ill, since their
skeletons may serve to fertilize its roots."

Wishing to investigate further, Bearwarden placed one of the birds they
had shot within the bell of another flower, which immediately
contracted with such force that they saw drops of blood squeezed out.
After some minutes the flower opened, as beautiful as ever, and
discharged an oblong ball compressed to about the size of a hen's egg,
though the bird that was placed within it had been as large as a small
duck. Towards evening these flowers sent up their most beautiful song,
to hear which flocks of birds came from far and near, alighting on the
trees, and many were lured to death by the siren strains and the honey.

Before resuming their journey, the travellers paid a parting visit to
the bell-shaped lilies on their pyramids of bones. The flowers were
closed for the night, and the travellers saw by the moonlight that the
white mounds were simply alive with diamond-headed snakes. These
coiled themselves, flattened their heads, and set up such a hissing on
the explorers' approach that they were glad to retire, and leave this
curious contrast of hideousness and beauty to the fire-flies and the
moons. Marching along in Indian file, the better to avoid treading on
the writhing serpents that strewed the ground, they kept on for about
two hours. They frequently passed huge heaps or mounds of bones,
evidently the remains of bears or other large animals. The carnivorous
plants growing at their centre were often like hollow trees, and might
easily have received the three travellers in one embrace. But as
before, the mounds were alive with serpents that evidently made them
their homes, and raised an angry hiss whenever the men approached.

"The wonder to me," said Bearwarden, "is, that these snakes do not
protect the game, by keeping it from the life-devouring plants. It may
be that they do not show themselves by day or when the victims are
near, or that the quadrupeds on which these plants live take a
pleasure, like deer, in killing them by jumping with all four feet upon
their backs or in some other way, and after that are entrapped by the
flowers."

Shortly after midnight they rested for a half hour, but the dawn found
them trudging along steadily, though somewhat wearily, and having about
completed the third side of their square. Accordingly, they soon made
a right-angle turn to the left, and had been picking their way over the
rough ground for nearly