Page:Ancient India as described by Megasthenês and Arrian.djvu/80

61 halloo and the baying of the hounds they dart up the precipices with incredible speed, for they are habituated to climbing the mountains. They defend themselves by rolling down stones on their assailants, which often kill those they hit. The most difficult to catch are those which roll - the stones. Some are said to have been brought, though with difficulty and after long intervals, to the F r a s i i, but these were either suffering from diseases or were females heavy with young, the former being too weak to escape, and the latter being impeded by the burden of the womb. — Conf. PUn. Hist. If at. VII. 2. 17. Fragm. XVI. PUny, Hist. Nat VIII. 14. 1. Of the Boa-Constrictor. According to Megasthen^s, serpents in India grow to such a size that they swallow stags and bulls whole. Solinus, 52. 33. So huge are the serpents that they swallow stags whole, and other animals of equal size. Fragm. XVII. u3Elian, Hist. Anim. VIII. 7. Of the Electric Eel I learn from Megasthenes that there is in the Indian Sea a small kind of fish which is never seen when alive, as it always swims in deep water, and only floats on the surface after it is dead. Should any one touch it he becomes faint and swoons, — nay, even dies at last. Digitized by Google