OF BRITISH HONDURAS


nose and mouth, all of which tend greatly to upset
your equanimity and to spoil your enjoyment.
 Snakes.-These are an ever-present danger and
should always be kept in mind. I once refused
to go after some Papilio zestos which were resting
on a shrub and which I could have easily captured
because to get at them I had to wade waist high
in thick grass, and I remembered that a man had
been bitten by a snake in this very locality a week
previous to my arrival and had died from the
effects. Strong boots and high leggings I think
will be found the best defence.
 Ticks.-These are indeed a great, if not the
greatest, drawback to exploring the forest lands.
These horrible pests are much more abundant
in the dry season than in the wet. There are many
varieties of them. Some are as small as pin
points and they are the worst; others are as large
as a grain of maize. The large ones come singly,
but the little ones in thousands. Getting on your
clothing they immediately begin to run in every
direction until they reach your skin and there
they attach themselves in whatever part of your
anatomy they may have reached. Here they set
up an intolerable desire to scratch and when you
keep on scratching you develop after a time sores
and ulcers and an eczematous condition, but no
amount of scratching gets rid of the tick which
continues to hold on, sucking your blood and