182 PREPARING SPECIMENS.

garden near Tranquebar, I had a shop or work-
room purposely constructed for these opcrations,
and kept sometimes two or three Malabar boys at
work to help me. Of serpents and snakes I had a
list of upwards of eighty different species, from the
size of a common worm to 16 and 20 feet long; of
crabs, upwards of ninety; and of spiders, more than
forty. Whether I went into the woods, on the
beach, by land, or by sea, I was accustomed to look
about and examine every object I saw, and acquired
great facility in catching some of the most danger-
ous anlmals without harm to myself. Far from
being afraid of serpents, I went out purposely to
discover their haunts, in the jungle or among the
rocks, defending my legs with a pair of strong
boots ; and ifI could prevent their slipping off into
their holes, and irritate them so as to make them
attempt to strike me, my work was done. A ser-
pent thus situated, will coil himself up, and in-
stantaneously darting forward his head, strike and
bite whatever comes in his way. I then presented
my hat, which the animal violently seized with his
fangs; when. instantly snatching it away, I seldom
failed to extract them by the sudden jerk; for, being
curved, they cannot be readily withdrawn, and, sit-
ting but loosely in the gums, are easily disengaged.
Being thus rendered in a great degree harmless,
J pinned their heads down, and tied them up.