136 THE: SNAKES. /OF -SOUTH AFRICA. 
was bitten moped for a day and a half, but recovered 
eventually. 
When allowed to bite through ordinary trouser cloth, and if 
not permitted to hang on, the fangs of Herald Snakes and 
Schaapstekers in most instances failed to penetrate the flesh. Itis 
not because the fangs are not sufficiently long. The reason is 
that with back-fanged snakes the poison fangs are at the back 
of the upper jaw. It is, therefore, necessary for the snake to 
ensure a mouthful before he can succeed in driving the fangs 
fully home. 
Persons must never take liberties with any of these back- 
fanged snakes. Under ordinary conditions the momentary bite 
of most of this family of serpents is not likely to have very serious 
results, especially so if the punctures be scarified and rubbed with 
permanganate of potash. It must be remembered, however, that 
if allowed to bite and hold on, they will work sufficient venom 
into the flesh to cause serious symptoms of poisoning, and often 
death results. 
Although the venom of a snake may not be in sufficient 
quantity to destroy life by its direct action upon nerve centres 
or blood, it is quite likely that it may be the indirect cause of 
death by setting up a state of sepsis, or ordinary blood-poisoning. 
Those addicted more or less to the habit of drinking alcoholic 
liquor are strongly predisposed to contract blood-poisoning, and 
die as the result of the injection of even a fractional dose of 
snake venom into their blood. 
THE BOOMSLANG OR TREE SNAKE. 
(Dispholidus typus.) 
A CANNIBAL. 
This is the snake which recent events have made famous in 
South Africa. Recently, one bit an assistant in our Museum, 
with nearly deadly effect; then another in our collection 
of living snakes deliberately swallowed another of its own 
species, almost as big as itself. These incidents caused heated 
discussions everywhere, as, in the first place, the Boomslang has 
been regarded as a non-venomous snake, and, secondly, it has 
hitherto been believed that when snakes swallow each other it 
