SALAMANDERS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 336, 23 January 1889, Page 3

SALAMANDERS.

The author of ' Canoe and Camp Life in British Guiana ' is responsible for a remarkable fcoad story. One of his men was Alexandor Paulie, who had seen a good deal of bush life, was acquainted with the habits of many birds and quadrupeds, and about animals, especially tigers, could lell wonderful tales, * His stories of the fabulous ' water mules J and ' water monkeys ' prepared me to accept just as much of his stories as I liked, so that one night in camp, when he asked me if I had ever seen a toad eat fire, I conscientiously replied in the negative and added that I did not believe that anyone else had seen them do so either. He said that when he next saw a toad ho would show me that it could swallow a live coal without any apparent inconvenience. ' When, therefore, one evening in an open-sided house on the upper Demevara, a number of common toads came hopping about on its clay floor Paulie said he would prove his words. He got a few small live coals about the size of a dice from the wood fire and threw them on the ground in front of a toad, while I closely watched the result. ' toad hopped up to one of the redhot pieces of wood ember, leaned forward, darted out its tongue, to which the coal adhered, and drawing it in hastily swallowed the tempting morsel, seemingly to \ta entire satisfaction, rem.ain.ed stationary for i short sppce of time and then hopped merrily away, 'Paulie then informed mo that though red-hot wood ember did not hurt these creatures, a piece of red-hofc nail was too much for them. He made the experiment once with a shot t 'piece of red-hot nail, which tho unsuspecting ■ toad swallowed, but the iron burnt its way out, and. the toad wenfe into convulsions which terminated in its death. ' -