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. A handkerchief
was at once tied round the wounded limb, with a small pebble so placed
as to compress the brachial artery inside the forearm, and with the
iron ramrod from a carbine as a lever, we screwed this rough tourniquet
up until the circulation was in great measure cut off. Luckily Dunmore
had a pocket-knife with him, for the sheath-knives we carried were but
rude instruments for surgery, and with the small blade he slashed the
bitten part freely, while Lizzie, applying her lips to the wound, did
her best to draw out the subtle venom. Some of us carried flasks,
containing various spirits, and the contents of these were at once
mixed--brandy, rum, hollands, all indiscriminately--in a quart pot, and
tossed off by the sufferer, without the slightest visible effect. Had
the spirit taken the smallest hold upon him, we should have felt hope,
for if a man suffering from snake-bite can be made intoxicated, he is
safe. Bu