Читать книгу Some Curious Flyers, Creepers, and Swimmers - Celia Thaxter - Страница 11
ОглавлениеSCALY TENANTS OF THE WILD.
1. In country places, children, when rambling through the fields and woods, sometimes find a little creature crawling out of some secret place, which at first excites their curiosity, and fills them with a vague fear. It is neither a snake, nor a frog, nor a fish, yet it has features which recall all three. It has a long, round body like the snake, four legs placed upon its sides like a frog, and is covered with scales like a fish. It is about six inches long, and travels over the ground at a smart pace. This is a timid, harmless little lizard, and it is probably much more frightened than the children who have discovered him.
2. Now do not kill this queer fellow, but let us study him a little closer. We see that in shape it is like the pictures of alligators we have seen in books. Its head, with its enormous mouth, resembles that of a frog. Its legs are placed so high up on its sides that in running it partly drags its body on the ground, and its feet are armed with five long, pointed toes. Its tail is thick and tapering, and is often longer than all the rest of the body. It is covered with curious little scales, usually dark-colored above and lighter below.
3. If we watch this new friend of ours we shall see how it lives and moves. It crawls slowly along the ground, or over the prostrate trunks of old trees. Should some enemy appear, or in any way it become frightened, then it opens its huge mouth and thrusts out its red, forked tongue after the manner of serpents. In no way can it hurt anybody, but it succeeds in scaring most animals and men before they learn that the show of the tongue and the hiss which goes with it are as harmless as the "faces" which school-children make at each other. Like the frog, it catches insects for its prey. It lays eggs covered with a tough membrane, but without shell, on the ground or in hollow trees. Most lizards are nocturnal, coming out for their food only in the night.
4. These little creatures have the power of sustaining life a long time without food. In the North are several varieties, all small, but of different colors, red, green, and brown. As winter approaches the lizard crawls away to some secret and sheltered place, beneath an old log, in a hollow tree, or under a heap of leaves, and there it lies dormant and motionless until spring. In the coldest weather it is frozen stiff, but this does not put an end to its life, for in the spring it comes out and goes about its old business of catching flies.
5. The horned lizard of Mexico and the Western States is covered with spines. It runs swiftly, and is of the color of the ground, so that it can not readily be seen; but, whether covered with scales or warts, once a year the lizard crawls out of his old skin and appears in a new coat, without apparently feeling proud. While some lizards lay eggs in hollow trees, in warm regions most varieties lay eggs in the sand, where they hatch out by the heat of the sun.
Common Iguana.
6. The iguana is a monster lizard, found in tropical America. It attains a length of five feet, and can strike a powerful blow with its tail. Its tongue is long and horny on its point, for the purpose of assisting in eating the vegetables which it lives upon. Its home is among the trees, and, being an exclusive vegetarian, its flesh is good for food, and in some parts of South America it is considered a great luxury. The anolis of the Southern States belongs to the same family as the iguana, and is a vegetable-eater. It has the remarkable power of changing its color, like the chameleon of Asia and Africa, another lizard which has its home on trees, but catches flies for food. All these can appear green, blue, gray, or black, according to the color of the things that surround them.
7. The gecko is a species of lizard very common in India. It has a peculiar clucking sound, like the cry which riders use to urge forward their horses, and hence its name, geck-o. The back is covered with brown scales, and on each side of its tail are rows or fleshy protuberances like fingers. This creature climbs perpendicular walls with ease, and is a very common visitant to houses in pursuit or flies. After an absence of a few days, the owner of a house returns and finds these lizards by hundreds hanging from the ceiling, digesting the game that they have just bagged. Its movements are so rapid and silent that the natives regard it as something supernatural.
8. One of the most curious of the lizards is an odd little fellow called the "flying dragon." It is a native of the East India islands, and is an insect-eater. This singular creature has wings on each side of its body, which it can spread out like the expanded fins of a fish, and which support it in its leaps from branch to branch. It has been known to leap the distance of ninety feet. When the dragon is at rest, the wings fold up close to its side, but when preparing to leap they expand like those of a bird fluttering in the air. From a high point it takes its daring leap, and gently reaches the ground. The dragon, in spite of its name, is perfectly harmless, but it wages war on flies, insects, and creeping vermin. In some parts of the East it is protected by the public sentiment for the good it does.
9. The basilisk, a lizard of the Libyan Desert, was supposed to possess supernatural powers. It was the king of serpents, and before it all other animals were forced to fly. Its eye was so keen that even a man would fall dead from a single glance. While most lizards have four feet, there are species with only two; in some cases the fore-legs and in others the hind-legs are wanting. The glass-snake is a lizard with only rudimentary legs, which when struck break up in pieces. There are between seven and eight hundred species of lizards, the most of them inhabitants of tropical regions. In the rocks are found specimens of lizard-like forms sixty feet long, fit companions of the mastodon and other huge animals that formerly inhabited the earth.
10. One of the terrors of the prospector and cow-boy in Arizona is the so-called Gila[A] monster, a large, beautifully marked orange and black lizard, sometimes attaining a length of twenty inches, and having quite long legs, so that, when running, the body entirely clears the ground. The bite of this creature is said to be most venomous; and, moreover, many people firmly believe that, should by any chance its breath be inhaled, a total paralysis of the body will follow.
Green and Spotted Lizards.
11. These lizards are usually met with in arid, sandy places, frequently crawling along the traveled roads and tracts. They are sluggish of movement, easily captured, and not in the least aggressive. None the less they fall a prey to the ignorant superstition which calls for the destruction of all creeping things.
12. While living for a time in Tucson, Arizona's largest town, there came to us one day, by express, a package from a friend in another part of the Territory. Knowing him as a collector of all sorts of queer bugs and beasts, we were not surprised, on opening the box, to discover the odd-looking saurian curled snugly away in one corner. On first sight we were inclined to give the stranger a rather cold reception, his looks were so uncanny; and then, when alarmed, he darted out a long, forked tongue in a truly menacing manner. As Mr. T——, however, had vouched for his good behavior, we opened our hearts and adopted him as one of our pets. At first he was given the freedoma of one room, about which he crawled rather timidly, at last taking refuge behind a huge Indian water-jar or olla, which stood by the fireplace.
13. This corner he made his retreat, and here he spent his hours of retirement. We finally discovered that during these periods he, like many other prisoners, attempted to tunnel his way out, and indeed succeeded in making a large excavation in the soft adobe wall, by means of his fore-feet. Our two dogs, in the beginning, eyed Monster with aversion, and sniffed at him suspiciously. If they came too near, he would hiss fiercely, shooting out his wicked-looking tongue, when they would wisely retreat.
14. We were at a loss to know what food our lizard required, until our kind Mr. T—— suggested an egg-diet, and this proved most acceptable. The egg was first broken into a saucer and placed before Monster, who, having been induced to take one taste, eagerly continued to lap, in cat-fashion, until the dish was emptied. At intervals water was taken, but never in large quantities.
15. In time our pet had the run of the house, and went about where he wished; occasionally taking a turn out in the corral, where among the grass-roots he found food to his liking. At night we frequently heard him prowling about. He became entirely accustomed to the various members of the family, and would permit us to scratch his back, evidently greatly enjoying the sport.
16. One morning, while he lay basking in the sunshine in our alameda, or inclosed veranda, in an ill-advised moment an inmate of the house was impelled to tickle his nose. The poor creature was rudely awakened, and, in his fright, seized the offending finger. As a result a deep wound was inflicted by the sharp teeth. An hour or more passed before the fact was mentioned, and then it came about incidentally, for the inquiry about the bandaged hand being evaded, "my lady" said jokingly, "I believe the Gila monster has bitten you." The late discovery that this was the case caused some alarm; strong ammonia was applied, but no serious results followed, nor was the finger so sore as is usual with a cut.
17. Soon after, our pet was missing; he had been tempted to stray through the open gate, and to wander into a neighboring corral. Our search revealed his untimely fate, for a hard-hearted baker discovered him, and, following the fashion of the country, had ruthlessly killed our harmless little friend.
