1 *^*7 



very little of it myself, and can never handle venomous 

 snakes Avitli confidence; I have often envied the nerve of a 

 friend in Rangoon, who, emboldened by the possession of a 

 fancied antidote in case of accident, handles cobras with 

 perfect freedom ; he puts his hand into a narrow-mouthed 

 basket containing several cobras, and picks out the one he 

 wants without the slightest objection on the part of the 

 snake beyond the usual hard swearing. 



When the cobra is on the floor, squat down before him and 

 bring him to attention, if he is making tracks, by a smart 

 smack on the back ; then, by a side-to-side movement of the 

 knees or gently moving in front of him a piece of chalk or a 

 rolled up handkerchief held in the left hand, he can be kept 

 steady for a long time, following your movements. If your 

 attention relaxes, he calms down and backs away ; catch 

 hold of him by the tail or smack him on the back, and he 

 will come to attention again. Keep him occupied with an 

 object in front of him, and you may do anything to him ; 

 place your right hand above his head, and you can bring 

 him flat to the ground, but without any attempt at resist- 

 ance. After he has stood up for some time, it is easy to 

 provoke a strike ; this, however, is rarely done viciously, 

 and the injury inflicted is generally confined to his own 

 nose ; most captive cobras have their noses barked raAv from 

 frequent hits against hard substances. 



The country music played by snakes-charmers durino- the 

 cobra's performance is, I need hardly say, quite superfluous, 

 and, from the very imperfect condition of the auditory 

 apparatus, it is highly probable that, far from enjoying music, 

 he has very little appreciation of sound. The Burmese put 

 him through the same performance without the aid of 

 music, and also without extracting the snake's fano-s, a 

 precaution generally taken by the Indian jugglers. These 

 men not only take out the fangs, but, aware of their repro- 



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