Page:A voyage to New Holland - Dampier.djvu/118

 as few of these creatures fly at a man or hurt him but when he comes in their way. It is about 14 inches long and about the bigness of the inner joint of a man's middle finger; being of one and the same bigness from one end to the other, with a head at each end (as they said; for I cannot vouch it, for one I had was cut short at one end) and both alike in shape and bigness; and it is said to move with either head foremost, indifferently; whence it is called by the Portuguese cobra-de-dos-cabesas, the snake with two heads.

The small black snake is a very venomous creature.

There is also a grey snake, with red and brown spots all over its back. It is as big as a man's arm and about 3 foot long, and is said to be venomous. I saw one of these.

Here are two sorts of very large snakes or serpents: one of them a land-snake, the other a water-snake. The land-snake is of a grey colour, and about 18 or 20 foot long: not very venomous, but ravenous. I was promised the sight of one of their skins but wanted opportunity.

The water-snake is said to be near 30 foot long. These live wholly in the water, either in large rivers or great lakes, and prey upon any creature that comes