From the day when the solemn doom was pronounced,—"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed," the serpent-form has begotten revulsion and dread in the human breast. And deservedly; for a venomous serpent is a terrible enemy: the direful venom of sin injected by "that old serpent, the Devil," is well symbolised by the most potent of all lethic agencies,—the poison of the rattlesnake or the cobra.

And yet in all ages there have been persons in the countries where the most venomous snakes abound, who have professed, and have been believed to enjoy, an absolute immunity from their bites, and even to exercise some inexplicable power over them, whereby their rage is soothed, and they are rendered for the time gentle and harmless. The Holy Scriptures repeatedly allude to this ancient art. The Magicians of Egypt, who turned their rods into serpents, are supposed to have had recourse to a secret known, it is said, to the modern conjurors of the same country, who, by pressing the nape of the neck of the cobra with their fingers, throw it into a sort of catalepsy, by which its whole body becomes rigid like a rod, and from which it is relieved by suddenly throwing it on the ground. Aaron's rod was a veritable rod before and after the transaction, but changed into a serpent by Divine miraculous energy: theirs were serpents made to assume the appearance of rods for the moment by a cunning device.

Other and more direct allusions, however, occur to the art of serpent-charming. Thus the obduracy of the wicked is compared to "the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely."[183] And the Aseverity of the Chaldean invaders is depicted under this imagery:—"Behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord."[184]

Among the ancient Romans the Psylli, a people of Africa, and the Marsi, a German tribe who had settled in Italy, were reputed to have the power of charming serpents, and to be endowed with immunity from the results of their venom. Celsus, however, maintains that this power consisted in an acquaintance with the fact, now well known, that animal poisons are hurtful only when mingled with the blood. They may therefore be taken into the mouth with perfect impunity. With reference to so great an authority, however, there is more in the art and mystery of serpent-charming than this.

When Lucian describes the Babylonian magician as walking abroad, and calling to him all the serpents that were near, with certain ceremonies, such as the utterance of sacred words from an ancient book, lustrations made with sulphur and a torch, and solemn marchings in a circle, and when he asserts that the venomous reptiles, nolentes volentes, presented themselves harmless at his feet,—he describes a scene which is sufficiently familiar to European travellers in Egypt and India. And so, when Silius Italicus speaks of Atyr, instructed how to disarm serpents of their dire venom, and to lull to sleep the terrible water-snakes with his magic touch, he refers, whether truly or falsely, to something of a more potent character than the feat by which Queen Philippa saved the life of her royal husband.

Immunity from the poison of serpents, and serpent-charming, are two things. The former, so far as it depends on the natural law already mentioned, scarcely comes within the province of this work. But is there not an innate immunity residing in some persons, and even in some peoples, by which, without the operation of any recognised natural law, or even any effort, they are securely protected either against the bites of venomous serpents, or, at least, against the fatality which is the ordinary result of being bitten?

The Psylli, according to Pliny, were so characteristically endowed with this immunity, that they made it a test of the legitimacy of their children; for they were accustomed to expose their new-born babes (only in doubtful cases, we may suppose) to the most venomous serpents they could find; assured that if their paternity was pure Psyllic, they would be quite unharmed. Of this tribe was the ambassador Hexagon, who, boasting of his power before the Roman consuls, submitted to the crucial test which they suggested, of being inclosed in a vessel swarming with poisonous reptiles, which, says the legendary story, hurt him not.

The same historian tells us that the Psylli, who formerly inhabited the vicinity of the Greater Syrtis,—that is, the modern Tripoli and Barca,—were conquered and almost exterminated by the Nasamones, who possessed their land; but that a remnant fled to some distant region. It is not improbable that the present inhabitants of Sennaar, on the south of Egypt, may be the lineal descendants of these same Psylli; for, since Egypt was densely peopled and highly cultivated, a barbarous tribe could scarcely have made good their footing there; and as on the other side was the Great Desert of the SÂhra, and on the north the sea, there was no resource open to them but to creep along the desert edge of Egypt till they found a thinly-inhabited land sufficiently savage to enable them to form a settlement. The first region of this character that they could possibly find would be Nubia; and there it is most interesting to know that there exists a people at the present time, pretending to the same powers as the old Psylli. Bruce, whose testimony, at first much impugned, has come to be received with confidence, avouches that all the black people in the kingdom of Sennaar, whether Funge or Nuba, are perfectly armed against the bite of either scorpion or viper. They take the Cerastes—a little asp with two horns, of the most deadly venom—into their hands at all times, put them into their bosoms, and throw them at one another as children do balls, without ever irritating them by this usage so much as to make them bite. One day when the traveller was sitting with the brother of the prime minister of Sennaar, a slave of his brought a Cerastes, which he had just taken out of a hole, and was using with every sort of familiarity. Bruce expressed his suspicion that the teeth had been drawn, but was assured that they were not, both by the slave and by his master, who, taking the viper from him, wound it round his arm, and at the traveller's desire, ordered the servant to accompany him with it to his residence. Here Bruce, to test the power of the serpent, took a chicken by the neck, and made it flutter; the seeming indifference of the snake immediately gave place to eagerness, and he bit the fowl with great signs of anger, which died almost immediately. Bruce considers that the indifference was only seeming towards the man,—that it was indeed powerlessness, for he constantly observed that, however lively the snake was before, yet upon being seized by any of the blacks, it seemed as if taken with sudden sickness and feebleness, frequently shut its eyes, and never turned its mouth towards the arm of the person who held it.

How exactly this account agrees with the words of Silius,

The Nubian traveller informs us that the Arabs—meaning apparently the Moslem blacks—have not this secret naturally, but that from infancy they acquire an exemption from the mortal consequences attending the bites of all venomous reptiles by chewing a certain root, and washing themselves (it is not anointing) with an infusion of certain plants in water. This is by no means improbable; and it were much to be desired that the root and the plants were obtained and identified, that their preventive powers might be tested by competent men of science. In all probability they would be found to belong to the Quassia tribe, the natural order SimarubaceÆ, plants of the tropical regions of both continents, whose juices are of an intense bitterness. An infusion of the chips of Quassia amara and of Simaruba amara is found to be an effectual poison to flies; and the Brazilian Indians use an infusion of Simaruba versicolor as a specific against the bite of serpents, and use it with great effect in the pediculous diseases which are so common among that people.

It was a plant of this order, Simaba cedron, on which experiments were made a few years ago, at the Zoological Gardens, just before the lamentable death, by the bite of the Cobra, of poor Gurling, who, indeed, assisted in them. Mr Squire, the eminent chemist, was desirous of testing the powers of this plant, which, dried and reduced to powder, is in high repute among the Indians of South America as a serpentifuge. Dr Quain and Mr Evans concurred in this desire; and, with the permission of the Zoological Society of London, a series of experiments, of much interest, if not very conclusive in their results, were performed at the Gardens, on the 8th July 1852.

The trials were made only on small animals, but in each case the alleged remedy proved inefficacious. The experimenters, however, think that it would be unsafe to reject the Simaba cedron as an antidote because it here failed, inasmuch as death followed so rapidly that there was small opportunity for its action. It is not until it shall have been tried and have failed upon stronger animals, that, in the face of the experience of the Indians in hot climates, it should be repudiated. The remedy was applied in the form of an infusion poured down the throat of the bitten animal as quickly as possible after the stroke, and of the moistened powder applied to the wound. It seems to me worthy of consideration whether, in the light of what Bruce says of the Nubians, a washing of the body with the infusion, or an imbibition of it, or both, before the serpent's attack, might not be more efficacious as a preventive either of the bite or of its results, than its administration afterwards as a cure. Whatever be the substance with which the Nubians wash themselves, it seems to communicate to the body some quality, perhaps of odour, which repels and sickens serpents. Now, this may reside in the intense bitterness of the SimarubaceÆ; and it would be worth while to try whether a rattlesnake or a puff-adder would strike a guinea-pig that had just been bathed in an infusion of the Simaba, or to which a dose of the same had just been administered, and if so, whether the bite then would be fatal. Even if these experiments yielded no positive result, it would still be open to consider whether the lapse of time, or a long sea-voyage, or exposure to our moist climate, may not have deprived the powdered root of the plant of antitoxic properties which it may have possessed when freshly prepared in its native region.

Tschudi, whose researches into the natural history of Peru are replete with interesting and valuable information, has some observations on the native remedies for serpent-bites which I will cite, prefacing the extract with a graphically terrible picture from his pen of the venomous reptiles themselves:—

"The serpents are to be feared; and, on approaching them, it is not easy to decide at the first view whether they belong to a poisonous or innoxious species. In the forests, where the fallen leaves lie in thick moist layers, the foot of the hunter sinks deep at every step. Multitudes of venomous Amphibia are hatched in the half-putrescent vegetable matter; and he who inadvertently steps on one of these animals may consider himself uncommonly fortunate if he can effect his retreat without being wounded. But it is not merely in these places, which seem assigned by nature for their abode, that loathsome reptiles are found: they creep between the roots of large trees, under the thickly-interwoven brushwood, on the open grass-plats, and in the maize and sugar-cane fields of the Indians; nay, they crawl even into their huts, and most fortunate is it for the inhabitants of those districts that the number of the venomous, compared with the innoxious reptiles, is comparatively small. Of the poisonous serpents, only a few kinds are known whose bite is attended with very dangerous consequences. The minamaru or jergon (Lachesis picta, Tsch.) is, at most, three feet long, with a broad, heart-shaped head, and a thick upper lip. It haunts the higher forests, while in those lower down his place is filled by his no less fearful relative, the flammon, (Lachesis rhombeata, Prince Max.,) which is six or seven feet in length. These serpents are usually seen coiled almost in a circle, the head thrust forward, and the fierce, treacherous-looking eyes glaring around, watching for prey, upon which they pounce with the swiftness of an arrow; then, coiling themselves up again, they look tranquilly on the death-struggle of the victim. It would appear that these Amphibia have a perfect consciousness of the dreadful effect of their poisonous weapon, for they use it when they are neither attacked nor threatened, and they wound not merely animals fit for their food, but all that come within their reach. More formidable than the two snakes just described, but happily much less common, is the brown ten-inch-long viper (Echidna ocellata, Tsch.). It is brown, with two rows of black circular spots. The effect of its bite is so rapid that it kills a strong man in two or three minutes. So convinced are the natives of its inevitably fatal result, that they never seek any remedy: but immediately on receiving the wound lay themselves down to die. In the montanas of Pangoa this viper abounds more than in any other district: and never without apprehension do the cholos undertake their annual journey for the coca harvest, as they fear to fall victims to the bite of this viper. The warning sound of the rattle-snake is seldom heard in the hot montanas, and never in the higher regions.

"Nature, who in almost all things has established an equilibrium, supplies the natives with remedies against the bite of the serpent. One of the cures most generally resorted to is the root of the amarucachu (Polianthes tuberosa,[185] Linn.), cut into slips and laid upon the wound. Another is the juice of the creeping plant called vijuco de huaco (Mikania huaco,[186] Kunth), which is already very widely celebrated.

"This latter remedy was discovered by the negroes of the equatorial province Choco. They remarked that a sparrow-hawk, called the huaco, picked up snakes for his principal food, and when bitten by one it flew to the vejuco and ate some of the leaves. At length the Indians thought of making the experiment on themselves, and when bitten by serpents they drank the expressed juice of the leaves of the vejuco, and constantly found that the wound was thereby rendered harmless. The use of this excellent plant soon became general, and in some places the belief of the preservative power of the vejuco juice was carried so far that men in good health were inoculated with it. In this process some spoonfuls of the expressed fluid are drunk, and afterwards some drops are put into incisions made in the hands, feet, and breast. The fluid is rubbed into the wounds by fresh vejuco leaves. After this operation, according to the testimony of persons worthy of credit, the bite of the poisonous snake fails for a long time to have any evil effect. Beside the two plants mentioned above, many others are used with more or less favourable results. The inhabitants of the montana also resort to other means, which are too absurd to be detailed here: yet these medicines are often of benefit, for their operation is violently reactive. They usually produce the effect of repeated emetics and cause great perspiration. There is much difference in the modes of external treatment of the wound, and burning is often employed. I saw an Indian apply to his wife's foot, which had been bitten, a plaster consisting of moist gunpowder, pulverised sulphur, and finely-chopped tobacco mixed up together. He laid this over the wounded part, and set fire to it. This application in connexion with one of the nausea-exciting remedies taken inwardly had a successful result.

An English officer, engaged in the wars which freed the South American republics from the Spanish dominion, thus speaks of a plant which is probably the same Mikania. His account is curiously confirmatory of the accuracy of Bruce:—

"Among the many medicinal and poisonous plants growing on the banks of the Orinoco, one of the most singular is a species of vejuco, which, when properly administered, proves a powerful preservative from the effects of poisonous serpents. It even appears to deprive these reptiles either of their power or inclination to use their fangs. Some of the leaves and small branches are pounded, and applied in that state as a cataplasm to both arms; the skin having been previously scarified freely above the elbows. This species of inoculation is repeated, at stated intervals; the juice of the bruised plant, diluted with water, being also occasionally drunk. Several soldiers, belonging to General Tedeno's division, had undergone this treatment, and frequently made the advantage they had thus acquired useful on a march. They were thereby enabled to take shelter in deserted huts, which we dared not enter on account of the snakes always lurking in such places; although these men could bring them out in their hands, without sustaining any injury. As they had been for some time in our company, we could ascertain that they had not any snakes in their possession concealed for the purpose of deception. Besides, they could have little or no inducement to practice an imposition upon us, as they neither asked for, nor expected, any reward for exhibiting their skill in destroying these reptiles."[187]

According to Captain Forbes, the negroes of Dahomey employ a grass, or grass-like herb, with success. One of his hammock-men had been bitten by venomous snakes repeatedly, but, his father being a doctor, he had escaped injury. Walking one day through some long grass, the captain, pointing to the bare legs of his servant, asked if there was not danger. "None," said he; "my father picks some grass, and if on the same day the decoction is applied, the wound heals at once."[188]

Some animals, especially those which prey upon serpents, seem to be proof against their bites. The Ichneumons or Mangoustes of Africa and Asia have long been celebrated for their immunity, and veritable stories have been narrated of their having recourse to some herb, when bitten, after which they successfully renewed the attack. Percival, in his account of Ceylon, relates that a Mangouste placed in a close room where a venomous serpent was, instead of darting at it, as he would ordinarily have done, ran peeping about anxiously seeking some way of escape; but finding none it returned to its master, crept into his bosom, and could by no means be persuaded to face the snake. When, however, both were removed out of the house into the open field, the Mangouste instantly flew at the serpent, and soon destroyed it. After the combat the little quadruped suddenly disappeared for a few minutes, and again returned. Percival concludes, not unreasonably, that during its absence, it had found the antidotal herb, and eaten of it. The natives state that the Mangouste resorts on such occasions to the Ophiorhiza mungos, whose root is reputed a specific for serpents' bites. This is a Cinchonaceous plant, so intensely bitter that it is called by the Malays by a name which signifies earth-gall.[189]

Captain Forbes in his interesting account of Dahomey, alludes to these combats, which he says he has witnessed in India. He says that the serpent (Cobra) has usually the advantage at first, but the Mangouste retreating, devours some wild herb, returns and presently conquers.

Sir Emerson Tennent inclines to refer the immunity of the Mangouste to an inherent property. He remarks that the mystery of its power has been "referred to the supposition that there may be some peculiarity in its organisation which renders it proof against the poison of the serpent. It remains for future investigation to determine how far this conjecture is founded in truth; and whether in the blood of the Mongoos there exists any element or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such exceptional provisions are not without precedent in the animal economy: the hornbill feeds with impunity on the deadly fruit of the Strychnos; the milky juice of some species of Euphorbia, which is harmless to oxen, is invariably fatal to the zebra; and the tsetse fly, the pest of South Africa, whose bite is mortal to the ox, the dog, and the horse, is harmless to man and the untamed creatures of the forest."[190]

Our own hedgehog possesses the privilege of being unharmed by the venom of the viper, as is manifest in its frequent contests with it. Mr Slater has frequently seen combats between these animals, which always terminated in favour of the hedgehog. The latter seemed perfectly regardless of the many bites it received on the snout.[191]

To return to Bruce's statements. After describing the little horned viper of Egypt, the Cerastes, and its insidious manner of creeping towards its victim with its head averted, till within reach, when it suddenly springs and strikes, he goes on to say: "I saw one of them at Cairo crawl up the side of a box, in which there were many, and there lie still as if hiding himself, till one of the people who brought them to us came near him, and though in a very disadvantageous posture, sticking, as it were, perpendicularly to the side of the box, he leaped near the distance of three feet, and fastened between the man's forefinger and thumb, so as to bring the blood. The fellow shewed no signs of either pain or fear, and we kept him with us full four hours, without his applying any sort of remedy, or seeming inclined to do so.

"To make myself assured" (adds Bruce) "that the animal was in its perfect state, I made the man hold him by the neck, so as to force him to open his mouth and lacerate the thigh of a pelican, a bird I had tamed, as big as a swan. The bird died in about thirteen minutes, though it was apparently affected in fifty seconds; and we cannot think this was a fair trial, because a very few minutes before it had bit the man, and so discharged part of its virus, and it was made to scratch the pelican by force, without any irritation or action of its own.

"I will not hesitate to aver," he adds, "that I have seen at Cairo (and this may be seen daily without trouble or expense) a man, who came from above the catacombs, where the pits of the mummy-birds are kept, who has taken a Cerastes with his naked hand from a number of others lying at the bottom of the tub, has put it upon his bare head, covered it with the common red cap he wears, then taken it out, put it in his breast, and tied it about his neck like a necklace, after which it has been applied to a hen and bit it, which has died in a few minutes;. and, to complete the experiment, the man has taken it by the neck, and beginning at its tail, has ate it, as one would do a carrot or a stock of celery, without any seeming repugnance."[192]

A few years earlier than Bruce, Hasselquist, an enthusiastic young naturalist, and one of the pupils of LinnÆus, had visited the East. He paid much attention to the subject, and records his judgment that there is no delusion in serpent-charming, but that certain persons do really, in whatever way they effect it, fascinate serpents. "They take the most poisonous vipers with their bare hands, play with them, put them in their bosoms, and use a great many more tricks with them, as I have often seen. The person I saw on the above day had only a small viper, but I have frequently seen them handle those that are three or four feet long, and of the most horrid sort. I inquired and examined whether they cut out the viper's poisonous teeth: but I have seen with my own eyes they do not: we may therefore conclude, that there are to this day Psylli in Egypt; but what art they use is not generally known. Some people are very superstitious; and the generality believe this to be done by some supernatural art, which they obtain from invisible beings; I do not know whether their power is to be ascribed to good or evil; but I am persuaded that those who undertake it use many superstitions."

Subsequently we find some details of interest. "Now was the time (July) to catch all sorts of snakes to be met with in Egypt, the great heats bringing forth these vermin. I therefore made preparation to get as many as I could, and at once received four different sorts, which I have described and preserved in aqua vitÆ. These were the Common Viper, the Cerastes of Alpin, the Jaculus, and an Anguis Marinus. They were brought me by a Psylle, who put me, together with the French consul, Sironcourt, and all the French nation present, in consternation.

"They gathered about us to see how she handled the most poisonous and dreadful creatures alive and brisk, without their doing or offering to do her the least harm. When she put them into the bottle where they were to be preserved, she took them with her bare hands, and handled them as our ladies do their laces. She had no difficulty with any but the ViperÆ officinales, which were not fond of their lodging. They found means to creep out before the bottle could be corked. They crept over the hands and bare arms of the woman, without occasioning the least fear in her; she with great calmness took the snakes from her body, and put them into the place destined for their grave. She had taken these serpents in the field with the same ease she handled them before us; this we were told by the Arab who brought her to us. Doubtless this woman had some unknown art which enabled her to handle those creatures. It was impossible to get any information from her, for on this subject she would not open her lips."

He thus sums up the results of his investigations. "The circumstances relating to the fascination of serpents in Egypt stated to me, were principally:—

"1st.—That the art is only known to certain families, who propagate it to their offspring.

"2d.—The person who knows how to fascinate serpents, never meddles with other poisonous animals; such as scorpions, &c. There are different persons who know how to fascinate these animals; and they again never meddle with serpents.

"3d.—Those that fascinate serpents eat them both raw and boiled, and even make broth of them, which they eat very commonly amongst them; but in particular they eat such a dish when they go out to catch them. I have been told that serpents, fried or boiled, are frequently eaten by the Arabians, both in Egypt and Arabia, though they know not how to fascinate them, but catch them either alive or dead.

"4th.—After they have eaten their soup, they procure a blessing from their scheik, who uses some superstitious ceremonies, and, amongst others, spits on them several times with certain gestures."

The blessing of the priest, Hasselquist pronounces correctly enough to be mere superstition; we may fairly conclude that the eating of the snakes is also irrelevant,—both of these circumstances being calculated to increase popular wonder only, and to lead the observers from the true scent, which probably is the employment of preventive simples. Hasselquist had been told of a plant with which the charmers anointed or rubbed themselves before they touched the serpents; but, as no such plant was produced to him, he regarded it as fabulous. We have seen reason, however, to conclude that the real key to the mystery lies there.[193]

The ancients believed that the human spittle was so fatal to serpents that much of the secret of charming lay in the knowledge of this fact. Of course this would make Psylli of all men; but there may be this measure of truth in the supposition, that the natural exudations of a human body which has been bathed or rubbed with a penetrating alexipharmic, may be so impregnated with the odour, as to be peculiarly repellent of the snake. Denham describes a scene of snake-charming in which the spittle played an important part. A juggler brought him in a bag two venomous snakes, which he set at liberty, beginning to beat a little drum. They immediately reared themselves on their tails, moving in a sort of dance. The juggler played various tricks with them, sometimes wreathing them round his neck, coiling them in his bosom, or throwing them among the people. On pointing his finger at their mouth, they immediately raised themselves in attitude to spring forward and strike; but after having exasperated them to the utmost, he had only to spit in their face, to make them retreat quite crest-fallen. From his description these seem to have been of the genus Naia, upwards of six feet long, and very venomous. The fangs, he says, had been extracted; but still, to guard against all possible injury, the fellow who played tricks with them had a large roll of cloth wound round the right arm.[194]

The influence of music on the serpents seems to be universally assumed as a part of the professional snake-charmer's success. The ancient Psylli who were employed to prevent the Roman camp from being troubled with venomous serpents, marched around it, chanting mystic songs.[195] Johnson describes the very clever snake-catchers of India as pretending to draw them from their holes by a song, and by playing a plaintive tune on an instrument somewhat resembling an Irish bagpipe.[196] He says, indeed, that this is all delusion; but Forbes, in his "Oriental Memoirs," allows its reality. A learned native of India assured Sir William Jones that he had frequently seen the most venomous and malignant snakes leave their holes upon hearing notes from a flute, which, as he supposed, gave them peculiar delight.

The Egyptian snake-charmer assumes an air of mystery, strikes the walls with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a clucking noise with his tongue, and says, "I adjure you, by God, if ye be above, or if ye be below, that ye come forth; I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be obedient, come forth, and if ye be disobedient, die, die, die!"[197] The late Dr W. A. Bromfield, in some extracts from his letters published in the Zoologist,[198] confirms this:—"The chief actor was a fine-looking man, with a handsome and intelligent, but peculiar cast of countenance. He carried a stick in his hand, with which, on entering each apartment, he struck the wall several times, uttering, in a low, measured tone, a form of exorcism in Arabic; adjuring and commanding the serpent—which he declared, immediately on the door being thrown open, was lurking in the walls or ceiling—to come forth. Presently, the reptile would be seen emerging from some hole or corner, with which every room, even in the better class of Egyptian houses, abounds; on which the enchanter would draw the unwilling serpent towards him, with the point of the stick, and when within reach put it in the bag he carried about with him for that purpose."

Chateaubriand has drawn a graphic picture of the power of music on the American Rattlesnake. The serpent happening to enter the encampment of his party in Canada, a Canadian who could play on the flute, advanced, by way of diversion, with his magic pipe, against it. On his approach the haughty reptile curled itself into a spiral line, flattened its head, inflated its cheeks, contracted its lips, displayed its envenomed fangs, and its bloody throat; its double tongue glowed like two flames of fire; its eyes were burning coals; its body, swollen with rage, rose and fell like the bellows of a forge; its dilated skin assumed a dull and scaly appearance; and its rattle, which sounded the denunciation of death, vibrated with extreme velocity. The Canadian now began to play upon his flute: the serpent started with surprise, and drew back its head. In proportion as it was struck with the magic effect, its eyes lost their fierceness, the vibrations of its tail became slower, and the sound which it emitted gradually became weaker and ceased. The folds of the fascinated Serpent became less perpendicular upon their spiral line, expanded by degrees, and sunk one after another upon the ground, forming concentric circles. The colours recovered their brilliancy on its quivering skin; and, slightly turning its head, it remained motionless in the attitude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian advanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes. The Reptile inclined its variegated neck, opened a passage with its head through the high grass, and began to creep after the musician, stopping when he stopped, and following him again as soon as he moved forward. In this manner, to the astonishment both of Europeans and natives, he was led out of the camp; and it was unanimously decreed, that the life of a creature so sensible of the concord of sweet sounds should be spared.[199]

Some allowance in the colouring of this picture, which must be allowed to be beautifully painted, may possibly be made to the poetical imagination of the narrator, for Chateaubriand could not tell a story without embellishing it suo more. We may, however, accept the main facts, confirmed as they are by the experience of other observers in other countries.

Mr Gogerly, a missionary of some standing in India observes that some persons who were incredulous on the subject, after taking the most careful precautions against any trick or artifice being played, sent a charmer into the garden to prove his powers;—the man began to play upon his pipe, and proceeding from one part of the garden to another, for some minutes stopped at a part of the wall much injured by age, and intimated that a serpent was within. He then played quicker, and his notes were louder, when almost immediately a large Cobra di Capello put forth its hooded head, and the man ran fearlessly to the spot, seized it by the throat, and drew it forth. He then shewed the poison fangs, and beat them out; afterwards it was taken to the room where his baskets were left, and deposited among the rest. The snake-charmer, observes the same writer, applies his pipe to his mouth, and sends forth a few of his peculiar notes, and all the serpents stop as though enchanted; they then turn towards the musician, and approaching him within two feet raise their heads from the ground, and bending backwards and forwards, keep time with the tune. When he ceases playing, they drop their heads and remain quiet on the ground.

The Penny Magazine for April 1833, contains the following very precise and circumstantial narrative, communicated by a gentleman of high station at Madras:—"One morning, as I sat at breakfast, I heard a loud noise and shouting among my palankeen-bearers. On inquiry, I learned that they had seen a large hooded snake, and were trying to kill it. I immediately went out, and saw the snake creeping up a very high green mound, whence it escaped into a hole in an old wall of ancient fortification; the men were armed with their sticks, which they always carry in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill the reptile, which had eluded their pursuit, and in his hole had coiled himself up secure, whilst we could see his bright eyes shining. I had often desired to ascertain the truth of the report, as to the effect of music upon snakes. I therefore inquired for a snake-catcher. I was told there was no person of the kind in the village; but after a little inquiry, I heard there was one in a village distant about three miles. I accordingly sent for him, keeping a strict watch over the snake, which never attempted to escape, whilst we, his enemies, were in sight. About an hour elapsed, when my messenger returned bringing a snake-catcher. This man wore no covering on his head, nor any on his person, excepting a small piece of cloth round his loins; he had in his hands two baskets, one containing tame snakes, the other empty: these and his musical pipe were the only things he had with him. I made the snake-catcher leave his two baskets on the ground, at some distance, while he ascended the mound with his pipe alone. He began to play: at the sound of the music the snake came gradually and slowly out of his hole. When he was entirely within reach, the snake-catcher seized him dexterously by the tail and held him thus at arm's length; whilst the snake, enraged, darted his head in all directions, but in vain: thus suspended, he has not the power to round himself, so as to seize hold of his tormentor. He exhausted himself in vain exertions; when the snake-catcher descended the bank, dropped him into the empty basket, and closed the lid: he then began to play, and after a short time, raised the lid of the basket; the snake darted about wildly, and attempted to escape; the lid was shut down again quickly, the music always playing. This was repeated two or three times; and in a very short interval, the lid being raised, the snake sat on his tail, opened his hood and danced quite as quietly as the tame snakes in the other basket, nor did he attempt again to escape. This, having witnessed with my own eyes, I can assert as a fact."

Experienced and skilful as these men are, however, they do not invariably escape with impunity. Fatal terminations to these exhibitions of the psyllic art now and then occur, for there are still to be found "deaf adders, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." In Madras, a few years ago, a noted serpent-charmer chanced one morning to get hold of a Cobra of considerable size, which he got conveyed to his home. He was occupied abroad all day, and had not time to get the dangerous fangs extracted from the Serpent's mouth. This at least is the probable solution of the matter. In the evening he returned to his dwelling, considerably excited with liquor, and began to exhibit tricks with his snakes to various persons who were around him at the time. The newly-caught Cobra was brought out with the others, and the man, spirit-valiant, commenced to handle the stranger like the rest. But the Cobra darted at his chin, and bit it, making two marks like pin points. The poor juggler was sobered in an instant. "I am a dead man," he exclaimed. The prospect of immediate death made the maintenance of his professional mysticism a thing of no moment. "Let the creature alone," said he to those about him, who would have killed the Cobra; "it may be of service to others who are of my trade. To me it can be of no more use. Nothing can save me." His professional knowledge was but too accurate. In two hours he was a corpse! The narrator saw him a short time after he died. His friends and brother jugglers had gathered around him, and had him placed on a chair in a sitting position. Seeing the detriment likely to result to their trade and interests from such a notion, they vehemently asserted that it was not the envenomed bite which had killed him. "No, no; he only forgot one little word—one small portion of the charm." In fact, they declared that he was not dead at all, but only in a sort of swoon, from which, according to the rules of the cabalistic art, he would recover in seven days. But the officers of the barracks, close to which the deceased had lived, interfered in the matter. They put a guard of one or two men on the house, declaring that they would allow the body to remain unburied for seven days, but would not permit any trickery. Of course the poor serpent-charmer never came to life again. His death, and the manner of it, gave a severe blow, as has been already hinted, to the art and practice of snake-charming in Madras.

Roberts also mentions the instance of a man who came to a gentleman's house to exhibit tame snakes, and on being told that a Cobra, or Hooded Snake was in a cage in the house, was asked if he could charm it; on his replying in the affirmative, the Serpent was released from the cage, and, no doubt, in a state of high irritation. The man began his incantations, and repeated his charms, but the Snake darted at him, fastened upon his arm, and before night he was a corpse.

These failures, rare and abnormal as they confessedly are, do not by any means disprove the reality of snake-charming; they certainly shew that the men believe in their own powers. It may be, as some Europeans have maintained, that in India, the exhibitors usually practise upon tame snakes, from which they have already extracted the fangs, or even eradicated the poison sacs,—an operation performed without difficulty by making an incision beneath and behind each eye. Or it may be that the power of music over these reptiles is ordinarily relied on, and that in rare instances this fails. I have myself taken fierce and active lizards, in Jamaica, by a noose of string, while whistling a lively tune. As soon as the whistling commenced, the lizard would become still on the trunk or the branch of a tree, and so remain unmoved, with a sleepy look all the while I was searching up the string, preparing the noose, and presenting it to him, giving just a backward glance of his eye, as the noose slipped over his head, the whistling going on vigorously all the time, of course, till the cord being jerked tight, he suddenly found himself dangling in the air at the end of a stick, and began to wriggle and writhe, and scratch and bite furiously.

One thing seems clear from these accidents. The Indian samp-wallahs do not use any infusion or unguent to stupefy and disarm their snakes, as do those of Ethiopia. If these men just mentioned had been so protected they would not have been killed, however rash or pot-valiant they might have been. Indeed the accounts of Bruce and others of the African professors of the psyllic art, and the phenomena of the serpents acted upon, differ greatly from descriptions of parallel exhibitions in India, and suggest diverse modes of explanation.

A dozen years ago there were a couple of oriental Psylli performing at the Zoological Gardens. Mr Brodcrip has given a very graphic sketch of their performance as he saw it in the Reptile House. The two Arabs took up their position on the floor, the company standing in a semicircle at a respectful distance.

"The old Arab said something to the young one, who stooped down ... and took out a large deal-box, drew off the cover, thrust in his hand and pulled out a large long Naia haje (the Egyptian species of Cobra). After handling it and playing with it a little while, he set it down on the floor, half squatted close to it, and fixed his eyes on the snake. The serpent instantly raised itself, expanded its hood, and turned slowly on its own axis, following the eye of the young Arab, turning as his head, or eye, or body turned. Sometimes it would dart at him, as if to bite. He exercised the most perfect command over the animal. All this time the old Arab stood still, pensively regarding the operation; but presently he also squatted down, muttering some words, opposite to the snake. He evidently affected the reptile more strongly than his more mercurial relative, though he remained motionless, doing nothing that I could see but fixing his eyes upon the snake, with his face upon a level with the raised head of the serpent, which now turned all its attention to him, and seemed to be in a paroxysm of rage. Suddenly it darted open-mouthed at his face, furiously dashing its expanded whitish-edged jaws into the dark hollow cheek of the charmer, who still imperturbably kept his position, only smiling bitterly at his excited antagonist. I was very close, and watched very narrowly; but though the snake dashed at the old Arab's face and into it more than twice or thrice with its mouth wide open, I could not see the projection of any fang.

"Then the old Arab, who, it was said, had had the gift of charming serpents in his family for a long series of years, opened another box, and took out four or five great lizards, and provoked the Naia with them, holding them by the tails in a sort of four-in-hand style. Then the youth brought out a Cerastes, which I observed seemed overpowered, as if, as the country people say, something had come over it. He placed it on the floor; but this serpent did not raise itself like the Naia, but, as the charmer stooped to it, moved in a very odd, agitated manner, on its belly, regarding him askant. I thought the serpent was going to fly at the lad, but it did not. He took it up, played with it, blew or spit at it, and then set it down apparently sick, subdued, and limp. He then took it again, played with it a second time, gathered it up in his hand, put it in his bosom, went to another box, drew the lid, and brought out more snakes, one of which was another Naia, and the others of a most venomous kind.

"Now there were two Naias, with heads and bodies erect, obeying, apparently, the volition of the charmers. One of the snakes bit the youth on the naked hand, and brought blood; but he only spat on the wound and scratched it with his nail which made the blood flow more freely. Then he brought out more lizards of a most revolting aspect. By this time the floor of the reptile house, that formed the stage of the charmers, began to put one in mind of the incantation-scene in Der Freischutz, only that the principal performers looked more like the Black Huntsman and one of his familiars than Max and Caspar, and the enchanters' circle was surrounded with fair ladies and their well-dressed lords, instead of the appalling shapes which thronged round the affrighted huntsman at the casting of the charmed bullets.

"The Arabs, holding the snakes by the tails, let their bodies touch the floor, when they came twisting and wriggling on towards the spectators, who now backed a little upon the toes of those who pressed them from behind. Sometimes the charmers would loose their hold, when the serpents, as if eager to escape from their tormentors, rapidly advanced upon the retreating ring; but they always caught them by the tails in time, and then made them repeat the same advances. I kept my position in front throughout, and had no fear, feeling certain that Mr Mitchell, and those under whose superintendence this highly amusing and instructive establishment is so well conducted, would not have permitted the exhibition to take place, if there had been the least danger. Besides this, I observed that the charmers only used their own serpents, which they had, I presume, brought with them; and I confess that the impression upon my mind was, that they had been rendered innoxious by mechanical means."[200]

This last assumption the narrator subsequently found to be indubitably true. What is said of the Cerastes, however, looks more like the effect of something detrimental to the snake in the lad's odour, or in his spittle. Of course no confidence can be placed in their statements, but it is noteworthy that they both claimed to belong to a race over whom snakes have no morbific power,—Psylli, in fact, of many generations.

Dr Davy asserts that in India, however, the poison fangs are not extracted. He tells us that he has himself examined the snakes exhibited (which are always Cobras) and have found the fangs uninjured. He attributes the power of the charmers to their agility and courage, founded on an intimate acquaintance with the habits and disposition of the reptiles. The learned Doctor acting on this persuasion, says that he has himself repeatedly irritated these serpents with impunity. They can be readily appeased when irritated, by the voice and by gentle movements of the hand in a circle, and by stroking them on the body.

A very curious subject, closely connected with serpent-charming, is the power of extracting venom from a wound inflicted by reptiles, attributed to the "snake-stone," which the Hindoos and Cingalese usually carry with them. Captain Napier thus describes it:—

"These people generally have for sale numbers of snake-stones, which are said to be equally an antidote against the bite of the serpent and the sting of the scorpion. For the former I have never seen it tried: and to prove its efficacy with the latter, the samp-wallah generally carries about in small earthen vessels a number of these animals, one of which he allows to wound him with his sting. The snake-stone, which is a dark, shining, smooth pebble, about the size and shape of a French bean, on being applied to the wound, instantly adheres to it, and by a power of suction appears to draw out the poison, which is supposed to be contained in the small bubbles which, on the immersion of the stone into a glass of water are seen in great numbers to rise to the surface.

"My first idea on beholding the samp-wallah allow himself to be stung by the scorpion was that the latter had by some means been rendered harmless. However, not wishing voluntarily to put this to the test by personal experience, I purchased some of the stones, resolved on the very first opportunity to try their efficacy. Shortly after this, happening to be marching up the country with a detachment, we pitched our camp on some very stony ground, in clearing which one of the English soldiers happened to be bit [stung] in the hand by a large scorpion. As soon as I heard of this circumstance, I sent for the sufferer, who appeared to be in great pain, which he described as a burning sensation running all the way up his arm to the very shoulder.

"I applied one of the snake-stones to the puncture; it adhered immediately, and during about eight minutes that it remained on the patient, he by degrees became easier; the pain diminished, gradually coming down from the shoulder, until it appeared entirely confined to the immediate vicinity of the wound. I now removed the stone; on putting it into a cup of water, numbers of small air-bubbles rose to the surface, and in a short time the man ceased to suffer any inconvenience from the accident."[201]

It is scarcely needful to say that the emission of bubbles is a most ordinary phenomenon, and could have not the slightest connexion with the alexipharmic power of the stone, whether real or imaginary. Any one may see exactly the same thing on dropping a bit of new flower-pot, or a very dry brick into water, or any other substance heavier than the fluid, which is at the same time dry and porous. It results from the air which is contained in the pores of the material, which on immersion is displaced by the heavier water, and rises in oozing bubbles to the surface.

Sir Emerson Tennent has some observations of much value on these "stones," as well as on cognate matters, which my readers may like to see, and with which I close this subject:—

"On one occasion, in March 1854, a friend of mine was riding, with some other civil officers of the government, along a jungle-path in the vicinity of Bintenne, when they saw one of two Tamils, who were approaching them, suddenly dart into the forest and return, holding in both hands a cobra di capello which he had seized by the head and tail. He called to his companion for assistance to place it in their covered basket, but in doing this, he handled it so inexpertly that it seized him by the finger, and retained its hold for a few seconds, as if unable to retract its fangs. The blood flowed, and intense pain appeared to follow almost immediately; but, with all expedition, the friend of the sufferer undid his waistcloth, and took from it two snake-stones, each of the size of a small almond, intensely black and highly polished, though of an extremely light substance. These he applied one to each wound inflicted by the teeth of the serpent, to which the stones attached themselves closely, the blood that oozed from the bites being rapidly imbibed by the porous texture of the article applied. The stones adhered tenaciously for three or four minutes, the wounded man's companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm downwards from the shoulder towards the fingers. At length the snake-stones dropped off of their own accord; the suffering appeared to have subsided; he twisted his fingers till the joints cracked, and went on his way without concern. Whilst this had been going on, another Indian of the party who had come up took from his bag a small piece of white wood, which resembled a root, and passed it gently near the head of the cobra, which the latter immediately inclined close to the ground; he then lifted the snake without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle at the bottom of his basket. The root, by which he professed to be enabled to perform this operation with safety, he called the Naya-thalee Kalinga (the root of the snake-plant,) protected by which he professed his ability to approach any reptile with impunity. In another instance, in 1853, Mr Lavalliere, the District Judge of Kandy, informed me that he saw a snake-charmer in the jungle, close by the town, search for a cobra di capello, and, after disturbing it in its retreat, the man tried to secure it, but, in the attempt, he was bitten in the thigh till blood trickled from the wound. He instantly applied the Pamboo-Kaloo (or snake-stone), which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during which time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards and forwards above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He assured Mr Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman obtained from him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him repeatedly afterwards in perfect health. The substances which were used on both these occasions are now in my possession. The roots employed by the several parties are not identical. One appears to be a bit of the stem of an Aristolochia; the other is so dry as to render it difficult to identify it, but it resembles the quadrangular stem of a jungle vine. Some species of Aristolochia, such as the A. serpentaria of North America, are supposed to act as a specific in the cure of snake-bites; and the A. Indica is the plant to which the ichneumon is popularly believed to resort as an antidote when bitten; but it is probable that the use of any particular plant by the snake-charmers is a pretence, or rather a delusion, the reptile being overpowered by the resolute action of the operator, and not by the influence of any secondary appliance, the confidence inspired by the supposed talisman enabling its possessor to address himself fearlessly to his task, and thus to effect by determination and will, what is popularly believed to be the result of charms and stupefaction."

The writer then alludes to the facts mentioned by Bruce, which I have before adduced; and proceeds:—

"As to the snake-stone itself, I submitted one, the application of which I have been describing, to Mr Faraday, and he has communicated to me, as the result of his analysis, his belief that it is 'a piece of charred bone which has been filled with blood perhaps several times, and then carefully charred again. Evidence of this is afforded, as well by the apertures of cells or tubes on its surface as by the fact that it yields and breaks under pressure, and exhibits an organic structure within. When heated slightly, water rises from it, and also a little ammonia; and, if heated still more highly in the air, the carbon burns away, and a bulky white ash is left, retaining the shape and size of the 'stone.' This ash, as is evident from inspection, cannot have belonged to any vegetable substance, for it is almost entirely composed of phosphate of lime. Mr Faraday adds that 'if the piece of matter has ever been employed as a spongy absorbent, it seems hardly fit for that purpose in its present state; but who can say to what treatment it has been subjected since it was fit for use, or to what treatment the natives may submit it when expecting to have occasion to use it?'"

Sir E. Tennent supposes that the animal charcoal may be sufficiently absorbent to extract the venom from the recent wound together with a portion of the blood, before it has had time to be carried into the system. If this be so the process is analogous to that of sucking a poisoned wound, already referred to.[202]

What the author means by a jungle vine I do not exactly know, but conjecture that it may be one of the BignoniaceÆ, the woody climbing species of which have in general their stem divided into lobes arranged in a quadrangular manner. I am not aware that any species of this order is an antidote to animal poisons, but many have powerful medicinal properties, and abound in bitter juices. The whitewood of Jamaica (Bignonia leucoxylon) enjoys a reputation as a remedy for the poison of the Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella) which is so virulent that persons are reported to have been killed by its volatile emanations, when accidentally sleeping under its shade, and a drop of its juice falling on the skin burns it like fire, and produces an ulcer difficult to heal. The value of the Aristolochia has been already referred to; and on the whole I am disposed to attach more importance to the use of vegetable specifics by the Ceylonese operators than the learned author whom I have just quoted. The subject is a highly curious one, and well worthy of minute investigation by able and unprejudiced men of science, willing to receive unscientific information and suggestions, in various parts of the world, particularly in the intertropical regions of both hemispheres.