victim, occasionally dealing it a blow with its cruel claws. The enemies
of the snake are legion. Burrowing owls feed largely on them; so do
herons and storks, killing them with a blow of their javelin beaks, and
swallowing them entire. The sulphur tyrant-bird picks up the young snake
by the tail, and, flying to a branch or stone, uses it like a flail till
its life is battered out. The bird is highly commended in consequence,
reminding one of very ancient words: "Happy shall he be that taketh thy
little ones and dasheth them against the stones." In arraying such a
variety of enemies against the snake, nature has made ample amends for
having endowed it with deadly weapons. Besides, the power possessed by
venomous snakes only seems to us disproportionate; it is not really so,
except in occasional individual encounters. Venomous snakes are always
greatly outnumbered by non-venomous ones in the same district; at any
rate this is the case on the pampas. The greater activity of the latter
counts for more in the result than the deadly weapons of the former.

The large teguexin lizard of the pampas, called iguana by the country
people, is a notable snake-killer. Snakes have in fact, no more
formidable enemy, for he is quick to see, and swift to overtake them. He
is practically invulnerable, and deals them sudden death with his
powerful tail. The gauchos say that dogs attacking the iguana are
sometimes known to have their legs broken, and I do not doubt it. A
friend of mine was out riding one day after his cattle, and having
attached one end of his lasso to the saddle, He let it trail on the
ground. He noticed a large iguana lying apparently asleep in the sun,
and though he rode by it very closely, it did not stir; but no sooner
had he passed it, than it raised its head, and fixed its attention on
the forty feet of lasso slowly trailing by. Suddenly it rushed after the
rope, and dealt it a succession of violent blows with its tail. When the
whole of the lasso, several yards of which had been pounded in vain, had