Warmington, Aug. 9. 1851.
_Snake's Antipathy to Fire._--There is in Brazil a very common poisonous
snake, the Surucucu (_Trigonocephalus rhombeatus_), respecting which the
Matutos and Sertanejos, the inhabitants of the interior, relate the
following facts. They say that such is the antipathy of this reptile to
fire, that when fires are made in the clearing away of woods, they rush
into it, scattering it with their tails till it is extinguished, even
becoming half roasted in the attempt; and that when an individual is
passing at night with a torch, they pass and repass him, lashing him
with their tales till he drop it, and the snake is immediately found
closely coiled round the extinguished torch. The greatest enemy of this
snake is an immense Lacertian, five and six feet long, the Tiju-acu (the
great lizard--its name in the Lingoa geral): it is said that when the
snake succeeds in effecting a bite, the lizard rushes into the wood,
eats some herb, and returns to the conflict, which almost invariable
terminates in its favour.