90 JUNGLE FOLK 



apparently he does so with the utmost reluctance. 

 Nicholson writes : "A cobra standing at bay can be 

 readily captured ; put the end of a stick gently across 

 his head and bear it down to the ground by a firm 

 and gradual pressure. He will not resist. Then place 

 the stick horizontally across his neck and take him 

 up. You must not dawdle about this ; sharp is the 

 word, when dealing with snakes, and they have as 

 much respect for firm and kind treatment as contempt 

 for timidity and irresolution.'* *' There is very little 

 danger," he adds, " about handling this snake ; nerve 

 is all that is required." I have no doubt that this 

 is all true. It is certainly borne out by the non- 

 chalance with which an Indian, who is accustomed 

 to snakes, will put his hand into a basket of cobras and 

 pull one out. There are, however, some things the 

 doing of which I prefer to leave to others, and one of 

 these is the handling of venomous snakes. There is 

 always the colubrine equivalent of the personal equa- 

 tion to be taken into consideration. People whose 

 fondness for playing with fire takes the form of snake- 

 charming will do well to operate upon Hght-coloured 

 specimens, for experience has taught those who handle 

 snakes that dark-coloured varieties are worse-tempered 

 than those of paler hue. In some unaccountable 

 manner blackness seems to be correlated with evil 

 temper. Another word of warning. A snake has a 

 longer reach than might be anticipated. On one 

 occasion, wishing to show how the cobra strikes, 

 I walked up to within a yard or two of one stand- 

 ing at bay and threw a clod of earth at him. He 



