conquers. The final struggle is most exciting.
The iguana seizes hold of the snake five or six inches below the head,
and this time refuses to let go his hold, no matter how much the snake
may struggle and enwrap him in its coils. Over and over roll the
combatants, but the grip of the iguana is relentless; and the struggles
of the snake grow weaker, until at length he is stretched out dead. Then
the triumphant iguana steals slowly away.

The spectators would never dream of killing him,--partly on account of
their admiration for his prowess, but more particularly because his flesh
is tainted with poison from the repeated snake bites. These curious
fights generally take place near water-holes.

I have also seen remarkable combats between snakes of various species and
sizes. A small snake will always respond to the challenge of a much
larger one, this challenge taking the form of rearing up and hissing. The
little snake will then advance slowly towards its opponent and attempt to
strike, but, as a rule, the big one crushes it before it can do any harm.
I had often heard of the joke about two snakes of equal size trying to
swallow one another, and was, therefore, the more interested when I came
across this identical situation in real life. One day, right in my
track, lay two very large snakes which had evidently been engaged in a
very serious encounter; and the victor had commenced swallowing his
exhausted adversary. He had disposed of some three or four feet of that
adversary's length when I arrived on the scene, and was evidently resting
before taking in the rest. I easily made prisoners of both.

Not long after this incident a delusive hope was held out to me that I
might be able to return to civilisation. News was brought one day that
the tracks of some strange and hitherto unknown animals had been found to
the north, and, accompanied by Yamba, I went off to inspect them. I
found that they were camel tracks--for the second time; and as Yamba
informed me that, from the appearance of the trail, there was no one with
them, I concluded that in all probability the creatures were wild, having
long ago belonged to some exploring party which had come to grief.

"Here at length," I thought, "is the means of returning to civilisation.
If I can only reach these creatures--and why should I not with so much
assistance at my disposal?--I will break them in, and then strike south
across the deserts with my wife and family