CHAPTER XL 



THE TAIL OF A SNAKE. 



SETTING aside for the present the true death-dealing 

 powers of the ophidians, viz. the fangs of the poison- 

 ous famih'es and the constricting powers of the larger 

 non-venomous kinds, another supposed medium of mischief, 

 second only to the tongue, is the tail ! 



The old-time fables of the ' stin2:incr tails ' have alwavs 

 obtained credence, and do so still among the ignorant classes 

 in many countries. Nor is the belief without some apparent 

 reason, for the tail of a large number of snakes, both of the 

 poisonous and the non-poisonous families, terminates in a 

 horny spine more or less hard and pointed. In a few, this 

 sharp spine is curved with an undeniably weapon-like aspect. 

 Some of these thorn-like tips might even be capable of 

 inflicting a slight wound were the owners conscious of this, 

 and had they a disposition to avail themselves of it. But, as 

 a weapon, snakes do not instinctively use their pointed tails ; 

 they are chiefly assistants in locomotion. As a fulcrum, and 

 sometimes a propeller, certain species make constant and 

 important use of them. You may observe that when in a 



170 



