was a species of Dryophis. The majority of the snakes seen were
innocuous. One day, however, I trod on the tail of a young
serpent belonging to a very poisonous kind, the Jararaca
(Craspedocephalus atrox). It turned round and bit my trousers;
and a young Indian lad, who was behind me, dexterously cut it
through with his knife before it had time to free itself. In some
seasons snakes are very abundant, and it often struck me as
strange that accidents did not occur more frequently than was the
case.

Amongst the most curious snakes found here were the Amphisbaenae,
a genus allied to the slow-worm of Europe. Several species occur
at Para. Those brought to me were generally not much more than a
foot in length. They are of cylindrical shape, having, properly
speaking, no neck, and the blunt tail which is only about an inch
in length, is of the same shape as the head. This peculiar form,
added to their habit of wriggling backwards as well as forwards,
has given rise to the fable that they have two heads, one at each
extremity. They are extremely sluggish in their motions, and are
clothed with scales that have the form of small imbedded plates
arranged in rings round the body. The eye is so small as to be
scarcely perceptible. They live habitually in the subterranean
chambers of the Sauba ant; only coming out of their abodes
occasionally in the night time. The natives call the Amphisbaena
the "Mai das Saubas," or Mother of the Saubas, and believe it to
be poisonous, although it is perfectly harmless. It is one of the
many curious animals which have become the subject of mythical
stories with the natives. They say the ants treat it with great
affection, and that if the snake be taken away from a nest, the
Saubas will forsake the spot. I once took one quite whole out of