74 DO SNAKES FASCINATE THEIR VICTIMS ? 



end of the rat and its tail, which by the convulsed move- 

 ments which speedily followed, showed that the rat was 

 being strangled, and quite unable to breathe. In about five 

 minutes after the rat had been seized, we opened the cage 

 cautiously, and by means of a stick opened up the snake's 

 coil, and thus liberated the rat. The rat w^as dead, asphyxi- 

 ated. We closed the cage door and watched. It took no 

 more notice of the rat, but slowly and very cautiously 

 approached the second victim, which was in a corner of the 

 cage. The rat sniffed about, but evinced no fear, although 

 it must have witnessed the destruction of its companion. 

 Suddenly, as before, the snake seized the rat and encoiled 

 it. The same thing happened as with the other, and in a 

 few minutes the second victim was dead. 



Slowly it relinquished its prey, and left it resting in the 

 water-bath in the cage ; and then, placing a few coils of its 

 body near the tail end upon the rat, it gradually approached 

 the first one, which was in the centre of the cage, quietly 

 grasped it by the nose and head, and commenced the process 

 of sucking it in. As soon as it had got a fair grasp of the 

 head, it quickly threw^ a coil round the body, in order no 

 doubt to compress it, and make it more convenient for 

 gorging. There w^as a very free discharge of lubricating 

 mucus from the salivary glands o± the snake's mouth, the 

 jaws and throat began to expand enormously, and gradually 

 the rat to disappear, and in about twenty minutes the whole 

 process of swallowing was completed, and the head and 

 neck of the snake began to assume normal proportions. 

 It was quite astonishing to see how rapidly the parts 

 regained their natural conditions. After resting for about 

 ten minutes it gradually approached the second rat, and the 

 same processes were repeated. It now became too dark 

 to discern anything more. On Christmas Eve, our old 



