Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/196

188 It is a native of the island of Java, and of the Indian peninsulas.

The ground-colour of the head of this Serpent is a greyish fawn, that of the body yellowish, of the sides greyish white; the under parts pale yellowish. A series of large spots of dark brown with a black margin runs down the back; they are of an irregular form, but somewhat square: there are smaller ones on the sides, which often have open disks. On the hind-head and nape is a large brown spot, somewhat like a spear-head, divided lengthwise by a pale line; a brown band runs off behind each eye. The shields of the belly are about two hundred and fifty, those of the tail from sixty to seventy pairs.

The Boas are oviparous; laying a number of eggs in holes in the soil, beneath decaying leaves, in crevices of the roots of trees, and in similar situations. At certain seasons of the year great numbers are said to congregate together and twist themselves into immense knots or contorted coils. This is at least true of the Yellow Snake of Jamaica (Chilabothrus inornatus), and the negroes and Creoles declare that these réunions are connected with the reproduction of the species. But the individuals that thus collect, though numerous, are not to be compared with the convoluted host that the celebrated Humboldt once saw in South America. Their association he attributed, indeed, to a very different motive; but we are inclined to believe that he has quite misinterpreted the phenomenon.

“In the savannahs of Izacubo, in Guiana, I saw the most wonderful, the most terrible spectacle that can be seen; and although it is not