THE COBRA AND OTHER SERPENTS. 73 



detect sound waves in the air, as a general evidence of something 

 unusual, with the delicate tip of the restless bifid tongue, is a 

 subject that requires investigation ; but that they can appreciate 

 music in this or any other way is, as has been said above, abso- 

 lutely untrue. How such an idea as that snakes are fond of mu- 

 sic and milk ever gained credence among men calling themselves 

 scientists only shows how few really scientific observers we have. 



Men sometimes do strange things for the love of knowledge, 

 and it was this love which caused me to live on such intimate 

 terms with my scaly but graceful and gentle friends. I took 

 them into my house to live with me. This was the best way to 

 know them perfectly; and the more I knew them, the more I 

 knew that they did not know me. I soon found out that neither 

 cobras nor any other serpents can ever become capable of attach- 

 ment, nor even distinguish one person from another, nor distin- 

 guish a man from any large animal, nor even distinguish a man 

 from a tree stump until he gives evidence of his life by motion. 



During my stay in South Africa I had many cobras, all of 

 which I captured myself, except those born in my collection. 

 Now, cobra-hunting is a very dangerous kind of sport, and had 

 I known of its perils otherwise than by experience it is probable 

 that I never would have attempted it. The first two or three I 

 caught safely, and nothing particular occurred to show that there 

 was a special danger in taking tliem which did not equally exist 

 in the capture of other deadly snakes. But I found out that in 

 three important particulars of defense and attack the cobra dif- 

 fers from all his fellow-poisoners : 1. He rarely opens his mouth 

 when striking, but actually gives a deadly blow without biting. 

 3. He bites deliberately when he is in a state of apparent death 

 from muscular contortion, and will then hang on like a bulldog, 

 the venom flowing all the time into the wounds in which his fangs 

 are buried, until he drops oflp at last from sheer exhaustion. 3. 

 He can squirt the venom from his fangs into a person's eyes, and 

 thus blind him for a time at least, 



I had often heard of the " spuugh slang," or spitting snake, 

 but, looking at the thing from a too human point of view as we 

 are all, unfortunately, overmuch inclined to do when considering 

 animals I could not'anderstand how a snake, not having fleshy 

 lips and a bulky tongue, could be said to spit as we understand 

 the word ; and hence could no more believe in spitting snakes 

 than I would in unicorns or fiery dragons. However, the result 

 proved that oftentimes a story which on the face of it seems im- 

 possible has, after all, a certain fund of truth lying concealed 

 somewhere at bottom. 



One day, being alone in the bush, I saw a cobra banded with 

 black and white. He was in an open glade, gliding about through 



VOL. XLTI. 6 



