Directly
The Little Birds Chip The Shell, They Run About With The Greatest Agility,
And Their Capture Is Exceedingly Difficult.
A nest with freshly-laid eggs
is a glorious find, for several dozen are frequently extracted, and are
most delicious eating.
The evening was fast approaching, when we camped for the night by the side
of a nice clear water-hole in a sequestered valley, and, after bathing and
having tea, we tried our luck at fishing, for these holes are sometimes
full of eels. We prospered, and soon had several fine fellows on the bank,
from whence they were speedily transferred to the hot ashes, and roasted in
their integrity; they were thus spared the skinning, to which, it is
averred, custom has habituated them. Ferdinand and Cato were collecting
firewood for the night, for, in the position we had selected, we were not
afraid of making a good blaze, and we were sitting and lounging round the
fire, conjecturing what had become of all the blacks, and how soon we
should fall in with the other party, when Lizzie - who had accompanied the
troopers - came rushing back, and said: -
"One fellow snake been bit 'em Cato; plenty that fellow go bong (dead)
by-and-by, mine believe."
We all jumped up, and sure enough, poor Cato came slowly towards us,
looking the ashy-grey colour to which fear turns the black, and followed by
Ferdinand, who dragged after him a large black snake, the author of the
mischief.
If Australia is exempt from wild beasts, the number of venomous reptiles
with which it is cursed make it as dangerous to the traveller as other
tropical countries in which ferocious animals abound. Hardly a tree or a
shrub can be found that does not contain or conceal some stinging
abomination. The whole of these are not, of course, deadly, but a
tarantula bite, or a centipede sting, will cripple a strong man for weeks,
while a feeble constitution stands a fair chance of succumbing. But of all
these pests, none can equal the snakes, which not only swarm, but seem to
have no fear of man, selecting dwellings by choice for an abode. These
horrible reptiles are of all sizes, from the large carpet snake of twenty
feet, to the little rock viper of scarcely half a dozen inches. The great
majority of these are venomous, and are of too many different kinds for me
to attempt their enumeration here. The most common with us were the brown,
black, and whip snakes, and the death-adder, all poisonous; and the
carpet-snake, harmless. The brown and black snakes run from two to eight
feet in length, frequent the long grass, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
swamps, and from the snug way in which they coil up, and their
disinclination to move, are highly dangerous. The latter is very handsome,
the back of a brilliant black, and the under portion of a sea-shell pink.
Their skin is sometimes used by bushmen as a cover to their waistbelts,
which are much beautified thereby. The whip-snakes are of all sizes and of
all colours; in fact, under this name the colonists include all the slender
climbing snakes, so many of which inhabit Australia. In my opinion, these
are the worst; for they come boldly into your room in search of warmth, and
may be found stowed away in a boot, or under the pillow, or in any place
where they are least expected. Last and worst of our venomous snakes comes
the death, or deaf, adder, for it is called indiscriminately by both names,
and amply justifies either prefix. The hideous reptile is very thick and
stumpy in proportion to its length, which rarely exceeds two feet, whilst
its circumference may be put down at one-fifth of its total measurement.
The tail is terminated by a small curved spike, which is commonly regarded
as the sting; but though when touched it doubles up, and strikes with this
horn, as well as bites, I do not think the tail does any material damage,
but this opinion one would find it difficult to make a bushman credit. I
once saw a man take a death-adder up - quite unintentionally, you may be
sure - between two shingles, and it immediately struck backwards with both
head and tail, the two extremities luckily meeting above his hand. From
the sluggish habits of this reptile, it is popularly accounted deaf, and it
seems quite unalarmed even by the report of a gun. You may walk over it a
dozen times, as it lies basking in the sun, usually in the most frequented
part of the road, and it will take not the slightest notice, but if
touched, however gently, it bites at once.
When I first went to Cardwell, I was talking about death-adders, and the
naive remark made by one of the inhabitants amused and at the same time
rather terrified me, for the perfect knowledge he exhibited of the reptiles
showed plainly how common they were there.
"Nasty things," he said, "but Lord, they won't hurt you. Best not try to
get one alive into a bottle, though. I tried that little game on, with a
pickle-jar and a stick, but I couldn't get him in, and he doubled up and
very nearly bit me; his tail just grazed my hand as it was."
I thanked my informant, and assured him from the bottom of my heart, that
whenever I 'did' try to coax a death-adder into a bottle, I would benefit
by his experience and use the greatest caution.
The eye of this snake is remarkable for its vivid yellow, crossed by a
black longitudinal pupil. The colour of the body is a mixture of dull
hues, and the abdomen pinkish; the head broad, thick, flattened, and its
'tout ensemble' hideously repulsive. But I am digressing, and leaving poor
Cato still uncared for.
The snake, which was a very large one, had been laid hold of by the boy in
the imperfect light, and had instantly bitten him in the wrist, on which
the punctures of the fangs were plainly visible.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 16 of 31
Words from 15250 to 16281
of 31542
