57 



of immunity and of cure must be taken with even more than 

 the proverbial pinch of salt. 



When all is said and done however there are instances 

 on record of competent observers recording their personal 

 experiences of the apparent efficiency of snake stones, charms 

 and such like things. And if the facts are really as they 

 appear to be, it is difficult to offer any explanation. One of 

 the most reasonable is the theory that these professional 

 snake charmers have gradually inoculated themselves with, 

 at first, minute and then gradually increasing doses of 

 snake poison, thus rendering themselves immune ; on the 

 same lines that a man is rendered immune to enteric fever 

 poison by being inoculated ; or animals in the pathologist's 

 laboratory are rendered immune to various organic poisons 

 such as diphtheria. 



But I cannot too strongly impress on my reader that 

 the statements of Indians* about snakes is hardly ever worth 

 anything : either with regard to their poisonous properties or 

 their greneral habits or characteristics. The harmless little 

 Lycodon is always declared deadly. 



A stumpy tailed cobra generally elicits an account of 

 how the cobra loses an inch of its tail every time it bites a 

 man. As a matter of fact many snakes lose part of their tails, 

 due probably to having them bitten off by a mongoose. 



Another instance of the native's ignorance and credulity 

 is the widespread belief in the existence of a poisonous lizard 

 which they call the " bis- cobra." Many harmless lizards of 

 varying size have been brought to me with tales of their 

 fearful lethal powers. I believe I am right in saying that 

 there is no poisonous lizard known to zoologists. 



• The average European Unow8 very little about snakes also, but as a rule he 

 does not pretend to do so. The native, especially the shikari and jungle-dweller, 

 seems to be expected to know something, and although he is quite ignorant of 

 snakes, he always pretends to know when naked. 



