was lieutenant-governor in the absence’ of Mr..'
an alligator was- seat h i» down for inspection by o n e .
of the; principal- Chinese: I t was- full twenty- feet i» length,,
and as thick in the body as a horse. . -It was killed about
thirty imfes from^Golurafr^and. required tw o carts placed one?*\
after the other, and - drawn by eight bullocks;, to -transport its-
immense body* while part of the tail still hung trailing, on the?.