MARTIN RATTLER. 229

vulsively, for he had never seen one of the kind
before, and he knew that the bite of some of the
snakes is deadly. Fortunately his axe was at hand.
Grasping it quickly, he killed the reptile with a single
blow. Two or three mandioca cakes, a few wild
fruits, and a draught of water from the stream, formed
the wanderer’s simple breakfast. After it was fin-
ished, he slung his hammock between two trees, and
jumping in, fell into a deep, untroubled slumber, in
which he continued all that day and until daybreak
the following morning.

After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Martin took
up his bundle and resumed his travels. That day he
descended into the level and wooded country that
succeeded the mountain range, and that night he was
obliged to encamp in a swampy place near a stagnant
lake in which several alligators were swimming, and
where the mosquitoes were so numerous that he found
it absolutely impossible to sleep. At last, in despair,
he sprang into the branches of the tree to which his
hammock was slung and ascended to the top. Here,
to his satisfaction, he found that there were scarcely
any mosquitoes, while a cool breeze fanned his fevered
brow, so he determined to spend the night in the
tree.

By binding several branches together he formed a