38 VENOMS 



Naja the marks that it bears on its neck, intended to frighten the 

 kites and other birds of prey, which are implacable enemies of 

 this snake. 



When a native of the Malabar Coast finds a Naja in his dwelling, 

 he begs it in a friendly way to depart ; if the request be without 

 avail, he offers it food in order to attract it outside ; if the snake 

 still does not move, the Hindu goes in search of the pious servitors 

 of one of his divinities, who, procuring an offering, address the most 

 touching supplications to it (Brehm). 



The mortality due to the bite of this snake, which is by far 

 the most common in India, is considerable. In the course of a 

 period of eight years, from 1880 to 1887, it amounted on the 

 average to 19,880 human beings and 2,100 head of cattle every 

 year. 



In 1889, 22,480 persons and 3,793 head of cattle perished from 

 snake-bite. Since then, the annual tale of fatalities always 

 fluctuates between 16,000 and 22,000, in spite of the rewards for 

 the destruction of snakes which the Indian Government has been 

 obliged to institute, which represent an expenditure of about 

 £10,000 per annum. 



For every 100 persons bitten, it is estimated that on an average 

 from 25 to 30 die, and in most cases death supervenes in from two 

 to twelve hours after the bite. 



Naja bimgarus, or the Hamadryad, is the largest and most 

 formidable of poisonous snakes. It is very vigorous and very 

 aggressive, but is more rarely met with than Naja^ tripudians. It 

 loves the vicinity of rivers and streams, lives in forests and jungles, 

 and climbs trees with facility. It feeds upon other snakes (whence 

 its name Ophiophagus), and also on birds, fish, and small mammals. 



Hindu snake-charmers assert that it is very difficult to capture, 

 and dangerous owing to its strength ; they handle it only after 

 having extracted its poison-fangs. 



A very intelligent Hindu told Torrens how he had seen the way 

 in which the Hamadryad procures the snakes that form its favourite 



